Those two hours did soon slip away, and after assuring herself by the
clock that the time had really fled, Mrs Morley went and stood in the
veranda, gazing out in the full expectation of seeing those for whom she
waited coming up from the direction of the river.
The night was glorious. The nearly full moon was silvering the tops of
the trees and casting deep, black shadows on the ground. Here and there
in the patches of thick shrubbery that had been planted to take off the
harsh formality surrounding the parade, there were faint, twinkling
sparks that gave a suggestion of how beautiful the river-sides must be
where the lights of the curious insects flashed and died out and lit up
again in full force; and for some minutes Mrs Morley stood breathing in
the sweet, moist perfume of the many night blooms which floated on the
air.
"It is very, very beautiful," she sighed, "but not like home. One tries
to get used to it, and does for a time; but there is always that strange
feeling of insecurity which will suggest what might happen--we so few,
the people here so many, and always looking upon us as infidel intruders
who have forced themselves up here to make a home in their very midst.
I am too impatient," she added, with a sigh, as she turned to walk to
and fro in the veranda.
"I am too impatient," she repeated. "On such a beautiful night they
would easily be tempted to go a little farther up the river than they
intended, and they would tell the men to let the boat float gently back
with the stream. They have tired the men, perhaps, and have told them
to leave the boat to itself. Yes, a lovely night."
She went in, with a sigh, to speak to her two native servants and tell
them that they need not stay up; but she found her care unnecessary, for
they were already asleep. Then, obeying her next impulse, she woke
them, telling one to wait and the other to walk with her as far as the
river-side.
Here she stood with the woman, watching and trying to pierce the soft,
grey mist that hung above the water, before looking round for some one--
boatman, or any other native whom she could question. But there was not
a soul within sight, and as proof of the lateness of the hour, not a
light was to be seen.
"Ah!" she cried, with a start, for the woman behind her had suddenly
caught her by the wrist with one hand, while she stood with the other
outstretched, pointing up the stream. "What is it?" she said. "Can you
see the boat?"
"No. Listen."
"Ah! You hear them coming?"
The woman shook her head violently.
"Croc," she whispered; and her word was followed by a light, wallowing
splash.
"Ugh!" ejaculated the Doctor's wife, with a shudder. "Come back. They
may have returned by the other path and called at the officers'
quarters. They are waiting for us by now perhaps," she added to
herself.
Leading the way back to the bungalow, she hurried in, with straining
ears, with the hope that the pair would come out to meet her slowly
dying away.
"They must have come back directly we went out, learned that we had gone
down to the river, and followed us."
Stepping in quickly to the servants' part of the bungalow, she found the
other servant fast asleep, ready to stare at her vacantly and
wonderingly as she was shaken into wakefulness. The woman had to be
spoken to by her fellow-servant before anything could be got from her;
and then it was only to learn that the expected ones had not returned.
"Something must have happened," said the Doctor's wife, fighting hard
now to keep back the horrible forebodings that were troubling her. "Oh!
this is not being a woman," she said. "Come back with me to the river."
The woman hesitated, but Mrs Morley caught her hand, and they hurried
back to the river-side, where, before many minutes of excited watching
had passed, at least a dozen horribly suggestive splashes had been heard
far out upon the flowing stream.
"Come back," she whispered to her companion. "I cannot bear it. What!"
she ejaculated, as the woman crept more closely to her and whispered
something in her ear. "Those horrid creatures drag people into the
river sometimes? Yes, yes; I know--I know. Come back. Perhaps they
have come," she continued, trying to speak firmly; and once more she
hurried to the bungalow, to find the other servant again fast asleep.
The clock showed that it only wanted a few minutes to midnight, and
setting her teeth hard in her determination, the trembling woman gave
herself till twelve before starting for the officers' quarters and the
Residency to give the alarm.
As she reached the gate she became aware of lights in the distance,
evidently going in the direction of the river lower down. Voices, too,
floated on the night air, and her spirits rose, for she was conscious of
a merry laugh. It could not mean trouble, and she stopped short,
watching the lights that seemed now to have stopped by the river's bank,
trying to fit them in somehow with a solution of her trouble. Still all
was mental darkness, when she was conscious of a shout or two which made
her start, but only to realise directly afterwards as she heard replies,
followed by the splash of oars, that some one must be departing in a
boat.
Then came the murmur of talking as the little party appeared to be not
coming towards her but striking off diagonally in the direction of the
officers' quarters and the Residency.
