Success to the Panama Canal
Even in the machinery shops at Gorgona Jim had never listened to such a
din as came from the charging enemy as they burst from the cover of the
forest; for a dozen native drums were being thumped, horns were sounded,
while each individual shouted and shrieked at the pitch of his lungs. It
seemed, indeed, as if Jaime's followers imagined that the racket would
scare the defenders and help them towards victory. The giant Tom,
standing over the captive, saw his eyes scintillate, while Jaime half
rose to his feet; but in a moment he was cowering again. Not because Tom
scowled at him, and stretched forth a hand, but because the native
placed to guard him flourished his long knife before the prisoner's
face.
"So, yo know what to expect if yo try to escape," said Tom. "I leave yo
wid dis friend while I go to teach those scum manners. Yo move one
little piece, and see how nicely he cut yo to tiny bits."
He indicated the native with a wave of his hand, then went off to the
firing line, swinging his rifle as if it were a toy and weighed but a
few ounces. Meanwhile the defenders had opened fire upon the enemy.
"Steady does it, boys," sang out Tomkins, who was a tower of strength
to Jim and his friends. "Use your magazines, but see that every shot
tells. It don't do to fire and miss every time. Let each bullet find its
man. It'll bring them to a halt sooner than anything."
But there are limits to the powers of such a small force as Jim
commanded; for though George's natives who were armed with guns blazed
at the enemy, it was clear that they missed their aim more often than
not. Then, too, the light was tricky. The flickering flames cast by the
circle of fires served to show the figures of the enemy; but here and
there were black shadows, and the rifles had to catch their men as they
raced across the lighted parts. In consequence the host of attackers
soon approached the eminence on which the defenders had taken their
stand. They were abreast of the fires in two minutes, and, at a shout
from Jim, George prepared to launch his second party of natives at them.
"Wait till they have almost reached us," cried Jim; "then let them go.
Call to the others who are firing with their guns to join in the charge.
This time every man will have to be employed."
The situation was indeed very critical, for the enemy had advanced in
full strength, while the fitful light had helped them. In the space of a
few seconds the leaders were within a yard of the boulders behind which
Tomkins and his party were lying, and rifle practice was no longer
possible. George shouted. His natives gave vent to a hoarse bellow,
while the man with the drum thumped it madly. Then some seventy black
figures leaped over the boulders, and there began a hand-to-hand
contest, the ferocity of which can hardly be described. The two
bodies of men, attackers and attacked, swayed this way and that. Some of
the enemy even managed to leap over the boulders and gain the inner
circle, only to be shot down instantly by Jim and his friends. Then,
when matters had become desperate, and the din was deafening, shouts
were heard from a distance. Sam dashed up to Jim, his face working with
excitement, his eyes blazing.
"Friends comin', sah," he bellowed. "I see dem run from de forest. Dey
charging from behind; dey policemen."
Whoever they were, the rear ranks of the enemy quickly discovered their
presence, and turned to face them. Then across the clearing there came
the sound of cheering. A loud command rang out, and in a trice a strong
body of men had hurled themselves against the enemy. Not a shot was
fired; for to have done so would have been to have risked shooting Jim
and his party. But long, gleaming bayonets were at the ends of the
rifles, and the strange weapon played havoc with the natives. The shouts
of those in rear reached their comrades in front, and caused them to
turn away. Then, for some five minutes, the enemy were caught between
two forces, George's natives using their knives with terrible purpose. A
few moments later and those of the enemy who were left turned tail and
fled to the forest, pursued by volleys.
Have you ever heard excited men cheer, men who had hardly expected to be
alive at that moment? That is how Jim and his men cheered. They set the
jungle ringing, they dashed out into the open and wrung the hands of
the Police Major and his party, and then they sat down and roared at the
antics of George's natives; for the latter were filled with triumph.
Undoubtedly they had fought most bravely, and had proved the salvation
of Jim and his tiny party; but in doing so they had gained their end.
They had broken the power of the tribe which had threatened to molest
them, and which had been so plentifully supplied with muskets by Jaime
and his men. George's hosts had broken their power for evil, and had
themselves now become possessed of the weapons; for the enemy had cast
them to the ground as they fled.
