THE RUSE TO ESCAPE THEIR PURSUERS
The wagon was now driven behind the densest chapparal of trees, unyoked,
and tethered behind the wagon, and two of the boys took up a concealed
position with a pair of extra guns, at each side.
Harry, who had, by common consent, assumed the command, now made the
following observations as to their course: "Remember the Professor's
instructions, to keep cool and not to fire until you are perfectly sure
the shot will count. And by all means don't use the reserve guns, except
as a last extremity. The moment you fire, retire out of sight, and
reload, and we should try and fire in separate volleys. Two shots at a
time, unless they attempt a rush, will, probably, be more effective,
than if all fire at the same time."
In a short time the band appeared, and it was well that they had no idea
of the distance the boys had traveled, as they came along rapidly,
following the plainly made tracks of the wagon.
"Now, ready boys; Tom and I will give them the first shot, and you may
fire the moment I give the command. Ready, Tom; fire."
Both shots took effect, and the astonishment of the savages, was
exhilarating to the boys. George and Ralph could hardly restrain
themselves. The warriors were in the open, and had little brush to serve
as a shield. For a moment they were entirely at a loss to know which
way to go.
"Give them a shot," whispered Harry, and as the two guns spoke, two more
fell, both wounded. Without waiting for another shot the rest of them
broke for the rear, and the boys appeared in the opening.
This was not necessary, as the depletion of the fighting force was a
sufficient argument for them to retreat.
"Hitch up the team as quickly as possible," and George and Ralph did not
wait to witness the flight. Harry and Tom remained on guard.
"Move the wagon to the north, and stop at every good place of
concealment, and we will remain as a rear guard. We have no assurance
that they will not follow up the attack."
After the wagon had gone on some distance, the two boys slowly effected
a retreat in the trail of the wagon. Only eight savages had been left
after the two fires.
During one of the temporary stops Harry observed: "When they retreated
we saw eight of them, and there are now only six following. What do you
suppose that means?"
"Those people are regular devils, and it is my opinion that there is
another force of them near, and the others have gone to bring
reinforcements."
"Run to the wagon quickly and tell them to force the yaks forwardly as
fast as possible. Wait just a moment." And Harry looked to the north and
continued: "Do you see the two large trees in the distance, a little to
the left? Tell them to drive for that with the utmost speed, and await
our coming."
Tom was off, and imparted the information, and Harry kept on retreating,
while the scouting party approached very cautiously, the apparent object
being to keep within sight of the trail.
When Tom returned Harry said: "I suppose we had better give them another
shot, to hold them off as far as possible. At the next place of
concealment, let us wait for them, until they are near enough."
The savages were now very wary, and did not attempt to come within
gunshot distance of the place of concealment for some time, but when
they had approached sufficiently near both fired, only one being
wounded.
Without waiting to determine the results of the last volley, the boys
made a rush for the next available place of concealment, and as the
wagon was now in sight they selected another object far beyond the
present position of the wagon, and Tom was off to inform the boys at the
wagon.
Thus, by a succession of marches, the wagon was placed fully a mile
beyond the pursuers, and when the last stretch was made Harry made the
following suggestion:
"As we have now kept up our course for fully three miles in this
direction, tell the boys to turn abruptly to the east, and, if possible,
take the wagon over a trail which they cannot follow. Select some object
beyond so we will know where the line of retreat is, and I will keep
them at bay. In this way we may be able to throw them off the track."
The team had made the last stop at the crossing of one of the little
streams, and he had the ingenuity, after Tom imparted the last
information to him, to drive the team to the west, for a distance, and
then turn it abruptly to the east, and by making his way over the most
rugged surfaces he could find, so effaced the tracks that it was hoped
they could not find the traces.
When Tom returned, Harry had another ruse: "They are not following the
wagon trail now, as they are after us. Now let us direct our course to
the west, so that we will not go on the trail which the wagon had made,
and occasionally show ourselves, so they will follow, and when we have
taken them sufficiently far from the course of the wagon we must depend
on our own tricks to evade them."
This plan was put into immediate execution, and by the time the two had
gone a quarter of a mile beyond the turn which the wagon had made, they
turned eastwardly, in the direction of the wagon, keeping well out of
sight, and it was a relief to see them finally pass along the trail far
beyond the turning point which they had made, and this was evidence that
they had been outwitted.
Harry and Tom now sprinted for the direction of the wagon, and a course
was laid for the northeast, as they did not want to go too far from the
mouth of the river where the boat lay.
They calculated the distance to travel at about eight miles before
reaching the river. The only fear now was, would their pursuers keep up
the hunt until the sea came in sight? If they did it meant another
fight, or a retreat, with the only hope of securing the boat gone.
