Donalblane of Darien

by J. Macdonald Oxley

  CHAPTER X.

  THE CHASE OF THE MANATEE.

  Several hours' steady paddling brought the hunting party, ere the fullheat of the day, to a part of the river where the banks were denselyclothed with mangroves, broken here and there by bayous, whose shallowbottoms were lush with rank vegetation.

  "We get him there," said Raymon, pointing to one of these bayous."When sun going down. Plenty of manatee in dat place."

  Donalblane was impatient to begin the hunt right away; but Raymon knewhis business better, and so they sought a landing in one of the cool,dark recesses of the mangrove forest, and, after eating their lunch,lay down for the inevitable siesta.

  It was well on in the afternoon before Raymon pronounced it time to getto work, and, thrilling with eagerness, Donalblane took his place inthe stern of the canoe, his musket ready for a quick shot, while Raymoncrouched in the bow, holding a harpoon to which was attached a long,thin rope. Noiselessly the expert paddlers sent the canoe over thebosom of the bayou, turning this way and that, in accordance withwhispered directions from Raymon, whose keen eyes searched the stillwaters in front.

  Several times Donalblane thought he saw ripples which suggested thepresence of their prey, but Raymon took no notice of them, and he wasbeginning to grow impatient, when, at a signal from the Indian, thepaddlers suddenly plied their blades with tremendous energy, and thelight craft shot ahead at an amazing pace.

  Donalblane could perceive nothing to explain this action, but rejoicedat it nevertheless, and held his musket in readiness to fire.

  On dashed the canoe, and presently Raymon rose in the bow, harpoon inhand, and poised himself for a throw. Still Donalblane could make outnothing, and he marvelled at the keenness of the Indian's vision, untilsuddenly, not twenty yards in front of the canoe, the smooth surface ofthe water was broken by the emergence of the hideous head and broadshoulders of a monstrous manatee.

  "PRESENTLY RAYMON ROSE IN THE BOW, HARPOON IN HAND."]

  "Hurrah!" shouted the boy, quivering with excitement. "There he is;and, my sakes, what a big fellow! Shall I fire at him, Raymon?"

  But Raymon, without turning round, intimated by a warning gesture ofhis free hand that Donalblane was to keep still, and the latter wasaccordingly fain to curb his impatience.

  In spite of his clumsy form, the manatee had a wonderful turn of speed,and the sinewy paddlers strained every nerve to bring Raymon withinstriking distance. The creature was evidently making for the deeperwaters, and if he succeeded in doing this before the harpoon struckhim, there was a good chance of his effecting his escape. For a fewminutes the issue of the race seemed much in doubt, and then, toDonalblane's delight, the canoe began to gain. Yard by yard it drewnearer, until at last, raising the harpoon as high as he could, Raymon,with the whole strength of his arm, hurled it at the manatee.

  It was a splendid throw, and the keen barb buried itself deep in thethick, wrinkled grey hide, while at the same moment the strickencreature sank out of sight, leaving a stain of blood upon the water.

  "Grand!--grand!" cried Donalblane, putting down his gun for a momentthat he might clap his hands enthusiastically. "Ah! I wad like fineto be able to do that."

  Raymon's usually sombre countenance lit up with a pleased smile, as hereplied--

  "We got him all right, if rope no break."

  When, a moment later, the manatee, having recovered from the firstshock of the wound, set off through the water at a rapid pace, towingthe well-laden canoe as though it was a trifle, Donalblane began towonder if the rope, which was only a thin one, would stand the strain.But Raymon did not appear at all anxious about it.

  Straight out towards the deep water went the manatee, and as the canoeploughed through the water in its wake, Donalblane thought that thismust be something like the whale-hunting about which some of his sailorfriends at Leith had told him such thrilling tales.

  For a full half-mile the powerful creature kept on, rising every nowand then to the surface for breath, and sinking again as soon asrelieved. But presently its speed began to slacken, and Raymon wasable to get a pull upon the rope, which brought the canoe nearer.

  "Now, senor, you fire when I call," he said to Donalblane, who noddedback at him joyfully, for he was burning to take part in the hunt,instead of sitting idle.

  Little by little the rope came back, until soon there were not morethan ten yards of it separating the canoe and the manatee.

