CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.
THE MISSING PAIR.
"Here! Hi! Jack! Where are you, lad?" There was no reply, and thedoctor called the nearest of the men, who were slowly making their waythrough the dense growth, putting up some strange bird from time totime.
"Where's Mr Jack, Lenny?"
"Mr Jack, sir? Arn't seen him lately. 'Long o' Ned, I think. See MrJack from where you are, mate?"
"No," came back, and the fresh speaker hailed his nearest companion, andhe his. But no one had seen the boy lately. They had all been too muchoccupied in looking out for rare birds.
"Let's wait a bit," said the doctor. "Give them time to come up. Here,Lenny--and you--let's look at the sport."
He sat down on a block of lava, and became so interested in thespecimens he had obtained that he did not notice the lapse of time.
"Here," he cried at last, "they must have knocked up, and are waitingfor us to go back. Why, we must have come much farther than ever wecame before."
"That's why we've got such good birds, sir," said Lenny.
"Perhaps so. Well, back again now.--Oughtn't to have left him behindlike that," muttered the doctor to himself.
He was hot and weary from his exertions, but his anxiety made him hurryback nearly in the path they had made in ascending, but that soon provedto be too difficult, the growth having sprung back after they hadpassed, and as they had gone up the steep slope well separated, thetracks were feebly marked, and not as they would have been had theyfollowed in each other's steps.
The consequence was that first one mark was found, then another, in theshape of a broken twig or crushed-down patch of grass, but the nextminute the steps were lost, and everything looked so different indescent they in a short time found themselves ready to give up thelaborious task of trying to follow in the steps taken when going up, andglad to go back wherever the way was easiest.
To make up for this the little party spread out as far as wasreasonable, and at every few yards the doctor gave a loud whistle andwaited for a reply.
None came, and they hurried on, rarely recognising anything to act as aguide, but steadily going down toward the shore; and as there was noreply to his calls, the doctor soon came to the conclusion that, tiredof waiting, Jack had turned back, and in the full expectation of findingthe missing ones down by the boat, the party was pressed on, but withtheir leader getting more annoyed at every step.
The boat was invisible till they were close upon it, lying in the mouthof the little river where the great trees spread their boughs rightacross, and at the first rustle of the bushes being heard the sailors incharge started up and began to draw her close in shore.
The doctor uttered an ejaculation full of annoyance, but began clingingdirectly after to the thought which struck him.
"How long have they gone on board?" he cried as soon as he was wellwithin hearing.
Then his hopes were crushed, for the men addressed replied--
"Gone on board, sir? Who gone on board?"
"Mr Jack and his man."
"Haven't been down here, sir. Arn't lost 'em, have you?"
The doctor made no reply.
"Here," he cried, "take these birds, and you two who have been restingcome back with me. Lenny, I want you, and you come too," he continuedto another of the men.
The other two who had come down from the mountain slope were eager toreturn, but the doctor ordered them to take charge of the boat, andwithout pausing a minute shouldered his gun and turned to follow thepath they had taken that morning, with better hope of success.
"I dare say we came close by them somewhere," he said to Lenny. "Ihardly see though how we could have missed them."
"Strikes me, sir, as I know how it was," said the man.
"You think you know?"
"Yes, sir, but it's only thinking, and mayn't be right."
"Tell me what you think," cried the doctor impatiently.
"It was hot, sir, steamy hot under the trees, and Mr Jack is young andnone too strong, and Ned arn't quite got over his trouble."
"Yes, of course. Well, go on."
"Well, sir, they must have trudged after us till they were tired out,and then sat down to wait for us, and went to sleep."
"I hope that's it, Lenny," said the doctor as they struggled on, up andup, amongst tree, bush, and rock, while, to add to their difficulty, acomplete change came on with tropic rapidity, a black curtain of cloudsswept across the sky, and in an incredibly short time the lightningflickered for a few minutes through the trees, and then came in blindingflashes, accompanied more than followed by peal upon peal of thunderwhich seemed to shake the island to its foundation.
