CHAPTER XXVII.
A TERRIBLE NIGHT.
A shrill piercing scream, like the cry of a tortured soul, rang out ofthe forest, rising clear and trembling above the tolling of the belland the noises of the night.
The boys looked at each other with white, frightened faces.
"A panther," Charley cried, "a panther, and we penned up here helplessas babes."
"Look," said Walter, eagerly, "look at the boars."
The great animals were stirring uneasily and their hoarse, threateninggrunts had dropped to a kind of frightened whine. Again the screamrose shrill and clear, and, with a grunt of fear, the big leadercharged into the forest followed by the rest.
"They are afraid of the panther, and I don't blame them," Charleyexclaimed. "Come, we must get out of here in a hurry."
The boys slid to the ground as fast as their stiffened limbs wouldpermit, picked up Charley's rifle, and hastily cutting down thevenison, plunged out of the forest onto the prairie.
The screams, rapidly drawing nearer, hastened their footsteps, but,fast as they traveled, the sound continued to draw closer.
"It has got a sniff of the venison and is following us up," Charleydeclared. "We can never get away from it, and there is small chance ofour being able to kill it in the dark. We may as well stop right herewhere there is a little wood and build a fire, that is our only chance."
Charley had chosen this halting place wisely, for a large dead tree layon the ground, where he had stopped.
Hastily the boys tore up a heap of dry grass and piling broken limbs onit, lit the pile with a match.
The dry stuff roared up with a flame not a minute too soon, theflickering light revealed a crouching form not thirty feet away. Witha snarl of rage the creature retreated from the blaze and begancircling the fire from a distance. The soft pattering footfalls couldbe easily heard.
The boys crouched close to the fire filled with apprehension thatgradually decreased as they saw the panther feared to approach. ThriceCharley fired at the dim skulking form, but, in the darkness, hisbullets went wide of the mark, and he stopped wasting more ammunition.
"Let's set fire to the tree itself," Walter suggested, "it will make abigger fire, last a long time, and save us the trouble of gatheringwood."
"Good," exclaimed Charley, and seizing a couple of blazing brands hethrust them under the tree's trunk. The dry wood caught like tinderand soon the whole tree was aflame.
"I hope they will see it at the camp," Walter said. "If they do, theywill know we are still alive."
As their fear of the panther decreased, the boys began to feel hungryand tired. The venison was unwrapped and some thick steaks were cutoff and broiled over the fire, and from them the lads made a heartymeal.
They felt greatly refreshed after their hearty repast but they werestill very tired and sleepy. They strove to converse together and keepawake but the fatigue of the day, the heavy meal, and the warmth of thefire proved too much for them and every now and then one would catchthe other nodding.
"There's no use of both of us sitting up all night, when one is allthat is necessary to keep an eye on the fire," said Charley, sleepily."Let's make up a bed of the prairie grass and take turn about sleepingand keeping watch."
Walter heartily agreed to the suggestion and they proceeded to make uptheir couch without loss of time. They did not have to go outside thecircle of firelight for their mattress, for the wild rice grew allaround the blazing tree. All they had to do was to pull it up in greathandfuls and stack it before the fire.
Suddenly Charley gave an exclamation and leaped back out of the grass."Come out of that grass, Walt," he cried, "I have been bitten by a puffadder. I heard it hiss."
"Oh, Charley," cried his chum in terror, "what can we do?"
"Quick," commanded Charley, "open one of your shotgun shells and takeout the shot." While he had been speaking the lad had slipped one legout of his pants and exposed the wound to view. It was only a tiny redpuncture of the skin midway between knee and hip, but the bitten oneknew that tiny place was more dangerous than a rifle ball. Like aflash, he drew his hunting-knife and cut out a chunk of flesh as big asa hen egg where the wound had been. "Give me that cartridge," hecommanded, his teeth gritting with pain.
Walter passed over the open shell and Charley emptied its contents ofpowder into the open cut. Quickly, he applied a match to the blackgrains and they caught with a hiss, there was a tiny cloud of blacksmoke and a whiff of burning flesh.
Walter sprang to his chum's side and caught him, as he staggered andreeled under the awful pain.
"Gee, but that was a plucky thing to do," he cried.
"I guess I got it done in time," murmured Charley, through pale lips."It was the only thing to do. I would have been dead in half an hourotherwise--and such a death. But I guess I've got the best of it, Icut out that piece before the poison had a chance to get into thecirculation, I think. Give me a hand to bind up the cut beforeanything gets into it."
