CHAPTER NINE.
A NIGHT SCARE.
It had been decided that they should make for the farthest part known tothem south and west, where the wildest country lay, and they had beentwice before, Griggs having paid double that number of visits in searchof game. There the cultivation ceased entirely, for the rich soil gaveplace to sage-brush and a far-stretching tract of salt or alkali desert,Griggs proposing that they should cross this, for after a good deal ofquestioning the settlers in that direction, he elicited the informationthat one of the settlers upon the verge of the good lands had seen astrange-looking tramp, as he called him, pass his lonely shanty oneevening, but feeling no desire for any such company he had stood backamong the trees, and his place had certainly not been seen by thestranger.
"That shows we should be a bit nearer where he came from," said Griggs,"and it would be a fair day's journey for a beginning. We could find aspot to camp out for the night, and start early the next morning to seeif we could not cross the bad land before dark."
"How far would it be?" asked Bourne.
"Ah, that we must find out from the man who lives nearest to the edge,"replied Griggs. "He's pretty sure to have been some distance into thedesert shooting, and even if he doesn't know he'll be able to tell uswhere we can find water, for that's what we must always go by. Whenit's too far off for a day's journey we must take our bottles and thelittle casks full."
The mules soon steadied down; the day was hot, but not unpleasantly so,and after crossing a very wild patch some miles in extent they picked upa track and followed it, to come upon cultivated land again, and thetrack led them to a shanty built upon the bank of a river also driedinto a series of pools; but as they approached the house and obtained anear inspection of the cultivated ground it became very plain that nohoe had been between the rows of fruit-trees that year, and on riding upto the shingled wood house, they found no sign of living creature--noducks paddling in the pool, or fowls pecking about near the enclosedyard; all was still and silent. They had come upon another sign offailure, for, as far as they could see, the place had been deserted forquite a year.
"A sign that we are not alone in giving up," said the doctor; "but itwill make a capital place for our first halt. Go and see what the wateris like in that farthest pool, Chris. This one is nearly all mud."
Chris urged his mustang forward towards where there was a glint of waterthrough some trees four or five hundred yards ahead, but he had not goneone-fourth of the distance before he was overtaken by Ned, who was aseager as he to see what the place was like.
They soon knew--a carefully-tended Far West estate, given up and allowedto go back to a state of nature. Fruit-trees had been planted inabundance, but as the boys got farther from the house the wild vines andweeds were gradually mastering the useful trees, and in another year ortwo the plantations would have lost all trace of the hand of man and bewild jungle once more.
"I dare say there'll be fish enough," said Chris. "This is a deeperpool than we generally see. I say, how sandy the ground is here!"
The next minute they realised why it was so sandy, for instead of itsbeing a cleared track it proved to be the dried-up bed of a little sandyriver, one that linked the pools together when the wet season came on.
"It looks as if no water had been along here for a twelvemonth," saidChris. "Look there."
His cob had seen the object at which he pointed first, and stopped shortwith its ears pricked forward to where, grey and glistening, a snake laybasking in the hot sunshine amongst some stones, but now, alarmed by thesnort given by Chris's mustang, it began to glide away, passing amongstsome dried-up reeds and leaves, giving forth its strange soft rattlingsound with its tail the while.
"Well, we don't want to waste powder and shot on him," said Chris."Come on," and they rode on to the edge of what proved to be a shallowlagoon some acres in extent, from which they startled a few waterfowlinto flight, the ducks, as they splashed along the surface beforerising, starting off other occupants of the pool in turn, a little shoalof fish darting off and raising a wave which marked their course towardsthe middle, where, the water growing deeper, they disappeared.
"Well," said Chris, "we know all we want to know now.--There arerattlers about, and if it wasn't for them it wouldn't be a bad place fora long halt."
"We can take care to avoid the snakes," said the doctor, "and as thereis plenty of good water we'll stay here till the morning; but as we arein such good time two or three of us will ride on to see what thecountry's like further on. Perhaps the next plantation may have someone to give us a little information."
