CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
A FIGHT WITH THE ENEMY.
Griggs uttered one low whistle as he slipped his arm through the rein soas to leave his hands at liberty, one to press back his cowboy's hat,the other to sweep the gathering drops of perspiration from his brow."I never could abear snakes," he said huskily. Then after a pause hedrew a long, deep breath, to say with an attempt--a very sorry attempt--at cheerfulness--"Well, we've found the kegs, anyhow."
"Yes," said Chris bitterly, "and where the snakes are."
"Bless 'em, yes!" said Griggs, looking in the direction of the horriblereptiles. "Well, we don't want them."
"But we want the water."
"Of course."
"What's to be done, Griggs?"
"I can't think o' nothing but say _Sh_! to 'em to frighten them away."
"Oh, don't do that," cried Chris, in alarm. "It might make them attackus."
"It might," said Griggs thoughtfully. "Well, I'm about beat. I've gota tidy bit of pluck in me when I'm stirred up--as much as most menhave--but I can't stand rattlers. The idea of getting bitten sends acold chill all down my back. I'd a deal sooner be hugged by a grizzly.Poison snakes and mad dogs make a regular coward of me."
"They would of anybody," said Chris. "But I say, what is to be done?"
"Sit down and wait, my lad. I s'pose snakes have some sense in 'em,same as other critters. They're bound to find out before long that theycan't break the iron hoops nor bore through the staves to get at thewater; and when they're tired perhaps they'll give up and go home."
"But we can't wait. Father will be coming soon to see why we're solong."
"Well, he'll be able to see without our telling him."
"But can't we do something to drive them away?"
"I know what I should do if we were in some places," said Griggs.
"Yes! What?"
"Light a big fire of brushwood and green-stuff that would make astifling smoke just to wind'ard of them. That would soon scare themoff."
"But there's not a handful of stuff that would burn," cried Chris, indespair.
"Nary scrap, my lad."
"Look here; suppose we creep as near as we dare, and then fire off allfour barrels of our rifles as closely together as we could, right atthem. That would startle them into moving off."
"P'r'aps," said Griggs; "but the thing would be, which way would theygo?"
"Which way? Why, from where the smoke and fire came."
"Maybe, but I shouldn't like to risk it. I'm afraid we shall have towait, my lad--wait till it's dark. Snakes always go back to their holeswhen the sun sets."
"But that will take so long, and I'm choking with thirst," cried Chrispeevishly. "I say, how would it do to keep on pitching great pieces ofstone in amongst them, or handfuls of small bits that would scatter andmake a noise?"
"Only make 'em savage, I'm afraid. I should have most faith in puttinga pound of powder and laying a train ready, so that one could light abit of touch-tinder and get away to a safe distance. When that went offwith a good explosion, I should think the rattlers would scuttle away."
"Oh, nonsense, nonsense, Griggs!" cried Chris. "Who's to go and lay thetrain and place the powder ready?"
"Ah, that would be awkward," said the American thoughtfully.
"Besides, if you had such an explosion you'd burst the barrels."
"Hah! So we should. I say, couldn't lasso the barrels, could we? Ican throw a noose pretty well."
"You'd catch serpent as well as the barrels."
"Yes, and that would be nice, to have a savage rattler thrashing andstriking about, trying to get his fangs into you somewhere. Say, ChrisLee, lad, we've got in a tangle. Hallo! I thought as much; here's thedoctor."
The gentleman in question rode slowly up.
"Well," he said, "have you found the barrels?"
Chris answered him mutely by pointing to the objects of their search.
"Very well," said the doctor. "Why don't you--Oh, I see, you've justdismounted to sling them across your saddle. We were beginning to thinkyou very long. But I don't see any snakes. Where are they, Chris?"
"Yonder, twining all about the water-kegs, father. It's alive withthem."
The doctor shaded his eyes with his hand and looked across at thebarrels, his face contracting with horror at the sight which met hiseyes.
"No wonder you were so long," he said bitterly. "What do you propose todo?"
"Nothing, father. We can't think of a way," said Chris sadly. "Can youtell us?"
"There seems to be no way save one."
"Wait till the snakes have gone back to their holes, father?"
"Yes, after dark; and then it will not be a pleasant task to get thekegs away. Worse and worse."
"Oh, there can't be anything worse, sir," cried Griggs.
