CHAPTER IX
THE RESCUE
A dreadful stillness fell upon the dim assemblage, and the thousandgreen eyes turned together slowly upon Mary and her comrades. But theeyes of the Leopard were more dreadful than all. Grinning savagely, withhis head stretched out towards them and his ears flat back, he glared atthem for some minutes as if about to spring.
Suddenly he uttered a yelling laugh that echoed a hundred times amongthe distant pillars of the cave.
'They are not spies,' he whined mockingly. 'The fat Bear and the thinHorse have come to enter my army; and so they shall to-morrow atbreakfast-time. But I have been a fool, and for a penance I will eatthat ill-flavoured Rabbit--_now!_'
'First catch your Rabbit,' said that animal, and, nimbly dodging theheavy paws that slapped at him, he vanished through the entrance.
Kicked savagely at all who tried to seize her.]
The Leopard was in a foaming rage.
'Seize the spies,' he howled. 'Away with them to the high camp.'
She was hurried after the others.]
At that moment the awfulness of her mistake dawned upon Mary, and sheset up a loud 'Boo-hoo!' and, still weeping, struggled and kickedsavagely at all who tried to seize her--jumped in the air, and kickedwith all four legs at once. But in the end she was firmly clutched, and,with a strong beast holding each leg and three more pushing behind, shewas hurried after the others. The big Bear had gone quietly, for fear ofdamage to the little black bear whom he carried tight in his arms.
Then, to the melancholy accompaniment of Mary's wailing--and she gave anawful yell whenever they pushed her on to her nose--surrounded by aglowering throng of wolves and hyaenas and hippopotamuses, they werehustled upwards in the deepening dusk by steep ravines and precipicepaths, until, through a narrow pass, they entered a wide grassy plain,walled on three sides by encircling spurs, and on the fourth by thesteep snow-slope of the mountain summit itself.
From the snow-slope a stream sprang, and twisted through the plain untilit slid, deep, transparent, ice-green, down beside the entrance path.
After the prisoners poured the whole of the Black Mountain Army, who,having set a guard at the entrance, all lay down to sleep, covering theplain closely with their dark forms.
Baby Jane was usually a hungry child, and liked sometimes to fall asleepthinking of breakfast, but now she did not like the idea at all. It washorrid to think that she was now, as it were, a little sausage waitingon the pantry shelf; indeed, the idea was so uncomfortable that shecould not sleep, but nestled close to the Bear and watched the starscome out from behind the faintly glowing snow peak.
But what had happened to the Rabbit? If only he could come and take amessage to her army! He would not leave her of his own accord, butwould wait about near her.
At that moment she felt a curious heaving of the ground beneath herback; it was like a tiny earthquake. What could it be? She moved awayfrom that spot, and with her hand felt the earth rise in a little moundhigher and higher. Then the mound divided, there was a sound of asneeze, and the Rabbit's head emerged. He brushed the earth off his earsand whiskers, and then remarked, complacently:
'If you know a rabbit who thinks he can burrow, fetch him along, andI'll teach him what proper burrowing's like. Down I went just outsidethe entrance, and up I come here!'
Baby Jane was so overcome with delight that she hugged the Rabbit's headin her arms and nearly smothered him with kisses. Then she quietlywakened the Bear and Mary, and the whole party held a whispered councilof war.
After sitting with a puckered forehead for some minutes, Mary sagelysuggested:
'Of course, all we've got to do is to burrow back after the Rabbit.'
The Rabbit sniggered behind his paw:
'I'd like to see you burrowing about in a hedgerow, you beauty. Fancy awarren of cab-horses!'
'You mustn't all be silly,' said Baby Jane. 'You won't laugh when youfind yourself being laid for breakfast to-morrow morning. Run, Rabbit,as hard as you can, and tell my army to march here faster than ever anarmy marched before.'
But even at this desperate moment that wild Rabbit must play his pranks,and, instead of at once departing down his hole, he went loping off intothe darkness among the sleeping beasts.
'I must wish my little Leopard good-night,' he explained over hisshoulder as he went.
In a few minutes they heard a shrill voice at some distance singing:
'Bye, Baby Bunting. Didums go a-hunting? Didums chase a rabbit? Didums try to grab it? Didums want a rabbit-skin To wrap his baby tootsies in?'
