"Go!"
As the word left the cacique's lips the two Englishmen faced round, back
to back, and each sprang straight at the Indian who happened to be
nearest him. A perfect forest of bludgeons whirled in the air on both
sides of the human lane, and from one end of it to the other, in savage
anticipation of the moment when the two victims should dash past; but
the length of the weapons was such that not more than three could reach
each victim at any given moment; and of this the two friends had already
taken note, deciding with the rapidity of thought that if by skill and
quickness of action they could evade those three simultaneous blows,
they need not trouble about anything more for the moment; for their
progress down the lane would simply be a continuous succession of
evasions of three blows aimed at them at the same moment. Their object,
therefore, was each to secure a bludgeon before receiving a disabling
blow; and this they contrived to do, their sudden spring taking the
Indians so completely by surprise that the weapons were wrenched out of
their hands without the slightest difficulty. Then, instead of
sprinting for their lives down the lane, by which course of action they
must have inevitably exposed themselves to the certainty of receiving a
sufficient number of violent blows to disable them, and in all
probability prevent them from reaching their goal, they placed
themselves back to back and, each facing his own particular line of
assailants, moved sideways along the length of the lane at ordinary
walking pace, contenting themselves with parrying with their bludgeons
the blows aimed at them, and not attempting to return those blows
excepting when some particular Indian happened to exhibit especial
vindictiveness, when, if opportunity offered, they retaliated with such
effect that before fifty yards of their course had been traversed at
least half a dozen Indians were down with cracked skulls. Now, it would
naturally be imagined that a multitude of savages, finding themselves
thus baulked of the vengeance to which they had been so eagerly looking
forward, would have with one accord broken their ranks and, rushing in
upon the two white men in overwhelming numbers, have slain them out of
hand. But they did nothing of the sort. On the contrary, the cool,
calm courage of the prisoners, their audacity in daring to face such
enormously overwhelming odds, the gallant fight that they were putting
up, and the extraordinary skill with which they handled their bludgeons,
all seemed to appeal to some elementary sporting instinct that must have
been lurking dormant and unsuspected in the Mayubuna nature, exciting
their admiration to such an extent that several of the Indians who might
have struck an unfair blow actually forbore to do so, and presently they
even began to utter shouts of admiration when either of the white men
achieved a particularly brilliant passage of defence. In short, it
seemed gradually to dawn upon them that they were playing a game, and
that since the balance of advantage was enormously on their own side
they were morally bound to play it fairly. And within certain limits
they did, although there were not wanting those whose ferocious passions
were so deeply stirred that all they seemed to crave was the life of the
white men, and they were willing to go to all lengths to get it. Thus
one man aimed so savage a blow at Dick that he smashed his bludgeon to
splinters upon that of Chichester as the latter guarded the blow. Then,
doubtless enraged at his failure, he sprang out of his place in the
ranks and, catching Dick unawares, stabbed at him with the splintered
fragment of the weapon that remained in his hand, inflicting quite a
painful jagged wound on the young Englishman's shoulder. But it was his
last act, for, stung into sudden fury by the smart of the wound, Dick
turned upon him and, throwing all his strength and weight into the blow,
struck out with his clenched left fist, catching the unfortunate Indian
square on the point of the chin. So terrific was the blow that it
actually lifted the man clean off his feet and sent him whirling back
through the air for a distance of nearly four yards before he fell to
the earth dead with a broken neck. A great shout of mingled amazement,
admiration, and terror arose at this wonderful exhibition of strength;
and thenceforward, influenced either by fear or the spirit of fair play,
or, it may be, a combination of both, there were no further attempts
made to take an unfair advantage of those two who were making so gallant
a fight to save themselves from a fate too hideous to be put into words.
At length the gauntlet was run, the far end of the lane was reached, and
the two young Englishmen still stood upon their feet. But not
unscathed; very far from it. They had made a gallant fight, and had
afforded their savage captors a far more exhilarating spectacle than
they had ever before witnessed, although it had been of a very different
character from what had been anticipated; and now the two prisoners
stood, trembling with exhaustion from their superhuman efforts, cruelly
bruised, bleeding, and altogether too dazed and helpless to make that
sudden, wild dash for freedom which each had planned in his heart when
entering upon the terrible ordeal through which they had just passed.
What was to be the next move in this grim game of life or death?
