Our last glimpse of poor Topsie previous to the episode related in the
chapter just terminated, was when she and her hairy companion had been
suddenly joined by two other hairy beings.
Though her first feeling had been one of horror at seeing them, her
second had been one of relief. After all, it was better to be in the
company of three beings, however strange, than in that of one; and in
spite of the miserable position in which she was situated, the girl eyed
the new arrivals with curiosity. One of them was nearly as tall as her
companion, but of slighter and more delicate build, while the other was
quite a wee creature, not anything like so big as Topsie herself. This
latter at once concluded that the three apes, baboons, or wild human
beings, whatever they were, must be husband, wife, and child, as in
reality they were.
Though the wife took good stock of Topsie, she did not appear to be
overwhelmed by any great surprise at seeing her, but the joy of the
child was excessive. A little female one, she danced round Topsie
uttering strange cries of delight, sounds in which reigned a mixture of
laughter and a peculiar cooing noise, something between the purring of a
cat and the cooing of a dove. Both she and her mother possessed
beautiful eyes, large and languishing, like those of a guanaco or
gazelle, and with the same gentle look in them as had the father’s.
For a short time, the wild young lady of the forest did not venture too
near to the strange being whom her father had brought captive to his
stronghold; but gradually taking heart, she approached nearer and nearer
to Topsie, at length venturing to touch her sleeve. Then she sprang
back, frightened, no doubt, at her own temerity, and still overcome with
awe and wonder at the figure before her. But taking courage again, she
soon approached once more, intent on a farther examination. As there was
nothing repulsive in the little creature, and as Topsie judged it to be
good policy to appear friendly, she tried to smile through her tears,
and held out her hand to the curious child. This latter appeared to
appreciate and understand Topsie’s attitude, for with a low cry she
sprang forward, seized the proffered hand, and began to kiss it gently,
purring and cooing loudly all the time. Next she stroked it, as also the
arm belonging to it, and finally ventured to touch Topsie’s face. After
this she was altogether friendly, and every fear became quickly
dispelled.
Pleased, no doubt, by the conciliatory attitude of the girl, the mother
advanced and stroked her face and hands, examined the texture of her
clothes, and appeared full of wonder at the cartridge belt; but the man
remained silent and motionless in his apparently favourite attitude,
with his arm round a tree and his large dark eyes fixed upon his
captive, whom he had evidently no intention of losing sight of.
One thing appeared certain to Topsie, and that was, that the beings
amongst whom she found herself, intended her no harm. She felt perfectly
sure that if poor Shag was alive, he would come to her rescue, and she
tried to believe that he had gone back in search of Harry and the
others. But then, again, she had not the slightest notion where she was.
She had no doubt been insensible a long time, for the sun was high in
the heavens when she dashed into the forest in her forced pursuit of the
wild horse, and now it was well along on its daily course.
If she had hoped that their journey was at an end for the day, her hope
was quickly dispelled, for the hairy captor suddenly advanced towards
her, lifted her in his arms again, and began striding through the dense
forest. As he held her in a sort of upright position she was able to
look back over his shoulder, and she then perceived that the other big
creature was following close behind, with the child in her arms,
carrying it in the same way as the hairy man carried his burden. The
going was rough, the undergrowth of the forest thick and resisting. It
was astonishing, however, to see the way in which these powerful wild
beings of the forest trampled every obstacle down with their broad, flat
feet. At length Topsie felt that they were beginning to descend to the
plain below, a glimpse of which she had lately caught sight of while
crossing one of the natural clearings, which have been already referred
to as occasionally occurring.
On reaching the plain, Topsie’s captor halted and set her on her feet.
Then he took her very gently by the hand, and led her by his side,
endeavouring to accommodate his giant strides to her shorter and more
civilised ones. Released from her mother’s arms, the little wild child
ran joyfully on ahead, laughing and clapping her hands, purring and
cooing, but never uttering a word; and it was plain to Topsie, that if
these hairy beings were human, they could not speak. That was quite
certain.
Suddenly the wee creature came to a full stop, stared across the valley
plain, and then dropping on all fours, came wriggling back to her
father. Both the latter and the mother, on seeing their child in this
position, dropped into the same attitude; and Topsie, judging it best to
copy them, went down too. Then she cast her eyes forward, to see what it
was that had thus attracted their attention. Filing out of the forest on
the opposite hillside, and feeding head to wind as they came, Topsie
made out a herd of some twenty deer; and as the setting sun cast its
light upon them, their rich red coats gleamed like burnished gold.
What followed filled her with astonishment and amazement, and more than
ever confirmed her in her suspicions as to the humane genus of her
captors.
The hairy man, who had never relaxed his grasp of her, now held out her
hand to the female, who, wriggling forward, received it from him; and
thus Topsie found herself made over to the care of the hairy woman. But
the husband seemed suddenly to change his mind in this respect, and once
more taking her hand in his, he handed over to his wife the bow and
arrows which Topsie had noticed him carrying that morning, and which he
had never relaxed his hold of throughout the march.
No sooner had this strange species of woman received the weapons of
destruction, than she began to creep forward on her hands and knees in
the direction of the feeding deer, every now and then bending her face
to the ground, as if she, too, was browsing, and looking for all the
world like some four-footed animal busy with its evening meal.
