Rescue by Moonlight
"Golly! Him must be mad! Yo see him? Yo see de master come out ob de
hollow den? By de poker, but him scared right clean off him head. Sam, I
tells yo him mad. Him blind; him eberyting yo like to think ob."
The huge negro Tom gripped at the ground on which he lay with his strong
fingers, and writhed beneath the covering of undergrowth. His staring
eyes passed from the crawling figure of Jim to that of the Chinaman, and
then slid away to regard the horses on the far side of the clearing.
Back they came to Sam's face, as he lay beside him, and there they
rested eagerly, as if seeking some consolation. But the little negro was
just as scared as Tom. He, too, had watched the figure of Jaime de
Oteros rise from its blanket, he had kept his eyes on the robber chief
as he stretched and yawned beneath the moon, and more than once Sam's
hand had slid down to his revolver. Then he had stared at the man as he
strolled away towards the horses.
"Now," he told himself, "am the time for Massa Jim." And then a second
later: "No. Not do now. Dat scum turn and see um; then not hab time to
creep away. Hab to rush, and dat spoil eberyting. Yo stop still and
shut yo ugly mouth," he exclaimed, turning angrily upon his comrade. For
the over eager and less crafty Tom was grunting and groaning as if he
were in pain, and Sam was fearful that the sounds might betray them. "Yo
lie still dere and wait till yo's told to speak," he commanded. "Little
bit more, and yo wake ebery one of de rascal; den see Massa Jim cut to
pieces. Fine dat, eh? yo great big silly."
Tom nearly exploded with anxiety for his young master and indignation at
Sam's words. He stifled his groans with difficulty, and, so as to hold
himself in as it were, and keep control over his feelings, he dug his
fingers deep into the ground, and tugged heavily. Meanwhile Jim had not
been idle. With an eye always on the horses, and the figure strolling
round them, he stepped briskly across from the gully, his back bent
double, his figure close to the ground. It seemed an age before he
reached the blanketed figure which he believed to be Sadie, though as a
matter of fact only a few seconds had passed. He was in the act of
stretching out his hand to touch her when Ching suddenly arrested the
movement.
"No, no, no," he whispered urgently. "Not missie; look at de boot."
Jim did so, and the sight staggered him. He went pale for the instant;
for the boot was large, and bore a spur at the heel. It obviously
belonged to one of the miscreants, and distance had deceived him as to
the size of this figure. Hurriedly he looked at the others. One turned,
the one nearest to him, rolled over on its side, and then suddenly sat
up. The blanket fell back from the head and shoulders, and then, to his
delight, there was Sadie, her long hair streaming about her shoulders.
"Sadie, Sadie," he whispered ever so gently, and to his surprise,
instead of showing astonishment, his sister merely smiled at him, shook
off the remainder of the blanket and stood up. "Come," whispered Jim.
"Come with me."
He beckoned to her, and, stepping swiftly across to where she stood,
took her by the arm. Within a minute he was hurrying her into the gully
which had allowed him and the Chinaman to approach so close to the group
without danger of being seen.
[Illustration: THE RESCUE OF SADIE]
"Jim, I knew you'd come," whispered Sadie bravely, clinging to her
brother as if he alone stood between her and the miscreants who had
taken her from Gatun. "Ever since that horrid Spaniard came to Mr.
Phineas's quarters and forced me to accompany him, I guessed that you
would follow and rescue me. But, oh----"
She was beginning to sob, now that the greatest part of the danger
seemed to have passed. Her voice trembled; but Jim silenced her firmly
and kindly.
"Hush!" he said. "Not a sound, lest they hear us. Guess we've friends
close at hand, and in a little while we shall be with them. Stop here a
moment; we must wait for Ching."
