spectacle which Ossaroo presented, with only his head above the water,
and his face wearing the most lugubrious of looks; but Caspar's mirth
was soon dissipated, when he perceived the real danger in which the
shikarree was placed; his laughter was brought abruptly to an end, and
an expression of anxiety now clouded his countenance.
But Caspar was just the one for quick thought and action in a ease of
danger like this, and, almost in an instant, he conceived a plan by
which Ossaroo might be saved. Crying to the latter to keep still, he
dashed out of the water and loosed the net at both ends. He then drew
out the long rope that formed its upper border, cutting away the meshes
and floats. This done, he rapidly climbed the great tree, and sprawled
out along one of its horizontal limbs that stretched right over the
place where the shikarree was fixed. He had taken the rope along with
him; and, now throwing one end to Ossaroo, and directing him to fasten
it around his body, he passed the other over the branch, and slipped
down it into the water.
In a few seconds the rope was made fast upon the body of Ossaroo--just
under his armpits--and then both laid hold of the other end, and
commenced pulling with all their might.
To their great joy their united strength proved sufficient for the
purpose. It out-balanced the weight and tenacity of the sand; and after
a good spell of pulling and tugging, Ossaroo's limbs were drawn upward
and once more set free. Then both rushed out to the bank, and the same
trees and rocks that so lately echoed the mournful cries of the
shikarree, now rang with shouts of joy.
CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR.
A DEMAND FOR BEAR'S GREASE.
The peril from which he had just escaped, drove all thoughts of fishing
out of Ossaroo's head, for that day at least. Moreover, the net was
damaged by the rope having been so rudely taken out, and would require
repairs before it could be set again; so, taking up the fish that had
been caught and the net also, Caspar and the fisherman walked off toward
the hut.
On arriving there, they were surprised to find that Karl had not
returned, for it was getting late; and fearing that some accident might
have happened to him, they lost no time in setting forth in search of
him.
As already known they were guided upon his trail by Fritz, and arrived
just in time to save Karl's life.
"But tell us, brother," inquired Caspar after a while, "what took you up
there anyhow?"
Karl now entered into a detail of _his_ afternoon's adventures--telling
them at the same time of the hope he had conceived of their being able
to scale the precipice with ladders.
When he came to the bear, Caspar was all ears.
"What! a bear?" he exclaimed; "a bear, you say, brother?--Which way did
it go?"
"Into the cave--it is still there."
"Still in the cave! Good! we'll have him out--let us go after him at
once."
"No, brother, it is better not,--it might be dangerous to attack, him in
the cave."
"Not a bit of it," replied the daring hunter; "Ossaroo says that these
bears are great cowards, and that he would not be afraid to attack one
single-handed with his spear. You think so, shikarree?"
"Yes, Sahib, he bear--big coward, me no fear him anywhere."
"You remember, Karl, how the other one ran from us--just like a deer
would have done."
"But this one is a different kind," suggested Karl; and Karl proceeded
to describe the bear which he had encountered.
Ossaroo, however, knew the animal by the description given, and declared
that it was quite as timid a creature as the sloth-bear. He had hunted
this kind in the Sylhet Hills--where he had been upon an expedition--and
where, he asserted, the Tibet bear was to be found in considerable
numbers. It would not be dangerous, therefore, to attack it in the
cave, or anywhere else. Such was the opinion of the shikarree.
Karl at length ceased to urge his objections. He began to think that
the bear had not been in pursuit of him, after all,--else it would have
returned out of the cave on not finding him--most likely the cave was
its den, and it was to hide itself there that it had rushed so
determinedly past him. This appeared probable enough, since they had
been waiting a good while, and Bruin had not yet condescended to show
himself upon the ledge.
It was resolved, therefore, that they should all enter the cavern, and
kill the bear if possible.
This resolve, however, was not made without considerable deliberation;
but two reasons were at length brought forward that not only decided the
point in favour of killing the bear, but rendered it a matter of some
consequence that they should succeed in this design.
The first reason was that they really wanted the animal, and it was of
importance to them that it should be killed.