Worse still was to follow. Just as the lightning was flashing andquivering among the trees, and the thunder was at its loudest, the raincame down. It had approached from the sea with, a dull hissing soundwhich grew louder and louder, till with startling force the wind whichbore it on its wings flung it as it were with a tremendous force uponthe mountain slope, whipping the boughs and tearing the leaves from thetwigs, pouring away with terrific violence, and rushing downward intothe gully, which soon became filled with a roaring torrent which sweptall before it.
This was the first example the doctor had encountered of the power of atropical storm, and he was glad to shelter himself and his fourcompanions beneath an overhanging ledge of lava rock--a poor protection,but such as it was it saved them from much of the force of the storm.
The downpour ceased as suddenly as it had commenced, the tempestsweeping over the island to pass on to the ocean and be dissipatedthere, so that in little more than an hour the sun was shining downthrough the trees again, where the drenched earth was spangled as itwere with jewels.
But the task of continuing the search was now made excessivelydifficult. The ground was slippery in the extreme, save where the lavahad been washed bare, and at almost every step the water-laden boughspoured down a fresh shower upon them. The labour was terrible, for nowit was as if they were forcing their way through a bath of hot vapourwhich was enervating in the extreme.
But they struggled on hour after hour, vainly seeking for some trace ofthe missing ones--a task which would have baffled the keenest-eyed RedIndian, for the rain had swept away every footprint, and when at rareintervals a broken branch or torn-off leaf-covered twig was found, itwas as likely to have been the work of the storm as of any one passingthrough.
Faint with an exhaustion he would not own to, the doctor was stillurging or cheering his men on, when the dull concussion of a gun and thefollowing echoes announced that those on the yacht were impatient fortheir return.
"Signal to come back, sir," said Lenny despondently.
"Yes, but we can't go back without finding them first," said the doctorangrily. "Who is to face Sir John Meadows and tell him we have failedin our duty of protecting his son?"
No one answered, and the silence was broken by the dull thud of anothergun.
"It is of no use, I can't return while it is light, but the summons mustbe answered. Here, Lenny, go back and tell Sir John what has happened,and that we are searching in every direction."
"Me, sir?" cried the man with a look of horror; "I couldn't do it, sir."
"You must. You have been out all day, and must be done up."
"Me, sir! My mate's ever so much worse nor me. Send him."
"G'orn with you," cried the other sailor who had been with them sincethe first start; "why I arn't half so done as he is, sir."
"I want you to go, Lenny," said the doctor sternly. "I dare say youwill find another boat waiting. Send the men up to help the search.But there is no need to send that message, Sir John is sure to have comehimself."
"Mean it, sir? I'm to go?" said Lenny.
"Yes, of course."
"Well, sir, I'd sooner keep on hunting for the poor lad all night thanface Sir John; but if you say I am to do it, why do it I must."
"Go then," said the doctor, "and mind, you are not to attempt toret
urn."
"Arks your pardon, sir, but it'll be 'bout two hours 'fore I get down tothe boat."
"No, no; not half that time," cried the doctor.
"We've come a long way, sir. What do you say, mates?"
"All two hours," was the reply.
"Yes, sir, you've been so anxious 'bout it you arn't noticed how thetime goes, and as I was going to say, by the time I get down to the boatit will be black as the inside o' one o' the coal-bunkers."
The doctor stood gazing at the man wildly.
"There won't be no more searching then."
"You're right, you're right," groaned the doctor. "There, stop with us.Come what may the poor fellows must be found."
_Bang_! went a signal gun again, and the echoes rolled away up themountain, growing fainter and fainter, while the lovely grove, full ofdazzling light and darkest shade, resplendent in its beauty, and withthe air fragrant with the freshened odour of leaf and flower, seemed toDoctor Instow the most horrible solitude to which man had ever beencondemned.