He peeped out of the gully and watched the Chinaman bending over the
bundles that contained the precious notes which Jaime and his comrades
had stolen. Then he found it hard to repress a shout of warning; for the
figure which he had taken for that of Sadie, the man wearing the boot
with the spurred heel moved. Then the man sat up suddenly, and rubbed
his eyes. A moment later he was regarding the Chinaman's back,
endeavouring, no doubt, in his half-awake state, to determine who it
could be. As for Ching, he seemed to have forgotten all about the gang
of desperadoes. Jim could have kicked him for being so irritatingly
slow, and to all appearances careless; but he could not read the
thoughts passing through the Chinaman's brain, nor guess what it was
that delayed him. A moment later, however, he became aware of the fact
that if his follower were to carry out the orders given him he must bear
away from the enemy's camp more than had been arranged for. For the two
dark-coloured bundles were wound about with rope, through which a chain
had been passed, and the latter had been locked to an iron bar passing
across the top of a form of pack saddle. As Jim looked he saw Ching whip
out a knife, and deliberately set to work to sever the strands of rope.
But by then the man behind him was fully awake. He started to his feet
with an exclamation, that caused Ching to swing round on the instant. A
second later a shot rang out, and our hero saw his follower stagger
backwards and tumble across the bundles.
"Stay here; don't move an inch," he commanded Sadie. "I'm going back to
help him."
But whatever help he could have given would have been useless to the
Chinaman by the time Jim could have arrived; for the rascal who had
fired followed up his attack by rushing towards the fallen Chinaman. Jim
saw him bend down swiftly, and then, just as swiftly, he went reeling
to one side; for Ching had risen. Like a greyhound set loose he sprang
upon his enemy, and the moon shining down upon the whole scene flashed
upon something in his hand. Ching had used his formidable knife. The
Chinaman, it appeared later, when he was able to give his tale, had
merely feigned to be hit. He had waited for the man to come closer, and
then had stabbed him. Now he finished the work he had begun with a
swiftness which was appalling. He was close to his man in an instant,
showing an agility of which Jim had never suspected him capable before,
and quick as a flash the knife went home, sending the robber thudding to
the ground.
"Back! Run!" shouted Jim, for there was now no need to keep silent.
"Back here, and let us get to cover quick!"
"I coming, allee lighty," came the laconic answer. Ching swung the two
bundles across his shoulder, bearing the pack saddle with them, and ran
swiftly across to the channel; but as he ran the two remaining figures
beside the blackened ashes of the fire sprang to their feet, and shots
rang out loudly. There came a loud thud as one of the bullets struck the
pack saddle, then Ching was out of range.
"Allee lighty, Massa Jim," he sang out coolly. "Ching here; him follow."
And our hero waited for no further information. He took his sister by
the arm and hurried her along the gully.
"Bend low," he urged her as they came to the end. "Then run into the
jungle; I shall be just behind you."
In a moment or two they were speeding across the open, across the rocky
ground which intervened between themselves and the forest, and with a
gasp of relief Jim felt that the branches and leaves had closed over
them.
"You there?" he demanded of the Chinaman.
"Allee lighty, massa," came the laconic repetition.
"Then lead the way; you know it."
He gripped Ching by the end of his pigtail, for the Chinaman handed him
that article promptly, realizing, perhaps, that it was well suited for
the purpose; then, holding Sadie with the other hand, he followed close
on Ching's heels. In that order they came within a few minutes to the
spot where Tom and Sam were lying.
"Missie! De Lord be praised!" exclaimed the former with a sob of relief,
taking the child in his arms in his delight at her deliverance. Then he
swung her up on to his shoulder in preparation for the flight which must
now commence. As for Sam, though none the less demonstrative where Sadie
was concerned, he knew well enough that the safety of the party depended
in no small measure on him.
"Massa Jim," he called gently. "Dis way; yo come 'long o' Sam. Him hab
de lantern all ready lighted, and hidden way ober here. Yo come right
'way at once, before dem debil see yo. Dey makin' dickens of a
hullabaloo."
Jaime and his comrades were indeed creating an abundance of noise, and
for a while amused themselves by blazing away with their weapons into
the forest. And, as fortune would have it, the leader of the gang went
within an ace of being slain by one of his own following; for it will be
remembered that a fit of restlessness had caused Jamie de Oteros to rise
from his blanket and go down towards the horses. The crack of his
comrade's revolver had set him running back towards the camp, and it was
at that critical moment that a second follower, springing to his feet,
and as yet not fully awake, nor alive to the circumstances of the
matter, took him for an enemy and fired point-blank at him. With a shout
Jaime reached the man, and floored him without hesitation; but being
unable to trace at the moment what had actually happened, or where those
who had intruded in the camp had disappeared, he joined his fellows in
firing wildly in every direction. Then, with an angry shout, he stopped
the fusillade.
