*CHAPTER XVII*
*A Night Reconnaissance*
A Council of War--Looking West--Light--The Face of theCliff--Scouting--A Question of Navigation
Bob had not walked many yards along the rough floor when he heard aslight sound ahead. Thrusting his torch well forward, he advanced withgreat caution, feeling some anxiety now he had the evidence of his ownears that Mrs. Pottle had not been dreaming. If by any chance one ofthe enemy had found his way to the cleft, Bob felt that he himself wouldbe at a great disadvantage, being seen while the other was unseen. "ButI am in for it now," he reflected; "it would be as dangerous to retireas to advance." He was so intent upon watching the space in front ofhim that he stumbled more than once over the rocky, uneven floor of thecavern. At every few yards he stopped to peer more carefully, and tolisten; always he saw nothing, always heard the sound of a lightfootfall ahead. Fearing that his quarry would escape him he hurried hispace; there was a corresponding acceleration in front; he hurried stillmore, so did the other; until Bob, his uneasiness now banished by setdetermination, was pushing forward at the utmost speed the rough groundpermitted.
Now he heard the sound of heavy breathing, and a scurrying noise as ofmore than one person in full flight. Stumbling, falling, scrambling on,Bob dashed in pursuit; he must know at all costs what this new perilmight be. At length, at a point where the roof shelved downwards, hecaught a glimpse of a dark form not many yards in advance; it wasimmediately lost in shadow, then again it was discovered by the torch.He did not venture yet to fire, but sprang forward to reduce thedistance between himself and the hurrying form. He was gaining on it;its pace appeared to be slackening; he called on it to stop, or he wouldfire. Suddenly the form disappeared, sinking as if into the floor. Bobtook a couple of steps, and then started back with a thrill of terror.He felt wind upon his cheek; the torch flared more brightly. He hademerged from the cleft; beneath him yawned a vast empty blackness. Hewas on the brink of an abyss. At that moment he heard from below aheavy thud, and started back from the edge with a sudden feeling offaintness. Then he became aware that his torch could be seen from fararound, and flinging it upon the ground he stamped out the flame.
Recovering from his momentary vertigo, he crawled cautiously to thebrink of the precipice. There was nothing to be seen, save where a thinstreak of still unmelted snow in a crevice a few yards below made agrayish patch on the black. He rose, picked up the torch, relit it whenhe had retraced his steps for several yards into the cavern, and madehis way back to the other end.
"Well?" exclaimed both the ladies in a breath, as they saw him in acircle of light some time before he reached them.
"We have been so much alarmed about you." added Mrs. Pottle. Ethelgave a sigh of relief.
"There was something, or somebody," said Bob quietly.
"A Russian?"
"I don't know. Whoever he was, he is gone. He fell over a precipice atthe far end."
"Oh, how dreadful!" exclaimed Ethel. "Mr. Fawcett, you are quite pale.Did you--is there--"
"Don't be alarmed," said Bob. "I have been right through the cavernnow. It is open at the other end; and to make sure that you are notstartled again, Ah-Sam and I will build a barricade across the cavern,so that it will be impossible for anyone to reach you from the rear.When it is light I will explore again, and find out who the intruderwas."
"I hope you killed him outright," said Mrs. Pottle.
"I could not fire. He was gone before I knew, and--"
"And you nearly followed him! Oh!" Ethel covered her face with herhands.
"You are pale, Mr. Fawcett," said Mrs. Pottle. "What would I give for alittle brandy! I really cannot allow you to risk your life any more. Ishould never forgive myself if I led you into any harm. As soon as itis light, I will give myself up to the Russians; I will indeed, I amquite resolved; this cannot go on any longer. I see how selfish I was;but for us women you could have got away."
Mrs. Pottle's declaration had on Bob the effect of a tonic. He smiledas he saw the lady grasp her unfailing stand-by--her umbrella.
"I don't think it would have been so easy," he said. "I hope you willgive me another chance. We have got on up to the present better than Idared to hope; we need not talk of surrender just yet."
"Besides, auntie," said Ethel, "you wouldn't go when Mr. Fawcett gaveyou the choice, and it isn't fair now that--"
"There now, that'll do. I am outvoted. I will stay as long as there isany tea, but when all the tea is gone I shall take that as a warningfrom Providence, and then, Mr. Fawcett, I shall give myself up, andplead with the Russians for your life."
