We must return to the hunters in the plain, where we left them looking
round in every direction in search of the vanished Topsie. Most of them
had been so intent on their own business, that the episode in which
Topsie figured had not been noticed by them. Calificura, however, had
observed it, and had, moreover, seen the wild horse and his pursuer pass
through the gorge which he and his companion had but lately quitted.
“Poor Topsie! I am afraid she has set herself to a task almost beyond
_her_ even,” exclaimed Sir Francis, when the situation was explained to
him. “I think, Harry, my lad, I and you and Freddy will proceed to her
assistance, and Mary and Willie can remain with our friends here. But
first ask the Queen.”
No sooner did Aniwee learn how it was situated with her dear friend
Topsie, than she at once singled out three of her most expert
horse-catchers, and bade them follow her, instructing the remainder to
watch the captured horses, seven in all, and return with them to camp as
soon as the troupiglia of tame horses arrived; and then, without further
delay, she started off to the assistance of her friend.
“Mary, Willie,” commanded Sir Francis, “you will return with the Indians
to the camp, and in case we are late, explain to your mother the cause
of the delay. I expect the stallion will give a good deal of trouble.”
And before the two children could reply he had followed in the wake of
Aniwee, accompanied by his son Freddy and his nephew Harry. When these
three reached the gorge through which Aniwee and her hunters had already
ridden, they found all but one seated motionless on their horses,
scanning the horizon on all sides. Not a sign of either Topsie, Shag, or
the stallion could be seen in any direction, and the situation was
mysterious in the extreme.
“What can have happened to her?” broke from Harry in a trembling,
anxious voice. “Oh, Uncle Francis! what can have happened?”
But of course Sir Francis could say nothing, for he knew as little as
any of the rest. Suddenly, however, Lenketrou, whom Aniwee had
despatched to the top of a hill on the right to make observations, came
galloping back with the information that far away on the verge of the
distant forest he had distinguished a troop of wild horses, which had
suddenly disappeared, and a few seconds afterwards, following in their
tracks, he had made out the figures of two other horses and a small
black object moving by their side. These latter he had little doubt were
Topsie mounted on her own horse, the wild horse, and Shag.
Harry felt inclined to shout for joy, but checked himself on observing
Aniwee’s grave face.
“It is the haunted forest,” he heard her exclaim, “the home of the
Trauco people. Evil is the Gualichu which has lured her there.”
“But, Aniwee,” burst out the boy excitedly, “what do you mean? Surely
there is nothing to be afraid of in a big wood?”
“The forest stretches beyond the ken of man,” answered the Queen. “Both
my people and the Araucanians believe that in its untrodden depths lies
the hidden city of a powerful people, the Ciudad Encantada,[1] and that
amidst those woods dwells a strong hairy race, whom to meet is death.”
Footnote 1:
The Enchanted City.
“But surely, Aniwee, you don’t believe this rubbish? Don’t you remember
all you learnt in the Andes once before as to La Ciudad Encantada?”
answered Harry impatiently. “And as to the hairy men—why, they are
nothing but big monkeys, that’s all.”
“Aniwee is not a coward,” answered the Queen gravely, “but all her arts
will not make the Araucanians enter yon belt of trees. However, let us
ride forward, and see if we can render assistance to the white Cacique.
She may have given up the struggle on reaching the forest.”
They galloped forward in silence, Lenketrou leading in the direction
whence he had caught sight of the wild horses and the three galloping
figures. No one seemed to care to speak, and a foreboding of evil
oppressed both Sir Francis and Harry. It was midday, the sun was
streaming down upon them in hot fury, and all were more or less
oppressed and tortured by thirst. Even the wiry horses suffered acutely.
Thus they rode for nearly an hour, and at length approached the confines
of the forest. As they did so, the Indians drew rein and brought their
horses together.
“It is as I said,” remarked Aniwee sadly. “The Araucanians will not
enter there, and it is plain that the white Cacique has passed that way.
See yonder,” she continued, pointing to something which was lying on the
ground; “what is that?”
