by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER XII.
A STEADY HAND.
It was now more than eighteen months since the Hardys had beenfairly established at Mount Pleasant. A stranger who had passedalong at the time the house was first finished would certainly failto recognize it now. Then it was a bare, uninviting structure,looking, as has been said, like a small dissenting chapel built onthe top of a gentle rise, without tree or shelter of any kind. Nowit appeared to rise from a mass of bright green foliage, so rapidlyhad the trees grown, especially the bananas and other tropicalshrubs planted upon each side of the house. At the foot of theslope were some sixty or seventy acres of cultivated ground, whileto the right were three or four large and strong wire enclosures,in which the milch cows, the cattle, the sheep, and the pigs wereseverally driven at night.
Everything was prospering beyond Mr. Hardy's most sanguineexpectations. More and more land was monthly being broken up andirrigated. Large profits had been realized by buying lean cattleduring the dry season, fattening them upon alfalfa, and sendingthem down to Rosario for sale. The pigs had multipliedastonishingly; and the profits from the dairy were increasingdaily, as more cows were constantly added. The produce of MountPleasant was so valued at both Rosario and Buenos Ayres that thedemand, at most remunerative prices, far exceeded the supply.
Additions had been made to the number of peons, and the farmpresented quite an animated appearance.
The two years which had elapsed since the Hardys left England hadeffected a considerable change in their appearance. Charley was noweighteen--a squarely-built, sturdy young fellow. From his life ofexposure in the open air he looked older than he was. He had astrong idea that he was now becoming a man; and Ethel had one daydetected him examining his cheeks very closely in the glass, to seeif there were any signs of whiskers. It was a debated question inhis own mind whether a beard would or would not be becoming to him.Hubert was nearly seventeen: he was taller and slighter than hisbrother, but was younger both in appearance and manners. He had allthe restlessness of a boy, and lacked somewhat of Charley's steadyperseverance.
The elder brother was essentially of a practical disposition. Hetook a lively interest in the affairs of the farm, and gave hiswhole mind to it. If he went out shooting he did so to get game forthe table. He enjoyed the sport, and entered heartily into it, buthe did so in a business sort of way.
Hubert was a far more imaginative boy. He stuck to the work of thefarm as conscientiously as his brother did, but his attention wasby no means of the same concentrated kind. A new butterfly, anuncommon insect, would be irresistible to him; and notunfrequently, when he went out with his gun to procure some gamewhich Mr. Hardy had wanted upon the arrival of some unexpectedvisitor, he would come back in a high state of triumph with somecurious little bird, which he had shot after a long chase, therequirements of the household being altogether forgotten.
Maud was fifteen. Her constant out-of-door exercise had made her asnimble and active as a young fawn. She loved to be out and about,and her two hours of lessons with her mamma in the afternoon were agrievous penance to her.
Ethel wanted three months of fourteen, and looked under twelve. Shewas quite the home-bird of the family, and liked nothing betterthan taking her work and sitting by the hour, quietly talking toher mother.
The time was now again approaching when the Indian forays were tobe expected. It was still a month earlier than the attack of theyear before, and Mr. Hardy, with the increased number of his men,had not the least fear of any successful assault upon MountPleasant; but he resolved, when the time came, to take everypossible precaution against attacks upon the animals. He orderedthat the iron gates of the enclosures should be padlocked at night,and that some of the native dogs should be chained there assentinels. He looked forward with some little anxiety to the Indianmoon, as it is called, because, when he had ridden out with Lopezand two of their Canterbury friends to the scene of the encounter afew days after it had taken place, they found that the Indians hadfled so precipitately upon the loss of their horses that they hadnot even buried the bodies of their friends, and that, short as thetime had been, the foxes had left nothing but a few bones remainingof these. From the moccasins, however, and from other relics of theIndians strewn about, Lopez had pronounced at once that two tribeshad been engaged in the fray: the one, inhabitants of the pampas--apeople which, although ready to murder any solitary whites, seldomattack a prepared foe; and the other, of Indians from the west, ofa far more warlike and courageous character. The former tribe,Lopez affirmed--and the natives of the country agreed withhim--would not of themselves have been likely to attempt a freshattack upon antagonists who had proved themselves so formidable,but the latter would be almost certain to make some desperateattempt to wipe off the disgrace of their defeat. Under thesecircumstances, although perfectly confident of their power to beatoff any attack, it was resolved that every precaution should betaken when the time approached.
