CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
PREPARING FOR FLIGHT.
"I say, Cil, I don't quite know what to make of it," said Perry, a fewdays later. "These people are as civil and amiable as can be; theysurely won't try to stop us when we want to go?"
"You wait and see," was the reply. "They will. I know them better thanyou do."
"But they don't think we have got anything to take away."
"Perhaps not; but they will think that as soon as we are out of theirsight we shall be searching for and taking something away that they wantto preserve, and if we do get away unseen, they will be after usdirectly."
"Well, we shall soon see," said Perry rather gloomily, as he sat gazingdown into a deep valley running due south, in whose depths a brightgleam here and there told of the presence of water.
"Yes, we shall soon know now. Your father and John Manning have beencarefully examining the mules, and going over the stores and packages."
"Have they? I didn't know."
"I did, and then they came out here and sat for some time over theirguns."
"On the lookout for birds?"
"On the lookout to see if this way would do for us to escape."
Perry whistled.
"Did they tell you so?"
"No; but I put that and that together."
"Put why go this way? This does not lead over the mountains."
"Because the Indians will not think we should choose this route."
"But we couldn't get over the mountains from down there."
"We must," said Cyril quietly.
"But," said Perry, "we can't get the mules and their loads away withoutDiego knowing."
"Must again," replied Cyril. "We can't escape without a supply of food,and we must have the mules to carry it, for we may be weeks wanderingabout in the gorges of the mountains. So it's must, must, must, my lad.We've got it to do, and we're going to do it."
"I say."
"Well--what?"
"Do you think it will come to a fight?"
"Not if your father can help it; but if it does, we shall have to dosome shooting."
Perry drew his breath hard.
"Don't stare down the valley any more," said Cyril, after a pause.
"Why? It's very beautiful."
"Because you're watched. We're watched always, sleeping or waking."
"Then we shall never be able to get away," said Perry despondently.
"Must, my lad. Why, we're not going to let a pack of half-savageIndians prove too clever for us. What are you thinking about? There,let's get back at once, or they'll be thinking we mean something bysitting here."
Perry rose and followed his companion, who made several halts in theforest before they reached the shelter-hut, to find the colonel and JohnManning away; but they returned soon after, each carrying a couple ofgood-sized birds, which gave a colour to their morning's walk.
This game John Manning bore off to prepare by the fire which Diego andhis companion kept going night and day; and as soon as he had gone, thecolonel seated himself, and looked curiously from one boy to the other.
"Well Cyril," he said sharply, "ready to go home and meet your father?"
"Yes, sir," replied the boy promptly. "I want to get it over."
"And you, Perry, ready to go back to where you can sleep in a decent bedagain?"
"Yes, father," replied Perry; but there was a dubious tone to his words.
"That's right. Listen, then, both of you. I trust to you to make nosign whatever, but to go on precisely the same as usual, so as to keepthe Indians in ignorance of our intentions."
"Then you are going to make a start, sir?" said Cyril eagerly.
"All being well, very soon, my lad."
"But the mules, sir?"
"Ah, we shall see about that," said the colonel. "I have now gottogether quite as much of the seed as I dared to hope for, and it wouldbe foolish to delay longer. These Indian labourers are only working forsomebody of importance, and if whoever he may be comes and finds ushere, our position may be made very unpleasant, so I have decided for usto start at dark, to-morrow evening."
This announcement caused a peculiar fluttering in the breasts of bothlads, for they felt that they would not be able to get away without astruggle, since that they were detained here until some one in authorityarrived, seemed certain; and they well understood how necessary it wasfor them to get away if possible.
The rest of the day passed like a feverish dream to Cyril, whosethoughts were of a very mingled nature. On the one hand, there was therisk to be run in making their escape, and the long perilous journeybefore them; on the other hand, there was home at San Geronimo, and hisfather's stern face rose before him, full of reproach for his conduct;and now, more than ever, he asked himself how he could have been so madand so cruel to those who loved him, as to leave in the way he had.
Too late for repentance then, as he knew, and he had to face theinevitable, and take the punishment he deserved as patiently as hecould.
Toward dark the boys found themselves alone with John Manning, whowhispered: "Been over the arms and ammunition, gentlemen, and they're insplendid order. Bit touched with rust, but that won't interfere withtheir shooting."
"Don't talk about it," said Perry petulantly.
"Can't help it, sir. We're off to-morrow night, and some of us may haveto cover the retreat. You can't do that sort o' work without tools."
"Look here," said Cyril eagerly. "How about the mules?"
"I don't know, sir," replied the old soldier. "That's the puzzle of it.But the colonel knows what he means to do, of course. I've been withhim before, when he was going to make an advance."
"But this is a retreat," said Cyril sharply.
"What, sir? Retreat? British soldiers don't retreat. Of course theyhave to make an advance the other way on sometimes. You can't always begoing in one direction; but they don't retreat. It'll be all right,though, sir. You'll see: for following orders, I've got all the packsready to stow on the saddles at a moment's notice, and we shan't leavenothing behind."
