"If you moves, you dies!"
The poor child was too much terrified to move, even had she dared, for
she, too, had heard the unaccountable cries of Poopy, although, owing to
distance and the wild nature of these cries, she had failed to recognise
the voice. When, therefore, her jailer left her with this threat, she
coiled herself up in the smallest possible space, and began to sob
quietly.
Meanwhile, Keona re-entered the cavern with a diabolical grin on his
sable countenance, which, although it savoured more of evil than of any
other quality, had in it, nevertheless, a strong dash of ferocious
jovialty, as if he were aware that he had got his enemies into a trap,
and could amuse himself by playing with them as a cat does with a mouse.
Soon the savage began to step cautiously, partly because of the rugged
nature of the ground, and the thick darkness that surrounded him, and
partly in order to avoid alarming the three adventurers who were
advancing towards him from the other extremity of the cavern. In a few
minutes he halted, for the footsteps and the whispering voices of his
pursuers became distinctly audible to him, although all three did their
best to make as little noise as possible.
"Wot a 'orrid place it is!" exclaimed Bumpus, in a hoarse angry whisper,
as he struck his shins violently, for at least the tenth time, against a
ledge of rock--
"I do b'lieve, boy, that there's nobody here, and that we'd as well
'bout ship and steer back the way we've comed; tho' it _is_ a 'orrible
coast for rocks and shoals."
To this, Corrie, not being in a talkative humour, made no reply.
"D'ye hear me, boy?" said Jo, aloud, for he was somewhat shaken again by
the dead silence that followed the close of his remark.
"All right, I'm here," said Corrie, meekly.
"Then why don't ye speak," said Jo, tartly.
"I'd advise _you_ not to speak so loud," retorted the boy.
"Is the dark 'un there?" inquired Bumpus.
"What d'ye say?"
"The dark 'un; the lump o' charcoal, you know."
"Oh! she's all safe," replied Corrie, "I only hope she won't haul the
clothes right off my body; she grips at my waistband like a--"
Here he was cut short by Keona, who gave utterance to a low dismal wail
that caused the blood and marrow of all three to freeze up, and their
hearts for a moment to leap into their throats and all but choke them.
"Poopy's gone," gasped Corrie, after a few seconds had elapsed.
There was no doubt of the fact, for, besides the relief experienced by
the boy, from the relaxing of her grip on his waistband the moment the
wail was heard, the sound of the girl's footsteps as she flew back
towards the entrance of the cave was distinctly heard.
Keona waited a minute or two to ascertain the exact position of his
enemies, then he repeated the wail and swelled it gradually out into a
fiendish yell that awoke all the echoes of the place. At the same time,
guessing his aim as well as he could, he threw a spear and discharged a
shower of stones at the spot where he supposed they stood.
There is no understanding the strange workings of the human mind! The
very thing that most people would have expected to strike terror to the
heart of Bumpus, was that which infused courage into his soul. The
frightful tones of the savage's voice in such a place did indeed almost
prostrate the superstitious spirit of the seaman, but when he heard the
spear whiz past within an inch of his ear, and received a large stone
full on his chest, and several small ones on other parts of his person,
that instant his strength returned to him, like that of Samson, when the
Philistines attempted to fall upon him. His curiously philosophical
mind at once leaped to the conclusion that, although ghosts could yell,
and look, and vanish, they could not throw spears or fling stones, and
that, therefore, the man they were in search of was actually close
beside them.
Acting on this belief, with immense subtlety Bumpus uttered a cry of
feigned terror, and fled, followed by the panting Corrie, who uttered a
scream of real terror at what he supposed must be the veritable ghost of
the place.
But before he had run fifty yards, John Bumpus suddenly came to a dead
halt; seized Corrie by the collar, dragged him down behind a rock, and
laid his large hand upon his mouth, as being the shortest and easiest
way of securing silence, without the trouble of explanation.
