THE RESCUED CHIEF MURO
The white man came to the rescue, and began to explain that the late
captive was a brother or a relative of Stut, and the moment he commenced
speaking John went over to him, garbed as he was in savage costume, and
said:
“How do you do, Sam?”
The man drew back for a moment, at being thus addressed. “Don’t you
recognize Varney?”
“John Varney, my old shipmate! How did you get here?”
“This, Professor, was my companion on the ship that sailed from San
Francisco, Mr. Blakely. Where have you been all this time?”
“Hunting for you all over the island, when the savages permitted me to
go around by myself.”
Meanwhile Stut had taken his companion into the wagon, where he greeted
Chump. A more happy set of savages could not be found than the group in
the wagon, and the fortunate capture of John’s former companion also
gave added joy to the entire party.
This exploit, so neatly contrived, and successfully executed, gave them
a fighting force of ten, and with Chump, who, undoubtedly, would soon be
able to assist, they had a very respectable array.
“But we must be on the alert, as our enemies will try and hunt us up as
soon as they find how they have been tricked,” said John. Blakely was
supplied with a gun, and Stut’s friends each presented with a bow and a
spear.
The spears were not the savage-made variety, but were long, and of tough
steel, the staffs being of shell-bark hickory, and the delight of the
two warriors in handling the weapons was plainly shown in their actions.
The force in their front numbered fully a hundred. They still had to be
reckoned with. There was no evidence to the savages that the whites had
anything to do with the rescue, and they believed that the Saboros had
effected the release.
“Well, if this isn’t an ingenious arrangement,” said Blakely, as he
walked around and examined the fort. “You must have had an interesting
time here. How long have you been on the island, Professor?”
“Nearly fifteen months. You landed about the same time, judging from
John’s story.”
“I don’t want to interrupt,” said John, “but I have a little plan that
should be carried out at once.”
“Go on,” said the Professor. “After what you have done to-night
everybody ought to be willing to listen to you.”
“I have not yet had an opportunity to say that directly to the southeast
of us, and not a half mile away, is a river. Beyond the river, probably
three or four miles to the southeast, is a village, which, I take it, is
the home of the tribe which has just been entertaining you,” and he
looked at Blakely with a smile.
“If you are able to talk with Stut and his friends better than I can we
might learn in what direction their tribe is located, and if the village
is between us and their friends, we might move our camp to-night to the
other side of the river, and thus get between the village and the
warriors.”
Blakely listened intently, and replied: “I know where the Saboro village
is; we shall have to go directly south to reach them. The tribe from
which you rescued us is called the Brabos. Somewhere to the southeast of
them are the Kurabus, the meanest devils of the lot, outside of the
Tuolos on the western shore.”
“Why Chump and his friends are Saboros, so we have two hostile tribes
before we can reach aid in that quarter. Do you know,” said John,
continuing, “anything about the Osagas?”
He reflected a while, and then answered: “I am not so sure, but they are
to the south and still farther to the west, but the route would be
inaccessible for the wagon from this point, on account of the immense
forest which is in the way. I know something about that forest, as it
sheltered me for the greater part of a year.
“We have very many interesting things to talk about, but we must not
delay the contemplated movement another moment.”
The Professor gave the word of command, and the celerity with which the
taking up of the fort and storing it away was accomplished was a delight
no less to the rescued warriors than it was to Blakely. The wagon was
headed for the southeast, and John, beckoning to Stut and his relative,
started out ahead. The other Saboro ran forward and begged to be allowed
to accompany them, and John willingly assented.
Directing the Saboros, by motioning, to scatter to the right and to the
left of him, the four formed a guard for the wagon, and in their
movement to the river the Saboros kept John in sight.
“Fortunately this is not a deep stream, and we will not have difficulty
in crossing,” said Blakely.
“That doesn’t trouble us in the least,” answered Harry. “We use the fort
sections as floats.”
Blakely eyed Harry for a moment. “Do you mean that you ford the deepest
streams with these cattle?”
“Why we have forded the West River with this outfit several times.”
“What, the West River, New York?”
Harry laughed: “I had forgotten; we call the big river to the west of us
the West. And we have also the South and the Cataract rivers, way to the
east of this.”
Blakely looked at Harry in astonishment. The boys had cut poles under
the Professor’s directions, and were now trying the depth of the stream.
“It’s all right,” cried out Ralph; “bring them along.” And Harry drove
the team down and over the stream, and before they had gone a mile the
first indications of the morning sun began to appear over the mountain
tops to the east.
