CHAPTER THIRTY NINE.
HOW WE TOOK A LAST LOOK ROUND, AND FOUND IT WAS TIME TO GO.
That next evening seemed as it would never come, and I lay tossingfeverishly from side to side vainly trying to obtain the rest my friendrecommended.
At last, though, the time came, and we were making our finalpreparations, when the doctor decided that we would just take a lookround first by way of a scout.
It was fortunate that we did, for just as it was growing dusk, after agood look round we were about to cross the rivulet, and go through thecavern and up the rift back into camp, when I caught the doctor's armwithout a word.
He started and looked in the same direction as I did which was rightdown the gully, and saw what had taken my attention, namely, thestooping bodies of a couple of blacks hurrying away through the bushesat a pretty good rate.
The doctor clapped his piece to his shoulder, and then dropped it oncemore.
"No!" he said. "I might kill one, but the other would bear the news.Fortunately they are going the other way and not ours. Quick, my lad!let's get back to camp and start."
"And they'll come back with a lot of their warriors to attack usto-night and find us gone!"
"And while they are gone, Joe, we will attack their place and carry offour prize!"
"If we only could!" I cried fervently.
"No _ifs_, Joe," he said smiling; "we _will_!"
It did not take us many minutes to reach the mouth of the cave, and aswe entered I looked round again, to catch sight of another black figurecrouching far up the opposite bank, at the foot of a great tree.
I did not speak, for it was better that the black should not think hehad been seen, so followed the doctor into the cave, climbed the riftwith him, and found all ready for the start.
"Black fellow all 'bout over there way!" said Jimmy to me in a whisper.
"How do you know?" I said quickly.
"Jimmy smell am!" he replied seriously. "Jimmy go look 'bout. Smell umblack fellow, one eye peeping round um trees."
"Yes, we have seen them too," I said; and signing to him to follow, Ifound the doctor.
"The sooner we are off the better!" he said. "Now, Mr Francis, do youthink you can lead us to the other side of the village, round by thenorth? the enemy are on the watch."
Mr Francis turned his head without a word, and, leaning upon a stoutstick, started at once; and we followed in silence, just as the starswere coming out.
It seemed very strange calling this savage-looking being Mr Francis,but when talking with him during his recovery from his wound one onlyneeded to turn one's head to seem to be in conversation with a man whohad never been from his civilised fellows.
He went steadily on, the doctor next, and I followed the doctor; therest of our little party gliding silently through the forest for quitethree hours, when Mr Francis stopped, and it was decided to rest andrefresh ourselves a little before proceeding farther.
The doctor had settled to leave Mr Francis here, but he quietlyobjected to this.
"No!" he said; "you want my help more now than ever. I am weak, but Ican take you right to the hut where Carstairs is kept a prisoner. Ifyou go alone you will lose time, and your expedition may--"
He stopped short and lay down upon the earth for a few minutes, duringwhich the doctor remained undecided. At last he bent down and whispereda few words to his patient, who immediately rose.
Orders were then given to the blacks, who were to stay under the commandof Jack Penny, and, followed by Jimmy, and leaving the rest of our partyin the shade of an enormous tree, we set off once more.
The excitement made the distance seem so short that I was astounded whena low murmur told us that we were close to the village, and, steppingmore cautiously, we were soon close up behind a great hut.
"This is the place," whispered Mr Francis. "He is kept prisoner here,or else at the great hut on the other side. Hist! I'll creep forwardand listen."
He went down in a stooping position and disappeared, leaving uslistening to the continuous talk of evidently a numerous party of thesavages; and so like did it all seem to the last time, that no timemight have elapsed since we crouched there, breathing heavily withexcitement in the shade of the great trees that came close up to thehuts.
It was a painful time, for it seemed that all our schemes had been invain, and that we might as well give up our task, unless we could comewith so strong a body of followers that we could make a bold attack.
I whispered once or twice to the doctor, but he laid his hand upon mylips. I turned to Jimmy, but he had crouched down, and was restinghimself according to his habit.
And so quite an hour passed away before we were aware by a slight rustlethat Mr Francis was back, looming up out of the darkness like somegiant, so strangely did the obscurity distort everything near at hand.
"Here!" he said in a low voice; and bending down we all listened to hiswords, which came feebly, consequent upon his exertions.
"I have been to the far hut and he is not there!" he whispered. "I cameback to this and crept in unobserved. They are all talking about anexpedition that has gone off to the back of the cave--to destroy us.Carstairs is in there, bound hand and foot."
"My poor father!" I moaned.
"I spoke to him and told him help was near," continued Mr Francis; "andthen--"
He muttered something in the savages' tongue, and then broke down andbegan to sob.
"Take no notice," the doctor whispered to me, as I stood tremblingthere, feeling as I did that I was only a few yards from him we had cometo save, and who was lying bound there waiting for the help that seemedas if it would never come.
The doctor realised my feelings, for he came a little closer and pressedmy hand.
"Don't be downhearted, my lad," he whispered; "we are a long way nearerto our journey's end than when we started."
