CHAPTER VII
THE THOUSAND ISLANDS
They shoved off again, and Compton, being the least tired, took thesculls and pushed on slowly in search of an anchorage for the night.They passed many likely places, but Mr. Hume had one objection oranother to them, and the spot that finally satisfied him was a smallwooded island flanked by others of larger size, and so placed thatif they were menaced from any side there would be an opening forescape in the opposite direction. The channel into which theysteered was so narrow that the branches of the trees joinedoverhead, and when they tied up, the Okapi was completely hidden.Before forcing their way into the leafy tunnel, they had taken downthe awning, but now, after having broken away many branches, theyrefixed the canvas roof and drew the mosquito-curtains round, afterwhich they sought out and killed all the insect pests that remainedwithin the nets. There was no danger in showing a light, andaccordingly the lantern was hung amidships, the spirit-lamp lit, toprepare a nourishing and at the same time "filling" soup. They madea hearty meal, got into warmer clothing, oiled the rifle-barrels,arranged their rugs, and prepared for the night, which came on themwith a rush, heralded by the noise of birds seeking their accustomedroosting-places. Such an uproar the boys had not before heard. Itseemed as if the Zoological Gardens had emptied its noisiestinhabitants. Parrots flew across the river, every one talking atthe top of its voice, while colonies of ibis croaked out the news ofthe day in gruff, discordant notes; cranes flying laboriously, withlong legs trailing, emitted their deep "honks;" frogs lifted uptheir voices from out the reeds, and at intervals came the boomingcry of the shovel-beaked bittern, and the harsh, baboon-like bark ofthe green-crested toucan. The noise of the home-going of the wingedmultitudes ceased as the night drew its black mantle over the river.
Out of the spell of silence there grew presently other voices, softwhisperings, deep sighings; mysterious sounds telling of thingsstealthy and oppressed by the stillness; abrupt splashings thatstartled by their suddenness: grunts, rumblings, and the roar ofbull crocodiles. It must not, however, be supposed that there was acontinuous succession of sounds. Each noise had its own place, andthere would be often long intervals between one sound and another.
Venning, who had the first watch, found this out. He would hear astartling splash, followed by a snort and the snap of jaws; then allwould be quiet for several minutes, when, from another direction,would come perhaps a heavy sigh; then another interval of silence,again a splash, and so on until the impression grew on him that thebeasts and reptiles who made the noises were working slowly towardshim in a circle.
It was his first night on guard in the wilderness, and he felt theuneasiness of the hunter who discovers how limited are his sensescompared with those of the wild creatures about him. Man, himselfthe most secret, the most cunning, the most deadly, and, if truthmust be told, the most bloodthirsty, for he kills too often for thelove of killing, is the most helpless in the dark. His sense ofhearing, of sight, and of smell, fail him--thanks to a wiseprovision of Nature in the interests of her other children--for ifman had the eyes of a cat, the nose of a wolf, and the hearing of adeer, he would have cleared the earth of its creatures, who wouldhave had no rest night or day.
All the time, too, the river talked, as it rolled its great floodalong, sending up a soft volume of song from the innumerable soundsproduced as it washed along the islands and foamed against the rocksof the shores. Presently, down the narrow channel, there came a rushof water which rocked the boat, and next Venning heard close at handa strange noise, which he took to be made by a large animal croppingat the river-grass. He looked about for a weapon, and, picking upthe long boat-hook, lashed his hunting-knife to the iron hook at thetop, converting it into a lance. He had read of hippos swampingboats by seizing the narrow bows or keel in their vast jaws, and hewished to be prepared for a possible attack. Presently the boatagain rocked as another animal took to the water, then the new-comerdislodged the other with a snap of the jaws, and the first, with acomplaining grunt, surged down the channel. Venning could seenothing in the inky blackness, but he knew the beast had seen theOkapi from the short note of alarm it sounded. Immediately the alarmwas repeated. Snorts and splashes arose from all sides. Some greatbeast who had been standing unnoticed within a few yards of theboat, crashed through the bushes into the water with an uproar thatwoke the sleepers.
"What is it?" cried Compton.
Mr. Hume made a dart for his rifle.
The Okapi rocked and heaved, was lifted at the bows to fall backwith a splash.
