The Hot Swamp

by R. M. Ballantyne

"that there is search beingmade at the same time for some boy or lad, who seems to havedisappeared, or run away, or been caught by robbers."

  Again there was a laugh at the idea that there were other robbers aboutbesides themselves, but the chief checked them.

  "Did you find out anything else about this lad?" he asked.

  "Only that he seemed from his dress to be a hunter."

  Addedomar frowned and looked at the ground for some moments inmeditation.

  "I'm convinced," he said at last, "that this lad is none other than thegirl who escaped in the hunting dress of my young brother, just the daybefore I returned to camp. Mother was not as careful as she might havebeen at that time, and lost me a pretty wife. Good! Things are turningout well to-day. We will rout Gadarn, find his daughter and thisso-called lad, and then I shall have two wives instead of one."

  The robber chief had just come to this satisfactory conclusion, whenanother scout arrived.

  "How now, varlet? Do you bring good news?"

  "That depends on what you consider good," answered the scout, panting."I have just learned that a large body of King Hudibras' men--about twohundred, I believe--is on its way to the Swamp to search for his sonBladud--"

  "What! the giant whom we have heard tell of--who gave Gunrig such adrubbing?"

  "The same. It seems that he has been smitten with leprosy, has beenbanished from court, and has taken up his abode somewhere near theSwamp."

  "But if he has been banished, why do they send out to search for him, Iwonder?" said the robber chief.

  "It is said," returned the scout, "that a friend of Bladud from the farEast wants to find him."

  "Good! This is rare good luck. We, too, will search for Bladud andslay him. It is not every day that a man has the chance to kill a giantwith leprosy, and a king's son into the bargain."

  "I also learned," continued the scout, "that some lady of the court hasfled, and the army is to search of her too."

  "What! more women? Why, it seems as if these woods here must beswarming with them. I should not wonder, too, if it was Hudibras' owndaughter that has run away. Not unlikely, for the king is well known tobe a tyrannical old fellow. H'm! we will search for her also. If wefind them all, I shall have more than enough of wives--the king'sdaughter, and Gadarn's daughter, and this run-away-lad, whoever she maybe! Learned you anything more?"

  "Nothing more, except that Gadarn intends to make an early startto-morrow morning."

  "It is well. We, also, will make an early--an even earlier--startto-morrow morning. To your food, now, my men, and then--to rest!"

  While the robber chief was thus conversing with his scouts, two men wereadvancing through the forest, one of whom was destined to interfere withthe plans which were so well conceived by Addedomar. These were ourfriends Arkal and Maikar.

  Filled with a sort of wild romance, which neither the waves of the seanor the dangers of the land could abate, these two shipmates marchedthrough the woods all unconscious, of course, of the important part theywere destined to play in that era of the world's history. The twosailors were alone, having obtained leave to range right and left inadvance of the column to which they were attached, for the purpose ofhunting.

  "We are not much to boast of in the way of shooting," remarked Arkal;"but the troops don't know that, and good luck may prevent them findingit out."

  "Just so," returned Maikar, "good luck may also bring us withinarrow-shot of a wolf. I have set my heart on taking home a wolf-skin tothat little woman with the black eyes that I've spoken to you aboutsometimes."

  "Quite right, young man," said the captain, in an approving tone."Nothing pleases folk so much as to find that they have been rememberedby you when far away. Moreover, I think you stand a good chance, for Isaw two wolves the other day when I was rambling about, but they wereout of range."

  Chance or luck--whichever it was--did not bring a wolf within range thatday, but it brought what was more important and dangerous--namely, alarge brown bear. The animal was seated under a willow tree, with itshead on one side as if in meditation, when the men came upon it. Anintervening cliff had prevented the bear from hearing the footsteps ofthe men, and both parties, being taken by surprise, stared at each otherfor a moment in silence.

