The Rajah of Dah
Page 25
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.
A DETERMINED PURSUIT.
"Lost!" said Murray, bitterly.
"No," replied Mr Braine, quietly; "they have to take us yet."
"Hist!" whispered Hamet, and parting the overhanging boughs, he forcedthe boat in till, as far as they could tell, they were hidden--a branchacting as anchor--and they listened to the water rippling by them, andthe beat, beat, of the oars.
Sound travels so rapidly over smooth water, that it was long before thefugitives could feel that the boat was close at hand. Then, on it spednearer, and above the sound of the oars came that of voices in low,angry discussion. Two of the leaders were evidently disputing, andtheir words were plain to three at least on board.
Abreast now, and becoming then just visible through the drooping boughs,and as Ned and Frank sat together, hand clasped in hand, the unspokenquestion was: "Will any of the keen eyes on board see us."
"Our escape cut off this way," thought Ned, the next moment; and then heplaced his lips close to Frank's ear and whispered, for the boy hadsuddenly given his hand a quick pressure.
"What did they say?"
"It was the Muntrie," whispered Frank in the same way. "Says there isno boat missing, and that we can't be on the river. The only boat outis the one up by, where we are in prison."
"Hist!" came from Hamet, and instead of the sound of oars growingfainter, they waxed loud.
The boat had been turned, and swept by them again down stream, thesearch being deemed useless.
Ten minutes after, when the beat of oars had died away, the boat wasthrust out again, and all joined now in sending her up stream with aquiet steady stroke, which was kept to for a couple of hours; and thenall at once the river mist began to be flushed with opal tints, thehaggard faces of the occupants of the boat grew plain, and marks ofblood were detected and rapidly washed away.
The bright sunshine and some refreshment sent a gleam of hopefulnessinto every breast, and the men rowed on with renewed energy. They wereall together now, and if they could manage to sustain life for a fewdays, they would be able either to reach the campong of the neighbouringrajah, and throw themselves on his mercy, or, after hiding, drop downthe river some dark night.
As the sun rose higher, their exertions began to tell; the strokes givenby Frank and Ned grew more feeble, and a suitable place being found, theboat was run in under shelter among the overhanging boughs, and anhour's rest taken. Then once more forward, in spite of the heat, tillwell on in the afternoon, when, as Frank and Ned were again resting, andthe boat was slowly making way against the stream, Ned spoke, for thefirst time for quite an hour.
"I suppose we've passed the place where they took us."
"Eh?" cried Frank, starting. "I don't know. I forgot that. I say,Hamet, hadn't we better go on the other side of the river?"
He had hardly uttered the words, when a spear flew from among the bushesnot many yards away, and stuck in the bottom of the boat close to whereHamet was seated.
Mr Braine snatched his revolver from his waist and fired in thedirection of the enemy, who replied with a couple more spears, both ofwhich fell short, dropping into the water with a light splash, for Hamethad made a tremendous sweep with his oar, and sent the boat's head roundtoward the farther shore, so that in a minute or two they were out ofdanger.
"I will not fire again," Mr Braine said; "not that it much matters, forthese men will warn any boat which follows that we have gone by."
At last the heat began to be less oppressive, and better progress wasmade. The party were divided into two crews, one of which rested whilethe other pulled, the four ladies insisting all through the night intaking an oar, so that as the sun rose next morning, they had reachedthe spot where the party had made their first exploring trip--the openpark-like tract beyond the jungle, with a view of the hill-country inthe distance.
"Why not halt here for a few hours!" the doctor said. "It is impossiblefor us to go on without getting food, and to stop at any village meansdanger."
His propositions were acceded to, and the boat run into a nook, where itwas hidden from any one passing along the river; and the possibility andrisk of shooting something to supplement their supplies were beingdiscussed, when once more Hamet raised his hand.
There it was again, the faint beat of oars a long distance off, butplainly indicating pursuit; and with the knowledge that the enemy on thebank would tell of their passing, it was decided to land at once andstrike for the hills. The mist would hide them for the time, and iftheir boat was not discovered, it would still be available after thedanger had passed.
Very few minutes had elapsed before they were all ashore, and once moretaking the way through the park-like country, Frank acting as guide, andtaking care to keep his party well hidden from the river; an easy enoughtask, as the open glades were well furnished with clumps of trees, eachof which acted as a screen from any one who might be in pursuit.
Of this, however, as the hours passed, there seemed no sign, and placeafter place was recognised in passing. The morning was glorious, and tothe great satisfaction of all, game was seen to be sufficientlyplentiful to set famine at defiance. But, of course, no shot was fired,the efforts of all being devoted to reaching the hills, where the firsthalt would be made for rest and food.
The comparative coolness of the air as they ascended, the lovely sceneryof the higher ground, and the feeling of hopefulness that danger wasescaped, at all events for the present, made the long tramp pleasant;and the ladies laughingly disclaimed all feelings of fatigue, when MrBraine called a halt beneath a huge tree high up on the slope they hadascended, and from which they had their first glimpse of the river theyhad left.
They had just seated themselves about the baskets, and were laughinglysharing out the shrunken remains of the provisions hastily gathered,when the doctor said, "How long do you think it will be before the Rajahgives up the pursuit?" when Tim, who had been getting his breakfastready, as he merrily whispered to the boys, and withdrawn to take it insmoke some distance apart, suddenly jogged his master's elbow.
"What is it, Tim? Oh yes; you are not forgotten. This is our--"
"Sure, we're none of us forgotten," whispered Tim, pointing.
And there, to the horror of the party, in a bend of the river, andapparently close to the spot where they had landed, lay two large prahusin the broad sunshine.
Every eye was fixed upon them as they glided straight in their directionalong one of the bends of the winding river.
"Well, he means to capture us," said Mr Braine, quietly, as the prahusdisappeared behind the trees; "but he will have to land his men, andeven if they came on at once, it must be hours before they reached here.So breakfast, dinner, or whatever it is, and then another start."
The sight of the prahus did not act as an appetiser, but the meal waseaten, great care being exercised that no traces of their stay werescattered about, and then once more the word was "Forward!" and thetramp for safety recommenced in silence.
As they went on, Frank pointed to where Murray had shot his variousspecimens and found the pieces of tin ore; and they went on higher tilla comparatively open spot was reached before crossing, where, as theywere now so high, Frank stopped to reconnoitre, gazing down with shadedeyes into the plain and along the park-like slope they had ascended.
"I can't see any sign of the prahus, Frank," said Ned. "There's nothingon the river. Oh!"
"What's the matter?"
"Something flashed half a mile away there. Look down to the left ofthat great tree. That's the one where we stopped to eat."
"Spears. I see," whispered Frank. "Here, Hamet."
The man stepped to his side.
"Look!"
Hamet crept forward and peered between the leaves of a bush, and gazeddown for some moments in silence. Then turning, he said calmly:
"Thirteen of the rajah's men. They are tracking us by the marks we haveleft, and will overtake us in less than an hour."
This wa
s spoken in broken English, but no speech was ever moreimpressive to the hearers, and the gentlemen pressed together, while theladies listened as if to their fate.
"Well," said Mr Braine, hoarsely. "You see. What do you say?Surrender or fight?"
"Fight," said Murray, after exchanging a glance with Amy; and the twoboys uttered a faint "Hurrah!"