At the Point of the Bayonet: A Tale of the Mahratta War

by G. A. Henty

  Chapter 11: A Prisoner.

  The next day the Governor himself came off to the brig, and wasreceived with the usual honours.

  "The council are quite of my opinion," he said to Harry, "as to theextreme difficulty and cost that an effort to put down piracy amongthe islands would involve. Our ships on the station would not be atall sufficient for such work and, at any rate, it is a step that weshould not venture to engage in, without the assent of the homegovernment. We shall, of course, write home fully upon the matter,and shall leave the final decision to them; at the same timeexpressing our own views, and giving some idea as to the force thatwould have to be employed, the expenditure involved, and the timerequired for the operation.

  "This letter contains a reply, as far as we can give it, to theGovernor General's proposals."

  "His lordship will, I am sure, be sorry to hear your views, sir;but I imagine that he will not hesitate to undertake the work ofpunishing, at least, the people of some of the islands whereoutrages have taken place, as soon as affairs are sufficientlysettled in India for him to dispense, for a time, with the servicesof some of the Company's ships of war."

  As Harry expected, the face of the Dutch Governor showed that thisstatement, when translated, was evidently most unpalatable to him.After a moment's hesitation, however, he said:

  "If Lord Mornington waits until everything is quiet in India, itwill probably be a very long time before he will be able to carryout the operation you speak of."

  "That may be, sir. I do not know whether you have heard thatSeringapatam has been captured, and that Tippoo, himself, fell inits defence?"

  A look of amazement, and even of consternation, on the part of theDutch officials showed that the news was as unwelcome as it wasunexpected. The loss of their hold in India, by the wonderfulspread of the British power, was an extremely sore point with them.Nothing would have pleased them better than to have heard that thepower of the latter had been shattered.

  "It is certainly news to us," the Governor said, shortly. "Butthere are still other powers in India, that are likely to give atleast as much trouble as Mysore has done."

  "I quite admit that," Harry said, "but have no doubt that we shallbe able to deal with them, as satisfactorily as we have done withTippoo; and possibly as quickly."

  "That remains to be seen," the Governor said.

  "Quite so, sir. I have a considerable knowledge of India, and ofits native armies; and I doubt whether any of them are as goodfighters as Tippoo's men were."

  "Was Mysore taken by storm, or by famine?"

  "By storm, after our batteries had opened fire, for a few days."

  'Well, sir, I will now return to shore,' the Governor]said.

  "Well, sir, I will now return to shore," the Governor said,abruptly. "You will please to give the assurances of my high esteemto Lord Mornington."

  Harry bowed and, without another word, the Dutch officialsdescended the accommodation ladder, and returned to shore. Whenthey were out of hearing, Fairclough burst into a hearty laugh.

  "That was a severe broadside you poured into him, Lindsay. I couldsee that they were absolutely flabbergasted, when you told themabout Mysore. Their manner, before that, had been almost insolent.But you cut their comb finely."

  "I knew that it would be a heavy blow for them. Of course, theyview with intense disgust the spread of our power in India. Notonly has it destroyed their dream of empire there but, in case ofwar with them, their islands here will be absolutely at our mercy.If we are strong enough to win kingdom after kingdom in India,there should be no difficulty in turning out the small bodies oftroops they have, in their various possessions."

  "Yes, I see that; and the time may come very shortly, for theFrench are likely to lay hands on Holland, before long and, as soonas they do so, we shall be ready to pop down upon them, here. Thedays of Van Tromp are long passed, and the Dutch navy has becomeabsolutely insignificant.

  "Well, I am glad that this is over. The sooner we are off, thebetter."

  Half an hour after the Dutch Governor had left, orders were givento get up the anchor and loosen the sails, and the brig was shortlyon her way north.

  "Now, what is your next move?" Fairclough asked, as the bustle ofgetting under way subsided.