  No word was spoken, but next instant the bear ran at them, and stood upon its hind legs, according to bear-nature, to attack. At the samemoment both men discharged arrows at it with all their force. One arrowstuck in the animal's throat, the other in his chest. But bears areproverbially hard to kill, and no vital part had been reached. Droppingtheir bows, the men turned and made for the nearest trees. Theyseparated in doing so, and the bear lost a moment or two in making upits mind which to follow. Fortunately it decided in favour of Maikar.Had it followed Arkal, it would have caught him, for the captain, notbeing as agile as might be wished, missed his first spring up his tree,and slid back to the bottom.

  Maikar, on the other hand, went up like a squirrel. Now, the littleseaman had been told that some kinds of bears can climb while otherscannot. Remembering the fact, he glanced anxiously down, as he went up.To his horror he saw that this bear could climb! and that his onlychance would be to climb so high, that the branches which would bear hisweight would not support the bear. It was a forlorn hope, but heresolved to try it.

  Arkal, in the meantime, had recovered breath and self-possession.Seeing the danger of his comrade, he boldly dropped to the ground,picked up his bow, ran under the other tree, and sent an arrow deep intothe bear's flank. With a savage growl, the animal looked round, saw thecaptain getting ready a second arrow, and immediately began to descend.This rather disconcerted Arkal, who discharged his arrow hastily andmissed.

  Dropping his bow a second time he ran for dear life to his own tree andscrambled up. But he need not have been in such haste, for althoughsome bears can ascend trees easily, they are clumsy and slow indescending. Consequently the captain was high up before his enemy beganto climb. That was of little advantage, however, for in a few momentsthe bear would have been up with him, had not Maikar, moved by theconsideration no doubt, that one good turn deserves another, droppedquickly to the ground, picked up his bow and repeated the captain'soperation, with even more telling effect, for his arrow made the bear sofurious, that he turned round to bite it. In doing so he lost his hold,and fell to the ground with such a thud, that he drove the arrow furtherinto him, and a vicious squeal out of him.

  At this point little Maikar resolved to vary the plan of action. Hestood his ground manfully, and, when the bear arose with a somewhatconfused expression, he planted another arrow up to the feathers in itschest. Still the creature was unsubdued. It made a rush, but thesailor sprang lightly behind a tree, getting ready an arrow as he didso. When the animal rushed at him again, it received the shaft deep inthe left shoulder, so that, with blood pouring from its many wounds, itstumbled and fell at its next rush.

  Seeing how things were going, you may be sure that Arkal did not remainan idle spectator. He dropped again from the outer end of the bough hehad reached, and when the bear rose once more to its feet, it found afoe on either side of it.

  "Don't shoot together," panted Maikar, for all this violent action wasbeginning to tell on him. "Do you shoot first."

  This was said while the bear was in a state of indecision.

  The captain obeyed and put another arrow in its neck. The bear turnedsavagely on him, thus exposing its side to Maikar, who took swiftadvantage of the chance, and, sending an arrow straight to its heart,turned it over dead!

  It must be remarked here, that all this shooting was done at such closerange that, although the two seamen were, as we have said, rather poorshots, they had little difficulty in hitting so large an object.

  "Now, then, out with your knife and off with the claws for the littlewoman at home with the black eyes," said Arkal, wiping the perspirationfrom his brow, "and be quick about it, so as to have it done before thetroops come up."

  The
little man was not long in accomplishing the job, and he had justput the claws in his pouch, and was standing up to wipe his knife, whenthe captain suddenly grasped his arm and drew him behind the trunk of atree, from which point of vantage he cautiously gazed with an anxiousexpression and a dark frown.

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.

  ENEMIES, FRIENDS, SCOUTS, SKIRMISHES, AND COUNCILS OF WAR.

  Arkal's attention had been arrested by the figure of a man who suddenlyappeared from behind a cliff not four hundred yards distant from thescene of their recent exploit. The stealthy manner in which the manmoved among the bushes, and the earnest gaze which he directed from timeto time in one particular direction, showed clearly that he was watchingthe movements of something--it might be a deer or an enemy.

  "Evidently he has not seen us," whispered Maikar.