It was not for its fine skin they wanted it--though that might be of use
to them in the cold winter, now near at hand--nor did they want to kill
the bear merely for the pleasure and excitement of the thing. No. They
had a very different object in view. They wanted the carcass, or rather
that portion of it that is termed the "fat." They wanted the "bear's
grease."
For what purpose? you will ask. To make their hair grow? Nothing of
the sort. The hair of all three, from late neglect, was long enough--
quite as long as they could have wished it. Caspar's curls hung over
his shoulders, and Ossaroo's snaky black tresses dangled down his back
like the tail of a horse. Even Karl's silken locks were long enough to
have satisfied the most romantic of refugees. No. They wanted the
bear's fat, not for their hair, but for their kitchen. They wanted it
to cook with, for one thing, but a still more important use they
intended to apply it to,--and that was for making candles! For both of
the above purposes they had need of the bear's fat, since the other
animals which they were accustomed to hunt and kill were chiefly
ruminant animals, with very little fat upon them, and never enough of it
to cook their own flesh.
You who live in a land where there is plenty of lard and butter, can
hardly understand what it is to be without these essential articles of
the _cuisine_. In most civilised countries that valuable pachyderm,--
the pig,--supplies the desideratum of lard; and you will scarce
appreciate the importance of this article until you have travelled in a
country where the hog is not found among the domesticated animals. In
such places the smallest morsel of fat is highly prized, for without it,
good cooking is a dry and difficult business.
Such considerations as these determined the fate of the bear. The
hunters well knew that animals of this kind yield large quantities of
the very best fat, which they then stood in want of, and would need
still more during the long nights of winter. Perhaps there might be
more than one bear in the cave; so much the better; one or more, they
must be attacked and killed.
But there was another reason why they had determined to enter the cave;
one of far greater consideration than the killing of the bear. It was
Caspar who had suggested it.
"Why," asked he, "why might we not get out by this very cave? What if
it should prove to run upward, and have an entrance above, or on the
other side of the mountain?"
Both Karl and Ossaroo were startled at the suggestion. The idea put all
of them into a flurry of excitement.
"I have read of such things," continued Caspar; "of great caverns that
extended from one side of a mountain to the other. There is one in
America that has been traced for twelve miles; the Mammoth, I mean!
This might be one of the same kind. You say you saw far into it, Karl?
Let us explore it then, and see where it leads to."
It was but a slight hope, still it was a hope; and it could not cost
much trouble to give the cave a thorough exploration. It would be but a
small matter compared with the construction of ladders to scale the
cliff; besides, they were now convinced by a farther examination of the
precipice that this was not practicable, and had quite abandoned all
thought of it. Should the cavern prove to be of vast extent, and have
another opening elsewhere than in the valley, they might escape from
their terrible prison, and their troubles would be at an end.
With such hopes,--that were indeed little better than fancies,--they
consoled themselves for the moment.
It was resolved, then, that on the morrow the cave was to be entered.
For all the assistance they would have from the light of the sun, they
might as well have begun their exploration at night. But they were not
ready to begin. Torches had to be procured; and a notched tree by which
to ascend the cliff; and to obtain these required time. They would have
them ready by the morrow.
With this determination, they returned to their hut; and at once set
about making the torches, and preparing the notched tree for their
ladder. There were other little preparations to be made, but most of
them were completed before they thought of retiring to rest.
CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE.
BEAR-HUNT BY TORCH-LIGHT.
As soon as it was daylight again, they went to work once more, and
finished their preparations for entering the cave, and at a tolerably
early hour they took the route for the ravine.
Two of them carried the _improvised_ ladder; which was only a slender
pine-tree, of about forty feet long, notched by the axe, the notches
being at intervals of a foot to eighteen inches apart. At its more
slender part, there were no notches required, as the natural branches of
the tree, lopped into short stumps, were to be used as foot-holds, and
would serve the purpose better than any notches.
