INTERCEPTING THE MARCH OF THE CONFEDERATES.
THE TREASURE
Blakely started north with the picked warriors, and before evening came
in sight of them, headed for the east. It was evident that they were
about to go to the Cataract.
Sutoto begged to be permitted to go there and inform them of the danger
of attack, and Blakely consented, and without waiting for the morning,
was on his way. He traveled most of the night, reaching the place in the
afternoon, and was received by John and the others with the most
effusive welcome.
"What are you here for?" asked John hurriedly.
"The tribes are coming this way."
"I have just learned from one of our runners that they went far to the
north of you, and assumed that the intention was to attack us."
"The Professor should be warned at once," was Sutoto's response.
"I have instructed that to be done," answered John.
The scenes around the Cataract were intensely interesting to him. He
wandered around with the boys, and asked questions on every conceivable
subject. Blakely had given him one of the guns, and he was taken to the
workshop and told how they were made. These things so fascinated him
that, hungry as he was, he could hardly be induced to take time for his
meals.
The boys admired him immensely, and together they acted like boys. The
water wheel; the sawmill; the two stones which served as the gristmill;
the grindstones; the lathes; and the little foundry were entrancing.
When the boys took him to the blacksmith shop, and he saw the forge, and
the numerous spear heads which John had turned out, as well as the
bolos, his eyes showed the intense delight the sight afforded him.
The next morning one of the runners appeared and stated that the tribes
were still waiting, and also imparted the further information that
Blakely and his party were at a safe distance, and unknown to the
hostiles.
It was obvious now that they were awaiting the arrival of the two scouts
who had been captured before advancing. Several scouts and runners were
again sent forward, with instructions to return with information the
moment an advance was made.
When Blakely reached the vicinity of their confederated enemies, he
thought it wise to keep in the background, and was at a loss to account
for the delay during the entire day, but before evening one of the
Berees, who had been sent by John, arrived in camp.
"I have just come from the white man's village, and they know that the
tribes are moving in that direction."
[Illustration: "_Meantime John consulted Muro and Uraso, and the three
picked out the most trustworthy scouts_"
[See p. 35]]
"How did they discover it?"
"We captured two spies and have them as captives."
This information suggested the cause of the delay. He immediately called
a runner, and indited the following letter: "I am keeping on the watch,
and am not afraid to attack the whole of them, if need be. If the guns
you are making are not completed, do not worry about it, as I shall keep
them interested here for several days longer. I will not appear unless I
find they have taken up the march in your direction. Blakely."
The following day the scouts informed Blakely that the allies had broken
camp and were about to move to the east. Calling the warriors together,
he addressed them as follows: "My friends; we are about to meet your
enemies, not for the purpose of fighting them, but to prevent them from
attacking our friends at the white man's home. Our friends there are
preparing the fire guns for us, before they come to us, and we must now
stand together to prevent them from going there until we are ready to
meet them."
The warriors all crowded around, and showed by their attitude that they
could be depended upon.
"We have with us eleven fire guns, and I will now tell you how we must
fight them, if it is necessary. I will stand in the center of the front
line, with the guns, and on each side of us will be the ones I shall
select. All those in front will have bows and arrows, but you will not
need them, unless they come up too close. We must now march to the
right, as fast as we can, and get between them and our friends."
The column started out on its mission, and made its way with the utmost
speed to the east, and before noon turned to the north, being thus
placed directly in the path of the oncoming forces. The allies moved
along deliberately, entirely unaware of the existence of any force.
Before four o'clock the first signs of the advance were observed.
Blakely had selected a strong position on a slight elevation, on the
east side of one of the little streams which flowed into the Cataract
River, that commanded an open front. His entire force was placed between
two natural objects, the right resting behind a rocky projection and the
left to the rear of a heavy chaparral of wood.
Entirely unsuspecting, the allies marched along the stream, and crossed
not a hundred yards below. When they were within hailing distance, John
and Ralsea suddenly appeared in front of their concealed column, and the
latter, at the instigation of Blakely, addressed them as follows:
"The white men do not want war, but peace. They have come only to rescue
their own people. You must give them up, or there can be no peace. The
white chief tells me that if you injure or kill the white men you now
have he will hold you responsible, because he is powerful, and is now
ready to destroy you and your wives and children, but he does not want
to do that. We are here to prevent you from going to the white man's
house."
The consternation on the faces of the savages, at the appearance of
two, was easily discernible. They listened in silence while Ralsea
spoke, and, then indicated that they would hold a council and give their
answer.
It was evident that the allies were taken by surprise, and it must have
been obvious that they had no idea of the force which was in their
front. Blakely had wisely stationed pickets to the right and the left,
in order to observe their movements, after the first surprise was over.
