A TALK ABOUT BEASTS AND SNAKES
“Darry has gone on ahead,” observed Mark, looking down the road.
“He’s off for a ride now!” cried Sam. “My, see him go!”
“He is foolish to ride so fast in this sun,” said the professor, half
angrily. “Darry, come back!”
But the call did not reach the flying youth, and he was soon out of
sight. Scarcely had he disappeared when Enrique Morano gave a start.
“We must stop him,” he ejaculated. “We must stop him before it is too
late.”
“Too late?” came from the others in alarm.
“Yes, too late. Below here are two roads and he may take the wrong one
and go to the old bridge, which is worn out and not safe.”
“Come!” The word came from the professor and without ado he urged his
horse forward at twice the speed they had formerly employed. Enrique
Morano rode beside him and the boys brought up closely in the rear.
About half the distance to the old bridge was covered when the noise of
the explosion reached their ears. Professor Strong gazed inquiringly at
his old college friend.
“What can that mean, Morano?”
“They are working on the new bridge and are blasting rocks there. I
trust the workmen warned the youth--if he took that road.”
It was not long before they came upon the first of the workmen and the
civil engineer questioned them.
“Yes, he came this way,” said Enrique Morano, to the professor. “One
man says he must have been right on the old bridge when the blast
occurred.”
“Pray heaven he is safe!” murmured Professor Strong, his face paling
slightly.
When they reached the old bridge they found the workmen running down to
the water’s edge.
“He is here!” cried the foreman, to Morano. “His horse ran away and
threw him. The blast was too much for the beast.”
“Where is the boy?” demanded the professor, and having the direction
pointed out to him, leaped to the rocks and ran forward to the edge of
the stream.
Darry lay on his back, partly in and partly out of the water. His eyes
were closed and he was motionless.
“Poor boy, he looks as if he were dead!”
“No, no, don’t say that Darry is dead!” cried Frank, who had come up by
this time. “Perhaps he’s only unconscious.”
No one replied to this, but all rushed boldly into the stream. Soon
they had raised the body up and carried it to a patch of grass under a
tree. The professor got down on his knees to make an examination.
“He is alive!” he murmured, after a painful pause. “I believe he has
only been stunned.”
As he finished speaking Darry gave a shudder and opened his eyes.
“Whoa!” he murmured. “Whoa!” and then closed his eyes and gave a shiver.
“You are safe now, my boy,” said the professor. “Take it easy. You are
safe.”
At last Darry opened his eyes again and gave a gasp.
“Wha--what does this mean?” he questioned, slowly, and then put his
hand to his side and gave a groan.
“Don’t you remember the explosion?” asked Mark. “The horse must have
thrown you.”
“Yes, yes, I remember now. Is the--the horse all right?”
“Never mind the horse,” put in Enrique Morano. “I sincerely trust you
are not seriously injured.”
“I’ve got a pain in my side, but I guess it won’t amount to much,”
answered Darry and attempted to sit up. But the effort was too much and
he sank back again.
“Rest as you are,” said the professor, kindly. “We will get a carriage
to take you back to the plantation.”
“To be sure. I will go for the carriage myself,” said Enrique Morano,
and leaping into the saddle again he dashed down the highway with the
best speed his steed could attain.
While Enrique Morano was gone Professor Strong made an examination of
Darry. As a hunter and traveler he had had considerable experience in
caring for the wounded and he soon learned that no bones were broken.
The youth was simply bruised and in a few days would be as well as
ever.
One of the workmen on the road had gone after the runaway horse and now
returned, leading the bay, which was covered with foam and dust. The
steed trembled with excitement and pranced around continuously.
It was half an hour before Enrique Morano appeared, driving the largest
carriage of which his plantation boasted. Into this Darry was lifted
carefully and Professor Strong rode beside him, to save him as much as
possible from being jounced around.
“I have sent a servant for a doctor,” said the civil engineer. “He will
probably be at the house as soon as ourselves,” and such proved to be a
fact.
By nightfall Darry found himself lying on a cool and comfortable bed.
