As, upon the stage of a theatre, the farce follows the grand melodrama,
this tragic scene was succeeded by an incident ludicrous to an extreme
degree. It elicited roars of laughter from the men, that, under the
circumstances, sounded like the laughter of madmen; maniacs indeed might
these men have been deemed--thus giving way to mirth, with a prospect
before them so grim and gloomy--the prospect of almost certain death,
either at the hands of our savage assailants, or from starvation.
Of the former we had no present fear. The flames that had driven us out
of the timber, had equally forced them from their position; and we knew
they were now far from us. They could not be near.
Now that the burnt branches had fallen from the pines, and the foliage
was entirely consumed, the eye was enabled to penetrate the forest to a
great distance. On every side we commanded a _vista_ of at least a
thousand yards, through the intervals between the red glowing trunks;
and beyond this we could hear by the "swiz" of the flames, and the
continual crackling of the boughs, that fresh trees were being embraced
within the circle of conflagration, that was each moment extending its
circumference.
The sounds grew fainter apace, until they bore a close resemblance to
the mutterings of distant thunder. We had fancied that the fire was
dying out; but the luminous ring around the horizon proved that the
flames were still ascending. It was only that the noise came from a
greater distance, that we heard it less distinctly.
Our human foes must have been still further away, they must have retired
before the widening rim of the conflagration. But they had calculated
upon doing so before applying the torch. In all likelihood, they had
retreated to the savanna, to await the result.
Their object in firing the forest was not so easily understood. Perhaps
they expected that the vast volume of flame would close over and consume
us, or, more like, that we should be smothered under the dense clouds of
smoke. This might in reality have been our fate, but for the proximity
of the pond. My companions told me, that their sufferings from the
smoke had been dreadful in the extreme--that they should have been
stifled by it, had they not thrown themselves into the pond, and kept
their faces close to the surface of the water, which was several feet
below the level of the ground. It had been to me an hour of
unconsciousness. My faithful black had carried me lifeless, as he
supposed, to the water, and placed me among the rest.
It was afterwards--when the smoke had partially cleared away--that the
spies were brought to account. Hickman and Weatherford, deeply
indignant at the conduct of these monsters, would not hear of delay.
They insisted upon immediate punishment; and the wretches were seized
upon, dragged out of the pond, and put upon their trial. It was at this
crisis that my senses returned to me.
As soon as the dread sentence had been carried into execution, the
_ci-devant_ jurors came rushing back to the pond, and plunged their
bodies into the water. The heat was still intense, and painful of
endurance.
There were two only who appeared to disregard it, and still remained
upon the bank. These were the two hunters.
Knives in hand, I saw them stooping over a dark object that lay near.
It was the horse that Hickman had shot in the morning; and I now
perceived the old hunter's motive, that had hitherto mystified me. It
was an act of that cunning foresight that characterised this man,
apparently instinctive.
They proceeded to skin the horse, and, in a few seconds, had pealed off
a portion of the hide--sufficient for their purpose. They then cut out
several large pieces of the flesh, and laid them aside. This done,
Weatherford stepped off to the edge of the burning timber, and presently
returned with an armful of half consumed fagots. These were erected
into a fire, near the edge of the pond; and the two, squatting down by
its side, commenced broiling the pieces of horse-flesh upon sapling
spits, and conversing as coolly and cheerily as if seated in the chimney
corner of their own cabins.
There were others as hungry as they, who took the hint, and proceeded to
imitate their example. The pangs of hunger were harder to bear than the
hot atmosphere, and in a few minutes' time, a dozen men might have been
observed, grouped like vultures around the dead horse hacking and hewing
at the carcass.
At this crisis occurred the incident which I have characterised as
ludicrous.
With the exception of the few engaged in their coarse _cuisine_, the
rest of us remained in the water. We were lying around the circular rim
of the basin--our bodies parallel to one another, and our heads upon the
bank. We were not dreaming of being disturbed by an intruder of any
kind--at least for a time. We were no longer in fear of the fire, and
our savage foemen were far off.
All at once, however, an enemy was discovered in an unexpected quarter--
right in the midst of us.
Just in the centre of the pond, where the water was deepest, a monstrous
form rose suddenly to the surface; at the same time that our ears were
greeted with a loud bellowing, as if half a score of bulls were let
loose into the glade.
In an instant, the water was agitated and lashed into foam, and the
spray fell in showers around our heads.
Weird-like and sudden, as was the apparition, there was nothing
mysterious about it. The hideous form, and deep barytone were
well-known to all. It was simply an alligator.
But for its enormous size the presence of the reptile would scarce have
been regarded; but it was one of the largest of its kind--its long body
almost equalling the diameter of the pond, with huge gaunt jaws that
seemed capable of swallowing a man at a single "gulp." Its roar, too,
was enough to inspire even the boldest with terror.
It produced this effect; and the wild frightened looks of those in the
water--their confused plunging and splashing, as they scrambled to their
feet and hastened to get out of it--their simultaneous rushing up the
bank, and scattering off into the open ground--all contributed to form a
spectacle ludicrous in the extreme.
In less than ten seconds' time the great saurian had the pond to
himself; where he continued to bellow, and lash the water in his rage.
He was not permitted to exult long in his triumph. The hunters, with
several others, seized their rifles, and ran forwards to the edge of the
pond, when a volley from a dozen guns terminated the monster's
existence.
Those who had been "ashore," were already convulsed with laughter at the
scared fugitives; but the latter, having recovered from their momentary
affright, now joined in the laugh, till the woods rang with a chorus of
wild cachinnations.
Could the Indians have heard us at that moment, they must have fancied
as mad, or more likely dead, and that our voices were those of their own
fiends, headed by Wykome himself--rejoicing over the holocaust of their
pale-faced foes.