by G. A. Henty
After three months of steady travel, the country, which had becomemore and more hilly as they advanced toward the west, assumed adifferent character. The hills became mountains, and it was clearthat they were arriving at a great range running north and south.They had for some time left the broad plains behind them, and gamewas very scarce. The Indians had of late been more and moredisinclined to go far to the west, and the tribe with whom theywere now traveling told them that they could go no farther. Theysignified that beyond the mountains dwelt tribes with whom theywere unacquainted, but who were fierce and warlike. One of theparty, who had once crossed, said that the people there had fireslike those which the white men had taught them to make.
"You see, Tom," Ned said, "they must have been in contact with theSpaniards, or at least with tribes who have learned something fromthe Spaniards. In that case our supernatural power will be at anend, and our color will be against us, as they will regard us asSpaniards, and so as enemies. At any rate, we must push on and takeour chance."
From the Indian they learned that the track lay up a valley beforethem, that after a day's walking they would have to begin theascent. Another day's journey would take them to a neck between twopeaks, and the passage of this would occupy at least a day. Thenative described the cold as great here, even in summer, and thatin winter it was terrible. Once across the neck, the descent on theother side began.
"There can be no snow in the pass now, Tom; it is late in December,and the hottest time of the year; and although we must be a verygreat height above the sea, for we have been rising ever since weleft the coast, we are not so very far south, and I cannot believethe snow can now lie in the pass. Let us take a good stock of driedmeat, a skin for water--we can fill it at the head of thevalley--and make our way forward. I do not think the sea can lievery far on the other side of this range of mountains, but at anyrate, we must wait no longer. Captain Drake may have passedalready, but we may still be in time."
The next morning they bade adieu to their companions, with whomthey had been traveling for a fortnight. These, glad again to turntheir faces homeward, set off at once; and the lads, shoulderingtheir packs, started up the valley. The scenery was grand in theextreme, and Ned and Tom greatly enjoyed it. Sometimes the sidesapproached in perpendicular precipices, leaving barely room for thelittle stream to find its way between their feet; at others it washalf a mile wide. When the rocks were not precipitous the sideswere clothed with a luxuriant foliage, among which the birdsmaintained a concert of call and song. So sheltered were they that,high as it was above the sea, the heat was very oppressive; andwhen they reached the head of the valley, late in the afternoon,they were glad indeed of a bathe in a pool of the stream.
Choosing a spot of ground near the stream, the lads soon made afire, put their pieces of venison down to roast, and prepared for aquiet evening.
"It seems strange to be alone again, Tom, after so many months withthose Indians; who were ever on the watch for every movement andword, as if they were inspired. It is six months, now, since weleft the western coast; and one almost seems to forget that one isEnglish. We have picked up something of half a dozen Indiandialects; we can use their weapons almost as well as they canthemselves; and as to our skins, they are as brown as that of thedarkest of them. The difficulty will be to persuade the people onthe other side that we are whites."
"How far do you think the sea lies on the other side of this rangeof giant mountains?" Tom asked.
"I have no idea," Ned replied, "and I do not suppose that anyoneelse has. The Spaniards keep all matters connected with this coasta mystery; but I believe that the sea cannot be many days' marchbeyond the mountains."
For an hour or two they chatted quietly, their thoughts naturallyturning again to England, and the scenes of their boyhood.
"Will it be necessary to watch, think you?" Tom asked.
"I think it would be safer, Tom. One never knows. I believe that weare now beyond the range of the natives of the Pampas. Theyevidently have a fear of approaching the hills; but that only showsthat the natives from the other side come down over here. I believethat they were, when the Spaniards landed, peaceable people; quietand gentle. So at least they are described. But those who take tothe mountains must be either escaped slaves, or fugitives from thecruelty of the Spaniards; and even the gentlest man, when driven todesperation, becomes savage and cruel. To these men our white skinswould be like a red rag to a bull. They can never have heard of anywhite people, save the Spaniards; and we need expect little mercyif we fall into their hands. I think we had better watch, turnabout. I will take the first watch, for I am not at all sleepy, andmy thoughts seem busy tonight, with home."
Tom was soon fast asleep, and Ned sat quietly watching the embersof the fire, occasionally throwing on fresh sticks, until he deemedthat nearly half the night was gone. Then he aroused his companionand lay down himself, and was soon fast asleep.
The gray light was just beginning to break when he was aroused by asudden yell, accompanied by a cry from Tom. He leaped to his feet,just in time to see a crowd of natives rush upon himself and hiscomrade, discharging as they did so numbers of small arrows,several of which pierced him as he rose to his feet. Before theycould grasp their bows, or any other weapons, the natives were uponthem. Blows were showered down with heavy clubs and, although thelads made a desperate resistance, they were beaten to the ground ina short time. The natives at once twisted strong thongs round theirlimbs; and then, dragging them from the fire, sat down themselvesand proceeded to roast the remains of the boys' deer meat.