Late one afternoon, however, Mr. Fitzgerald had gone out for a ridewith Mr. Hardy. Charley had gone down to the dam with his gun onhis shoulder, and Hubert had ridden to a pool in the river at somedistance off, where he had the day before observed a wild duck,which he believed to be a new sort. The cattle and flocks had justbeen driven in by Lopez and two mounted peons at an earlier hourthan usual, as Mr. Hardy had that morning given orders that theanimals were all to be in their enclosures before dusk. Thelaborers in the fields below were still at work plowing. Ethel wasin the sitting-room working with Mrs. Hardy, while Maud was in thegarden picking some fruit for tea.
Presently the occupants of the parlor were startled by a sharp cryfrom Maud, and in another instant she flew into the room, rushed ata bound to the fireplace, snatched down her light rifle from itshooks over the mantel, and crying, "Quick, Ethel, your rifle!" wasgone again in an instant.
Mrs. Hardy and Ethel sprang to their feet, too surprised for themoment to do anything, and then Mrs. Hardy repeated Maud's words,"Quick, Ethel, your rifle!"
Ethel seized it, and with her mother ran to the door. Then they sawa sight which brought a scream from both their lips. Mrs. Hardyfell on her knees and covered her eyes, while Ethel, after amoment's pause, grasped the rifle, which had nearly fallen from herhands, and ran forward, though her limbs trembled so that theycould scarcely carry her on.
The sight was indeed a terrible one. At a distance of two hundredyards Hubert was riding for his life. His hat was off, his gun wasgone, his face was deadly pale. Behind him rode three Indians. Thenearest one was immediately behind him, at a distance of scarce twohorses' length; the other two were close to their leader. All wereevidently gaining upon him.
Maud had thrown the gate open, and stood by the post with thebarrel of her rifle resting on one of the wires. "Steady, Ethel,steady," she said in a hard, strange voice, as her sister joinedher; "Hubert's life depends upon your aim. Wait till I fire, andtake the man on the right. Aim at his chest."
The sound of Maud's steady voice acted like magic upon her sister;the mist which had swum before her eyes cleared off; her limbsceased to tremble, and her hand grew steady. Hubert was now withina hundred yards, but the leading Indian was scarce a horse's lengthbehind. He had his tomahawk already in his hand, in readiness forthe fatal blow. Another twenty yards and he whirled it round hishead with a yell of exultation.
"Stoop, Hubert, stoop!" Maud cried in a loud, clear voice; andmechanically, with the wild war-whoop behind ringing in his ears,Hubert bent forward on to the horse's mane. He could feel thebreath of the Indian's horse against his legs, and his heart seemedto stand still.
Maud and her rifle might have been taken for a statue, so immovableand rigid did she stand; and then as the Indian's arm went back forthe blow, crack, and without a word or a cry the Indian fell back,struck with the deadly little bullet in the center of the forehead.
Not so silently did Ethel's bullet do its work. A wild cry followedthe report: for an instant the Indian reeled in his saddle, andthen, steadying himself, turned his horse sharp ro
und, and with hiscompanion galloped off.
HUBERT'S ESCAPE FROM THE INDIANS]
Hubert, as his horse passed through the gate and drew up, almostfell from his seat; and it was with the greatest difficulty that hestaggered toward Maud, who had gone off in a dead faint as she sawhim ride on alone.
