CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.
A FOREST FEUD.
The little party sat there waiting patiently for the next event, theireyes being mostly directed across the waste of water toward thewell-marked course of the stream, with its rush, swirl and eddy; andbefore long there was another heaving up, as if a liquid bank descendedthe river, spread across the opening, and directly after struck the treewith a blow which made it quiver from root to summit.
"Will it hold fast, Naylor?" said Brazier, rather excitedly.
"Hope so, sir. I think it's safe, but it's growing in such soft soil,all river mud, sand, and rotten wood, that the roots are loose, and itfeels as if it would give way at last. I daresay this was a bend of theriver once."
"But if it does give way, what are we to do?" cried Rob excitedly.
"Swim for the next tree, sir."
"But that has a great snake in it."
"Can't help that, Mr Rob. Rather have a snake for a mate than bedrowned. He's too much frightened to meddle with us. Look out, everyone, and try to keep clear of the boughs, so as not to be beaten under."
This was consequent upon the rushing up in succession of three greatwaves, which struck the tree at intervals of a few seconds, the lastsending the water splashing up to where they sat, and at the same timedeluging the serpent in the next tree, making it begin to climb higher,and exciting the puma so that Rob could hardly keep it from leaping off.
"The roots must be undermined," cried Brazier. "Look--look!"
He pointed at the effect of the waves on the forest, for from where theysat the whole side was a ridge of foam, while the tree-tops were wavingto and fro and undulating like a verdant sea as the water rushed onamong their trunks.
"Can't get much worse than this, I think," said Shaddy, when the watercalmed down again to its steady swift flow; "only it's spoiling ourestate, which will be a bed of mud when the flood goes down."
"But will it go down?" asked Rob excitedly.
"Some time, certain," replied Shaddy. "The rivers have a way in thiscountry of wetting it all over, and I daresay it does good. At allevents, it makes the trees grow."
"Yes, but will it sweep them away?" said Rob, looking round nervously.
"It does some, Mr Rob, sir, as you've seen to-day, but I think we'reall right here."
Rob glanced at Brazier, whose face was very stern and pale; and,consequent upon his weakness, he looked ghastly as another wave camedown the river, and swept over the deeply inundated clearing, washingright up to the fork of the tree, and hissing onward through theclosely-packed forest.
Another followed, and then another, each apparently caused by thebursting of some dam of trees and _debris_ of the shores; but they wereless than those which had preceded them, and an hour later the water wasperfectly calm and motionless, save in the course of the river, where itrushed onward at a rapid rate.
"We've passed the worst," said Shaddy; and after glancing at himquickly, to see if he meant it or was only speaking to give himencouragement, Rob sat looking round at the watery waste, for as far ashis eyes could penetrate there was no sight of dry land. Everywhere thetrees stood deep in water, that was still as the surface of a lakethrough which a swift river ran, with its course tracked by rapid andeddy, and dotted still with the vegetation torn out from the banks.
As the boy turned to the great tree beside him he could not keep back ashudder, for the monstrous serpent was in restless motion, seeking forsome means of escape; and though there was no probability of itsreaching their resting-place, the idea would come that if the writhingcreature did drop from the tree, overbalancing itself in its efforts toescape, it might make a frantic struggle and reach theirs.
As he thought this he caught sight of the guide watching him.
"What is it, my lad?" he whispered; and the lad, after a littlehesitation, confided in the old sailor, who chuckled softly. "Youneedn't be alarmed about that," he said. "If such a thing did happenyour lion would be upon his head in a moment, and in a few minutesthere'd be no lion and no snake, only the mud stirred up in the water toshow which way they'd gone."
"The water is sinking, Naylor," cried Brazier just then, in an excitedtone.
"Yes, sir, but very slowly."
"How long will it take to go down?"
"Days, sir. This place will not be dry for a week."
"Then what about food and a place to rest?"
"We've got enough to last us two days with great care," said the manslowly, "and we shan't want for water nor shelter from the sun. Rest wemust get as we can up here, and thankfully too, sir, for our lives aresafe. As to what's to come after two days I don't know. There is, Isay, no knowing what may happen out here in two days."