"This is a bad business indeed, Tom," Ned said. "These mendoubtless take us for Spaniards. They certainly must belong to theother side of the mountains, for their appearance and language arealtogether different to those of the people we have been stayingwith. These men are much smaller, slighter, and fairer. Runawaysthough no doubt they are, they seem to have more care about theirpersons, and to be more civilized in their appearance and weapons,than the savages of the plains."
"What do you think they will do with us, Ned?"
"I have no doubt in the world, Tom, that their intention is eitherto put us to death with some horrible torture, or to roast us. TheSpaniards have taught them these things, if they did not know thembefore; and in point of atrocities, nothing can possibly exceedthose which the Spaniards have inflicted upon them and theirfathers."
Whatever were the intentions of the Indians, it was soon evidentthat there would be some delay in carrying them out. After they hadfinished their meal, they rose from the fire. Some amusedthemselves by making arrows from the straight reeds that grew bythe stream. Others wandered listlessly about. Some threw themselvesupon the ground and slept; while others, coming up to the boys,poured torrents of invective upon them, among which they coulddistinguish in Spanish the words "dog" and "Spaniard," varyingtheir abuse by violent kicks. As, however, these were given by thenaked feet, they did not seriously inconvenience the boys.
"What can they be waiting for?" Tom said. "Why don't they dosomething if they are going to do it."
"I expect," Ned answered, "that they are waiting for some chief, orfor the arrival of some other band, and that we are to be kept fora grand exhibition."
So it proved. Three days passed, and upon the fourth another band,smaller in numbers, joined them. Upon the evening of that day thelads saw that their fate was about to be brought to a crisis. Thefire was made up with huge bundles of wood; the natives took theirseats around it, with gravity and order; and the boys were ledforward by four natives, armed with spears. Then began what was aregular trial. The boys, although they could not understand a wordof the language, could yet follow the speeches of the excitedorators. One after another arose and told the tale of the treatmentthat he had experienced. One showed the weals which covered hisback. Another held up his arm, from which the hand had been lopped.A third pointed to the places where his ears once had been. Anothershowed the scar of a hot iron on his arms and legs. Some wentthrough a pantomime, which told
its tale of an attack upon somesolitary hut, the slaughter of the old and infirm, and the draggingaway of the men and women into slavery. Others spoke of longperiods of labor, in a bent position, in a mine, under the cruelwhip of the taskmaster. All had their tale of barbarity and crueltyto recite and, as each speaker contributed his quota, the anger andexcitement of the rest rose.
"Poor devils!" Ned said; "no wonder that they are savage againstus. See what they have suffered at the hands of the white men. Ifwe had gone through as much, you may be sure that we should sparenone. Our only chance is to make them understand that we are notSpanish; and that, I fear, is beyond all hope."
This speedily proved to be the case. Two or three of the nativeswho spoke a few words of Spanish came to them, calling them Spanishdogs.
Ned shook his head and said, "Not Spanish."
For all reply the natives pointed to the uncovered portions oftheir body, pulled back the skins which covered their arms and,pointing to the white flesh, laughed incredulously.
"White men are Spaniards, and Spaniards are white men," Tomgroaned, "and that we shall have to die, for the cruelty which theSpaniards have perpetrated, is clear enough.
"Well, Ned, we have had more good fortune than we could haveexpected. We might have been killed on the day when we landed, andwe have spent six jolly months in wandering together, as hunters,on the plain. If we must die, let us behave like Englishmen andChristians. It may be that our lives have not been as good as theyshould have been; but so far as we know, we have both done ourduty; and it may be that, as we die for the faults of others, itmay come to be considered as a balance against our own faults."
"We must hope so, Tom. I think we have both done, I won't say ourbest, but as well as could be expected in so rough a life. We havefollowed the exhortations of the good chaplain, and have neverjoined in the riotous ways of the sailors in general. We must trustthat the good God will forgive us our sins, and strengthen us to gothrough this last trial."
While they had been speaking the natives had made an end of theirdeliberation. Tom was now conducted, by two natives with spears, toa tree; and was securely fastened. Ned, under the guard of theother two, was left by the fire. The tree was situated at adistance of some twenty yards from it, and the natives mostly tooktheir place near the fire. Some scattered among the bushes, andpresently reappeared bearing bundles of dry wood. These were laidin order round the tree, at such a distance that the flames wouldnot touch the prisoner, but the heat would gradually roast him todeath.
As Ned observed the preparations for the execution of his friend,the sweat stood in great drops on his forehead; and he would havegiven anything to be able to rush to his assistance, and to diewith him. Had his hands been free he would, without hesitation,have snatched up a bow and sent an arrow into Tom's heart, torelease him from the lingering death which awaited him; and hewould then have stabbed himself with a spear. But while his handswere sufficiently free to move a little, the fastenings were tootight to admit of his carrying out any plan of that sort.