"Hippo," gasped Venning, making a drive with his weapon through themosquito curtains. "Got him!--no!--missed!"
"What's that you've got there, Venning?"
"Sort of harpoon."
"By gum!" said Mr. Hume, taking the weapon, "I'm glad you missed thebeggar. I would not give much for our chances if he turned crusty inthis place."
The hippo reappeared aft with a snort, and, much to their relief,continued down the channel into the wider waters.
"Find the watch pleasant?" asked Compton, sleepily, as Mr. Humeturned in.
"Awfully cheerful," said Venning, earnestly; "but I'm not selfish,and you can take your turn at it on the tick of the hour."
Compton dived for his rugs, and Venning once more returned to hisduties with his harpoon over his knees, and a string of wingedvisitors entering joyously by the hole he had made in the curtain.He pinned his handkerchief over the rent to stop further freeentrance, then made war on those which had entered--an amusementwhich carried him well into the fourth and last hour of the firstwatch. Then he sat up to listen for the old sounds--the groans andthe snorts--but they had ceased. A mist, like a wet blanket, hadsettled down over the Okapi, over the islands and the river; and,though any sounds made on the water were startlingly distinct,confined as the sound-waves were by the mist, the creatures hadevidently gone to sleep. There was, however, one visitor faithful tohim. The light of the lantern, which showed the rolling wreaths ofthe mist, just reached the water, and in the reflection he saw twogreenish points. After long looking, he made out that these were theeyes of a crocodile, whose body was half in and half out of thewater, the tail end of him being anchored on the little island. Ateleven o'clock he roused Compton by dragging at his ankle.
Compton sat up, rubbed his eyes, and drew his rug over hisshoulders.
"What's the countersign, comrade?" he asked, with a yawn.
"Countersign?"
"Yes; when the watch is relieved he has to say something or other,as a guide to the new man."
"Oh, I see. Well, let me introduce you to the companion of yourwatch. See those green points out there?"
"Yes--like dull glass."
"That's your new chum. He's been there an hour without moving, andit's no good trying to stare him down."
"What is it?"
"Crocodile. Good night. Wish you joy;" and Venning crept under hiswaterproof sheet with a sigh of relief.
Neither of the two boys smoked, taking the advice of Mr. Hume, whopersuaded them that tobacco acted as a poison when used too early,and spoiled good hunting. It lowered the action of the heart,affected the hearing and the sense of smell. In place of a pipe,therefore, Compton found comfort in chewing, not tobacco, but a meatlozenge. As he chewed he watched the two little dull green spots,and the crocodile watched him with the deadly patience that so oftenbrings grist to the mill, or, rather, food to his jaws.
It was not a pleasant companionship, and Compton, after a longattempt to stare the reptile down, turned his back to it and watchedthe efforts of several large moths to get at the light through themosquito curtains. He could not so much see them as hear them, fromthe way they bumped into the net, and the little soft splash theymade as they dropped into the water. By-and-by there came anothersound, made by some large fish, who had also been attracted by thelight, and then by the fat moths.
The news that these were good eating quickly spread under water, andpresently there was quite a gathering about the boat. Then Comp
tonturned to look at his unwelcome watcher. He was still at his post,his eyes still fixed in an unwinking stare, but seemingly brighterthan before. Yes, he was evidently nearer. He was moving! Comptonpicked up the boat-hook with its dagger-ended spear, and preparedfor the attack. Slowly, almost without a ripple, the reptileslithered into the water; then came a rush, a snap of jaws, a swirlof waters, and something heavy and wet came right through themosquito nets, landing in the well of the boat with a tremendouswhack.
"Look out," yelled Compton; "keep out of his reach."
"What the dickens is it now?" roared Mr. Hume, as a series ofresounding thwacks arose out of the well.
Compton drove his harpoon into the well, and held on like grimdeath, as the impaled thing lashed out to free itself.
"A crocodile!" he shouted. "I can't hold him down much longer."
"Crocodile be blowed!" shouted Mr. Hume, unhooking the lantern anddirecting its light into the well. "It's a fish."
"But," said Compton, "I saw the crocodile. It came straight for theboat. Venning saw it too."
"It was over there," said Venning, peering into the dark.
"Then the fish must have jumped aboard to escape the crocodile.Anyway, we can have fish-steak for breakfast," and Mr. Hume quietedthe fish with a blow on the head.
