RECOUNTS THE WILD, FIERCE, AND IN SOME RESPECTS PECULIAR INCIDENTS OF A
BUSH FIGHT.
Although the pirates were taken aback by this unexpected advance of the
Rajah's gun-boat to within pistol-shot of their very doors, they were by
no means cowed. Malays are brave as a race, and peculiarly regardless
of their lives. They manned their guns, and stood to them with
unflinching courage, but they were opposed by men of the same mettle,
who had the great advantage of being better armed, and led by a man of
consummate coolness and skill, whose motto was--"Conquer or die!"
We do not say that the captain of the gun-boat _professed_ to hold that
motto, for he was not a boaster, but it was clearly written in the fire
of his eye, and stamped upon the bridge of his nose!
The pirate-guns were soon dismounted, their stockade was battered down,
and when a party at last landed, with the captain at their head, and
Edgar with his diving friends close at his heels, they were driven out
of their fortification into the woods.
Previously to this, however, all the women and children had been sent
further into the bush, so that the attacking party met none but
fighting-men. Turning round a bend in a little path among the bushes,
Edgar, who had become a little separated from his friends, came upon a
half-naked Malay, who glared at him from behind a long shield. The
pirate's style of fighting was that of the Malay race in general, and
had something ludicrous, as well as dangerous, about it. He did not
stand up and come on like a man, but, with his long legs wide apart and
bent at the knees, he bounded hither and thither like a monkey, always
keeping his body well under cover of the shield, and peering round its
edges or over, or even under it, according to fancy, while his right
hand held a light spear, ready to be launched at the first favourable
moment into the unprotected body of his adversary.
Edgar at once rushed upon him, snapping his revolver as he ran; but, all
the chambers having been already emptied, no shot followed. Brandishing
his cutlass, he uttered an involuntary shout.
The shout was unexpectedly replied to by another shout of "Aileen, to
the rescue!" which not only arrested him in his career, but seemed to
perplex the pirate greatly.
At that moment the bushes behind the latter opened; a man in ragged
shirt-sleeves and torn trousers sprang through, whirled a mighty club in
the air, and smote the pirate's uplifted shield with such violence as to
crush it down on its owner's head, and lay him flat and senseless on the
ground.
"Mr Hazlit!" gasped Edgar.
The merchant bounded at our hero with the fury of a wild cat, and would
have quickly laid him beside the pirate if he had not leaped actively
aside. A small tree received the blow meant for him, and the merchant
passed on with another yell, "To the rescue!"
Of course Edgar followed, but the bush paths were intricate. He
unfortunately turned into a wrong one, when the fugitive was for a
moment hidden by a thicket, and immediately lost all trace of him.
Meanwhile Rooney Machowl, hearing the merchant's shout, turned aside to
respond to it. He met Mr Hazlit right in the teeth, and, owing to his
not expecting an assault, had, like Edgar, well-nigh fallen by the hand
of his friend. As it was, he evaded the huge club by a hair's-breadth,
and immediately gave chase to the maniac--for such the poor gentleman
had obviously become. But although he kept the fugitive for some time
in view, he failed to come up with him owing to a stumble over a root
which precipitated him violently on his nose. On recovering his feet
Mr Hazlit was out of sight.
Rooney, caressing with much tenderness his injured nose, now sought to
return to his friends, but the more he tried to do so, the farther he
appeared to wander away from them.
"Sure it's a quare thing that I can't git howld of the road I comed by,"
he muttered, as with a look of perplexity he paused and listened.
Faint shouts were heard on his left, and he was about to proceed in that
direction, when distinct cries arose on his right. He went in _that_
direction for a time, then vacillated, and, finally, came to a dead
stand, as well as to the conclusion that he had missed his way; which
belief he stated to himself in the following soliloquy:--
"Rooney, me boy, you've gone an' lost yoursilf. Ah, bad scran to 'ee.
Isn't it the fulfilment of your grandmother's owld prophecy, that you'd
come to a bad ind at last? It's little I'd care for your misfortin
myself, if it warn't that you ought to be helpin' poor Mr Hazlit, who's
gone as mad as blazes, an' whose daughter can't be far off. Och! Man
alive," he added, with sudden enthusiasm, "niver give in while there's a
purty girl in the case!"
Under the impulse of this latter sentiment, Rooney started off at a run
in a new and totally unconsidered direction, which, strange to say,
brought him into sudden and very violent contact with some of those
individuals in whom he was interested.
Here we must, in hunters' language, "hark back" on our course for a few
minutes--if, indeed, that _be_ hunters' language! We do not profess to
know much thereof, but the amiable reader will understand our meaning.
Just after the attack had begun, and Mr Hazlit had sallied from the hut
with his war-club, as already related, Aileen became deeply impressed
with the fact that all the women and children who had been wont to visit
and gaze at her in wonder had vanished. The rattling of shot over her
head, too, and the frequent rush of pirates past her temporary abode,
warned her that the place was too much exposed in every way to be safe.