A bruise on his head was bound up in a white bandage and there was
another bandage over his hip. As the boy was naturally strong and
healthy the physician said that medicine for him would be unnecessary.
“I’m glad he didn’t make me take a big dose of something nasty,” said
Darry to Frank. “Some doctors do that, you know, just to let you think
they are earning their fee,” and Frank had to smile at this, it was so
much like his chum’s way of looking at things.
Under the circumstances it was impossible for the party to leave the
plantation, and after some talk Professor Strong decided to accept
Enrique Morano’s invitation to remain there until the following Monday.
“That will give Hockley a chance to see the coffee plantation and learn
how coffee is raised,” said the professor. “I will go and bring him
while you boys remain with Crane.”
“It’s queer Hockley hasn’t come along on his own account,” said Mark.
“His friends must be off by this time.”
“I know of no steamer sailing to-day,” put in Enrique Morano, who stood
near. “His friends must be going on some sailing vessel.”
“Have you a list of the sailings?” asked Professor Strong, quickly.
“Yes, in the newspaper of yesterday. Here it is.”
The professor took the paper and read the list with care. As Morano had
said there was no sailing of any steamer. The sailing vessels to leave
were two in number, one bound for Cape Town, South Africa and the other
bound for Rio Janeiro, Brazil.
“I thought his friends were bound for Philadelphia,” mused Professor
Strong, and said no more. But his eyes took on a speculative look as
though he feared Hockley had not told the exact truth in the note which
had been sent.
Dinner that evening was quite an elaborate affair and lasted fully an
hour. When it was over, Enrique Morano insisted upon going into town
with the professor.
“I am certain you boys can amuse yourselves while we are gone,” he
said, to Mark and the others. “Make yourselves at home. There are books
and a piano, and in the corner are several portfolios of pictures to
look over.”
“All right, I guess we’ll put in the time pleasantly enough,” was
Mark’s answer, and soon the two men were gone and the boys found
themselves alone, excepting for the servants that remained within call
to wait on them.
The portfolios of pictures proved of great interest to all but Darry,
who soon fell into a sound sleep, from which the others did not awaken
him. In the collection of pictures were views of the great Cathedral
at Caracas, the numerous Public Buildings, the Botanical Gardens, the
wonderful railroad bridges around the mountains and over the valleys,
the harbors at La Guayra, the waterways leading to the mighty Orinoco,
and views of the great river itself, showing the canyons to be found in
certain localities and the fierce rapids. The latter views interested
them most of all.
“I’m just aching to get on that river,” said Frank. “What fun we will
have, hunting, fishing and camping out! The cities are all well enough,
but one gets tired of them after awhile.”
“We haven’t seen so very much of the cities yet,” put in Sam.
“We’ve done up Caracas, and that’s the main city. And we stopped at La
Guayra, which is as important a seacoast town as they have.”
“I’m with Frank on the river question,” said Mark. “I hope I get a shot
at some big game.”
“The professor thinks there is no large game left in Venezuela,” said
Sam. “He said there were a number of animals of the cat variety like
the puma, ounce and ocelot.”
“I’ve heard there were jaguars here--in the big forests.”
“The professor said there might be some but they were becoming very
rare. You see, the people who have immense herds of cattle on the
_llanos_, or prairies, have to protect their stock and so they have
hunted the wild beasts pretty thoroughly.”
“I know other things they have, which we may fall in with, and they are
just as bad as big game and maybe worse,” said Mark.
“What are they?” asked Frank, with increased interest.
“Alligators, rattlesnakes and boa-constrictors.”
“Ugh!” came from Sam, with a shiver. “Deliver me from a
boa-constrictor. I saw one once in a menagerie. They fed it on live
rabbits and the sight was enough to make one sick.”
“The professor says the rattlesnakes are more to be feared
than anything,” went on Mark. “He says the alligators and the
boa-constrictors generally keep their distance, but the snakes strike
you through the tall grass before you can realize what is up. I can
tell you what, we’ll have to keep our eyes open when we get down on the
hunting ground.”