"I made sure it was the crocodile," said Compton, in an aggrievedtone. "Look at the hole in the curtains; there'll be tons ofskeeters aboard."
"You turn in and I'll smoke," said the hunter, who smoked enough forthree; and, with his pipe filled and lit, he took up the watch.
Once more the little party settled down to pass the night, and thistime there was no disturbance until, in the chill of the earlymorning, the sleepers were awakened to get in the awning, to makeall shipshape aboard, and to prepare breakfast. The fish was nothandsome-looking, but he cut up into really good steaks, which weregrilled on a gridiron fitted over the stove, and, with hot coffeeand a biscuit apiece, they ate a meal which made them proof againstthe depressing surroundings.
Both Compton and Venning, as soon as there was light enough, took acareful look around for the crocodile; but though that wily brutewas probably near, he did not show himself. They could, however, seethe track made by the hippo when he had broken through into thewater, and Mr. Hume, stepping ashore, went up this track to spyaround. He returned with the report that the natives were signalingfrom village to village by columns of smoke sent up from fires fedwith damp wood to make a heavy smoke.
"They will be keeping a sharp look-out, and we had better remainhere."
"It seems to me," said Compton, "that we have been here already aweek."
"Quite that," said Venning.
"The time has seemed long because you have been receiving newimpressions."
"I thought it was a fish I received," murmured Compton.
"Each impression," continued the hunter, "is a sort of milestone inyour memory, so that an hour crowded with several of thesemilestones will appear to be longer than a whole blank day. You willget used to such interrupted nights--that is, if our journey doesnot end here."
"Oh, come, sir, we have dodged them beautifully."
"The feeling of security is the beginning of disaster," said Mr.Hume, oracularly. "The rule of the bush is to keep your eyesskinned."
"What is the order of the day, then?"
"The order of the day is to watch and wait. Venning will crawl on tothe little island on our right and watch the south hank. You,Compton, will take the head of the large island on our left, and Iwill watch from the other end. If any of us see danger, we will givethe whistle of the sand-piper. Each will take water and food, andeach, of course, will keep himself hid."
"We take our guns, of course?"
"Best not. A gunshot would bring a host down upon us. Don't bediscouraged," continued the hunter, as he saw the boys' faces drop."We have got the advantage of position, and we've got grit--eh?"
He nodded cheerfully, and they smiled back, and then each crept outto his allotted post. The first part of the watch was by no meansbad--so the boys decided when they had settled down, Venning under abush palm and Compton behind a log. There was a pleasant freshnessin the air; and as the broad river uncoiled under the mist, itdisclosed fresh beauties, till the lifting veil revealed the woodedheights and the tall columns of smoke, grey against the dark of thewoods and black against the indigo blue of the sky. They markedwhere the hippos stood with their bulky heads to the sun, and sawthe crocodiles on the sands of other islands lying motionless withdistended jaws. And then the birds came to the hunting. Strings ofdark ibis, of duck, and storks; small kingfishers all bejeweled, andgreater kingfishers in black and white. The air was full of bird-calls, of the musical ripple of waters, of the hum of the forestmoved by the morning wind.
By-and-by, however, the sun got to work in earnest, and the pleasurewent out of the watching as the air grew hot and steamy. The sand-flies and the mosquitoes found them out, and blessed the day thatbrought two tender white boys into their very midst. They gatheredto the feast in clouds, but these boys were not there for the fun ofthe thing. They drew gossamer veils over the brims of their felthats, and gathered them in about their necks. They pulled their softhigh boots up to their knees and secured them there; and, moreover,they smeared an abomination of grease and eucalyptus oil over theirhands. The mosquitoes set up a shrill trumpeting that could be heardten paces away, and held a mass meeting to protest; whereupon thefather of all the dragon-flies, a magnificent warrior in a steel-blue armour, saw that a conspiracy was afoot, and swept into themidst with a whirr and a snap, a turn here and a flash there, thatscattered the host in a twinkling of a gnat's eye.
The islands shimmered in the glare as if they were afloat; thehippos took to the water, and a deep and drowsy silence fell uponthe great river. But man, ever restless, was astir, and through thestillness there was borne to the three a soft continuous humming,that merged quietly into the short, clamorous throbs of an engine atwork under pressure.