"I think there can, sir," replied the doctor. "This forces us tobivouac, as the soldiers call it, in the serpent-inhabited desert. Butwe must do it, I suppose. The snakes will not be stirring during thedarkness. But we must hope that when we find the gold region, it willnot be such a serpent-haunted spot as this; the gold could not havebetter guardians to keep it safe."
No one spoke for a few minutes, during which the doctor sat upon hishorse watching the movements of the serpents.
"That seems to be the only way," he said at last.
"To wait, father?"
"Yes. We had better build up a cairn with some of these stones to guideus to the spot when we come to hunt for it in the dark."
"No need to build a cairn, sir, if I plant three or four stones on thetop of that big rock there."
"No; but what about finding it in the dark?"
"Lanthorn will set that right, sir."
"Very well. Up with them, then. Help him, Chris; I'll hold thehorses."
The reins were handed to the speaker, and Griggs pointed to a largelight-grey piece of lava.
"If you can lift one end of that, squire, to help me, that bit wouldstand upright on the top of this block. This would do, for it'slight-coloured. Can you do it?"
"Oh yes; it's the same sort of stone as this," said Chris, pushing apiece with his foot, "all full of holes, like sponge and cinder."
"Come on, then."
They stooped down one at either end of the fragment, some three feetlong and one wide, looking squared like a crystal, and as if Nature hadtaken the first steps towards providing the builder of a house with apiece to form part of a door-post.
"Yes, it's light enough," said Chris, lifting one end, and then utteringa cry as he dropped it again, to start back, for there was a sharp hiss,a dull rattling sound--not sharp enough for a rattle--and a large snakeglided from beneath, to curl up menacingly, while from the other side asecond had appeared, to begin writhing and darting about, striking atrandom into the air as far as it could reach, while the doctor had hardwork to restrain the prancing horses.
Needless to say, Chris and his companion had lost no time in gettingbeyond reach of the poisonous reptiles, and helping the doctor by eachseizing his horse's rein.
"A pretty narrow escape," cried the latter. "Why, the place is alivewith the reptiles."
"Looks like it, sir," said Griggs. "Dessay we're standing on some oftheir holes now."
"But don't you see?" cried Chris excitedly; "that second one's pinned bythe tail. When I let my end fall it must have caught it fast."
"Rather a pity," said Griggs cynically. "It must have spoiled therattle. S'pose it hurts too. Look at him!--That's no good, my beauty.Stone can't feel. Ah, you idiot, you don't belong to the wise serpentswe read about. Look at him biting at the stone."
"In impotent malice," said the doctor, watching the frantic efforts ofthe reptile.
"That chap's safe enough now, Squire Chris."
"Safe! I shouldn't like to risk going near him."
"But you might; he's held fast by that tail of his, and all he could dowould be to thrash you with his long body."
"And bite," said Chris.
"Nay; his biting would go for nothing now."
"What about his fangs?"
"Snapped off like points of glass. They were sharp enough and poisonousenough, but bound to say the poison's all out on the stone, along withthe teeth. Razors are very sharp and would make horrible cuts, but notafter you'd been chopping a piece of stone with them like that, eh,doctor?"
"I think you are right, Griggs," said the doctor, who seemed fascinatedby the reptile's impotent struggles.
"Well, you are a sneak," cried Griggs. "Gahn with you! I'd put my tailbetween my legs if I were you, only you haven't got none. That's right;rattle away. I say, I hope he hasn't gone to fetch a lot of his matesto pitch into us."
"That's not likely," said the doctor, as he watched the bigger and freesnake gliding swiftly away, heedless of the struggles of its companion,which was evidently growing exhausted by its furious efforts to releasethe lower portion of its body.
"What are you going to do?" said the doctor quickly, as Griggs handedhim his horse's rein again.
"I'm going to put that chap out of his misery, sir," replied theAmerican.
"No, no; don't fire. It's waste of a charge."
"Not a-going to, sir. There's more ways of killing a cat, you know,than hanging it. Eh, Squire Chris?"
As he spoke Griggs put his hand to his belt, in which a stout keenhunting or bowie-knife was stuck, and drew out the glittering blade.
"Going to cut his head off?" said Chris eagerly.
"Yes, unless you like to, squire."
"I will," cried Chris.
"I don't want you to run any risks, my boy," said the doctor. "Do youthink you can do it without danger?"
"Oh yes, father," said the lad, drawing his own perfectly new knife."See how slowly the thing keeps on lifting up its head, to hold itquivering in the air before letting it fall down again on the rock."