  "The Malay tells me that there is a small town on the east coast,and that this would be the most handy for landing, as from there toJohore's town is not more than some twenty miles. Whether the roadis open, he cannot say. The news he learned, from the tumangong'speople, was that there was a great deal of fighting going onbetween Johore and some of the petty rajahs. What the position is,at the present, moment he could not discover.

  "I should propose that we drop anchor off the place; and that, ifwe find the natives well disposed, the interpreter should make anarrangement, with a couple of natives, to carry up a letter from meto the rajah, saying that I have come on a matter of business fromthe Governor of India; and asking if he is willing to receive me,and to guarantee my safety. If he says no, there is an end to it.If he says yes, I shall start as soon as the answer comes."

  "Would you take some blue jackets with you?"

  "No. If we were attacked by a force of Malays, we should probablybe annihilated even if I took half your ship's company. Therefore,the smaller the escort I travel with, the better. I shall, ofcourse, take the Malay, my man Abdool, and the four men of theescort. That is quite enough, if we get up without trouble; whereasif there is trouble, the fewer the better."

  "Well, I hope no harm will come of it, Lindsay. Of course, if youconsider it your duty to go, go you must."

  "Yes, I think it my duty. I consider the cession of this island tobe of extreme importance. If we only obtain it from the tumangong,some day the Rajah of Johore might get the upper hand, andrepudiate the treaty made without his approval and, narrow as thestrait is, he might cross with forty or fifty canoes, make his waythrough the woods, and annihilate the settlement at one blow."

  "No doubt that is so," the other agreed. "Well, if you get detainedyou will, of course, try and make your way down to the coast. Iwill remain at anchor off the town for a month, after you start. Ifthere is no news of you, then, I shall conclude that it is hopelessto wait longer, and shall sail for Calcutta with your despatches.As I was present at both your interviews, I shall be able toreport, from my own knowledge, as to the disposition shown both bythe tumangong and the Dutch."

  Ten days later, they cast anchor off the village. Some canoes sooncame off to them with fruit and other products and, shortlyafterwards, a war canoe came out with the chief man of the town. Atfirst he was very reticent; but a bottle of champagne opened hislips, and he and the interpreter conversed for some time together.

  "What does he say?" Harry asked, when there was a pause in theconversation.

  "He says, sir, that the country is very unsettled, and that it isunsafe to travel. The town acknowledges the rajah as its master,and the territory through which the road runs is nominally his; butit is infested by bands owing allegiance to a neighbouring rajah,who is at war with him."

  "Have you asked him if it is possible to send a messenger through?"

  "He said that there are plenty of men who would venture to gothrough, if well paid. He thinks that two men would be better thanten, for they could hide themselves more easily in the forest."

  "Well, ask him what he would send two messengers through for."

  The Malay answered that he could not say, until he had spoken tosome of them; but he thought that for ten dollars they would bewilling to undertake it.

  "Tell him that I would pay that, and will give them as much moreif, on their return, they will guide me and my party to theresidence of the rajah."

  The Malay shook his head.

  "They would want more for that," he said. "Two natives could passwithout much danger for, if they were caught, they could say thatthey belonged to one of the other bands, but had lost their party.It would be quite different if they were to have Europeans withthem.

  "
How many would go?"

  "Seven of us, altogether."

  "I will see about it," the chief said; "but if I succeed, you willgive me three bottles of that drink."

  "I have very little of it," Harry said, "but I will agree to givehim the three bottles, if he finds messengers to take up myletters; and arranges with them, or others, to guide us up."

  The Malay nodded, when the answer was translated to him; drank halfa tumbler of ship's rum, with great satisfaction; and then wentoff.

  "This is going to be a more dangerous business than our expeditionto Nagpore," Harry said to Abdool, when he told him what the Malayhad said about the dangers, and the state of affairs on shore.

  "My lord will manage it, somehow," Abdool said; "he was born undera fortunate star, and will assuredly do what is best."

  "I shall do what I hope is best, Abdool; but one cannot answer howit will turn out. One thing is certain: that if we fall into thehands of the Malays, we shall meet with little mercy."

