The Hero of Panama: A Tale of the Great Canal

by F. S. Brereton

  CHAPTER XVIII

  Rescue by Moonlight

  "Golly! Him must be mad! Yo see him? Yo see de master come out ob dehollow den? By de poker, but him scared right clean off him head. Sam, Itells yo him mad. Him blind; him eberyting yo like to think ob."

  The huge negro Tom gripped at the ground on which he lay with his strongfingers, and writhed beneath the covering of undergrowth. His staringeyes passed from the crawling figure of Jim to that of the Chinaman, andthen slid away to regard the horses on the far side of the clearing.Back they came to Sam's face, as he lay beside him, and there theyrested eagerly, as if seeking some consolation. But the little negro wasjust as scared as Tom. He, too, had watched the figure of Jaime deOteros rise from its blanket, he had kept his eyes on the robber chiefas he stretched and yawned beneath the moon, and more than once Sam'shand had slid down to his revolver. Then he had stared at the man as hestrolled away towards the horses.

  "Now," he told himself, "am the time for Massa Jim." And then a secondlater: "No. Not do now. Dat scum turn and see um; then not hab time tocreep away. Hab to rush, and dat spoil eberyting. Yo stop still andshut yo ugly mouth," he exclaimed, turning angrily upon his comrade. Forthe over eager and less crafty Tom was grunting and groaning as if hewere in pain, and Sam was fearful that the sounds might betray them. "Yolie still dere and wait till yo's told to speak," he commanded. "Littlebit more, and yo wake ebery one of de rascal; den see Massa Jim cut topieces. Fine dat, eh? yo great big silly."

  Tom nearly exploded with anxiety for his young master and indignation atSam's words. He stifled his groans with difficulty, and, so as to holdhimself in as it were, and keep control over his feelings, he dug hisfingers deep into the ground, and tugged heavily. Meanwhile Jim had notbeen idle. With an eye always on the horses, and the figure strollinground them, he stepped briskly across from the gully, his back bentdouble, his figure close to the ground. It seemed an age before hereached the blanketed figure which he believed to be Sadie, though as amatter of fact only a few seconds had passed. He was in the act ofstretching out his hand to touch her when Ching suddenly arrested themovement.

  "No, no, no," he whispered urgently. "Not missie; look at de boot."

  Jim did so, and the sight staggered him. He went pale for the instant;for the boot was large, and bore a spur at the heel. It obviouslybelonged to one of the miscreants, and distance had deceived him as tothe size of this figure. Hurriedly he looked at the others. One turned,the one nearest to him, rolled over on its side, and then suddenly satup. The blanket fell back from the head and shoulders, and then, to hisdelight, there was Sadie, her long hair streaming about her shoulders.

  "Sadie, Sadie," he whispered ever so gently, and to his surprise,instead of showing astonishment, his sister merely smiled at him, shookoff the remainder of the blanket and stood up. "Come," whispered Jim."Come with me."

  He beckoned to her, and, stepping swiftly across to where she stood,took her by the arm. Within a minute he was hurrying her into the gullywhich had allowed him and the Chinaman to approach so close to the groupwithout danger of being seen.

  THE RESCUE OF SADIE]

  "Jim, I knew you'd come," whispered Sadie bravely, clinging to herbrother as if he alone stood between her and the miscreants who hadtaken her from Gatun. "Ever since that horrid Spaniard came to Mr.Phineas's quarters and forced me to accompany him, I guessed that youwould follow and rescue me. But, oh----"

  She was beginning to sob, now that the greatest part of the dangerseemed to have passed. Her voice trembled; but Jim silenced her firmlyand kindly.

  "Hush!" he said. "Not a sound, lest they hear us. Guess we've friendsclose at hand, and in a little while we shall be with them. Stop here amoment; we must wait for Ching."