They were not long left in doubt, for the party of armed men who had
conducted them on to the ground now forced their way into the lane and,
arranging themselves in a circle round the two white men, led them back
to where the cacique of the village sat enthroned. And as they passed
back along the lane of humanity which they had fought their way through
a few minutes previously, many of those whose arms still tingled with
the jar of the parried blows which they had aimed at them, now greeted
their return with murmurs of commiseration or admiration. Then, almost
before they realised where they were, they found themselves, still
hemmed in by their armed guards, facing the cacique, who sat for some
moments silent, regarding them with an inscrutable countenance. Then,
raising his hand for silence, he spoke.
"White men," he said, "ye have not fulfilled the terms of the agreement
which I made with you. Ye were to run from this end of the lane to the
other, and ye walked. And instead of accepting unresistingly--as was
intended--the blows which were aimed at ye, you took by force and
superior strength two clubs from my people, wherewith to defend
yourselves; and, worst of all, ye have killed outright no less than
four, more men of the Mayubuna and maimed five others so that it will be
many days before they will again be able to provide food for their wives
and children. Therefore, because of all this, and what has gone before,
your doom is--"
"Nay, nay; be merciful, O my father!" cried a number of women's voices,
"be merciful!" And, forcing their way through the throng, a party of
some twenty women of varying ages--from girls of seventeen or eighteen
to one withered hag who, from her appearance, might have been a hundred
years old--flung themselves upon their knees before the cacique.
"Mercy!" reiterated the cacique, in astonishment. "Who pleads for mercy
on behalf of these white men? Surely not you, Insipa, whose only son
they have done to death, leaving you desolate in your old age?"
"Yea; I, even I, Insipa," answered the hag above mentioned. "Hearken
now, O my father," she continued. "It is a custom among us that if a
man be killed, and his slayer be taken alive, if the mother or widow of
the slain man claim the slayer as her slave, to provide food for her in
the place of the slain man, her demand shall be granted, and the slayer
shall be given to her for the rest of her life. Now, behold these two
white men and see what mighty men they are. Between them they have
slain no less than twenty-one men of the Mayubuna, leaving twenty-one
women and many children with none to protect or find food for them. Let
them be given as slaves to us, then, that we whom they have thus cruelly
bereaved may not suffer from the loss of father, husband, or son. It is
our right, and we demand it."
The cacique considered this extraordinary request for several minutes;
then he turned to Dick and Phil.
"White men," he said, "ye have heard what this woman asks. Now behold,
I give you your choice: will ye become the slaves of these bereaved
women, to till their fields, tend their cattle, hunt and fish for them,
and generally watch over and protect them and their children in the
place of those whom ye have slain? Or will ye go straightway to the
stake and pay the penalty of your misdeeds by dying a slow and miserable
death?"
"Since we must needs do the one or the other," answered Phil--who alone
fully understood the purport of the cacique's speech, and therefore took
it upon himself to reply--"we choose to become the slaves of these women
who have intervened to save us from death. And we will do our best to
fill the places of those whom we have unfortunately slain, tilling their
fields, tending their cattle, hunting and fishing for their wives and
children, and protecting them from all evil."
"It is well," answered the cacique. Then, turning to the group of
women, he said: "Take them; they are yours; I have granted your request.
Nevertheless, methinks you would find it easier to tame two full-grown
jaguars, fresh from the forest, than to subdue these white men to your
will. But that is your affair." And with a wave of his hand he
dismissed the party.
"`Subdue them', said he?" muttered the ancient Insipa. "Ha, ha! we
shall see; yes, we shall see! These men are truly young and strong and
fierce, yea, stronger and fiercer than black jaguars, while Insipa is
old and weak; nevertheless--here, take them and bind them for me." She
turned suddenly and held out two tough, raw-hide ropes to the armed
guard who still surrounded the prisoners; and they, with a coarse jest
or two at the old woman's expense, at once proceeded to bind Dick's and
Phil's hands behind them, after which they placed the two free ends of
the ropes in the beldame's hands and left the way free for her to lead
her prisoners away.
"Come, then," cried the old woman, jerking the ropes roughly; "come,
sons of mine! Ha, ha! I have lost one son, who was lazy, who cared not
for his poor old mother, and often left her for many days without so
much as the smallest morsel of deer meat, and let her garden be overrun
with weeds. And in his place I have gained two--two who are brave
enough to protect me, and strong enough to till my garden and my fields,
and to keep my hut well supplied with all that I need. Ha, ha! I have
done well; I am a gainer! Come, white men, come, and make old Insipa's
declining years pleasant and happy!" And she proceeded to drag her
prisoners away, followed by the other women who were--or believed they
were--part owners of the bodies of Dick and Phil.
