The Rajah of Dah Part 19

"What, some handsome bird?"

"No; something that's been up there after the birds or monkeys. Do you see? Look where I'm pointing."

"I am looking there," said Ned, eagerly; "but I can only see a great creeper all curled about and twisted in knots where it looks quite dark."

"Well, that's it," said Frank, laughing; "that great creeper. See it, Mr Murray?"

"Yes, I see it now. Wait till I change the cartridge for bigger shot."

"Yes; use your biggest for him," whispered Frank; and Ned looked on wonderingly, refraining from asking questions, for he was met by an imperious "Hus.h.!.+"

"I can't see what he means, I suppose," thought Ned; and he watched eagerly now as Murray suddenly took aim and fired.

Then for a few moments there was a violent rustling and breaking of twigs, and something heavy fell with a great splash beyond the screen of leaves formed by the lowermost drooping branches.

"You hit him!" cried Frank, excitedly, and he gave an order to the men, who rowed in under the drooping boughs.

"Now quick, the other barrel!" cried the lad. "See him? Too late.

He's gone!"

"I couldn't get a good sight of him," said Murray.

"But what was it?"

"A great serpent. He glided out of the river in amongst those bushes."

"Could we follow if the boat were rowed right in?"

Frank shook his head.

"Impossible," he said; and the boat was pulled out and began once more to ascend the stream.

"How big was it?" said Ned, as the incident was discussed.

"Impossible to say," replied Murray; "but I should say fifteen or sixteen feet long, and as large round as your leg."

Another hour's steady pulling up against the stream brought them to quite a change in the character of the river-banks. One side had the jungle as before, but on the other the forest receded more and more, till they gazed across a park-like plain dotted with clumps of huge trees, and rising more and more till a range of hills towered up looking wonderfully beautiful, wooded as they were to the summit.

This meant a tramp, and the boat was run up beneath some trees, to one of which it was moored, while two of the guard busied themselves in spreading refreshments beneath the awning in a business-like way, which suggested that they had been used to such tasks before.

"Rather hot for a long walk," said Frank, when the meal was finished; "but I don't mind, if you don't."

Murray smiled with the calm contempt for heat usually displayed by an Englishman, took his gun and stepped ash.o.r.e, followed by the boys, to find that half a dozen men armed with spears followed them, one stepping forward to act as guide, but after a few words from Frank, going back to his place with the rest.

"Now then," he said, "what's it to be--birds or beasts?"

"Birds to-day," replied Murray.

"There you go then--a big one," cried the lad, as with a rus.h.i.+ng, heavy beating sound of its wings, a great bird flow directly over their heads, uttering a hoa.r.s.e cry, and with its huge curved bill bearing a curious, nearly square, excrescence on the top, plainly seen as the bird approached.

"Why didn't you shoot?" cried Frank, as the bird went off unscathed.

"Why, I believe, I could have hit that."

"For the simple reason that I did not want to enc.u.mber myself with a bird I have had before."

"Oh, I see. There are lots of those about here, and I've found their nests."

"What sort of a nest is it?" asked Ned. "Anything like a magpie's?"

"No!" cried Frank; "not a bit. Big as they are, they build like a tomt.i.t does, right in a hollow tree, but the one I saw had only laid one egg, and a tomt.i.t lays lots. It was in the trunk of a great worm-eaten tree, and the hen bird was shut in, for the c.o.c.k had filled the entrance-hole with clay, all but a bit big enough for the hen to put out her beak to be fed. What's that?"

Murray had fired and brought down a gaily-feathered bird, green, scarlet, and orange, and with a sharp wedge-shaped beak fringed with sharp bristles.

"A barbet," said Murray, giving the bird to one of the men to carry; "but like your hornbill, too common to be worth preserving."

Other birds fell to Murray's gun as they went on. A trogon was the next, a thickly-feathered soft-looking bird, yoke-toed like a cuckoo, and bearing great resemblance in shape to the nightjar of the English woods, but wonderfully different in plumage; for, whereas the latter is of a soft blending of greys and browns, like the wings of some woodland moths, this trogon's back was of a cinnamon brown, and its breast of a light rosy-scarlet blending off into white crossed with fine dark-pencilled stripes.

The next was rather a common bird, though none the less beautiful in its claret-coloured plumage; but the striking part of the bird was its gaily-coloured beak of orange and vivid blue.

The tramp in the broiling suns.h.i.+ne was so full of interest now, that Ned forgot the labour, and eagerly kept pace with his uncle, the Malays following closely behind, and carrying the specimens willingly enough, but with their swarthy faces wearing rather a contemptuous look for the man who, in preference to a quiet siesta beneath a tree, chose to tramp on beneath the burning sun for the sake of a few uneatable birds.

"I say," cried Frank, "I'll tell you of a bird you ought to shoot.

Hist--hist!"

He made energetic signs to them to lie down among the low bushes through which they were pa.s.sing.

He was obeyed at once, and most quickly by the Malays, who crouched down, spear in hand, like an ambush in waiting for something far more important than the two birds of which the lad had caught sight in a narrow glade of a park-like patch of trees they were approaching, but which now remained invisible.

"Well," said Murray, after waiting patiently for some few minutes with his gun c.o.c.ked, "what did you see?"

"Two birds you ought to have shot," the lad whispered back, "but they must have seen us. No; look. Go on first; creep to those bushes."

He pointed to the edge of the clump, from out of which came slowly, with stately movement, a couple of long-necked birds, one of which carried behind him an enormous train of feathers which flashed in the brilliant suns.h.i.+ne.

Murray needed no second hint, but crept carefully forward, taking advantage of every bush and tree which afforded him shelter, while the rest remained in concealment eagerly awaiting the result; even the Malays looking excited, with their soft dark eyes glowing and their heads craned forward.

Murray soon reduced the distance between him and the birds--quite a quarter of a mile--and it seemed as if he would easily stalk them; but while he was a full hundred yards away, something seemed to have startled the game, which rose at once and made for the open, yet just in the midst of the disappointment felt at the waste of energy over the stalk, they curved round so as to make for the shelter of the trees, pa.s.sing between the watchers and Murray.

"Never mind," said Frank, "he'll have another chance." Bang! following upon a puff of smoke, and the bird with the long train stopped in its flight, shot up a few yards, and then fell motionless.

Ned uttered a cheer, and the whole party hurried forward, to reach the prize some time after Murray, who had reloaded and was carefully smoothing the bird's plumage.

"A long shot, Ned," he said. "That must have been fully eighty yards.

It was the large shot did it. There, you never saw a peac.o.c.k like that."

"Yes," cried Ned, "often."

"No, my lad; look again."