  He peeped out of the gully and watched the Chinaman bending over thebundles that contained the precious notes which Jaime and his comradeshad stolen. Then he found it hard to repress a shout of warning; for thefigure which he had taken for that of Sadie, the man wearing the bootwith the spurred heel moved. Then the man sat up suddenly, and rubbedhis eyes. A moment later he was regarding the Chinaman's back,endeavouring, no doubt, in his half-awake state, to determine who itcould be. As for Ching, he seemed to have forgotten all about the gangof desperadoes. Jim could have kicked him for being so irritatinglyslow, and to all appearances careless; but he could not read thethoughts passing through the Chinaman's brain, nor guess what it wasthat delayed him. A moment later, however, he became aware of the factthat if his follower were to carry out the orders given him he must bearaway from the enemy's camp more than had been arranged for. For the twodark-coloured bundles were wound about with rope, through which a chainhad been passed, and the latter had been locked to an iron bar passingacross the top of a form of pack saddle. As Jim looked he saw Ching whipout a knife, and deliberately set to work to sever the strands of rope.But by then the man behind him was fully awake. He started to his feetwith an exclamation, that caused Ching to swing round on the instant. Asecond later a shot rang out, and our hero saw his follower staggerbackwards and tumble across the bundles.

  "Stay here; don't move an inch," he commanded Sadie. "I'm going back tohelp him."

  But whatever help he could have given would have been useless to theChinaman by the time Jim could have arrived; for the rascal who hadfired followed up his attack by rushing towards the fallen Chinaman. Jimsaw him bend down swiftly, and then, just as swiftly, he went reelingto one side; for Ching had risen. Like a greyhound set loose he sprangupon his enemy, and the moon shining down upon the whole scene flashedupon something in his hand. Ching had used his formidable knife. TheChinaman, it appeared later, when he was able to give his tale, hadmerely feigned to be hit. He had waited for the man to come closer, andthen had stabbed him. Now he finished the work he had begun with aswiftness which was appalling. He was close to his man in an instant,showing an agility of which Jim had never suspected him capable before,and quick as a flash the knife went home, sending the robber thudding tothe ground.

  "Back! Run!" shouted Jim, for there was now no need to keep silent."Back here, and let us get to cover quick!"

  "I coming, allee lighty," came the laconic answer. Ching swung the twobundles across his shoulder, bearing the pack saddle with them, and ranswiftly across to the channel; but as he ran the two remaining figuresbeside the blackened ashes of the fire sprang to their feet, and shotsrang out loudly. There came a loud thud as one of the bullets struck thepack saddle, then Ching was out of range.

  "Allee lighty, Massa Jim," he sang out coolly. "Ching here; him follow."

  And our hero waited for no further information. He took his sister bythe arm and hurried her along the gully.

  "Bend low," he urged her as they came to the end. "Then run into thejungle; I shall be just behind you."

  In a moment or two they were speeding across the open, across the rockyground which intervened between themselves and the forest, and with agasp of relief Jim felt that the branches and leaves had closed overthem.

  "You there?" he demanded of the Chinaman.

  "Allee lighty, massa," came the laconic repetition.

  "Then lead the way; you know it."

  He gripped Ching by the end of his pigtail, for the Chinaman handed himthat article promptly, realizing, perhaps, that it was well suited forthe purpose; then, holding Sadie with the other hand, he followed closeon Ching's heels. In that order they came within a few minutes to thespot where Tom and Sam were lying.

  "Missie! De Lord be praised!" exclaimed the former with a sob of relief,taking the child in his arms in his delight at her deliverance. Then heswung her up on to his shoulder in preparation for the flight which mustnow commence. As for Sam, though none the less demonstrative where Sadiewas concerned, he knew well enough that the safety of the party dependedin no small measure on him.

  "Massa Jim," he called gently. "Dis way; yo come 'long o' Sam. Him habde lantern all ready lighted, and hidden way ober here. Yo come right'way at once, before dem debil see yo. De
y makin' dickens of ahullabaloo."

  Jaime and his comrades were indeed creating an abundance of noise, andfor a while amused themselves by blazing away with their weapons intothe forest. And, as fortune would have it, the leader of the gang wentwithin an ace of being slain by one of his own following; for it will beremembered that a fit of restlessness had caused Jamie de Oteros to risefrom his blanket and go down towards the horses. The crack of hiscomrade's revolver had set him running back towards the camp, and it wasat that critical moment that a second follower, springing to his feet,and as yet not fully awake, nor alive to the circumstances of thematter, took him for an enemy and fired point-blank at him. With a shoutJaime reached the man, and floored him without hesitation; but beingunable to trace at the moment what had actually happened, or where thosewho had intruded in the camp had disappeared, he joined his fellows infiring wildly in every direction. Then, with an angry shout, he stoppedthe fusillade.