  "Clear enough that, for he is not looking this way," returned Arkal."He presents his back to us in a careless way, which he would hardly doif he knew that two crack bowmen were a hundred yards astern of him."

  "Shall I shoot him?" whispered Maikar, preparing his weapons.

  "He may be a friend," returned the captain. "But, see! yonder comeswhat interests him so much. Look!"

  He pointed to a distant ridge, over the brow of which the head ofGunrig's column of men was just appearing.

  "He is a scout!" exclaimed Maikar.

  "Ay, and you may be sure that an enemy is not far off ahead of ourcolumn--unless, perchance, he may be the scout of some tribe friendly tothe king. Hold your hand, Maikar. You are ever too ready to fight.Listen, now; yonder is a convenient hollow where I may get into thethick wood unseen by this scout, and run back to warn our friends.Ahead, yonder, is a narrow pass which leads, no doubt, into the nextvalley. Run you, as fast as your legs can wag, get through that pass,and see what you can see. In the nature of things the scout is almostsure to return through it, if he intends to carry the news of ourapproach to his people, who are probably there. You must hide and dothe best you can to prevent him from doing this--either by killing himor knocking him down. Be off, we have no time to lose."

  "But how if he should be a friend?" asked Maikar with a smile. "How amI to find out?"

  Arkal paused and was perplexed.

  "You must just exercise your wisdom," he replied. "If the fellow has anill-looking countenance, kill him. If he looks a sensible sort of man,stretch him out somehow. I would offer to go instead of you, being moreof a match for him, but I could not match his legs or yours, so it mightwell chance that he would reach the pass before me."

  "Pooh, captain," retorted Maikar, with a look of scorn. "Ye think toomuch of yourself, and are unwarrantably puffed up about the advantage ofsize."

  Without a reply--save a grin--Arkal turned, and, jumping into thebushes, was immediately out of sight. His comrade, before starting offto carry out his part of the programme, took a good look at the scoutwhom he was bound to circumvent.

  He was evidently a tall, powerful man, armed with a bow, a short sword,and a stout staff somewhat longer than himself. That he was also abrave and cool man seemed probable, from the fact that, instead ofhurrying off hastily to warn his friends that troops were in sight, hestood calmly leaning on his staff as if for the purpose of ascertainingthe exact number of the strangers before reporting them.

  He was still engaged in this inspection when Maikar started off and fledon the wings of hope and excitement toward the pass. Arrived there, hisfirst glance revealed to him the troops of Addedomar busy with theirevening meal in the valley below.

  "The question is, are they friends or foes?" thought the little seaman."H'm! it's an awkward thing for a poor fellow not to be quite surewhether to prepare for calms or squalls. Such a misfortune never couldbefall one at sea. Well, I must just take them to be foes till theyprove themselves to be friends. And this scout, what in the world am Ito do about _him_? I have no heart to hide in the bushes and shoot himdead as he passes."

  The little man had probably forgotten his readiness to shoot the scoutin the back only a few minutes before--but is not mankind at large proneto inconsistency at times?

  "I know what I'll do," he muttered, pursuing his thoughts, and noddinghis head, as he stepped aside into the shrubbery that clothed the slopesof the pass.

  Cutting down a suitable branch from a tree, he quickly stripped off thesmaller branches and reduced it to a staff about six feet in length.Then, hiding himself behind a part of the cliff which abutted close onthe footpath that had been worn through the pass by men and wildanimals, he laid his bow and quiver at his feet and awaited the comingof the scout.

  He had not to wait long, for that worthy, having ascertained the size ofthe invading band, came down the pass at a swinging trot. Just as hepassed the jutting rock his practised eye caught sight of Maikar in timeto avoid the blow of the pole or staff, which was aimed at his head, butnot to escape the dig in the ribs with which the little man followed itup.

  Instantly the scout's right hand flew to his quiver, but before he couldfix an arrow another blow from the staff broke the bow in his left hand.