“Move the wagon over to the right, and put up the fort the moment we
find the camping spot,” was John’s injunction, as he and the Saboros
plunged ahead in that direction.
John halted at a stream, and pointed out an admirable place for the
wagon. Again the process of erecting the fort was gone over, and the
Saboros witnessed the first installation of it.
“Now, for some breakfast,” said George. “This work makes a fellow
hungry.” Angel was at hand, as he always was at the preparation of the
meal, and the Saboros watched the work, and particularly the part that
Angel took, with eyes and mouths open. For the first time they had seen
the orang doing duty at command. George saw their surprise and he kept
Angel busy.
It was just as interesting to Blakely. He could hardly credit the
stories that Harry and Tom told him on the ride down to the river. Just
imagine four boys, in all the exuberance of youth, telling about the
home they had built up from absolutely nothing. How they had found
simply the crude things about them, and had fashioned all the needed
things for life from its primitive condition to one of perfection; it
was hardly believable.
The poor Saboros were almost starved, and they looked it, too. Blakely
had not been in captivity very long on this occasion, so that he was not
so emaciated. The savages, however, are able to withstand bodily
privations for a long period without becoming exhausted, but the food
obtained at this early meal was one which they never forgot.
As soon as the meal was over John signaled to Stut, and he in turn,
motioning to his fellows, formed a picket line to the north in
expectation of the savages; but they did not return, and night set in
without seeing them. George sent Angel to the treetop frequently for
information, a proceeding which was just as much a wonder to the two
Saboros as his service in helping with the meal.
Blakely could hardly contain himself, as he saw and heard the different
things, and he particularly admired the wagon, declaring it was as
strongly built as any he had ever seen. Without the wagon it would have
been a foolhardy task for six men to boldly march into a country
populated as the island was.
[Illustration: _Fig. 8. Primitive Wheel. Bas relief, Acropolis, Athens.
400 B.C._]
“The romance of wheels is the most remarkable of anything in the history
of the world. In nature there is nothing similar to it, so far as uses
are concerned.”
“Do you know,” asked George, “about the origin of the wheel?”
“Its invention dates back beyond the time when history began. When man
saw the moon it looked to him like a wheel, and may have suggested the
idea of a wheel on which things could be rolled. When we stop to
consider the vast importance of the wheel it amazes us to see how it
forms the prime element in every industry in the world. The wheel and
the lever are the two greatest mechanical elements in the universe.”
During the night John and Stut made a trip toward the village, and was
surprised to find a well-beaten path leading from the northwest toward
the village, and that the wagon was located not two hundred feet to the
east of the trail.
The village was behind, or on the south side of a slight elevation,
which was the reason why it was hidden from their view at the time they
crossed the first river. John counted the huts, and found forty-two, of
various sizes.
Conferring with Stut, in order to ascertain the number in each, he
calculated the village to contain not less than two hundred and fifty,
which would not by any means contribute the number of warriors which
were in the party.
It was John’s idea, on returning to the wagon, to undertake the capture
of the village, and he made the proposal at once. This seemed to be a
wise plan, as it would put the women and children in their power, but
Stut suddenly imparted the information that there was another village to
the southwest, belonging to the same tribe, and this at once settled
that plan, and it also answered the problem which bothered John.
Blakely, who had acquired considerable acquaintance with that region and
the various tribes, was in favor of capturing the village, but the
Professor was insistent that there was no desire to shed blood
unnecessarily, and that the trip was not for the purpose of revenge, and
the taking of the village, with the knowledge that the warriors might be
reinforced by a great number, would mean war to the end.
“In your wanderings,” asked the Professor, “did you ever hear of any
boys who were held in captivity by any of the natives?”
“Yes; a singular thing occurred about six months ago. I was then in the
forest, and in my usual pilgrimage into the opening I stumbled on a band
of one of the tribes to the east of the forest. They were on the large
river which flows along the eastern boundary of the woods. They had
several captives, and when they left the river carried a boat with them
across the country from the river.
“The proceeding was one which I could not understand at the time. I was
taken, on three different occasions, twice by the same band. I escaped
each time. The fourth time was four days ago, when the Brabos got me. I
was in captivity nearly three months with the Osagas, but they suffered
a terrible defeat at the hands of the Tuolos, who live to the
northwest.”
“We had a severe fight with them on our last trip, and we rescued the
two boys here from them,” remarked the Professor.
