CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.
A STERN-CHASE.
"Oh, why didn't I watch it?" groaned Pete, in agony; and his next glancewas along the bank of the river, with the idea of running till oppositethe boat.
He groaned again as he grasped the fact that he could not run, only walkfor two or three yards before the dense tangle of the forest commenced,and progress through that was impossible.
"Means zwim for it, Master Nic," he cried, with an attempt at beingcheery; "but look here, lad, if you zee me pulled down by them 'gatorsor vish, let it be a lesson to you. Don't you try the water."
Then to himself, as he plunged in:
"Why, o' course he wouldn't. What's the good o' saying that?"
The water was deep and clear close in to the overhanging bank, and Petedived out of sight, scaring some occupant of the river, which sweptitself away with as much commotion in the water as was caused by theman's dive; but when he rose to the surface, yards away, shook his head,and glanced back over his left shoulder, it was to see Nic's head rise ashort distance behind him, for the younger man had followed on theinstant.
Pete ceased swimming, to allow his companion to come abreast.
"Oh, Master Nic!" he cried, "you zhouldn't ha' done that;" and heglanced wildly about him as if expecting to see the rugged head of analligator rise close by. "Go back, lad; go back. It's on'y one man'swork."
"Go back? No," said Nic firmly. "We must fight it out, shoulderstogether, Pete. Come on."
Pete gave vent to something like a sob, and his face grew wrinkled; butthe next moment he forced a smile.
"Well, you're master," he said cheerily; "zo now for it, zir. You zwimlighter than I do, but I'll race you down to the boat. Virst to lay ahand on gunwale wins."
"Come on," said Nic, fighting hard to master the horrible feeling thatat any moment they might be attacked from beneath by one or other of thefierce creatures which inhabited the stream--Nic's dread being mostlyrespecting the shark-like gar-fish, which he knew must be abundant.
Pete shared his dread, but they both kept their thoughts to themselvesas they swam on with strong, steady strokes, their light clothing ofshirt and short drawers impeding them but slightly. Life from childhoodon the seashore had conduced to making them expert swimmers; the swiftstream helped them famously; and, keeping well away towards the middleto avoid the eddies near the shore, they went on steadily after theboat.
But this, in its light state, was being swept rapidly on, and had sogood a start that for some time the swimmers did not seem to gain uponit in the least, and at last, as the distance still remained about thesame, a feeling of despair began to attack them.
Pete saw the change in his fellow-swimmer's countenance.
"Take it easy, Master Nic. Long ztroke and zlow. We could keep this upall day. On'y got to zwim steady: river does all the work."
"We must swim faster, Pete, or we shall never reach the boat," criedNic.
"Nay, lad; if we zwim hard we shall get tired out, and lose ground then.Easy as you can. She may get closer in and be caught by zome of thebranches."
Nic said no more, but swam on, keeping his straining eyes fixed upon theever-distant boat, till at last hope began to rise again, for the craftdid happen to be taken by the eddy formed by a stream which joined theriver, and directly after they saw it being driven towards one of thehuge trees which dipped its pendent boughs far out in the water.
The feeling of excitement made Nic's breath come thick and fast as hesaw the boat brush against the leafage, pause for a few moments, and theyoung man was ready to utter a cry of joy, but it died out in a lowgroan, for the boat continued its progress, the twigs swept over it, andthe power of the stream mastered. But it was caught again, and they sawit heel over a little, free itself, and then, swaying a little, itseemed to bound on faster than ever.
"Never mind, lad," said Pete coolly; "it'll catch again soon."
Pete was right; the boat was nearer to the wall of verdure, and it oncemore seemed to be entangled in some boughs which dipped below thesurface and hung there, while the swimmers reduced the distance betweenthem and the boat forty or fifty yards. Then, with a swift glidingmotion, it was off again.
"That's twice," cried Pete. "Third time does it. Zay, Master Nic,aren't the water nice and cold?"
The look which Nic gave the speaker in his despair checked Pete'sefforts to make the best of things.
"A beast!" he muttered to himself. "I should like to drive my hoofthrough her planks. Heavy boat? Why, she dances over the water like acork."
At that moment Nic could not suppress a sharp cry, and he made aspasmodic dash through the water.
"Eh, my lad, what is it?" cried Pete, who was startled.
