WILL-O'-THE-WISP
Six men had landed from the boat, convinced that they had come to the
island from which the sound of hammering had proceeded. Their guide was
somewhat perplexed at the absence of huts, but concluded that he had
come to another part of the island, and led his companions through a
tangle of shrubs and brushwood, expecting to come upon the huts from the
rear. But ten minutes' search over the ground proved him to be
mistaken, and the party retraced their steps, intending to proceed
farther in their boat.
They stood rooted in consternation when, reaching the spot where they
had left the boat, they discovered its disappearance. But it did not
occur to them at first that any stealthy hand had been concerned. One
reviled another for not having drawn the boat high enough up the shore,
supposing that it had slipped down by its own weight. The strange thing
was that, there being little or no current, it had so completely
disappeared. They ran up and down the banks peering into the rushes,
becoming more and more angry and perplexed as the suspicion dawned upon
them that the boat had been stolen.
Meanwhile Errington had explained to Burroughs what had happened. They
were congratulating themselves on having at least won a respite, during
which the repairing of the stay might be finished, when they heard a
loud shout from the men who had thus been marooned.
"There were two boats last night," said Errington. "They're calling to
the other."
The shout was repeated, several men calling together. And then came a
faint call in answer.
"My tinkee 'nother boat come this side chop-chop," said Lo San.
Again the shout was raised, and an answer came, a little less faintly,
from somewhere in the distance.
"We shall have the others on us in no time," said Burroughs. "How long
will the job take now?"
"Ten minutes to get the fire up again and finish welding, five to fix
it," replied Errington.
"There's just a chance then, if you hurry up," said Burroughs. "They
may be some time finding the fellows you have marooned. When they do
find them, they'll search the whole neighbourhood, and there isn't the
ghost of a chance of their not finding us, especially with the hammering
going on again."
"I tell you what," said Errington. "D'you think you could manage to
lend a hand while Chin Tai finishes the job? He can't do it alone, or
Lo San either; but with you to keep an eye on it I think he could."
"I could do that. Why?"
"Because I could then lead the beggars off the scent. Lo San and I can
use this boat. My idea is to row out a little way and hide in the reeds
until the second boat has come up and taken off the men; then to show
ourselves and make them chase us into the main channel. We both know
the swamp pretty well, and we could lead them such a dance that you'd
have plenty of time to get things finished here. You may be sure that
when they see it's their boat they'll be keen enough to overtake us."
"But they know there are more than two of us," Burroughs objected; "and
when they hear the hammering again, they will very likely drop you for
the bigger game."
"Don't begin the hammering at once. Wait till you hear me coo-ee, which
won't be until I've drawn them pretty far away. All we want is a
quarter of an hour's grace, and it'll be strange if I can't play them so
long."
"And what about us? Are we to fly out and pick you up?"
"Better wait for me. I'll get back here. When the repairs are finished
it won't take a minute to get the boat afloat, and as you can't possibly
get up enough speed among these rushes to fly, I'd better be here: I
know the place, you don't."
"All right, then. And the sooner you start the better; the second boat
is coming up pretty fast, judging by the shouts."
Errington got into the boat with Lo San, and pulled off quietly. He was
in something of a quandary. He wished the Chinamen to see him as soon
as they had taken off their stranded companions, but until then to
remain undiscovered by both parties. This was difficult to manage,
because the only point from which he would be visible from the shore
where he had found the boat was the entrance of the narrow cross passage
from the wider waterway leading to the island. If he took up his
position there, he would be seen first by the crew of the second boat.
To overcome the difficulty both he and Lo San had to get into the water
and lug the boat through a mass of reeds, behind which they could see
without being seen. They had hardly concealed themselves when the second
boat came round a bend in the winding waterway, and, guided by the
shouts of the marooned crew, swung round to the right. The moment they
were out of sight, Errington and Lo San dragged their boat back through
the reeds, and lay to, waiting until they should hear that the men had
been taken off.
There was a tremendous hubbub of explanations when the two parties of
Chinamen met.
"What are they saying?" asked Errington, as he paddled gently towards
the entrance of the passage up which the boat had disappeared.
"My no can tell," said Lo San. "He piecee fella makee plenty too muchee
bobbely."
At a slight diminution in the uproar Errington guessed that the
explanations, whatever they were, were over, and that the men were being
taken into the boat. With a stroke of the paddle he brought the nose of
his boat to the edge of the reed-bed, where, by stretching forward, he
could see what was going on. There were eight men in the boat; two were
still on the bank, waiting until room was made for them. Errington
smiled: the boat thus overloaded would not be difficult to outdistance.
The last man was stepping into the boat. The moment had come.
Whispering to Lo San to make as much noise with his paddle as possible,
he gave the word to go. The two paddles struck the water together with a
loud splash, and the boat shot ahead in full view of the Chinamen,
making directly for the main channel leading to the river. Terrific
yells escaped the pursuers when they saw their boat dashing away from
them with a white man on board. Errington had little doubt that his
stratagem had succeeded.
