Rob Harlow's Adventures: A Story of the Grand Chaco

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER THIRTY.

  AN UNEXPECTED ENEMY.

  Mr Brazier's recovery took a month from the day of his regaining thebalance of his reason, and even then he was weak; but he was aboutagain, and, though easily fatigued, took his part in the many littleduties they had to fulfil to sustain life in their forest prison. Allthought of escape by their own efforts had been given up, and they hadall taken the good course, roughly put by Shaddy as "making the best ofthings."

  In fact, the horror and shock of their position had grown fainter, theloss of poor Giovanni a softened memory, and the cowardly desertion ofthe Indians with the boat a matter over which it was useless to murmur.For the human mind is very plastic, and, if fully employed, soon findssatisfaction in its tasks.

  It was so here. Every day brought its work, for the most part inglorious sunshine, and scarcely a night arrived without one of the threehaving something to announce in the way of discovery or invention forthe amelioration of their lot.

  "There is always the possibility of our being sought out and escaping,"Mr Brazier said; "and in that hope I shall go on collecting, for theplants here are wonderful; and if I can get specimens home to Englandsome day there will be nothing to regret."

  In this spirit he went on as he grew stronger; and as for some distanceinland in the triangle of miles, two of whose sides were the greaterriver and its tributary, they had formed so many faint trails in theirhunting and fruit-seeking expeditions, the chances of being "bushed," asthe Australians call it, grew fewer, plenty of collecting expeditionswere made, at first in company with Shaddy and Rob, afterwards alone.

  One evening a tremendous storm of wind and rain, with the accompanimentsof thunder and lightning of the most awe-inspiring nature, gave them alesson in the weakness of their shelter-place, for the water sweptthrough in a deluge, and after a terrible night they gazed in dismay atthe river, which was running swiftly nearly up to the place where theykept their fire going. That the flood was increasing they had not theslightest doubt, and it promised before long to be right over where theystood, fortunately now in the brilliant sunshine, which rapidly driedtheir clothes and gave them hope as well.

  "We shall have to go inland and seek higher ground," Mr Brazier said atlast.

  "And where are you going to find it, sir?" said Shaddy rather gruffly."There's high land away back on the far side of the river, but we can'tget there, and all out as far as I've been on this is one dead level.Look yonder; there's a lesson for us what to do if it gets much worse,"he continued, pointing toward a great tree at the edge of the forest.

  "Yes," said Rob as he watched a little flock of green-and-scarletparrots circling round and perching in the upper branches, "but we haveno wings, Shaddy."

  "No, my lad, and never will have; but I didn't mean that. Look a bitlower."

  "Oh, you mean in that next tree. Ugh! how horrible!" cried Rob, with ashudder. "Has that been driven here by the water?"

  "I don't know what you're talking about, sir. I mean that tree Ipointed to. Look there in the fork."

  "Yes; I can see it, Rob," said Mr Brazier. "It's comfortably asleep.We must do as it does. Not the first time an animal has given men alesson."

  Rob stared from one to the other as if wondering why they did not seewith his eyes.

  "Can't you see it, Rob--your puma?"

  "Eh? Oh yes, I see him now, but I meant in the other tree. Look! thegreat brute is all in motion. Why, it's a perfect monster!"

  "Phew!" whistled Shad; "I didn't see it. Look, Mr Brazier, sir. Thatis something like a snake."

  He pointed now to where a huge serpent was worming its way about theboughs of one of the trees in a slow, sluggish way, as if trying to finda spot where it could curl up and be at rest till the water, which haddriven it from its customary haunts, had subsided.

  "What shall we do, Shaddy?" whispered Rob. "Why, that must be nearlysixty feet long."

  "It's nearer two foot long, Mr Rob, sir. My word! how people's eyes domagnify when they're a bit scared."

  "But it is a monstrously huge serpent," said Brazier, shading his eyes,as he watched the reptile.

  "Yes, sir, and as nigh as one can judge, going round his loops andrings, a good five-and-twenty foot, and as big round as my thigh."

  "We can't stay here, then!" cried Rob excitedly.

  "Don't see why not, sir. He hasn't come after us, only to take care ofhimself; and I'm beginning to think it's a bad sign."

  "That it does mean to attack us?" said Brazier.

