MARIAN'S FEARFUL DANGER--TIM'S WONDERFUL RIDE ON AN ALLIGATOR'S BACK--
MARIAN AND I RESCUED--DEATH OF THE ALLIGATOR.
Our manufactures of various sorts went on with unabated vigour. We had
already gained considerable skill in mat-making, and had tried various
substances,--some produced from different species of palms, and others
from grass and sedges growing on the banks of the neighbouring stream or
lake. We had also made a quantity of string, or what sailors call
sennit, which, twisted together, would serve as cordage for the vessel.
One of our great wants had been hammocks in which to sleep, they being
far cooler and more healthy than standing bed-places. There was an
objection, also, to sleeping on the ground: for we were liable to be
stung by insects; and indeed venomous snakes might enter and remain
undiscovered, coiled in the heaps of grass and dry leaves which formed
our mattresses.
After we had made a quantity of sennit, Peter cut out some netting
needles and pins, and set to work to net a hammock for himself. Others
followed his example, and soon each of us had a hammock slung in the
hut; which being stowed away in the daytime, gave us far more room than
we had before enjoyed. Arthur and I made a sort of cot for Marian, in
which she was able to sleep with more comfort than in the confined bunk
the kind captain had at first made for her.
Uncle Paul had not forgotten his intention of trying to supply us with
garments; but as we had so many things to attend to, he had not as yet
begun to make them. We had all, however, been supplied with straw-hats;
which, working as we were in the sun, were absolute necessities. The
Indians had also to make frequent excursions in search of game and fruit
to supply the community with food, so that we were never without an
abundance of what we considered the necessaries of life. Kallolo had
also manufactured some palm-wine and several refreshing beverages from
fruit, chiefly of palms. Occasionally, too, Uncle Paul with a companion
launched out into the lake on the smaller raft with hooks and lines, and
invariably returned with a good supply of fish.
One day when he and Arthur had gone out for that purpose, Marian asked
me to accompany her in search of a peculiarly elastic grass called the
"capim grass," and two or three other sorts which grew on the banks of
the stream. Tim and Sambo followed, to assist us in bringing back what
we might collect; and Kallolo and Maco, wishing to shoot some birds,
came with their blowpipes and bows and arrows.
We had got nearly to the mouth of the stream, where there was some open
ground, the trees not growing so closely down to the edge of the water
as in other places. Tim and Sambo were together. I had gone a little
way on, when Marian saw some of the grass of which she was in search.
The Indians, who had just shot a toucan, were a little way behind me,
waiting for the bird to drop. The waters having by this time
considerably subsided, the stream was running much more rapidly than at
first. I stopped to watch a log which was floating down, and I thought
how convenient it would be to get hold of it and tow it on shore, as it
would save us several hours' labour should it be fit for our
shipbuilding purposes. Just then I caught sight of Uncle Paul and
Arthur on the raft, they having come to the mouth of the stream; but of
course they could not ascend it. I shouted to them, and pointed out the
log.
At that moment I heard a piercing cry, and to my dismay I saw that
Marian had fallen into the stream from a projecting point on which she
had been standing, and that she was being rapidly hurried down by the
current. What also was my unspeakable horror, when, almost at the same
moment I caught sight of a huge alligator, which, with open jaws, rose
to the surface, and was making directly for her! I shrieked out to
Kallolo, who had at the same instant caught sight of the creature.
Quick as lightning he fixed an arrow to his bow, which he sent with
unerring aim into the monster's eye. It had the effect he hoped for,--
it made the alligator turn aside; and apparently blinded, and unable to
see where it was going, it darted up close to the bank. Tim and Sambo,
seeing it coming, had sprung on to a tree which overhung the stream.
Then Tim, instigated by an impulse for which he himself probably could
not have accounted, leaped directly down on the creature's back, and
digging the fingers of his left hand into its remaining eye, began so
furiously to belabour it with a thick club he held in his right hand,
that the astonished saurian dashed off through the water, madly lashing
it into masses of foam with its huge tail. Under other circumstances I
should have trembled for the gallant Tim's safety, but for the moment I
could think of nothing but the fearful danger to which my dear young
sister was exposed. I am very sure that it was the idea that he might
help to save Marian which prompted him to the performance of the
unexampled act of heroism. It may, however, be considered an Irish way
of proceeding, as he would certainly have rendered her more service by
swimming out and supporting her. As soon as I had recovered from my
terror, which for the moment almost deprived me of reason, I leaped into
the current and swam towards her.
Though at first almost paralysed with fear, she had recovered her
presence of mind, and had begun to strike out, so as to support herself
above water. I swam with all my might to overtake her, dreading every
moment lest another alligator should appear and seize one or both of us.
The shouts and cries of the men, however, and the furious disturbance
of the water caused by the monster Tim bestrode, effectually prevented
any other from venturing out of its hiding-place, and therefore I
believe Tim rendered us effectual aid.
