CHAPTER XIV
AN ESCAPE--AND WHAT CAME OF IT
From the pace at which Muley-Hassan's band traversed the junglepaths it was evident to the two young captives that there wasimperative need in Muley-Hassan's mind of arriving somewhere at aset time. The usual noonday rest, which even the avariciousslave-trader was in the habit of taking, was not observed and thetravelers pressed straight on. Lathrop and Billy were almost readyto drop with fatigue when that evening, just at dusk, they arrivedat the bank of a muddy river which Muley-Hassan, impatient as he wasto proceed, decided it would be unwise to ford till daylight--whenthey could look for a good crossing place. At the spot which theyhad halted, the stream--swollen apparently by rains in themountains--roared between its banks, in a dark chocolate-coloredflood.
Muley-Hassan himself was the only one of his band provided with atent, or anything resembling one, and the boys shared the common bedof the rest of the party--which was the ground. A more unwholesomeresting-place in Africa, particularly on the steamy, swampy banks ofa river, could hardly be imagined. So indeed Muley-Hassan seemed tothink, for after a short time, during which the boys vainly tried tosecure some sleep, he ordered Diego to provide them with blankets toplace between themselves and the bare earth.
"I expect to get a good price for them eventually," he said, "and Idon't want to lose them unless I have to."
As the boys' wrists and ankles were bound with tough grass whilethere was no particular attempt made to watch them, and soon thesnores of the camp bespoke that it was at rest. Then it was thatBilly whispered to Lathrop.
"Now's our time to try for it!"
"Try for what?" whispered back Lathrop in an inert tone.
"To get away."
"What!"
"I mean it. I found a sharp stone imbedded in the ground near to meand I have nearly sawed through my wrist-bands."
After a few seconds' more vigorous scraping against the stone, Billywhispered:
"My hands are free. Wait till I wiggle my fingers and get up somecirculation and then we'll make our attempt--"
When he had once more got full control of his cramped fingers Billystooped cautiously over and loosened the thongs about his ankles.So tightly had they been drawn, though, that it took some littletime to get the cramps out of them. At last, however, the boysucceeded in restoring the circulation and then he was ready for themost daring step of his attempt. Cautiously he fell on his handsand knees and began to crawl toward the nearest of the sleepingslave-traders.
"What are you going to do, Billy?" asked Lathrop, in an agony offear lest the man should awaken.
"Watch me," was the young reporter's reply, as on his stomach hewiggled painfully across the few yards separating him from thesleeping man. In reality it took only a few minutes, but to boththe boys the period of time occupied seemed interminable.
But it was no time to hurry things. One false step night cost themtheir lives and Billy realized this.
With the slow deliberate movement of a snake he, reached out hishand when he got near enough and took from the sleeping man's sidehis long curved Arab scimitar. Then he glided back to Lathrop assilently as he had left.
He had just reached his resting-place when there was a stir from thefurther side of the camp. Like a rabbit ducking into its hole Billywas under his blanket and apparently fast asleep in a second. Buthis heart beat so loudly that it felt to him that anyone who was notdeaf could hear it a hundred yards away.
The man who had moved was Diego and the boys could hear his cat-likefootfalls as he neared their sleeping-places. Once he stumbled overone of the sleeping men and the aroused one rose with a start andcalled wildly:
"What is it?"
"Hush, Adab," cautioned Diego, "it is I--Diego. I'm going to givean eye to those two American brats."
"They're tied up hard and fast enough," chuckled the other.
"If they were of any other nationality--yes;" was Diego's reply,"but these Yankees are brave and clever enough to escape from almostany trap."
"You bet we are," thought Billy to himself, giving a realisticsnore.
Although he did not dare to open his eyes, the young reporter couldfeel Diego standing over them in the moonlight and gazing down atthem to ascertain if they were still "hard and fast," as the otherhad expressed it.
For an instant a terrible thought flashed across Billy's brain.
"Suppose Diego should take an idea to examine their thongs?"
But the lieutenant of Muley-Hassan apparently was satisfied, forafter a few minutes' scrutiny he turned to go Billy could hear hisfeet scrape as he swung around.
At almost the same instant the night was filled with savage criesand the camp was thrown into confusion by an onrush of wild figuresbefore whose spears the half-awakened Arabs were slaughtered likesheep.
Not realizing in the least what was happening, Billy yet conjecturedthat the Arabs were just then too busy to pay any attention tohimself and Lathrop. With two slashes of the stolen scimitar hesevered Lathrop's bonds and dragging him to his feet dived into theforest.
As they entered its recesses a fleeing Arab, still clutching hisrifle, dashed by them and an instant later fell dead. He had beenspeared through the back.
Billy, with a quick inspiration, seized the dead man's long rifleand his ammunition pouch and, followed by the bewildered Lathrop,plowed desperately forward into the screen of the jungle.
Behind them they heard cries for mercy and fierce shouts from theattacking savages. At first the cries and imprecations of theslave-traders predominated and then, by the altered sounds that camefrom the scene of the fighting and the crashing of the Arabs'volleys, the boys realized that the tide of battle had changed andthat the Arabs were driving back the attacking force.
"What do you suppose happened, Billy?" asked Lathrop, only halfawake, as the boys, with the fleetness and endurance that desperateneed lends, plunged deeper and deeper into the forest.
