A STEADY HAND.
It was now more than eighteen months since the Hardys had been fairly
established at Mount Pleasant. A stranger who had passed along at the
time the house was first finished, would certainly fail to recognise it
now. Then it was a bare, uninviting structure, looking, as has been
said, like a small dissenting chapel built on the top of a gentle rise,
without tree or shelter of any kind. Now it appeared to rise from a mass
of bright green foliage, so rapidly had the trees grown, especially the
bananas and other tropical shrubs planted upon each side of the house.
At the foot of the slope were some sixty or seventy acres of cultivated
ground, while to the right were three or four large and strong wire
enclosures, in which the milch cows, the cattle, the sheep, and the pigs
were severally driven at night.
Everything was prospering beyond Mr. Hardy's most sanguine
expectations. More and more land was monthly being broken up and
irrigated. Large profits had been realized by buying lean cattle during
the dry season, fattening them upon alfalfa, and sending them down to
Rosario for sale. The pigs had multiplied astonishingly; and the profits
from the dairy were increasing daily, as more cows were constantly
added. The produce of Mount Pleasant was so valued at both Rosario and
Buenos Ayres, that the demand, at most remunerative prices, far exceeded
the supply.
Additions had been made to the number of peons, and the farm presented
quite an animated appearance.
The two years which had elapsed since the Hardys left England had
effected a considerable change in their appearance. Charley was now
eighteen,--a squarely-built, sturdy young fellow. From his life of
exposure in the open air, he looked older than he was. He had a strong
idea that he was now becoming a man; and Ethel had one day detected him
examining his cheeks very closely in the glass, to see if there were any
signs of whiskers. It was a debated question in his own mind whether a
beard would or would not be becoming to him. Hubert was nearly
seventeen: he was taller and slighter than his brother, but was younger
both in appearance and manners. He had all the restlessness of a boy,
and lacked somewhat of Charley's steady perseverance.
The elder brother was essentially of a practical disposition. He took a
lively interest in the affairs of the farm, and gave his whole mind to
it. If he went out shooting, he did so to get game for the table. He
enjoyed the sport, and entered heartily into it, but he did so in a
business sort of way.
Hubert was a far more imaginative boy. He stuck to the work of the farm
as conscientiously as his brother did, but his attention was by no means
of the same concentrated kind. A new butterfly, an uncommon insect,
would be irresistible to him; and not unfrequently, when he went out
with his gun to procure some game which Mr. Hardy had wanted upon the
arrival of some unexpected visitor, he would come back in a high state
of triumph with some curious little bird, which he had shot after a long
chase, the requirements of the household being altogether forgotten.
Maud was fifteen. Her constant out-of-door exercise had made her as
nimble and active as a young fawn. She loved to be out and about, and
her two hours of lessons with her mamma in the afternoon were a grievous
penance to her.
Ethel wanted three months of fourteen, and looked under twelve. She was
quite the home-bird of the family, and liked nothing better than taking
her work and sitting by the hour, quietly talking to her mother.
The time was now again approaching when the Indian forays were to be
expected. It was still a month earlier than the attack of the year
before, and Mr. Hardy, with the increased number of his men, had not the
least fear of any successful assault upon Mount Pleasant; but he
resolved, when the time came, to take every possible precaution against
attacks upon the animals. He ordered that the iron gates of the
enclosures should be padlocked at night, and that some of the native
dogs should be chained there as sentinels. He looked forward with some
little anxiety to the Indian moon, as it is called, because, when he had
ridden out with Lopez and two of their Canterbury friends to the scene
of the encounter a few days after it had taken place, they found that
the Indians had fled so precipitately upon the loss of their horses,
that they had not even buried the bodies of their friends, and that,
short as the time had been, the foxes had left nothing but a few bones
remaining of these. From the mocassins, however, and from other relics
of the Indians strewn about, Lopez had pronounced at once that two
tribes had been engaged in the fray: the one, inhabitants of the
Pampas,--a people which, although ready to murder any solitary whites,
seldom attack a prepared foe; and the other, of Indians from the west,
of a far more warlike and courageous character. The former tribe, Lopez
affirmed,--and the natives of the country agreed with him,--would not of
themselves have been likely to attempt a fresh attack upon antagonists
who had proved themselves so formidable, but the latter would be almost
certain to make some desperate attempt to wipe off the disgrace of their
defeat. Under these circumstances, although perfectly confident of their
power to beat off any attack, it was resolved that every precaution
should be taken when the time approached.