The launch was afloat again! Mr. Hume caught the trail of the smokefirst, and Compton next. They marked the course under the north bankright up to a bend about six miles off, and they judged that thelaunch had stopped there, as the smoke went up in a straight thincolumn. Then Venning saw a canoe dart out from the south bank,followed by two others from different points. The sun struck likefire on gun-barrel and spear-head, and gleamed on the wet paddles.He moistened his parched lips with a taste of water from his filter-bottle, and gave the call. The answer came, and he drew his friendsto him with a low whistling. As they came crouching, he pointedupriver.
"Three canoes put out. Two are hidden behind that outside island,and there is the other creeping round the end."
"Oh ay," said Mr. Hume. "If they're after us, they will have placedoutlooks in the tallest trees;" and with his glass he swept theforest.
"They could not see us at that distance."
"But they could see our boat as soon as we appeared in open water.We'll stay where we are."
"Then we shall need our guns."
"It is not our guns that will save us, my lad, but strategy. Any onecould fire off a rifle, but it takes nerve to keep cool in readinessto do the right thing at the right time."
"But," said Compton, obstinately, "we don't want to be caughtundefended."
"Leave this matter with me," said the hunter, sternly. "See thatcrocodile asleep on that stretch of sand? He's our best protector.Why? Because he is asleep. The natives, seeing him, would think wewere not near. We will, however, keep watch together."
They returned to the boat, made all ready for an instant departure,in case they were discovered, then settled down to wait and watchonce more. Gradually the strain wore off, the old silence fell uponthe scene, and their eyes grew heavy from sheer monotony. The nighthad seemed long, bat the day was worse.
Then the boys rubbed their eyes and lifted their heads. Where therehad been a bare stretch of water white under the sun between twoislands a quarter of a mile off, there app
eared a long canoe, with atall spearman standing in the bows, and a full crew behind.
The man in the bows looked straight down the channel to their lair,where in the narrow cut the Okapi lay hidden behind a screen ofleaves. Then he moved his hand to the right, and the canoe,silently, without a ripple almost, skirted the island on that side,into whose reedy sides the men darted their glances. Again the handwas moved, and the long boat crept across to the island on the left,which was swept by the sharp suspicious eyes of the natives. Againthe bowman directed his gaze into the narrow opening, and this timehe looked long. There was one small island to pass, and if the canoekept on the north side, it would have to come right into the hiding-place; if it kept to the south, it would reappear at the end of thepassage by which the Okapi had entered.
In either case, the danger of discovery seemed certain. The threepairs of eyes from behind the tall grass were glued to the man'sface. They saw him start, then move his hand to the left, and as thecanoe went stealthily out of their view round the south side, theyheard the sullen plunge made by a crocodile as, disturbed from hissleep, he took to the waters.
Then the three crept back to the boat. "Pull her through thescreen," whispered the hunter, as he caught up his rifle, "but makeno noise;" and he took up another position ashore, this time facingthe other end of the channel.
With great caution the boys coaxed the Okapi through the trailingbranches, so that she would be hidden from view if the nativeslooked up the channel. Then they waited and waited for ages beforethe hunter showed himself.
"Well?" they asked in a whisper.
"They have passed on."
"And?" they said, watching his face.
"I don't quite like it. They may have no suspicions, but I thinkthey have; for one man pointed up in this direction."
"If they suspected anything they would have stopped surely."
"Perhaps not. The native doesn't like the look of a trap, and itmaybe that they passed on with the intention of returning at night.Or they may have gone for the other boats." Mr. Hume stood up toglance shorewards.
"Would it not be better to move on?" said Venning.
"If we could be sure that we should not be seen from the land, thatwould be the move." He stroked his beard. "I guess we'll move," hesaid, "just about dusk, for I'm pretty sure in my mind that they didtake particular notice of this channel, and my policy is always tolisten to your instincts."
"Instincts," muttered Compton; "call them nerves."
Mr. Hume laughed. "About the time you were born, Dick, I was playinga lone hand in Lo-Ben's country as trader and hunter, when a loss ofnerve would have meant loss of life. See! So just leave this to me,and shove her along."