  Blazing with astonishment and wrath at such rough treatment from sosmall a man, he stepped back, drew his sword and glared at his opponent.

  Maikar also stepped back a pace or two and held up his hand as if for atruce.

  "I too have a sword," he said, pointing to the weapon, "and can use it,but I have no desire to slay you till I know whether you are friend orfoe."

  "Slay me! thou insignificant rat!" cried the scout in savage fury."Even if we were friends I would have to pay thee for that dig in theribs and the broken bow. But I scorn to take advantage of such asquirrel. Have at thee with my staff!"

  Running at him as he spoke, the scout delivered a blow that would haveacted like the hammer of Thor had it taken effect, but the seaman deftlydipped his head and the blow fell on a neighbouring birch, and a foot orso of the staff snapped off. What remained, however, was still aformidable weapon, but before the scout could use it he received anotherdig in the ribs which called forth a yell of indignation rather than ofpain.

  The appropriateness of the name squirrel now became apparent, for Maikareven excelled that agile creature in the rapidity with which he waltzedround the sturdy scout and delivered his stinging little blows. To dothe scout justice, he played his part like a brave and active warrior,so that it seemed to rain blows and digs in all directions, and, once ortwice, as by a miracle, Maikar escaped what threatened to be little, ifat all, short of extermination. As in running, so in fighting, it isthe pace that kills. After five minutes or so both combatants werewinded. They separated, as if by mutual consent, and, leaning on theirstaves, panted vehemently.

  Then at it they went again.

  "Thou little scrap of a pig's snout, come on," shouted the scout in hugedisdain.

  "Thou big skinful of pride! look out!" cried Maikar, rendering theadoption of his own advice impossible by thrusting the butt of his staffagainst the scout's nose, and thereby filling his eyes with water. Atthe next moment he rendered him still more helpless by bestowing a whackon his crown which laid him flat on the footpath.

  A cheer behind him at that moment caused the little man to look round,when he found that the head of Gunrig's column, led by Arkal, had comeup just in time to witness the final blow.

  They were still crowding round the fallen man, and asking hurriedquestions about him, when a voice from the heights above hailed them.Instantly a score or two of arrows were pointed in that direction.

  "Hold your hands, men!" shouted Gunrig. "I know that voice--ay, and theface too. Is it not the white beard of our friend the Hebrew that Isee?"

  A few minutes more proved that he was right, for the well-known figureof Beniah descended the sides of the pass.

  The news he brought proved to be both surprising and perplexing, for upto that moment Gunrig had been utterly ignorant of the recent arrival ofGadarn from the far north in search of his lost daughter, though ofcourse he was well aw
are of the various unsuccessful efforts that hadbeen made by King Hudibras in that direction. Moreover, he chanced tobe not on the best of terms with Gadarn just at that time. Then thefact that Bladud had recovered his health and was actively engaged inthe search--not, indeed, so much for Branwen as for a youth namedCormac--was also surprising as well as disagreeable news to Gunrig.

  "And who is this Cormac in whom the prince seems to be so interested?"he asked.

  Here poor Beniah, held fast by his solemn promise, was compelled to givean evasive answer.

  "All that I can tell about him," he replied, "is that he is a kind youngfellow to whose attention and nursing the prince thinks himself indebtedfor his life. But had we not better question this young man?" he added,turning to the scout. "I have heard rumours about robbers lurkingsomewhere hereabouts--hence my coming out alone to scout the countryround, little dreaming that I should find the men of King Hudibras sonear."

  "If robbers are said to be hereabouts," broke in Maikar at this point,"I can tell you where to find them, I think, for I saw a band of men inthe hollow just beyond this pass."

  "Say you so?" exclaimed Gunrig; "fetch the prisoner here."

  The scout, who had recovered his senses by that time, was led forward,but doggedly refused to give any information.

  "Kindle a fire, men; we will roast him alive, and perhaps that willteach him to speak."

  It was by no means unusual for men in those days to use torture for thepurpose of extracting information from obstinate prisoners. At firstthe man maintained