Late one afternoon, however, Mr. Fitzgerald had gone out for a ride with
Mr. Hardy. Charley had gone down to the dam with his gun on his
shoulder, and Hubert had ridden to a pool in the river at some distance
off, where he had the day before observed a wild duck, which he believed
to be a new sort. The cattle and flocks had just been driven in by Lopez
and two mounted peons at an earlier hour than usual, as Mr. Hardy had
that morning given orders that the animals were all to be in their
enclosures before dusk. The labourers in the fields below were still at
work ploughing. Ethel was in the sitting-room working with Mrs. Hardy,
while Maud was in the garden picking some fruit for tea.
Presently the occupants of the parlour were startled by a sharp cry from
Maud, and in another instant she flew into the room, rushed at a bound
to the fireplace, snatched down her light rifle from its hooks over the
mantel, and, crying, 'Quick, Ethel, your rifle!' was gone again in an
instant.
Mrs. Hardy and Ethel sprang to their feet, too surprised for the moment
to do anything, and then Mrs. Hardy repeated Maud's words, 'Quick,
Ethel, your rifle!'
Ethel seized it, and with her mother ran to the door. Then they saw a
sight which brought a scream from both their lips. Mrs. Hardy fell on
her knees and covered her eyes, while Ethel, after a moment's pause,
grasped the rifle, which had nearly fallen from her hands, and ran
forward, though her limbs trembled so that they could scarcely carry her
on.
The sight was indeed a terrible one. At a distance of two hundred yards,
Hubert was riding for his life. His hat was off, his gun was gone, his
face was deadly pale. Behind him rode three Indians. The nearest one was
immediately behind him, at a distance of scarce two horses' length; the
other two were close to their leader. All were evidently gaining upon
him.
Maud had thrown the gate open, and stood by the post with the barrel of
her rifle resting on one of the wires. 'Steady, Ethel, steady,' she said
in a hard, strange voice, as her sister joined her; 'Hubert's life
depends upon your aim. Wait till I fire, and take the man on the right.
Aim at his chest.'
The sound of Maud's steady voice acted like magic upon her sister; the
mist which had swum before her eyes cleared off; her limbs ceased to
tremble, and her hand grew steady. Hubert was now within a hundred
yards, but the leading Indian was scarce a horse's length behind. He had
his tomahawk already in his hand, in readiness for the fatal blow.
Another twenty yards and he whirled it round his head with a yell of
exultation.
'Stoop, Hubert, stoop!' Maud cried in a loud, clear voice; and
mechanically, with the wild war-whoop behind ringing in his ears, Hubert
bent forward on to the horse's mane. He could feel the breath of the
Indian's horse against his legs, and his heart seemed to stand still.
Maud and her rifle might have been taken for a statue, so immoveable and
rigid did she stand; and then, as the Indian's arm went back for the
blow, crack, and without a word or a cry the Indian fell back, struck
with the deadly little bullet in the centre of the forehead.
Not so silently did Ethel's bullet do its work. A wild cry followed the
report: for an instant the Indian reeled in his saddle, and then,
steadying himself, turned his horse sharp round, and with his companion
galloped off.
Hubert, as his horse passed through the gate and drew up, almost fell
from his seat; and it was with the greatest difficulty that he staggered
towards Maud, who had gone off in a dead faint as she saw him ride on
alone.