"No," said Brazier sadly. "In one hour we lost our young companion andmy first collection; in one minute I was hopelessly lost; and now thismorning all my second collection has been swept away. As you say,Naylor, we do not know what a couple of days may bring forth."
"No, sir," replied the old sailor; "and there's plenty of time yet.Every day brings its own trouble."
"Yes," said Brazier solemnly; "and every morning brings with it freshhope."
"Hope!" thought Rob; "hope, shut up here in the middle of this waste ofwater--in this tree, with a little food, a wild beast, and that horribleserpent looking as if it is waiting to snatch us all away one by one.How can a fellow hope?"
It was a time to think about home and the chances of ever getting backin safety, and Rob found it impossible to help wishing himself on boardthe great river boat as the evening drew near. At last, after standingup to talk to the puma, which accepted his caresses as if they werecomforting in such a time of peril, the question arose as to how theywould settle themselves for the night.
"I needn't say one of us must keep watch," said Brazier sadly, "for Isuppose that no one will wish to sleep."
"Couldn't if we wanted to," said Rob, in rather an ill-used tone; andShaddy chuckled.
"Oh, I don't know, Mr Rob, sir. Nice elevated sort o' bedroom, with agood view. Plenty o' room for swinging hammocks if we'd got any toswing. There, cheer up, my lad,--there's worse disasters at sea; andour worst troubles have come right at last."
Rob looked at him reproachfully, for he was thinking of Giovanni beingsnatched away from them, and then of the loss of the boat.
Brazier read his face, and held out his hand, which Rob eagerly grasped.
"Cheer up, my lad," said Shaddy, following suit. "One never knowswhat's going to happen; so let's look at the best side of things.There, gen'lemen, it's going to be a fine warm time, and we know itmight have been a drowning storm like it was last night; so that'sbetter for us. It will be very tiring, but we must change our positionnow and then, and spend the night listening to the calls in the forestand trying to make out what they are."
So as not to be left longer than they could help without food, theypartook of a very small portion that night, and then settled themselvesdown; the puma became more watchful as the darkness approached, andwhined and snuffled and grew uneasy. Now it was making its way from onebough to another, and staring hard at the tops of the trees away fromthe river; now its attention was fixed upon the great coiled-up serpent,which lay with fold heaped over fold and its head invisible, perfectlystill, and apparently sleeping till the flood had subsided.
But Rob thought with horror of the darkness, and the possibility of thegreat reptile rousing up and making an effort to reach them, though hewas fain to confess that unless the creature swam it was impossible.
Then the stars began to appear and the noises of the forest commenced;and, as far as Rob could make out, they were as loud as ever.
"One would have thought that nearly everything had been drowned," hesaid in an awe-stricken whisper to his companions.
Brazier was silent, so after waiting for a few moments Shaddy replied:
"We're used to floods out here, Mr Rob, sir; and the things which makenoises live in the water as well as in the trees. I don't supp
ose manyof 'em get drowned in a flood like this. Deer and things of that sortmake for higher ground when there's a chance of the water rising; thecats get on the trees, and the monkeys are already there, with theinsects and birds sheltered under the big leaves; and the snakes crawlup too, so that there isn't much left to drown, is there?"
Rob made no reply, but changed his position, for he was stiff and wearyfrom sitting so long.
"Take care, Mr Rob, sir, or you may slip down. No fear of your beingswept away, but it's as well not to get a wetting. Warm as it is, youmight feel cold, and that would bring on fever."
"I'll take care," said Rob quietly; and in spite of hunger only halfappeased, weariness, and doubt as to their future and the length oftheir imprisonment, he could not help enjoying the beauty of the scene.For the water around was now one smooth mirror-like lake, save where theriver rushed along with a peculiar hissing, rushing sound, augmented bya crash as some tree was dashed down and struck against those at theedge of the forest which rose above the water. In the smooth surfacethe stars were reflected, forming a second hemisphere; but every now andthen the lad saw something which raised his hopes, and he was after asilence about to speak, when Brazier began.