"But if it saw you go near it might strike at you."
"I don't think so, father. Look, it must be blind. It has battered itshead horribly against the stone. I think it's quite blind."
"So it is, sir," said Griggs. "There's no more danger there, sir. Lethim do it. We want him to be cool and ready for anything now."
"May I do it, father?"
"Well, yes; but stand well at arm's length, and give a good, careful,sweeping draw-cut with your knife."
Chris eagerly handed his rein to his father, and then went cautiouslytowards the quivering reptile, which kept on rising up and falling downinert with a regular action, save that it grew more slow.
Chris drew near till he was almost within striking distance, and waitedtill the snake had risen to its greatest height, that is to say, abouttwo feet above the stone and three feet in all from the sand on whichthe boy stood.
"Take care," said the doctor.
Chris made an offer, as boys call it, cutting horizontally from his leftshoulder, the knife flashing in the sunshine as it _whished_ through theair, passing inches from the snake's neck; but the motion of the airaffected the reptile, which winced, dropped flat to the stone, and beganto writhe frantically.
"Be careful, Chris; there's a great deal of life in it yet."
"That was only a try, father," replied the boy; "I didn't try to cut it.I will, though, now," he continued, as the writhing ceased; but thebattered head began to rise again slowly and steadily in the air till itwas at its greatest elevation, and seemed to be kept up by a stiffeningof the whole body.
Meanwhile, watching it carefully, the boy had advanced his foot a fewinches till he felt that he was in exact striking distance, when therewas another bright flash of rays reflected from the glistening blade, asthe cut was made and the snake dropped down again upon the stone, forthe writhings to recommence.
"Missed him?" cried Griggs excitedly.
"No; I just touched him with the point," said Chris coolly. "I wasn'tquite near enough."
Proof of the correctness of his words was given by a red mark or two onthe surface of the stone as the writhings ceased and the reptile beganonce more to raise itself, quivering slowly till it was rigid, and atits full height, when without a moment's pause the knife flashed again,there was a vigorous draw-cut, and the dangerous head dropped with aloud pat on the stone, leaving the erect neck and body stiffly poisedfor a few moments, slowly waving to and fro, before falling like a pieceof stick, and seeming to break as part fell out of sight.
"Bravo!" cried Griggs.
"Ah, my boy! Mind!" cried the doctor.
But before his warning cry was half uttered there had been another flashas of something glistening in the air, and Chris started back again,receiving what felt to be a sharp blow in the chest, while a largerrattlesnake than either of the others dropped back behind the stone andglided rapidly away.
The doctor had Chris by the arms the next moment.
"Where--where did it strike you?" he cried.
"Here, father--such a thump," said the boy coolly, touching the fold ofhis Norfolk jacket with his left hand. "Ugh! Something wet."
He snatched back his hand, to hold it out, for a tiny smear of moistureto be seen glistening in the sun upon the palm of his hand.
The doctor seized him by the wrist, and then examined the fold of thejacket.
"Do you feel anything--a prick in the chest?" he said hoarsely.
"No, father. It was a sharp thump, as if some one had thrown a stone."
"Here is the venom on the thick frieze," said the doctor, tearing openthe jacket and examining the thin flannel shirt beneath. "No! ThankHeaven!" he cried, with a sigh of relief. "The fangs did not gothrough. Chris, boy, you have escaped. If the reptile had driven itsfangs deeper, I fear that I couldn't have saved your life."
"That doesn't sound very nice, father," said the boy coolly; but Griggsnoted that he changed colour, and then laid his hands upon his father'sshoulders, after dropping his knife on the ground.
"It was a miss, doctor," said Griggs, breaking the silence, as hescooped up some of the dried sand and rubbed Chris's hand, and withanother handful dried the fold of the jacket.
This he repeated two or three times, and also paused to look well insidethe fold next the boy's chest.
"Didn't go through, sir; that's for certain," he said. "There'll be nodanger in the poison as soon as it's dried in the sun."
"None whatever, I should say," replied the doctor. "There, let's getaway from this horrible place. I don't know how we're going to getthose kegs again. The danger seems too great."
"Not after dark, sir," said Griggs coolly. "We must have 'em though,and I'm going to do it somehow, cost what it may."
The next minute they had mounted and were riding slowly back to wherethe others were about to come in search of them, in alarm at theirprolonged absence.