Compton grinned back at the hunter, and tugged at his oar, for thelevers clanked too loud for this work. They crept along to anotherberth a little way off, and tied up in the shadow of the bank; andthey had scarcely settled themselves when they heard again the beatof engines. The launch was returning, and was returning in answer toa signal that the game had been found! A pungent smell of smokesuddenly reached them, and, standing up, they saw over the reedsthat a fire had been made on one of the neighbouring islands.
That was the signal!
Glancing shorewards they saw that more canoes were putting off--darksmudges on the water, but growing clearer as the crews dashed thepaddles. But there were enemies even nearer. As they pulled theOkapi closer into the shadows a boat swept into view, and, evidentlyobeying directions given from the island where the fire was, took upa position overlooking the first hiding-place of the Okapi. All thetime the launch drew nearer, racing evidently to take advantage ofthe brief spell of light before the dark, and the canoes raced fromthe shore to take part in the great man-hunt. As they drew near, thefleet scattered, some going up-stream, others down, and theremainder dashing straight on in among the islands.
As they scattered to take up their positions, there came a reportfrom the launch's gun.
It was the signal for the drive to begin, and as the echo rolledaway, a deep silence followed the previous uproar. The savage look-out men, standing erect in the sharp bows of the long canoes,motioned to the paddlemen to stop, and all heads were turned to thewind to catch any sound in case the hunted should attempt to moveaway. Fierce eyes were directed towards one spot, where the fireblazed on the island over against the place where the Okapi had laidup.
Not a whisper had come from the three in the boat. After they hadfirst seen the signal smoke, which told them so plainly that Mr.Hume's suspicions were justified, they had crouched low, watchingevery move that was visible to them.
A canoe rounded their hiding-place and crept stealthily by towardsthe narrow passage with its screen of bushes, every man fixing hisgaze directly ahead, the broad nostrils quivering, and spearsgrasped in the hands that were not busy with the paddles.
Then through the silence there came the sharp yap of a dog who hasstruck the scent, and next the loud, excited bark. Too cautious toland on the suspected island themselves, some of the canoe-men haddrawn near from the north side and thrown a cur on the island tofind the white men in their supposed hiding. The dog had, of course,struck the spoor and found the dark hiding, empty, but suspicious-looking. In his fear he gave tongue. The gun from the launch fired,a yell rose from every side, and all the canoes near dashed forward.
Mr. Hume shoved out, and the Okapi slipped up-stream undetectedunder the uproar, darting from one island to another, and keeping asnear the banks as possible. They were doing splendidly! The enemywas behind; it seemed that they must reap the advantage of theircaution and resourcefulness, when, without any intimation ofdanger, they came right upon a canoe lying in mid-channel betweentwo of the innumerable islands.
"Back-water!" cried Mr. Hume, at once.
The boys obeyed without, of course, any knowledge of the course, andthe Okapi slackened down.
"Well met, my friends," came a voice they knew; and the two lookedover their shoulders.
"Dished, after all!" muttered Compton, bitterly; then he snatched uphis rifle.
"Hassan thought you would come along this way," went on the juniorofficer--for it was he; "but I doubted, and yet here you are."
"The praise be to Allah," remarked Hassan, piously, as he glancedalong his rifle.
The Okapi had lost the little way she was making, and began to movewith the current away from the canoe. Mr. Hume suddenly spoke forthe first time since his order.
"Turn that canoe round!" he roared; and his Express leapt to hisshoulder. The boys followed suit.
The paddle-men promptly ducked their heads, and one of them calledout in his lingo that this was the slayer of crocodiles and of thegreat bull.
"But, my friend----" began the Belgian, who now, together withHassan and several Arabs in the stern of the canoe, came under thelevelled barrels.
"Oblige me," said the hunter. "Compton, cover that Arab Hassan withyour rifle, and Venning, take the man to the right. If they movetheir weapons, shoot."
Hassan snarled and turned a furious face to the Belgian. "This isyour folly!" he hissed. "Why didn't you fire at once?"
Mr. Hume repeated his orders in the native tongue, and the cowedmen, using their paddles, turned the long canoe round.
"Now, keep straight on in silence, till I tell you to stop. Followthem"--this to the boys, who immediately picked up their sculls.
The Belgian glanced back. "Come," he said, "this is not amiable.See, we could, had we liked, have caught you in an ambush."