She therefore sought to rouse her companion to attempt flight.
"Laura," she said, anxiously, as a round shot cut in half the left
corner-post of the building, "come, we must fly. We shall be killed if
we remain here."
"I care not," exclaimed Miss Pritty, clasping her friend closer than
ever, and shuddering; "my worst fears have been realised. Let me die!"
"But _I_ don't want to die yet," remonstrated Aileen; "think of _me_,
dear, if you can, and of my father."
"Ah, true!" exclaimed Miss Pritty, with sudden calmness, as she
unclasped her arms and arose. "Forgive my selfishness. Come; let us
fly!"
If the poor lady had owned a private pair of cherubic wings, she could
not have prepared for flight with greater assurance or activity. She
tightened her waist-belt, wrapped her shawl firmly round her, fastened
her bonnet strings in a Gordian knot, and finally, holding out her hand
to her friend, as if they had suddenly changed characters, said, "Come,
are you ready?" with a tremendous show of decision. She even led the
wondering Aileen along a winding path into the jungle for a considerable
distance; then, as the path became more intricate, she stopped, burst
into tears, laid her head again on its old resting-place, and said in a
hollow voice:--"Yes; all is lost!"
"Come, Laura, don't give way; there's a dear. Just exert yourself a
little and we shall soon be safe at--at--somewhere."
Miss Pritty made a vigorous struggle. She even smiled through her tears
as she replied:--"Well, lead on, love; I will follow you--to death!"
With her eyes tightly shut, lest she should see something hideous in the
woods, she stumbled on, holding to her friend's arm.
"Where are we going to?" she asked, feebly, after a few minutes, during
which Aileen had pulled her swiftly along.
"I don't know, dear, but a footpath _must_ lead to something or
somewhere."
Aileen was wrong. The footpath led apparently to nothing and nowhere.
At all events it soon became so indistinct that they lost it, and,
finally, after an hour's wandering, found themselves hopelessly involved
in the intricacies of a dense jungle, without the slightest clew as to
how they should get out of it.
Aileen stopped at last.
"Laura," she said, anxiously, "we are lost!"
"I told you so," returned Miss Pritty, in a tone that was not quite
devoid of triumph.
"True, dear; but when you told me so we were _not_ lost. Now we _are_.
I fear we shall have to spend the night here," she added, looking round.
Miss Pritty opened her eyes and also looked round. The sight that met
her gaze was not encouraging. Afternoon was drawing on. Thick bushes
and trees formed a sort of twilight there even at noon-day. Nothing
with life was visible. Not a sound was to be heard, save such little
rustlings of dry leaves and chirpings as were suggestive of snakes and
centipedes. The unhappy Laura was now too frightened to shudder.
"What shall we do?" she asked; "shriek for help?"
"That might bring pirates to us instead of friends," said Aileen.
"Listen; do you hear no sound?"
"Nothing," replied Miss Pritty, after a few moments of intense silence,
"save the beating of my own heart. Aileen," she continued, with sudden
anxiety, "are there not serpents in these woods?"
"Yes, I believe there are."
"And tarantulas?"
"Probably."
"And tortoises?"
"I--I'm not sure."
"Darling, how _can_ we sleep among tortoises, tarantulas, and serpents?"
Even Aileen was at a loss for a reply, though she smiled in spite of
herself.
"I'll tell you what," she said, cheerfully, "if we _must_ spend the
night in the bush we shall get into a tree. That will at least save us
from all the venomous creatures as well as dangerous beasts that crawl
upon the ground. Can you climb?"
"Climb!" repeated Miss Pritty, with a hysterical laugh, "you might as
well ask me if I can dive."
"Well, you must learn. Come, I will teach you. Here is a capital tree
that seems easy to get into."
Saying this, Aileen ran to a gnarled old tree whose trunk was divided
into two parts, and from which spread out a series of stout branches
that formed a sort of net-work of foliage about eight or ten feet from
the ground. Climbing actively up to these branches, she crept out upon
them, and from that position, parting the twigs, she looked down
laughingly at her friend.
Her bright spirit was contagious. Miss Pritty almost forgot her
anxieties, smiled in return, and walked towards the tree, in doing which
she trod on something that moved in the grass. A piercing shriek was
the result. It was immediately replied to by a wild yell at no great
distance.
"It was only a frog; look, I see it now, hopping away. Do be quick,
Laura; I am sure that was the yell of a savage."
No further spur was needed. Miss Pritty scrambled up into the tree and
crept towards her friend with such reckless haste that one of her feet
slipped off the branch, and her leg passing through the foliage,
appeared in the regions below. Recovering herself, she reached what she
deemed a place of security.