"We have a ticklish task before us. We must cross the river before we
get to the location of the boat, and if they are anywhere in the
neighborhood, our tracks will surely be seen," and Harry was at a loss
what suggestion to make in such an emergency.
"It seems to me," ventured George, "that one should take the rear, as a
guard, the one front keeping within supporting distance of the wagon at
all times. In this way we will not run into the party, and we shall then
know whether they are still trailing us."
This seemed the proper thing to do, and it was followed at once, Harry
taking the rear guard and Ralph acting as advance scout.
Fully three miles was covered, before the sun admonished them that a
camp must be made for the night. The selection of a suitable place was a
matter of great concern, as may be imagined.
They went on and on, ever in the search for a suitable place, and it was
beginning to grow dusk before their minds could agree as to a safe
place. Probably they passed a dozen spots more suitable than the one
finally selected, but it was that much nearer the river, and that was
some satisfaction.
The utmost care was taken to put the wagon and the yaks in a protected
position, and all that night two were on duty. Angel, during the entire
time, was quiet, and did not scent the approach of an enemy.
Early in the morning a hurried meal was prepared, and while the
preliminary steps were taken for a departure Harry and Tom made a
scouting tour to the southwest for nearly a half mile, and returned
satisfied that they had temporarily, at least, thrown them off the
track.
It was a surprise to find the river within a half mile of their last
camping place. If they had known this they would have pushed on and
attempted the crossing during the night. But there was no help for it
now.
"How far do you think we are from the mouth of the river, Harry?"
"This part is unfamiliar to me, but it is no doubt south of the point
where we crossed it on our way home."
"Do you think we ought to cross here or go down still farther?"
Ralph and Tom both urged an immediate crossing, for the reason that as
the savages were not in sight, they might as well take advantage of the
situation, whereas if they continued down the river, they might again
come across the tribe, and which would by this time be materially
reinforced.
This seemed the part of wisdom, and the work of getting out the raft
timbers was vigorously proceeded with, and within an hour the yaks were
driven into the water, and the wagon floated.
The wagon had hardly left the shore before Ralph cried out: "See the
devils coming. They reached the clearing, but out of gunshot, and the
boys smiled at their discomfiture, and when the opposite bank was
reached the boys halted the wagon, removed the logs, and sat down to
witness the chagrin of the natives.
"I wonder what they think of themselves by this time," said Ralph as he
heartily laughed.
The savages had been reinforced, as was apparent, for more than thirty
were plainly visible, and their tactics in following up the wagon was
now apparent.
"Let us give them another little shock." All eyes were now on Harry, as
he continued: "I suggest that we get into the wagon and move into the
interior, hiding the wagon in a safe place beyond, and then return to
this mass of brush here, where we will be entirely concealed. As this is
not more than thirty feet from shore we will be in good position to
watch the crossing and attack them if they attempt to venture across."
The plan was adopted with alacrity, and seating themselves in the
vehicle, they waved a salute to the party and started off as fast as the
team could be urged on.
Instantly there was commotion in the ranks of their enemies. They rushed
down to the bank, and engaged in an animated conversation.
The boys carefully crawled back to the brush, and witnessed the evident
attempt to decide on a course to pursue.
"Do you think they will cross?"
"I wish they would try it," answered Ralph. "Oh, wouldn't that give us a
chance at them!"
"I do believe they are going to try it."
Two of the warriors started for the water, and plunged in, and the boys
looked at each other in surprise.
"Ralph, do you think all of those fellows will try it?"
"No, indeed; those fellows don't like water, and if our experience in
crossing the river, when they took us back with them, is any indication,
they have very few who can swim."
"But the difficulty is that they can raft across."
"That is just the reason why I thought a little surprise of this kind
might make them think better of it, and not try it."
"You must remember," answered Tom, "they live on this side of the river,
and they are bound to get across some time."
"I know that, but their rafts are no doubt miles up the river."
It was now plain why they determined to follow up our party. Their own
territory had been invaded, and this came to all of the boys with a
shock. The getting of the boat was now a most hazardous operation.
They saw the two savages swim from the shore, and remained quiet until
they came within thirty feet of the shore.
"Now," said Harry, "the moment they start to wade, let us make a rush
for the bank, and we will have them at our mercy."
Each of the warriors carried a spear, but no other weapon, but those on
the opposite shore had bows, as well.
The surprise and consternation on the faces of the savages, when the
party appeared, was too remarkable to describe. Their first action was
to turn, but Ralph cried out: "Hola, hola," and Tom laughed as he now
remembered the savage word for "stop."
They did "hola," but for a moment only, and then diving down in the
water, attempted to make their escape.
The boys were now on the brink of the stream, and not more than twenty
feet away from the struggling men. "Hola, hola," shrieked Ralph and Tom
in concert, as they aimed their guns at them.