"This won't help us," he exclaimed. "Let us decide what has happened.
Ah, Pedro is killed! Strange, he often had an idea that a man would stab
him. I saw a man dressed as a Chinaman strike at him."
"It was a Chinaman," declared Miguel. "I saw him distinctly. I fired
direct at him, but the bullet drilled a hole through the pack saddle."
"Pack saddle, man! Pack saddle!" shouted Jaime, a horrible suspicion
crossing his mind. "What do you mean?"
Miguel felt frightened for the first time for many a day. Jaime glowered
at him and toyed with his revolver, as if he would willingly shoot him
if his answer were not satisfactory; then he blurted out the truth.
"Why, the pack saddle with the two bundles of notes chained to it," he
said sullenly. "The Chinaman stole them."
"And you let him go free! Gurr!"
Jaime stamped in his anger. He kicked the ground as if it had done him
some injury. Then he stepped across to the spot where the five figures
had been stretched when Jim and his friends first looked into the
clearing.
"The girl?" he demanded. "She has gone too? With the Chinaman?"
"With another man. I just caught a glimpse of him; he was standing in
the centre of the hollow that carries the stream."
Slowly the matter dawned on Jaime in its true light. He came to see that
this attack was not what he had at first suspected--a sudden raid made
by natives living in the forest, a raid led by some stray Chinaman, who
had taken service with them. It was an organized raid, an attack made by
those men from Colon. In a flash he realized that his carefully laid
schemes had come to naught, that his track through the forest had been
discovered, and that already his enemies were about him. The thought
sent the blood flying from his swarthy face till the skin looked ashen
grey and lifeless. He growled out violent exclamations beneath his
breath, and for a while paced to and fro restlessly. Then--for custom is
so strong that few can resist it--the fingers of his right hand dived
into his pocket, and within a moment he was rolling a cigarette.
"I see this," he said at last, when the weed was lighted, and he had
puffed some clouds of smoke into the air; "the men who just now took
the girl away, and stole our money, were not strong enough to capture
our whole party. We were but four, so that we may argue that their
numbers were no greater. It follows that if we get on their track and
pursue we may find ourselves the stronger party, and so may retake our
possessions. I will tell you something. I feared some sort of trouble,
and before we set out on this journey I forwarded a warning to our
friends the natives. I asked them to come towards the zone, so as to
meet us. They will not be far away; to-morrow we may meet them. Then
they will pick up the tracks of these rascals and follow. To-morrow will
be soon enough, for none but a native can pass through the forest
swiftly in the darkness. Besides, these men who attacked us will be
tired; and, also, they have the girl with them."
In the course of a life which had been evilly spent almost from the
beginning Jaime de Oteros had met with much good fortune. On this
occasion he seemed to be in luck's way as much as ever. For those two
shots fired in the clearing had reached the ears of the party of natives
waiting his arrival, and to his huge relief they put in an appearance
within some twenty minutes of Jim's retreat into the jungle.
"Get the lamps lighted at once," commanded Jaime, beckoning the native
chief to come to him, and addressing him as if he--Jaime himself--were
king of the race. "Now, my friend, let us have the best trackers, and
put them on the trail of these people. There must be no delay; take care
of that. I'll give fifty guns, with powder and bullets, if we retake
the girl and the booty these rascals stole from us."
The promise of such a rich reward caused the chiefs eyes to dilate, and
at once he set his men to accomplish the task before them. Within the
space of a few minutes the sharp eyes of the natives had discovered the
track made by Jim and Ching as they escaped with Sadie. Swiftly it was
learned that two others were of the party--one a small man, and a second
of abnormal proportions. Then the chase began in earnest, Jaime and his
comrades following the party, while three of the natives came behind
with the horses. So rapidly, in fact, did the trackers amongst the tribe
who had come to Jaime's help pick up the trail left by our hero, that
but a couple of miles separated the two parties. Indeed, within half an
hour of Jim's entering camp, and being greeted by Phineas and the
others, Tomkins reported that he had seen a lamp swinging in the forest.