The passage wound so frequently, and the reeds grew so high, that it was
impossible to see whether the Chinamen were actually in pursuit unless
he waited for them. He stopped paddling at a spot where about ten yards
of the waterway was visible behind, In a minute or two the nose of the
pursuing boat emerged from behind the reeds. Instantly Errington started
again, and was out of sight in five seconds. The Chinamen broke into
fierce yells when they saw him; one of them snapped a rifle, but the
shot only disturbed the water-fowl. Errington wondered with a little
anxiety whether a third boat was in the swamp ahead of him, or would be
lowered from the gunboat at the sound of the shot; but the only course
possible at present was to go straight ahead. He had seen by the
sluggish movement of the pursuing boat, and its depth in the water, that
he would be an easy winner in the race.
Thus the chase went on down the winding channel. Every now and then
Errington slackened his pace, so that the pursuers might have a glimpse
of him--not long enough to take aim--and be drawn farther and farther
from Burroughs. They were so intent on recovering their boat that they
had apparently forgotten the hydroplane and the other members of its
crew.
At last Errington came out into the pool. He paddled quickly across it,
in a direction away from the river, satisfying himself by a rapid glance
around that no other boat was in sight. Just as he reached the farther
side, the Chinamen's boat shot out from among the reeds. They stopped
paddling, looking round for their quarry, and catching sight of him near
a reed-bed about three hundred yards away, they opened fire. The
bullets passed unpleasantly close, and Errington at once drove the boat
into one of the many narrow channels, and was out of sight in a few
seconds. Thereupon the Chinamen gave chase again; but when they reached
the other side of the pool, and saw that the enemy had disappeared, they
apparently recognized that they were outmatched, and stopped to consider
what they should do.
At this moment a loud and prolonged coo-ee sounded from the midst of the
swamp. Whether they recognized it as a signal or not, it roused them to
desperate energy. Concealed by the reeds, Errington listened to a
violent altercation among them. They were disputing which of them
should enter the water and so lighten the boat. It ended in three of
the six who had been marooned slipping over the side and wading slowly
towards a small dry patch, where they posted themselves, holding their
rifles ready to shoot at the fugitives if they should reappear. The
remaining men drove their boat rather more rapidly than before in the
direction from which the coo-ee had come.
Errington had not seen what had been done, but hearing the boat
approaching, he started again, paddling easily until the pursuers came
into view. The fact that they had lightened the boat did not trouble
him. His boat was of about the same size, and Lo San and he could
easily keep ahead. But he was somewhat anxious lest he should presently
find himself in a blind alley. He did not know the part of the swamp to
which he had now come, and it was quite possible that, entering a
passage that seemed free, he would come upon an impenetrable belt of
reeds that would form an effectual barrier. If at such a moment the
enemy were in sight, he might well be overhauled before he could get
free.
The pursuing boat, although no longer burdened with a double crew, was
lower in the water than that in which Errington and Lo San were. It
flashed upon Errington that if he could only find a channel where the
depth of water was not more than sufficient to allow the passage of his
boat, the other might stick in the mud and relieve him of further
trouble. He remembered that, when circling the pool with Lo San, he had
come to very shallow water at the end farthest from the river, and
wondered whether he could find his way there now.
Turning at a venture into a channel at his right hand, comparatively
free from reeds, he struck out rapidly, splashing with the paddles in
order to lead the enemy on. By great good fortune, the channel led by a
tortuous course to the upper end of the pool. A little search discovered
the shallow part, and marking it carefully in his mind by the adjacent
reed clumps, he backed to the entrance of the channel down which he had
just come, ready to dash ahead the moment the pursuers came in sight.
They gave a loud shout when they saw him; the distance between the boats
was very little; and as Errington's moved away, the pursuers came on
with redoubled energy. He led them straight for the shallows, hoping
that they would follow directly in his wake. There was nothing to make
them suspicious. They paddled hard, shouting with triumph when they saw
that they were gaining. Foot by foot they neared the danger point;
Errington held his breath in suspense. Then there came suddenly from
the Chinamen a cry of a different kind. The boat, driving into the mud,
had thrown them one upon another. One lost his paddle. When they
recovered their balance, it was to find their boat stuck hopelessly in a
mud-bank, and the other darting obliquely across the pool. Howling with
rage, they seized their rifles. At the same moment there came shots
from the patch of dry ground beyond the lower end, where the three men
had caught sight of the fugitives speeding back to the channel from
which they had first come. Their marksmanship at the moving target was
bad. The shots from both parties fell harmlessly; and Errington
disappeared from view.
"My tinkee topside pidgin, galaw!" cried Lo San gleefully. "One piecee
lot this side, 'nother piecee lot that side" (he waved his arm towards
the upper and the lower ends of the pool in succession). "No can do
anyting. Massa Bullows he belongey bust laughin' what time you tellum."