"Now, what does all this mean? What is to be our fate; and what has
that withered old mummy to do with us?" grumbled Dick, who had scarcely
half-understood what had passed since he and Phil had been led back to
the cacique.
Phil explained, adding, "It will probably be unpleasant enough for a
time, but we must grin and bear it, lad; and at all events it will be
less disagreeable than being lashed to a stake and slowly tortured to
death. If we had accepted that fate everything would have been at an
end for us within the next two or three days; whereas by choosing the
alternative we at least save our lives; and that is the main thing with
us at present. There would have been no comfort or satisfaction in
being tortured to death by a parcel of savages, after having come so far
and done so much. Besides, if we are to hunt and fish for these women
we must be free to come and go pretty much as we please. And do you
need me to tell you what we shall do as soon as we obtain our freedom?"
"Of course not," answered Dick. "We shall just watch our opportunity
and continue our journey."
"Precisely," agreed Phil. "And I must confess I am greatly surprised
that our friend the cacique did not foresee such a possibility. Well,
then, it seems to me that what we have to do is to be good boys for the
present, do everything with a good grace that we have undertaken to do,
and, generally, use our utmost endeavours to win the confidence of these
people and disarm the suspicion with which they are certain to regard us
at the outset, and then our way to escape will soon become clear."
The hut of Insipa was a wretched, neglected hovel of a place, in the
very last stages of dirt, neglect, and decay, situated on the outskirts
of the village, and to this delectable abode the old crone conducted her
two "sons" and inducted them therein. But before she took them inside
the hut she carefully examined their hurts; and when at length she had
satisfied herself that although these were no doubt painful enough, and,
for the moment, so severe as to incapacitate her prisoners for anything
but the very lightest of work, there was no serious harm done, she
dispatched one of the women who had followed her, and who considered
herself as part owner of the prisoners, to the river for water, another
for wood to make a fire, while a third was sent into the forest to hunt
for certain herbs. Then she took the two men into the hut, released
them from their bonds, and graciously gave them permission to lie down
upon a heap of dried fern, which they were glad enough to do after the
rough and trying experience through which they had so recently passed,
and in a few minutes both were fast asleep. They slept soundly for an
hour or more; and when they awoke Insipa was ready with hot fomentations
for their wounds and bruises, poultices of macerated leaves for
application after the fomentations, and finally, food--a piece of roast
goat's flesh, cassava bread, and a warm drink of somewhat peculiar but
not unpleasant flavour, after partaking of which they both again fell
into a profound sleep which lasted until the following morning; for the
drink had been medicated. Insipa was anxious that her "sons" should
begin to work for her at once, and she knew that, after their hurts had
been dressed, sleep was the very best restorative that she could
possibly administer to them.
As a matter of fact, when Phil and Dick awoke from their long night's
sleep they found, to their astonishment, that the ache and stiffness of
their bruises were gone, and that for all practical purposes they were
as well as ever, and quite fit to be up and about again. Insipa was
delighted with the success which had attended her ministrations, so much
so, indeed, that instead of ordering them out to find food for her at
once, she went out and borrowed some from a neighbour, on the strength
of her new acquisition, brought it home, cooked it, and laid it before
them, with the information that it would be the last unearned meat they
would get.
This hint, however, did not greatly interfere with the appetite of our
friends; for they had already agreed that they were quite well enough to
resume their journey up the river, and had decided to do so at the first
opportunity, whenever that might occur. And they believed that it might
occur at any moment, that very day, perhaps, although they were quite
prepared to find that precautions of some sort would be taken, for a
little while at least, to see that they did not get away. In this they
were not mistaken; for they had scarcely finished their meal when they
were summoned to the presence of the cacique, who informed them that he
had arranged that one of them should spend the day in hunting, while the
other should remain in the village, and, under the direction and
supervision of a member of the village council, till the gardens and
attend to the cattle of the twenty-one widows whose property they were,
and that they might settle between themselves which of the two should be
the hunter. Now this at once put an effectual stop to any plans for
immediate escape; for although not a word had passed between the two
friends on the subject, they were both of one mind that whenever they
went it must be together; in fact neither would have dreamed of going
off and leaving the other behind. Probably the shrewd old cacique had
guessed as much when he arranged the apparently simple but really
ingenious scheme whereby at least one of the two white men would always
be in the village and under close observation. Of course Dick, being
the younger, offered Phil the choice of the two occupations; and Stukely
at once unhesitatingly decided that he would undertake the agricultural
work, while Dick was to do the hunting; and this arrangement came into
force forthwith, Dick's duty being to secure all the game and fish he
possibly could, and take the products of his industry to the cacique,
who would divide them out equally between the twenty-one widows
according to the numbers of their families.