"Gee! What a sight!" cried the Major, as he surveyed the scene, now that
the moon had risen and lighted the clearing. "There's a heap of men
killed, and I'm told that amongst them are four white men. But Jaime
isn't there. The scoundrel who led the robbers, and caused all this
trouble, has had his usual good fortune, and managed to get away."
Jim smiled, and winked in Tom's direction. Then he nodded to Ching, and
at the signals the two fine fellows darted away to the back of the camp.
"Major," said our hero a moment later, as he saw Tom and Ching
returning, "allow me, first of all, to present you with a prisoner. He
is Tom's capture, and was snatched from the midst of his men. Allow me
to introduce Jaime de Oteros."
His pluck evaporated, all his assurance gone, Jaime stood with Tom's
grip on him as if he feared that the next moment would be his last. His
knees knocked together, his lips trembled, while his shifty eyes looked
askance at the negro.
"Dere you am, sah," cried Tom, lifting his prisoner by the arm as if he
were a toy. "Dis am de scum dat cause all de trouble, dat dare to
capture missie."
For a full minute the Major regarded Jaime; then he spoke quietly.
"Jim," he said, "it's you who should have the post of police
superintendent, for this is a most important capture. Tom, too, has done
finely; finely, I say. But in capturing this man you give us the
opportunity of bringing him to his deserts, and so making absolutely
sure that no other people shall be victimized. More than that, perhaps,
you give the Commissioners a chance through him to recover the money he
has stolen."
Jim signalled to Ching, and at once the Chinaman approached the party,
his pigtail swinging out behind him. On his broad shoulders two black
bundles were supported, and these he dumped upon the ground at the
Major's feet without the smallest ceremony. Indeed he might have been
handling merely a parcel of clothing.
"Why! What are these? Where's that description?"
The police officer dived into an inner pocket, but Jim saved him the
trouble of referring to the description of the missing property. "See
here, Major," he said, "Ching and I had a bit of fine fortune. When we
crept into Jaime's camp to rescue my sister we brought away at the same
moment these two packages. We knew the dollars stolen were wrapped in
black waterproof paper, and we guessed clean off that these were they.
Since then I have opened both in Mr. Phineas's presence. There ain't a
doubt as to what they contain."
The Major could have hugged our hero. His delight was more than evident.
The sight of the recovered treasure took his breath away, and sent him
spluttering and coughing. Then he began to laugh. He rocked from side to
side, holding his flanks, till the tears ran down his cheeks. And Tom
joined in with him. The huge negro's face broadened, his mouth expanded
till it was a veritable cavern, then he bellowed with laughing, shaking
in every limb, and almost knocking the breath out of his prisoner's
body.
"Gee! It do take eberyting, don't it, Major, sah?" he shouted, when at
length he could control himself. "Here am dis scum dat cause all de
trouble. Him ride off from de canal works tinking he made fools of all
ob us. But he hab to reckon wid very wise people. Massa Jim dere to
stand in him way, and yo too, sah, I reckon. See what happen. All him
friends killed, and, lummy, dat a good t'ing for 'em. Missie am taken
from de ruffian, and den, on top of all, he lose ebery one of de
dollars. Oh, dat too sweet altogether! Him should be very happy now, for
when him hanged he hab nothing to lose but him life, and dat ain't worth
countin'."
The huge fellow went off into another loud guffaw till Jim stopped him.
As for the Major, he had now become more serious. Warmly he
congratulated Jim and his comrades on their prowess, while George came
in for a particular friendly greeting.
"Guess there'll be shouts when we get back to the canal works," he said
at length; "and the sooner we go the better. Are your party too tired
to march in the morning?"
"They'd rather set out soon than stay here much longer," came the
answer. "We've still some hours before morning, and if you and your men
will settle matters here, and see to the burial of those who have been
killed, my party will take a sleep, which will put them on nicely. It
will be the first time many of us have closed our eyes since we parted
from Colon."
A little while later a number of figures were snoring in their blankets,
while the natives whom George had brought aided the Major's party.
