FACE TO FACE WITH A LEOPARD
Gilbert spoke to the men under him, and in a moment more the detachment
was on its way down the mountain side. All realized the peril of the
situation and knew that every minute was precious. They moved onward as
rapidly as the rough trail allowed, those ahead keeping their eyes on
the alert for the possible appearance of additional danger.
From a great distance came two shots, followed by a third. No soldiers
were to be seen in that direction, and the young officer concluded that
the shots were meant as a signal.
“Those Cossacks are going to hem us in, if they can,” he thought. “This
is a mess truly.”
With his glasses he mounted another hill, at the same time ordering his
men to move on as before. He knew he could trust Satmo to conduct the
expedition back into the valley, and he wanted to learn, if possible,
just how many of the Russian cavalry were in that vicinity.
The way the top of the hill was around a rocky cliff,—that already
mentioned. The trail here was rather dangerous, for the cliff was on
one side and a deep ravine on the other. To make his way up to the top
of the hill quicker, Gilbert dropped part of his outfit in a convenient
place.
In five minutes more the young American had secured a position where he
could see almost as well as from the mountain top behind him. But, to
his chagrin, all of the Cossacks had disappeared, nor could he find the
least trace of them.
“Perhaps they have discovered we are watching them,” he reasoned. “I
hope they fall back. It will give us a chance to do likewise.”
Having satisfied himself that nothing could be gained by remaining at
the top of the hill, the young officer picked his way back to the trail
at the point where it wound round the cliff.
Scarcely had Gilbert reached the trail when he heard a wild clatter of
hoofs coming toward him. He stopped in surprise, wondering if any of
the Russian cavalrymen were coming that way.
“Perhaps I’d better get out of sight,” he thought, but ere he could
put his plan into execution he saw the cause of the disturbance. Some
pack-horses belonging to their own train had run away, and were coming
toward him at a furious pace.
Had the trail been wider the young American could have avoided the
horses easily. But the foremost was heavily loaded with boxes, and took
up the entire trail. Behind the first came a second runaway, the latter
having a rope attached to it. A coolie had hold of the end of the rope,
and was yelling loudly in an endeavor to stop both horses.
Gilbert saw his peril and wondered what he had best do to save himself.
The runaways were bounding forward at a furious pace, and he realized
that it was out of the question to turn back and outstrip them, or
climb up the cliff before him.
There was no time to think further, for the front horse was already
but a few paces away. He gave a shout and threw up his hands, but the
runaway did not heed him. Then, as the animal was about to strike him
and knock him down, he made a wild leap into the ravine below the cliff.
It was a daring thing to do, but not so reckless as may be imagined.
The bottom and the sides of the ravine were covered with a growth of
pine, ash, and birch, and also some trailing plants, for which Korea is
famous.
[Illustration: THE RUNAWAYS WERE BOUNDING FORWARD AT A FURIOUS
PACE.—_Page 170._]
Gilbert had noted the top of a particularly dense pine tree and for
this he leaped. By good luck he struck the tree fairly, coming down
among a number of boughs which were as springy as one could wish.
He clutched at the boughs, and thus stopped his progress before
striking the rocky ground below. As he did this the runaways above shot
past him, the coolie and some others of the pack train following.
“Well, that was a narrow escape,” thought the young captain. “I wonder
what made the pack animals run away?”
Now was no time to speculate on the subject, and after getting back his
wind, he descended to the ground beneath the tree.
The young American found himself in a dense forest. The pines
predominated, but birches and ashes were not lacking, and he also noted
several limes, maples, and junipers. Under the tree it was dark and
chilly, and he could not help but shiver.
At first he thought to shout to those on the trail, but by the time he
was in a position to do this not a soul was in sight.
“I’ve got to find my way back to that trail somehow,” was his mental
observation. “And the quicker the better.”
The forest was a wild place, which the ax of the woodman had as yet
not disturbed. Consequently the underbrush was thick and he had all he
could do to make any progress.
It must be admitted that Gilbert did not like the idea of tramping
through that dense growth alone. He had read up on Korea since joining
the army, and had been astonished to learn that the mountain wilds
contained such savage beasts as tigers, leopards, bears, and wildcats,
as well as numerous species of deer and foxes, badgers and martens.
There were also numerous black eagles—he had already seen many of
these—and pheasants, hawks, herons, magpies, jays, king-fishers, kites,
and orioles.
“I don’t think I’d care to meet a tiger,” was his thought. “I’m afraid
I’d make a poor showing against such a powerful beast as that.”
As he could not reach the trail he had left so suddenly by a direct
course, he took a circuitous way, which soon brought him deeper and
deeper into the forest. Then he found himself in a jungle of trailing
vines where further advance was impossible.