To provide flesh food enough to satisfy more than sixty healthy
appetites was no mean task, particularly in the immediate vicinity of a
village of five hundred inhabitants, where the whole of the neighbouring
country was strenuously hunted day after day; but Dick happened to be a
particularly keen and clever hunter; moreover his training during the
journey had been of such a character as to develop his speed, strength,
and endurance to such a degree that he was able to go farther afield
than any of the Indians, and thus reach a district where the game was
neither so scarce nor so wild as it was in the immediate neighbourhood
of the village; also he soon got to know the spots where game was most
likely to be found. Consequently after the first three or four days,
during which he was learning the country, he did quite as well as could
be reasonably expected, and frequently excited the cacique's admiration
by the quantity of meat which he contrived to bring in.
As for Phil, he was a Devon man, and consequently had acquired, almost
unconsciously, a considerable amount of knowledge regarding farming
matters, so that he found himself more than on a par with the Indians,
whose knowledge of agriculture was of the most elementary character;
also he understood the full value of system in the arrangement of work,
which the Indians did not. Consequently, by working systematically, and
making the women do their fair share, he found that he could do the work
which had been allotted to him, and still find time for his favourite
hobby of research.
It is not necessary to give a detailed description of our friends'
doings, day after day, during their sojourn with the Mayubuna Indians;
the above indication will enable the reader to picture the uneventful
sort of existence which they led; and it is only needful to add that so
well did the young Englishmen contrive matters that by the time that
they had been three months in the village the suspicion and distrust
with which they had at first been regarded had entirely disappeared, and
the Indians seemed to have gathered the impression that their white
prisoners had quite settled down and were content to spend the remainder
of their lives with them.
But it took fully three months to establish matters on this satisfactory
basis; and this brought the time on to what may be termed the winter
season; that is to say, the period of the year when, after a
long-continued spell of fine weather, during which the crops ripen and
are gathered in, the season of rain, wind, and violent thunderstorms
begins which is to soften, nourish, and invigorate the baked earth and
prepare it to bring forth the luxuriant vegetation of another summer.
And it was one of those violent thunderstorms which provided our friends
with the opportunity to escape for which they had been so long and so
patiently waiting.
The day had been unusually hot, to start with; and about noon the sky,
which had been clear during the earlier part of the day, had gradually
become veiled by a thick haze through which the sun revealed himself
with ever-increasing difficulty merely as a shapeless blotch of
whiteness in the midst of the haze before vanishing altogether. Then
the wind fell, the atmosphere became so oppressively close that the mere
act of breathing became difficult, and a great silence fell upon the
scene, for the insects and birds, warned by instinct of what was
impending, sought shelter in the deepest recesses of the forest, while
the Indians, unable or unwilling to labour in the enervating heat, and
also knowing from past experience what was coming, retired to their huts
and resigned themselves to the overpowering languor which oppressed
them. Of all the inhabitants of the village, Dick and Phil were the
only two who resisted the enervating influence of the hour, for Dick was
away hunting, as usual, while Phil, having set himself a certain task to
perform, was not the sort of man who would allow himself to be deterred
from its execution by such a trifle as mere oppressiveness of weather.
But as the day wore on and the sky grew ever more lowering and the heat
and closeness more pronounced, he found his work growing increasingly
difficult and distasteful; and it was with a sigh of deep satisfaction
that at last, having finished what he had set himself to do, he wended
his way to the hut which he and Dick had been permitted to erect for
themselves, and, having laid aside the primitive tools which he had been
using, continued his way to the creek where, at the conclusion of each
day's labour, he was wont to indulge in the refreshing luxury of a
bathe. While he was still in the water he was joined by Dick, who had
also done a good day's work, having brought in two deer, which he had
duly delivered over to the cacique.
By the time that the pair had sufficiently refreshed themselves the
gloom of the departing day was deepening into the darkness of a
moonless, starless night; and as they entered their hut the first
shimmer of sheet lightning which was the precursor of the coming storm
flickered above the tree-tops of the contiguous forest.