Ethel had sat down on the ground, and was crying passionately, and
Terence came running down from the house with a gun in his hand, pouring
out Irish threats and ejaculations after the Indians. These were changed
into a shout of triumph as Charley stepped from behind the hen-house, as
they passed at a short distance, and at the discharge of his double
barrels the unwounded Indian fell heavily from his horse.
Anxious as he was to assist his young mistresses, for Hubert was far too
shaken to attempt to lift Maud from the ground, Terence stood riveted to
the spot watching the remaining Indian. Twice he reeled in the saddle,
and twice recovered himself, but the third time, when he was distant
nearly half a mile, he suddenly fell off to the ground.
'I thought the murdering thief had got it,' muttered Terence to himself,
as he ran down to raise Maud, and with the assistance of Sarah to carry
her up to the house, against the door-way of which Mrs. Hardy was still
leaning, too agitated to trust herself to walk.
Hubert, now somewhat recovered, endeavoured to pacify Ethel, and the two
walked slowly up towards the house. In a minute or two Charley came
running up, and the peons were seen hurrying towards them. After a
silent shake of the hand to his brother, and a short 'Thank God!'
Charley, with his accustomed energy, took the command.
'Hubert, do you and Terence get all the arms loaded at once. Lopez, tell
the peons to hurry up the plough oxen, shut them in the enclosure, and
padlock all the gates. I will warn you if there's any danger. Then bring
all the men and women up here. I am going to run up the danger flag.
Papa is out somewhere on the plains.' So saying, and taking his Colt's
carbine, he ran up the stairs.
In a moment afterwards his voice was heard again. 'Hubert, Terence,
bring all the guns that are loaded up here at once,--quick, quick!' and
then he shouted loudly in Spanish, 'Come in all; come in for your
lives!' In another minute they joined him on the tower with Mr. Hardy's
long rifle, Hubert's carbine, and their double-barrelled shot-guns, into
each of which Terence dropped a bullet upon the top of the shot. Hubert
could scarcely help giving a cry. At a distance of a quarter of a mile,
Mr. Hardy and Fitzgerald were coming along, pursued by at least a dozen
Indians, who were thirty or forty yards in their rear. They were
approaching from behind the house, and would have to make a sweep to get
round to the entrance, which was on the right, on the side facing the
dam. This would evidently give their pursuers a slight advantage.
'They hold their own,' Charley said after a minute's silence; 'there is
no fear. Lopez!' he shouted, 'run and see that the outside as well as
the inside gates are open.'
It has been already said that a low wire fence had been placed at a
distance of a hundred yards beyond the inner enclosure, to protect the
young trees from the animals. It was composed of two wires, only a foot
apart, and was almost hidden by the long grass. It had a low gate,
corresponding in position to the inner one. Charley's quick eye saw at
once the importance of the position.
'I think you might use the long rifle now,' Hubert said; 'it might stop
them if they feel that they are in reach of our guns.'
'No, no,' Charley said, 'I don't want to stop them; don't show the end
of a gun above the wall.' Then he was silent until his father was within
three hundred yards. He then shouted at the top of his voice, 'Mind the
outside fence, mind the outside fence!'
Mr. Hardy raised a hand to show that he heard, and as he approached,
Charley shouted again, 'Sweep well round the fence, well round it, for
them to try and cut you off.'
Charley could see that Mr. Hardy heard, for he turned his horse's head
so as to go rather wide of the corner of the fence. 'Now, Hubert and
Terence, get ready; we shall have them directly.'
Mr. Hardy and his companion galloped past, with the Indians still fifty
yards behind them. Keeping twenty yards from the corner of the fence,
the fugitives wheeled round to the right, and the Indians, with a cry of
exultation, turned to the right also to cut them off. The low
treacherous wire was unnoticed, and in another moment men and horses
were rolling in a confused mass upon the ground.
