A DAY OF ADVENTURES
The three spears held Dave in a circle. The spearsmen advanced them
nearer and nearer till they hemmed Dave in dangerously. He had placed
his own weapon on the ground while attending to the boat, so he was
entirely unarmed.
Dave could do nothing but quietly await the further action of his
captors. They regarded him fiercely. Then there was a confab among
them.
Two of them finally dropped their spears, leaving their companion to
guard Dave. They went to the nearest bushes and secured some stringy
vines of great strength.
They tied Dave's arms behind him. One of the men pointed west, in which
direction the priest had gone. It seemed that the native village was
located west.
A second of the trio dissented from the proposition made. He pointed
down the shore a bit and talked volubly. Then the two went away, giving
some directions to Dave's guard.
The latter, prodding Dave with the spear, made him go towards the shore
bluffs. He forced him up an incline. There he secured a thick flexible
vine, passed it through Dave's arms, and tied the other end around a
tree.
He then threw himself on the ground and reclined there lazily.
From where he was Dave could look down the beach. He comprehended that
the savages had come across the yawl and had probably seen his
footmarks. They had calculated he would return and had hidden under the
boat. Now, judging from the actions of the two natives down the beach,
they were hunting for other footmarks.
At least it looked so to Dave. They seemed to locate some disturbance
in the sand like a trail. They followed it up this course, which took
them finally out of view of Dave.
Dave's guard reclined at the edge of the bluff, looking out at the sea.
His spear lay beside him.
"I wish he would go to sleep," thought Dave. "With time given I'd
bargain to get free from these flimsy bonds, if I had to gnaw through
this big vine with my teeth."
The native, however, had no idea of going to sleep. He turned regularly
about every two minutes to look at his captive.
Suddenly Dave saw the man start to rise up as if in great alarm. A look
of horror was in his gleaming eyes. With a yell he toppled backwards.
The amazed Dave saw him roll down the bluff incline. The native turned
over and over, his head struck a great rock in the way with a fearful
click. The blood flew from the wound and deluged the native's face and
he lay like one dead, his body suspended over a bent sapling.
"Why," exclaimed the startled Dave, "what made him do that? Mercy!"
A lithe, sinuous form cut the air, coming from the thick shrubbery just
back of Dave. It landed where the native had sat. Dave understood now.
It was a panther.
His blood ran cold as the animal, disappointed of its expected prey,
turned quickly, facing him. From former experiences on the island Dave
knew that he confronted a foe dangerous and bloodthirsty in the extreme.
The native panther was feared by the natives greatly. It was a small
animal, but ferocious to a degree and enormously strong in forefeet and
teeth.
Dave, bound, unarmed, felt himself completely at the mercy of the
animal. He shrank back, naturally, as it began to describe a
semicircle. It crept low to the ground, uttering a harsh, hissing
snarl. Its eyes were fixed intently on its intended victim.
Dave watched the fatal circle narrow. The panther came to a pause, a
crouch. It shot up from the ground.
Dave had prepared for this first onset. He realized, however, that,
helpless as he was, his agility could not eventually save him.
The youth made a leap as the panther sprang at him. Through a
remarkable circumstance Dave's rush drew the big vine out. The panther
met it coming up, was caught across the breast, and was sent hurtling
back violently.
It fell to the ground, Dave ran at it. He ventured boldly, for the
chances of escape were desperate. Dave delivered one kick at the
prostrate animal. His foot partly landed in its gaping mouth.
"It's incredible!" cried Dave.
He was lost in wonderment. That resolute kick had worked marvels. As
Dave looked at the ground he saw several teeth there and a trail of
blood. Their owner had rolled back and had gone over the bluff as the
native Had gone, uttering several frightful snarls.
"Will it come back again?" panted Dave. "A surprising adventure--I can
hardly realize it. Yes, it is returning--no, human voices. Men, mates!"
shouted Dave, "this way, this way!"
With anxious heart elate Dave had caught the voice of more than one
person. Then a word in English, and he recognized the voice of Daley.
"Hello, where are you?" responded Daley's tones, their owner beating his
way through the dense foliage.
"Young Fearless! We've found him," he cried, staring hard. "Turned up
again, eh, lad?"
"I'm mighty glad you have," said Dave rapidly. "What, the three of you,
and safe and sound?" he added, as two others joined their leader.
"We were looking for you," announced Daley. "Here, one of you has a
pocket knife. Cut the lad loose."
"You were looking for me?" repeated Dave wonderingly.
"To be sure," nodded Daley. "We washed ashore last night all safe and
trim, as you see."
"Yes, but not near here, for I looked for a trace of you," said Dave.
"No, it must have been a good ten miles to the south, lad. We made this
way, and saw those natives get under that boat. We were unarmed and
hid. When those two up the beach left you in charge of the fellow here,
we rounded into the bluffs and searched for you. Where is the fellow,
anyhow?"
Dave narrated what had taken place. Daley looked pretty serious.
"We're in a nest of them, it seems," he remarked, taking up the spear
belonging to Dave's guard. "Come on, mates; let's make a tight run for
it while the coast is still clear of them."
Daley's plan was a simple one and Dave allowed it to prevail. It was to
get north as fast and far as they could before they were discovered by
more natives.
"They're thick back of the coast, just hereabouts," said Daley. "We
heard their yells several times in our jaunt down shore, and saw several
of them. Keep in the cover of the bluff, and let us try to round that
cape yonder. From what I remember here before, the cyclone pretty well
cleaned out the north end of the island."
"That is true," said Dave, "and the natives probably shun it on that
account."
Their progress was very satisfactory. The cape that Daley had alluded
to was reached about two hours later.
It presented a sheer high wall to the sea and gave a fine view of the
island for miles around. It was wooded to within about fifty feet of the
edge.
They were all terribly tired out and badly torn with thorns and
brambles. As they came out into clear space, Daley and his companions
threw themselves down on the ground, nearly exhausted.
Dave, starting to follow their example, paused, uttered a great shout,
and ran to the sheer edge of the cliff.
"Hello, there--what's doing, mate?" challenged Daley, in some wonder.
"See! see! see!" cried Dave, pointing down at the sea with shining
eyes--"the _Swallow_!"