Forty feet of even the slenderest tree when green would be load
sufficient for a couple of stout men. This one was not green; for they
had been fortunate enough to find one that had fallen long ago, and that
was now quite dead and dry. For all that, it "tied" the united strength
of Caspar and Ossaroo to carry it along, for it was they who performed
this duty. Karl was loaded with the guns, torches, and the great spear
of the shikarree. Fritz carried nothing except his tail; and this he
bore aloft in a swaggerish manner, as though he knew that something more
than common was designed, and that grand game was to be killed that day.
They moved but slowly; but after about two hours' walking, including
many stoppages and rests, they arrived within the ravine and under the
ledge.
It occupied about another hour to erect the ladder. It was placed
nearly opposite the mouth of the cave, instead of by the path; for there
appeared a favourable crevice in the rocks, which promised to hold it
steady, and keep it from turning round; an important consideration with
so rude a ladder. The upper end of the tree was laid into the crevice,
and fitted exactly. The lower end was rendered firm by something like a
cartload of heavy boulders being built around it. It could neither
shift nor turn. It was fast as a shut trap. Nothing now remained but
to ascend, light the torches, and enter the cave.
A question, however, arose, whether Bruin might still be inside? It was
doubtful enough, and there was no means of knowing. He had ample time
to have gone out, since they left the place on the preceding evening,
and, very likely, had wandered forth for a nocturnal ramble; but, had he
returned? was he now "at home" to receive them? or, was he still abroad,
robbing the bushes of their fruit, and the bees of their honey?
No one could tell; there was no sign visible; no hint far visitors. The
door was open, and all who came night enter or not, as they pleased.
For a while, our hunters had some hesitation about this matter, and
debated the point as to whether it might not be better to lie in ambush,
and watch for Bruin going out or returning home. Most certainly the
cave was his home. The path leading up had all the appearance of being
much used. The rocks were scratched by his claws, and discoloured by
his feet--his, or those of other animals. Karl had noticed all this,
when making his first ascent; therefore, there need be no fear but that
the bear would come back in one direction or another.
He might be trapped, and that would save a struggle; but this mode was
not to the liking either of Caspar or Ossaroo, and Fritz apparently
voted for a bear-fight.
Ossaroo, especially, declared that there was not the slightest danger in
attacking him, armed as they were; not so much as there would be in an
encounter with a sambur stag. He suggested, moreover, that it might be
days before they would set eyes upon him; that he might go to sleep in
his den, and lie there for a week without showing himself; and,
therefore, it would never do to wait for him. He must be looked for
within the cave, and assailed in his gloomy stronghold. So counselled
the Hindoo hunter.
But it needed no argument. Karl alone was for the prudent way of
setting a trap, and capturing the animal without risk; but Karl was as
anxious as either of the others to explore the cave. The words of
Caspar had made a deep impression upon him; and, slight as was the hope
that Caspar's conjecture might be true, still there was something in it.
It _might_ be so. Once more, it was like the drowning man catching at
the straw.
Without farther hesitation the ladder was set up, as already described;
and, shortly after, all four--for Fritz is to be counted in this
adventure--stood upon the ledge in front of the cavern's mouth.
Each had now possession of his own weapons: Karl, his rifle; Caspar, the
double-barrel; and Ossaroo, his spear, bow and arrows, hatchet and
knife.
There were two torches, each one nearly a yard in length, with handles
that measured nearly another yard. They were made of splints from the
pine-trees, that had been shared off while dressing the latter for the
bridge. They were now quite dry, and, tied together in a bundle, would
burn splendidly. They were no novelty, these torches. They had made
similar ones before, and tried them; and, therefore, they could depend
upon them to give them light within the cave.
They entered without lighting the torches, intending only to use them
when it became necessary. Perhaps, after all, the cave might be of
small extent, though Karl believed that such was not the case. He had
noted that the bear had gone a good way back, as he was able to judge by
his snorts and growling.
This point was soon settled. When they had proceeded many paces from
the entrance, and the light of the sun began to fail them, they could
perceive that the cavern grew wider and higher, and, like a great, black
gateway, yawned far back into the rocks. Apparently, there was no
termination to it!
The tinder which they had prepared was now set on fire; and the ends of
the torches, touched with pine-tree resin, were soon ignited, and began
to blaze.