Suddenly an idea struck him, and he began nervously to tug at hisfastenings. The natives, when they seized them, had bound themwithout examining their clothes. It was improbable that men in savageattire could have about them any articles worth appropriating. Theknives, indeed, which hung from their belts had been cut off; butthese were the only articles which had been touched.
Just as a man approached the fire and, seizing a brand, stoopedforward to light the pyre, Ned succeeded in freeing his handssufficiently to seize the object which he sought. This was hispowder flask, which was wrapped in the folds of the cloth round hiswaist. With little difficulty he succeeded in freeing it and,moving a step closer to the fire, he cast it into the midst of it,at the very moment the man with the lighted brand was approachingTom. Then he stepped back as far as he could from the fire. Thenatives on guard over him, not understanding the movement, andthinking he meditated flight, closed around him.
An instant later there was a tremendous explosion. The red hotembers were flaming in all directions, and both Ned and the savageswho stood by him were, with many others, struck to the ground. Assoon as he was able, Ned struggled up again.
Not a native was in sight. A terrific yell had broken from them atthe explosion, which sounded to them like one of the cannons oftheir Spanish oppressors; and, smarting with the woundssimultaneously made by the hot brands, each, without a moment'sthought, had taken to his heels. Tom gave a shout of exultation, asNed rose. The latter at once stooped and, with difficulty, pickedup one of the still blazing brands, and hurried towards the tree.
"If these fellows will remain away for a couple of minutes, Tom,you shall be free," he said, "and I don't think they will get overtheir scare as quickly as that."
So saying, he applied the end of the burning brand to the drywithes with which Tom was bound to the tree. These at once tookfire and flared up, and the bands fell to the ground.
"Now, Tom, do me the same service."
This was quickly rendered, and the lads stood free.
"Now, let us get our weapons."
A short search revealed to them their bows, laid carefully aside,while the ground was scattered with the arms which the natives, intheir panic, had dropped.
"Pick them all up, Tom, and toss them on the fire. We will take thesting out of the snake, in case it tries to attack us again."
In a minute or two a score of bows, spears, and others weapons werethrown on the fire; and the boys then, leaving the place which hadso nearly proved fatal to them, took their way up the mountainside. It was a long pull, the more so that they had the food,water, and large skins for protection from the night air to carry.Steadily as they kept on, with only an occasional halt for breath,it was late before they emerged from the forest and stood upon aplateau between two lofty hills. This was bare and treeless, andthe keen wind made them shiver, as they met it.
"We will creep among the trees, Tom; and be off at daybreak,tomorrow. However long the journey, we must get across the passbefore we sleep, for the cold there would be terrible."
A little way down the crest it was so warm that they needed nofire, while a hundred feet higher, exposed to the wind from thesnow-covered peaks, the cold was intense. They kept careful watch,but the night passed quietly. The next morning they were on foot,as soon as the voices of the birds proclaimed the approach of day.As they emerged from the shelter of the trees they threw their deerskins round them, to act as cloaks, and stepped out at their bestpace. The dawn of day was yet faint in the east; the stars burningbright as lamps overhead, in the clear thin air; and the cold wasso great that it almost stopped their breathing.
Half an hour later the scene had changed altogether. The sun hadrisen, and the air felt warm. The many peaks on either sideglistened in the flood of bright light. The walking was easy,indeed, after the climb of the previous day; and their burdens weremuch lightened by their consumption of food and water. The pass wasof irregular width, sometimes but a hundred yards, sometimes fullya mile across. Long habit and practice with the Indians hadimmensely improved their walking powers and, with long elasticstrides, they put mile after mile behind them. Long before the sunwas at its highest a little stream ran beside them, and they saw,by the course of its waters, that they had passed the highest partof the pass through the Cordilleras.
Three hours later they suddenly emerged, from a part where thehills approached nearer on either side than they had done duringthe day's walk, and a mighty landscape opened before and belowthem. The boys gave, simultaneously, a loud shout of joy; and thendropped on their knees, in thanks to God, for far away in thedistance was a dark level blue line, and they knew the ocean wasbefore them.
"How far off should you say it was, Ned?" Tom asked, when they hadrecovered a little from their first outburst of joy.
"A long way off," Ned said. "I suppose we must be fifteen thousandfeet above it, and even in this transparent air it looks an immensedistance away. I should say it must be a hundred miles."
/> "That's nothing!" Tom said. "We could do it in two days, in threeeasily."
"Yes, supposing we had no interruption and a straight road," Nedsaid. "But we must not count our chickens yet. This vast forestwhich we see contains tribes of natives, bitterly hostile to thewhite man, maddened by the cruelties of the Spaniards, who enslavethem and treat them worse than dogs. Even when we reach the sea, wemay be a hundred or two hundred miles from a large Spanish town;and however great the distance, we must accomplish it, as it isonly at large towns that Captain Drake is likely to touch."