Now up the stream, now across from one side to the other, the alligator
and his rider dashed at a tremendous speed. The creature would have
dived had not Tim, exerting all his strength, held back its head, thus
keeping its jaws open, and preventing it from plunging. All this time
Tim had been shouting to Sambo to come and join him on the creature's
back, and to the Indians to shoot at it again; but Sambo, though a brave
fellow, not having been accustomed to steeplechasing in his youth, had
no fancy for such a ride; and the Indians well knew that their arrows
would glance harmlessly off the scaly back of the saurian, or that they
were more likely rather to wound brave Tim himself. Still Tim held on
in a way a practised fox-hunter could alone have done, hitting now on
the monster's jaws, now behind him, and now on its side. It was a
question who would first get tired, the Irishman or the alligator.
Meantime I had got close to Marian, and knowing the importance of
keeping up as much noise as possible, I shouted and shrieked, telling
her to do the same, while Uncle Paul and Arthur were making the most
strenuous efforts with their paddles to reach us. It was important,
indeed, that they should do so, for Marian's strength, overcome by her
terror, was rapidly failing her. I did my utmost to keep her head above
water; for I am very sure had she been alone she must have sunk. The
Indians, seeing Uncle Paul and Arthur coming to our assistance, and
knowing that I was a good swimmer, hastened up the bank with Sambo to
aid Tim: for they saw that should the alligator hold out much longer, he
would be compelled to let go its head; in which case it would have
immediately dived to the bottom, and very probably have given him a
fatal blow with its tail, or dragged him down along with it.
As I looked at Marian's countenance, I saw that it was becoming very
pale. Her terror and the efforts she had made had completely overcome
her. She fainted away. Still I kept her up, striking the water with my
feet; for I could do no more. The current bore us rapidly down, and as
I looked at the raft I feared that we should be swept past it. I knew
that there was no use calling out to my friends, for they were already
doing their very utmost. Those were indeed awful moments. The shouts
and shrieks of Tim and the Indians sounding in my ears, I knew that they
could not be far off. I could even hear the noise made by the alligator
as it furiously lashed the water with its tail; and I expected every
moment that it would rush down toward us, and perhaps strike us in its
mad course, or dash against the raft and upset it. I dared not look
around, but kept my eye on the raft, and with my right hand, (for the
left arm sustained Marian), I endeavoured to direct my course towards
it. My great dread was that the shock she had received would prove too
much for her, and that she would succumb to it. Every moment she
pressed more heavily on my arm. My own strength, too, I felt, was
failing me. Still I was encouraged by seeing Uncle Paul and Arthur
coming nearer and nearer; but even close though they were, there was
still a possibility that Marian would slip from my grasp. My anxiety
became almost greater than I could bear: a dimness came over my eyes--I
was sinking. Then I felt that Marian was no longer on my arm. The next
moment my hand was on the side of the raft, and I was safe in Uncle
Paul's strong grasp. He was kneeling with Marian in his arms. I
pressed my lips to hers to recall her to life. She opened her eyes,--my
heart bounded with joy. She was still deadly pale, but she gently
smiled, saying faintly, "I shall soon be well, Guy."
"Yes, yes; our little maiden is safe, and will quickly be all right!"
exclaimed Uncle Paul, though the tremor in his voice showed that he had
not even yet recovered from the fearful agitation he had experienced at
seeing our danger.
From the time we had got on board the raft, Arthur had been paddling
with might and main to regain the shore, where it now floated calmly out
of the strength of the current. Having somewhat recovered, I was able
to watch Tim and his strange steed. Whenever the alligator showed an
inclination to go either up the stream or down to the lake, Tim turned
it with a fierce blow of his shillelagh; and thus kept it moving
backwards and forwards between the two banks.
The Indians and Sambo had now got directly opposite the spot it
generally reached in its rapid circuit, Kallolo carefully watching the
movements of the monster while his companions were hastily cutting some
long and tough trailing vines hanging from a neighbouring tree.
"Bear a hand! bear a hand, or sure I will be after riding to `Davy
Jones's locker' sooner than will be altogether pleasant!" shouted Tim,
gasping for breath.
"Keep up its head! keep up its head!" cried the Indians in return,--a
piece of advice Tim fully intended to follow as long as he had the
power.
At length the alligator came directly towards Kallolo, who at that
moment drawing his bow sent a poisoned arrow directly down its throat.
The alligator, feeling the pain, turned round, and again dashed across
the stream; but once more Tim managed to turn it with his well-dealt
blows, and again it dashed back to the bank, close to where Kallolo
stood. Throwing down his bow and quiver, the Indian, apparently
doubting whether the poison would produce its usual effects on the
monster, sprang forward into the water and drove his knife directly into
its breast. As he did so it gave another fierce lash with its tail, but
it was the last. The Indian drew out his knife, ready to repeat the
blow, but there was no necessity for him to strike; the alligator rolled
over from side to side, its head dropping in spite of Tim's efforts to
keep it up.
"Jump off, or it will carry you to the bottom!" cried Kallolo; who then,
turning round, shouted to his companions to bring the rope. They came
hurrying to the spot with a ready-made noose, which they dexterously
slipped over the monster's head, Tim at the same moment, springing on
its back, leaped from thence to the shore.