Then there came a fierce growl and a rush, and the Rabbit shot pastthem, into his hole, like a flash of lightning.
Long hours of waiting followed. In thought Baby Jane saw the Rabbitracing furiously mile after mile across the dark desert, growing tiredand panting till his heart was nearly bursting; but galloping, gallopingon. Now his little muscles gave out utterly, and yet he went gallopingon--with his soul. At last, with eyes growing dim, he saw a palm slenderand black against the starlit sky, and round it wide dark shadows--thesleeping regiments of Baby Jane's army.
Then, it might be, he gathered his last shred of strength for that lastmile, and came galloping desperately in among the startled beasts, tofall head over heels as if he were shot dead.
Then Baby Jane fancied she heard Sammy and the colonels calling outtheir troops in proper style, and a moment later there was a dull,steady sound, as of the sea on a distant shore or of five thousandgalloping beasts. In her imagination this sound came steadily on. What!_Was_ it imagination? She had been fancying so long she could hardlytell. For a long minute she strained her ears eagerly. Then a faintnight air came up from the plain, and suddenly the sound grew real anddistinct. _It was no fancy._ Her army was coming!
The others had heard it too, and they huddled together, hoping that noneof the Black Mountain band would wake and hear it. No one stirred.
'The sound has stopped!' whispered Mary.
'They have reached the foot of the mountain, and are climbing,'whispered the Bear.
With her heart thumping in her chest, Baby Jane listened withoutbreathing. The silence was as dead as if the two armies upon themountain were boulders of its own rock. Minute after minute went by....
A deafening roar rang out. The sound of bodies hurled to the ground. Arushing sound--and the Lion came flying out of the darkness. He seizedBaby Jane in his mouth, and, turning sharp round, raced for the pass.
But now the whole Black Mountain army was awake, roaring, yelling,screaming, trumpeting, and the Lion found a close rank of them barringhis way. With poor Baby Jane over his shoulder, he flung himself againstthem. He went hurtling through, and the dark pass was open before him;but, alas, even as he reached it he stumbled on to his knees. A hundredgreat paws and talons had struck at him as he went through, and he wasbroken somewhere.
But instantly he got up again, and pushing Baby Jane behind him in thenarrow path, with a cliff on one side and a deep stream on the other, hefaced the Black Mountain army alone. He had far outstripped his ownregiments, and the Bear and Mary had been lost in the scrimmage.
In twos and threes the horrid beasts of the enemy flung themselves uponhim. To Baby Jane, crouching behind him, every fight was alike, and shecould not count them. There was a silence, a threefold snarl, and ascrambling rush; and then the Lion rose high and struck as many blows asthere were assailants. At each blow the rock shook on which they stood,and the walls of the ravine rang with the deafening crash. Each damagedbeast was swept into the deep stream and carried away. But out of manyhundred assailants one now and then would get in a blow, and the Lionhimself was damaged and broken in many places.
Suddenly, above the sound of fighting, Baby Jane heard the wicked yellof the Leopard. At once the lesser assailants all drew off, and,peeping round the Lion, she saw the lord of the Black Mountain Bandslouching across the now open space towards him. The Lion watched himsteadily, but he kept his head sideways as if he did not
know there wasanything before him. In this way he came within a few yards of the Lion,and there paused to lick his shoulder. But then, with frightfulsuddenness, he turned and launched himself at his foe. The Leopard wasfresh, and the Lion was tired and damaged; but the Leopard had nothingbut his muscles and his horrid rage, the Lion had a great heart. For afew moments they grappled; then the Lion managed to shake himself free,caught the huge Leopard behind the neck, and, with a mighty effort,slung him forward high into the air. You might have counted four slowlybefore you heard him crash to the ground. Baby Jane did not hear thathorrible sound--she pushed her fingers into her ears, and shut her eyesso that she might not see what happened when he fell.
Then the monotonous fights began again, and the Lion, in spite of hiscourage, was growing feeble. In a little while they would both be seizedand eaten. The sky overhead was now growing a pearly grey, the firstsign of a day they might never see, and their hearts were growingchilly, when suddenly from the cliffs overhead a clattering hail ofcocoa-nuts rattled upon the skulls of the astonished foe, and a loudhurroo filled their two hearts with comfort--Patsey's artillery had comeinto action!