  "We should have had no mercy, if we had fallen into the hands ofthe people of Nagpore, master," Abdool said.

  "That is true enough, Abdool; and I don't think we should have beenmuch better off, if Scindia had laid hands on us after we hadbearded him in his tent. I cannot say that this expedition is onethat I should have chosen, were I not convinced that it is my duty.However, we must hope that all will go well with us, as it has donebefore."

  The next day the Malay came off again.

  "I have arranged with two men," he said, "to take your message, forten dollars; but if they go back with you, they will requiretwenty, because the rajah might detain them."

  "That I will pay," Harry said.

  "But supposing you should not come back," the Malay said, "theymight lose their reward. Will you pay them in advance?"

  "No. I will leave the money in Captain Fairclough's hands, andwhether I return or not he will, before he leaves, pay it to themen themselves, if they come back, or to their families."

  "That is a fair proposal," the Malay said. "When do you wish themessengers to start?"

  "The letter will be ready for them, in an hour's time. I will comeon shore with it, see the men, and give it to them, withinstructions. Will they travel by night, or day?"

  "They will start at daybreak," the chief said. "The road is but atrack, and could not be followed at night; for a forest extendsalmost the whole distance, and they would find it too dark to keepto the road. I told them that it would be safer to travel at night,but they said it could not be done. They would not be likely to besurprised in the day, as they would travel noiselessly, and wouldbe sure to hear any movement of a party of men coming along theroad, and could hide in the forest until they had passed. Moreover,our people do not like travelling in the dark. Evil creatures areabout, and even the bravest fear them."

  "Very well, chief; then I will come ashore in an hour, and givethem this letter."

  As soon as they had left, Harry went down to the interpreter, andgave him the exact purport of the message to the rajah; leaving itto him to put it in the usual form in which communications wereaddressed to persons in authority, but saying that it was necessarythat he should impress him with his importance, as the commissionerof the great Governor of India. When this was transcribed, on someparchment which had been brought for the purpose, Harry went ashorewith Lieutenant Hardy and a strong party of seamen for, althoughthe local chief had apparently been most friendly, the treacherousnature of the Malays was well known, and Fairclough thought it aswell to order them to take their cutlasses with them, and each manto carry a brace of pistols hidden beneath his jacket.

  A number of natives assembled on the shore as the boat approached,but they seemed to be attracted by curiosity, only. Just as theboat touched the beach, the chief came down to meet them, attendedby a dozen armed followers. He invited Harry to follow him to hisown house, where the two messengers were awaiting him. They wereboth men in the prime of life--strong, active-looking fellows.Harry, through his interpreter, explained exactly what he wisheddone.

  "If you carry out your mission well, and quickly," he said, "Ishall make you a present, in addition to what has been agreed upon.You will notice the rajah's manner, when he reads the letter; andtell me, when you return, whether he appeared to be pleased or not,whether he hesitates as to giving me a guarantee, and whether, inyour opinion, he means to observe it. I shall rely much upon yourreport."

  Three days passed, and then a boat brought the messengers off tothe ship.

  "So you have made your journey safely?" Harry said, through theinterpreter.

  "We met with no trouble by the way. This is the answer that therajah has sent."

  The letter was a satisfactory one. The rajah expressed willingnessto receive the officer whom the English lord had sent to him, andto guarantee his safety while at his town; but said that, owing tothe troubled state of the country, he could not guarantee hissafety on the road, but would send down an escort of twenty men toguard him on his way up, and the same on his return to the coast.

  "And now," Harry said, when the interpreter had read the document,"tell me what passed."

  "When we said that we were messengers from an English lord, onboard a ship with great guns, we were taken to the rajah's house.He took the letter from us, and read it. Then he asked some ofthose with him what they thought of the matter. They answered thatthey could see no harm in it, and perhaps you might bring presents.He then asked us how many would come up with you; and we told himfour soldiers, as escort, and an interpreter. He nodded, and thentalked in a low voice to those around him, and told us to comeagain, that afternoon, when a letter would be given us to take toyou."