Ethel had sat down on the ground, and was crying passionately, andTerence came running down from the house with a gun in his hand,pouring out Irish threats and ejaculations after the Indians. Thesewere changed into a shout of triumph as Charley stepped from behindthe henhouse, as they passed at a short distance, and at thedischarge of his double barrels the unwounded Indian fell heavilyfrom his horse.
Anxious as he was to assist his young mistresses, for Hubert wasfar too shaken to attempt to lift Maud from the ground, Terencestood riveted to the spot watching the remaining Indian. Twice hereeled in the saddle, and twice recovered himself, but the thirdtime, when he was distant nearly half a mile, he suddenly fell offto the ground.
"I thought the murdering thief had got it," muttered Terence tohimself, as he ran down to raise Maud, and with the assistance ofSarah to carry her up to the house, against the doorway of whichMrs. Hardy was still leaning, too agitated to trust herself towalk.
Hubert, now somewhat recovered, endeavored to pacify Ethel, and thetwo walked slowly up toward the house. In a minute or two Charleycame running up, and the peons were seen hurrying toward them.After a silent shake of the hand to his brother, and a short "ThankGod!" Charley, with his accustomed energy, took the command.
"Hubert, do you and Terence get all the arms loaded at once. Lopez,tell the peons to hurry up the plow oxen, shut them in theenclosure, and padlock all the gates. I will warn you if there'sany danger. Then bring all the men and women up here. I am going torun up the danger flag. Papa is out somewhere on the plains." Sosaying, and taking his Colt's carbine, he ran up the stairs.
In a moment afterward his voice was heard again. "Hubert, Terence,bring all the guns that are loaded up here at once--quick, quick!"and then he shouted loudly in Spanish, "Come in all; come in foryour lives!" In another minute they joined him on the tower withMr. Hardy's long rifle, Hubert's carbine, and their double-barreledshotguns, into each of which Terence dropped a bullet upon the topof the shot. Hubert could scarcely help giving a cry. At a distanceof a quarter of a mile Mr. Hardy and Fitzgerald were coming along,pursued by at least a dozen Indians, who were thirty or forty yardsin their rear. They were approaching from behind the house, andwould have to make a sweep to get round to the entrance, which wason the right, on the side facing the dam. This would evidently givetheir pursuers a slight advantage.
"They hold their own," Charley said after a minute's silence;"there is no fear. Lopez!" he shouted, "run and see that theoutside as well as the inside gates are open."
It has been already said that a low wire fence had been placed at adistance of a hundred yards beyond the inner enclosure, to protectthe young trees from the animals. It was composed of two wires,only a foot apart, and was almost hidden by the long grass. It hada low gate, corresponding in position to the inner one. Charley'squick eye saw at once the importance of the position.
"I think you might use the long rifle now," Hubert said; "it mightstop them if they feel that they are in reach of our guns."
"No, no," Charley said, "I don't want to stop them; don't show theend of a gun above the wall." Then he was silent until his fatherwas within three hundred yards. He then shouted at the top of hisvoice, "Mind the outside fence, mind the outside fence!"
Mr. Hardy raised a hand to show that he heard, and as heapproached, Charley shouted again, "Sweep well round the fence,well round it, for them to try and cut you off."
Charley could see that Mr. Hardy heard, for he turned his horse'shead so as to go rather wide of the corner of the fence. "Now,Hubert and Terence, get ready; we shall have them directly."
Mr. Hardy and his companion galloped past, with the Indians stillfifty yards behind them. Keeping twenty yards from the corner ofthe fence, the fugitives wheeled round to the right, and theIndians, with a cry of exultation, turned to the right also to cutthem off. The low treacherous wire was unnoticed, and in anothermoment men and horses were rolling in a confused mass upon theground.
"Now," Charley said, "every barrel we have;" and from the top ofthe tower a rain of lead poured down upon the bewildered Indians.The horses, frightened and wounded, kicked and struggleddreadfully, and did almost as much harm to their masters as thedeadly bullets of the whites; and when the fire ceased not morethan half of them regained their seats and galloped off, leavingthe rest, men and horses, in a ghastly heap. Seeing them in fullretreat, the occupants of the tower descended to receive Mr. Hardyand Fitzgerald, Terence much delighted at having at last had hisshare in a skirmish.
"Well done, boys! Very well planned, Charley!" Mr. Hardy said as hereined in his horse. "That was a near escape."
"Not as near a one as Hubert has had, by a long way, papa."
"Indeed!" Mr. Hardy said anxiously. "Let me hear all about it."
"We have not heard ourselves yet," Charley answered. "It occurredonly a few minutes before your own. The girls behaved splendidly;but they are rather upset now. If you will go up to the house tothem, I will be up directly, but there are a few things to see aboutfirst. Lopez," he went on, "carry out what I told you before:get the men in from the plows and see all secured. Tell them tohurry, for it will be dark soon. Kill a couple of sheep and bringthem up to the house; we shall be a large party, and it may bewanted. Then let the peons all have supper. Come up to the house inan hour for instructions. See yourself that the dogs are fasteneddown by the cattle. Terence, take your place on the lookout, andfire a gun if you see any one moving."
Having seen that his various orders were obeyed, Charley went up tothe house. He found the whole party assembled in the sitting-room.Maud and Ethel had quite recovered, although both looked pale. Mrs.Hardy, absorbed in her attention to them, had fortunately heardnothing of her husband's danger until the firing from above,followed by a shout of triumph, told her that any danger there washad been defeated.
"Now, papa," Charley said, "you give us your account first."
"I have not much to tell, Charley. Fitzgerald and I had ridden outsome distance--five miles, I should say--when the dogs stopped at athicket and put out a lion. Fitzgerald and I both fired with ourleft-hand barrels, which were loaded with ball. The beast fell, andwe got off to skin him. Dash barked furiously, and we saw a coupleof dozen Indians coming up close to us. We stopped a moment to givethem our barrels with duck-shot, and then jumped into our saddlesand rode for it. Unfortunately, we had been foolish enough to goout without our revolvers. They pressed us hard, but I was never infear of their actually catching us; my only alarm was that one ofus might repeat my disaster of the armadillo hole. So I only triedto hold my own thirty or forty yards ahead. I made sure that one orother of you would see us coming, and I should have shouted loudlyenough, I can tell you, to warn you as I came up. Besides, I knewthat at the worst the arms were hanging above the fireplace, andthat we only wanted time to run in, catch them up, and get to thedoor, to be able to defend the house till you could help us. Andnow, what is your story, Charley?"
"I have even less than you, papa. I was down at the dam, and then Iwent into the henhouse, and I was just thinking that I could make abetter arrangement for the nests, when I heard an Indian war-yellbetween me and the house. It was followed almost directly by twocracks which I knew were the girls' rifles. I rushed to the doorand looked out, and I saw two Indians coming along at full gallop.By the direction they were taking, they would pass only a littleway from the henhouse; so I stepped back till I heard they wereopposite, and then, going out, I gave both barrels to the nearestto me, and stopped his galloping about pretty effectually. When Ireached the place I saw that Hubert had had a narrow squeak of it,for Maud had fainted, and Ethel was in a great state of cry. But Ihad no time to ask many questions, for I ran up to hoist the dangerflag,
and then saw you and Fitzgerald coming along with the Indiansafter you. Now, Hubert, let's hear your story."
"Well, papa, you know I said yesterday that I was sure that I hadseen a new duck, and this afternoon I rode out to the pools, inhopes that he might still be there. I left my horse and crept onvery cautiously through the reeds till I got sight of the water.Sure enough, there was the duck, rather on the other side. I waitedfor a long half-hour, and at last he came over rather nearer. Hedived at my first barrel, but as he came up I gave him my second.Flirt went in and brought him out. He was new, sure enough--twoblue feathers under the eye--"
"Bother the duck, Hubert," Charley put in. "We don't care for hisblue feathers; we want to hear about the Indians."