Patsey's artillery ...]
But wolves and rhinoceroses are not to be driven off with cocoa-nuts,and again the foe pressed forward. Again, in spite, of the friendlyshouts and heavy fire of the field-monkeys overhead, Baby Jane's heartsank within her. Would it not be better to fall into the river, whereyou might swim, than into the inside of a rhinoceros, where youcertainly could not? As she gazed at the stream it struck her that ithad a strange, dark, streaky look. Then she gave a great start, for aneye had slowly risen above the water and solemnly winked at her. It wasMiss Crocodile leading her regiment stealthily up the stream.
... had come into action.]
The eye disappeared, and the next that was seen of Miss Crocodile was ata point where the river ran through the densest masses of the enemy.There, all in a line, as if worked by one machine, a hundred crocodileheads rose above the bank, seized, each of them, the nearest leg, anddisappeared with their prey under the water. This manoeuvre wasrepeated three times with beautiful precision before the dazed BlackMountaineers had the sense to rush from the river bank. At last theLion, now broken in every breakable place, had rest, for Baby Jane wassafe.
But only safe for the time being, for the enemy were still in greatforce and desperate with rage. Indeed, even now they were gathering atthe foot of the great snow-slope for a last charge upon the Lion and thecrocodiles. But none of them had looked up at the crowning ridge of thatslope. There they would have seen a long dark line standing out againstthe paling sky--it was the entire brigade of lions and bears, underSammy! They had missed the path that led into the plain, and now, havingreached the very crest of the mountain, at last saw the foe beneaththem. The Black Mountaineers were at that very instant preparing tocharge the devoted band in the entrance of the pass. Not a second was tobe lost.
'Sit!' shouted Sammy. 'Prepare to coast! Go!' And with that word thewhole brigade went sliding down the snow-slope in a dense line.
'Sh--sh--sh--sh!' (But I cannot 'shish' loud enough to represent threethousand beasts coming down a snow-mountain on their tails!)
Gathering speed as they went until they were whistling downwards throughthe air like a living hailstorm, they struck the Black Mountain armyfrom behind with an awful bump, and sent them flying headlong on theirnoses. Before those wretched creatures could regain their feet atrue-hearted beast was sitting on the head of each. The battle was over.There was no longer a Black Mountain army!
They struck the Black Mountain army from behind.]
At the moment of victory, from the middle of the field, as if by magic,up poured the regiment of rabbits, led by their gallant colonel. (He hadbeen waiting at his hole until that moment arrived.) They wheeledsmartly into line.
'Charge!' cried the Colonel, and with a hurricane of squeaks they sweptacross the field. Unluckily they met a baby leopard in their course,but with great presence of mind they turned about and charged the otherway.
They met a baby leopard in their course.]
This was a fortunate change of plan, for in a far corner they found Maryand the Bear tussling with a gnu and a stork, each couple gripping theother by the wrists (so to speak) and claiming them as prisoners.
At a safe distance the Rabbit halted his regiment, and squeaked in aloud voice:
'In the Queen's name, I arrest you all--for brawling. Come with me!'
The unreasonableness of this announcement for a moment stunned the fourfighters; then the impertinence of it struck them even more strongly,and they _did_ come with him--that is to say, he and his regiment ranfor dear life, and they ran after him.
Thus, followed by the four frantic beasts, he rushed into the middle ofBaby Jane's army, squeaking triumphantly, 'Victory! Victory! Twocomrades rescued! Two prisoners taken!' Luckily the cheers of the armydrowned the heated explanations of Mary and the Bear.
Mary and the Stork.]
And now Baby Jane, no longer a black bear, but a pretty little girlagain, stood with one arm round the neck of the broken Lion, and all herloving beasts around her, like a queen before her conquering army. Andthe morning sun, looking through the pass, gilded her locks, and made acrown of them, and, for her Majesty to walk upon, laid a golden carpetacross the cool, shaded grass.
Down the golden carpet she came, her people flocking after her, throughthe pass, and out into the open morning upon the mountain side, wherethe sun made everything beautiful and comfortable.
Baby Jane's Mission Page 12