'Now,' Charley said, 'every barrel we have;' and from the top of the
tower a rain of lead poured down upon the bewildered Indians. The
horses, frightened and wounded, kicked and struggled dreadfully, and did
almost as much harm to their masters as the deadly bullets of the
whites; and when the fire ceased, not more than half of them regained
their seats and galloped off, leaving the rest, men and horses, in a
ghastly heap. Seeing them in full retreat, the occupants of the tower
descended to receive Mr. Hardy and Fitzgerald, Terence much delighted at
having at last had his share in a skirmish.
'Well done, boys! Very well planned, Charley!' Mr. Hardy said as he
reined in his horse. 'That was a near escape.'
'Not as near a one as Hubert has had, by a long way, papa.'
'Indeed!' Mr. Hardy said anxiously. 'Let me hear all about it.'
'We have not heard ourselves yet,' Charley answered. 'It occurred only a
few minutes before your own. The girls behaved splendidly; but they are
rather upset now. If you will go up to the house to them, I will be up
directly, but there are a few things to see about first. Lopez,' he went
on, 'carry out what I told you before: get the men in from the ploughs
and see all secured. Tell them to hurry, for it will be dark soon. Kill
a couple of sheep and bring them up to the house; we shall be a large
party, and it may be wanted. Then let the peons all have supper. Come up
to the house in an hour for instructions. See yourself that the dogs are
fastened down by the cattle. Terence, take your place on the lookout,
and fire a gun if you see any one moving.'
Having seen that his various orders were obeyed, Charley went up to the
house. He found the whole party assembled in the sitting-room. Maud and
Ethel had quite recovered, although both looked pale. Mrs. Hardy,
absorbed in her attention to them, had fortunately heard nothing of her
husband's danger, until the firing from above, followed by a shout of
triumph, told her that any danger there was, had been defeated.
'Now, papa,' Charley said, 'you give us your account first.'
'I have not much to tell, Charley. Fitzgerald and I had ridden out some
distance,--five miles, I should say,--when the dogs stopped at a thicket
and put out a lion. Fitzgerald and I both fired with our left-hand
barrels, which were loaded with ball. The beast fell, and we got off to
skin him. Dash barked furiously, and we saw a couple of dozen Indians
coming up close to us. We stopped a moment to give them our barrels with
duck-shot, and then jumped into our saddles and rode for it.
Unfortunately, we had been foolish enough to go out without our
revolvers. They pressed us hard, but I was never in fear of their
actually catching us; my only alarm was, that one of us might repeat my
disaster of the armadillo hole. So I only tried to hold my own thirty or
forty yards ahead. I made sure that one or other of you would see us
coming, and I should have shouted loudly enough, I can tell you, to warn
you as I came up. Besides, I knew that, at the worst, the arms were
hanging above the fireplace, and that we only wanted time to run in,
catch them up, and get to the door, to be able to defend the house till
you could help us. And now, what is your story, Charley?'
'I have even less than you, papa. I was down at the dam, and then I went
into the hen-house, and I was just thinking that I could make a better
arrangement for the nests, when I heard an Indian war-yell between me
and the house. It was followed almost directly by two cracks, which I
knew were the girls' rifles. I rushed to the door and looked out, and I
saw two Indians coming along at full gallop. By the direction they were
taking, they would pass only a little way from the hen-house; so I
stepped back till I heard they were opposite, and then, going out, I
gave both barrels to the nearest to me, and stopped his galloping about
pretty effectually. When I reached the place, I saw that Hubert had had
a narrow squeak of it, for Maud had fainted, and Ethel was in a great
state of cry. But I had no time to ask many questions, for I ran up to
hoist the danger flag, and then saw you and Fitzgerald coming along with
the Indians after you. Now, Hubert, let's hear your story.'
'Well, papa, you know I said yesterday that I was sure that I had seen a
new duck, and this afternoon I rode out to the pools, in hopes that he
might still be there. I left my horse, and crept on very cautiously
through the reeds till I got sight of the water. Sure enough, there was
the duck, rather on the other side. I waited for a long half hour, and
at last he came over rather nearer. He dived at my first barrel, but as
he came up, I gave him my second. Flirt went in and brought him out. He
was new, sure enough,--two blue feathers under the eye----'
'Bother the duck, Hubert,' Charley put in. 'We don't care for his blue
feathers; we want to hear about the Indians.'
