The Rajah of Dah Part 26

"But why?"

"Because perhaps he hasn't swallowed it, and is lying down there chewing it over in his jaws. If you pulled now, you might jerk it out of his mouth."

Ned uttered a sigh, as if he were getting rid of a great amount of pent-up emotion while he stood there grasping the rough rope with both hands, waiting and feeling more impatient than he ever had before.

"You'll see, when we pull him out, how useful the loose strands of rope are. They'll be stuck between his ugly teeth. My word, it will make a mess all about here. It will be wet and beaten down, and made into a regular puddle."

"Will he struggle much?"

"I should think he will. Mind his tail."

"You mean his head."

"No, I don't; I mean his tail. Of course he'll snap and bark, but he tries to sweep people over with his tail, just as if he were mowing you off the ground. Hullo! he's moving now. Ready? Give the rope a jerk, and hold tight."

Ned obeyed his instructions, for the rope was beginning to glide over the bank again, and, as it tightened, Ned gave it a sharp jerk, went down headlong directly, and as he still clung to the rope, began to glide rapidly toward the river.

"Oh murther!" roared Tim.

"Let go!" shouted Frank. But in his excitement Ned held on, and he was dragged within a yard of the river before there was a tremendous check put on the rope by the Malays, who stopped its progress, and enabled Ned to struggle up, Frank joining him, and the fight now began.

At first there was nothing but a steady strain on the line, as if the end were tied to a dead tree at the bottom of the river, and this kept on for some minutes, neither side stirring.

"Oh, he's a beauty!" said Tim, who was hauling hard.

"I told you he was a big one," said Frank; but Ned made no answer. The interest was too deep, and he held on to the rope with all his strength.

Then, all at once, a peculiar vibration ran through it, as if the crocodile had rapidly shaken its head, and the next moment there was a tremendous jerk, and right out in the river, a violent movement in the stilly flowing water, as if the monstrous brute had suddenly wallowed and twisted itself round, the water rising in eddies and then becoming discoloured with clouds of mud which flowed slowly by them, the direction the reptile had taken being somewhat up the river.

The plunge was tremendous, and the rope was nearly jerked out of the men's hands, but they held on, threw themselves back, and once more the dull steady strain was there, the reptile lying like a log at the bottom.

"Look at that now!" cried Tim. "I belave he's tired, and gone to slape."

"He's a coward, and won't fight," cried Frank. "Let's have him out at once," he shouted in Malay to the men, but their leader gave a decided negative.

"Says he'll begin to fight directly," continued Frank; and hardly were the words out of his mouth when there was another fierce shaking of the rope, a furious plunge, and the brute began to make the line rush through the water here and there. The lotus-leaves were cut and torn off and floated down the river, till, where the beautiful bed of flowers lay, all was muddy water churned up by the savage efforts of the beast, which tugged and dragged and sometimes drew the Malays a little nearer the brim; but just as Ned was wondering whether they had not better let go, the men recovered their lost ground again, and the water eddied and bubbled as the mud rose to the surface.

"He's trying to burrow down," said Frank; "wait a bit, and he'll show himself. It's precious deep just there."

The fight went on, and Ned was beginning to think that their captive ought now to grow tired, when the strain suddenly ceased, and the whole party went down backward with their heels in the air.

"The hook's broken out. Oh!" cried Ned, struggling to his knees, his voice showing his disappointment. "Ah!" he yelled, "mind! run!" for he suddenly caught sight of a fearful pair of open jaws thrust out of the water not half a dozen yards away, the monster making a savage charge right up to the bank, before its head sank down.

"Look at that now!" shouted Tim.

"Gone!" cried Ned; "and a good job too."

"Not he," said Frank, laughing. "Look!"

For the rope was running out again, showing that the hook was fast; and, as the boys seized the line once more, the men let it go a little, and then gradually tightened it, with the result that the crocodile turned itself over and over, thrusting its loathsome head out, curving over and diving down again, its tail appearing above the surface, waving, and giving the water a tremendous slap, which sent the spray flying right out over the bank.

