Our adventurers witnessed the uprising of the birds with looks that
betokened disappointment and displeasure; and Fritz was in danger of
getting severely castigated. He merited chastisement; and would have
received it on the instant--for Caspar already stood over him with an
upraised rod--when an exclamation from Karl caused the young hunter to
hold his hand, and saved Fritz from the "hiding" with which he was being
threatened.
It was not for this that Karl had called out. The exclamation that
escaped him was of a different import--so peculiarly intoned as at once
to draw Caspar's attention from the culprit, and fix it on his brother.
Karl was standing with eyes upraised and gazing fixedly upon the
retreating stork--that one with whose tail Fritz had taken such an
unwarrantable liberty.
It was not the ragged Marabout feathers, hanging half plucked from the
posterior of the stork, upon which Karl was gazing; but its long legs,
that, as the bird rose in its hurried flight, hung, slantingly downward,
extending far beyond the tip of its tail. Not exactly these either was
it that had called forth that strange cry; but something attached to
them--or one of them at least--which, as it came under the shining rays
of the sun, gleamed in the eyes of Karl with a metallic lustre.
It had a yellowish sheen--like gold or burnished brass--but the
scintillation of the sun's rays, as they glanced from its surface,
hindered the spectators from making out its shape, or being able to say
exactly what it was.
It was only Caspar and Ossaroo who were thus perplexed. Karl knew that
glittering meteor, that for a moment had flashed before his eyes like a
beam of hope--now slowly but surely departing from him, and plunging him
back into the old misery.
"Oh! brother!" he exclaimed, as the stork flew upward, "what a
misfortune has happened!"
"Misfortune! what mean you, Karl?"
"Ah! you know not how near we were to a chance of being delivered.
Alas! alas! it is going to escape us!"
"The birds have escaped us, you mean?" inquired Caspar. "What of that?
I don't believe they could have carried up the rope anyhow; and what
good would it be to catch them? They're not eatable; and we don't want
their feathers valuable as they may be."
"No, no!" hurriedly rejoined Karl; "it is not that--not that."
"What then, brother?" inquired Caspar, somewhat astonished at the
incoherent speeches of the plant-hunter. "What are you thinking of?"
"Look yonder!" said Karl, now for the first time pointing up to the
soaring storks. "You see something that shines?"
"Ha! on the leg of one of the birds? Yes; I do see something--like a
piece of yellow metal--what can it be?"
"I know what it is!" rejoined Karl, in a regretful tone; "right well do
I know. Ah! if we could only have caught that bird, there would have
been a hope for us. It's no use grieving after it now. It's gone--
alas! it's gone; and you, Fritz, have this day done a thing that will
cause us all regret--perhaps for the rest of our lives."
"I don't comprehend you, brother!" said Caspar; "but if it's the escape
of the storks that's to be so much regretted, perhaps it will never take
place. They don't appear to be in such a hurry to leave us--
notwithstanding the inhospitable reception Fritz has given them. See!
they are circling about, as if they intended to come down again. And
see also Ossaroo--he's holding out a lure for them. I warrant the old
shikaree will succeed in coaxing them back. He knows their habits
perfectly."
"Merciful Father!" exclaimed Karl, as he looked first at the flying
storks and then at Ossaroo; "be it permitted that he succeed! You,
Caspar, lay hold upon Fritz, and give Ossaroo every chance! For your
life don't let the dog get away from you; for your life--for the lives
of all of us!"
Caspar, though still under surprise at the excited bearing of his
brother, did not allow that to hinder him from obeying his command, and
rushing upon Fritz, he caught hold of the dog. Then placing the hound
between his legs, he held him with both hands and knees as tightly as if
Fritz had been screwed in a vice.
The eyes of all--the dog included--were now turned upon Ossaroo. Caspar
contemplated his movements with an undefined interest; while Karl
watched them with feelings of the keenest anxiety.
The cunning shikaree had not come to the spot unprepared. Having
anticipated some difficulty in getting hold of the storks, he had
providentially provided a lure, which, in the event of their proving
shy, might attract them within reach of his _ringall_. This lure was a
large fish--which he had taken out of the larder before leaving the hut,
and which he was now holding out--as conspicuously as possible, to
attract their attention. He had gone some distance apart from the
others, and especially from Fritz, whom he had scolded away from his
side; and, having stationed himself on a slight eminence near the edge
of the lake, he was using all his wiles to coax back the birds that had
been so unwittingly compelled to take wing.
It was evident to Ossaroo--as well as to the others--that the flight of
the storks had been against their will; and that they had reluctantly
ascended into the air. They were no doubt wearied, and wanted rest.
Whether this desire would have brought them to the earth again, Ossaroo
did not stay to determine. As soon as by their actions he became
convinced that they saw the fish held out in his hand, he flung the
tempting morsel to some distance from him, and then stood awaiting the
result.
It proved a success--and almost instantaneously.
There was nothing in the appearance or attitude of Ossaroo to excite the
suspicion of the adjutants. His dark skin and Hindoo costume were both
well-known to them; and though now observed in an odd, out-of-the-way
corner of the world, that was no reason for regarding him as an enemy.
Fritz was alone the object of their fear, but Fritz was a good way off,
and there appeared no longer any reason for dreading him.
Reasoning thus--and perhaps with empty stomachs to guide them to a
conclusion--the sight of the fish--lying unguarded upon the grass--put
an end to their fears; and, without further hesitation, both dropped
down beside it.
Both at the same instant clutched at the coveted prize--each
endeavouring to be the first in securing it.
As one of the birds had got hold of the fish by the head and the other
by its tail, a struggle now arose as to which should be the first to
swallow its body. Each soon passed a portion of it down its capacious
throat, until its mandibles met in the middle, and cracked against each
other.
As neither would yield to the other, so neither would consent to
disgorge, and let go; and for some seconds this curious contention was
kept up.
How long it might have continued was not left to the determination of
the parties themselves; but to Ossaroo, who, while they were thus
occupied, rushed upon the spot; and, flinging wide his arms, enfolded
both the birds in an embrace, from which they vainly struggled to get
free.
With the assistance of Karl and Caspar--who had in the meantime tied
Fritz to a tree--the huge creatures were soon overpowered, and pinioned
beyond the possibility of escaping.