CHAPTER V.
THE PURSUIT OF THE BRIGANDS--THE BATTLE--VARYING FORTUNES--HOWHUNSTON AND TORO WERE LAID BY THE HEELS.
Consternation was upon every face.
The catastrophe was so sudden and unlocked for, that the people aboutwere half stupefied with fear.
On one side lay poor Magog Brand, lately so full of life and animation.
On the other was his assassin, felled by the dead man's best friend,the doughty Jefferson, and with scarcely more life in him than hisvictim.
And while the people were staring hopelessly at each other thus, avoice was heard giving the alarm hard by.
"Poor Brand, your murderer shall not escape," said Jefferson bitterly.
The noise continued, and presently the voice was recognised.
"It is Mole," cried Harkaway.
He was right.
Just then the poor old gentleman appeared upon the scene.
"Harkaway, Jefferson, Harvey!" he cried.
"What's the matter?"
"Murder!" returned Mole. "Hunston is here."
"By Heaven! I thought it," ejaculated Jefferson.
"He has carried off Emily and Paquita."
"What?"
"I interfered, but they were too many for me. See how they have usedme."
"Was he with the brigands?" demanded Harkaway.
"I suppose so. A whole mob of ruffians."
"Where are they gone?"
"By the small gate."
A hurried explanation ensued with the agent of the secret police, whogave them a few words of comfort.
"He'll never be able to pass my men at the gate," said the officer,with great confidence.
This was doubtful.
They knew too well Hunston's boldness and audacity.
But they lost no time in getting up a pursuit.
The contessa's stables were well furnished, and two horses werespeedily saddled for Harkaway and Jefferson.
Harvey, too impatient to wait for a mount, had rushed wildly away inthe direction of the small gate, followed by Mr. Mole.
Here he saw to his dismay that a scramble had taken place, in which thegendarmes had got decidedly the worst of it.
The two who had been on guard at the gate had got very roughly handled,one having a broken crown and the other showing an ugly wound in theside.
"They have gone this way, then?" exclaimed Harvey, eagerly.
"Yes."
"Which way?"
"They made for the right," faltered one of the wounded men.
"Is it long?"
"No; a few moments."
"They can not get far," said the gendarme with the broken pate; "thetwo girls were struggling hard with him."
"Hurrah!" cried Harvey. "I'll save my child yet."
"You are not the first in the hunt," said the other gendarme, speakingwith evident pain; "there are two black men after them."
"That must be Sunday and Monday," exclaimed Harvey.
And off he ran.
He bounded over the ground like a deer, and when he got about half amile further on, he came suddenly upon two men struggling.
One of them was a negro.
Who, in fact, but our old friend the Prince of Limbi, the faithfulMonday?
The other was one of the Greeks, a face unknown to Harvey, but one whohas already figured in these pages.
Matteo!
And lying on the ground near him was a brigand struck down dead bybrave Monday.
As Harvey came up, it was nearing the end of what had been a precioustough fight. Monday was uppermost, and Matteo, who had graduallysuccumbed to the wiry negro, was by this time in a very queer wayindeed.
Monday held him by the throat, and in spite of his desperate efforts toset himself free, Matteo had lost his breath.
And there he lay completely at the negro's mercy.
"There, you dam tief!" exclaimed the Prince of Limbi, "take dat, an'dat, an' dat, an' now, be golly, have dis for a little bit in."
At every word he pressed harder and harder and jerked his adversaryback.
The "little bit in" settled Matteo completely.
Something seemed to crack in the wretched Greek's throat, and hedropped back.
"Monday, Monday!" said Harvey, eagerly, "where are they?"
"Hullo, Massa Dick!" said faithful Monday; "I'se gwine to give thisfellar toko an' den I'll jine yar."
"He's done for," said Dick, hastily. "Come now."
"He might come too," said Monday, in some doubt.
"No fear."
"Perhaps."
"Why, he'll never trouble anyone more," returned Harvey; "tell me,where have they gone?"
"They went straight on."
"This road?"
"Yes."
"Good. Come or stay. I'll go," exclaimed Harvey.
And off he ran.
Monday gave his silent enemy a shake to see if it was all over.
"He's a gone coon," he said to himself. "I'll bolt off after MassaDick."
Away he ran at a good swinging trot.
In about ten minutes more he came up with him.
And this was under the most alarming circumstances.
Not very long after this a horseman dashed up to the spot, and onlydrew rein to give a glance at the lifeless form of the wretched Matteo.
"He's dead," said the horseman, who was none other than Jack Harkaway."This looks like some of Dick's handiwork. Dick or some of our party. Ihope Dick is safe." Saying which, he whipped up his horse, and tore onat a mad gallop.
A very few moments after this he came up with the brigands with theircaptives.
Just in the nick of time.
Hunston and Toro were there both with their hands full, while theGreeks had all their work to do to take care of the two captive girls.
Little Emily and Paquita, having now recovered from their surprise,were lending assistance to the cause by keeping all the Greeks fullyoccupied in looking after them.
And while they were thus occupied, Sunday and Dick Harvey were engagedwith Toro and Hunston.
Dick had rushed so violently upon Hunston that the latter was toppledover, and it looked as though Harvey was about to make short work withtheir old enemy.
But alas for Sunday!
The poor negro was overmatched.
His heart was good, but the weight and enormous strength of the Italianwere too much for him to vanquish.
That he had not as yet succumbed to Toro, was due only to his vastlysuperior agility and activity.
It was all in vain for the Italian ruffian to try and close with him.
Sunday would not have this.
He knew that his chance lay in keeping Toro at a respectful distance.
And so he danced round him, dropping in an occasional smart rap whichgoaded the Italian to fury.
"Help!" cried Hunston. "Cut him down! cut him down!"
One of the brigands rushed at Harvey knife in hand, and thus created amomentary diversion in his favour.
Had not Harkaway just then appeared upon the scene it might have gonehard with his comrade Dick.
Prompt, however, to act at this critical juncture, Harkaway spurred hishorse into the group and rode them down.
Then reining up, he flung himself from his horse, and went into themelee.
"I'm in it, Dick, old boy," cried Jack; "here's one for Harkaway."
"Hurrah!" shouted Dick, in great excitement. "A Harkaway! a Harkaway tothe rescue!"
Toro turned to Harkaway with a cry of rage.
"Curse you!" he exclaimed; "I'll have your life now, or you shall havemine."
"By all means," said old Jack, cheerfully.
"Cur!"
"Come, now," said Harkaway, with subdued rage, "I can't stand that;take this!"
And before Toro knew where he was, he got it.
It was not as pleasant as he could have wished when he did get it.
A devil of a thud it came upon his nose, a fair blow with Harkaway'sfist, and being delivered strai
ght from the shoulder, it seemed to theItalian like the kick of a donkey.
Toro shook all over.
His eyes flashed fireworks, and he was half stunned for the moment.
Harkaway's triumph was but temporary.
One of the Greeks, who was watching the conflict between these giantsof the combat in great interest, had by now crept up behind Jack, andseizing him suddenly round the middle, hurled him to the ground.
"Ha, ha!" yelled Toro.
And bounding forward, he fell upon Harkaway, knife in hand.
"At last, at last, your life is in my hands," he cried in fiend-likejoy.
The knife gleamed in the air.
A piercing shriek from little Emily was heard.
A cry of fear from Paquita, and suddenly the latter, disengagingherself from her captors, bounded forward and seized Toro by the hair.
She dragged him back with all her strength, and little as it was, itsaved the life of Jack Harkaway.
Jack put forth all his strength at this most critical juncture, andsucceeded in grappling once more with his herculean opponent.
Toro lost his balance.
A moment more and he was rolling upon the ground in deadly battle withbrave Jack Harkaway.
So fierce a strife could not last long.
In the heat of the combat cries were heard encouraging Harkaway andHarvey to fresh exertions, and up dashed the bold Monday, closelyfollowed by Jefferson and several gentlemen from the contessa's fete.
The Greeks now began to lose heart.
The odds were veering round to the wrong side.
Greeks can fight moderately well when they are three or four to oneEnglishman, but when the numbers are equal, they do not care to provokehostilities.
And so they blew upon their whistles for assistance, and soon theanswering calls came in every direction, causing the gravest fears tothe Harkaway faction.
"Hah!" ejaculated Jefferson; "they are coming to help you. But at leastI'll make sure of you, Master Toro."
The Italian did not shirk the encounter.
Toro, to do him justice, was, with all his faults, no coward.
He had felt the weight of Jefferson's arm, and he had reason toremember it.
Yet he met his old adversary boldly.
Jefferson fell upon the huge Italian with tiger-like fury, and in spiteof his prodigious size and weight, he lifted him in his arms, swung himround, and hurled him to the ground.
The Greeks now, seeing their leaders in such dire peril, thought ofavenging themselves by the most dastardly o| expedients.
"Kill the girls!" cried one of them.
The hint was caught up with avidity.
A savage yell responded to the bloodthirsty suggestion, and the livesof the two innocent girls were in real peril.
"Look to the girls!" shouted Dick Harvey, who was fully occupied withtwo of the Greek brigands who were pressing him closely.
There was a cheer in response to this appeal, and over went two of theGreeks.
Jefferson too lent a hand at this juncture.
Finding himself free from Toro's attentions, for the huge Italian hadreceived such a desperate shaking with his fall that he was not fit formuch now, he rushed into the _melee_, and dealt out such sloggingblows that there were at least a dozen bleeding noses and black eyesdistributed amongst the bandits in rather less time than it takes tonote the fact.
The Greeks were thoroughly discouraged.
This unpleasant British mode of attack was not at all to their liking.
They could do pretty well with knives or swords, or even with firearms,but they could only regard men who used their fists in the lights ofsavages.
Gradually they retreated before the fierce onslaught of the Britishersand their gallant Yankee ally.
This was no small triumph.
The brigands mustered at least twenty men.
Their enemies were five.
The five were Harkaway, Harvey, Jefferson, and the two negroes Sundayand Monday.
The chicken-hearted Greeks, however, did not altogether turn tail, forere they could get fairly off this hardly-contested field, theyreceived considerable reinforcements.
About ten more Greeks put in an appearance.
A ragged, ruffianly crew, and ill armed.
The Harkaway party were not armed at all.
The Greeks fell back and made attempts to re-form in something likegood order.
But Jefferson saw the danger, and he followed them up closely.
Jack and Dick Harvey were at his heels.
Neither of our old friends were inferior to the bold Jefferson incourage; but they did not possess his great advantages of size andstrength.
Jefferson's right arm went out like a battering ram, and each time hestruck out, down dropped his man.
At all events, the brigands did not give any particular signs of comingup for a repetition dose.
The huge American dashed into the thick of the enemy.
The assassination of poor little Magog Brand had fired his fury, andhis charge was something terrific.
He dashed into the midst of the half cowed bandits, and swinging hisarms around him like the sails of a windmill, he "grassed" a man atevery stroke.
But this could not last for long.
As the Greeks grew stronger in numbers, they stood upon the defensive.
They were reassured.
They had seven-and-twenty men against the five.
The five, too, large-hearted though they were, had the two girls tolook after.
Amongst the latest comers upon the bandits' side was one man who was apetty officer of the brigands, and he gave a few hurried commands,which had the effect of putting Harkaway and his friends into a veryawkward predicament.
"Load and fire," said the brigand, "Shoot them all down."
If they could but succeed in getting a shot or two at the boldJefferson, or at any of the party, it would speedily be all over withthem.
But now, when individual bravery could no longer avail them, they had arare slice of luck.
Suddenly a rattling volley of musketry was heard, and three of theGreeks bit the dust, while a number of cries told that several werehit.
And then a detachment of gendarmes dashed up into the open at aswinging trot.
And who headed this very welcome party?
Who but two youths that have been heard of before in these pages?
Who indeed but young Jack Harkaway and his friend Harry Girdwood?
Jack Harkaway and His Son's Escape from the Brigands of Greece Page 5