"Well, I am coming to the Indians," Hubert said; "but it was a newduck, for all that; and if you like it, I will show it you. There!"And he took it out of his pocket and laid it on the table. No oneappeared to have the slightest interest in it, or to pay anyattention to it. So Hubert went on: "Well, after looking at theduck, I put it into my pocket, and went out from the bushes to myhorse. As I got to him I heard a yell, which nearly made me tumbledown, it startled me so; and not a hundred yards away, and ridingto cut me off from home, were thirty or forty Indians. I was notlong, as you may guess, climbing into my saddle, and bolted like ashot. I could not make straight for home, but had to make a sweepto get round them. I was better mounted than all of them, exceptthree; but they kept gradually gaining on me, while all the rest inturn gave up the chase; and, like papa, I had left my revolverbehind. Black Tom did his best, and I encouraged him to the utmost;but I began to think that it was all up with me, for I wasconvinced that they would catch me before I could get in. When Iwas little more than three hundred yards from the gate I saw Maudcome dashing down with her rifle toward the gate, and a littleafterward Ethel came too. The Indians kept getting nearer andnearer, and I expected every moment to feel the tomahawk. I couldnot think why the girls did not fire, but I supposed that they didnot feel sure enough of their aim: and I had the consolation thatthe Indian nearest could not be going to strike, or they would riska shot. On I went: the Indian was so close that I could feel hishorse's breath, and the idea came across my mind that the brute wastrying to catch hold of the calf of my leg. At a hundred yards Icould see Maud's face quite plain, and then I felt certain I wassaved. She looked as steady as if she had been taking aim at amark, and the thought flashed across me of how last week she hadhit a small stone on a post, at eighty yards, first shot, whenCharley and I had missed it half a dozen times each. Then there wasa frightful yell, almost in my ear. Then I heard Maud cry out,'Stoop, Hubert, stoop!' I was stooping before, but my head wentdown to the horse's mane, I can tell you.' And then there was thecrack of the two rifles, and a yell of pain. I could not lookround, but I felt that the horse behind me had stopped, and that Iwas safe. That's my story, papa."
A few more questions elicited from Mrs. Hardy all that she knew ofit, and then the warmest commendations were bestowed upon thegirls. Ethel, however, generously disclaimed all praise, as shesaid that she should have done nothing at all had it not been forMaud's steadiness and coolness.
"And now let us have our tea," Mr. Hardy said; "and then we cantalk over our measures for to-night."
"Do you think that they will attack us, papa?" Ethel asked.
"Yes, Ethel, I think that most likely they will. As we came acrossthe plain I noticed several other parties quite in the distance.There must be a very strong body out altogether, and probably theyhave resolved upon vengeance for their last year's defeat. They hadbetter have left it alone, for they have no more chance of takingthis house, with us all upon our guard, than they have of flying.There is one advantage in it--they will get such a lesson that I dothink we shall be perfectly free from Indian attacks for thefuture."
After tea Lopez came up for orders. "You will place," Mr. Hardysaid, "two peons at each corner of the outside fence. One of uswill come round every half-hour to see that all is right. Theirinstructions are that in case they hear any movement one is to comeup to us immediately with the news, and the other is to go round totell the other sentries to do the same. All this is to be done inperfect silence. I do not want them to know that we are ready fortheir reception. Bring some fresh straw up and lay it down here onthe floor: the women can sleep here."
"What shall I do about your own horses, signor?" Lopez asked.
Mr. Hardy thought a moment. "I think you had better send them downto the enclosure with the others; they might be driven off if theyare left up here, and I do not see that we can require them."
"But what about the cattle, papa?" Charley asked.