"Now, dear, we are safe--at least for a time," said Aileen, arranging
her friend's disordered dress. "Take care, however; you must be careful
to trust only to limbs of the tree; the foliage cannot bear you. Look,
you can see through it to the ground. Lean your back against this fork
here; sit on this place--so; put your foot on this branch, there--why,
it is almost like a chair--hush!"
It was quite unnecessary to impose silence. They both sat among the
branches as motionless as though they had been parts of the tree. They
scarce dared to breathe, while they peered through the foliage and
beheld the dim form of a man advancing.
Whoever he was, the man seemed to growl as though he had been allied to
the beasts of the jungle. He came forward slowly, looking from side to
side with caution, and, stopping directly under the tree of refuge,
said--
"Musha!" with great emphasis, then placing both hands to his mouth he
gave vent to a roar that would have done credit to a South African lion.
As neither of the ladies understood the meaning of "Musha," they
listened to the roar with a thrill of unutterable horror. Miss Pritty,
as if fascinated, leant forward, the better to observe her foe.
Suddenly, like the lightning-flash, and without even a shriek of
warning, she lost her balance and dived head-foremost into the bosom of
Rooney Machowl!
Well was it for the bold Irishman that Miss Pritty was a light weight,
else had he that day ended his career in the jungles of Borneo. As it
was he went down like a shock of corn before the scythe, grasped Miss
Pritty in an embrace such as she had never before even imagined, and
proceeded to punch her poor head.
Then, indeed, she made herself known by a powerful scream that caused
the horrified man to loose his hold and spring up with a torrent of
apologies and self-abuse.
"Och! it's not possible. Baste that I am! Oh ma cushla astore, forgive
me! It's a gorilla I thought ye was, sure, for I hadn't time to look,
d'ee see. It's wishin' you had staved in my timbers intirely I am."
Rooney's exclamations were here cut short, and turned on another theme
by the sudden appearance of Aileen Hazlit, who soon found that her
friend was more alarmed than hurt.
"I _am_ so glad you have found us, and so surprised," said Aileen, who
had met Rooney in England during one of her visits to Joe Baldwin's
abode, "for we have quite lost ourselves."
Rooney looked a little awkwardly at the fair girl.
"Sure, it's glad I am myself that I've found you," he said, "but faix,
I'm lost too! I do belave, howiver, that somebody's goin' to find us."
He turned his head aside and listened intently. Presently a cry was
heard at no great distance. It was replied to by another.
"Pirates," said Rooney, in a hoarse whisper, drawing a cutlass from his
belt.
As he spoke another cry was heard in an opposite direction.
"Friends!" exclaimed Rooney. "Sure we're surrounded by friends and
foes! Come, git into the tree, ladies. I'll give a hail, an' if the
varmin should come up first, I'll kape them in play. Don't show yer
purty faces dears, an' be as aisy as ye can."
So saying, Rooney gave vent to a true British cheer, while the ladies
ascended once more into the tree.
The cheer was instantly replied to by counter-cheers and howls. A
minute more and two half-naked Malays, armed with spears and long
shields, bounded into the clear space and attacked the Irishman, but
Rooney had placed his back to the tree and was ready for them. Although
he was scarcely a match for two such men, whose peculiar and bounding
mode of fighting he did not understand, Rooney nevertheless quickly
disabled one by the sheer strength of a blow, which cut through the
shield and wounded his enemy's head. The other he sprang upon like a
wild cat and grappled with him. At that moment a third Malay glided on
the scene, brandished his spear, and stood by the swaying combatants
awaiting a favourable opportunity to thrust his weapon into the white
man's back. He stood right under the branch in which the ladies were
concealed. Miss Pritty saw his intention and felt convinced he would
succeed. In desperate alarm at the danger of her protector, and
horrified at what she was about to do, she grasped the pirate by the
hair and tore out a large handful, at the same time uttering shriek upon
shriek mingled with appalling bursts of hysterical laughter.
This saved Rooney, who turned just in time to protect himself, but as he
did so six more pirates leaped upon the scene and overpowered him. They
also sprung up the tree, and quickly brought down the ladies.
Poor Miss Pritty had gone fairly off into violent hysterics by that
time. She was carried down in the arms of a pirate, into whose hair she
had permanently fastened her ten fingers, while she filled the woods
with unearthly cries.
Before any advantage, however, could be taken of this success, a cheer
was heard close at hand. Next moment, Edgar Berrington burst on the
scene, followed by the captain of the gun-boat and a body of men. The
pirates did not await them, but fled instantly.
"Fire a volley, lads," shouted the captain.
The men obeyed, and one or two yells told that it had not been without
effect, nevertheless, all the miscreants escaped with the exception of
Miss Pritty's captive, who, unable to clear himself from her close
embrace with sufficient speed, was collared and throttled into
submission by Edgar.
"We'll divide our force here," said the captain. "I'll follow them up a
while with some of the boys, and you, Mr Berrington, will return with
the rest to the gun-boat, in charge of the ladies."