by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER IX.
NEIGHBORLY VISITS AND ADVICE.
It must not be supposed that the Hardys, during the whole of thistime, were leading a perfectly solitary life. Upon the contrary,they had a great deal of sociable companionship. Within a range often miles there were no less than four estancias owned byEnglishmen, besides that of their first friend Mr. Percy. A ride oftwenty miles is thought nothing of out on the pampas. The estateimmediately to the rear of their own was owned by Senor Jaqueras, anative. The tract upon the east of his property was owned by threeyoung Englishmen, whose names were Herries, Cooper, and Farquhar.They had all been in the army, but had sold out, and agreed to comeout and settle together.
The southwestern corner of their property came down to the riverexactly opposite the part where the north-eastern corner of MountPleasant touched it: their house was situated about four miles fromthe Hardys. To the west of Senor Jaqueras, the estate was owned bytwo Scotchmen, brothers of the name of Jamieson: their estancia wasnine miles distant. In the rear of the estate of Senor Jaqueras,and next to that of Mr. Percy, were the properties of Messrs.Williams and Markham: they were both about ten miles from MountPleasant. These gentlemen had all ridden over to call upon thenewcomers within a very few days of Mr. Hardy's first arrival, andhad offered any help in their power.
The Hardys were much pleased with their visitors, who were allyoung men, with the frank, hearty manner natural to men free fromthe restraints of civilized life. The visits had been returned in ashort time, and then for awhile all communication with the moredistant visitors had ceased, for the Hardys were too busy to sparetime upon distant rides. One or other of the party at Canterbury,as the three Englishmen had called their estancia, very frequentlydropped in for a talk, and Mr. Hardy and the boys often rode overthere when work was done, Canterbury was also a youngsettlement--only four or five months, indeed, older than MountPleasant--so that its owners, like themselves, had their hands fullof work; but sometimes, when they knew that the Hardys wereparticularly hard at work, one or two of them would come over atdaybreak and give their assistance. During the final week's work,especially just before Mrs. Hardy's arrival, all three came overand lent their aid, as did the Jamiesons.
As soon as Mrs. Hardy had arrived all their neighbors came over tocall, and a very friendly intercourse was quickly establishedbetween them. As there was no spare bedroom at Mount Pleasant, somehammocks were made, and hooks were put into the sitting-room walls,so that the hammocks could be slung at night and taken down in themorning. The English party always rode back to Canterbury, as thedistance was so short, and the Jamiesons generally did the same;but Messrs. Percy, Williams, and Markham usually came over in theafternoon, and rode back again next morning.
When the press of work was over the boys and their sisters oftencantered over to Canterbury to tea, and sometimes, but more seldom,to the Jamiesons' estancia. The light-hearted young Englishmen werenaturally more to their fancy than the quiet and thoughtfulScotchmen. The latter were, however, greatly esteemed by Mr. andMrs. Hardy, who perceived in them a fund of quiet good sense andearnestness.
Upon Sunday morning Mr. Hardy had service, and to this the whole oftheir friends generally came. It was held early, so that theJamiesons and the Englishmen could ride back to their homes beforethe heat of the day, the other three remaining to dine, andreturning in the cool of the evening. Canterbury was entirely asheep and cattle farm. The owners had five thousand sheep, and somehundreds of cattle; but they had comparatively a good deal of timeupon their hands, as stock and sheep farming does not require somuch personal care and supervision as must be bestowed uponagricultural farms. The Jamiesons, on the contrary, were entirelyoccupied in tillage: they had no sheep, and only a few head ofcattle.
Mr. Hardy was remarking upon this one day to Mr. Percy, whoreplied, "Ah, the poor fellows are very unfortunate. They broughtout a fair capital, and had as large a stock of sheep and cattle asthe Canterbury party have. About six months, however, before youarrived--yes, it's just a year now--the Indians swept down uponthem, and carried off every animal they had. They attacked thehouse, but the Jamiesons defended themselves well; and the Indianswere anxious to get off with their booty, and so they beat aretreat. Pursuit was hopeless; every horse had been driven off, andthey had to walk six miles to the next hacienda to give the news;and long before a party could be got together the Indians werebeyond the possibility of pursuit. Two or three hundred sheep and adozen or two of the bullocks found their way back, and these andtheir land was all that remained to the Jamiesons of their capital,for they had invested all they had in their stock. However, theylooked affairs manfully in the face, sold their animals, bought acouple of plows and draught bullocks, hired a peon or two, and setto work with a will. They will get on but slowly for a time; but Ihave no doubt that they will do well in the course of a few years.Men with their pluck and perseverance are certain to get on. Thatputs me in mind, Hardy, of a matter upon which I had intended tospeak to you. We are just getting now to the time of the year whenIndian attacks are most likely to take place. Sometimes they arequiet for a year or two, then they are very troublesome again. Fiveor six years ago, just after I first came out, we had terribletimes with them. Vast numbers of cattle were driven off: the sheepthey less seldom take, because they cannot travel so fast, but theydo drive them off sometimes. A good many shepherds were killed, andtwo or three estancias captured and burned, and the inmatesmurdered. You are now the furthest settler, and consequently themost exposed. Your estancia is strong and well built, and you areall well armed and good shots. You are, I think, in that respectsafe, except from sudden surprise. The dogs are sure to give analarm; still I should sleep with everything in readiness."
"Thank you, Percy; I shall take your advice. I expected it fromwhat I had heard when I bought the place; but from hearing nothingof Indians all this time, I had almost forgotten it. I will preparefor defense without the loss of a day. The house has only onevulnerable point--the doors and shutters. I will measure them thisafternoon, and will get you to take over a letter and forward it toRosario by the first opportunity, for some sheets of thin iron tocover them with."
Mr. Percy promised to forward the letter the very next day by abullock-cart he was sending in, and also that the same cart shouldbring them back. He said that if a conveyance were sent over in twodays' time for them they would be in readiness at his place.
This conversation caused Mr. Hardy great uneasiness. It was apossibility he had been quite prepared for; but he could not feelthat the danger was really at hand without an anxious feeling. Histhousand sheep had cost him twelve hundred and fifty dollars, andhis cattle as much more. The lambing season had come and gone, andthe flock of sheep had doubled in number. The cattle, too, hadgreatly increased, and the sheep were nearly ready for shearing.Altogether the value of the stock was over five thousand dollars.The loss would not be absolute ruin, as he had still three thousanddollars of his original capital in the bank at Buenos Ayres; but itwould be a very serious loss.
Mr. Hardy had been alone with Mr. Percy when the conversation tookplace; but he determined at once to take the boys into his entireconfidence. He therefore called to them to come out for a strolldown to the dam, and told them word for word what Mr. Percy hadrelated to him.
Charley's eyes brightened at the thought of the excitement of afight with Indians, for which when in England, eighteen monthsbefore, he had longed; and his fingers tightened upon his gun as hesaid, "All right, papa, let them come." Hubert's face grew a littlepaler, for he was not naturally of so plucky or pugnacious adisposition as his brother. However, he only said, "Well, papa, ifthey do come we shall all do our best."
"I am sure you will, my boy," said his father kindly. "But there isno fear if it comes to fighting. We three with our arms can thrasha hundred of them. What I am thinking of is our cattle, and notourselves. We will take good care against a sudden surprise; andit's more than a whole tribe could do to take Mount Pleasant if weare prepared."
; "Do you mean to tell mamma and the girls, papa?"
"I mean to tell them that it is necessary for a time to be on theirguard, that the girls are on no account to venture to ride outalone, and that they must not stir out of the enclosure even as faras the hen-house, without first of all going up to the top of thelookout to see that all is clear. We must see that, in future, thesheep and cattle and horses are all driven at night into their wireenclosures--we have not been very particular about the cattlelately--and that the gates are fastened and padlocked at night. Itwill puzzle them to get them out. Our own three horses I will havein future kept within our own enclosure, so that they may be alwaysat hand, night or day. I bought them with a special eye to Indians;they are all remarkably fast; and whether we run away or pursue,can be relied on. And now, boys, come up to the house, and I willopen the mysterious box."
The box of which Mr. Hardy spoke was a long case, which had neverbeen opened since their arrival. No entreaties of his childrencould induce Mr. Hardy to say what were its contents, and the youngones had often wondered and puzzled over what they could be. It hadcome, therefore, to be known in the family as the mysterious box.
With greatly excited curiosity the boys now walked toward thehouse; but there was a slight delay, for as they approached Maudand Ethel came running to meet them.
"Is anything the matter with the dam, papa? We have been watchingyou having such a long talk with the boys. What is it all about?"
Mr. Hardy now told them as much as he thought proper of the stateof things, and gave them their instructions. The girls, who had noidea there was any real danger, and who had besides an unlimitedconfidence in their father and brothers, were disposed to look uponIt as fun, and Mr. Hardy had to speak quite seriously to be surethat his orders would be strictly attended to. The boys theninformed them that the mysterious box was to be opened, and thewhole party went up to the house.