"And so your friend Hassan advised you, eh?" replied Mr. Hume; "butyou thought we would surrender at discretion. You see, you weremistaken. Now just listen to me. Do not look back again, or thisrifle may go off. Out with the sculls, lads."
Hassan growled out curses at this complete turning of the tablesupon him, but the natives bent to their paddles. They bad no wish tobe shot down in the cause of the slave-hunter, however ready theywould have been to have fallen on the Englishmen if the advantagehad been with them.
>
The darkness was coming on fast as the strange procession passed upthe channel to thread the intricate passages among the clusteringislands. In a few minutes the canoe would be almost hidden fromsight; but the very last thing Mr. Hume wanted was to keep company.
"Baleka!" he cried. "Quicker! I have your heads in one line. Onebullet would stretch you all dead. Quicker!" he roared.
The broad paddles flashed, the water churned fiercely, and the longcanoe shot off into the dusk; and as it sped on the hunter pulledthe wheel over, altering the course of the Okapi, and taking ittowards the open water between the islands and the south bank.
"By Jove! you did that splendidly," said Compton. "I thought it wasall over."
Venning laughed that little nervous laugh of his. "I wonder why theygave in like that?"
"We had the drop on then," said Mr. Hume, grimly; "and we knew ourown minds. Now, then! up with the sail, and, dark or not, we mustget on."
Very smartly and silently the boys hoisted the sail, and as theOkapi beat up they heard a great uproar from the left. ApparentlyHassan was using violent language to the Belgian officer for nothaving ambushed the "dogs of Englishmen." Then several rifle-shotswere fired from the canoe, and answered from the people down-stream,who were still searching for their prey. But the Okapi slipped on,making a musical ripple under her bows, until she beat up under thegreat wall of woods on the south bank, when she tacked away into thegathering darkness, feeling for the wind. Down-river was the glareof fires at different spots, where the men had landed from thedifferent canoes; but there was no light ahead through the wholevast width of the river, and they dare not even rig up their ownlamp to get what little guidance it could give. The wind was fitful,and the direct progress was slow, so that when the glow went out ofthe sky they were still within hearing of the shouting. Indeed, itseemed that the shouting gained on them, as if the men in Hassan'sboat were keeping their place in the renewed pursuit, and directingother crews as to the line they should take.
Then the sail napped idly against the mast as the wind died down,and as they unstepped the mast before depending on the screw, a firesprang out right ahead, sending up a tall column of flame that flungits reflection far across the waters.
"We must make out into the islands again," said Mr. Hume; but, asthe boat pointed on the new course, an answering flame sprang up,and then another and another at brief intervals, until from the fireon the bank there was a semicircle of flame from island to islandbarring their advance.
"There must be an army out," muttered Venning.
"It is one canoe, but most likely Hassan's, firing the dried reedsas they pass from island to island."
"Then the flames will die out soon."
"Yes, they will die down; but in the mean time other canoes willcome up, and if there are men on the shore waiting, they will see usoutlined against the reflection."
Even as he finished there came a shrill cry from the shore, followedby the wild beat of the war-drum, and next by the sound of paddling.
"Shall we make a bolt for it?" asked Compton.
"Not yet," said the hunter; and he brought the Okapi stem on for thedeep shadows under the bank.
The oars moved softly, covered by the noise of the paddling, and theOkapi slipped out of the reflection into the darkness, while thecanoes dashed straight on, passing about one hundred yards behindher stem.
"Easy now," whispered Mr. Hume, "and keep quite still."
The oars were drawn in as the Okapi, caught in a current, was borneright into the bank at a spot where the trees came down to thebrink. Mr. Hume caught a branch, and the stern swung round. Beforethem, about a quarter of a mile off perhaps, was the great fire theyhad first seen, still fed by natives, whose dark figures stood outand disappeared as they moved about. Out on the river they couldhear the noise of paddles, and of men calling to each other.
Near them on the bank something moved, and above the swishing of thecurrent they heard the low whine of an animal.
Mr. Hume pricked his ears at the sound, and crept into the well,where the boys sat anxiously watching.
"Put on your coats," he muttered.
Again there came the whine, then the sound of an animal scrambling,and next the patter of feet.
"A dog," whispered Venning.
"I advise keeping on," said Compton.
"And I," replied Mr. Hume, "advise that we have something to eat.Will you serve us, Venning?"