"There they go again," said one of the men, as once more a gun wasfired.
"Forward," cried the doctor, rousing himself from his utter despondency.
"Which way, sir?" asked Lenny.
"Any way, my lads. System is of no use here. We must trust to chance."
"Think he can have got over into the next gully, sir?" said Lenny.
"No, no, impossible. It would take a party of strong men to cut a waythrough, and they would not make the clearance in a week. Forward!Open out and keep on giving a hail from time to time."
Another signal gun for their recall was fired.
"We can't help it," said the doctor. "Forward, my lads. We must findthem now."
It was not until the occasional glimpses of the sky they caught told himby their altered colour that the night was close at hand, that thedoctor once more halted, and then gave the order for the party to returnas well as they could upon their tracks.
And now as they staggered more than walked wearily back a shot was firedevery few minutes, and a short halt made to listen for a response.
But none came, and they struggled on through the darkness, the rapidnessof the descent of the ground and the roar of the torrent at their sidebeing their only guides, for the darkness beneath the trees was nowintense.
How long they had been going downward no one could have said, as theykept now in line, following each other closely, with Lenny first, whenafter stumble and fall at every few yards, as the doctor's gun flashedand the report rang out, it was at length answered from higher up ontheir left.
"At last!" cried the doctor, rousing himself from the feeling ofexhaustion which seemed to have deadened all his energies. "Bear to theleft, Lenny, for a few minutes, and then I'll fire again."
"Ay, ay, sir!" said the man huskily, and in a very short time hestumbled and fell, rolling down a precipitous part.
"Hurt?" cried the doctor.
"Dunno, sir," said the man with a groan. "Feels like it; but don't youmind me, you fire again."
The doctor cocked his piece and raised it to fire in the air, when ashot rang out again, apparently about a hundred yards away, the flashbefore the report being plainly seen.
"Ahoy!" yelled Lenny hoarsely, and this was answered faintly.
"That's Ned," growled Lenny. "No, no; not his voice," cried the doctor."Mind how you go down there."
The words were useless, for the men were too much worn out to studyanything, and they let themselves slide down, only too glad to get tothe bottom.
"Ahoy!" came now, and as they answered there was a breaking and rustlingheard among the trees, shouts and sharp orders could be heard, and in afew minutes the two parties encountered.
"Have you found him?" cried the doctor, for he had known for somemoments that he was wrong.
"Found him!" came back in the voice of Sir John, full of agony. "Is notJack with you?"
The doctor's answer was a groan before he announced what had happened.
A few minutes' conversation followed between Sir John and the mate,before the former said sharply, in a tone which cut the doctor to theheart--
"Can you give me no idea where you missed them first?"
"Not the slightest," said the doctor bitterly. "We are completelylost."
There was silence for a few moments before Sir John spoke again.
"Go on down to the mouth of the gully," he said sharply, "and make thebest of your way on board."
"What are you going to do?" said the doctor.
"Stop here till daylight, and then continue the search. Better make afire, my lads."
"Yes," cried the mate. "It may guide them to us."
"I must stay," said the doctor.
"I do not want you," said Sir John coldly, "and you are too tired to beof any use."
"I suppose so," said the doctor bitterly, "but I must stay all thesame."
"Then back with you, my men," said Sir John.
"Keep on downward near the stream, and you must come upon the boat."
There was a dead silence.
"Well," said the mate sharply, "why don't you go?"
"Dunno 'bout the others," said Lenny softly. "I'm ready to make astart, but I can't. It's my legs won't go."
"That's about it with me," said another of the men; and the result wasthat the mate told them to sit by the fire that was made, and rest foran hour before starting back. But when the hour had elapsed the poorfellows were plunged in a stupor-like sleep from which they could not bearoused.
Jack at Sea: All Work and No Play Made Him a Dull Boy Page 29