"Phew!" exclaimed Dick, as he flung himself upon the heap of dried fern
that served him as a bed, "how unbearably hot and close it is, and how
tired I am! I doubt if I could walk another mile, if my life depended
upon it."
"I am sorry to hear that," gravely returned Phil; "for, unless I am very
greatly mistaken, I believe we shall have an opportunity to escape
to-night."
"To escape?" reiterated Dick. "How do you mean, old man?"
"Do you know what is going to happen to-night?" demanded Phil.
"I know that we are going to have a pretty severe thunderstorm, if that
is what you mean," answered Dick; "but what has that got to do with our
escaping?"
"What has it to do?" repeated Phil. "Why, everything, my gentle cuckoo.
Dost thou not yet know that Indians generally, and the Mayubuna in
particular, have a very wholesome dread and horror of thunderstorms,
believing, as they do, that the evil spirits come abroad and hold high
revel upon such occasions? If an Indian happens to be struck by
lightning, his fellow Indians are firmly convinced that he has been
killed by an evil spirit; hence they are extremely reluctant to venture
abroad during a thunderstorm. We have observed that reluctance even in
the case of the comparatively few unimportant storms that have visited
the village since we have been here; but hitherto the Mayubuna have been
too suspicious and too watchful to afford us an opportunity to get clear
away. Now, however, I think we have at last succeeded in completely
lulling their suspicions; they have not been nearly so watchful of us of
late; and I am very doubtful whether there is a single Indian in this
village, from the cacique downward, including old Mammy Insipa herself,
who will be willing to turn out in such a storm as is now brewing,
merely for the purpose of watching that we two do not run away."
"Yes," agreed Dick, "I have no doubt you are right. Well, I am quite
ready to make the attempt whenever you say the word."
"But what about thy fatigue?" demanded Phil.
"Oh," answered Dick, with a laugh, "I am not so tired but that I dare
say I can manage to do whatever may be necessary to secure our escape
from this wretched place."
"Very well, then," said Phil; "in that case let us get our supper, make
our preparations--Heaven knows they will be few and simple enough--and
then lie down and get what rest we can; it will be two or three hours,
yet, before it will be safe for us to make the attempt."
The friends were awakened out of a sound sleep by a blaze of lightning
that flashed across their closed eyelids with the vividity of noontide
sunshine, followed an instant later by a crash of thunder that caused
them to start upright from their fern beds in something akin to panic,
so appalling was the sharpness and intensity of the sound, followed as
it was by a series of deep, heavy, reverberating booms which might have
been caused by the broadsides of an entire navy simultaneously
discharged, and the concussion of which sent a perceptible tremor
through the earth beneath them. The booming sounds seemed to echo back
and forth from cloud to cloud, rumbling and growling as though reluctant
to cease, but at length it subsided into momentary silence, only to
burst forth with even greater violence a few seconds later as a second
flash tore across the ink-black sky.
"That is our signal," remarked Phil quietly, as he rose to his feet.
"We may safely move now, for the `bad spirits' are abroad with a
vengeance to-night, and every Indian in the place--man, woman, and
child--will be cowering with head tightly wrapped in blanket and unable
to move for fear of what may be seen. There! listen to that!" as
another vivid flash illumined the hut, and low, terrified wails burst
forth from all round about them, mingling with the roar and volleying of
the thunder--"that gives one some idea of the state of mind that the
poor wretches are in. I believe that if the village were to take fire
they would remain in their huts and burn rather than turn out and face
the lightning. Come along; we must get clear away, if we can, before
the rain comes, because when it begins we shall be able to see nothing.
Now; have we all our belongings--my medicine case, our pistols and
ammunition, swords, bows and arrows? Yes; I think there is nothing
missing. Are you ready? Then--march!"
"But where are we going?" demanded Dick, as they groped their way out of
the hut in the opaque darkness that followed upon a dazzling flash of
lightning.
"First, round to the back of the hut, and then past the rear of the
other huts--since, although I believe we might walk straight through the
village without being seen, I do not believe in running unnecessary
risks. Then, down to the beach," replied Phil.
For the first few minutes of their journey the going was exceedingly
difficult, the eyes of the pair being alternately dazzled by the vivid
electric flashes and blinded by the Cimmerian darkness that followed
them; but by the time that they had groped their way through the village
and were approaching the beach, the flash and glimmer of the lightning,
both fork and sheet, had become almost continuous, and they were able to
see their way for the rest of the distance without difficulty.