  "This won't help us," he exclaimed. "Let us decide what has happened.Ah, Pedro is killed! Strange, he often had an idea that a man would stabhim. I saw a man dressed as a Chinaman strike at him."

  "It was a Chinaman," declared Miguel. "I saw him distinctly. I fireddirect at him, but the bullet drilled a hole through the pack saddle."

  "Pack saddle, man! Pack saddle!" shouted Jaime, a horrible suspicioncrossing his mind. "What do you mean?"

  Miguel felt frightened for the first time for many a day. Jaime gloweredat him and toyed with his revolver, as if he would willingly shoot himif his answer were not satisfactory; then he blurted out the truth."Why, the pack saddle with the two bundles of notes chained to it," hesaid sullenly. "The Chinaman stole them."

  "And you let him go free! Gurr!"

  Jaime stamped in his anger. He kicked the ground as if it had done himsome injury. Then he stepped across to the spot where the five figureshad been stretched when Jim and his friends first looked into theclearing.

  "The girl?" he demanded. "She has gone too? With the Chinaman?"

  "With another man. I just caught a glimpse of him; he was standing inthe centre of the hollow that carries the stream."

  Slowly the matter dawned on Jaime in its true light. He came to see thatthis attack was not what he had at first suspected--a sudden raid madeby natives living in the forest, a raid led by some stray Chinaman, whohad taken service with them. It was an organized raid, an attack made bythose men from Colon. In a flash he realized that his carefully laidschemes had come to naught, that his track through the forest had beendiscovered, and that already his enemies were about him. The thoughtsent the blood flying from his swarthy face till the skin looked ashengrey and lifeless. He growled out violent exclamations beneath hisbreath, and for a while paced to and fro restlessly. Then--for custom isso strong that few can resist it--the fingers of his right hand divedinto his pocket, and within a moment he was rolling a cigarette.

  "I see this," he said at last, when the weed was lighted, and he hadpuffed some clouds of smoke into the air; "the men who just now tookthe girl away, and stole our money, were not strong enough to captureour whole party. We were but four, so that we may argue that theirnumbers were no greater. It follows that if we get on their track andpursue we may find ourselves the stronger party, and so may retake ourpossessions. I will tell you something. I feared some sort of trouble,and before we set out on this journey I forwarded a warning to ourfriends the natives. I asked them to come towards the zone, so as tomeet us. They will not be far away; to-morrow we may meet them. Thenthey will pick up the tracks of these rascals and follow. To-morrow willbe soon enough, for none but a native can pass through the forestswiftly in the darkness. Besides, these men who attacked us will betired; and, also, they have the girl with them."

  In the course of a life which had been evilly spent almost from thebeginning Jaime de Oteros had met with much good fortune. On thisoccasion he seemed to be in luck's way as much as ever. For those twoshots fired in the clearing had reached the ears of the party of nativeswaiting his arrival, and to his huge relief they put in an appearancewithin some twenty minutes of Jim's retreat into the jungle.

  "Get the lamps lighted at once," commanded Jaime, beckoning the nativechief to come to him, and addressing him as if he--Jaime himself--wereking of the race. "Now, my friend, let us have the best trackers, andput them on the trail of these people. There must be no delay; take careof that. I'll give fifty guns, with powder and bullets, if we retakethe girl and the booty these rascals stole from us."

  The promise of such a rich reward caused the chiefs eyes to dilate, andat once he set his men to accomplish the task before them. Within thespace of a few minutes the sharp eyes of the natives had discovered thetrack made by Jim and Ching as they escaped with Sadie. Swiftly it waslearned that two others were of the party--one a small man, and a secondof abnormal proportions. Then the chase began in earnest, Jaime and hiscomrades following the party, while three of the natives came behindwith the horses. So rapidly, in fact, did the trackers amongst the tribewho had come to Jaime's help pick up the trail left by our hero, thatbut a couple of miles separated the two parties. Indeed, within half anhour of Jim's entering camp, and being greeted by Phineas and theothers, Tomkins reported that he had seen a lamp swinging in the forest.Sam declared within the minute that he could hear men moving, whilehardly had the words left his lips when a number of men burst into themoonlit opening. There came at once a sharp fusillade, while bulletsspluttered about the heads of Jim and his comrades. Then Tomkinsshouted, and without a second's hesitation threw himself face downwardon the ground, and jerked his rifle into position.