Sam declared within the minute that he could hear men moving, while
hardly had the words left his lips when a number of men burst into the
moonlit opening. There came at once a sharp fusillade, while bullets
spluttered about the heads of Jim and his comrades. Then Tomkins
shouted, and without a second's hesitation threw himself face downward
on the ground, and jerked his rifle into position.
"Get down close, every mother's son of you," he called out, while the
lock of his weapon clicked sharply. The butt came to his shoulder, his
cheek fell upon it, and then a stream of flame issued from the muzzle.
Nor were his comrades slow to follow his example. Before the enemy were
halfway towards them all the members of the party save Jim and Sadie
were using their rifles.
"They'll never face a fire like that," called out our hero, standing to
his full height and watching the horde of natives rushing forward. "Keep
peppering them. I will look for some spot where we can get shelter."
He took his sister with him, and clambered towards the centre of the
rocky elevation which cropped up in the middle of the clearing; then he
shouted again.
"Mr. Phineas," he called out.
"Aye, aye," came back the cheerful answer. "We drove 'em off easy. Guess
they've left a few kicking the dust down there."
Jim had, in fact, seen the swarm of natives, with three white men
amongst them, suddenly turn tail and run, and his watchful eye had also
observed the figures lying prone not far from the edge of the forest.
But he had some intelligence of his own to communicate, and shouted back
to Phineas.
"Bring the whole party right away up here," he said. "There are boulders
hereabouts which will shelter us and help to keep off their bullets.
Make a run for it; bring all our baggage."
He left Sadie in a large hollow on the summit of the eminence, and
returned to his comrades. By then bullets were coming thick from the
depths of the jungle, and here and there queer little jets of dust
spurted up from the ground, while there was a strange whistling in the
air. But our hero had been under fire before, and took not the smallest
notice of the missiles. He reached the camping ground which he and his
friends had been occupying but a short while before, and at once
snatched up the two black bundles which contained the store of notes
which Jaime and his rascals had stolen. Then, waiting to see that the
others were already running up the hill, he followed swiftly, the huge
Tom bearing a case of ammunition just before him. Two minutes later all
were under cover.
"What now?" said Phineas, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I never
did come across such a fellow as you are, Jim. Always getting into
scrapes, and dragging your friends into them with you. But what now?
Here we are under cover, and I ain't so sorry. But there must have been
fifty of those natives down below, as well as the three white men. Jaime
and his crew, I suppose?"
"Jaime for sure, and sorry he'll be that he ventured to follow,"
answered Jim curtly. "I tell you straight, that fellow has been no end
of a bother to me. And now, to add to all the mischief he's done, he
deliberately fires at Sadie. Luckily the bullet just missed her. But
there you are! I say he'll live to be sorry. I'll teach him a lesson
this time that he won't forget."
They were big words, spoken in a moment of intense vexation; but big
words for all that, as Jim was the first to acknowledge when his temper
had cooled a little. Here was his slender little party surrounded, and
the enemy were by no means to be laughed at; for Jaime and his comrades
had been busy on those occasions when they had been away from the Panama
zone. They had done a big trade in rifles, or, rather, in obsolete
muzzle loaders, with which almost every one of the natives accompanying
them was armed; while the latter began to prove already that, obsolete
though their weapons might be, they could at that range make fine
practice with them. Indeed, every second now a ball struck the boulders
behind which Jim and his friends were crouching, while before many
minutes had passed the shots came from almost the entire circle of
jungle. The party who had come to rescue Sadie was, in fact, practically
surrounded.
"Which don't say as they're goin' to take us," growled Tomkins, who was
endowed with splendid pluck. "Now that we've got this shelter, and each
man has selected a spot from which to fire, I guess we'll give a good
account of ourselves. But what are the orders?"
He appealed as if by custom to our hero, and Jim answered promptly.
"We lie just as we are," he said. "I see that each one has taken up a
position, and the only alteration I can suggest is that the four
policemen separate and place themselves between the others. They are
used to rows more than we are, and will be able to give advice. For the
rest, reckon we'll sit tight."
"Sit tight!" echoed Phineas, somewhat at a loss.
"Just lie as we are, and never give them a shot back unless a man
exposes himself. When'll the moon go down?"
It was a question of some importance, and our hero breathed more freely
when he heard that the morning would come and still find the moon in the
sky.
