Eager as hounds upon a fresh trail--quick as young, strong limbs could
carry them--pressed the pursuers up the steep path that led to the
Duppy's Hole.
Words could but feebly express the agony rankling in the heart of
Herbert Vaughan. He knew not Chakra in person; but a full description
of him, morally as well as physically, had been imparted to him by
Cubina on the day before. It was not strange he should tremble with
fear for the fate of her who was now in the power of a monster so fell
and fiend-like--not strange that his soul should be filled with anguish.
That conditional phrase--"We may be too late!"--spoken as he urged his
horse along the road; repeated as he came within sight of the burning
mansion--once more found utterance on his lips; but now more
emphatically and with a far more fearful significance.
His was a situation to stir the soul to its profoundest depths. Even
had the victim of the vile abduction been no more than his cousin, he
could not have failed to feel keenly the danger that threatened her.
But now that he viewed Kate Vaughan in another and very different
light--certain, from what Cubina had told him, that she reciprocated his
love--under the influence of this sentiment, his distress was tenfold
greater. So late, too, had he become possessed of that knowledge--so
sweet had been the ecstasy it produced--that the sudden revulsion was
all the more dreadful to endure.
While murmuring the words "We may be too late," he dare scarce trust
himself to give thought to the form of danger whose dread was thus
hypothetically predicted.
Cubina, though, perhaps, a little less anxious than before, was equally
earnest in the pursuit; and, indeed, every one of the Maroon band showed
to some extent the feelings of painful apprehension that actuated their
leader, whom they knew to be the friend of the young Englishman. No one
showed a disposition to lag. All were alike eager to aid in the rescue
of the unfortunate young lady, known to most of them, and honoured by
those to whom she was known.
The horses had been left behind. On the steep and tangled path, they
would have been only an encumbrance.
Perhaps, never before, by man on foot, had that path been traversed in
so short a space of time. There was no delay on account of the
darkness. As if by Divine favour, the moon had opportunely arisen, just
as they were passing through the wicket-gate, and by her light they were
able to proceed without pause or interruption. No stop was made
anywhere, till the pursuers stood upon the edge of the Duppy cliff, and
looked down into that dark abysm, where they hoped to find the spoiler
and his victim.
Scarce a moment there, either. One after another they descended the
tree stairway, Cubina going first, Herbert next, the others following,
with like rapidity.
With the instinct of trained hunters all made the descent in silence.
Only on arriving at the bottom of the cliff did an exclamation escape
from the lips of their chief--Cubina.
The sight of a canoe, drawn up under the bushes, had elicited this
exclamation--which expressed surprise mingled with disappointment.
Herbert saw the canoe almost at the same instant of time, but without
drawing the inference that had caused Cubina to utter that cry. He
turned to the latter for an explanation.
"The canoe!" whispered Cubina, pointing down to the little craft half
hidden under the leafy branches.
"I see it," said Herbert, also speaking in a whisper. "What does it
signify?"
"They have gone out again."
"Oh, heavens!" cried Herbert, in an accent of anguish, the more
expressive from the low tone in which the words were uttered. "If that
be so, then we _are_ too late--she is lost!--lost!"
"Patience, comrade! Perhaps it is only Chakra himself who has gone out;
or, maybe, some one of the robbers who have been helping him, and who
may be expected to return again. In any case, we must search the valley
and make sure. Step into the canoe! You can't swim in your clothes,
while my fellows are not embarrassed in that way. Here, Quaco! get your
guns aboard this cockle-shell, and all of you take to the water. Swim
silently. No splashing, do you hear? Keep close under the cliff! Swim
within the shadow, and straight for the other side."
Without more delay the guns were passed from hand to hand, until all
were deposited in the canoe. Cubina and Herbert had already stepped
into the frail craft, the former taking possession of the paddle.
In another instant the little vessel shot out from the bushes, and
glided silently under the shadow of the cliff.
Some half-dozen human forms, their heads just appearing above the
surface of the water, followed in its wake--swimming with as little
noise as if they had been a brood of beavers.
There was no need to direct the canoe to its old landing-place under the
tree. Cubina knew that this had been chosen for concealment. Instead
of going thither, he made for the nearest point of the opposite shore.
On touching land he stepped out, making a sign to his fellow-voyager to
imitate his example.
The Maroons waded out the moment after; and once more getting hold of
their guns, followed their captain and his companion--already on their
route to the upper cascade.
There was no path from the point where they had landed; and for some
time they struggled through a thicket almost impervious. There was no
danger, however, of their losing the way. The sound of the falling
water was an infallible guide; for Cubina well remembered the proximity
of the hut to the upper cascade, and it was for this point they were
making.
As they advanced, the underwood became easier to traverse; and they were
enabled to proceed more rapidly.
There was something lugubrious in the sound of the cataract. Cubina was
painfully impressed by it, and equally so his companion. It sounded
ominous in the ears of both; and it was easy to fancy sighs of distress,
wild wailings of a woman's voice, mingling with the hoarser tones of the
torrent.
They reached at length the edge of the opening that extended for some
distance beyond the branches of the cotton-tree. The hut was before
their eyes. A light was shining through the open door. It cast its
reflection across the ground shadowed by the great tree, till it met the
surface silvered by the moon. Though faint, and apparently flickering,
the light gave joy to the eyes that beheld it. It was evidence that the
hut was occupied.
Who but Chakra could be there? And if Chakra, there too must be his
victim.
Oh! was she his victim? Had the rescue arrived _too late_?
Cubina's bosom was filled with sad forebodings. Herbert's heart was on
fire. It was with difficulty that either could control his emotion to
approach with that caution that prudence required.
Making a sign to his followers to stay among the trees, the Maroon
captain, with Herbert by his side, crept up towards the cotton-tree.
Having got fairly under its shadow, they rose to their feet, and, with
the silence of disembodied spirits, glided close up to the entrance of
the hut.
In another instant the silence was broken by both. A simultaneous cry
escaped them as they arrived in front of the open door and looked in.
It was a cry that expressed the extreme of disappointment. The hovel
was empty!
Volume Three, Chapter XXXVII.