Camp was formed then as far as was necessary, the fairly-well-builthouse offering plenty of shelter, and the place round, amplegrazing-ground for the beasts.
A hasty meal was made, and then Wilton and Griggs were appointed scouts,riding off and returning at sundown with the information that theplantation they were on was the farthest to be seen--all beyond waswilderness, but with nothing in the shape of high ground beyond, save inone spot where a hill or two rose faintly blue against the sky.
"Isn't it jolly!" said Ned, after they had partaken of an exceedinglymuddly meal, the water being fetched from the lagoon, and the fire forboiling their coffee having been made of wood that was indisposed toburn, while no matter where they arranged the provisions it was only tohave them attacked by insects, which came from under planks or stones,dropped from the rough ceiling of the decaying shanty, came flying,crawling, hopping, or with sharp raps as if they had formed part of thecharge of a gun.
But it was a change. Everything was fresh, and this first start hadended the monotonous drudgery of their unsatisfactory life at theplantation.
So Ned had given his opinion that it was jolly, an idea which, now hehad shaken off the feeling of depression at leaving what had for yearsbeen his home, Chris fully shared.
For the boys' spirits had risen as they rode through the bright sunnyday, and they only found disappointment in one thing--the fact of beingcompelled to regulate the pace of their mustangs by that of theheavily-laden mules, whose rate of progress was about equal to that ofan ordinary British donkey driven in from a common.
Over and over again they longed to give their sturdy, well-chosen littlenags a touch with the heel to send them racing along through thedusty-looking sage-brush; but they had to be contented with ploddingsteadily along behind the train, save when Chris found that there wassomething he wanted to ask Griggs, who kept on by the leading mule andits bell, and then the question seemed to be so important and weightythat it took two boys to carry it.
The first few times the doctor had taken no notice, but after Chris hadcantered forward four times to rein up on one side of the American, withNed on the other, his father said dryly when he overtook him--
"There's a good old saying that has to do with thoughtfulness, Chris.It is this: Let your head save your heels. To apply it in this case, itshould be, Save your pony's heels."
"I don't understand you, father," said the boy.
"Don't you? I only meant, the next time you want to ask about somethingthat has been left behind, keep it in your head till you think of thenext thing, and the next. You might collect half-a-dozen, and then youcould go and ask them altogether. Do you see?"
"Yes, father," said Chris, who turned rather red.
"Be patient, my boy, and you'll have plenty of hard riding, perhaps morethan you anticipate."
There seemed to be no necessity for the precaution so near home, but thedoctor said that they had better begin as they would have to go on "whenin the enemy's country," as he put it, with a smile.
"Before long we may be where there will be risk of our animalsstampeding, or being stolen. Later on, when we are in the Indians'country, we shall have to guard against attack, so we will divide thenight into watches."
This was before settling down for the night in and about the desertedfruit-farm.
"Oh," cried Wilton; "but surely this is being too particular. Every onei
s tired. We have had a very wearing day, beginning so early as we didwith the packing and getting off."
"Yes," said the doctor coldly, "but the success or failure of theexpedition depends upon our being punctilious. A stitch in time savesnine, my dear boy."
"But--" began Wilton, in a tone of protest.
"One moment," said the doctor. "Let me make a suggestion. We want tostart early every morning for Unknownia, if you will let me coin a namefor the place of our search."
"Of course," said Bourne.
"We must always break the neck of our journey by getting over a goodmany miles before the heat of the day sets in."
"That's good advice," cried Griggs.
"Very well, then," continued the doctor; "we don't want to waste time inlighting fires and hunting up horses and mules that have strayed no oneknows where in the course of the night, do we?"
"No, of course not. I see," said Wilton. "I give in."
"The man who takes the morning watch will have breakfast ready beforedaybreak, and then there will be nothing to do but load up the mules andstart off the moment it is light enough."