A loud cry escaped her. It was answered, and the next minute hurrying
feet were approaching her, and a voice exclaimed:
"Anything the matter?"
"Yes, yes!" panted the agitated woman.
"Who is it? Mrs Morley?"
"Yes. Help, Captain Down--I--I--" and, trembling and half-breathless,
she clung to the speaker as he caught her hands in his.
"The Resident's boat?" she panted.
"No, no--Rajah Hamet's. We have been to see him off."
"Oh, you don't understand! The Resident's boat--Mr Maine--"
"Ah! What of him?"
"Went up the river with my niece."
"Yes, yes--what of them?"
"Not come back!"
"Oh! Well, well, don't be alarmed.--Why, you are trembling like a
leaf."
"Yes. I can't help it. It is foolish perhaps. I am terribly alarmed."
"Oh, come, come! I will walk back with you to the bungalow.--You go on,
Durham; and you might tell the Resident that I am seeing Mrs Morley
home."
"Yes; all right!" came out of the darkness. "Shall I say that the
boat's not come back?"
"Oh yes. You might mention it."
"Yes--yes, pray tell him," added Mrs Morley, as the young officer
addressed was continuing his route.
"Let's see," said the Captain; "the Doctor's gone off to see to the
Rajah, hasn't he?"
"Yes."
"Ah, I see; and you are nervous from being left alone."
"No, no, Captain Down. I am afraid that something has happened to the
boat."
"Yes, of course; ladies always are," said the Captain cheerily, "when
they are sitting up waiting. Now, now, be cool. There are scores of
things that might have happened in a little expedition like this. First
of all, they may have stopped to watch the fire-flies."
"Oh yes, but not so late."
"Well, no; but they may have gone much farther than they intended. It
is very tempting on a night like this."
"But I begged Archie Maine to be back in good time."
"Archie Maine is only a boy, and thoughtless; and I dare say Miss Heath
would be delighted with the trip; and then there would be night-blooming
flowers to look at, the noises of the jungle to listen to, and the
splashing of the croc--"
"Oh, for pity's sake, don't, Captain Down!"
"Oh, well, I won't. Now then, my dear lady, let's get back to the
bungalow, and you give me one of Morley's best cigars--not those out of
the old cedar box, please; one of those will do very well for Archie
Maine when he comes--and I will sit down in the veranda and chat with
you till the truants return; and then you can scold your niece, after
giving Archie the bad cigar. That will be punishment enough for him,
for he will be vain enough to try to smoke it, though a thin cigarette
makes him poorly, poor fellow! Now then, how do you feel now?"
"Oh, better," said Mrs Morley. "And you don't think anything could
have happened, Captain Down?"
"Nothing worse than that they have gone too far and are keeping you up."
"But you don't think that the boat has been upset?"
"Certainly not. Why should I?"
"Boats are such dangerous things."
"Yes," said the Captain quietly--"in the hands of those who don't know
how to use them. But Maine and your niece are not punting, and they
have two of Dallas's best men."
"Yes," said Mrs Morley, with a sigh of relief, as they reached the gate
and made their way into the veranda.
"Thank you," said the Captain, as Mrs Morley took a cigar-box from a
shelf and then lit a cedar-wood match at the table lamp. "I wonder how
the Doctor's going on," he continued, as he lit his cigar.
"Ah, I wonder too," said Mrs Morley.
"Hope the poor beggar isn't much hurt. But Mr Stripes' claws are
rather ugly things. Ah, well, lucky for him that he's got a Doctor
Morley to call into the wilderness. Hullo! Footsteps! What did I tell
you? Here they come! In a hurry, too."
But the distant sound of steps was not duplicated. They were those of
one only, coming at a rapid rate; and directly after the Resident dashed
open the garden gate.
"What's this I hear?" he cried excitedly. "The boat not back?"
He listened for a few moments to Mrs Morley's once more excited words;
but he half-interrupted her before she had done, by exclaiming:
"Here they come! I have told the Major, and he is turning out the men.
For Heaven's sake, Mrs Morley, try and be calm."
"I am trying, Sir Charles. But my husband absent! How can I look him
in the face when he comes back?"
"Oh, hush, hush!" whispered the Resident, pressing her hand so hard that
she could hardly bear it.
"You are taking the very blackest view of the matter. It may be a
trifle--one of the poles broken, or they may have ventured too far."
"Don't talk, pray," said Mrs Morley. "Never mind me. Do something!
Act!"
"I am acting, and for the best," whispered Sir Charles. "I would give
my life to save Minnie if she is in danger, but I feel it my duty to try
to comfort you."