In this manner she managed to come quite close to the herd, without
frightening the members thereof; when, suddenly pausing in her
four-legged perambulations, she fitted an arrow to her bow, and rising
to her full height, sent the shaft winging with true and deadly
precision at a fine monarch of the glen that was standing a little
distance apart from the other deer.
Bounding forward about twenty paces, the noble animal reared straight on
end, and fell back with a crash. There was a slight struggle, and then
all was still. At the same time the members of the herd, wheeling round
in a semicircle, gazed first affrightedly upon their dead leader, and
the next moment fled precipitately towards the forest which they had but
lately quitted.
No sooner had the hairy woman drawn her bow than her husband jumped up
from his crouching attitude, and still holding Topsie with one hand,
caught hold of that of his child, and began hurrying across the plain to
where the dead deer lay. Already the hairy woman was by its side,
abstracting from its heart the golden-pointed arrow which had wrought
its death.
Topsie was amazed at the dexterity with which the bow had been handled
and the arrow aimed. Truly the skill of these wild denizens of the Andes
was marvellous! But she was still full of curiosity to learn how they
would skin and cut up the deer, having perceived no knife of any
description about them.
But she quickly learnt that such implements were not lacking amongst the
possessions of her captors. Diving their hands into a slit in front of
the fur kilt or short skirt which each wore, both man and woman produced
knives, the blades of which were made of pure gold, and set strongly in
thick wooden handles, black as ivory. With these they proceeded to
skilfully skin and cut up the deer, reserving only the choicest portions
for consumption, and leaving the remainder for the condors to feast
upon, numbers of which were already beginning to hover like specks far
up in the sky. But the deer’s skin was carefully preserved, rolled up,
and tied round with a thin strip of hide, cut from around the neck,
doubtless to serve as clothing on some future occasion.
At this juncture the sound of a distant bell, apparently tolling far up
the mountain side, came floating into the valley beneath, striking
Topsie dumb with astonishment. But her surprise increased when the three
hairy beings threw themselves flat on the ground, and bowed their faces
in the long grass with both hands flat, outstretched, and held just
above the back of their heads. What could they be doing, and what on
earth were the mysterious sounds which had, as it were, so suddenly
bound them by its spell, and prostrated them in this attitude of humble
obeisance and apparent adoration?
As abruptly as they had begun the bell sounds ceased, and then the hairy
beings arose from the ground, and went on as unconcernedly as before
with their work. The meat was divided into three bundles, the two
heaviest being set aside as the portions for the grown-up beings, while
a lighter consignment was awarded to the child as its fair share in the
labour.
Topsie, wishing to gain the confidence of her hairy companions, at once
stooped down and selected some of the meat from each of the bundles,
making signs to the man that she would undertake the porterage thereof
herself. A diplomatic act assuredly, for it evidently ingratiated her in
the good opinion of Madame Hairy Being, who smiled and showed her white
teeth, and cooed approvingly. Then a start was made, and for the first
time since her capture, Topsie was allowed liberty to walk alone,
without being held by the hand.
They entered the forest not far from the spot where the herd of deer had
first filed out into the valley plain, and then the ascent of the
hillside was begun. After about half-an-hour’s climb they emerged into a
natural clearing, and thereon Topsie perceived several huts made of
poles and green boughs standing. Uttering a shrill whistle, the hairy
man threw down his meat burden, an act in which he was imitated by his
wife and child, and Topsie was not slow to follow their example, for she
was not a little blown after the climb. At the same time several beings
emerged from the huts, three of which, hairy like her captors, came
running to meet them grinning and laughing, and clapping their hands.
But it was not upon these creatures that Topsie’s eyes were fixed, nor
were they the cause of their dilated surprise. She was staring at two
other figures, tall copper-coloured ones, not hairy like the others, but
perfectly human in appearance, who had come out of the huts, and were
standing side by side watching the arrival of Topsie and her companions.
For a few seconds the girl stood as one turned to stone. Then she
recovered from her surprise. With a low cry she sprung forward, and in
another moment her hands were grasping those of Piñone and Cuastral, the
former the husband of Aniwee, whom the Warrior Queen accounted dead, and
the latter his father, the great Cuastral, Lord of the Araucanians, both
of whom Inacayal had sworn to seeing lifeless in the hands of the
Cristianos. Topsie could not be mistaken. Her intimate acquaintance with
both, a circumstance with which readers of “The Young Castaways” will be
acquainted, ensured a certain recognition.
“Piñone,” she cried, “how came you here? Aniwee thinks you and Cuastral
dead. Did not Inacayal, Quintuhual’s son, swear it?”
“Aniwee, is she well?” burst from the Cacique’s lips; but even as he
spoke Topsie’s captor was by her side, and seizing her hand drew her
hastily away from the two Araucanian chiefs. The girl knew it was
useless to resist, and with great presence of mind appeared to obey
willingly, stroking the hairy being’s hand with her free one, and
testifying by every means in her power her friendliness and good will.
And so well did she act her part that she managed to allay his
suspicions, so that after a few minutes he released her, and allowed her
to wander about, keeping, however, a good watch upon her movements.
Gradually, and by degrees, Topsie worked her way back to the two
Araucanians. These, divining the object of her manœuvres, had thrown
themselves on the ground, and were apparently paying no attention to her
whatever. But the girl knew better; and when at length she sat herself
down beside them she inquired quickly: “Who are these people, Piñone?
Are they men or beasts?”
“They are men,” answered the Cacique. “They are the Trauco people.”
[Illustration]
[Illustration]