"Well, let us be moving," Tom said. "I am strong for some hours'walking yet, and every day will take us nearer to the sea."
"We need not carry our deer skins any farther," Ned said, throwinghis down. "We shall be sweltering under the heat tomorrow, belowthere."
Even before they halted for the night, the vegetation had assumed atropical character, for they had already descended some fivethousand feet.
"I wish we could contrive to make a fire tonight," Ned said.
"Why?" Tom asked. "I am bathed in perspiration, now."
"We shall not want it for heat, but the chances are that there arewild beasts of all sorts in this forest."
Ned's premises turned out correct, for scarcely had night fallenwhen they heard deep roarings, and lost no time in ascending atree, and making themselves fast there, before they went to sleep.
In the morning they proceeded upon their journey. After walking acouple of hours, Ned laid his arm upon Tom's shoulder.
"Hush!" he whispered. "Look there."
Through the trees, at a short distance off, could be seen a stag.He was standing, gazing intently at a tree, and did not appear tohave heard their approach.
"What can he be up to?" Tom whispered. "He must have heard us."
"He seems paralyzed," Ned said. "Don't you see how he is trembling?There must be some wild beast in the tree."
Both gazed attentively at the tree, but could see nothing toaccount for the attitude of the deer.
"Wild beast or no," Ned said, "he will do for our dinner."
So saying, he unslung his bow, and fitted an arrow. There was asharp twang, and the deer rolled over, struck to the heart. Therewas no movement in the tree, but Ned placed another arrow in place.Tom had done the same.
They stood silent for a few minutes, but all was still.
"Keep your eyes on the tree and advance slowly," Ned said. "Haveyour sword ready in case of need. I cannot help thinking there issomething there, though what it is I can't make out."
Slowly, and with the greatest caution, they approached the tree.All was perfectly still.
"No beast big enough to hurt us can be up there," Ned said at last."None of the branches are thick enough to hide him.
"Now for the stag."
Ned bent over the carcass of the deer, which lay a few feet onlyfrom the tree. Then suddenly there was a rapid movement among thecreepers which embraced the trunk, something swept between Ned andTom, knocking the latter to the ground, while a cry of alarm andastonishment rose from Ned.
Confused and surprised, Tom sprang to his feet, instinctivelydrawing his sword as he did so. For a moment he stood, paralyzedwith horror. A gigantic snake had wound its coils round Ned's body.Its head towered above his, while its eyes flashed menacingly, andits tongue vibrated with a hissing sound as it gazed at Tom. Itstail was wound round the trunk of the tree. Ned was powerless, forhis arms were pinioned to his side by the coils of the reptile.
It was but a moment that Tom stood appalled. He knew that, at anyinstant, by the tightening of its folds the great boa could crushevery bone of Ned's body; while the very closeness of its embracerendered it impossible for him to strike at it, for fear ofinjuring its captor. There was not an instant to be lost. Alreadythe coils were tightening, and a hoarse cry broke from Ned.
With a rapid spring Tom leaped beyond his friend, and with a blow,delivered with all his strength, severed the portion of the tailcoiled round the tree from the rest of the body.
Unknowingly, he had taken the only course to save Ned's life. Hadhe, as his first impulse had been, struck at the head as it raiseditself above that of Ned, the convulsion of the rest of the bodywould probably have crushed the life out of him; but by cutting offthe tail, he separated the body from the tree which formed thefulcrum upon which it acted. As swiftly as they had enclosed himthe coils fell from Ned, a writhing mass upon the ground; and asecond blow from Tom's sword severed the head from the body. Evennow, the folds writhed and twisted like an injured worm; but Tomstruck, and struck, until the fragments lay, with only a slightquivering motion in them, on the ground.
Then Tom, throwing down his cutlass, raised Ned; who, upon beingreleased from the embrace of the boa, had fallen senseless. Alarmedas Tom was at his comrade's insensibility, he yet felt that it wasthe shock, and the revulsion of feeling which caused it, and notany serious injury which he had received. No bones had been heardto crack and, although the compression had been severe, Tom did notthink that any serious injury had been inflicted.
He dashed some water from the skins over Ned's face, rubbed hishands, spoke to him in a loud voice, and ere long had thesatisfaction of seeing him open his eyes.
"Thank God!" Tom exclaimed fervently. "There, don't move, Ned. Takeit quietly. It's all right now. There, drink a little water."
He poured a few drops down Ned's throat, and the latter, whose eyeshad before had a dazed and wondering expression, suddenly sat upand strove to draw his sword.
"Gently, Ned, gently. The snake is dead, chopped up into pieces. Itwas a near shave, Ned."
Chapter 14: On the Pacific Coast.