The box had been placed in the storeroom on the upper floor of thetower, and the boys took up screwdrivers and hammers to open it.The latter tools were not necessary, as the case was very carefullyscrewed up; and when the top was taken off it was found that therewas an inside case of tin soldered up. As the boys were cuttingthrough this they expressed their opinion that, from the extremecare taken, the contents must be very valuable. Still Mr. Hardywould give no clew; and when the case was finally opened, theastonishment of all was unbounded to find that it contained fourdozen large rockets and a dozen blue-lights. One dozen of theserockets were ordinary signal rockets, but the rest were coveredwith strong tin cases.
"Fireworks!" they all exclaimed in intense surprise. "What have youbrought fireworks all this way for, papa?"
"I will tell you, my dears. I knew that the Indians of the pampaswere horse Indians, and the idea struck me that as they could neverhave seen rockets, they would be horribly scared at night by them.rockets, you know, are used in war; and even if the riders are notfrightened, it is quite certain that the horses would be horriblyalarmed by one or two of these rushing fiery things charging intotheir midst. I therefore had them specially made for me by apyrotechnist in London. One dozen, as you see, are ordinary rocketsof the largest size; they contain colored balls, which will giveout a most brilliant light. One of them thrown into the air, evenwhere we believe any Indians to be, will light up the plain, andgive us a fair view of them. The other three dozen are loaded withcrackers. As you see, I have had a strong case of tin placed overthe ordinary case; and one of them striking a man will certainlyknock him off his horse, and probably kill him. The roar, the rush,the train of fire, and finally the explosion and the volley ofcrackers in their midst would be enough to frighten their horsesaltogether beyond control. What do you think of my idea?"
"Capital, capital!" they all cried.
"But how, papa," Hubert asked, "will you manage to make yourrockets go straight at the Indians? All rockets I ever saw wentstraight up into the air."
"Yes, Hubert, because they were pointed up. A rocket goes whicheverway it is pointed. Rockets in war are fired through a tube, or froma trough. We will use the trough. Set to at once, boys, and make atrough about four feet long, without ends. It must stand on legshigh enough to raise it above the level of the wall round the topof the tower. Let there be two legs on the front end, and one legbehind; and this leg behind must have a hinge, so that, when itstands upright, it will be six or eight inches higher than thefront, in case we want to fire at anything close at hand. When wewant to elevate the head of the rocket to fire at anything at adistance, we pull the hind leg back, so that that end is lower thanthe front. Put a spike at the end of the leg, to let it have a firmhold on the floor."
Charley thought a moment, and then said: "I think, papa, it wouldbe firmer, and more easily managed, if we made two legs behind,with another one sliding up and down between them, and with holesin it so that it can be pegged up and down as we like."
"That would be certainly better, Charley. Put your idea down uponpaper, and let me see exactly what you mean before you begin."
Charley did so, and Mr. Hardy pronounced it to be excellent; and bynight the trough was finished, and placed in position at the top ofthe lookout.
Mr. Hardy, in the course of the evening, explained to his wife thatit was possible the Indians might venture to make a dash to carryoff some of the cattle, and that, therefore, he had ordered thegirls to be on the lookout, and to adopt every precaution uponmoving out. To them he made an addition to his former instructions,namely, that not only should they look out before leaving theenclosure, but that, if one went out, the other should go up to thetop of the tower every quarter of an hour to see that everythingwas still clear, and that if both were out, Sarah should do thesame. The boys needed no instructions to load their revolvingcarbines, and the pistols and a double-barreled gun were handedover both to Lopez and Terence, with instructions to carry themalways with them. Lopez required no orders on this score. He knewwhat Indians were, and had a perfect horror of them. Their friendsat Canterbury were also put upon their guard, as their estates werealso very much exposed. Three days passed over, and then the lightiron plates arrived for the door and window shutters. Before theywere nailed on large holes were cut in them for firing through,corresponding slits being cut in the woodwork. When they werefastened in their places all felt that Mount Pleasant could defyany number of assailants.
Orders were given to Terence that in case of the dogs giving thealarm at night, the occupants of the hut were to retire at once tothe house; to which he replied characteristically:
"Sure, your honor, I suppose I may stop for a bit and pepper theblackguards till they get close to me."
"Not at all, Terence; you are to retire at once to the house. Whenwe are once all together we shall be able to decide, according tothe number of the enemy, as to whether we shall sally out andpepper them, or stand upon the defensive."
And so, every one having received their instructions in case ofemergency, things went on pretty much as before.