Wounded men were attended to. Palanquins were made for those amongst
their number who were unable to walk; and fortunately there were only
three in the Major's party, while Jim's had come through the ordeal
scathless. As to the men who had suffered damage amongst George's
natives, arrangements were made for them to stay in the clearing till
their comrades returned. At an early hour on the following morning the
whole party set out for Colon, a dozen of the police going by way of the
lagoon, where they would pick up the long launch which had brought them,
while the rest--Jim and the Major amongst the party--rode through the
forest. About noon on the following day they reached the summit of a
ridge overlooking Gatun, and at once cheered loudly.
"Ain't it a sight for sore eyes?" cried Phineas, his face shining in the
sunlight. "You'd hardly expect to see men 'way over there, working as if
time was pressing. But see 'em. Gangs at the dam, gangs on the railway,
and hundreds hidden from sight in the valley, or 'way up at Culebra.
And watch the smoke from the diggers, the locos, and the drillers! It's
good to think that it's all American, and that things are going
smoothly."
"Thanks to the fact that a rascal has been captured," ventured the
Police Major. "Don't forget that, please. The best of energies may be
brought to naught if there is a rascal secretly at work attempting to
wreck matters. Things were getting to look bad when our prisoner made
his last little effort. But Jim has seen to that. Say, lad, was it a
section you were bossing?"
Our hero coloured and admitted the fact as if he ought to be ashamed of
his advancement.
"Ah, well," went on the Major, smiling slyly, "guess there's other
billets going! But there's Gatun: I'll send the sergeant along with
Jaime to the station, and then we four will ride to Ancon. There I can
report, and hand over the dollars."
Need the reader wonder that the return of the party caused a huge
sensation? Indeed the excitement nearly caused a stoppage of work along
the zone, a matter almost without precedent. For the hustle and
perseverance of the white employees is something out of the ordinary.
The fever to press on with an undertaking in which their own personal
honour becomes, sooner or later, helplessly involved will hear of no
delay, and thrusts aside all obstacles. But the news 'phoned up and down
the zone was really too entrancing. Jim's name was soon on every man's
lips, while even stolid officials cheered when they heard that the gang
of robbers was destroyed, the leader captured, and the dollars
recovered. Besides, Sadie was back again, and that caused the utmost
satisfaction, her abduction having roused the anger of the workers. A
week later found Jim promoted to a still more responsible position,
while a reward in money was handed to him, and to his three trusty
servants. With the help of Phineas and other people George obtained a
post amongst the employees, and should you happen to call in at the
isthmus, there you will find him and his brother, as eager as their
comrades.
For strenuous work is the order of the day, and every day, along the
fifty miles of works. Let Americans not forget it. Let those who can,
pay a visit to their kith and kin slaving at the vast project their
country has commenced on, and bear in mind that the spirit of dogged
courage, of common sense and energy, which won advancement for the hero
of this narrative, is possessed by one and all of the workers. For those
others, the more numerous body, who for business reasons and others are
unable to visit Panama or Colon, we say, let them obtain the fullest
information as to the giant canal which is building there. The day is
coming, is indeed getting very near at hand, when America will achieve a
triumph, and when it will behove each and every citizen to know every
detail, so that the boys and girls of the race, the future citizens of
America, always eager for knowledge, may be told how the triumph was
accomplished, how thousands laboured and slaved for years far from the
sight of their fellows, and how by dint of superhuman effort, by
astuteness and most praise-worthy perseverance, they brought their task
to a successful termination. For ourselves we long for the day when we
may board a steamer and voyage on her decks from the Atlantic up through
the giant locks of Gatun to that vast lake which will extend to Obispo,
and from thence steam through the cutting at Culebra, finally descending
through the locks at Pedro Miguel and at Milaflores to Pacific level. We
look forward to that great day, knowing that none will admire more than
we shall the work which Jim and thousands of others will have helped to
accomplish. As for Jim himself, we wish him all prosperity. He is a true
American. Idleness he does not know, while a strenuous life attracts
him. Our hero is made of the stuff which forces difficulty and danger
aside cheerfully, and which points without hesitation the road to
success.
* * * * *
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* * * * *
BY CAPTAIN F. S. BRERETON
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Roughriders of the Pampas. A Tale of Ranch Life in South America.
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With Rifle and Bayonet. A Story of the Boer War.
One of the Fighting Scouts. A Tale of Guerrilla Warfare in South Africa,
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