As he had anticipated, the soft tread of the savage was heard almost
immediately after, as he passed on in fall pursuit. He brushed close
past the spot where Bumpus crouched, and received from that able-bodied
seaman such a blow on the shoulder of his wounded arm, as, had it been
delivered in daylight, would have certainly smashed his shoulder blade.
As it was, it caused him to stagger and sent him howling with pain to
the mouth of the cavern, whither he was followed by the triumphant Jo,
who now made sure of catching him.
But "there is many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip." When Keona
issued from the cave, he was received with a shout by the band of
savages, who instantly recognised him as their friend by his voice.
Poor Poopy was already in their hands, having been seized and gagged
when she emerged before she had time to utter a cry. And now they stood
in a semicircle ready to receive all who might come forth into their
arms, or on their spear-points, as the case might be.
Bumpus came out like an insane thunderbolt, and Corrie like a streak of
lightning. Instantaneously the flash of the pistol, accompanied by its
report and a deep growl from Bumpus, increased the resemblance to these
meteorological phenomena, and three savages lay stunned upon the ground.
"This way, Corrie!" cried the excited seaman, leaping to a perpendicular
rock, against which he placed his back, and raised his fists in a
pugilistic attitude. "Keep one or two in play with your broken
toothpick, an' I'll floor 'em one after another as they comes up. Now,
then, ye black baboons, come on--all at once if ye like--an' Jo
Bumpus'll shew ye wot he's made of!"
Not perceiving very clearly, in the dim light caused by a few stars that
flickered among the black and gathering clouds, the immense size and
power of the man with whom they had to deal, the savages were not slow
to accept this free and generous invitation to "come on." They rushed
forward in a body, intending, no doubt, to take the man and boy
prisoners; for if they had wished to slay them, nothing would have been
easier than to have thrown one or two of their spears at their
defenceless breasts.
Bumpus experienced a vague feeling that he had now a fair opportunity of
testing and proving his invincibility; yet the desperate nature of the
case did not induce him to draw his sword. He preferred his fists, as
being superior and much more handy weapons. He received the first two
savages who came within reach on the knuckles of his right and left
hands, rendering them utterly insensible, and driving them against the
two men immediately behind, with such tremendous violence, that they
also were put _hors de combat_.
This was just what Bumpus had intended and hoped for. The sudden fall
of so many gave him time to launch out his great fists a second time.
They fell with the weight of sledge-hammers on the faces of two more of
his opponents, flattening their noses, and otherwise disfiguring their
features, besides stretching them on the ground. At the same time,
Corrie flung his empty pistol in the face of a man who attempted to
assault his companion on the right flank unawares, and laid him prone on
the earth. Another savage, who made the same effort on the left,
received a gash on the thigh from the broken sabre that sent him howling
from the scene of conflict.
Thus were eight savages disposed of in about as many seconds.
But there is a limit to the powers and the prowess of man. The savages,
on seeing the fall of so many of their companions, rushed in on Bumpus
before he could recover himself for another blow. That is to say, the
savages behind pushed forward those in front whether they would or no,
and falling _en masse_ on the unfortunate pair, well-nigh buried them
alive in black human flesh.
Bumpus's last cry before being smothered was, "Down with the black
varmints!" and Corrie's last shout was, "Hooray!"
Thus fell--despite the undignified manner of their fall--a couple of as
great heroes as were ever heard of in the annals of war; not excepting
even those of Homer himself!
Now, good reader, this may be all very well for us to describe, and for
you to read, but it was a terrible thing for Poopy to witness. Being
bound hand and foot she was compelled to look on; and, to say truth, she
did look on with uncommon interest. When her friends fell, however, she
expressed her regrets and fears in a subdued shriek, for which she
received a sounding slap on the cheek from a young savage who had chosen
for himself the comparatively dangerous post of watching her, while his
less courageous friends were fighting.