"Now," said Phil, when at length they reached the beach and stood among
the canoes, "our first business must be to choose a handy canoe for
ourselves--I hope we shall not require her for more than an hour--and
then send the rest adrift down the river, which will put it out of the
power of the villagers to pursue us. It is, of course, a bit hard upon
them, but it cannot be helped; and after all, they have kept us enslaved
here for three months, so it is not so very unfair an exchange. Now,
this is a handy little craft, and ought to serve our purpose very well,
even if we cannot find our own canoe again, so help me to haul her up,
Dick; and then we must push the others off as quickly as we can. The
suck of the current will soon draw them down the creek into the main
stream; and when once they are there the Mayubuna may say goodbye to
them."
It took them the best part of half an hour to send the whole of the
canoes adrift, but they did the job effectually, and by the time that
the last canoe had been thrust off into the middle of the creek the
first dozen or so were fairly in the main stream and being rapidly
sucked out toward the middle by the strong current. Then Dick and Phil,
after giving a last look round, and flinging a parting glance toward the
silent and apparently deserted village, thrust off the canoe which they
had reserved for themselves, sprang lightly into her as she went afloat,
seized the paddles, and headed down the creek. Upon reaching the main
stream they found that the current was running very strongly, showing
that there had been much rain higher up among the hills; but, on the
other hand, the storm, which was still raging violently, although it had
brought no rain as yet, had bred a strong breeze from the northward
which would be of incalculable value to them if they could but recover
their own canoe, with her sail; they therefore paddled across to the
opposite side of the river, where the current was to a great extent
nullified by eddies, and worked their way upstream, close inshore, until
they reached the creek near which their own canoe remained--as they
hoped--concealed, when, turning into it, they paddled up it until they
arrived at their former landing-place, easily recognisable in the light
afforded by the incessant lightning flashes. In like manner they had no
difficulty in finding the detached clump of bush in which they had
hidden their canoe on the evening preceding their capture by the
Mayubuna; and toward this they now hurried, eager to learn whether she
still remained where they had put her.
As they strode rapidly across the little meadow they noticed that the
tall grass all round the clump in which they hoped to find their canoe
was much beaten down, as though a number of people had been walking
round it, and they also observed several well-defined trails leading
away from the clump toward the forest, all of which sent their hopes
down to zero, for the signs all pointed to the fact that someone--or
something--had made frequent visits to that clump of bush--some of them
quite recently; and if those visits had no reference to the hidden
canoe, they could not very well guess what their purpose could be. But
one thing was evident: that clump of bush must be approached with
caution; and accordingly they loosened their hangers in their sheaths,
strung their bows, fitted an arrow to the string, and then stole
cautiously forward, their figures strongly outlined in the vivid light
of the incessantly flashing lightning.
Reaching the spot where a slight thinning of the undergrowth had first
suggested to them the idea of hiding the canoe there, Dick suddenly
thrust Phil aside and, cautiously parting the bushes, proceeded to
insinuate himself into the opening thus made, Phil following him close
up, with his drawn hanger in his hand, raised ready to strike a blow if
necessary, although, hemmed closely in on every side, as they were, by
the tough, elastic stems and boughs of the undergrowth, it was almost as
difficult to strike a blow with a sword as it was to effectively draw a
bow. Working his way quietly but rapidly forward in the effective
manner which he had acquired by several months' practice in the
penetration of such growth, Dick at last stretched out his hand and
touched what he at once knew was the hull of the canoe.
"All right, Phil," he exclaimed, delightedly, "here she is. Now, if you
will stay where you are, and widen the opening a little, so that she
will pass out easily, I will go to the other end, and help you to lift
her out."
Accordingly, he proceeded to work his way along the length of the canoe,
forcing the boughs aside to make a passage for himself, until he had
reached to about mid-length of the canoe, when, the darkness in there
being almost impenetrable in spite of the continuously flashing
lightning, he reached his hand over to ascertain whether the sail and
paddles were still in the craft as they had been left. As he did so he
became conscious of a strong musky odour, and while he was still
pondering what this might portend his hand came in contact with a cold,
clammy, scaly body which his touch told him, before he hastily withdrew
his hand with a low cry of astonishment and repugnance, must be not far
short of as thick as his own body. And the next instant there occurred
a sudden rustling that caused the canoe to shake and quiver and the
paddles in her to rattle, a huge, dimly-seen shape upraised itself in
the canoe, a gust of hot, fetid breath smote Dick in the face, and a
loud angry hiss made itself heard even through the heavy booming of the
thunder.