With a low cry Harry spurred his horse forward, followed by Sir Francis
and Freddy, and more slowly by Aniwee, the other Indians remaining where
they had first drawn rein.
Lying on the ground was a saddle, from which the girths had been torn
away, doubtless by a tremendous shock, and around the bent hilt of the
saddle-bow was coiled a lasso, which had been snapped in two between the
loop or noose and the casting end. Not far away lay Topsie’s rifle and
her revolver, with one chamber discharged. That was all. In vain the
boys searched all round. In vain they and Sir Francis rent the air with
loud cries, in the hope of receiving an answer from the missing girl.
Only the echoes of their own voices returned to them, mocking, as it
were, their futile efforts.
What was to be done? To attempt to search the vast forest would be
madness. Its impenetrable mazes forbade so hopeless a venture. Ah, God!
what was to be done?
Large tears stood in the Queen’s eyes. She would have braved any
superstitious terrors to render assistance to her white friend, but,
like Sir Francis, Harry, and Freddy, she felt how forlorn was the hope
of being able to track Topsie in that dense, dark jungle before her.
Suddenly a rustling and panting sound struck upon their ears. It came
nearer and nearer. It brought hope to the sinking hearts of Sir Francis
and the two boys, who strained their eyes to catch a sight of the animal
from which the sounds proceeded. They were successful at last, as out of
the forest came bounding the huge, rough form of the noble Shag, who,
with great red tongue hanging out and covered with foam, was galloping
nose to the ground, on the heel of his own tracks.
“Shag, Shag!” shouted Harry; and at the sound of the boy’s voice the
Labrador raised his head and cocked his ears. On perceiving Harry and
the others, he bounded forward to meet them with a low yelp of delight.
As he did so, and as he came full at them, they perceived that two
arrows were sticking in his side.
“Good God!” burst from Sir Francis’s lips. “Oh! where is my poor
Topsie?”
At once Shag began to behave in a very strange manner. First of all he
whined piteously, then he put his nose to the ground, and galloping
forward towards the forest came to a sudden halt, looked back at the
others, and gave two or three sharp, distressed barks, and then a long,
melancholy howl.
“Oh, Uncle Francis! he knows where Topsie is; depend upon it he does,”
cried Harry excitedly. “I know the dear old dog well. I know he would
never leave her unless she sent him, or unless something has happened
which he can’t remedy, and so has come to look for us. You can trust
him, indeed you can. Let us follow him and find my darling sister.”
“Harry, you must be calm, my boy, and remember in all difficulties never
to lose your head,” answered his uncle gravely. “To begin with, those
arrows must be cut out of Shag’s side and the wounds dressed, or he may
die, and our last hope of tracking Topsie will be gone. I plainly see
that she is a captive in some unknown tribe’s hands, and if we are to
rescue her we must proceed with great caution and care. It is a most
terrible position, but let us keep our heads clear, and put our trust in
God.”
All this time Shag was howling, and barking, and wagging his tail, and
doing all he could to attract the others forward.
“Come here, Shag,” called out Sir Francis, and the noble beast at once
obeyed. “Lie down, Shag,” again commanded the baronet; and as the dog
stretched himself out on his left side Sir Francis bent over him to
examine where the arrows had penetrated.
One proved to be a mere flesh wound, the arrow having entered the flank,
and it was easily extracted, for Sir Francis had practised in surgery,
and understood the art well.
But the other arrow had gone deeply in towards the last rib, and it took
quite a quarter of an hour of careful manipulation before it could be
removed. Fortunately the points were smooth and not barbed, which made
the operation less dangerous and difficult than it would have been had
they been turned up.
Poor Shag lay very patient and still under the surgeon’s knife, but his
eyes turned restlessly in the direction of the forest, and his honest
heart was evidently far away with his lost mistress, and beating for her
alone. If he could only have spoken he might have told them a strange
and startling tale. As it was, he could only plead with his honest brown
eyes, and hold a conversation with them, as far as he was able.