With Ah-Sam's assistance Bob collected the loose rocks within the cleftand made a rough barrier across the narrowest part of the cavern. Thenhe returned to his post and slept, leaving the Chinaman on guard.
After a distasteful breakfast of mule's flesh and tea, Bob again madehis way through the cavern. Counting his paces, he found that it wasabout one hundred and fifty yards in length. Just before the fartheropening it narrowed considerably, so that there was little more thanroom for two men to pass through abreast. At the mouth it emerged onthe side of a sheer hill-face nearly two hundred feet above the ground.Standing just within the cleft, Bob was to a large extent sheltered fromview from the open by a jagged spur jutting out from the cliff, a pieceof rock that had apparently offered greater resistance to denudationthan the surrounding surface. He approached the edge of the precipice,and throwing himself on his face, peered over.
The first object that caught his eye, wedged in between two rocks nearthe foot of the precipice, was the body of a large brown bear. It wasalmost with a gasp of relief that Bob realized that the object of hischase was not a human being. In a flash he remembered the bear which hehad seen squatting at the side of the gully when he passed the entrancea few days before.
"What an ass I was not to remember it!" he thought.
Then he blamed himself for allowing the ladies to take up their quartersin the cleft; before he had thoroughly explored it. The bear hadevidently used it for his winter's sleeping-place, and had been alarmedat the disturbance of his domain. He now lay stone dead, having fallensheer for about sixty feet and then rebounded from a slope on to therocks beneath.
Looking up, Bob saw that the weather-carved cliff stretched for at leastthree hundred feet above him. On his left he observed that thehill-face bent round; beyond its outline he saw an extent of undulatingcountry bounded by snow-capped hills. He wondered what was round thecorner; the mouth of the gully must of course be in that direction, andnot far away. He remembered that the general trend of the cavern hadbeen towards the left; it must form one side of an irregular triangle,of which the gully and the hill-face were the other sides.
What bearing would this discovery have on the situation in which he andhis strange allies found themselves? He had barely asked himself thequestion when he saw a Cossack in the distance, riding at speed as ifdirectly towards him. Coming from the west, he had probably broughtnews or orders to the leader of the Russian besiegers. Bob watched therider draw nearer and nearer, and then pass from his sight to the leftbehind the jagged rock. Then he turned and retraced his steps throughthe cavern, thinking deeply as he went.
Nothing happened to break the monotony of that weary day. TheChunchuses, pent up in their narrow quarters, became restless andirritable, and Bob feared lest they should quarrel among themselves.They resented the short rations on which they were kept, and lookedhungrily on the one remaining mule, which, poor beast, seemed sowretched in its mute famished condition that Bob ordered it to be shot.More than once, as he pondered over things, he wondered whether it mightbe possible for the garrison to slip away through the passage he haddiscovered, but always he had to reject the idea as impracticable. Evenif they succeeded in descending the precipitous cliff in safety, theycould not hope to get clear away; for the Russians would soon discovertheir absence from the gully,
they would be pursued, and the enemy,being mounted, must infallibly run them down. Nothing was to be gainedby such a hazardous attempt; there seemed no alternative but to wait on.
The position was one of great strain and responsibility for a youthwhose powers of endurance and of organization had never yet been put toso severe a test. But it is in circumstances of difficulty and dangerthat a man shows of what stuff he is made, and the manner in which Bobbraced himself to his task won a good deal of admiration from theladies. Though his sunken eyes and lined face showed how severely hewas being tried, he was always cheery, always hopeful, keeping hisanxieties to himself, and ever ready with plausible reasons why hiscompanions should not despair. Mrs. Pottle sang his praises all daylong to Ethel, and Ethel listened and said little.
Next morning Mrs. Pottle, who had taken charge of Ah-Sam's stock ofgrain-food, reported that it was coming to an end. The tea would lastperhaps for two days, she said; but there was no fuel save what could begot by breaking up Ah-Sam's cart. Mrs. Pottle, in spite of herself, wasevidently hankering after something more substantial than rice. Shebegan to drop hints. Mules and oxen were both four-footed, she said;there was a great deal in custom; after all, one couldn't say unless onetried; and so on. Ethel only shuddered. But one mule would not lastfor ever. What could be done? It seemed to Bob that they must alleither starve or submit. More than once during the day he went throughthe cavern to the farther end, and anxiously scanned the limitedhorizon--with no defined purpose or expectation of help, for from thatdirection help could only come to the Russians. He was surprised,indeed, that the enemy had not already been reinforced. The Cossack whohad ridden up on the morning of his discovery of the bear had no doubtcarried instructions from head-quarters. The only conclusion to bedrawn was that the Russians were too fully occupied with the Japanese onthe farther bank of the Yalu to spare troops for the purpose of wipingout a band of Chunchuses. The Cossack captain, however, had clearlyreceived orders to keep his quarry cornered, either until he starvedthem out, or until a further force could be sent to his assistance.Such a force might arrive at any moment.
Even while Bob had the possibility in his mind, he saw, clearly definedon the sky-line on the farther side of the valley, a small band ofmounted men approaching at a walking pace. The group was too small tobe of any avail as a reinforcement, and Bob was wondering who thenew-comers could be, when, as they drew nearer, he noticed among themone man on foot, walking with a strangely awkward gait. Intentlywatching him, he had in a few moments the explanation of hisawkwardness: he had his arms tied behind him. Evidently he was aprisoner--some luckless Japanese scout or spy, perhaps, who had falleninto the hands of a Russian patrol, and was now being marched off forsummary trial. Bob compared his own case with that of the Japanese,almost to the advantage of the latter, and watched him with mixedfeelings until the edge of the hill hid him from sight.
Glancing down, he saw the dead bear still jammed between the rocks; butthere was a change in its appearance. Pieces of its fur had been tornaway; apparently it had been mauled by some prowling beast of prey. Bobshuddered as he realized what a fate he had himself escaped--whensuddenly a thought came to him. The bear had fallen headlong down theprecipice. Was it possible that he himself might make a safe andleisurely descent, and, under cover of night, reconnoitre the Russianposition? At the back of his mind there was a dim outline of an ideathat brought a flush to his cheeks and a light into his eyes. He turnedsharp round, hurried through the cavern, and, stopping only to answer aremark from Mrs. Pottle, sought his faithful Chinaman, Ah-Sam.
During the next hour the two were busily engaged at a secluded part ofthe gully, making the traces from the mule-cart into a long knottedrope, with three loops at intervals, formed of the collars of theanimals. There was not enough to construct a ladder, but Bob hoped therope would prove long enough to let him down from the mouth of thecavern on to the slope, whence the descent to level ground would beeasy. When it was complete, he took the only shaft of the cart whichhad not been demolished for fuel, returned to the cavern, and, evadingMrs. Pottle's eager questions, went quickly with Ah-Sam to the fartherend. At the point where the cleft narrowed just before opening out onthe hill-face they placed the shaft across from side to side, and thenfirmly attached the rope to it.
It was not safe to do anything more in the daylight. During theafternoon Bob at last yielded to Mrs. Pottle's entreaties, and relatedthe story of his adventures up to his meeting with her.
"It just beats anything!" exclaimed the lady at its conclusion. "Why,Ethel, what a story it would make!"
"I don't think of that, auntie."
"Well, why not? My pen is rusting for want of work. What do you think,then?"
"I think it is all very strange, and very wonderful," said the girl witha blush. "And very encouraging to us. Mr. Fawcett has come through somuch. And I should just love to see that Japanese gentleman,--Kobo, didyou call him?"
At dusk Bob returned with Ah-Sam to the farther end of the cavern andlet the loose end of the rope dangle down the cliff-side. It fell shortof the top of the slope, the spot from which the hapless bear hadrebounded, by a distance of apparently some ten feet. On to levelground the drop would have been easy, but on to the slope it might provefatal to Bob as to the bear. There being no more rope available, onlyone thing could be done: the length of rope in the cleft above, somefour or five yards, must be reduced. Ah-Sam untied the end andreknotted it to the shaft, using less of the rope; then, carefullyexamining the fissure, Bob discovered that the shaft was just longenough to be jammed vertically between a depression in the floor and aprojection in the roof, about a yard from the mouth. When this had beendone, he found that the lower end of the rope just touched the slopebeneath.
"Allo velly good, massa," said Ah-Sam with an air of satisfaction.