They had a hint soon after of there being a plan all ready, for thecolonel came and hunted Cyril out to act as interpreter, and walked downwith him to where Diego and his companion were seated, while the muleswere browsing here and there, some fifty yards away.
"Now, interpret as well as you can," said the colonel. "Tell him that Iam very angry about the state of the mules, which look half-starved.The feed about here is disgraceful, and all the time there is a splendidsupply on the other side of the clearing, beyond where the Indians arecutting and stacking the bark."
Cyril's voice shook a little from anxiety as he began hisinterpretation, but it soon grew stronger, and he gave the colonel'swishes with so much energy that the guide looked terribly disturbed ashe replied.
"What does he say?" cried the colonel angrily.
"That the head-man of the kina gatherers gave orders that they were tobe pastured here."
"Then tell him to go to the head-man, and say I order them to be movedat once over to the other side of the huts, ready for me when I wish togo on."
Diego started off at once, and returned soon after with the head-man andabout a dozen of the Indians, to whom the colonel's wishes wererepeated; and then came quite a deprecating reply that it wasimpossible, for the woodcutters were going in that direction the verynext day, and the mules would be disturbed again.
"Tell him my mules are of more consequence than his bark gatherers,"said the colonel, "and that I insist upon the mules being moved."
There was a laboured interpretation, a short buzz of conversation, andthen a reply came through Diego that the head-man would obey the whitechief's orders, and remove the mules to better pasture; but it could notbe there, in the place he wished.
"Tell him anywhere, so long as the poor beasts are properly fed."
The colonel stalked away, with his rifle in the hollow of his arm, theIndians giving place obsequiously; but he turned back t
o Cyril. "TellJohn Manning to stop and see where they are driven, and then come andreport to me.--You two follow."
Cyril gave the colonel's orders, and then went after him to the hut,where they sat waiting for nearly an hour before Manning arrived.
"Well, where are the mules?"
"They've driven 'em out of the bit of forest, sir, and down on the otherside toward the slope of that big valley."
"Hah!" ejaculated the colonel; and then, after a pause, "The very spot."
"But you said the other side," said Cyril; "at the back of their huts."
"Where I knew they would not have them," said the colonel. "It lookedto them, in their childish cunning, like an attempt on my part to getthe animals down toward the point from which we came; and, of course,they would not do that. I hardly expected such good fortune, boys; butthe mules are in the very place I wish. Now we have to devise a meansof getting those mules loaded unseen, and then starting off down thevalley as soon after dark to-morrow night as possible."
A long conversation followed as to those best means, and the colonelheard each one's proposal impatiently.
Perry said it was impossible, and that they must all take as muchprovision as they could carry, and leave the mules behind.
John Manning said there was only one way of doing it, and that was forhim to take the stock off one of the guns, and as soon as it was duskcreep round the camp, and catch every one of the sentries by surprise,and then club him, and bind his hands and feet.
"I could stun 'em, sir, and then they couldn't give no alarm."
"You mean, murder the poor wretches," said the colonel quietly.
"No, no, sir; not so bad as that," grumbled the man. "These Injuns havegot heads as thick as rams. More likely to spoil the gun."
"Now you, Cyril," said the colonel quietly.
"I can't propose anything, sir," said Cyril frankly. "It seems to methat we might pass one or two of the Indians, but the others would seeor hear the mules."
"And you can propose nothing else?"
Cyril shook his head, and the colonel got up and went out of the hut, togo and walk up and down where the Indians were busy, giving first one afriendly nod, and then another, evidently to their great satisfaction.
The party in the hut watched him for a few moments, and then JohnManning said:
"There aren't no better way, gentlemen, than mine. I don't want to killnone of 'em, so long as they don't try to kill me, or any of you. Ifthey do, why, of course, it makes me feel nasty, and as if I could doanything to stop 'em."
"It's too horrid and butcher like," said Cyril firmly.
"Yes," assented Perry.
"Very well, then, gentlemen, suppose you propose a better way. It's ofno use to go an' say, `Please we're tired of staying here, and want togo,' because that only would be waste of breath."
"Yes," said Perry sadly. "We shall never get away till they give usleave."
"Hear that, Mr Cyril, sir; that's my young master, and the son of astout soldier as never turned his back on an enemy in his life. Don'tsay you're going to give up like that, sir."
"No," said Cyril, setting his teeth. "I'm not going to give up, and heis not going to give up either. We'll get away somehow, though we can'tsee the way just now."
"That we will, sir," cried John Manning excitedly. "Bri'sh wits again'Injun wits. Bah! who says we can't beat them? It's all right,gentlemen. I know the colonel, and have known him since he was a slipof an ensign, and I was not much more than a raw Johnny of a boy freshfrom the awkward squad. I say I know the colonel, and he's only beenleading us on. Wait till to-morrow night. He's got some dodge oranother ready to fire off, and this time two days we shall be on our wayback, and the Injuns'll be howling like mad, because they can't make outwhich way we've gone."