"That devil in front is the fellow we want to get. He is the meanest of
the entire outfit. Oh, yes, you remember me, don't you?" Ralph
continued, talking to the savage. "I have a notion to bore a hole
through you."
The savage raised himself, and evidently believing his hour had come,
did, as all savages do, poised his spear, as he raised himself out of
the water, and attempted to throw it. But before he could execute the
movement, a shot from Harry threw him back into the water and his spear
disappeared.
During this commotion the other savage dived, and he must have been an
expert, because the boys shot three times before he showed any evidence
of being hit, and then it was only a wound.
The boys ran back to their place of concealment to get the reserve guns,
and during that period the wounded one floated out into the stream and
the boys made no further effort to reach him.
The chief, as Ralph called him, was undoubtedly struck in a vital spot,
as he disappeared and reappeared, while slowly floating down with the
current.
The boys retreated behind their shelter, and sat down to rest and
recover from the excitement of the last fifteen minutes.
Meanwhile, what were the savages beyond doing? Consternation seemed to
seize them. They ran back and forth, and shouted to their companions in
peril, and Ralph and Tom both tried to make out the meaning of the
warning cries, but were not sufficiently versed in their jargon to
comprehend.
"Well, boys, we have kicked up a pretty serious muss, and we might as
well give up the boat."
Tom, who seemed to have some very good ideas, suggested a plan that had
considerable merit, and they were now considering it.
"My scheme is this: Let us now make a show of retreating into the
interior to the west, covering our tracks as best we can. Then turn to
the north, for a mile or two, and go back to the river and cross, and
then make for home as fast as we can travel."
"That is a first-class plan," was Harry's reply; "but I think two of us
should remain here in order to keep up a show. We can exhibit ourselves
at intervals, while the wagon is proceeding on its way, and the moment
the wagon reaches the river, those with it can get the floats ready, so
that when the scouts reach the wagon it will be ready to cross."
Ralph and Harry volunteered to act as the rear guard, and the wagon went
forward, making a wide detour to the north and finally veered around to
the east, reaching the river fully a mile below. Fortunately, a lot of
driftwood was in convenient reach, and the spot was hidden by a bend in
the stream, so that it was not at all likely the savages would see them
from their low position at the river bank.
The wagon was on the brink of the stream, and the logs ready, still the
boys in the rear did not appear.
"Don't you think I had better go back and let the boys know we are
ready?"
"Yes, Tom, and tell them to hurry."
The fact was that the providential pile of driftwood made the task an
easy one for the boys, and Ralph and Harry were only too much relieved
at the news to wait a moment longer than was necessary.
The savages were still on the opposite bank. Was it likely they were
inactive? Harry did not think so, as they noted parties disappear at
various times, and again others came up, thus indicating there was some
movement on foot.
"Before we start now, it would be a capital idea for all of us to show
ourselves, and then make a cautious break for the wagon."
Without exposing themselves too ostentatiously, the start was made
directly to the rear, and then, as they left the river in the rear, and
beyond the sight of their pursuers, turned to the north, and relieved
George of the great tension of single-handed guarding the wagon.
Without waiting for any explanations the yaks were driven in, and the
opposite shore reached. Quickly denuding the wagon of the raft timbers,
the trail was taken up for home but they were too hungry for words.
"We can't stop to set up the stove and arrange our kitchen now. Let us
take such things as we can find, and eat on the way."
Harry's advice was followed. And now they recognized the country through
which they were going. It was almost the same trail over which they had
traveled twice before, and it went through the roughest part of the
island, and when they made the first trip with the team they had to go
south to get into a part of the country which was better suited for easy
traveling.
"The trouble is we cannot safely go south now, as it will bring us too
close to the savages, and we shall have to bear up with this bad ground
until to-morrow noon, at least."
By night fully fifteen miles had been covered, but it was a terrible
strain on the poor animals, and not any the less wearing on the wagon.
The ground was broken up into little hillocks, and studded with
vegetable growth in such dense tufts, that constant detours had to be
made to get around them.
When evening approached it was with a feeling of the greatest relief,
and they certainly craved the rest. A careful watch was kept up during
the entire night. They had, of course, no means of knowing whether the
savages had discovered the ruse, but there could be no question about
the determination to revenge the death of their chief and of the others
who had fallen during the day.
As soon as it was light enough to see, and without waiting for the
preparation of a breakfast, in the usual way, the trip was continued,
and the western edge of the forest did not come near until near evening.
They had eluded their pursuers, and felt happy, and Ralph could not help
expressing his satisfaction over and over, at finishing the chief who
had treated them so vilely while in captivity.
Shortly after noon of the following day they reached home, and related
their adventures.
The Professor was not surprised at their failure to bring the boat back.
He was a little disappointed, but they were certainly in a better
position to build a boat now than when the old one was undertaken.