  "Get down close, every mother's son of you," he called out, while thelock of his weapon clicked sharply. The butt came to his shoulder, hischeek fell upon it, and then a stream of flame issued from the muzzle.Nor were his comrades slow to follow his example. Before the enemy werehalfway towards them all the members of the party save Jim and Sadiewere using their rifles.

  "They'll never face a fire like that," called out our hero, standing tohis full height and watching the horde of natives rushing forward. "Keeppeppering them. I will look for some spot where we can get shelter."

  He took his sister with him, and clambered towards the centre of therocky elevation which cropped up in the middle of the clearing; then heshouted again.

  "Mr. Phineas," he called out.

  "Aye, aye," came back the cheerful answer. "We drove 'em off easy. Guessthey've left a few kicking the dust down there."

  Jim had, in fact, seen the swarm of natives, with three white menamongst them, suddenly turn tail and run, and his watchful eye had alsoobserved the figures lying prone not far from the edge of the forest.But he had some intelligence of his own to communicate, and shouted backto Phineas.

  "Bring the whole party right away up here," he said. "There are bouldershereabouts which will shelter us and help to keep off their bullets.Make a run for it; bring all our baggage."

  He left Sadie in a large hollow on the summit of the eminence, andreturned to his comrades. By then bullets were coming thick from thedepths of the jungle, and here and there queer little jets of dustspurted up from the ground, while there was a strange whistling in theair. But our hero had been under fire before, and took not the smallestnotice of the missiles. He reached the camping ground which he and hisfriends had been occupying but a short while before, and at oncesnatched up the two black bundles which contained the store of noteswhich Jaime and his rascals had stolen. Then, waiting to see that theothers were already running up the hill, he followed swiftly, the hugeTom bearing a case of ammunition just before him. Two minutes later allwere under cover.

  "What now?" said Phineas, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I neverdid come across such a fellow as you are, Jim. Always getting intoscrapes, and dragging your friends into them with you. But what now?Here we are under cover, and I ain't so sorry. But there must have beenfifty of those natives down below, as well as the three white men. Jaimeand his crew, I suppose?"

  "Jaime for s
ure, and sorry he'll be that he ventured to follow,"answered Jim curtly. "I tell you straight, that fellow has been no endof a bother to me. And now, to add to all the mischief he's done, hedeliberately fires at Sadie. Luckily the bullet just missed her. Butthere you are! I say he'll live to be sorry. I'll teach him a lessonthis time that he won't forget."

  They were big words, spoken in a moment of intense vexation; but bigwords for all that, as Jim was the first to acknowledge when his temperhad cooled a little. Here was his slender little party surrounded, andthe enemy were by no means to be laughed at; for Jaime and his comradeshad been busy on those occasions when they had been away from the Panamazone. They had done a big trade in rifles, or, rather, in obsoletemuzzle loaders, with which almost every one of the natives accompanyingthem was armed; while the latter began to prove already that, obsoletethough their weapons might be, they could at that range make finepractice with them. Indeed, every second now a ball struck the bouldersbehind which Jim and his friends were crouching, while before manyminutes had passed the shots came from almost the entire circle ofjungle. The party who had come to rescue Sadie was, in fact, practicallysurrounded.

  "Which don't say as they're goin' to take us," growled Tomkins, who wasendowed with splendid pluck. "Now that we've got this shelter, and eachman has selected a spot from which to fire, I guess we'll give a goodaccount of ourselves. But what are the orders?"

  He appealed as if by custom to our hero, and Jim answered promptly.

  "We lie just as we are," he said. "I see that each one has taken up aposition, and the only alteration I can suggest is that the fourpolicemen separate and place themselves between the others. They areused to rows more than we are, and will be able to give advice. For therest, reckon we'll sit tight."

  "Sit tight!" echoed Phineas, somewhat at a loss.

  "Just lie as we are, and never give them a shot back unless a manexposes himself. When'll the moon go down?"

