CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.
GOOD FOR EVIL.
Ramsden struggled to his feet as if with an effort, and stood holdinghis hand to his head, evidently hurt. The next moment he steppedforward, staggering slightly, stooped to pick up his cutlass, and fellforward, uttered a groan, rose up again, and fell down once more, thistime to lie without motion.
"Jem," whispered Don, "look at that!"
"Was looking," whispered back Jem. "Hit his head; sarve him right."
Ramsden did not move, and the two fugitives stood anxiously watching.
"What shall we do?"
"Wait! He'll soon come round and go. May as well sit down."
Jem lowered himself to a sitting position, and was in the act of tryingto rest on his elbow when he gasped quickly two or three times, andcaught at Don, who helped him to a kneeling position, from which hestruggled up.
"Hah!" he ejaculated; "just as if some one caught me by the throat. Oh,how poorly I do feel. Just you put your head down there, Mas' Don."
Don stood thinking and trying to grasp what it meant. Then, with somehazy recollection of dangers encountered in old wells, he bent downcautiously and started up again, for it gradually dawned upon both thatfor about two feet above the floor there was a heavy stratum ofpoisonous gas, so potent that it overcame them directly; and it was intothis they had plunged as soon as they had stooped down.
"Why, Jem," panted Don; "it stops your breath!"
"Stops your breath? It's just as if a man got hold of you by thethroat. Why, if I'd stopped in that a minute I should never have got upagain."
"But--but, that man?" whispered Don.
"What, old Ramsden? Phew! I'd forgot all about him. He's quietenough."
"Jem, he must be dying."
"I won't say, `good job, too,' 'cause it wouldn't be nice," said Jem,with a chuckle. "What shall us do?"
"Do?" cried Don. "We must help him."
"What, get him out? If we do, he'll be down on us."
"We can't help that, Jem. We must not leave a fellow-creature to die,"replied Don; and hurrying forward, he gave a glance toward the mouth ofthe cave, to satisfy himself that the good-natured boatswain was notthere, and then, holding his breath, he stooped down and raised Ramsdeninto a sitting posture, Jem coming forward at once to help him.
"Goes ag'in the grain, Mas' Don," he muttered; "but I s'pose we must."
"Must? Yes! Now, what shall we do?"
"Dunno," said Jem; "s'pose fresh air'd be best for him."
"Let's get him to the mouth, then," said Don.
"But the boatswain 'll see us, and we shall be took."
"I can't help that, Jem; the man will die here."
"Well, we don't want him. He's a hennymee."
"Jem!"
"Oh, all right, Mas' Don. I'll do as you say, but as I says, and I saysit again, it goes ag'in the grain."
They each took one hand and placed their arms beneath those of theprostrate man; and, little as they stooped, they inhaled sufficient ofthe powerful gas to make them wince and cough; but, rising upright,taking a full breath and starting off, they dragged Ramsden backwards asrapidly as they could to where the fresh air blew into the mouth of thecave, and there they laid the man down.
But before doing so, Don went upon his knees, and placing his face closeto the rocky floor, inhaled the air several times.
"It seems all right here," he said. "Try it, Jem."
"Oh! I'll try it," said Jem, grumpily; "only I don't see why we shouldtake so much trouble about such a thing as this."
"Yes; it's all right," he said, after puffing and blowing down by theground. "Rum, arn't it, that the air should be bad yonder and not closein here!"
"The cave goes downward," said Don; "and the foul air lies in thebottom, just as it does in a well. Do you think he's dead?"
"Him dead!" said Jem, contemptuously; "I don't believe you could kill athing like that. Here, let's roll up one of these here blanket thingsand make him a pillow, and cover him up with the other, poor fellow, soas he may get better and go and tell 'em we're here."
"Don't talk like that, Jem!" cried Don.
"Why not? Soon as he gets better he'll try and do us all the harm hecan."
"Poor fellow! I'm afraid he's dead," whispered Don.
"Then he won't want no more cutlashes and pistols," said Jem, coollyappropriating the arms; "these here will be useful to us."
"But they are the king's property, Jem."
"Ah! Well, I dessay if the king knew how bad we wanted 'em, he'd lend'em to us. He shall have 'em again when we've done with them."
As he spoke Jem helped himself to the ammunition, and then stood lookingon as Don dragged Ramsden's head round, so that the wind blew in hisface.
"How I should like to jump on him!" growled Jem. "I hate him likepoison, and I would if I'd got on a pair o' boots. Shouldn't hurt him abit like this."
"Don't talk nonsense, Jem. Mr Jones might hear us. Let's hail; hecan't be very far off."
"I say, Mas' Don, did our ugly swim last night send you half mad?"
"Mad? No!"
"Then, p'r'aps it's because you had no sleep. Here's a chap comeshunting of us down with a cutlash, ready to do anything; and now he'sfloored and we're all right, you want to make a pet on him. Why, it'smy belief that if you met a tiger with the toothache you'd want to takeout his tusk."
"Very likely, Jem," said Don, laughing.
"Ah, and as soon as you'd done it, `thankye, my lad,' says the tiger,`that tooth's been so bad that I haven't made a comf'table meal fordays, so here goes.'"
"And then he'd eat me, Jem."
"That's so, my lad."
"Ah, well, this isn't a tiger, Jem."
"Why, he's wuss than a tiger, Mas' Don; because he do know better, andtigers don't."
"Ramsden, ahoy!" came from below them in the ravine.
"Oh, crumpets!" exclaimed Jem. "Now we're done for. All that long swimfor nothing."
"Back into the cave," whispered Don. "Perhaps they have not seen us."
He gave Jem a thrust, they backed in a few yards, and then stoodwatching and listening.