"Yes!" I said; "but--"
"But! Nonsense, boy! Why, we've found your father. We know where heis; and if we can't get him away by stratagem, we'll go to another tribeof the blacks, make friends with them, and get them to fight on ourside."
"Nonsense, doctor!" I said bitterly. "You are only saying this tocomfort me."
"To get you to act like a man," he said sharply. "Shame upon you forbeing so ready to give up in face of a few obstacles!"
I felt that the rebuke was deserved, and drew in my breath, trying tonerve myself to bear this new disappointment, and to set my brain atwork scheming.
It seemed to grow darker just then, the stars fading out behind a thickveil of clouds; and creeping nearer to the doctor I sat down besidewhere he knelt, listening to the incessant talking of the savages.
We were not above half-a-dozen yards from the back of the great hut;and, now rising into quite an angry shout, now descending into a lowbuzz, the talk, talk, talk went on, as if they were saying the samethings over and over again.
I thought of my own captivity--of the way in which Gyp had come to me inthe night, and wondered whether it would be possible to cut away aportion of the palm-leaf wall of the hut, and so get to the prisoner.
And all this while the talking went on, rising and falling till itseemed almost maddening to hear.
We must have waited there quite a couple of hours, and still there wasno change. Though we could not see anything for the hut in front of uswe could tell that there was a good deal of excitement in the village,consequent, the doctor whispered, upon the absence of a number of theblacks on the expedition against us.
At last he crept from me to speak to Mr Francis.
"It is of no use to stay longer, I'm afraid, my lad," he whispered;"unless we wait and see whether the hut is left empty when theexpedition party comes back, though I fear they will not come back tillmorning."
"What are you going to do, then?" I said.
"Ask Francis to suggest a better hiding-place for us, where we can goto-night and wait for another opportunity."
I sighed, for I was weary of waiting
for opportunities.
"Fast asleep, poor fellow!" he whispered, coming back so silently thathe startled me. "Where's the black?"
I turned sharply to where Jimmy had been curled up, but he was gone.
I crept a little way in two or three directions, but he was not with us,and I said so.
"How dare he go!" the doctor said angrily. "He will ruin our plans!What's that?"
"Gyp!" I said, as the dog crept up to us and thrust his head against myhand. "Jack Penny is getting anxious. It is a signal for us to comeback."
"How do you know?"
"We agreed upon it," I said. "He was to send the dog in search of us ifwe did not join him in two hours; and if we were in trouble I was eitherto tie something to his collar or take it off."
"Do neither!" said the doctor quietly. "Look! they are lighting a fire.The others must have come back."
I turned and saw a faint glow away over the right corner of the hut; andthen there was a shout, and the shrill cries of some women and children.
In a moment there was a tremendous excitement in the hut before us, thesavages swarming out like angry bees, and almost at the same moment thewhole shape of the great long hut stood out against the sky.
"The village is on fire!" whispered the doctor. "Back, my boy!Francis, quick!"
He shook the sleeping man, whom all at once I could see, and he roserather feebly. Then we backed slowly more and more in amongst thetrees, seeing now that one of the light palm-leaf and bamboo huts wasblazing furiously, and that another had caught fire, throwing up thecluster of slight buildings into clear relief, while as we backedfarther and farther in amongst the trees we could see the blacks--men,women, and children--running to and fro as if wild.
"Now would be the time," said the doctor. "We might take advantage ofthe confusion and get your father away."
"Yes!" I cried excitedly. "I'm ready!"
"Stop for your lives!" said a voice at our elbow, and turning I saw MrFrancis, with his swarthy face lit up by the fire. "You could not getnear the hut now without being seen. If you had acted at the moment thealarm began you might have succeeded. It is now too late."
"No, no!" I cried. "Let us try."
"It is too late, I say," cried Mr Francis firmly. "The village is onfire, and the blacks must see you. If you are taken now you will bekilled without mercy."
"We must risk it," I said excitedly, stepping forward.
"And your father too."
I recoiled shuddering.
"We must get away to a place of safety, hide for a few days, and thentry again. I shall be stronger perhaps then, and can help."
"It is right," said the doctor calmly. "Come, Joe. Patience!"
I saw that he was right, for the fire was leaping from hut to hut, andthere was a glow that lit up the forest far and wide. Had anyone comenear we must have been seen, but the savages were all apparentlycongregated near the burning huts, while the great sparks and flakes offire rose up and floated far away above the trees, glittering like starsin the ruddy glow.
"Go on then," I said, with a groan of disappointment, and Mr Francistook the lead once more, and, the doctor following, I was last.
"But Jimmy!" I said. "We must not leave him behind."
"He will find us," said the doctor. "Come along."
There was nothing for me to do but obey, so I followed reluctantly, theglow from the burning village being so great that the branches of thetrees stood up clearly before us, and we had no difficulty in going on.
I followed more reluctantly when I remembered Gyp, and chirruped to him,expecting to find him at my heels, but he was not there.
"He has gone on in front," I thought, and once more I tramped wearilyon, when there was a rush and a bound and Gyp leaped up at me, catchingmy jacket in his teeth and shaking it hard.