  It was a question of some importance, and our hero breathed more freelywhen he heard that the morning would come and still find the moon in thesky.

  "Then we shall have light right through," he said in tones of relief."Don't forget; not a shot unless you see a man. Just lie still undercover. Ching, guess you could manage to light a fire and get some grubcooking."

  The Chinaman smiled on them all. Cooking, after all, was his forte, notfighting, though he was no laggard where that was concerned, havingalready shown that he possessed courage. He rose from his proneposition, re-arranged his pigtail, and set about the preparation of ameal for the whole party with just the same calmness and method as hewas wont to employ in Phineas's kitchen. Within five minutes he hadcollected sufficient driftwood to make a fire, and had laid it at thebottom of a little hollow. In double that time he had a billy slung overthe flames, so that very soon a most appetizing steam pervaded theplace. Then he wagged his head in a manner all his own and declared thatthe meal was ready.

  "And we for it," said Jim, rising from the position he had taken besideTomkins. "See here, Ching. Dish out an allowance for each man, and bringit to him. It won't do to leave our stations. We'll grub right where welie, and so be ready."

  It was a wise precaution to take, for none could say when the enemywould attempt a second rush. Meanwhile bullets streamed from the jungle,now from this point, and then from that, a splash of flame lighting upthe dense shadows for an instant. But of late the firing had become farless rapid, while the characteristic crack of the Mausers which Jaimeand his rascals employed had ceased altogether.

  "Simply showing that they are otherwise engaged," said Jim, discussingthe affair with Phineas and Tomkins. "They are, no doubt, hunting for alikely spot from which to make a charge; and to my mind there's one spotabove all others which they are likely to select. Look away over here.This rocky eminence runs on into the jungle, so that a band dashing outthere would not have to come uphill. It's level ground all the way.Again, it happens to be a shorter cut from the jungle, and will give usless time to put in our shots. That's my opinion."

  Tomkins surveyed his surroundings in silence for some little while, ashe ate his steaming rations methodically and unconsciously. He showednot the smallest trace of alarm, though he must have known, betterperhaps than any of the others, how desperate were the fortunes of theparty. But the man had such a reputation for brusqueness and straightspeaking that Jim felt sure that if he disagreed with what he had justexpressed as his opinion, Tomkins would promptly say so, and that withthe utmost bluntness.

  "Guess you'd better make a change in the posts we're filling," he saidat last. "Ef there's a rush, it'll come from 'way over there whereyou've been pointin'. That bein' so, better fix it to pour in a firethat'll choke 'em. There won't be too much time, and it'll want to bemagazines, and shooters to follow if they get within distance. Pity wecouldn't place a mine to blow 'em to blazes, or have a gun to shootdirect at the varmint. But guess our rifles'll make hay with 'em; theboys here'll make them niggers sit up lively."

  He relapsed into a moody silence, and went on eating his meal, his eyesroving along the edge of the jungle; but he was ready as soon as Jimcalled him. Our hero placed the four police behind a mass of bouldersfacing the part from which attack was feared, and then stationed Tom andSam and Ching behind them.

  "You'll just lie here with Mr. Phineas," he said, "and if there's a rushyou will be ready to come to the help of the one who's most attacked.You can see that the policemen are three yards good from one another, sothat it may well happen that one will be more pressed than his comrades.For the rest, you'll keep an eye all round, and look after Sadie."

  Very quietly the men moved into their positions, crouching low as theywent, so that the enemy might not see them. Then, each man havingselected a niche through which he could fire, and Jim also havingdiscovered one for himself in their centre, all lay absolutely still,awaiting developments.

  "Look out for trouble, boys," sang out our hero a good half-hour later."Their bullets are beginning to come along again, and I should say thatwe guessed right when we decided their rush would come from over in thisdirection. Do you hear that? A Mauser for sure, and there's another andanother. That shows where the leaders are."

  Tomkins, who lay next him, gave vent to a hoarse chuckle. "That 'ereJaime thinks he's a fine dog, he do," he called back. "See what troublehe took to throw us off the scent from the beginning. Now he'smanoeuvring a rush, and telling us just where we may expect it becausehe must go and blaze with his own rifle. Ah! That was a man; I saw himcome from the jungle direct before us. Gee! The game's beginning."