All at once the cavern shone with a thousand lights, which had not been
hitherto observed. The sparkling stalactites projecting downward from
the roof, with here and there the drops of clear filtered water, gave
back the glare from the torches in a thousand coruscations. It seemed
to our young hunters as though they were treading the famed halls of
Aladdin's palace.
On they marched along the wide passage, holding their torches on high,
and, at intervals, pausing to examine some nook or chamber that opened
right or left--still searching for the bear. As yet, they had seen no
traces of the animal; though, from the excited baying of Fritz, it was
plain to them that either Bruin himself, or some other quadruped, had
passed up the cave before them. The dog was evidently upon a hot scent,
and lifting it as fast as they could follow him.
A little after, Fritz doubled to one side, and appeared busy with some
object by the side of the cave. The hunters were under the impression
that the game had been found, and halted, each bringing his piece to the
ready.
After a moment, however, Fritz glided out, and again sprang forward on
the trail. The torches were carried up to where Fritz had made his
temporary pause, and, under their light, a large pile of withered leaves
and grass was made visible. It was the snug den of Bruin--still warm
where his huge carcass had lain; but the cunning brute was no longer
"abed." He had been roused by the noises of his enemies, and had
retreated farther into the cavern.
Fritz was again moving forward along the trail, uttering an occasional
"growl" as he went. He was by no means a fast dog at taking up a scent,
nor yet on the run. These were not his qualities. But he was stanch
and sure, and desperate when once he grappled with the game. So sure
was he, that, whenever he started off upon a trail, you might rely upon
it, with perfect confidence, that the game was before you.
The three hunters thought no longer of looking for the bear anywhere
else than before the snout of Fritz; and, therefore, the chase became
simplified to keeping the hound in view. The nature of the ground--here
covered with blocks of loose stone, there with huge stalagmites--
prevented the dog from making rapid progress. The bear had often
doubled and halted, no doubt having some difficulty himself in making
way in the darkness; and this doubling caused much delay to Fritz; so
much, that the torch-bearers could generally keep him in sight.
Now and again, he became lost to view; and then there was a halt, and
some moments of indecision, which were ended only by the long howl of
the hound echoing through the cavern, and guiding them to his
whereabouts.
You will be surprised that they should at any time have lost the chase.
You will fancy that, by keeping on, they must overtake Fritz in time, or
meet him returning.
Such might have been true, had there been only one passage through this
stupendous cavern; but, instead of one, they saw scores of vaulted
aisles forking at intervals, and traversing in very different
directions. They had long since turned both to the right and the left--
more than once turned--without any other guide than the baying of the
hound, or the view of his yellow body, as he scrambled along the trail.
An immense cavern if was, full of ways, and passages, and halls, and
chambers; many of them so like each other, that the hunters could not
help thinking they were running in a maze, and going repeatedly over the
same ground!
By this time Karl had begun to reflect, and his reflection was, that
they were proceeding rashly. Certain ideas were rising in his mind--
ideas somewhat undefined--but one among the rest was, that, going as
they were, without taking either "bearings or distances," they might get
lost!
Before he had time to call his companions to a halt and take some
deliberation about the matter, a peculiar noise struck upon their ears--
a noise that was easily recognised as being made by the united voices of
two angry animals--a dog and a bear.
Beyond a doubt it was Bruin and Fritz--beyond a doubt they were "in
grips!"
The Plant Hunters--by Captain Mayne Reid
CHAPTER FIFTY SIX.
LOST IN THE CAVE.
The scene of their encounter was at no great distance--about twenty
yards off; and, guided by the loud growling and "worrying," the hunters
easily directed themselves towards the spot. After stumbling over
stalagmites, and now and then hitting their heads against the projecting
points of the stalactites, they arrived upon the ground; and the glare
of the torches was thrown upon two animals--a dog and a bear. They were
near the middle of an immense open hall, or chamber of the cavern. Both
were in fighting attitudes; the bear standing upon the flat top of a
rock--about three feet above the surrounding level--and the dog
assailing his leg, now on one side of the rock, and now upon the other.