The conference lasted until night fell, and thus the first object was
gained; delay. In the morning one of the chiefs appeared, and Blakely
and Ralsea again went to the front.
"I will give you our answer," he said. "The white man attacked us, and
we fought him back. He has killed our warriors, and we will not treat
with him at this time."
Ralsea replied: "You have done the same that we have done toward the
white man; we were always the first to attack them. They tried to be
friendly, but we would not listen to them."
"We will let you know in two suns what our answer is." And he withdrew.
"That means," remarked Ralsea, "that they are waiting for
reinforcements."
"So much the better. We will be reinforced much better than they by the
time their reinforcements come to hand."
"We must send a runner to the Great White Chief, and tell him to stop
the Kurabus from coming to their assistance," said Ralsea.
"That is a wise suggestion," answered Blakely; and without delay one
was selected and made his way to the Brabos' village.
When the Professor received Blakely's note he called in the Brabo chief,
Oma, and said: "The forces we sent out are preventing the allies from
going to our village, and have sent a runner here to inform us that the
Kurabus are about to send more warriors to aid our enemies. Select one
hundred warriors and let us go to the Kurabus' village and capture the
warriors who are there, and also put the villages in our power. This may
make them understand that they have no homes to go to unless they come
to us."
This information delighted Oma, and he hurriedly gathered the warriors,
and the Professor concluded to accompany them, as he did not want the
warriors to commit any excesses against the villages and inhabitants of
their former enemies, or exact any reprisals for the past indignities
that some of them had suffered from the Kurabus.
A day's march brought them close to the main village, and scouts were
sent to the front to ascertain whether the warriors still remaining in
the village had gone forward. Before the scouts could return fully fifty
warriors emerged from the village, and were taking up the march to join
the allies.
The Professor instructed the warriors under his command to divide into
three parties, one to remain with him, and the others to go to the right
and to the left, so that the Kurabus would thus be entrapped.
The party marched forward unsuspectingly, directly toward the position
occupied by the Professor, and he instructed Oma to show himself and
inform them that they were surrounded and that resistance would be
useless.
Some, more venturesome than others, started to retreat, but the
unexpected appearance of the Professor's warriors drove them back, and
without firing a shot or loosing an arrow they submitted. When the
Professor appeared they were the more surprised. The whole were marched
back to the village, and, although the women tried to escape, all were
soon rounded up and brought back.
The captured Kurabus warriors were taken to the Brabos' village, and the
women informed that they would not be injured, as the white man did not
believe in making war.
The Professor at once sent a runner to Blakely and also to John. Two
days afterwards the runner appeared at the Cataract with the following
message from the Professor:
"We captured the Kurabus' village to-day, and all the warriors left
there, as they were about to leave to join the forces now before
Blakely. We have taken all of them to the Brabos' village, where they
will be held. Make the utmost speed with the weapons. In the meantime, I
have sent a force to the north to intercept any reinforcements that the
Tuolos may forward."
The message from Blakely was as follows: "We arrested the movement of
the allies yesterday, and asked why they were determined to attack us.
They refused to give an answer, and they are, probably, awaiting
reinforcements. My forces are between them and the Cataract, and they
will give their answer in two days."
All this news was imparted to the people, and the knowledge was received
with enthusiasm. It gave the warriors the first glimpse of the value of
cooperation, and the benefits of a directing hand in their affairs.
At the Cataract matters were progressing favorably. Reports from Blakely
and the Professor assured them that they would have no difficulty, in a
few days, in getting at least thirty of the guns ready. Stut proved
himself to be the most apt pupil, and nothing interested him as much as
the forge and anvil, and John, noticing this, set him to work on the
small anvil to forge out arrow heads.
The arrows used by the natives were uniformly of stone, but the metal
ones were perfect, and so arranged that, with the ramie fiber, could be
readily attached to the shaft. The most deft workers in the making of
the native arrows were selected, and together they made up a large
quantity of arrows, and Stut seemed to be indefatigable in turning out
the heads for the workers.
During this period the larder was not forgotten. The hunters brought in
every day an immense quantity of taro, which seemed to be their favorite
vegetable.
This is a stemless plant, which has heart-shaped leaves, about a foot
long, and the leaves and stalks are prepared by them in the same way
that we use spinach and asparagus.
But the tuber, or root, of this vegetable is the most valuable part. It
is larger than the common beet, and sometimes grows to a foot or more in
length. This was beaten into a pulp by the natives, and made into a
bread or pudding.