"Yes. Now may it soon be dark. I am going down; you will remain here,and if you feel a tug on the rope, that means that I am coming back."
"My savvy; my no wailo; no fear!"
Waiting until all was dark, Bob let himself over the edge, and by aid ofthe loops, in which he was able to stand upright, thus resting his armsat intervals, he climbed easily down. When he reached the slope hefound that the upper portion of it was steeper than it had appearedabove, and he was glad the rope was long enough to enable him to steadyhis steps down the first few feet. Then he dropped to a sittingposture, and moved cautiously on hands and heels to the bottom. Socareful was he to avoid making a noise, by displacing a loose stone orstriking the rock too heavily with his boots, that it was nearly tenminutes before the descent was completed.
When at last he rose to his feet, he looked around to take his bearingsif possible. Fortunately the clouds that had obscured the sky for somenights past were gone; there was no moon, but a faint radiance from thestars, by which he saw that there was nothing to serve as a landmarksave the two upright rocks that framed the mangled body of the bear.Carefully noting the position of these in relation to an irregularfissure in which there still lay a drift of snow--all snow on thesurrounding hillside being now melted--he turned his back on the steepcliff and skirted round the rugged spur that hid the mouth of the cavernfrom observers below. This spur, though only a few yards wide at thesummit, increased in width as it approached the level until it measuredfully fifty yards at the base.
Groping his way slowly among the loose stones and boulders that hadfallen from the rocky face of the hill, he struck somewhat to the right,away from the mouth of the gully, knowing that there the enemy would bealert to prevent the besieged from breaking through. His object was togain the open ground and then to make a circuit of the Russian position.
After a time the less frequency with which he encountered bouldersshowed that he was passing into the open valley. Suddenly he becameaware of a dull glow in the distance on his left. He was unable to seewhence it proceeded, but, as it was doubtless due to a camp fire, it wasnecessary to take double precautions lest his figure should be
thrown upin relief against it and thus become visible to the Russians on thehill, if any chanced to be there. Inclining still more to the right, healmost turned his back to the faint light, and took a direction which hecalculated would bring him to the extreme left of the hilltop positionfirst held by the enemy. This post, he guessed, was probably left atnightfall and resumed at dawn, but it would be unwise to run the risk ofpassing between it and the glow he had noticed; he must make his wayround it.
Pausing a moment, he scanned the sky above him for a bright star bywhich to set his course, then set off again, counting his paces. Indaylight he had estimated that the summit of the hill was nearly half amile in a straight line from the mouth of the gully; the distance wouldbe greater over the uneven ground, and still greater from hisstarting-point. Every now and then he stopped to listen and look round.When he had counted some three hundred paces, the source of the glow atlast became visible. On his left there were two fires some distanceapart, with a few men moving about them, standing out for a moment blackagainst the glow, then appearing red as they passed to the side, thenvanishing altogether. From the position of the fires Bob guessed thatthey stood just under the hillside on the far side of the gully. Therecould be no doubt that they marked the site of the enemy's camp; andthey were so near the barricade that if the besieged ventured to make asortie they would not only have to reckon with the force on duty at themouth of the gully, but also with a flank attack from the main bodyencamped a few yards away.
In the darkness it was impossible for Bob to tell when he had reachedthe summit of the hill. But he stopped at intervals to look back, andwhen he found that first one then the other fire gradually disappearedfrom sight, he judged that between them and him the brow of the hillintervened. At this point it was necessary to take another star as hisguide. Turning now to the left, almost at right angles with his formercourse, he plodded warily on, skirting the hill not far from the summit,the fires appearing and disappearing with the inequalities of the crest.Though he kept eyes and ears keenly alert for sound or sight of theenemy, he neither heard nor saw any trace of them except at the campfires. Continuing his course as nearly straight as he could, he came atlength opposite the farthermost fire; then he turned again to the left,and moving with still greater caution, he made straight towards it. Hewas now descending a gradual slope. The fire was burning low; backed bythe slope he thought he might venture still nearer; so, dropping onall-fours, he crawled for some distance over the ground, sodden withmelted snow, until he stopped at length within some eighty yards of thefire. A little in front of him he heard the gurgling of the stream fromthe gully running across the face of the two camps. In the dim glow hesaw by their dress that the occupants of the camp opposite him wereCossacks; the other camp was clearly that of the Manchus. He threw aglance round the position; a little in advance of him, to the right, hedescried a number of dark forms, which he soon concluded were thepicketed horses of the enemy. Two sentries were on duty, walking to andfro some forty yards from the outermost row of tents, and meeting aboutthe middle of the exposed face of the camp. Beyond, Bob caught aglimpse of the figure of a Manchu patrolling in the same way oppositehis camp. The Manchus' horses were not at the moment in sight, but asudden replenishment of the fire caused a bright flame to spring up,making Bob lie absolutely motionless and almost hold his breath, at thesame time throwing up the figures of the horses tethered just under thehill.