There were no dissenters from the leader's practical proposals, and heelected to take the first half of the night's watch himself, Griggs totake the second, and soon afterwards the animals were hobbled and leftto graze, one of the barn-like buildings was chosen for resting-place,and those who were free from duty lay down to sleep. The two boysnaturally enough made up their bed of dry sage-brush on the decayingfloor of the building, and then, in response to the doctor's orders toget off to sleep at once so as to be well rested and fresh for the nextday's work, they lay wide awake, talking in whispers.
To do them justice, this was no fault of theirs. They were tiredenough, but their eyelids felt as if they were furnished with springswhich held them wide open, to stare through the open side of the barn atthe glittering stars, while their ears were all on the strain to listento the different sounds that came from all around.
At first there was the cropping of the horses and mules, as they feastedon the fresh shoots of the abundant growth, owing to the moisturebeneath the little dry river-bed having kept the coarse grasses prettysucculent. There was the hum of mosquitoes and the boom of big beetles,and every now and then the cry and answering cry of some animal unknownfrom out in the sage-brush. But for a time the lads lay silent, till apeculiar mournful shout, as it seemed to be, came from the direction ofthe lagoon, sounding so mournful and human that it was too much for Ned,who whispered--
"Awake, Chris?"
"Of course. Who's to go to sleep with millions of things getting upyour legs and arms and down your neck? I wish I'd taken off my clothes.Isn't it hot!"
"Yes, yes; but did you hear that?"
"Yes."
"What was it?"
"Owl," said Chris shortly.
"I know it was a howl," said Ned, "but it was more like a shout orhail."
"Owl, owl, hunting about over the brush for young hares or rats andmice."
"Oh, of course. I never thought of that," said Ned, and he settled downquietly for a few minutes, before saying in a whisper: "I say, isn't itqueer that one seems to hear hundreds of things now that one nevernoticed at home?"
"I don't know. Perhaps we should have heard some of these ticks andsqueaks and rustlings if we had lain awake. I say, Ned, I believe allthe wild things from round about are coming to see what we want here."
"Very likely. What's that?"
"What?"
"That flash of light. Is it a storm coming?"
"Pooh! No. Father threw some bits of dry stuff on the fire."
"To be sure. But I say, Chris, that's why all these insects and thingscome creeping up. It's the light that attracts them."
"Of course it is. I wish you'd go to sleep."
"I will as soon as I can, but you needn't be so disagreeable."
"Enough to make me. I'm tired, and you keep on talking like an oldwoman. Not frightened, are you?"
"Nonsense! No. Ugh!"
Ned started up, his action following the ejaculation belying his words,for all of a sudden from near at hand came a dull thud as if a heavyblow had been struck, followed by what sounded in Ned's ears like ashriek of agony. "What's that?" he gasped.
"One mule tried to bite another in the back, had a kick for his pains,and called `Murder!' in mulese," said Chris sourly. "I say, I shallhave a bed-room to myself to-morrow night if you're going on like this."
Ned was silent, for his companion's words rankled.
"Perhaps I ought to have known," he said, "but it's all so strange lyingout here in the darkness."
He turned over on the other side, determined to sleep now, and he triedhard for quite a quarter of an hour, the effort seeming to make him morewakeful than ever, for his senses were all upon the strain, while as thenight progressed fresh noises, some of them quite peculiar, seemed toarise. Once he started, for there was a heavy splash which in the clearair sounded quite near, but which was evidently from the lagoon; and itput to flight an idea he had been nursing up of going down to the sheetof water and ridding himself of his hot tickling clothes so as to have agood swim before breakfast. That was all over now, for that splash toldof alligators swimming in the lagoon to his heated imagination. He hadnever heard of the reptiles existing in that part of the country, but heknew that there were plenty in the swamps farther to the south, andthere was no reason why there might not be some in the wild districtsinto which they were plunging.
Another splashing noise succeeded, and he felt that it might have beenmade by a fish, and others which succeeded have been caused bywaterfowl. But all idea of bathing was dismissed.
