CHAPTER NINETEEN.
HOW WE WERE BESIEGED, AND I THOUGHT OF BIRNAM WOOD.
I believe the doctor saved us from dangerous wounds, if not from death,for, as he threw himself flat, half a dozen arrows struck the roof ofour shelter, and fell pattering down amongst us as we lay.
"Here, quick! pass these packages forward," the doctor whispered; and wemanaged to get the blacks' loads between us and the enemy, making of thepackages a sort of breastwork, which sheltered us while we hauledforward some pieces of stone, arrow after arrow reaching this extemporeparapet, or coming over it to strike the roof and fall back.
The natives with us understood our plans at once, and eagerly helped,pushing great pieces of stone up to us, so that in about a quarter of anhour we were well protected, and the question came uppermost in my mindwhether it was not time to retaliate with a charge of shot upon thecowardly assailants, who had attacked us when we were so peacefullyengaged.
We had time, too, now to look round us and lament that our force was somuch weakened by the absence of Jimmy and Aroo, who had gone to fetchmore water.
"They will be killed," I said, and I saw Ti-hi smile, for he hadevidently understood my meaning. He shook his head too, and tried tomake me understand, as I found afterwards, that Aroo would take care ofhimself; but we left off in a state of the greatest confusion.
Being then well sheltered we contrived loopholes to watch for ourenemies, and Ti-hi pointed out to me the place from whence the arrowswere shot every time the enemy could see a hand.
The spot he pointed to as that in which our assailants lay was where apatch of thick growth flourished among some stones, about fifty yardsalong the rocky pass in the direction in which we had come, and as I wasintently watching the place to make out some sign of the enemy, andfeeling doubtful whether the black was right, I saw a slight movementand the glint of a flying arrow, which struck the face of the rock a fewfeet above my head, and then fell by Jack Penny's hand.
"Mind," I said, as he picked it up; "perhaps it is poisoned."
Ti-hi was eagerly watching my face, and as I spoke he caught the arrowfrom Jack's hand, placed it against his arm, and then closed his eyesand pretended to be dead; but as quickly came to life again, as severalmore arrows struck the rock and fell harmlessly among us. These hegathered together all but one, whose point was broken by coming incontact with the rock, and that he threw away.
After this he carefully strung the bow that he always, like his fellows,carried, and looked eagerly at the doctor, who was scanning the groundin front of us with his little double glass.
"I don't like the look of things, my lads," he said in a low voice, andhis countenance was very serious as he spoke. "I intended for ours tobe a peaceable mission, but it seems as if we are to be forced into warwith two men absent."
"Shall we have to shoot 'em?" said Jack Penny excitedly.
"I hope not," said the doctor, "for I should be sorry to shed the bloodof the lowest savage; but we must fight in defence of our lives. Wecannot afford to give those up, come what may."
Ti-hi fitted an arrow to the string of his short, strong bow, and wasabout to draw it, but the doctor laid his hand upon him and checked him,to the savage warrior's great disgust.
"No," said the doctor, "not until we are obliged; and then I shall trywhat a charge of small shot will do."
We were not long in finding out that it was absolutely necessary todefend ourselves with vigour, for the arrows began to fall thickly--thickly enough, indeed, to show us that there were more marksmen hiddenamong the trees than the size of the clump seemed to indicate from wherewe crouched.
I was watching the patch of trees very intently when I heard a sharplydrawn inspiration of breath, and turning I saw the doctor pulling anarrow from the flannel tunic he wore.
"As doctors say, Joe," he whispered with a smile, "three inches more tothe right and that would have been fatal."
I don't know how I looked, but I felt pale, and winced a little, whilethe doctor took my hand.
The force of habit made me snatch it away, for I thought he was going tofeel my pulse. I fancied for the moment that it must be to see whetherI was nervous, and the blood flushed to my cheeks now, and made me lookdefiant.
"Why, Joe, my lad, what is it?" he said quietly. "Won't you shakehands?"
"Oh! yes," I cried, placing mine in his, and he gave it a long, firmgrip.
"I ought," he said, after a pause, "to have said more about thetroubles, like this one, which I might have known would arise, when wearranged to start; but somehow I had a sort of hope that we might make apeaceful journey, and not be called upon to shed blood. Joe, my lad, weshall have to fight for our lives."