  "Next time he come up, you fire," was Raymon's next order; andDonalblane, every nerve thrilling with excitement, braced himself inthe stern of the canoe for a careful shot.

  With a swirl and splash the manatee appeared, and as Raymon excitedlyshouted, "Now, senor--now!" Donalblane pulled the trigger. But alas,for the pride of youth! The prized musket, hitherto so trusty, playedhim false. It flashed in the pan. There was no report, and itsintended victim sank out of sight unharmed.

  Just how it happened Donalblane never understood. Perhaps either he orRaymon, in their chagrin at the failure of the shot, made some suddenmovement; but, however it was, the next instant the canoe overturned,and all the four of its occupants were tumbled into the water,Donalblane holding on to his gun, although the additional weight helpedto deepen his involuntary dive into the turbid current.

  Up he came, gasping and angry, to find that the Indians had happilybeen quick enough to secure the canoe and to cut the harpoon line,which otherwise would have torn it away from them. Still grasping hisgun, which he was determined to save if possible, Donalblane struck outfor the others, and when he neared Raymon, the latter said cheeringly,"Me help you--they get canoe all right," and, taking the heavy firearmfrom the boy, swam as easily with it as if it were a walking-stick.

  Meanwhile the paddlers, with a skill that astonished Donalblane,proceeded to right the canoe, free it of water, and clamber in, Raymonfollowing their example and then assisting the young Scotsman to dolikewise. Donalblane took it for granted that the untoward upset putan end to the manatee hunt, but Raymon had no such notion.

  "Manatee soon die--we go after him," he said, and, after a keenscrutiny of the surrounding water, he gave directions to the paddlers,who resumed their work as stolidly as if nothing had happened.Donalblane thought it would be very much like hunting for a needle in ahay-stack, but kept his own counsel while the canoe sped shoreward.

  They were more than half-way thither when Raymon, who had fastened theremainder of the rope on to a small spear, showed signs of excitement.

  "Me see him!" he exclaimed in a stage whisper. "We get him this time."

  Sure enough, just as he spoke, the ugly grey head of the manatee roseabove the water, and it was evident from the slowness of its movementsthat its strength was fast failing.

  Steadily the canoe gained, until once more it was within strikingdistance, and Raymon hurled his spear with no less accuracy than he hadthe harpoon. The poor manatee made one furious plunge forward as thesharp steel reached a vital part, and then all motion ceased. The huntwas ended.

  One of the paddlers instantly sprang into the water and caught the endof the severed harpoon line, which was at once secured to the canoe,for otherwise the great body would sink and all the trouble be in vain.Then the bulky prize was towed ashore, and Donalblane had thesatisfaction of having taken part in a successful manatee hunt, even ifhe had been denied the privilege of getting a shot.

  The Indians had good reason to be proud of their quarry, for he was amonster of his kind, and would afford a fine supply of excellent meat.As he would prove altogether too heavy a cargo for the light canoe, thepaddlers were dispatched to the settlement for assistance, whileDonalblane and Raymon remained on guard, the former taking theopportunity to dry his dripping clothes, and feeling very well pleasedwith the success of the hunt.

  Indeed, he had enjoyed it so keenly that he went again and again in theweeks that followed, Mr. Sutherland sometimes joining him, and many aplump monster was thereby secured for the benefit of the colonists.

  It was wel
l for him that he could thus divert himself, as the state ofaffairs at St. Andrews was rapidly growing worse. Not only were theScotsmen threatened with famine, but with disease also. The hot, dampclimate, so different from that to which they were accustomed, breddeadly fever. Every day the number of the men who strove to completethe fortifications and to till the ground for the harvest they weredestined never to reap grew less. Many of the pale, gaunt, but stillresolute labourers passed quickly from their work to the overcrowdedhospital, and thence with little delay to their graves, until theburial-ground came to have more occupants than the huts.

  And yet, despite their double danger, the colonists kept up their pettystrifes, their jealousies, their mutual antagonisms, and refused toadmit of any settled authority. Then came back the ship which had beensent to Jamaica for provisions as empty as she had gone, and bringingthe astounding news that, by a royal edict obtained through the evilinfluence of the rival companies, all the English colonies in Americaand the West Indies were strictly forbidden to afford any assistancewhatever to the struggling Scotch colony at Darien, whose utter ruinnow seemed inevitable.