"One of the great fishes or reptiles made a dash at me and struck me onthe leg," gasped Nic.
"Nay, nay, don't zay that, lad. You kicked again a floating log.There's hunderds allus going down to the zea."
Nic shook his head, and Pete felt that he was right, for the next minutehe was swimming on with his keen-edged knife held in his teeth, readyfor the emergency which he felt might come; but they suffered no furtheralarm. Disappointment followed disappointment, and weariness steadilyset in; but they swam steadily on, till Nic's strength began to fail.He would not speak, though, till, feeling that he had done all that waspossible, he turned his despairing eyes to Pete.
Before he could speak the latter cried:
"I knowed it, Master Nic, and expected it ever so long past. Now, youjust turn inshore along with me; then you shall lie down and rest whileI go on and ketch the boat. But how I'm to pull her back again' thiszwiff stream, back to you, my lad, is more'n I know."
Nic made no reply, but, breathing hard, he swam with Pete to an openspot at the side, and had just strength to draw himself out by a hangingbranch, and then drop down exhausted, with the water streaming from him.
"No, no; don't leave me, Pete," he cried hoarsely.
"Must, my lad, must;" cried the man, preparing to turn and swim away."You stop there, and I can zee you when I come back."
"It is impossible to overtake it. We must try and get down through thetrees. You can't do it, I tell you."
"Must, and will, my lad," cried Pete. "Never zay die."
Nic sank back and watched the brave fellow as he swam away morevigorously than ever. At every stroke Pete's shoulders rose well abovethe surface, and, to all appearance, he was as fresh as when he started.
But there was the boat gliding down the stream, far enough away now, andbeginning to look small between the towering trees rising on either sideof the straight reach along which Nic gazed; and the watcher's agonygrew intense.
"He'll swim till he gives up and sinks," said Nic to himself; "or elseone of those horrid reptiles will drag him down."
He drew breath a little more hopefully, though, as he saw a bright flashof light glance from where Pete was swimming, for it told that the keenknife was held ready in the strong man's teeth; and he knew that the armwas vigorous that would deliver thrust after thrust at any enemy whichattempted to drag him down.
With the cessation of his exertion, Nic's breath began to come moreeasily, and he sat up to watch the head of the swimmer getting rapidlyfarther away, feeling that he had been a hindrance to the brave fellow,who had been studying his companion's powers all the time. But how muchfarther off the boat seemed still!--far enough to make Nic's heart sinklower and lower, and the loneliness of his situation to grow so terriblethat it seemed more than he could bear.
For a full half-hour he sat watching the dazzling water, from which thesun flashed, while he was in the shade. Pete had not reached the boat,but he seemed now to be getting very near, though Nic knew how deceptivethe distance was, and gazed on, with a pain coming behind his eyes, tillall at once his heart leaped with joy, as now he could just make outthat the boat was very near the shore, apparently touching some droopingboughs. Then his heart sank again, for he told himself that it was onlyfancy; and h
e shivered again as he felt how utterly exhausted Pete mustbe. Every moment he felt sure that he would see that little, dark speckdisappear, but still it was there; and at last the watcher's heart beganto throb, for the boat must have caught against those boughs. It wasnot moving.
The watcher would not believe this for a long time, but at last heuttered a cry of joy, followed by a groan; for, though the boat wasthere, the dark speck which represented Pete's head had disappeared;and, to make the watcher's despair more profound, the boat began to moveonce more, unmistakably gliding from beside the trees. All was overnow, for Nic felt that to struggle longer was hopeless: there wasnothing more to be done but lie down and die.
He held his hands over his brows, straining his failing, aching eyes tokeep the boat in sight as long as he could; and then a strange chokingsensation came into his throat, and he rose to his knees, for there wasa flash of light from the water close to the boat, and another, andanother. There was a strange, indistinct something, too, above the tinyline made by the gunwale, and it could only mean one thing: Pete hadovertaken it, climbed in, and the flashes of light came from thedisturbed surface of the river.
Pete must be trying to row her back to take him up.
The intense sensation of relief at knowing that the brave fellow wasalive and safe seemed more than Nic could bear. He was already upon hisknees. His face was bowed down upon his hands, and for a few minutes hedid not stir.