At last, after a long hot lapse of time, during which he had given manya vicious rub to the unclothed parts of his body, and turned again,feeling as if there were far too many buttons on his clothes, whichinstead of confining themselves to their proper duty of holding the saidgarments in their places, felt as if they had become animate and wereengaged in treating his flesh as if it was wax and they were seals.
"Hah!" he sighed, at last, as the sounds grew apparently more dull anddistant, Chris's breathing heavy and regular, and a feeling of restfulease began to pervade his being.
"Old Chris is fast asleep, and I'm going off at last. Oh, how tired,how sleepy I do--Ugh!"
He did not rub now, he dared not, and that ejaculation was like a huskysigh--very low; but it was loud enough to rouse Chris into wakefulness.
"What's the matter?" he whispered.
There was no reply for a few moments, and Chris repeated the question,adding, "Did you speak?"
"I must have been dropping off and dreamed it," thought Chris, but thenext moment his name was uttered in a strange whisper.
"Yes? All right! What is it?"
"There's something on me," came back faintly.
"Well, knock it off."
"I daren't. I can't move."
"What, is it so heavy?" said Chris mockingly.
"N-no. I'm afraid it'll bite."
"A skeeter?"
"No," said Ned, more faintly. "Call to your father for help."
"What for? Here, shall I strike a light?"
"N-no. It might make it angry."
"It? It?" said Chris, with all the petulance of one who had beenpreviously disturbed by his bed-fellow's alarms. "What is _it_?"
"Down by the pool--the hot sand--you know--amongst the stones."
"What! A snake?" whispered Chris, alarmed in turn now, and feeling thecold perspiration breaking out on his temples.
"Yes--a rattler."
"Look here, you boys," said a stern voice, in a whisper from close athand, "I begged you to--"
"A light, father! Be careful!" gasped Chris, and the next moment therewas a sharp scratching sound, a flash, and a pale light played over therecumbent figures.
"Now then, what is it?"
"Oh, it's gone now," groaned Ned. "I felt it glide off when you struckthe match, sir."
"Leap off, you mean," said the doctor. "Rats don't glide."
"Oh, it wasn't a rat, sir," said the boy faintly. "It was a rattler."
"Nonsense! Not here."
"Yes, sir; they swarm. Chris and I saw a big one down in the river-bedthis afternoon."
"Pooh!" cried the doctor. "But this is your bed, not the river's. Itis not likely that one would be here. If there were any about, they'dbe a deal more likely to favour me by the fire. You've been dreaming,my boy."
"Oh no, sir. It was too horribly real."
"Real enough, but some little animal--a mouse, more likely," said thedoctor, putting out the second match he had lit most carefully. "Lookhere, have you boys got matches?"
"Yes, father."
"Be careful how you use them, then. This place is as dry as tinder.Now then, go to sleep."
He backed out of the place, and the boys lay listening to the rustle andcrackle of his departing steps.
"Think it was--not a snake, Chris?" said Ned, at last.
"Yes. If it had been a rattler father wouldn't have gone off like that.You didn't feel it crawl, did you?"
"Yes, right up in my chest, and I bore it till I felt it touch my neck,and then--Oh, it was a horrid sensation!"
"Yes," said Chris slowly, "a horrid sensation, but it wasn't a rattler.I say, think you can go to sleep now?"
"I'm going to try. But, I say, I never thought that sleeping out in thewilds--"
"We haven't got to the wilds yet," said Chris.
"No, no; but this is bad enough."
"Pooh! We shall get used to it, and think nothing of sleeping anywhere.I say, I was asleep, and you woke me out of a beautiful dream--such alovely one."
"Did I?" said Ned, rather uneasily. "What was it?"
"I dreamed that we had found the place just as it is on the map, and youcouldn't put your foot down anywhere without treading upon gold; andthen your rattlesnake came and spoiled it. Here, I'm going to sleepagain to finish that dream. Can't you go now?"
"I'll try," said Ned, who felt horribly ashamed about his false alarm.
But it took no trying. Five minutes later both boys were sleepingsoundly after this initiation in what they would have to encounterduring their wild journey.
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