"Why, that some cannibal tribe that Muley-Hassan pillaged for slavesat some time has trailed him and attacked him," hazarded thereporter.
How near he came to the truth our readers know. The band that hadmade the midnight attack was the same that had painstakingly trailedMuley-Hassan since he destroyed the boys' camp on the river bank.
"But the Arabs have beaten them off?" queried Lathrop.
"Evidently," replied Billy, as the volleys died out and victoriousArab shouts were beard. "Hark at that! It's really too bad. I'dlike to have seen old Muley and his precious band driven into theriver. But if they have driven off the savages they'll be thinkingabout chasing us."
As he spoke there came a low, growling sound that seemed to proceedfrom some distance, but nevertheless filled the air. It rumbled androlled above them like--
"Thunder!" exclaimed both boys in the same breath.
"We've got to find shelter of some kind, quick," exclaimed Billy;"these tropical storms are unlike our little disturbances, and if weget caught among these trees in one, of them we stand a good chanceof being killed. It looks like we've jumped out of the frying-paninto the fire."
Without the least idea in which direction they were proceeding, thetwo chums struggled bravely on, Billy encouraging the flaggingLathrop from time to time with a joke, though these latter were, asBilly admitted to himself:
"Pretty dismal!"
At length, just as dawn was beginning to break, they foundthemselves facing a steepish cliff of rough rocks.
"Well, here's where we turn back," remarked Billy, bitterlydiscouraged nevertheless.
If they were lost in this equatorial forest, what chance did theystand of ever seeing their home and friends again?
As for Lathrop he sat down on a rock overgrown with a kind ofmonstrous lichen and gave way to tears. But not for long. Lathropwas a plucky enough lad, and as Billy truthfully remarked:
"We are going to have enough water before long without our turningon the weeps."
So Lathrop braced up and the boys looke
d about them. To theirintense joy they soon spied in the rocks, a short distance fromwhere they then were, a dark hole partly overgrown by creepers,which was evidently the entrance to a cavern. At the same instantthere began a mighty pattering on the leaves of the dense tropicgrowth all about them, and a louder growl of thunder announced thatthe storm that had been heralded a few hours before was about tobreak.
"Well, me for that African Waldorf-Astoria," cried Billy, graspinghis rifle and making a dive for the hole. Lathrop followed him andas soon as they were inside the cave he lit a match from hiswaterproof box.
"Looks to me like there might be snakes in here," he whispered, awedby the darkness and silence of the place.
"Rats," laughed Billy, although he himself felt by no means surethat at any moment some scaly monster might not descend from theroof; "but I'll tell you what we'll do. Light a fire."
"How are we to get wood?" asked the practical Lathrop.
"There's plenty of it right at the mouth of the cave. I'll get afew armfuls and in a minute we'll have things snug."
The young reporter hastened to the cave mouth and in a few trips hadgathered up several huge armfuls of wood-drift of all kinds fromunder the great trees all about. He was just re-entering the cavewhen there came a flash of blinding light so brilliant that itseemed as if the sky itself had split wide open. A bluish glareenveloped the forest and the lightning flash was instantly followedby a crash of thunder that shook the ground under the boys' feet.
"Well, they don't do things by halves in this country," remarkedBilly as he re-entered the cave after a second of being temporarilystunned by the terrific flash.
It didn't take the boys long to have their wood in a blaze and asthe smoke did not, as they had feared, fill the cavern, they assumedthat there must be some opening above through which it escaped.This fact they verified shortly when, after the storm had beenwaxing in fury for half-an-hour, a perfect torrent of water cametumbling in from the rear of the rocky cavern.
"Hark!" exclaimed Billy as the boys busied themselves trying toscrape out a water-course that would divert the flood from theirfire. From far in the rear of the cave came a plaintive sound of"Mi-ou, Mi-ou."
"Cats!" cried Lathrop.
"Cats nothing," was Billy's scornful reply; "here, let's have alook."
He seized a blazing brand out of the fire and hastened to the placefrom which the sounds emanated.
"Come here, quick, Lathrop," he cried. The younger lad scurriedback and found Billy bending over a roughly constructed nest or bed.On it lay four tiny, fuzzy yellow things. They were "meowing" atthe tops of their voices as the torrent of water that had annoyedthe boys dripped into their snug nesting-place. At the same instantthe boys became aware of a sickening odor of decaying flesh.
"Come on! we've got to get out of here quick as quick as we can,"exclaimed Billy as they hastened towards the fresh air.
"Why, what is it, Billy?" asked Lathrop.
"I don't know; but I think that those are lion cubs--they look likethe ones I've seen in the Bronx Zoo," was the young reporter'sreply, "and if they are, this is no place for us. Come on--thestorm is letting up. Let's get out quick before the old ones getback."
The storm, with the suddenness with which these furious tropicaldisturbances arise and vanish, had indeed gone and the sun wasshining down once more on the drenched jungle, which glittered withdiamond like spangles as the rays struck the dripping fronds andbranches. But the boys had no eyes for the scene about them,beautiful as it was, for as they emerged from the cave a low growlgreeted them.
Crouched on the ground--her tail lashing the earth like a cat's whenit is about to spring--was a huge tawny lioness--her cruel greeneyes fixed full upon them.