  "Do you think that he means treachery?" Harry asked.

  "That we cannot say, my lord. We have talked as we came down. Itseems to us that he could have nothing to gain by hindering you;but that perhaps he might detain you, in order to obtain a ransomfor you from the lord of India."

  Harry had already enquired, from the chief of the town, as to thecharacter of the rajah.

  "He is feared, but not liked," the chief said. "He knows that thereare those who would prefer that the old family should reign again,and he has put many to death whom he has suspected as beingfavourable to this. This is the reason why the tumangong, and otherchiefs, have revolted against him. The loss of so much territoryhas not improved him and, in his fits of passion, he spares none."

  "What has become of the family of the former rajah?" Harry asked.

  "His wife and child are prisoners in the palace," he said. "Theirfriends are surprised that their lives should have been spared; butthe rajah is crafty, and it is thought that he holds them so thathe could, if his position became desperate, place the young princeon the throne and declare for him; in which case some, who are nowhis enemies, might come over to his side. I am told that, exceptthat they are kept prisoners, the late rajah's wife and boy arewell treated."

  The account was not satisfactory, but it did not shake Harry'sdetermination. Questioning the Malays further, he found that theyhad heard, at Johore, rumours that one of the chiefs on the borderof Pahang was collecting a large force, with the intention ofattacking the rajah; that the people of Johore were erecting strongpalisades round the town; and that the fighting men of the villagesround had all been called in for its defence.

  "When is this escort to come down?" he asked.

  "They started at the same time as we did, my lord, and will be hereby this evening."

  "Very well. In that case I will land, tomorrow morning at daybreak,and start at once; so that we shall reach Johore tomorrow. Will youhire four men, to act as carriers for us?"

  At the time appointed, Harry went on shore with the Malay, Abdool,and four troopers. They had put on full uniform, and Harry hadbrought with him, to shore, an assortment of presents similar tothose he had given to the tumangong. The two messengers and thefour natives, as carriers, were awaiting him and, as he went up thebeach, he was joined by twenty Malays with an officer of the r
ajah,who saluted him profoundly. The chief of the village was alsothere, and accompanied the party until beyond its boundary.

  After passing a few plantations, they entered a dense forest. Theroad was a mere footway, apparently but little used. The groundascended rapidly and, when they had gone a short distance, some ofthe Malay soldiers went scouting ahead; the rest following inabsolute silence, stopping frequently to listen.

  "It is quite evident, Abdool," Harry said, in a whisper, "that whatthey said at the village is true, and these people from Johoreconsider the journey to be a very dangerous one. They are evidentlyexpecting a surprise; and I am afraid that, if we are attacked, weshall not be able to place much reliance on them."

  Abdool shook his head.

  "What are we to do, sahib, if we are attacked?"

  "It depends on what these Malays do. If they make a good fight forit, we will fight, too; if not, and we see that resistance isuseless, we will remain quiet. It would be of no use for six men tofight fifty, on such ground as this. They would creep up and hurltheir spears at us and, though we might kill some of them, theywould very soon overpower us.

  "Drop back, and tell the four troopers that on no account are theyto fire, unless I give them the order."

  Presently the Malays came to a stop, and the officer hurried backto Harry.

  "We have heard the sound of footsteps in the wood, and one of mymen says he saw a man running among the trees."

  "It may have been some wild beast," Harry said. "There are plentyof them in the wood, I hear, and your man may have been mistaken inthinking that he saw a human figure. And even if it was so, itmight be some villager who, on hearing us, has left the path,thinking us to be enemies."

  "It may be that," the officer said, when the words were translatedto him. "But it is more likely that he was posted there to watchthe path, and that he has gone to tell his band that a party isapproaching."

  "Even if it were so," Harry said, "the band may be only a smallone."