[Illustration: _Fig. 4. The Taro Plant and Bulb._]
"I like the taro," said George. "It can be used in so many ways, and I
want to try it in the different forms as soon as we have an
opportunity."
"In the Sandwich Islands, and in many other places it is the vegetable
from which the well-known Poi is made," said John.
"Do you know how it is made?" asked George.
"It is beaten up, just as you see them do it here, and then set in the
sun to ferment for about three or four days. It is afterwards boiled
with fowl, and makes a very pleasant dish, most appetizing and
nourishing. The fermented Poi will last for weeks. It is the same as the
well-known kalo of the Pacific Island, the yu-tao of China, the sato imo
of Japan, and the oto of Central America. A fine dish is made of it by
boiling and then covering the leaves with a dressing of cocoanut oil."
Harry and the other boys had been in consultation for several days
concerning the cave, and a day or two before they were ready to start
had a talk with John about the treasure there. John listened
attentively, and when they had finished, said:
"You are quite right in wanting to take care of the valuables there. You
are entitled to them."
"But they are yours, as much as ours, and we shall not touch them unless
it is with the understanding that you shall share with us," responded
George.
"I could not consider it for a moment."
"You cannot help yourself," said the boys in chorus. "We have arranged
all that matter, and you have nothing to say about it."
"But," protested John. "I do not deserve it."
"Well, do we?" asked Harry.
"But you and the Professor discovered it."
"Before you or Ralph and Tom came we arranged the division, so that the
Professor has one-third of it, but we own two-thirds, and that we
propose to divide equally among all of us," added Harry.
"Really," said Ralph, "Tom and I are in the same position as John, and
we feel it is not right to take a share, but the boys insist on it."
"Well, if you consider that a settlement, I must say that I am going to
make good more than my share and the shares of Ralph and Tom."
"We don't want you to make it good," insisted George.
"But you can't help yourself in that. The cave in the Tuolos' country
has something in it that will make you wonder as much as the treasure
you have here, and it will be fully as interesting to get at and recover
as anything you have experienced here."
"When do you think we ought to start for the west?" asked Harry.
"Day after to-morrow will see everything ready. We shall then have all
the ammunition sufficient to last us until we can reestablish the plant,
and as the new wagon is ready, it should not take us more than a day,
with all the help we have, to load and apportion the different loads
among the warriors."
"Then why can't we take to-morrow for the expedition to the cave?"
"That will suit admirably," he replied.
On the following morning the boys had the yaks yoked up, and taking with
them a number of the copper vessels, and a quantity of the ramie cloth,
drove over to the side of the hill opposite the Cataract house, so as
to reach the land entrance of the caverns.
"It is not desirable to have any here know of our visit nor our purpose.
It would not make any material difference, as the treasure there is of
no value to them; but our motives will be misunderstood," remarked John.
Under the circumstances John and the four boys were the only ones in the
party.
"We are going to have some pretty tough work this morning. That gold
weighs something."
"Wasn't it a good thing you suggested the making the wagon?"
John smiled without saying anything.
The boys eyed him sharply, and finally Harry said: "That is what you
suggested the new wagon for, was it not?"
John nodded an assent.
"Did the Professor say anything to you about bringing it along?"
"He did say it might be taken if you thought so."
"Didn't he suggest that we should do so?"
"No; he said the matter was left entirely to your judgment, and that I
should not say anything about it, unless you proposed that course."
"Well, I am thinking we shall have a pretty good load for one team with
what we get out of the place," said George.
"It will make a good load, but we can add to it the lightest parts of
the stock we have at the Cataract."
Before reaching the mouth of the cavern, a messenger hurried over from
the Cataract with the information that two runners had arrived from the
Professor and from Blakely, and they drove back as quickly as possible,
and reached there to learn that another had just arrived from Blakely.
The two runners first to arrive conveyed the information stated in the
previous chapter, but the last carried the additional news that there
had been a fight between Blakely and the tribes, and that he was slowly
moving back to the Cataract, but there was no occasion for alarm.
The latter part of the note read as follows: "Do not be alarmed and
continue your work, and if the matter should be at all serious I will
advise you by runner in ample time, and shall in any event send another
in the next four hours."
John called in Muro and said:
"The forces with Blakely are having a fight with the tribes. I want you
to take fifty men, and also twenty-five guns, and assist Blakely and his
warriors, and keep me informed of the progress of events. Tell him that
by day after to-morrow we shall be on our way. In the meantime you
should draw them this way, as we do not want them to go back. For that
purpose keep up the show of retreating, and hold them until day after
to-morrow."
Within an hour the column was ready and moved toward the scene with
celerity, equipped with the new guns, and an ample supply of ammunition,
together with the new arrows which had been made.