It charged again right to the bank, but did not attempt to throw itself out; always turning and plunging down again into deep water, the violent efforts testing the strength of the rope and the hold of the hook, but nothing gave way, for the strands were nearly new, and the toughest of the tough.

And so the fight went on, minute after minute, the men perspiring and the boys' hands beginning to grow sore. How long the violent plunging and churning up of the water lasted they never attempted to guess, for the interest in the fight was too engrossing as the monster now made a rush to escape down the river, now up again, and at last made so desperate a rush straight out as if to go across, that the party were taken unawares, and were jerked right forward, losing their footing and falling. Ned and Frank had to let go, to save themselves from being dragged into the river, and as they lay close to the edge, the rope pa.s.sed over them, and Ned shouted, "Gone!" while Tim threw himself down in despair.

And so it seemed, for half the men had also let go, and the others had so bad a hold that they followed their companions' example, so that all the labour seemed to have been thrown away.

It was all the work of a few moments, and the reptile was now well out, and apparently escaping, when there was again a tightening, and the young cocoa-nut palm s.h.i.+vered and bent as the knots were tested where the end was secured.

The next moment, with a low cry of excitement, the men had seized the line again, and eased the strain on the young tree; then steadily dragging the reptile's head round, and drawing it back toward the bank till half the rope was recovered.

The struggle recommenced, for the monster seemed to be as strong as ever, but it was now allowed to have no rest, and at last it was drawn to within some twenty feet of the bank, and four of the men let go and went back.

"Here, hi! don't run away!" cried Tim.

"What are they going to do?" said Ned, panting with his efforts.

"Gone to get their spears. We're going to have him out now."

"And we're nearest!" cried Ned.

"Yes. Afraid? Shall we go back?"

"Do you want to?"

"No."

"More don't I," said Ned, desperately.

"It's all right," said Frank. "We can run out of his way if he makes a jump at us. You'll easily know if he's going to. You'll see him hump up his back if he's going to rush at us. But what you've got to mind is his tail. He'll try, as I told you, to flip you into the water. He may break your legs. Now then, be ready for a good haul. Here they are with their spears."

The four men came back, two going on each side of the rope toward the bank, and standing ready with their weapons to try to plunge them into the reptile's throat. Then the princ.i.p.al Malay said a few words, uttered a shout, and the strain was increased a little, then a little more, as the creature began to be drawn nearer the bank; then they moved faster and faster, Ned wondering whether the rope and hook would stand; and as he ran on with the men, he looked back and saw the reptile's head with its jaws wide appear above the muddy bank, then its fore-paws were over, and the next moment it was gliding over the gra.s.s, striking right and left with head and tail; while, as it was dragged right away from the river, and the men paused, it raised itself up high on its feet, arching up its back like an angry toad of monstrous dimensions, and snapped its jaws.

"Pretty darlin'!" cried Tim. "Oh, how proud his mother must be. Look at his smile."

Frank uttered a triumphant shout, and Ned joined in, but only feebly, for he was too much excited and on the watch for a charge from their captive.

Two or three of these were made as the men attacked it with spears; but the strain of the rope on the reptile's head prevented it from doing any mischief, and though it laid about it, thras.h.i.+ng furiously with its tail, no harm was done, while the men contrived to give it thrust after thrust in the soft under-parts of the neck, weakening it so, that at last they managed to turn it over on its back, and one of the Malays leaped upon it, and with a great knife ripped it up nearly from end to end.

Ned turned away sickened as the men now unfastened the rope from the tree and retied it, so as to give the reptile a very short tether.

"There's no need for that now--is there?" said Ned, as he stood wiping his brow.

"No need to what?"

"Tie it up."

"Only, that if they did not, the brute would crawl back into the river."

"What, wounded like that?"