  The officer moved forward, and joined his men. Half an hour later,without the slightest warning, a shower of spears flew from amongthe trees; followed immediately afterwards by a rush of darkfigures. Several of the Malay escort were at once cut down. Therest fled, at full speed.

  Harry saw that resistance would be hopeless, and would only ensuretheir destruction. He therefore called to his followers to remainquiet. The four bearers, however, threw down their burdens, andfled at full speed down the path, just as a number of Malays pouredout on either side.

  They were evidently struck with the appearance of Harry and hisfollowers; but were about to rush upon them, when a chief ranforward and shouted, to them, to abstain from attacking thestrangers. Then he walked up to Harry, who was evidently the chiefof the party.

  "Who are you, white man?" he asked, "and where are you going?"

  The interpreter replied that they were going on a visit of ceremonyto the Rajah of Johore.

  "We are his enemies," the chief said, "and now you must come withus."

  "This lord--" the interpreter began, but the chief waved his handfor him to be silent.

  He waited for a quarter of an hour, by which time he was joined bythat portion of his followers which had pursued the Malays. Many ofthem carried human heads in their hands and, by the number ofthese, Harry saw that very few of his native escort could haveescaped. The chief ordered his men to pick up the packages that hadbeen thrown down by the bearers, and then turned off into theforest.

  After a quarter of an hour's walk, they arrived at the spot where astill-smoking fire showed that the band had halted. No pause wasmade, however, and the party kept on their way and, in two hours'time, reached the foot of a high range of mountains that had beenvisible from the coast. The climb was a severe one but, in anotherhour, they came out upon a flat plateau. Here, in a small village,a considerable body of men were gathered; who hailed the arrival oftheir comrades, with their ghastly triumphs of victory, with loudshouts.

  The chief of the band led his captives to a hut, somewhat superiorin appearance to the others, in front of which stood a man whosebright attire and ornaments showed him to be a chief of importance.

  "Who is this white man," he asked, "and these soldiers who are withhim?"

  The officer repeated the description that he had received from theinterpreter, whom he pointed out.

  "Why was this white man going to Johore?" he asked.

  "He was sent by the white lord of India, my lord."

  "Ask him why he was sent?"

  "I was sent to Johore to ask the rajah if he would grant a tradingstation to the English."

  "We want no English on our coast," the chief said. "There are theDutch, at Malacca--some day we will turn them out.

  "So he was bringing presents to Johore, was he?"

  "Yes, my lord; these are the parcels," and he beckoned up the menwho carried them.

  These approached, and humbly laid them at the rajah's feet.

  "I have to report, my lord, that there were twenty of Johore's menwith him. These we killed."

  "Did the white man and his soldiers aid them?"

  "No, my lord. They stood quiet, and offered no resistance,therefore I brought them to you."

  "You did well. You are sure that none of the Johore men escaped, tocarry off the news that we were here?"

  "Quite certain. We have the heads of twenty men, and theirofficer."

  "Good! I will examine these things. Put the white man and thisMalay into a hut, and the four soldiers into another.

  "Who is this other man, who is dressed differently?"

  "He is the white officer's servant," the interpreter said.

  "Well, he can go with his master, then."

  The four troopers were led off in one direction, and Harry and theothers in another. It was a hut roughly constructed of bamboos,thatched with broad leaves, while the entrance had no door. Theinterpreter did not carry arms; those of Harry and Abdool had beenremoved.

  "Things have turned out badly, Abdool," Harry said.

  "Very badly, sahib. I do not like the look of that rajah."

  "Nor do I, Abdool. I am convinced that he means mischief, and wemust get away as soon as we can.

  "Have you got your knife with you? So have I. We must make a wayout of the back of this hut."

  A group of half a dozen Malays had taken their seats on the ground,at a distance of some fifteen yards from the entrance; but hadposted no sentries. Behind it, as they were taken in, Harry noticedthat there was a patch of grain, and beyond that rose the forest.

  "These knives are no good against bamboo, sahib."