'Well, I am coming to the Indians,' Hubert said; 'but it was a new duck,
for all that; and if you like it, I will show it you. There!' And he
took it out of his pocket and laid it on the table. No one appeared to
have the slightest interest in it, or to pay any attention to it. So
Hubert went on: 'Well, after looking at the duck, I put it into my
pocket, and went out from the bushes to my horse. As I got to him, I
heard a yell, which nearly made me tumble down, it startled me so; and
not a hundred yards away, and riding to cut me off from home, were
thirty or forty Indians. I was not long, as you may guess, climbing into
my saddle, and bolted like a shot. I could not make straight for home,
but had to make a sweep to get round them. I was better mounted than all
of them, except three; but they kept gradually gaining on me, while all
the rest in turn gave up the chase: and, like papa, I had left my
revolver behind. Black Tom did his best, and I encouraged him to the
utmost; but I began to think that it was all up with me, for I was
convinced that they would catch me before I could get in. When I was
little more than three hundred yards from the gate, I saw Maud come
dashing down with her rifle towards the gate, and a little afterwards
Ethel came too. The Indians kept getting nearer and nearer, and I
expected every moment to feel the tomahawk. I could not think why the
girls did not fire, but I supposed that they did not feel sure enough of
their aim; and I had the consolation that the Indian nearest could not
be going to strike, or they would risk a shot. On I went: the Indian was
so close that I could feel his horse's breath, and the idea came across
my mind that the brute was trying to catch hold of the calf of my leg.
At a hundred yards I could see Maud's face quite plain, and then I felt
certain I was saved. She looked as steady as if she had been taking aim
at a mark, and the thought flashed across me of how last week she had
hit a small stone on a post, at eighty yards, first shot, when Charley
and I had missed it half a dozen times each. Then there was a frightful
yell, almost in my ear. Then I heard Maud cry out, "Stoop, Hubert,
stoop!" I was stooping before, but my head went down to the horse's
mane, I can tell you. And then there was the crack of the two rifles,
and a yell of pain. I could not look round, but I felt that the horse
behind me had stopped, and that I was safe. That's my story, papa.'
[Illustration: Hubert's Escape from the Indians.--_Page 242._]
A few more questions elicited from Mrs. Hardy all that she knew of it,
and then the warmest commendations were bestowed upon the girls. Ethel,
however, generously disclaimed all praise, as she said that she
should have done nothing at all had it not been for Maud's steadiness
and coolness.
'And now let us have our tea,' Mr. Hardy said; 'and then we can talk
over our measures for to-night.'
'Do you think that they will attack us, papa?' Ethel asked.
'Yes, Ethel, I think that most likely they will. As we came across the
plain, I noticed several other parties quite in the distance. There must
be a very strong body out altogether, and probably they have resolved
upon vengeance for their last year's defeat. They had better have left
it alone, for they have no more chance of taking this house, with us all
upon our guard, than they have of flying. There is one advantage in
it,--they will get such a lesson, that I do think we shall be perfectly
free from Indian attacks for the future.'
After tea Lopez came up for orders. 'You will place,' Mr. Hardy said,
'two peons at each corner of the outside fence. One of us will come
round every half hour to see that all is right. Their instructions are,
that in case they hear any movement, one is to come up to us immediately
with the news, and the other is to go round to tell the other sentries
to do the same. All this is to be done in perfect silence. I do not
want them to know that we are ready for their reception. Bring some
fresh straw up and lay it down here on the floor: the women can sleep
here.'
'What shall I do about your own horses, Signor?' Lopez asked.
Mr. Hardy thought a moment. 'I think you had better send them down to
the enclosure with the others; they might be driven off if they are left
up here, and I do not see that we can require them.'