Strange to say, Poopy did not shed more tears, (as one might have
expected), on receiving such treatment. She had been used to that sort
of thing, poor child. Before coming to the service of her little
mistress, she had been brought up--(it would be more strictly correct to
say that she had been kicked, and cuffed, and pinched, and battered
up)--by a stepmother, whose chief delight was to pull out handfuls of
her woolly hair, beat her nose flat, (which was adding insult to injury,
for it was too flat by nature), and otherwise to maltreat her. When,
therefore, Poopy received the slap referred to, she immediately dried
her eyes and looked humble. But she did not by any means _feel_ humble.
No; a regard for truth compels us to state, that on this particular
occasion, Poopy acted the part of a hypocrite. If her hands had been
loose, and she had possessed a knife just then--we are afraid to think
of the dreadful use to which she would have put it!
The natives spent a considerable time in securely binding their three
captives, after which they bore them into the cavern.
Here they kindled a torch and held a long palaver as to what was to be
done with the prisoners. Some counselled instant death, others advised
that they should be kept as hostages. The debate was so long and
fierce, that the day had begun to break before it was concluded. It was
at length arranged that they should be conveyed alive to their village,
there to be disposed of according to the instructions of their chiefs.
Feeling that they had already delayed too long, they placed the
prisoners on their shoulders and bore them swiftly away.
Poor Corrie and his sable friend were easily carried, coiled up like
sacks, each on the shoulders of a stalwart savage; but Bumpus, who had
required eight men to bind him, still remained unconvinced of his
vincibility. He struggled so violently on the shoulders of the four men
who bore him, that Keona, in a fit of passion, tinged no doubt with
revenge, hit him such a blow on the head with the handle of an axe as
caused his brains to sing, and a host of stars to dance before his eyes.
These stars were, however, purely imaginary, for at that time the dawn
had extinguished the lesser lights. Ere long, the bright beams of the
rising sun suffused the eastern sky with a golden glow. On passing the
place where Alice had been left, a couple of the party were sent by
Keona to fetch her. They took the unnecessary precaution of binding the
poor child, and speedily rejoined their comrades with her in their arms.
The amazement of her friends on seeing Alice was only equalled by her
surprise on beholding them. But they were not permitted to communicate
with each other. Presently the whole party emerged from the wild
mountain gorges, through which they had been passing for some time, and
proceeded in single file along a narrow path that skirted the precipices
of the coast. The cliffs here were nearly a hundred feet high. They
descended sheer down into deep water; in some places even overhung the
sea.
Here John Bumpus, having recovered from the stunning effects of the blow
dealt him by Keona, renewed his struggles, and rendered the passage of
the place not only difficult, but dangerous to himself as well as to his
enemies. Just as they reached a somewhat open space on the top of the
cliffs, Jo succeeded, by almost superhuman exertion, in bursting his
bonds. Keona, foaming with rage, gave an angry order to his followers,
who rushed upon Bumpus in a body as he was endeavouring to clear himself
of the cords. Although John struck out manfully, the savages were too
quick for him. They raised him suddenly aloft in their arms and hurled
him headlong over the cliff!
The horror of his friends on witnessing this may easily be imagined, but
every other feeling was swallowed up in terror when the savages,
apparently rendered bloodthirsty by what they had done, ran towards
Alice, and, raising her from the ground, hastened to the edge of the
cliff, evidently with the intention of throwing her over also.
Before they accomplished their fiendish purpose, however, a sound like
thunder burst upon their ears and arrested their steps. This was
immediately followed by another crash, and then came a series of single
reports in rapid succession which were multiplied by the echoes of the
heights until the whole region seemed to tremble with the reverberation.
At first the natives seemed awe-stricken. Then, on becoming aware that
the sounds which originated all this tumult came from the direction of
their own village, they dropped Alice on the ground, fled precipitately
down the rugged path that led from the heights to the valley and
disappeared, leaving the three captives, bound and helpless, on the
cliffs.