"And shoot down these people?" I said huskily.
"If we do not, they will shoot us. Poor wretches, they probably do notknow the power of our guns. We must give them the small shot first, andwe may scare them off. Don't you fire, my lad; leave it to me."
I nodded my head, and then our attention was taken up by the arrows thatkept flying in, with such good aim that if we had exposed ourselves inthe least the chances are that we should have been hit.
The doctor was on one side of me, Jack Penny on the other, and my tallyoung friend I noticed had been laying some cartridges very methodicallyclose to his hand, ready for action it seemed to me; but he had notspoken much, only looked very solemn as he lay upon his chest, kickinghis legs up and sawing them slowly to and fro.
"Are we going to have to fight, Joe Carstairs?" he whispered.
"I'm afraid so," I replied.
"Oh!"
That was all for a few minutes, during which time the arrows kept comingin and striking the roof as before, to fall there with a tinkling sound,and be collected carefully by Ti-hi and his companions, all of whomwatched us with glowing eyes, waiting apparently for the order to begiven when they might reply to the shots of the enemy.
"I say, Joe Carstairs," said Jack, giving me a touch with his long arm.
"Yes; what is it?" I said peevishly, for his questions seemed to be anuisance.
"I don't look horribly frightened, do I?"
"No," I said; "you look cool enough. Why?"
"Because I feel in a horrid stew, just as I did when a lot of the blackfellows carried me off. I was a little one then."
"Were you ever a little one, Jack!" I said wonderingly.
"Why, of course I was--a very little one. You don't suppose I was bornwith long legs like a colt, do you? The blacks came one day when fatherwas away, and mother had gone to see after the cow, and after taking allthe meal and bacon they went off, one of them tucking me under his arm,and I never made a sound, I was so frightened, for I was sure they weregoing to eat me. I feel something like I did then; but I say, JoeCarstairs, you're sure I don't show it?"
"Sure! Yes," I said quickly. "If we have to shoot at these savagesshall you take aim at them?"
"All depends," said Jack coolly. "First of all, I shall fire in frontof their bows like the man-o'-war's men do. If that don't stop 'em Ishall fire at their legs, and if that don't do any good then I shall let'em have it right full, for it'll be their own fault. That's myprinciple, Joe Carstairs; if a fellow lets me alone I never interferewith him, but if he begins at me I'm nasty. Here, you leave thosearrows alone, and--well, what's the matter with you?"
This was to Gyp, who was whining uneasily as if he scented danger, andwanted to run out.
"Down, Gyp, down!" said his master; and the dog crouched lower,growling, though, now as a fresh arrow flashed in from another part.
The doctor started and raised his gun to take aim at the spot fromwhence this shot had come, for one of the savages had climbed up andreached a ledge above where we were. In fact this man's attack made ourposition ten times more perilous than it was before.
But the doctor did not fire, for Ti-hi, without waiting for orders, drewan arrow to its head, the bow-string gave a loud twang, and the nextinstant we saw a savage bound from the ledge w
here he had hidden and runacross the intervening space, club in one hand, bow in the other,yelling furiously the while.
The doctor was about to fire, and in the excitement of the moment I hadmy piece to my shoulder, but before he had come half-way the savageturned and staggered back, Ti-hi pointing triumphantly to an arrowsticking deep in the muscles of the man's shoulder.
There was a loud yelling as the wounded savage rejoined his companions,and our own men set up a triumphant shout.
"That's one to us," said Jack Penny drily. "I think I shall keep thescore."
The doctor looked at me just at this time and I looked back at him; andsomehow I seemed to read in his eyes that he thought it would be thebest plan to let the blacks fight out the battle with their bows andarrows, and I felt quite happy in my mind for the moment, since itseemed to me that we should get out of the difficulty of having to shedblood.
But directly after I coloured with shame, for it seemed cowardly to wantto do such work by deputy and to make these ignorant people fight ourbattle; while after all I was wrong, for the doctor was not thinkinganything of the kind. In fact he knew that we would all have to fightin defence of our lives, and when a flight of about twenty arrows camewhizzing and pattering over our heads and hurtled down upon the stonyfloor, I knew it too, and began to grow cool with the courage ofdesperation and prepared for the worst.
"Here, Jack Penny," I whispered, "you'll have to fight; the savages meanmischief."