'But what about the cattle, papa?' Charley asked. 'It would be a serious
loss if they were driven off, especially the milch cows. If you like, I
will go down with Terence, and we can take up our station among them. It
would be a strong post, for the Indians of course could not attack us on
horseback; and with my carbine, and Terence's gun, and a brace of
revolvers, I think we could beat them off easily enough, especially as
you would cover us with your guns.'
'I had thought of that plan, Charley; but it would be dangerous, and
would cause us up here great anxiety. I imagine, too, that as no doubt
their great object is vengeance, they will attack us first here, or they
may make an effort upon the cattle at the same time that they attack
here. They will not begin with the animals. They will find it a very
difficult business to break down the fence, which they must do to drive
them out; and while they are about it we shall not be idle, depend upon
it.'
The preparations were soon made, and it was agreed that Mr. Hardy and
Hubert should go the rounds alternately with Charley and Fitzgerald. As
a usual thing, the Indian attacks take place in the last hour or two of
darkness. Mr. Hardy thought, however, that an exception would be made in
the present case, in order that they might get as far as possible away
before any pursuit took place. The wives of the peons lay down to sleep
on the straw which had been thrown down for them. The men sat outside
the door, smoking their cigarettes and talking in low whispers. Mrs.
Hardy was in her room; Ethel kept her company, Maud dividing her time
between them and the top of the tower, where Mr. Hardy, Fitzgerald, and
the boys were assembled in the intervals between going their rounds.
At about ten o'clock there was a sharp bark from one of the dogs
fastened up by the fold, followed up by a general barking of all the
dogs on the establishment.
'There they are,' Mr. Hardy said. 'Charley, bring the mastiffs inside,
and order them, and the retrievers too, to be quiet. We do not want any
noise up here, to tell the Indians that we are on the watch. Now,
Fitzgerald, you go to the sentries behind the house, and I will go to
those in front, to tell them to fall back at once.'
This mission was, however, unnecessary, for the eight peons all arrived
in a minute or two, having fled from their posts at the first barking of
the dogs, and without obeying their orders to send round to each other
to give notice of their retreat.
Mr. Hardy was very angry with them, but they were in such abject fear of
the Indians that they paid little heed to their master's words, but went
and huddled themselves together upon the straw in the sitting-room,
remaining there without movement until all was over. Terence was now
recalled from the gate, which had been his post.
'Did you hear anything, Terence?'
'Sure, your honour, and I thought I heard a dull sound like a lot of
horses galloping in the distance. I should say that there were a great
many of them. It seemed to get a little louder, and then it stopped.'
'That was before the dogs began to bark, Terence?'
'About five minutes before, your honour.'
'Yes. I have no doubt that they all dismounted to make the attack on
foot. How quiet everything is!'
The general barking of the dogs had now ceased: sometimes one or another
gave a suspicious yelping bark, but between these no sound whatever was
audible. The door was now closed and barred; candles were lighted and
placed in every room, thick cloths having been hung up before the
loopholes in the shutters, to prevent a ray of light from escaping; and
the windows themselves were opened. Mr. Fitzgerald, the boys, and Maud
took their station on the tower, Mr. Hardy remaining with his wife and
Ethel, while Terence and Lopez kept watch in the other apartments. The
arrangements for the defence were, that Mr. Fitzgerald, Lopez, and
Terence should defend the lower part of the house. There were in all six
double-barrelled guns,--two to each of them; and three of the peons more
courageous than the others offered to load the guns as they were
discharged.
Mr. Hardy and the boys had their place on the tower, from which they
commanded the whole garden. They had the long rifle, the carbines, and
four revolvers. Mrs. Hardy and the girls took their place in the upper
room of the tower, where there was a light. Their rifles were ready in
case of necessity, but their principal duty was to load the spare
chambers of the carbines and pistols as fast as they were emptied, the
agreement being, that the girls should go up by turns to take the loaded
ones and bring down the empties. Sarah's place was her kitchen, where
she could hear all that was going on below, and she was to call up the
ladder in case aid was required. And so, all being in readiness, they
calmly awaited the attack.