"Then we shall have light right through," he said in tones of relief.
"Don't forget; not a shot unless you see a man. Just lie still under
cover. Ching, guess you could manage to light a fire and get some grub
cooking."
The Chinaman smiled on them all. Cooking, after all, was his forte, not
fighting, though he was no laggard where that was concerned, having
already shown that he possessed courage. He rose from his prone
position, re-arranged his pigtail, and set about the preparation of a
meal for the whole party with just the same calmness and method as he
was wont to employ in Phineas's kitchen. Within five minutes he had
collected sufficient driftwood to make a fire, and had laid it at the
bottom of a little hollow. In double that time he had a billy slung over
the flames, so that very soon a most appetizing steam pervaded the
place. Then he wagged his head in a manner all his own and declared that
the meal was ready.
"And we for it," said Jim, rising from the position he had taken beside
Tomkins. "See here, Ching. Dish out an allowance for each man, and bring
it to him. It won't do to leave our stations. We'll grub right where we
lie, and so be ready."
It was a wise precaution to take, for none could say when the enemy
would attempt a second rush. Meanwhile bullets streamed from the jungle,
now from this point, and then from that, a splash of flame lighting up
the dense shadows for an instant. But of late the firing had become far
less rapid, while the characteristic crack of the Mausers which Jaime
and his rascals employed had ceased altogether.
"Simply showing that they are otherwise engaged," said Jim, discussing
the affair with Phineas and Tomkins. "They are, no doubt, hunting for a
likely spot from which to make a charge; and to my mind there's one spot
above all others which they are likely to select. Look away over here.
This rocky eminence runs on into the jungle, so that a band dashing out
there would not have to come uphill. It's level ground all the way.
Again, it happens to be a shorter cut from the jungle, and will give us
less time to put in our shots. That's my opinion."
Tomkins surveyed his surroundings in silence for some little while, as
he ate his steaming rations methodically and unconsciously. He showed
not the smallest trace of alarm, though he must have known, better
perhaps than any of the others, how desperate were the fortunes of the
party. But the man had such a reputation for brusqueness and straight
speaking that Jim felt sure that if he disagreed with what he had just
expressed as his opinion, Tomkins would promptly say so, and that with
the utmost bluntness.
"Guess you'd better make a change in the posts we're filling," he said
at last. "Ef there's a rush, it'll come from 'way over there where
you've been pointin'. That bein' so, better fix it to pour in a fire
that'll choke 'em. There won't be too much time, and it'll want to be
magazines, and shooters to follow if they get within distance. Pity we
couldn't place a mine to blow 'em to blazes, or have a gun to shoot
direct at the varmint. But guess our rifles'll make hay with 'em; the
boys here'll make them niggers sit up lively."
He relapsed into a moody silence, and went on eating his meal, his eyes
roving along the edge of the jungle; but he was ready as soon as Jim
called him. Our hero placed the four police behind a mass of boulders
facing the part from which attack was feared, and then stationed Tom and
Sam and Ching behind them.
"You'll just lie here with Mr. Phineas," he said, "and if there's a rush
you will be ready to come to the help of the one who's most attacked.
You can see that the policemen are three yards good from one another, so
that it may well happen that one will be more pressed than his comrades.
For the rest, you'll keep an eye all round, and look after Sadie."
Very quietly the men moved into their positions, crouching low as they
went, so that the enemy might not see them. Then, each man having
selected a niche through which he could fire, and Jim also having
discovered one for himself in their centre, all lay absolutely still,
awaiting developments.
"Look out for trouble, boys," sang out our hero a good half-hour later.
"Their bullets are beginning to come along again, and I should say that
we guessed right when we decided their rush would come from over in this
direction. Do you hear that? A Mauser for sure, and there's another and
another. That shows where the leaders are."
Tomkins, who lay next him, gave vent to a hoarse chuckle. "That 'ere
Jaime thinks he's a fine dog, he do," he called back. "See what trouble
he took to throw us off the scent from the beginning. Now he's
manoeuvring a rush, and telling us just where we may expect it because
he must go and blaze with his own rifle. Ah! That was a man; I saw him
come from the jungle direct before us. Gee! The game's beginning."