“You were lucky to get away from them, as they are the terrors of the
island. But allow me to proceed. While with the Osagas I acquired their
jargon, for it is little better than that. Some of the tribes have
practically the same language, and I judge that they were under the same
chiefs in earlier times. The language of two of the tribes, at least,
seems to be different, and it is probable that this may account in a
measure for the continual enmity between them, arising from their
misunderstandings.”
“I was captured by the Osagas, and regretted afterwards that I left
them; but it is fortunate I did, as it was the means of taking me to the
Professor and his friends,” remarked John.
“But I started out to tell you about the transportation of the boat,”
continued Blakely. “From the Osagas I learned that several boys had been
captured with the boat, and that they were in turn taken from that tribe
by the people who live to the east of the Kurabus.”
“Do you know of anyone by the name of Wright or Walters?”
“Yes; Wright was one of our crew. Don’t you remember him? He was the one
shot down when the master of the vessel first attempted to take
possession. I may be mistaken, but I think Walters was one of the men
allied with the mutineers.”
“Won’t you tell us some of your experiences when the vessel struck the
shore?” asked John.
“Wright, who was with us when you left to go to the pantry to get some
food, and also Champney, all agreed that you had been washed overboard
before the boat struck. When I recovered my senses, I found an
indescribable mass of wreckage all about me, and food was the first
thing I searched for.
“I found one of the guns, and later on a revolver, but I had no
ammunition except that in the weapons. Some few tins of provisions, and
a crushed box of biscuits, all soaked with sea water, were all I could
recover, and various articles of clothing, which I gathered together.
“As soon as strength began to come back to me I searched the beach in
both directions, and found four dead bodies, one being the mutinous
master, who was lying near the shore, and all had their pockets drawn
out. This was sufficient information to assure me that some had been
saved, but the rifling of the pockets of the unfortunates was something
I could not understand, and I concluded that it was done by some of the
devils who were on our vessel, or it had been the work of people on the
island.”
“I recovered from the blow,” said John, “and found myself lying by the
side of the master, and found the pockets rifled, as you say, and I
regained my senses before you did, as I now see.”
“Yes; I recognized the footprints of several; faint traces only. I then
followed the seacoast, in the hope or belief that if the island was
inhabited, they would be near the coast. I traveled for miles, and then
noting traces of people went inland, and the first tribe I ran across
was the Tuolos.
“I debated for hours whether or not to throw myself into their hands.
But a sight the third day decided me. A party was taking a captive to
the sacrifice. Whether or not he was one of our companions I do not
know. The sight so unnerved me that it did not occur to me that it might
have been one of them.
“I fled to the south, and struck the forest. There I found numerous wild
beasts, and they were really my salvation for months, as I afterwards
learned that the savages had never been known to go far into the dense
portions. I found a recess or cove among the rocky sides of an
elevation, which I converted into a home, and from that place I could
see across the intervening country to the large river.
“It gave me a good scouting position, and I saw many tribes and parties
pass and repass, some of them many miles off, and witnessed two battles
between hostiles, but I do not know what tribes they were. I soon became
expert in providing food, as it was all I had to do.
“I would frequently, in my scouting trips, go to the river, and began to
tire of my isolation. I made that my home for nearly eight months. I
really grew desperate from the monotonous life, and the feeling that I
must undertake something hazardous if I ever expected to escape from the
hunted life in the forest.
“I still had four shots in the revolver, but the gun was useless without
ammunition. But I took it with me, and the first day, after I crossed
the river, I was surrounded by the Osagas. I was much more rugged than
you see me now, and had a long beard. I tried to make friends with
them, and succeeded in this pretty well, but they were attacked by the
Brabos here, and treated most barbarously during the week I was a
captive.
“One night I escaped and turned to my mountain home, and again fell into
the hands of a party on the warpath, but of an entirely new tribe. They
took me way to the south, and I learned, in a way which could not be
mistaken, that I was to be offered up as a sacrifice, and when the time
came I was frenzied with desperation, and the moment my arms and legs
were free I seized the very club which was prepared for me and hewed my
way through the warriors and gained my liberty.
“But this is tiring you. Twice more I was captured, and escaped once
more, and the last time you came to the rescue.”
The story was listened to with the utmost eagerness. His tale, taken
together with John’s and Ralph’s and Tom’s experiences, gave them the
clue to the mystery of the lifeboat and two of the men mentioned in the
note, but it did not lift the veil from the contents of the message.
It was plain now where the Tuolos got the guns which they had, but could
not use, as explained when Ralph and Tom were captured.