CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN.
A DANGEROUS PHASE.
Ngati took all in at a glance, and signing to his companions to follow,he again lay down, creeping on for a short distance, trailing his spear,till they were well behind a pile of rocks.
Here he gave a sharp look round at the _cul de sac_ into which they hadbeen driven, and without hesitation crept to their left to where therocky wall descended to the raging torrent.
To him the place seemed to have no danger, as he passed over the edgeand disappeared, but to Don it was like seeking death.
"We can never do it, Jem," he said.
"Must, Mas' Don. Go on."
Don looked at him wildly, and then in a fit of desperation he loweredhimself over the edge, felt a pair of great hands grasp him by theloins, and, as he loosened his hold, he was dropped upon a rough ledgeof rock, where he stood giddy and confused, with the torrent rushingfuriously along beneath his feet, and in front, dimly-seen through amist which rose from below, he caught a glimpse of a huge fall of waterwhich came from high up, behind some projecting rocks, and disappearedbelow.
The noise of falling water now increased, reverberating from the wallsof rock; the mist came cool and wet against his face, and, hurried andstartled, Don stood upon the wet, rocky shelf, holding on tightly, tillNgati laid his hand upon his shoulder, passed round him, and then,signing to him to follow, went on.
Don's first thought was of Jem, and looking behind him, there was hiscompanion close to where he stood.
Jem nodded to him to go on, just as a faint shout arose from somewhereabove; and this seemed to nerve him to proceed over the slippery stonesto where Ngati was passing round a corner, holding tightly by the rock,which he seemed to embrace.
The way was dangerous in the extreme--a narrow ledge of the most ruggedkind with a perpendicular moss-covered wall on the right, and on theleft, space, with far below the foaming torrent, a glance at whichseemed to produce vertigo.
To stand still seemed to be worse than going on, and taking it to hiscomfort that what one man could do another might, Don reached thecorner, but hesitated again, for there seemed to be no foot-holdwhatever. But as he hesitated a great brown hand came round, ready tograsp his firmly; and with this help he made the venture, pressinghimself close against the rock and creeping on.
He was just in the most perilous part, well out over the torrent, whenhis left foot slipped, and a horrible chill ran through him, as he feltthat he was falling into the chasm below to instant death. He held onwith his right hand, and strove to press his breast against the rock,but the effort was vain; his right hand slipped from the crevice inwhich it was thrust, his right foot glided over the wet moss, and heslipped down, hung for a moment or two over the foaming waters, and thenfelt himself swung up and on to a broad ledge, upon which Ngati wasstanding.
The Maori took it as a matter of course, signed to him to get up, andpassed his hand round the rock once more to assist Jem.
A curious sensation ran through Don as he watched for Jem's coming, andtrembling and unnerved, it seemed to him that watching another's perilwas more painful than suffering oneself.
But in spite of his wounded shoulder Jem came round the point slowly andcarefully, but with his brow rugged from the pain he suffered as Ngatiheld him firmly by his injured arm.
As soon as he was in safety Jem passed his hand across his wet foreheadand bit his lip, whilst once more signing to them to follow, Ngati ledon.
The way now was downward from rock to rock, and, terrible though itlooked, the danger was less, for there was ample foot-hold and anabundance of bushy stems and fern fronds ready to their hands. Thefalls were again invisible, and they pressed on toward where anothershoulder of the rocks jutted out, hiding the falling waters, whose noisewas now so deafening that, had they wished to speak, a shout close tothe ear would hardly have been heard.
Big as the Maori was, he seemed to be as active as a goat, and pickingthe easiest ways over the mist-moistened stones, he led his companionslower and lower down the rock wall till, when they reached the nextprojection, and on passing round, it was to find themselves in what waslittle more than a huge rock pit, facing a mass of water which fell fromquite two hundred feet above them into a vast cauldron of white foam,which chafed and roared and cast up clouds of spray as it whirled roundand then rushed out of the narrow opening along the jagged gash by whoseside they had come.
The appearance of the vast body of water falling in one clear bound wasbewildering, while the noise, as it reverberated from the rocky sides,produced a feeling of awe which made Don stand motionless till Ngatipassed him, and sheltering his face behind a tuft of fern, peered roundthe corner they had just passed.
He withdrew his head, looking fierce and determined, signed once more toDon to follow, and went on climbing carefully along the sides of thehuge pit.
"Where can he be going now?" thought Don, as he caught sight of arefulgent rainbow spanning the falls, and his eyes rested upon thebrilliant, sun-illumined greens of fern, bush, and grass, with pendentmosses, all luxuriating in the heat and moisture of the wind-shelteredplace.
These were but momentary glances, for his whole thoughts seemed to betaken up by the struggle for life imperilled in a hundred ways.
For still Ngati climbed on, turning every now and then to extend hishand or spear-shaft to Don when the place was unusually difficult; andby this means they went on and on till first they were on a level withthe side of the fall, then partially shielded by it, and at last, whenthe Maori paused, unable to proceed farther either up or down, they werestanding upon a projecting mass of rock with the great veil of waterbetween them and the daylight, one vast curve of hundreds of tons ofgreenish water falling, ever falling, into the chasm below.
It was dim with a greenish light where they stood, and the mist wettedthem as they glanced sidewise along the way by which they had come, tosee whether their enemies were in pursuit; but after watching for sometime Ngati smiled and shook his head.
"No," he said, or seemed to say, for they could only judge by themovement of his lips. "No," and he shook his head, and seating himself,gazed calmly and placidly at the water, as if there were no such thingas danger.
In fact, to the great savage there was no such thing as peril in any ofthe objects of nature. Full of strength and calm matter-of-factcourage, climbing rocks or making his way into such a place as this wasa very commonplace affair. His idea of danger was in the sight ofenemies thirsting for his blood. Now that they were out of reach, andhe believed that he had thrown them off the scent, he was perfectlycontent, and ready to smile at the perfection of the hiding-place he hadsought.
"Can you hear me, Jem?" said Don at last, after they had sat on the wetstones for some time, watching the falling water and listening to thethunderous roar.
"Yes, if you shout quite close?"
"Isn't it an awful place?"
"Ay, 'tis."
"Do you think we shall escape?"
"I was thinking what a good job it was that we had managed a good feed."
"How are we to get away again?"
"Dunno. P'r'aps there's another way out."
"I hope so. It will be horrible to have to go back as we came."
Jem nodded, and began to nibble the dry skin at the side of his fingernails, looking up thoughtfully at the translucent arch.
Then he nodded to Don as if he wished to speak, and Don put his earclose to Jem's lips.
"Think there's much more on it to come down?"
"More, Jem?"
"Yes. 'Cause when it's all run out, they'll be able to see us."
"I should think it is always falling like this, Jem."
"Oh!"
No more was said, and they sat patiently waiting for danger or freedom,whichever might be in store for them. Ngati held out his great fistfrom time to time to shake hands in a congratulatory way, and the hoursglided on till it began to grow dark, and another horror assailed Don.It was evident that they must pass the n
ight there in the cold and damp,for to attempt to escape in the dark would be madness, and how would itbe if they dropped off to sleep and slipped?
He shuddered at the thought, and sat in silence gazing at Ngati, whowaited calmly till the shadows of evening had quite filled the chasm,when he rose, and it was evident that he did not consider escape in thedarkness impossible, for, grasping Don's arm, he uttered the one word"Come!" and led the way out from beneath the watery arch, to stand, assoon as they were quite clear, shading his eyes and gazing through thetransparent gloom in search of their enemies.
Apparently satisfied, he tapped both on the shoulder, and with a shudderof dread Don followed him along the side of the gulf.