"All right!" he replied in a slow cool drawling way, "I'm ready forthem; but I don't know whether I can hit a man as he runs, unless I tryto make myself believe he's a kangaroo."
The yelling was continued by our enemies, and as far as I could tell itseemed to me that there must be at least thirty savages hiding amongstthe rocks and trees, and all apparently thirsting for our blood.
"It seems hard, doctor," I said bitterly. "They might leave us alone."
"I'm afraid they will think that they would have done better in leavingus," said the doctor gloomily, "for I don't mean them to win the day ifI can help it."
I could not help staring at the doctor: his face looked so stern andstrange till, catching my eye, he smiled in his old way, and held outhis hand.
"We shall beat them off, Joe," he said gently. "I would have avoided itif I could, but it has become a work of necessity, and we must fight forour lives. Be careful," he added sternly. "It is no time for trifling.Remember your father, and the mother who is waiting for you at home.Joe, my boy, it is a fight for life, and you must make every shot tell."
For the moment I felt chilled with horror; and a sensation of dreadseemed to paralyse me. Then came the reaction, with the thought that ifI did not act like a man I should never see those I loved again. This,too, was supplemented, as it were, by that spirit of what the Frenchcall _camaraderie_, that spirit which makes one forget self; andthinking that I had to defend my two companions from the enemy I raisedthe barrel of my piece upon the low breastwork, ready to fire on thefirst enemy who should approach.
"Look," said Ti-hi just then, for he was picking up scraps of ourtongue; and following his pointing finger I made out the black bodies ofseveral savages creeping to posts of vantage from whence they would beable to shoot.
"Take care," said the doctor sternly, as an arrow nearly grazed my ear."If one of those arrows gives ever so slight a wound it may prove fatal,my lad; don't expose yourself in the least. Ah! the game must begin inearnest," he said partly under his breath.
As he spoke he took aim at a man who was climbing from rock to rock togain the spot from which the other had been dislodged. Then there was apuff of white smoke, a roar that reverberated amongst the rocks, and thepoor wretch seemed to drop out of sight.
The doctor's face looked tight and drawn as he reloaded, and for amoment I felt horrified; but then, seeing a great brawny black fellowraise himself up to draw his bow and shoot at the part where Jack Pennywas crouching, and each time seem to send his arrow more close to mycompanion, I felt suddenly as if an angry wave were sweeping over myspirit, and lay there scowling at the man.
He rose up again, and there was a whizz and a crack that startled me.
"I say," drawled Jack Penny, "mind what you're after. You'll hit someone directly."
He said this with a strange solemnity of voice, and picking up the arrowhe handed it to one of the blacks.
"That thing went right through my hair, Joe Carstairs," he continued."It's making me wild."
I hesitated no longer, but as the great savage rose up once more I tooka quick aim and fired just as he was drawing his bow.
The smoke obscured my sight for a few moments, during which there was afurious yelling, and then, just as the thin bluish vapour was clearingoff, there was another puff, and an echoing volley dying off in thedistance, for Jack Penny had also fired.
"I don't know whether I hit him," he answered; "but he was climbing upthere like t'other chap was, and I can't see him now."
In the excitement of the fight the terrible dread of injuring a fellowcreature now seemed to have entirely passed away, and I watched onesavage stealing from bush to bush, and from great stone to stone with aneagerness I could not have believed in till I found an opportunity offiring at him, just as he too had reached a dangerous place and had senthis first arrow close to my side.
I fired and missed him, and the savage shouted defiance as my bulletstruck the stones and raised a puff of dust. The next moment he hadreplied with a well-directed arrow that made me wince, it was so near myhead.
By this time I had reloaded and was taking aim again with feverisheagerness, when all at once a great stone crashed down from above andswept the savage from the ledge where he knelt.
I looked on appalled as the man rolled headlong down in company with themass of stone, and then lay motionless in the bottom of the littlevalley.
"Who is it throwing stones?" drawled Jack slowly. "That was a big one,and it hit."
"That could not have been an accident," said the doctor; "perhaps Aroois up there."
"I only hope he is," I cried; "but look, look! what's that?"
I caught at the doctor's arm to draw his attention to what seemed to bea great thickly tufted bush which was coming up the little valleytowards us.
"Birnam wood is coming to Dunsinane," said the doctor loudly.