From a small case which he always kept slung across his shoulders, Sir
Francis took out some lint, a linen bandage, and two or three safety
pins. Then he opened a little bottle, and poured some of its contents on
the lint, which he applied to the most serious of the two wounds, and
bound it up with the bandage firmly and securely. Having thus done all
he could for the dog he turned to consult the Queen.
He found her attentively examining the two arrows which had been drawn
from Shag’s side. They were deftly fashioned and deeply tipped with
solid gold.
“They are undoubtedly the arrows of the Trauco,” she observed in a
troubled voice. “It is the Trauco who fired those, and who has made
captive my white friend.”
“But who and what are the Traucos, Aniwee?” inquired Sir Francis
eagerly. “Are they a tribe that you have seen and which you know?”
Aniwee smiled. “Seen them? Oh no!” she answered quickly; “but they live
in the traditions of both the Patagonians and Araucanians. A Trauco is a
man covered all over with hair, a man of giant strength, and haunted
with the medicine which makes him invisible.”
“Well, Aniwee, Trauco or no Trauco, I am determined to try and track the
white Cacique now that her dog has returned. Will you help me?”
The young Queen regarded him sadly.
“What can I do?” she asked, somewhat bitterly. “Absolute as my power is,
not an Araucanian would obey me if I ordered one or any of them to enter
yon forest, but Aniwee is not afraid. If the Caciques decide on going,
she will go with them. However, they must eat and rest first, and
prepare for action, for the forest is full of unknown and terrible
dangers.”
“Will you then, Aniwee, send back for food, and my son shall accompany
the Indians to bear the news to the other white Caciques?” exclaimed Sir
Francis eagerly.
“I will go myself,” she replied quietly, “and bring back all that I
think you will require. When the head works, the body acts quicker.”
With these words Aniwee put spurs to her horse, and followed by her
Indians, set forward across the plain on her return journey.
“Freddy, my lad,” said Sir Francis, laying his hand upon his son’s
shoulder, “do you return with the Queen, and ask the mother to mount and
join me, but tell her to strictly enjoin on Willie and Mary to remain
where they are. Tell the two youngsters that I trust to them to
superintend everything in our absence, and that I shall move heaven and
earth to bring back their cousin to them. Of course you will return with
the mother, and meanwhile I and Harry will keep watch here.”
“All right, dear father,” answered Freddy, as he promptly mounted his
horse. The next moment he was galloping hard after the retreating
figures of Aniwee and her Indians.
Left to themselves, uncle and nephew looked at each other. Poor Harry
was in a terrible way. The waiting and suspense were hard upon him, and
he would have liked to have set off there and then in the tracks of his
sister. However, he could not help seeing that his uncle’s plan was the
most prudent and the most likely to succeed in the end.
As for Shag, he was extremely upset at first; but it gradually dawned on
the wise beast that important preparations were in progress for the
rescue of his mistress, and no doubt he had every confidence in his
powers of tracking her. Searching about the outskirts of the forest, a
little stream was found, which proved a great boon to all three, thirst
having attacked them in a most acute form.
Time passed on slowly. It seemed as though the others would never
arrive; but all things come at last if we only wait for them. It was
well on in the afternoon, when a cavalcade of horses could be seen
threading the distant gorge, which gave outlet from one plain into the
other. About an hour later Freddy, Lady Vane, and Aniwee came galloping
up.
“Oh, Francis!” was Lady Vane’s first words, “this is terrible. Poor,
poor Topsie!”
“It is God’s will, Ruby,” answered her husband; “trust in Him. I have
prayed for our poor darling, and I feel sure my prayer will be
answered.”
In a short time the Indians rode up, bringing provisions of meat,
apples, and araucarias. It was arranged to snatch a brief rest, and
start on the search with the break of dawn, which would come early. In
spite of the protestations of her tribe, Aniwee had decided on
accompanying the relief party, and had left La Guardia Chica in
Graviel’s care, with Inacayal to rule in her absence. She would have
been less easy could she have seen the villainous smile with which the
Cacique bade her farewell, but Graviel witnessed it.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]