The words had hardly left his lips when a couple of dark figures leaped
from the cover, brandishing weapons over their heads. An instant later
twenty dusky natives had joined them, while in their centre were the
figures of three white men plainly distinguishable under the moonlight.
There came a loud shout across the clearing; then, as if shot from the
same gun, every one of the figures bounded towards the spot where Jim
and his friends were lying.
"Magazines," growled Tomkins, dropping his cheek on to the butt of his
weapon. "Let 'em have it."
"Fire!" shouted Jim.
Bang! His own rifle was the first to discharge a missile; but the others
followed swiftly, and within the minute five men were engaged in sending
a shower of bullets at the enemy. Never before had Jim worked so
energetically. No sooner was the trigger pressed than his hand gripped
the bolt and threw it open. Click! The empty case flew back over his
shoulder, while another rose from the magazine as if by magic to replace
it. Bang! He pushed the lever home, and down went his eye to the sights
so quickly that it never seemed to have left them. As for the enemy,
they came forward at an astounding pace, without pause or hesitation. In
spite of the number which fell out of their ranks and went crashing to
the ground, the remainder came on steadily. Then a second party
followed, as if to reinforce their comrades. Phineas gave a shout
instantly.
"Get along into the firing line, boys," he called to Ching and Sam and
Tom. "I'll stop back here and make sure that none are trying to come
from behind. Then I'll join you."
"You can go now, Mr. Phineas," came in a quiet voice from close beside
him, and, looking down, he saw Sadie, her cheeks pale perhaps, but her
eyes and her lips steady. "Go," she said. "I will watch behind you, and
will call if there is need."
Phineas gripped her hand promptly, and ran forward. By then his own
little party had joined Jim's, and were aiding them with their rifles.
Indeed the rattle of the weapons was deafening, while anyone could see
that the enemy were suffering. But the natives hardly seemed to know
what fear was, while Jaime and his fellow robbers showed splendid pluck.
Nothing stopped them. They leaped over the bodies of their fallen
comrades, and came racing forward, their eyes blazing, their weapons
brandished over their heads. In an incredibly short space of time they
were within ten yards of the spot where the defenders lay.
"Time for revolvers," shouted Jim. "Up on your feet--revolvers and
clubbed rifles!"
The scene which followed was almost too rapid for description, for the
leaders of the attacking party threw themselves on Jim and his men with
a ferocity and a quickness which were appalling. Revolvers snapped on
every hand, while two of the policemen clubbed their rifles and dealt
swinging blows. It was left to the huge Tom to relieve the situation.
Rifle in hand, he sprang over the intervening boulders and launched
himself upon the attackers with a howl of rage. His huge mouth was
opened wide, displaying a set of formidable teeth, while his muscular
arms swept the rifle round in huge circles, laying the enemy low for all
the world as if it were a scythe. Then he pursued his old and favourite
tactics. He hurled the weapon at one of the white men, and, leaping
forward, gripped Jaime round the waist. The rascal was whirling in the
air in a second, and within the space of three had been thrown into the
centre of his supporters.
"Bravo, Tom, bravo!" shouted Jim, rushing to join him, with Ching and
Sam close at hand.
The enemy were more terrified by Tom's presence and appearance than by
all the bullets. They turned as Jim came forward and fled for their
lives, dragging Jaime with them. A minute later the defenders were
behind their boulders once more, breathing heavily, while the fusillade
of musket balls had again opened from the fringe of the jungle. Still
the enemy were not beaten. As the dawn came they showed at the edge of
the forest, and with shouts of triumph announced that they had received
reinforcements. Indeed, within a few minutes Jim saw that at least a
hundred men were crouching just within the shadow. Then there came
another shock, which set his heart palpitating.
"More of the varmint," suddenly announced Tomkins, swinging round and
pointing to a spot behind the party, where, up till now, they had seen
no enemy. "Gee, if there ain't two hundred against us!"
He dashed across the hollow, threw himself on his face, and levelled his
rifle. But he never pulled the trigger: Jim stopped him peremptorily. A
single figure suddenly pushed to the front of this second mob of
natives, and advanced a few paces bearing a white flag. He waved it and
shouted. Then, followed by his men, he came running towards Jim and his
fellows.