The next minute he was busy with the officers and the men, hurrying
along the river-bank and sending off boats up the stream, in one of
which--his own, manned by a dozen men--he was standing with Captain Down
and the Major, watching the sides of the river, sometimes plunged in
black darkness, at others glistening in the light of the moon, which had
now risen far above the trees. But they had not been gone above
half-an-hour before news came, to run through the ranks of the searchers
left behind, some of whom, on the possibility that those sought might
have had an accident with the boat and been compelled to land and fight
their way through the jungle, had penetrated some distance along the
path nearest to the river-side, and been recalled by one of the
officers' whistles.
On hurrying back they had encountered the Sergeant going the rounds, who
had to announce that the sentry stationed at the hut above the chief
landing-place was missing, and no answer could be obtained to the calls
that should have reached his ears had he been anywhere near.
It was a night of excitement, misery, and despair, and the short dawn,
when it broke, brought not hope but horror and dismay, for all at once,
when the morning mist was lying heavily upon the lower reach of the
river, the sound of oars was heard approaching the campong, and as it
neared the lower landing-place, to which several of the party hurried,
it seemed quite a long space of time before the heads of the rowers
began to come gradually out of the grey fog; and soon after it was made
out to be Rajah Hamet's naga, or dragon-boat, towing behind it a second
boat that had been overturned.
The news was passed inward, and this brought the Major to the
landing-place, where the Rajah was waiting.
"Ah!" cried the old officer, "you have brought news?"
The young Rajah bent his head.
"Yes," he said hoarsely. "Is this your boat?"
"Yes, yes--the Resident's--Sir Charles's. Been overturned?"
"We found it amongst the trees far down the river. One of my men caught
sight of this hanging in a bush;" and he held up a large, thin,
gauzy-looking white scarf, torn almost in two.
"Ah!" gasped the Major, as he caught at the flimsy wrapper, now
partially dry. "And--and--you were going to say something else, sir?"
"Yes," said the young Rajah, with something like a groan. "But tell me,
do you know whose was this?"
He brought forward from behind him an officer's forage-cap, about which
a torn puggaree clung like a wisp.
"Great heavens!" panted the Major. "Oh, my poor, dear boy!--Where did
you find this, sir?"
"Part of the boat's bows were crushed in as if by a blow. This cap was
held down by one of the splinters."
Just then voices came floating down the river, indicating that some of
the party were returning from their search to the upper landing-place;
and soon after the Resident's naga had reached the stage, and the
principal occupants sprang out to hear about the missing sentry, and to
give no news. The last discovery was whispered to them in broken tones,
and as what seemed to be the terrible fate of the small boat's occupants
was told by the Major to Sir Charles, he literally reeled away from
where he had been standing, and staggered onwards with extended hands,
as if making for the bungalow. But before he had gone many steps he
stopped short, to whisper hoarsely, "Who is that?"
"I, Sir Charles," said Captain Down.
"Thank you. Take my hand, please. I am giddy, and half-blind.
Something seems to have gone wrong. I cannot think. Please help me,
and lead me home.--No; stop," he added. "That poor woman! Some one
must tell her. She must know; and I can't--I can't be the bearer. Oh,
it is too horrible! My fault, too.--Ah! Who is that? You, Down? I
thought you had gone. Don't let me fall. This giddiness again. Yes, I
remember now. The Doctor! He was called away to go to the Rajah's
help. Has he returned? Has he--"
His lips parted to say more, but his words were inaudible, and at a
signal from the Captain four of the men hurried up, to lace their hands
into a bearing, and, keeping step, they bore the insensible man to the
Residency.
It was late in the burning afternoon, after the overturned and
much-damaged boat had been lying to dry in the hot sun for hours, and
the terrible mishap had been canvassed in every detail, when a sentry
passed the word that an elephant was approaching with strangers.
The strangers proved to be the Doctor, one of Suleiman's officials, and
the mahout; while as soon as the news reached headquarters, Major Knowle
hurried out, bareheaded, to meet his friend, and stood in the shade of
one of the great palm-trees, signalling to the mahout to stop.
"Morning!" shouted the Doctor cheerily as he drew near. "Patient's all
right, Knowle, and the Frenchman only frightened into a fit. Phew! It
is hot, eh? What are you holding up your hand for? Nothing wrong?"
The Major was holding on by the ordinary trappings of the howdah, and
reaching up as he raised himself on tiptoe, he almost whispered his
terrible news, while the florid, erst happy-looking Doctor looked
blankly down.