  "Not it, sir. I mean a bad sign about the flood, for somehow, stupid asanimals seem, they have a sort of idea of when danger's coming, and tryto get out of its way. I should say that before long the waters will beall up over where we are, and that it's our duty to get up a bit, too,and take enough food to last till the flood's gone down."

  "And how long will that be?" Rob asked.

  "Ah! that's what I can't say, sir. Let's get together all we can, andI'm sorry to say it ain't very much, for we punished the provisionsterribly last night."

  "Yes, we are low," said Brazier thoughtfully.

  "There's some nuts on that tree where the lion is, so we'll take tothat," said the old sailor thoughtfully. "He'll have to turn out andtake to another, or behave himself. Now what's to be done beside? Wecan't get any fire if the flood rises much, and for certain we can'tcatch any fish with the river like this. What do you say to trying toshoot the big boa with your bow and arrows?"

  "What?" cried Rob, with a look of disgust.

  "Oh! he's not bad eating, my lad. The Indians feast on 'em sometimes,cutting them up into good stout lumps, and it isn't so much unlike eel."

  "What, have you tasted it?"

  "Oh yes, sir; there's precious few things used for food when men arehungry that I haven't had a taste of in my time."

  Just then Mr Brazier pointed to the place where they kept their fire,and over which the water was now lapping and bearing off the soft greyashes, which began to eddy and swim round the little whirlpools formedby the swift current, before the light deposit from the fire was sweptright away.

  By this time, as Rob kept his eyes upon it, the great serpent hadgradually settled itself down upon one of the far-spreading horizontalboughs of the huge monarch, which, growing upon the edge of the forest,found ample space for its spreading branches, instead of being kept backon all sides by fellow-trees, and so directing all its efforts in theway of growth upward toward the sun.

  Brazier noticed Rob's looks, and laid his hand upon the lad's shoulder.

  "I don't think we need fear any attack from that, Rob," he said, "forthe water, if it goes on rising like this, will soon be between us, andI don't suppose the serpent will leave one tree to get up into another."

  "Not it, sir," interposed Shaddy; "and, excuse me, let's be sharp, forthe water's coming down from miles away on the high ground, and it willbe over here before long. Look at that!"

  They were already looking at a great wave sweeping down the furiousriver, which was covered with boughs and trees, the latter rolling overand over in the swift current, now showing their rugged earth andstone-filled roots, now their boughs, from which the foliage and twigswere rapidly being stripped.

  "Why, it's right over our kitchen now."

  "And will carry away my pots!" cried Rob, running away to save thetreasures which had caused him so much trouble to make.

  "Look sharp, sir!" cried Shaddy; "here's quite a torrent coming. We'llmake for the tree at once, or we shall be lost once more."

  "All right!" cried Rob, as he ran to the far edge of their fireplace,where the boughs and pieces of wood collected for fuel were beginning tosail away, and he had just time to seize one great rough pot as it beganto float, when a wave curled over toward the other and covered the lad'sfeet.

  But he snatched up the vessel and hurried toward the tree in which thepuma was curled up, Brazier and Shaddy following, with the little foodthey had left, and none too soon. They handed Rob's two piece
s ofearthenware up to him, and then joined him in the fork of the tree.

  The water was by now lapping softly about its foot, but from time totime a wave came sweeping down the river as if sudden influxes of waterkept on rushing in higher up to increase the flood, and in consequencering after ring or curve of water swept over the land, gliding now upamongst the trees of the forest, penetrating farther and farther eachtime, and threatening that the whole of the country through which theriver passed would be flooded for miles.

  The puma snarled and looked fierce as the two men followed Rob, but itcontented itself with a fresh position, higher up in a secondary fork ofthe tree, where it crouched, glaring down at those below, but hardlynoticed, for, after recovering their belongings, the attention of thoseon the fork was divided between the rising of the water and the uneasymovements of the great occupant of the next tree.

  "I suppose we may confess to being afraid of a reptile like that," saidBrazier, measuring the distance between the trees with his eyes andlooking up to see if the branches of either approached near enough toenable the reptile to make its way across.

  "No fear, sir!" said Shaddy, with a smile, as he read his companion'sthoughts. "We've only the water to trouble us now."

  "But it will never get up so high as this?" cried Rob in alarm, as hethought of the trees which he had seen swept down the river, forestchiefs, some of them, which had been washed out by floods.