  "No, I know that; but we might cut these rattans which bind themtogether. In the first place, dig down with your knife, and see ifthe bamboos are sound underneath. They may have rotted there.

  "You and I will stand at the entrance," he went on to theinterpreter, "then they cannot see in."

  "Bamboos are quite sound, sahib."

  "Then we must try another way. First cut the rattans--but not in aline with the entrance, a few feet on one side."

  The wood was extremely tough, and it was half an hour before Abdoolcould cut through them, and free three or four of the bamboo poles.While he was doing this, Harry and the interpreter stood talkingtogether, apparently watching the movements of the Malays.

  "We are going to try and escape," Harry said. "Will you go with us,or remain here? They will certainly kill us, if they overtake us;there is just a chance that they will not kill us, if we stay."

  "They will kill us," the man said, confidently. "It may not betoday, because the rajah will be looking over his presents, andwill be in a good temper; but tomorrow they will come in and krisus. Assuredly I will go with you."

  When Abdool announced that he had cut through the rattans, Harryjoined him, telling the interpreter to wait at the entrance till hecalled him.

  "What next, master?" Abdool asked.

  "The next thing will be to pull up the bamboos. If you have cut alltheir lashings, this
ought not to be very difficult; but it willmake it easier if we cut the ground away, as deep as we can, onthis side of them."

  Kneeling down, they set to work with their knives and, after halfan hour's work, they had laid bare the bottoms of four of thebamboos, which were sunk two feet into the ground.

  "Now, Abdool, we ought to get them up easily enough."

  With their united strength they pulled up a bamboo, replaced it inits position and, one by one, got the other three up, put them inagain, and lightly filled in the earth.

  "Now we can go, at a minute's notice," Harry said. "At any rate, wehad better wait till it is dark."

  The sun had just set, when they saw the rajah come out of his hut.He gave an order, and the four troopers were brought out, andplaced in a line. Four natives took their places behind them, krisin hand.

  "They are going to murder them!" Harry exclaimed, in horror.

  "Now, Abdool, there is not a moment to be lost; it will be ourturn, next."

  Their guards had all risen to their feet, watching what was goingon. Three of the bamboos were plucked up in a moment. This affordedan opening sufficiently large for them to pass through and, keepingthe hut between them and the guard, they made their way through theplantation, and dashed into the forest. They heard yells ofsatisfaction in the village, and Harry had no doubt that the fourtroopers had been murdered.

  They ran at full speed through the forest and, ten minutes later,heard loud shouts of dismay; and had no doubt that a party had beensent to take them out to execution, and had discovered theirescape. It was already almost dark, under the thick shade of thetrees; but for half an hour they ran on, the Malay in advance, forhe could see any obstacles better than they could, the habits andtraining of his youth having given him experience in such work.

  For a time they had heard loud shouts behind them. These had beenuseful, in enabling them to keep a straight course. The Malay nowturned, and struck off at right angles to the line that they hadbeen pursuing.

  "We must keep on, for a time," he said. "When they do not overtakeus, they will scatter through the forest in all directions."

  For hours they toiled on, sometimes at an easy walk, sometimesbreaking into a run. At last the Malay admitted that, for the time,they were safe; and they threw themselves down upon the ground.

  "Tomorrow," he said, "they will take up the search in earnest, andwill track our footsteps. We had better take to a tree, now. Itwill not be safe to stay here."

  The others cordially agreed as, for some time, they had heard theroars of wild beasts, which abounded in these forests; and Harryand Abdool had run with their open knives in their hands, preparedfor a sudden attack.

  "The others will have gone back to the village, long ago," theMalay said, when they had made themselves as comfortable as theycould, in the forks of the tree, "except the men who were guardingus. They will not dare venture into the village, for they wouldfear the rajah's anger, even more than death from a tiger. Theywill be first in the search, tomorrow morning.

  "Which way do you wish to go, my lord?"

  "I have been thinking it over, as we came. I think that our bestplan will be to go on to Johore. Doubtless the road down the coastwill be watched. How far from Johore do you think we are?"

  "Not very far," the Malay said. "We have been going in thatdirection, ever since we first turned--not very straight, perhaps,but certainly in that direction. I think that we cannot be morethan five or six miles from the town. It lies between the hills wecrossed, and the higher ones beyond. We have been descending alittle, all the time."

  "I am afraid that Johore will not be very pleased to see usarriving empty handed, and to learn that the escort he sent us haveall been killed. Still, the news that we bring him, that hisenemies are not far off, will be useful to him; and we will offerto aid him in the defence of his town, if he is attacked. At anyrate, it is a satisfaction to know that we have not very far to go,and have got so good a start of the fellows behind us that they arenot likely to overtake us, before we get there."

  More than once, during the night, they heard angry growling at thefoot of the tree. Towards morning there was a scraping sound.

  "That is a leopard, sahib," the Malay said, in alarm; "he isclimbing the tree to get at us."

  Abdool was sitting immediately below Harry, and the latter calledto him to come up beside him.

  "Mount as high as you can, my lord," the Malay said. "The trunk isnot so rough, when you get higher; and the beast will find itharder to climb."

  "We shall do better, here," Harry said. "These two arms, nearlyopposite to each other, are just the thing for us.

  "You go out to the end of one, Abdool, and I will go out to the endof the other. We will climb out as far as we can, and then he willhave to follow us very slowly, whichever way he chooses. If he goesfor you, I will follow him. If he comes my way, you follow him.When the bough gets thin he won't be able to turn round, and theone behind can give him a sudden stab, which will make him leave gohis hold."

  By the time he had finished speaking, they were each far out ontheir respective branches, and the leopard was close to the fork.It paused a moment, looked at the two men and, after a moment'shesitation, began to crawl out towards Abdool. Harry at once madehis way back to the trunk, and then followed the animal.

  Abdool had gone out as far as he dared and, holding on tightly,swayed the end of the branch up and down. The leopard, as itapproached him, was evidently disconcerted; and clung to the bough,which was scarcely six inches in diameter at the point it hadreached. It snarled angrily, as it became conscious that it wasbeing followed.

  Harry, feeling convinced that it could not turn, came fearlessly upto it, and then struck his knife into its loin. As the blade wasbut some four inches long, he had no hope of striking a vitalpoint.

  The leopard uttered a roar, and tried to turn and strike at himwith one of its forepaws; but the blade again penetrated to itsfull depth, this time on the other side and, with a start, it lostits footing, clung for a moment to the branch with its forepaws,and strove to regain its hold; but Harry brought his knife down,again and again, on one of its paws.

  Abdool, crawling in, quickly struck it under the shoulder and, amoment later, it released its hold and fell heavily through thefoliage to the ground. For a time it was heard roaring, and thenthe sound came only at intervals, and at an increasing distance.

  "That was a good business, Abdool," Harry said, as they returned totheir former post, where the Malay rejoined them.

  "It was well done, indeed, sahib. When I heard the beast climbingthe tree, it seemed to me that, as we had no weapons except theselittle knives, he would surely make an end of one of us."

  The interpreter did not understand Mahratti, in which Abdool andHarry always conversed; but he said in Hindustani:

  "I have seen fights with leopards, my lord, but even with krises,two of my people would hesitate to attack one--they fear them morethan tigers--but little did I think that two men, with smallknives, could save their lives from one. My blood turned to water,as I saw the beast climbing out on that bough, and you going outafter it."

  "I have done a good deal of tiger and leopard hunting, in my time,"Harry said, "and know that a leopard cannot spring from a bough,unless it is a fairly stout one--stout enough for it to stand withall its paws upon it.

  "Well, the day is beginning to break. In half an hour's time thesun will be up, and the wild beasts will have all retired to theirlairs. I hope we shall see no more of them. It is all very well tofight under such advantages; but on foot, were a tiger hiding neara path, he would be sure to have one of us as we went along. Ourknives would not do more than tickle him."