"Is it?" said Jack Penny excitedly. "What for? Where? What do youmean?"
"Look, look!" I cried, and I pointed to the moving bush.
"Well, that's rum," said Jack, rubbing his nose with his finger. "Treesare alive, of course, but they can't walk, can they? I think there'ssome one shoving that along."
"Why, of course there is," I said.
"Don't fire unless you are obliged," exclaimed the doctor; "and whateveryou do, take care. See how the arrows are coming."
For they were pattering about us thickly, and the blacks on our sidekept sending them back, but with what result we could not tell, for thesavages kept closely within the cover.
It was now drawing towards evening, and the sun seemed hotter than ever;the whole of the sultry ravine seemed to have become an oven, of whichour cavern shelter was the furnace. In fact the heat was momentarily,from the sun's position, and in spite of its being so long past themeridian, growing more and more intense.
Jack Penny had of late grown very silent, but now and then he turned hisface towards me with his mouth open, panting with heat and thirst, asuneasily as his dog, whose tongue was hanging out looking white and dry.
"Is there any water there?" said the doctor suddenly, as he paused inthe act of reloading.
"Not a drop," I said, dismally.
"Oh! don't say that," groaned Jack Penny. "If I don't have some I shalldie."
"It will be evening soon," said the doctor in a husky voice, "and thisterrible heat will be over. Keep on firing when you have a chance, mylads, but don't waste a shot. We must read them such a lesson that theywill draw off and leave us alone."
But as he
spoke, so far from the loss they had sustained having dampedthe ardour of the enemy, they kept on sending in the arrows morethickly, but without doing us--thanks to our position and thebreastwork--the slightest harm.
The sun sank lower, but the rock where we were seemed to grow hotter,the air to be quivering all along the little valley, and as the terriblethirst increased so did our tortures seem to multiply from the fact thatwe could hear the heavy dull thunderous murmur away to our right, and weknew that it was cool, clear, delicious water, every drop of which wouldhave given our dried-up mouths and parched throats relief.
At one time I turned giddy and the whole scene before me seemed to bespinning round, while my head throbbed with the pain I suffered, mytongue all the time feeling like a piece of dry leather which clung tothe roof of my mouth.
And still the firing was going steadily on, each sending a bulletstraight to its mark whenever opportunity occurred; but apparentlywithout effect, for in the midst of all this firing and confusion ofshouts from the enemy and defiant replies from our people, the arrowswent to and fro as rapidly as ever.
If it had not been for the sound of the falling water I believe I couldhave borne the thirst far better; but no matter how the fighting went,there was always the soft deep roar of the plashing water tantalising uswith thoughts of its refreshing draughts and delicious coolness whenlaving our fevered heads.
I grew so giddy at times that I felt that I should only waste my shot ifI fired, and refrained, while, gaining experience and growing bolder bydegrees, the savages aimed so that every shot became dangerous, for theysent them straight at a mass of rock before us some ten or a dozenyards, and this they struck and then glanced off, so that we were nearlyhit three times running.
Stones were set up at once upon our right as a protection, but this onlysaved us for a time. The savages had found out the way to touch us, andbefore many minutes had elapsed _ricochet_ shots were coming amongst asagain.
"I can hardly see them, Joe," whispered the doctor suddenly; "my eyesare dizzy with this awful thirst. We must have water if we are tolive."
He ceased speaking to catch me by the arm, and point to the bush thathad been so long stationary in one place that I had forgotten it.
"What's that, my lad?" he whispered; "is that bush moving, or are myeyes playing me false. It must be on the move. It is some trick. Fireat once and stop it, or we shall be taken in the flank."
I raised my gun as I saw the bush moving slowly on towards us, nowcoming a yard or two and then stopping; but I was so giddy and confusedthat I lowered it again, unable to take aim. This took place again andagain, and at last I lay there scanning as in a nightmare the coming ofthat great green bush.
The doctor was watching with bloodshot eyes the enemy on his own side,Jack Penny was busy on the other, and the command of this treacherousadvancing enemy was left to my gun, which seemed now to have become ofenormous weight when I tried to raise it and take aim.
"It's all a dream--it is fancy," I said to myself, as I tried to shademy eyes and steady my gaze; but as I said this the bush once more beganto glide on, and the black patch I saw beneath it must, I felt, be theleg of the savage concealed behind.