"What is it keeps making little splashes in the water, Naylor?"
His voice sounded strange in the midst of the croaking, chirping, andcrying going on, but it started conversation directly.
"I was just going to speak about it, sir, to Mr Rob here. Fish--that'swhat it is. They're come up out of the deep holes and eddies where theylie when the river's in flood, and spread all about to feed on the wormsand insects which have been driven out by the water. If we only had thefishing-line there'd be no fear of getting a meal. Oh, there is no fearof that. We shall be all right till the water goes down, and be able toprovide for the cupboard somehow."
"Hush! what's that?" whispered Rob, as a terrible and mournful cry rangout from somewhere among the trees--a cry which made the puma moveuneasily.
"Monkey," said Shaddy. "One of those long spider-like howlers. Idaresay it was very pleasant to its friends--yes, hark: there's anotheranswering him."
"And another, and another," whispered Rob, as cries came from adistance. "But it does not sound so horrible, now that you know what itis."
Then came the peculiar trumpet-like cry of a kind of crane, dominatingthe chirping, whistling, and croaking, while the shrieking sounds overthe open lake-like flood and beneath the trees grew more frequent.
There was plenty to take their attention and help to counteract thetedium of the night; but it was a terribly weary time, and not passedwithout startling episodes. Once there was the loud snorting of someanimal swimming from the river over the clearing toward the forest. Itwas too dark to make it out, but Shaddy pronounced it to be a hog-liketapir. At another time their attention was drawn to something elseswimming, by the peculiar sound made by the puma, which suddenly grewuneasy; but the creature, whatever it was, passed on toward the trees.
Several times over Rob listened to and spoke of the splashings and heavyplunges about the surface.
"'Gators," said Shaddy, without waiting to be questioned. "Fish ain'tallowed to have it all their own way. They came over the flooded landto feed, and the 'gators came after them."
It was with a wonderful feeling of relief that Rob heard Brazier say,"Morning can't be far distant," and the guide's reply:
"Daylight in less than an hour, sir. Croakers and squeakers are allgoing to sleep fast till darkness comes again."
"Hist! listen!" whispered Rob excitedly.
"Yes, I hear it, sir. Something moving towards us."
"What is it?"
"Don't know, sir. May be a deer. If it is, so much the better for us,even if it has to be eaten raw. But it's more likely some kind of catmaking for the trees. Hark at your lion there; he's getting uneasy.Mate coming to keep him company, perhaps."
They could see the reflections of the stars blurred by the movements ofthe swimming animal, and that it was going on past them; but it was toodark for them to distinguish the creature, which apparently was makingfor the forest, but altered its course and began to swim for the treewhere the party had taken refuge.
"Oh, come: that will not do," cried Shaddy; "we're full here. That'sright: drive him away."
This last was to the puma, which suddenly sprang up with an angry snarl,and stood, dimly seen against the stars, with its back arched, tailcurved, and teeth bared, uttering fiercely savage sounds at the swimmingcreature approaching.
"Some kind of cat," said Shaddy in a low voice. "Can't be a mate, or itwould be more friendly. Hi! look out," he said sharply, his voice fullof the excitement he felt. "It's a tiger as sure as I'm here. Out withyour knives: we mustn't let him get into the tree. No, no, Mr Brazier;you're too weak yet. I'll tackle him. There's plenty of room in theother trees. We can't have the savage brute here."
As the man spoke, he whipped out and opened his keen-bladed Spanishknife, and, getting flat down on his chest to have his arms at liberty,he reached out the point of his knife like a bayonet.
"Take care, Shaddy," cried Rob hoarsely, as, knife in hand and holdingon by the nearest bough, he peered forward too.
"Trust me, sir. Perhaps if I can get first dig at him before he clawsme, he may sheer off. Ah, mind, sir! you'll have me off. Oh! it's you,is it?"
The first was a fierce shout of warning, but the second was in a tone ofsatisfaction.
"I thought it was you come down on my back," growled Shaddy; "but thisis as it should be. You never know who's going to help you at a pinch."