"It would be a serious loss if they were driven off, especially themilch cows. If you like, I will go down with Terence, and we cantake up our station among them. It would be a strong post, for theIndians of course could not attack us on horseback; and with mycarbine, and Terence's gun, and a brace of revolvers, I think wecould beat them off easily enough, especially as you would cover uswith your guns."
"I had thought of that plan, Charley; but it would be dangerous,and would cause us up here great anxiety, I imagine, too, that asno doubt their great object is vengeance, they will attack us firsthere, or they may make an effort upon the cattle at the same timethat they attack here. They will not begin with the animals. Theywill find it a very difficult business to break down the fence,which they must do to drive them out; and while they are about itwe shall not be idle, depend upon it."
The preparations were soon made and it was agreed that Mr. Hardyand Hubert should go the rounds alternately with Charley andFitzgerald. As a usual thing, the Indian attacks take place in thelast hour or two of darkness. Mr. Hardy thought, however, that anexception would be made in the present case, in order that theymight get as far as possible away before any pursuit took place.The wives of the peons lay down to sleep on the straw which hadbeen thrown down for them. The men sat outside the door, smokingtheir cigarettes and talking in low whispers. Mrs. Hardy was in herroom; Ethel kept her company, Maud dividing her time between themand the top of the tower, where Mr. Hardy, Fitzgerald, and the boyswere assembled in the intervals between going their rounds.
At about ten o'clock there was a sharp bark from one of the dogsfastened up by the fold, followed up by a general barking of allthe dogs on the establishment.
"There they are," Mr. Hardy said. "Charley, bring the mastiffsinside, and order them, and the retrievers too, to be quiet. We donot want any noise up here, to tell the Indians that we are on thewatch. Now, Fitzgerald, you go to the sentries behind the house,and I will go to those in front, to tell them to fall back atonce."
This mission was, however, unnecessary, for the eight peons allarrived in a minute or two, having fled from their posts at thefirst barking of the dogs, and without obeying their orders to sendround to each other to give notice of their retreat.
Mr. Hardy was very angry with them, but they were in such abjectfear of the Indians that they paid little heed to their master'swords, but went and huddled themselves together upon the straw inthe sitting-room, remaining there without movement until all wasover. Terence was now recalled from the gate, which had been hispost.
"Did you hear anything, Terence?"
"Sure, your honor, and I thought I heard a dull sound like a lot ofhorses galloping in the distance. I should say that there were agreat many of them. It seemed to get a little louder, and then itstopped."
"That was before the dogs began to bark, Terence?"
"About five minutes before, your honor."
"Yes. I have no doubt that they all dismounted to make the attackon foot. How quiet everything is!"
The general barking of the dogs had now ceased: sometimes one oranother gave a suspicious yelping bark, but between these no soundwhatever was audible. The door was now closed and barred; candleswere lighted and placed in every room, thick cloths having beenhung up before the loopholes in the shutters, to prevent a ray oflight from escaping; and the windows them
selves were opened. Mr.Fitzgerald, the boys, and Maud took their station on the tower, Mr.Hardy remaining with his wife and Ethel, while Terence and Lopezkept watch in the other apartments. The arrangements for thedefense were that Mr. Fitzgerald, Lopez, and Terence should defendthe lower part of the house. There were in all six double-barreledguns--two to each of them; and three of the peons more courageousthan the others offered to load the guns as they were discharged.
Mr. Hardy and the boys had their place on the tower, from whichthey commanded the whole garden. They had the long rifle, thecarbines, and four revolvers. Mrs. Hardy and the girls took theirplace in the upper room of the tower, where there was a light.Their rifles were ready in case of necessity, but their principalduty was to load the spare chambers of the carbines and pistols asfast as they were emptied, the agreement being that the girlsshould go up by turns to take the loaded ones and bring down theempties. Sarah's place was her kitchen, where she could hear allthat was going on below, and she was to call up the ladder in caseaid was required. And so, all being in readiness, they calmlyawaited the attack.