  The words had hardly left his lips when a couple of dark figures leapedfrom the cover, brandishing weapons over their heads. An instant latertwenty dusky natives had joined them, while in their centre were thefigures of three white men plainly distinguishable under the moonlight.There came a loud shout across the clearing; then, as if shot from thesame gun, every one of the figures bounded towards the spot where Jimand his friends were lying.

  "Magazines," growled Tomkins, dropping his cheek on to the butt of hisweapon. "Let 'em have it."

  "Fire!" shouted Jim.

  Bang! His own rifle was the first to discharge a missile; but the othersfollowed swiftly, and within the minute five men were engaged in sendinga shower of bullets at the enemy. Never before had Jim worked soenergetically. No sooner was the trigger pressed than his hand grippedthe bolt and threw it open. Click! The empty case flew back over hisshoulder, while another rose from the magazine as if by magic to replaceit. Bang! He pushed the lever home, and down went his eye to the sightsso quickly that it never seemed to have left them. As for the enemy,they came forward at an astounding pace, without pause or hesitation. Inspite of the number which fell out of their ranks and went crashing tothe ground, the remainder came on steadily. Then a second partyfollowed, as if to reinforce their comrades. Phineas gave a shoutinstantly.

  "Get along into the firing line, boys," he called to Ching and Sam andTom. "I'll stop back here and make sure that n
one are trying to comefrom behind. Then I'll join you."

  "You can go now, Mr. Phineas," came in a quiet voice from close besidehim, and, looking down, he saw Sadie, her cheeks pale perhaps, but hereyes and her lips steady. "Go," she said. "I will watch behind you, andwill call if there is need."

  Phineas gripped her hand promptly, and ran forward. By then his ownlittle party had joined Jim's, and were aiding them with their rifles.Indeed the rattle of the weapons was deafening, while anyone could seethat the enemy were suffering. But the natives hardly seemed to knowwhat fear was, while Jaime and his fellow robbers showed splendid pluck.Nothing stopped them. They leaped over the bodies of their fallencomrades, and came racing forward, their eyes blazing, their weaponsbrandished over their heads. In an incredibly short space of time theywere within ten yards of the spot where the defenders lay.

  "Time for revolvers," shouted Jim. "Up on your feet--revolvers andclubbed rifles!"

  The scene which followed was almost too rapid for description, for theleaders of the attacking party threw themselves on Jim and his men witha ferocity and a quickness which were appalling. Revolvers snapped onevery hand, while two of the policemen clubbed their rifles and dealtswinging blows. It was left to the huge Tom to relieve the situation.Rifle in hand, he sprang over the intervening boulders and launchedhimself upon the attackers with a howl of rage. His huge mouth wasopened wide, displaying a set of formidable teeth, while his musculararms swept the rifle round in huge circles, laying the enemy low for allthe world as if it were a scythe. Then he pursued his old and favouritetactics. He hurled the weapon at one of the white men, and, leapingforward, gripped Jaime round the waist. The rascal was whirling in theair in a second, and within the space of three had been thrown into thecentre of his supporters.

  "Bravo, Tom, bravo!" shouted Jim, rushing to join him, with Ching andSam close at hand.

  The enemy were more terrified by Tom's presence and appearance than byall the bullets. They turned as Jim came forward and fled for theirlives, dragging Jaime with them. A minute later the defenders werebehind their boulders once more, breathing heavily, while the fusilladeof musket balls had again opened from the fringe of the jungle. Stillthe enemy were not beaten. As the dawn came they showed at the edge ofthe forest, and with shouts of triumph announced that they had receivedreinforcements. Indeed, within a few minutes Jim saw that at least ahundred men were crouching just within the shadow. Then there cameanother shock, which set his heart palpitating.

  "More of the varmint," suddenly announced Tomkins, swinging round andpointing to a spot behind the party, where, up till now, they had seenno enemy. "Gee, if there ain't two hundred against us!"

  He dashed across the hollow, threw himself on his face, and levelled hisrifle. But he never pulled the trigger: Jim stopped him peremptorily. Asingle figure suddenly pushed to the front of this second mob ofnatives, and advanced a few paces bearing a white flag. He waved it andshouted. Then, followed by his men, he came running towards Jim and hisfellows.