They ate hungrily, for through the day they had been too muchexcited to think of food. And as they feasted their eyes were on themove, and their ears on the stretch. Their manoeuvre had apparentlysucceeded, for the canoes were all beating up towards the firesunder the belief that the Okapi had kept on, and there was nosuspicious movement by the people on the shore. So they remainedwhere they were, keeping themselves in position by holding on tothe branches. To the boys it was a weird scene, with the blood-redglow on the waters and the sense of vastness and of wildness. Theywere not afraid, but they could not help a feeling of weariness, andthey edged nearer the hunter for the comfort of his presence. For along time they watched, sitting silent; and by-and-by the fires onthe islands died down one by one, until only the flare on the bankremained as a beacon to those on the river. Then the sound ofpaddling drew near again.
Again the whine came from behind the screen of trees, and there wasa rustling among the branches.
Taking a bit of the dried meat he had been eating, Mr. Hume tossedit through the leaves. There came a sniff, a snap of the jaws, and awhimper. The hunter shifted his rifle till it pointed through theboughs.
"Peace," said a low voice. "It is Muata and his beast. They hunt meyet."
"Us also, O chief!"
The canoes came rushing in. Already some of the crews had landednear the fire; but others were coming down-stream, hugging the banksfor safety, or, maybe, having a last look for the Englishmen.
"It is Muata!" cried Venning, in a joyous whisper. "Muata and hisjackal. What luck!"
"S-sh!"
A canoe went by some distance out, after it another, and as theyswept into the darkness, a third announced its presence, coming moreslowly and closer in. While it was nearly opposite the hiding thehowl of the jackal rose from out the bush, wringing a startledexclamation from the two boys by its suddenness.
"What devil's noise is that?" sang out a voice they recognized asthat of the Belgian officer.
A sharp order was given, the paddles ceased, and the canoe, loominglong and black on the water, drifted towards the Okapi.
"I have heard that cry before," said a rasping voice. "Be ready withyour weapons. Allah the merciful may yet deliver those we seek."
"What would they be doing here inshore?" asked the Belgian.
"They would be here because it is here they would not expect us tosearch. I think I see something gleam."
In the water by the shore there was a faint splash, and again thejackal whined.
Mr. Hume pressed his hand on Compton's shoulder, forcing him intothe well; and he did the same by Venning.
"Surely," said the Belgian, "it is something. Shall we call in theother canoes, and guard the place till daylight?"
"I will have them now," said Hassan, with fury.
"They will not look on another sun;" and he gave the order to hismen to kill when they closed in. "It is they who let free the thiefof the forest--the dog Muata."
"You lie, O woman stealer; Muata freed himself;" and out of thewater, out of the blackness, came the voice, without warning, "Muatais here, by your side, man-thief."
The Arab fired, and the flash from his discharged rifle flamed intothe water, into which he peered with features convulsed.
"Kill him!" he yelled.
"Muata!" cried the paddlers. "Haw! To the shore, to the shore, or weperish! The water-wolf, he!"
"Yavuma!" cried the voice from the water; and the canoe heeled overas the chief rose under the sharp bow. "Yavuma!"--he wrenched apaddle from one of the men and hurled it at the Arab. The cra
nkcraft rolled as some of the excited men in the stem tried to usetheir spears. "Yavuma!"--this time with a triumphant whoop, and thecanoe turned over!
With a couple of powerful strokes the swimmer had his hand on theOkapi.
"O great one," he cried, "Muata is come to work and to watch--to beyour shield and your spear."
Mr. Hume reached out a strong hand and pulled the chief on board.
Muata gave a low cry, and with a frightened whimper the jackal shotout from the bank and lighted on the deck. Then the Okapi slid outsilently into the river.
"By Jenkins!" gasped Venning.
"It beats all," laughed Compton. "Well done, Muata."
As the capsized crew struggled to the shore they yelled abuse andthreats, but their power for mischief had gone with the loss oftheir weapons. Some of them went off down the bank shouting for thecanoes that had gone on, and others made their way to the fire; butMr. Hume and Muata took a spell at the levers, heedless of the noisemade, and under their powerful arms the boat was soon far out in thewaste of waters--safe, at any rate, for that night.
In Search of the Okapi Page 7