  "I hope not, sir; but we have to be ready for everything in thiscountry, as you've found out already."

  This set Rob thinking as he watched the waves coming down the river,each sweeping before it a mass of verdure, pieces at times taking theform of floating islands, with the low growth upon them keeping itsposition just as the patches had broken away from undermined banks.

  "Don't you wonder where it all goes, Mr Rob?" said Shaddy suddenly.

  "Yes; does it get swept out to sea?"

  "Not it, sir. Gets dammed up together in bends and corners of theriver, and makes it cut itself a fresh bed to right or left. Thiscountry gets flooded sometimes for hundreds upon hundreds of miles, sothat you can row about among the trees just where you like. Ah! itwould be a fine time for Mr Brazier when the flood's at its height, forwe could row about just where we liked--if we had a boat," he addedafter a pause.

  Just then the puma gave a savage growl.

  "Here, what's the matter with you?" cried the guide sharply.

  The puma snarled again and showed its teeth, but they saw that it wasstaring away from the tree.

  "He can see the serpent," said Rob eagerly; and they now saw the reason,for, evidently aware of their proximity, and from a desire to escape,the great reptile was all in motion, its fore-part beginning slowly todescend the tree, the head and neck clinging wonderfully to theinequalities of the bark for a part of the way, and then the creaturefitted itself in the deep groove between two of the buttress-likeportions, which ran down right away from the main trunk.

  They all watched the reptile with curiosity, for its actions weresingular, and it was exciting to see the way in which the whole lengthof the animal was in action as the head, neck, and part of the bodyglided down in a deliberate way, with the tongue darting out andflickering about the hard, metallic-looking mouth, while the eyesglistened in the sunshine, which threw up the rich colours and patternof the scaly coat.

  "He don't like it, and is going to swim off," said Shaddy suddenly, asthe head of the serpent was now approaching the surface of the water."I never saw one of this kind take to the water before. Say, Mr Rob!"

  Rob turned to him.

  "You had better get your cat down here, in case he means coming acrossto this tree.--No: there won't be any need. I don't think he could swimagainst this current: it might sweep him away."

  Rob drew a breath full of relief as he glanced at Brazier, whose face,pallid with his late illness, certainly looked paler, and his eyes werecontracted by his feeling of horror. But their companion's last wordsrelieved him from his dread, and he sat there upon the huge branch thatwas his resting-place watching the actions of the serpent, which stillglided on, and moved with its head close to the groove in the trunk tillit was close to the water slowly rising to meet it, and a length ofquite twelve feet reached down from the fork, like the stem of somemighty climbing fig which held the tree in its embrace.

  "Yes, he's going to swim for it," said Shaddy eagerly. "Fancy meeting athing like that on the river! I thought it was only the anacondas whichtook to the water, and--Well, look at that!"

  The man's exclamation was caused by the action of the serpent, for justas its head reached the surface of the flood one of the waves camerushing inland from the river, leaped up the tree three or four feet,deluging the head and neck of the serpent and sinking down again almostas quickly as it had risen. The reptile contracted itself as rapidly,drawing back, and, evidently satisfied with the result of its efforts toescape, began to climb again, holding on by its ring-like scales as itcrept up and up till its head was back in the great fork of the tree,and the anterior part of the body hung down in a huge loop, which wasgradually lessened as the great creature resumed its place.

  There was nothing to fear from the serpent, to the great relief of thosewho watched; but it had begun to be questionable how long their presentposition would be safe, for the water was rising now with wonderfulrapidity, great waves tearing down the river from time to time, bearingenormous masses of tangled tree and bush and sending out masses of foam,sweeping over the clearing with an angry rush, which changed into afierce hiss as of thousands of serpents when the wave reached the edgeof the forest and ran an among the trees with a curious wail till itdied away in the distance.

  When the waves struck the tree amongst whose branches the party wereensconced, the puma growled at the heavy vibrations, and began to tearat the bark with its claws. As one, however, worse than usual struckthe trunk, it gathered itself together, uttered a harsh growl, and wasabout to spring off and swim, as if it feared being crushed down by thebranches of the washed-out tree; but a few words from Rob pacified it,and it settled down once more, half hanging, as it were, across thefork, where it was swinging its tail to and fro and gazing down at thehuman companion it had chosen.