"I have mounted many a skittish horse when I was a spalpeen of a lad,
but never in all my born days have I ridden so ill-mannered a baste; and
sure I hope as long as I live that I may not have to break in such
another as this one," exclaimed the Irishman.
The Indians, while Tim was speaking, were getting ready their ropes,
which they managed to slip round the monster's forelegs; then, all hands
hauling away, they dragged it by slow degrees up the bank. As its
struggles were not over, the task was not so easy as it would have been
had it been unable to offer any resistance. Its jaws continued to open,
showing its captors that it would be wise to keep at a respectable
distance. Kallolo, however, who did not fear to face it in the water,
did not hesitate to rush in and give it several additional stabs.
Tim's mind had been so entirely occupied with the strange situation in
which he found himself, that he had almost forgotten the cause which
first prompted him to leap on the monster's back. As soon, however, as
he was again on his feet, he recollected all about the matter, and
seeing Marian and me on the raft, with wild shouts he came rushing
towards us, exhibiting, by the most vehement gestures and extraordinary
antics, his delight at our safety.
"Sure and she's safe, the darling Miss Marian!" he cried out as he
sprang on board the raft; "and the brute of an alligator has not eaten
her, as I was fearing he would have been after doing. It's a mighty
fine counthry this, but it would be all the better if it was as free of
them creatures as Ould Ireland is of snakes and sarpents,--blessings on
the head of Saint Patrick who drove them all out."
After he had calmed down a little, Uncle Paul directed him to take one
of the paddles and to assist in navigating the raft home, while he
himself attended to Marian. He was anxious to get her safely on shore,
and placed in her cot, where she might enjoy that rest she so much
required. He and I sat by her side chafing her feet and hands. We
wished that we had had some of the skipper's schiedam to give to her;
but Uncle Paul had brought none with him, and we could think of no other
remedies than those we were already applying. The sun striking down on
us with its usual force, she did not feel any bad effects from being
wet. The colour gradually returned to her cheeks, and we trusted that
she would not suffer materially from the accident. Arthur and Tim
exerted themselves to the utmost to urge on the raft. We had no
difficulty in getting out of the river, as the current carried us
rapidly down to its mouth. We then made good progress along the shore.
Uncle Paul felt even more anxious about Marian than I did. I had never
seen him so affected. As she lay in his arms, he bent over her,
uttering endearing expressions. "Cheer up, my little maiden," he said;
"we shall soon be at home, and you will be all put right. We must not
let you run such a risk again. These wilds are not suited for young
girls to wander through alone, and you must remain in the encampment
till we get our new craft ready for sea."
"I am not much frightened, and shall soon be quite myself again, I
assure you," said Marian faintly. "Still I cannot help thinking about
that dreadful alligator. It won't come after us, will it?"
"The young mistress need not be afraid of that, unless the baste has
more lives than a Kilkenny cat," observed Tim, who had overheard her.
"It's my belief that I'd have ridden the brute to death, even if Kallolo
hadn't sent an arrow down its throat and stuck his long knife half a
dozen times in it. The alligator is hauled up high and dry on shore,
and the creature's ugly head is off its body by this time; so you may be
pretty sure that it'll not be after troubling you again."
Tim's account had at all events the effect of banishing from Marian's
mind the idea that the alligator would follow us; and Uncle Paul and I
did our best to keep up her spirits too, and prevent her thoughts from
recurring to the fearful danger she had gone through.
The time occupied in reaching our camp seemed very long; but Marian was
conveyed much more easily on the raft than she would have been through
the tangled forest. Our father saw us coming, and hurrying down to the
beach, assisted us in carrying up Marian to her hut. When he heard what
had occurred, he was greatly agitated, and blamed himself for having
allowed her to go on such an expedition. He agreed with Uncle Paul that
she must not in future be permitted to leave the village without an
escort, which must never for a moment quit her side.
The captain, who had been working at the vessel, hearing of the
accident, came hurrying to the hut with a bottle of schiedam under his
arm. "My little maid! what should we have done had she been seized by
the alligator? We should have lost all heart for work, and left our
bones to whiten on the beach!" he exclaimed in an agitated voice, which
showed how much he felt. "She must take some of this: it's the great
remedy for all diseases; and I have kept it on purpose, resisting the
temptation, when I felt inclined to take a drop to comfort my heart as I
thought of my home, and my dear frau, and the months and months that
must pass before I can see her again."
Uncle Paul gave Marian a small glassful of the schiedam, which
undoubtedly had the good effect of sending her off into a sound sleep.
In a short time the Indians arrived with the head of the alligator,
which they and Sambo proposed to preserve, in order, the latter said, to
make a figurehead for the new vessel!
"We will think about it," answered Uncle Paul. "I doubt whether it
would bring pleasant recollections to the mind of our little maiden. At
any rate, we will carry it with us on board, and perhaps in after years
she may be less unwilling to look at it than at present, when she may
exhibit it to another generation as she describes our adventures in the
wilds of the Orinoco."