Walter hastened to comply and bound up the gaping cut as well as hecould with the means at his command. While Charley lay back andgritted his teeth to keep back the moans of pain.
"Strange the place don't bleed any," said Walter, curiously.
"The heat of the powder flash cauterized the cut ends of the veins andclosed them up," Charley explained. "I have seen the same thing donebefore and the wound never bled."
"Is it always a good thing to do?" his chum inquired.
"It is useless in some cases. It all depends upon the kind of snakeand where the person is struck. I never knew a case of a personrecovering when hit by a genuine Florida rattlesnake. Puff adders andmoccasins are deadly enough, but they are mild beside the rattler. Therattler's fangs are so long that they strike deep and the quantity ofvenom injected is enormous, some of it is almost instantly taken up bythe veins punctured. I do not believe that anything but instantamputation would save the life of one struck. But all bitten do notdie equally soon. I have known a man struck in the ankle where thecirculation was poor, to live for several hours, while another struckin the neck while bending over a flower, died almost instantly. Thepoor fellow did not have time to straighten up even. But he was luckyin dying quickly. There is no death more painful and horrible thanthat from a rattlesnake bite."
"What loathsome creatures," shuddered Walt, "and the state is accursedwith them."
"They are few in number compared with what they used to be," Charleyremarked, "and I'll bet you can't guess what has thinned them out so."
"The clearing up of the state and their wholesale destruction bysettlers," Walter suggested.
Charley smiled in spite of his pain. "What settlers destroy in a yeardo not amount to a ten thousandth part of the number born. Each mothersnake has upward of twenty-five little ones at a time. Birds,especially the blue jay, kill a great many but their worst enemy is theFlorida hog."
"The hog?" exclaimed Walter, in surprise.
"Yes," Charley affirmed. "If you want to clear a patch of ground ofsnakes, just turn in a drove of hogs, they will do the work for you inshort order. They kill and eat the most poisonous snakes without theslightest hurt to themselves. Either their thick hide saves them, orelse they are immune from the venom."
"No more Florida pork on my bill-of-fare," declared Walter in disgust.
Pain and excitement had driven all thought of sleep from both boys'minds and they sat close together by the fire and talked the night away.
As the slow minutes slipped away, Walter watched his chum's face in anagony of apprehension for any sign that the subtle venom was getting inits deadly work. But the hours passed by and, although Charley wassuffering considerable pain, there was no indication that any of thepoison had passed into his system--the lad's prompt act had saved hislife.
Dawn came at last and found two weary waiting boys, one of them weak,pale, and haggard.
As soon as it was light enough to see, Walter made his way back to theedge of
the forest, and cut a strong forked limb to serve as a crutchfor his chum.
Before leaving the fire, the boys cooked and ate a couple more venisonsteaks which gave them fresh strength and courage.
Walter shouldered the guns and venison and staggered on in the leadunder his heavy load, while Charley hobbled painfully on behind.
They had just crossed the remainder of the prairie and were resting abit before plunging into the forest on the other side, when Chris andthe captain broke out from the clump of trees and hailed them withshouts of joy.
Chris relieved Walter of a part of his load while the captain assistedCharley forward, and the little party made good time on their homewardway and before long reached the clearing.
Chris' and the captain's haggard faces showed they had passed assleepless a night as the two lads.
"Golly," said Chris, gravely, "when night comes an' you chillens don'tshow up, an' de haunts begin a-tollin' dat bell, I spects Massa Captainan' dis nigger went most crazy. When we seed you-alls' fire a littlelater, we feels some better, but, Massas, I jes' tell you dat daylightseemed powerful long comin' to dis nigger."
Amid the others' breathless interest, Walter related the adventures ofthe night. When the captain learned of Charley's accident, he broughtout the brandy bottle and insisted on his drinking what remained of theliquor. His wound was then bathed, clean and bandaged again and he wasmade to lay down upon his couch in the hut, while Walter stretched outon his own bed for a nap.
"Good," exclaimed Charley, as he caught sight of the windows and door,"you and Chris made a good job of those, captain."
The captain nodded in satisfaction. "I reckon it will take somebattering to get in there," he observed.
Inside the hut, the two workers had planted large posts of palmettothat effectually blocked the windows save for the cracks between theposts. The door was similarly barricaded, save for one post left outfor present ingress and egress. It stood close to hand, however, readyto be slipped into the hole provided for it, at an instant's notice.
Charley suddenly staggered to his feet. "I can't waste time lyinghere," he exclaimed. "Why, this is the day we expect the outlaw."