He had now learnt all that was possible about the enemy's position. Assoon as the fire had died down again he might retrace his steps. He laystill on his face, waiting, letting his eyes range at random, whensuddenly he gave a violent start. A little to the left of the horses,beside a tall bare sapling, stood a man whom he perceived, as he lookedmore closely, to be bound to the stem. He wore the dress of a Chinaman.The fitful flame from the Manchus' fire cast a lurid light upon the faceof the prisoner, and with a feeling of dismay Bob recognized him: it wasKobo!
It flashed upon him at once: this was the prisoner he had seen among thefresh band of Manchus that morning. Kobo had been captured at last. Hisdoom was sealed--unless he could be rescued. Bob almost sprang up inhis excitement. How could he make his presence known to his friend? Byhis bearing he saw that he was awake. If he could communicate with himperhaps some means of effecting his escape would offer. Kobo had daredmuch for him--to Kobo he owed his own escape from the spy's fate; howeagerly would he do something in return for Kobo!
He lay watching, thinking, hoping that by some lucky chance he might beenabled to approach the prisoner. He dared not move. The minutes flewby, the fire was sinking; in a few moments it would again bereplenished, and his position again be imperilled. He saw not theshadow of an opportunity of assisting Kobo. For the present he mustgive up the idea. Crawling back slowly and stealthily he reached apoint where it would be safe to rise. Then, finding the star by whichhe had steered his course, he made his way toilsomely, reluctantly, upthe hill again.
This time he took a shorter circuit inside his first track, and on thenearer slope of the hill, until he came to a spot which he thought mustbe opposite the opening of the cleft. But how could he make sure? If heswerved too far to the right and blundered upon the breastwork at theentrance to the gully his life was not worth a moment's purchase, andthe safety of his party would be fatally jeopardized. Pausing in hisincertitude, he bethought him of the fact that the enemy's watch-firesmight be used to determine his rightful course. So long as they wereout of sight, obviously he would be in no danger of coming upon thebreastwork, though he might find himself perilously near it if hehappened to hit the spur at the mouth of the gully. Fetching a widercircuit he abruptly altered his direction, looking anxiously at thefires in the hope that they would by and by be concealed from him by theprominent spur. It was a long time before either disappeared, and morethan once he feared lest, after all, he had turned too early to theright. But at length first one, then the other, was hidden from hisview, and against the penumbra of their glow the spur stood out darkupon his right. He gave a sigh of relief, and stopped for a moment towipe the perspiration from his brow.
He steered now towards a point somewhat to the left of the bluff'sjagged outline, until he came close beneath it. Then he turned sharp tothe left, to find the slope up which he must climb to reach the fissure.For some minutes he stumbled about. The night was darker than ever, buthe knew that his general direction was right, for the ground becamerougher and the loose stones more numerous. At last, close at hand, herecognized the tall twin rocks imprisoning the bear. Swarming up thesteep slope on hands and knees, he came to the top, and stretched outhis right hand, moving it from side to side to feel for the danglingrope. He touched it, caught it, gave it a gentle tug. He felt ittighten. Ah-Sam had faithfully remained at his post above. Then withstraining muscles he scrambled up; he reached the fissure and Ah-Sam'swelcoming hands.
"My tinkey Roshians hab catchee," said the Chinaman.
"Not yet, Ah-Sam. Pull up the rope, then follow me back to the ladies."
Soon darkness and silence brooded upon the rugged hillside. Theblinking stars saw nothing; no sound broke the stillness save when atmidnight a hungry wolf came padding to the foot of the slope, andsnarled as he fixed his fangs in the carcase of the bear.
Kobo: A Story of the Russo-Japanese War Page 18