At last, with a wave of strength and confidence seeming to run throughevery fibre of his body, Nic rose up, feeling fully rested; and, as heshaded his eyes once more to gaze down the river at the boat, the cloudof despair had floated away, and the long reach of glistening waterlooked like the way back to the bright world of hope and love--the wayto home; while the thought of lying down there to die was but the filmyvapour of some fevered dream.
Pete was coming back to him: there could be no mistake about that, forNic could see more clearly now, and there were moments when he coulddistinctly see the flashing of the water when the oars were dipped.
"Oh!" cried Nic, with his excitement rising now to the highest pitch,"and there was a time when I looked upon that brave, true-hearted fellowwith contempt and disgust. How he is slaving there to send the great,heavy boat along!"
Nic watched till his eyes ached; and once more his heart began to sink,for the truth was rapidly being forced upon him that, in spite of Pete'sefforts, the boat remained nearly motionless--the poor fellow wasexhausting himself in his efforts to achieve the impossible.
What to do?
Nic was not long in making up his mind. He knew that Pete would trytill he dropped back in the boat, and it would have been all in vain.The pair of them could hardly have rowed that heavy boat up-stream, andthey were as yet far above the reach of the tide, or Pete might havewaited and then come up. There was only one thing to do--go down tohim.
A minute or two's trial proved to Nic that he could not tear his waythrough the dense growth on the bank till he was opposite his companionand could hail him to come ashore. There was only one thing to bedone--swim down, and that he dared not do without help.
But the help was near, and he set to work.
He still had his keen knife, and the next moment he was hewing away at apatch of stout canes growing in the water, and as he attacked them heshuddered, for there was a wallowing rush, and he caught a glimpse of asmall alligator's tail.
He did not stop, though. He knew that he had frightened the reptile,and this knowledge that the creatures did fear men gave himencouragement, making him work hard till he had cut a great bundle,ample to sustain him in the water. This he firmly bound with cane, andwhen this was done he once more gazed at the distant boat, which did notseem to have moved an inch.
How to make Pete grasp the fact that he was coming to join him? Foreven if he saw something floating down he would never think that it washis companion.
This task too was easy.
Cutting the longest cane he could reach, he cut off the leafy top, madea notch in what was left, and then inserting the point of his knife inthe remaining sleeve of his shirt, he tore it off, ripped up the seam,and after dragging one end down through the knot and slit in the cane,he bound up the end with a strip of cotton, stuck the base firmly in thebundle or truss he had bound together, and so formed a little whiteflag.
"If he sees that he'll know," said Nic triumphantly; and without amoment's hesitation he thrust off from the bank with his cane bundleunder one arm, and struck out with the other, finding plenty of support,and nothing more to do than fight his way out to where the stream ranmost swiftly.
The scrap of white cotton fluttered bravely now and then, as, forcinghimself not to think of the dangers that might be around, Nic watchedand watched. He soon began to see the boat more distinctly, and in goodtime made out that his companion in misfortune grasped the position,rowing himself to the nearest drooping tree, making fast to a bough, andthen laying in one oar and fixing the other up astern as a signal forhis companion's guidance.
How short the time seemed then, and how easily Nic glided down, till hebecame aware of the fact that Pete was leaning over the side, knife inhand, watching eagerly. This sent a shudder through the swimmer,setting him thinking again of the perils that might be near, and howunlikely any effort of Pete's would be to save him should one of thereptiles attack.
The dread, however, soon passed off, for Nic's every nerve was strainedto force the bundle of canes across the stream, so that it might driftright down upon the boat.
He could only succeed in part, and it soon became evident that he wouldfloat by yards away; but Pete was on the alert. He cast the boat adriftfrom where he had secured it to a drooping bough, and giving a fewvigorous pulls with one oar, in another minute he had leaned over thebows, grasped his companion's hands, dragged him into the boat, andthen, as the buoyant bundle of canes floated away, the poor fellow sankback in the bottom of the boat and lay staring helplessly.
"Don't you take no notice o' me, Master Nic," he said hoarsely. "Justput an oar over the ztarn and keep her head ztraight. Zhe'll go downfast enough. We ought to row up to fetch that fish we left, but wecouldn't do it, zir; for I'm dead beat trying to get to you--just deadbeat."
He closed his eyes, and then opened them again as he felt the warm graspof Nic's hand, smiled at him, till his eyelids dropped again, and thensank into a deep stupor more than sleep.