The bear was defending himself with his huge paws; and at intervals
flung the forepart of his body downward, with the design of seizing the
hound in his hug.
Fritz well knew the danger of being embraced in the fore-arms of a bear,
and therefore made his attacks from behind; springing up at the
hind-quarters of Bruin, and biting him in the hams. To avoid these
assaults upon his rear, the bear kept turning round and round, as though
he was spinning about upon a pivot!
It was altogether a laughable sight to witness the curious contest
between the two quadrupeds, and had the hunters been pursuing the bear
for mere amusement, they would have permitted the fight to go on for
some time without interfering in it. But amusement was just then out of
the question. The fat of Bruin was a thing of far more importance; and
now that the hunters had become aware of the vast size and endless
labyrinths of the cavern, they perceived that it was quite possible in
such a place to lose both the bear and his fat. He might have escaped
them as easily as if he were in the open woods.
With these ideas, therefore, they were only too anxious to put an end to
the struggle, and secure the game.
The bear could not have offered them a better opportunity. His position
upon the rock rendered him a conspicuous mark, both for the bullets of
the guns and the arrows of Ossaroo. Besides, there was no danger of
wounding Fritz, if good aim was taken by the marksmen.
Good aim _was_ taken--a couple of loud reports echoed through the cave--
one of Ossaroo's arrows whistled, and penetrated the thick shaggy skin--
and the next moment the huge black mass rolled down from the rock, and
lay back uppermost, kicking his paws about in the last throes of death.
Then Fritz leaped upon his upturned breast, seized the white throat
between his jaws, and choked and worried at it till the last breath was
squeezed out of poor Bruin's body, that the next moment lay quite limp
and motionless.
Fritz was now scolded off, and the torches were held near, in order that
the hunters might examine the game they had killed. A splendid specimen
the bear was--one of the biggest and fattest of his kind; and no doubt
would yield them a large amount of the precious "grease."
They had scarcely made this reflection when another of far different
character forced itself upon their minds, and compelled them to stand
gazing at each other with looks of mute inquiry. Each waited for one of
the others to speak; and although no one had yet said a word, all
equally felt that they were in a dilemma.
What dilemma? you will ask. The game had been secured--what difficulty
would there be in dragging it out of the cave, and afterwards taking it
home to their hut?
All this may appear easy enough to you, because you do not yet
understand the situation in which the hunters were placed--you do not
comprehend why they stood gazing upon each other with troubled looks.
Why they did so was simply this:--while examining the carcass of the
bear, they observed that their _torches were burnt out_! Not quite to
the ends, it is true; but so near that they could not be depended on to
light them a score of yards. They were already flickering and burning
dimly--in a few seconds more they would be quite extinguished; and what
then?
Ay, what then? that was the thought that was troubling them--that it was
that caused them to stand looking anxiously towards one another.
Even they themselves did not fully comprehend the peril of their
situation. They saw that they were going to be left in darkness--the
perfect darkness of a dungeon--but it had not yet occurred to them that
_they might never again see the light_! That appalling thought had not
yet shaped itself in their minds--they only believed that the want of
torches would put them to much inconvenience--they would have great
trouble, and perhaps difficulty, in finding their way out of the cave,
and getting the bear along with them--they might first have to grope
their way out, and then get fresh torches, and return for the game; and
all this would take a good deal of time, and give them a large amount of
trouble; but never mind that--the prize they had obtained in the fat of
the bear, and his fine hide--which would make a grand winter robe--would
repay them for all.
Ha! it was only after their torches had gone quite out, and they were
left in total darkness--only after they had groped and groped, and
wandered about for hours--now sprawling over loose rocks, now tumbling
down into deep clefts--only after they had gone through all this, and
still saw no light--no sign by which they could even guess at their
whereabouts, that they became fully alive to the peril of their
situation, and began to experience the awful apprehension already
expressed--that _they might never again see the light_!
And such in reality was their fear, when, after hours spent in fruitless
wandering, they stood holding each other's hands, crouching and cowering
together in the midst of that amorphous darkness!
CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN.