by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.
STUNG BY A SNAKE.
The pain was not a dream; the blood upon my wrist was no illusion. Bothwere real. I was bitten by a _rattlesnake_!
Terror-stricken I sprang to my feet; and, with an action altogethermechanical, passed my hand over the wound, and wiped away the blood. Itwas but a trifling puncture, such as might have been made by the pointof a lancet, and only a few drops of blood oozed from it.
Such a wound need not have terrified a child, so far as appearance went;but I, a man, _was_ terrified, for I knew that that little incision hadbeen made by a dread instrument--by the envenomed fang of a serpent--and_in one hour I might be dead_!
My first impulse was to pursue the snake and destroy it; but before Icould act upon that impulse the reptile had escaped beyond my reach. Ahollow log lay near--the trunk of a large tulip-tree, with theheart-wood decayed and gone. The snake had made for this--no doubt itshaunt--and before I could come up with it, I saw the long slimy body,with its rhomboid spots, disappear within the dark cavity. Another"sker-r-rr" reached my ears as it glided out of sight. It seemed a noteof triumph, as if uttered to tantalise me!
The reptile was now beyond my reach, but its destruction would not haveavailed me. Its death could not counteract the effect of its poisonalready in my veins. I knew that well enough, but for all I would havekilled it, had it been in my power to do so. I felt angry and vengeful.
This was but my first impulse. It suddenly became changed to a feelingof terror. There was something so weird in the look of the reptile,something so strange in the manner of its attack and subsequent escape,that, on losing sight of it, I became suddenly impressed with a sort ofsupernatural awe--a belief that the creature was possessed of a fiendishintelligence!
Under this impression I remained for some moments in a state ofbewilderment.
The sight of the blood, and the stinging sensation of the wound, soonbrought me to my senses again, and admonished me of the necessity oftaking immediate steps to procure an antidote to the poison. But whatantidote?
What knew I of such things? I was but a classical scholar. True, I hadlately given some attention to botanical studies; but my new knowledgeextended only to the _trees_ of the forest, and none of these with whichI was acquainted possessed alexipharmic virtues. I knew nothing of theherbaceous plants, the milk-worts, and _aristolochias_, that would nowhave served me. The woods might have been filled with antidotalremedies, and I have died in their midst. Yes, I might have lain downupon a bed of Seneca root, and, amidst terrible convulsions, havebreathed my last breath, without knowing that the rhizome of the humbleplant crushed beneath my body would, in a few short hours, have expelledthe venom from my veins, and given me life and health.
I lost no time in speculating upon such a means of safety. I had butone thought--and that was to reach Bringiers at the earliest possiblemoment. My hopes rested upon Reigart.
I hastily took up my gun; and, plunging once more under the dark shadowsof the cypress-trees, I hurried on with nervous strides. I ran as fastas my limbs would carry me; but the shock of terror I had experiencedseemed to have enfeebled my whole frame, and my knees knocked againsteach other as I went.
On I struggled, regardless of my weakness, regardless of everything butthe thought of reaching Bringiers and Reigart. Over fallen trees,through dense cane-brakes, through clumps of palmettoes and pawpawthickets, I passed, dashing the branches from my path, and lacerating myskin at every step. Onward, through sluggish rivulets of water, throughtough miry mud, through slimy pools, filled with horrid newts, and thespawn of the huge _rana pipiens_, whose hoarse loud croak at every stepsounded ominous in my ear. Onward!
"Ho! whither am I going? Where is the path? where the tracks of myformer footsteps? Not here--not there. Good God! I have lost them!--lost! lost!"
Quick as lightning came these thoughts. I looked around with eagerglances. On every side I scanned the ground. I saw no path, no tracks,but those I had just made. I saw no marks that I could remember. I hadlost my way. Beyond a doubt I was lost!
A thrill of despair ran through me--the blood curdled cold in my veinsat the thought of my peril.
No wonder. If lost in the forest, then was I lost indeed. A singlehour might be enough. In that time the poison would do its work. Ishould be found only by the wolves and vultures. O God!
As if to make my horrid fate appear more certain, I now remembered tohave heard that it was the very season of the year--the hot autumn--whenthe venom of the _crotalus_ is most virulent, and does its work in theshortest period of time. Cases are recorded where in a single hour itsbite has proved fatal.
"Merciful heaven!" thought I, "in another hour I shall be no more!" andthe thought was followed by a groan.
The danger nerved me to renewed efforts. I turned back on my tracks.It seemed the best thing I could do; for in the gloomy circle around,there was no point that indicated my approach to the open ground of theplantations. Not a bit of sky could I discover,--that welcome beacon tothe wood-ranger, denoting the proximity of the clearings. Even theheaven above was curtained from my view; and when I appealed to it inprayer, my eyes rested only upon the thick black foliage of thecypress-trees, with their mournful drapery of _tillandsia_.
I had no choice but to go back, and endeavour to find the path I hadlost, or wander on trusting to mere chance.
I chose the former alternative. Again I broke through the cane-brakesand palmetto-thickets--again I forded sluggish bayous, and waded acrossmuddy pools.
I had not proceeded more than a hundred yards on the back track, whenthat also became doubtful. I had passed over a reach of ground higherand drier than the rest. Here no footprints appeared, and I knew notwhich way I had taken. I tried in several directions, but could notdiscover my way. I became confused, and at length completelybewildered. Again was I lost!
To have been lost in the forest under ordinary circumstances would havemattered little,--an hour or two of wandering--perhaps a night spentunder the shade of some tree, with the slight inconvenience of a hungrystomach. But how very different was my prospect then, with the fearfulthoughts that were pressing upon me! The poison was fast inoculating myblood. I fancied I already felt it crawling through my veins!
One more struggle to find the clearings!
I rushed on, now guided by chance. I endeavoured to keep in a straightline, but to no purpose. The huge pyramidal buttresses of the trees, socharacteristic of these _coniferae_, barred my way; and, in passingaround them, I soon lost all knowledge of my direction.
I wandered on, now dragging wearily across the dull ditches, nowfloundering through tracts of swamp, or climbing over huge prostratelogs. In my passage I startled the thousand denizens of the dankforest, who greeted me with their cries. The qua-bird screamed; theswamp-owl hooted; the bullfrog uttered his trumpet-note; and the hideousalligator, horribly bellowing from his gaunt jaws, crawled sulkily outof my way, at times appearing as if he would turn and assail me!
"Ho! yonder is light!--the sky!"
It was but a small patch of the blue heaven--a disc, not larger than adining-plate. But, oh! you cannot understand with what joy I greetedthat bright spot. It was the lighthouse to the lost mariner.
It must be the clearings? Yes, I could see the sun shining through thetrees, and the horizon open as I advanced. No doubt the plantationswere before me. Once there I should soon cross the fields, and reachthe town. I should yet be safe. Reigart would surely know how toextract the poison, or apply some antidote?
I kept on with bounding heart and straining eyes--on, for the brightmeteor before me.
The blue spot grew larger--other pieces of sky appeared--the forest grewthinner as I advanced--I was drawing nearer to its verge.
The ground became firmer and drier at every step, and the timber of alighter growth. The shapeless cypress "knees" no longer impeded myprogress. I now passed among tulip-trees, dogwoods, and magnolias.Less densely g
rew the trunks, lighter and less shadowy became thefoliage above; until at length I pushed through the last selvage of theunderwood, and stood in the open sunshine.
A cry of agony rose upon my lips. It was wrung from me by despair. Ihad arrived at my point of starting--I was once more within the glade!
I sought not to go farther. Fatigue, disappointment, and chagrin, hadfor the moment paralysed my strength. I staggered forward to aprostrate trunk,--the very one which sheltered my reptile assassin!--andsat down in a state of irresolution and bewilderment.
It seemed as though I were destined to die in that lovely glade--amidstthose bright flowers--in the midst of that scene I had so latelyadmired, and upon the very spot where I had received my fatal wound!