For without warning the puma had silently made one bound from its perch,and alighted upon the flattish surface presented by the old sailor'sback. Then planting itself with outstretched paws firmly on hisshoulders, and lowering its head, it opened its jaws and uttered asavage yell, which was answered from the golden-spangled water where thenew-comer was swimming.
"It is a tiger, and no mistake," said Shaddy in a low voice; "and we'dbetter let our lion do the fighting, so long as they don't claw me.Mind, old fellow! That's right. I've got fast hold now."
As he was speaking he took a firm grip of a bough by his side, and withbreathless suspense Rob and Brazier waited for the next phase in theexciting episode, for they were in momentary expectation of the jaguar,if such it was, reaching the tree, climbing up, and a fierce battlebetween the two savage creatures ensuing, with a result fatal to theircompanion, unless in the darkness, while they were engaged in a deadlystruggle, he could contrive to direct a fatal blow at the bigger andfiercer beast.
They could now dimly make out its shape as it swam to and fro,hesitating about coming up; for the puma, generally so quiet, gentle anddocile, had now suddenly become a furious snarling and hissing creature,with its ears flat to its head and paw raised ready to strike.
"I don't know what's going to happen next," said Shaddy in a low voice,"for this is something new to me. I did think I'd gone through prettywell everything; but being made into a platform for a lion and a tigerto fight out a battle's quite fresh. Suppose you gentlemen get yourknives out over my head, so as to try and guard it a bit. Never mindthe lion; he won't touch you while that thing's in front of him. Hecan't think of anything else. I can't do anything but hold on. That'sright, messmate," he cried, as the puma made a stroke downward with onepaw. "You'll do the business better than I shall."
"It will be light soon," whispered Brazier, as he leaned forward as faras he could, knife in hand.
"Look out, gentlemen; he's going to land now!"
For the jaguar made a dash forward, after drawing back a bit, and cameclose up, so that they could see the gleaming of its eyes in itsflattened, cruel-looking head.
The puma struck at it again with a savage yell, but it was beyond thereach of its powerful paw, and the jaguar swam to and fro again in frontof their defender, evidently feeling itself at a disadvantage and warilywaiting for an opportunity to climb up the tree.
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p; This, however, it could not find, and it continued its tactics, swimmingas easily and well as an eastern tiger of the Straits, while the pumashifted its position from time to time on Shaddy's back, making thatgentleman grunt softly:
"That's right: never mind me, messmate. Glad you've got so muchconfidence in me. Keep him off, and give him one of those licks on theside of the head if he does come within reach. You'll be too much forhim, of course. Steady!"
By this time Rob had shifted his position, and was crawling down on theother side of the puma, ready to make a thrust with his knife.
Still the jaguar did not come on, but swam warily to and fro, as a faintlight began to dawn upon the strange scene; and the change came rapidly,till there before them was the fierce creature, which paused at last andseemed to float out slowly, raising its paws, while its long tail wavedsoftly behind it on the surface of the water like a snake.
"Now," cried Rob, "he's going to spring."
He was quite right, for the jaguar gathered itself together, and made adash which shot it forward; but there was water beneath its powerfulhindquarters instead of solid earth, and instead of its alighting fromits bound right upon the puma it only forced itself within reach of thetawny animal's claws, which struck at it right and left with therapidity of lightning on either side of its neck, and drove it underwater.
It rose to the surface to utter a deafening roar, which was answeredwith savage defiance by the puma from its post of vantage upon Shaddy;but the jaguar was satisfied of its powerless position, and turned andslowly swam toward the huge tree upon their left.
"Why, it's going to climb up there by the serpent!" cried Rob, in avoice husky with excitement.
At that moment the puma leaped from Shaddy's back up one of the greatbranches nearest to the next tree, whence he poured down a fiercetorrent of feline defiance upon his more powerful enemy; while Shaddyrose and shook himself just as the rising sun sent a glow of light inthe heavens, and illuminated the savage drama commencing in theneighbouring tree.
Rob Harlow's Adventures: A Story of the Grand Chaco Page 31