CHAPTER TEN.
A NIGHT OF NIGHTS.
Nic's heart beat fast as he ran lightly along the path, reached thehouse, and ran round to the stable-yard, where Solly and the men werewaiting.
"Ready, my lads?" he said in a low, husky voice, full of the excitementhe felt.
"We'll go on round to the back of the pool at once. The sailors arehere, thirty strong, with their officer; so we ought to give the enemy asevere lesson.--Ah! Don't cheer. Ready?--Forward. Come, Solly; we'lllead."
"Precious dark, Master Nic," growled the old sailor in a hoarse whisper."We shan't hardly be able to tell t'other from which."
"Ah! I forgot," cried Nic excitedly. "Halt! Look here, my men. Ourpassword is `Tails,' and our friends have to answer `Heads.' So, if youare in doubt, cry `Tails,' and if your adversary does not answer `Heads'he's an enemy."
"Why, a-mussy me, Master Nic?" growled Solly, "we shan't make heads ortails o' that in a scrimble-scramble scrimmage such as we're going to bein. What's the skipper thinking about? Let me tell 'em what to do."
"You heard your master's order, Solly," replied Nic.
"Yes, sir, of course; but this here won't do no harm. Look here, mylads; as soon as ever we're at it, hit hard at every one who aren't aJack. You'll know them."
Nic felt that this addition could do no harm, so he did not interfere,but led on right past the way down to the falls, which had shrunk now toa little cascade falling with a pleasant murmur, for the draining of theheavy thunder-showers was nearly at an end, and the pool lay calm enoughin the black darkness beneath the overhanging rocks and spreadingtrees--just in the right condition for a raid, and in all probabilityfull of salmon.
All at once the old sailor indulged in a burst of chuckles.
"Hear something, Bill?" said Nic.
"No, my lad, not yet; I was on'y thinking. They was going to bring acart up the road yonder, waren't they?"
"Yes; one of the men said so," replied Nic.
"Well, we're a-going to give 'em something to take back in that cartto-night, my lad," whispered the man, with another chuckle; "and itwon't be fish, nor it won't be fowl. My fingers is a-tingling so that Ithought something was the matter, and I tried to change my stick from myright hand into my left."
"Well, what of that?" said Nic contemptuously; "it was only pins andneedles."
"Nay, Master Nic, it waren't that. I've been a sailor in the king'sships and have had it before. It was the fighting-stuff running down tothe very tips of my fingers, and they wouldn't let go."
"Hush! don't talk now," whispered Nic; "there may be one or two of theenemy yonder."
"Nay, it's a bit too soon for 'em, sir; but it'll be as well to keepquiet."
The narrow paths of the tangled wilderness at the back of the pool wereso well known to all present that their young leader had no difficultyin getting them stationed by twos and threes well down the sides of thegorge on shelves and ledges where the bushes and ferns grew thickly,from whence, when the poachers were well at work, it would be easy tospring down into the water and make the attack. For the flood had sofar subsided now that the worst hole was not above five feet deep, andthe greater part about three, with a fairly even bottom of ground-downrock smoothed by the pebbles washed over it in flood-time.
Here it was that the salmon for the most part congregated, thenew-comers from the sea taking naturally to the haunts of theirforerunners from time immemorial, so that poacher or honest fisherpretty well knew where he would be most successful.
Nic chose a central spot for himself and Solly, some four feet above thelevel of the black water, and after ranging his men to right and left hesat down to wait, with all silent and dark around, save for the murmurof the water and the gleaming of a star or two overhead, for besidesthis there was not a glint of light. Still, the place seemed to standout before him. Exactly opposite, across the pool, was the narrowopening between the steep rocks on either side; and he knew withouttelling that as soon as the poachers began their work his father wouldsend some of his active allies into the bed of the stream lower down, toadvance upward, probably before the whistle was blown.
"And then the scoundrels will be in a regular trap before they know it,"thought Nic, as he strained his ears to catch the sound of the sailorsbeing stationed in their hiding-places; but all was still save the softhumming roar of the falling water plunging into the pool.
An hour passed very slowly, and Nic's cramped position began to affecthim with the tingling sensation known as pins and needles; this he didnot attribute to the movement of his nerve-currents eager to reach histoes and fill him with a desire to kick his enemies, but quietly changedhis position and waited, trembling with excitement, and longing now toget the matter over, fully satisfied as he was that his friends were allin position and ready for the fray.
At last!
There was a sharp crack, as if someone had trodden upon a piece ofdead-wood away up to the right. Then another crack and a rustling, andan evident disregard of caution.
"Come along, my lads," said a low, harsh voice; and then there was asplash, as if a man had lowered himself into the water. "They hadenough of it last time, and won't come this, I'll wager. If they do,we're half as many again, and we'll give 'em such a drubbing as'll stop'em for long enough."
"Needn't shout and holloa," said another voice from the side. "Keepquiet. We don't want to fight unless we're obliged."
"Oh no, of course not!" said the man with the harsh voice mockingly."If we do have to, my lads, two of you had better take Pete Burge hometo his mother."
There was a low laugh at this, and Pete remained silent as far as makingany retort was concerned, but directly after Nic felt a singular thrillrun through him as the man said softly:
"Three of you get there to the mouth and drop the net across and holdit, for the fish will make a rush that way. Don't be afraid of thewater. Shove the bottom line well round the stones, and keep your feeton it. A lot got away last time."
There was the sound of the water washing as men waded along the side ofthe great circular pool, and then the whishing of a net being droppeddown and arranged.
"Ha, ha!" laughed a man; "there's one of 'em. Come back again' my legs.He's in the net now. Can't get through."
"Now then," cried the harsh-voiced fellow; "open those lanthorns and getyour links alight, so as we can see what we're about."
"Not zo much noise, Humpy Dee," said Pete sharply, as the light of threelanthorns which had been carried beneath sacks gleamed out over thewater, and the light rapidly increased as dark figures could be seenlighting torches from the feeble candles and then waving their sticks ofoakum and pitch to make them blaze, so that others could also start thelinks they carried.
At first the light was feeble, and a good deal of black smoke arose, butsoon after over a dozen torches were burning brightly, showing quite alittle crowd of men, standing in the black water, armed with hooks andfish-spears, and each with a stout staff stuck in his belt.
The scene was weird and strange, the light reflected from the cliff-likesides of the pool seeming to be condensed upon the surface; and thefaces of the marauders gleamed strangely above the flashing water,beginning to be agitated now by the startled salmon; while rising upwardthere was a gathering cloud of black, stifling smoke.
"Ready there with that net," cried Humpy Dee, a broad-shouldered,dwarfed man, whose head was deep down between his shoulders.
"Ay, ay!" came from the mouth of the pool.
"Less noise," cried Pete angrily. "Here, you, Jack Willick, and you,Nat Barrow, go up towards the house and give us word if anyone's coming,so as we may be ready."
"To run?" snarled Humpy Dee. "Stop where you are, lads. If the oldsquire meant to come with his gang he'd ha' been here afore now, and--"
_Phee-yew_!
The Captain's shrill silver whistle rang out loudly at this instant, andNic and his men grasped their cudgels more tightly.
"Now for it, lads," he shoute
d, and he sprang from his ledge into thewater and made at Humpy Dee.
Nic Revel: A White Slave's Adventures in Alligator Land Page 10