“Another mistake!” he groaned, half aloud. “I reckon I’d better give up
being a soldier and go back to private life.”
There was nothing to do but to turn back, and this he did without
delay. He had scarcely passed along a distance of three rods when he
heard a sound in the brushwood on his right.
Something was moving there, but what it was he could not imagine.
Coming to a halt, he drew his pistol and gazed ahead searchingly.
“It must be some wild animal,” he said to himself, and the thought had
scarcely crossed his mind when he heard a swish and saw several limbs
of a tree shake violently.
Gilbert was not much of a hunter, but he was certain that only some
beast of good size could make such a leap and be able to shake the tree
limbs as those before him had been shaken.
If the young captain had been in a quandary on the trail when the
runaway horses were bearing down upon him, he was even in more of a
dilemma now. He did not care to advance and did not know if it would be
safe to retreat. The beast, whatever it was, might be watching him, and
might pounce upon him the instant his back was turned.
At last he began to back out, but with his eyes still fixed upon the
tree the limbs of which he had seen shake. Thus he covered several
yards, when he saw two of the boughs shake once more, and felt by
instinct that the creature, whatever it was, had leaped into another
tree still closer to him.
By this time Gilbert’s heart was beating rapidly. He felt he had an
enemy to face fully as dangerous as a Cossack sharpshooter. That the
beast was after him there could be no doubt.
He continued to back away, at the same time holding his pistol in one
hand and his sword in the other. In this fashion he presently came to
where a fallen tree lay partly concealed in the grass and brushwood.
Almost before he knew it, he tripped on the tree and went down on his
back.
As he fell there was a fierce growl among the trees before him, and of
a sudden a half-grown leopard crept softly into view, crouching low on
a limb the end of which was within a few feet of the young American’s
head.
Even though he was down on his back Gilbert saw the beast, and taking
quick aim, he fired. At the same moment the leopard made a wild leap,
intending to land upon the young captain’s breast.
Gilbert’s bullet had been intended for the savage beast’s right eye,
but instead it took the leopard in the shoulder, inflicting a severe
but by no means mortal wound. The shot made the creature turn in its
course, and it landed close to Gilbert’s feet.
In many a battle the young officer had come to close quarters, and had
thus learned how to turn himself in an emergency. Agitated though he
was, he kept his presence of mind and as quick as a flash fired at the
leopard a second time, and then a third. He also brought his sword into
play by making a lunge at the beast’s gleaming teeth. Down came the
teeth with a click on the shining blade, and the weapon was wrenched
from Gilbert’s grasp. But this brought him to his feet, and once more
he fired, with his pistol less than two feet from the leopard’s head.
The last shot was a telling one, and the leopard rolled over and over,
snapping and snarling in a furious fashion. Then it leaped up and
dragged itself off through the brushwood growling in a fashion which
told that its end could not be far off.
At first Gilbert was inclined to let the beast depart. But then he
thought the leopard might come back to renew the attack, and leaping
into the brushwood, he quickly fired another shot. This pierced the
beast’s vitals, and leaping into the air, it fell to the ground,
stretched out, and breathed its last.
It was not until the fight was over that Gilbert realized that he was
in a cold perspiration. He felt a strange weakness at the knees and
sank down on a rock, where he lost no time in reloading the revolver
which had proved such a friend.
“That’s the last time I want to come face to face with a leopard,” he
told himself as he surveyed the dead creature. “I came out here to
fight Russians, not wild animals.”
Leaving the leopard where it was, he continued to make his way as best
he could toward the cliff. But the tangle of brushwood appeared as
dense at one point as another, and finally he did not know which way to
turn.
“I’m in a pickle!” he groaned, half aloud. “And how to get out is a
mystery.”
Finding he could not get close to the cliff, he determined to pursue a
course in the opposite direction, hoping thereby to gain another trail
over the hills which would take him, sooner or later, to the main road
where he had left Major Okopa’s command.
Five minutes later he found a narrow trail, which led to the northward.
He followed up this trail for nearly half a mile, when he came within
sight of several native huts. Nobody was around the huts, and they
looked to be deserted.
“The natives must have been scared off by the war,” he thought, when
from one of the huts came a Cossack cavalryman. The Cossack moved to
another hut, and from this brought forth a horse, which he proceeded to
mount. Soon he was out of sight down the trail.
The unexpected appearance of the enemy, so close at hand, perplexed
Gilbert and he knew not what to do next. Then he decided to make an
investigation of all the huts and see if any more Cossacks were around.
“I’d like to bag some of those fellows,” he reasoned, and moved forward
through some brushwood, never dreaming of the surprise in store for
him.