The Plant Hunters Part 29

A little after, Fritz doubled to one side, and appeared busy with some object by the side of the cave. The hunters were under the impression that the game had been found, and halted, each bringing his piece to the ready.

After a moment, however, Fritz glided out, and again sprang forward on the trail. The torches were carried up to where Fritz had made his temporary pause, and, under their light, a large pile of withered leaves and gra.s.s was made visible. It was the snug den of Bruin--still warm where his huge carca.s.s had lain; but the cunning brute was no longer "abed." He had been roused by the noises of his enemies, and had retreated farther into the cavern.

Fritz was again moving forward along the trail, uttering an occasional "growl" as he went. He was by no means a fast dog at taking up a scent, nor yet on the run. These were not his qualities. But he was stanch and sure, and desperate when once he grappled with the game. So sure was he, that, whenever he started off upon a trail, you might rely upon it, with perfect confidence, that the game was before you.

The three hunters thought no longer of looking for the bear anywhere else than before the snout of Fritz; and, therefore, the chase became simplified to keeping the hound in view. The nature of the ground--here covered with blocks of loose stone, there with huge stalagmites-- prevented the dog from making rapid progress. The bear had often doubled and halted, no doubt having some difficulty himself in making way in the darkness; and this doubling caused much delay to Fritz; so much, that the torch-bearers could generally keep him in sight.

Now and again, he became lost to view; and then there was a halt, and some moments of indecision, which were ended only by the long howl of the hound echoing through the cavern, and guiding them to his whereabouts.

You will be surprised that they should at any time have lost the chase.

You will fancy that, by keeping on, they must overtake Fritz in time, or meet him returning.

Such might have been true, had there been only one pa.s.sage through this stupendous cavern; but, instead of one, they saw scores of vaulted aisles forking at intervals, and traversing in very different directions. They had long since turned both to the right and the left-- more than once turned--without any other guide than the baying of the hound, or the view of his yellow body, as he scrambled along the trail.

An immense cavern if was, full of ways, and pa.s.sages, and halls, and chambers; many of them so like each other, that the hunters could not help thinking they were running in a maze, and going repeatedly over the same ground!

By this time Karl had begun to reflect, and his reflection was, that they were proceeding rashly. Certain ideas were rising in his mind-- ideas somewhat undefined--but one among the rest was, that, going as they were, without taking either "bearings or distances," they might get lost!

Before he had time to call his companions to a halt and take some deliberation about the matter, a peculiar noise struck upon their ears-- a noise that was easily recognised as being made by the united voices of two angry animals--a dog and a bear.

Beyond a doubt it was Bruin and Fritz--beyond a doubt they were "in grips!"

The Plant Hunters--by Captain Mayne Reid

CHAPTER FIFTY SIX.

LOST IN THE CAVE.

The scene of their encounter was at no great distance--about twenty yards off; and, guided by the loud growling and "worrying," the hunters easily directed themselves towards the spot. After stumbling over stalagmites, and now and then hitting their heads against the projecting points of the stalact.i.tes, they arrived upon the ground; and the glare of the torches was thrown upon two animals--a dog and a bear. They were near the middle of an immense open hall, or chamber of the cavern. Both were in fighting att.i.tudes; the bear standing upon the flat top of a rock--about three feet above the surrounding level--and the dog a.s.sailing his leg, now on one side of the rock, and now upon the other.

The bear was defending himself with his huge paws; and at intervals flung the forepart of his body downward, with the design of seizing the hound in his hug.

Fritz well knew the danger of being embraced in the fore-arms of a bear, and therefore made his attacks from behind; springing up at the hind-quarters of Bruin, and biting him in the hams. To avoid these a.s.saults upon his rear, the bear kept turning round and round, as though he was spinning about upon a pivot!

It was altogether a laughable sight to witness the curious contest between the two quadrupeds, and had the hunters been pursuing the bear for mere amus.e.m.e.nt, they would have permitted the fight to go on for some time without interfering in it. But amus.e.m.e.nt was just then out of the question. The fat of Bruin was a thing of far more importance; and now that the hunters had become aware of the vast size and endless labyrinths of the cavern, they perceived that it was quite possible in such a place to lose both the bear and his fat. He might have escaped them as easily as if he were in the open woods.

With these ideas, therefore, they were only too anxious to put an end to the struggle, and secure the game.

The bear could not have offered them a better opportunity. His position upon the rock rendered him a conspicuous mark, both for the bullets of the guns and the arrows of Ossaroo. Besides, there was no danger of wounding Fritz, if good aim was taken by the marksmen.

Good aim _was_ taken--a couple of loud reports echoed through the cave-- one of Ossaroo's arrows whistled, and penetrated the thick s.h.a.ggy skin-- and the next moment the huge black ma.s.s rolled down from the rock, and lay back uppermost, kicking his paws about in the last throes of death.

Then Fritz leaped upon his upturned breast, seized the white throat between his jaws, and choked and worried at it till the last breath was squeezed out of poor Bruin's body, that the next moment lay quite limp and motionless.

Fritz was now scolded off, and the torches were held near, in order that the hunters might examine the game they had killed. A splendid specimen the bear was--one of the biggest and fattest of his kind; and no doubt would yield them a large amount of the precious "grease."

They had scarcely made this reflection when another of far different character forced itself upon their minds, and compelled them to stand gazing at each other with looks of mute inquiry. Each waited for one of the others to speak; and although no one had yet said a word, all equally felt that they were in a dilemma.

What dilemma? you will ask. The game had been secured--what difficulty would there be in dragging it out of the cave, and afterwards taking it home to their hut?

All this may appear easy enough to you, because you do not yet understand the situation in which the hunters were placed--you do not comprehend why they stood gazing upon each other with troubled looks.

Why they did so was simply this:--while examining the carca.s.s of the bear, they observed that their _torches were burnt out_! Not quite to the ends, it is true; but so near that they could not be depended on to light them a score of yards. They were already flickering and burning dimly--in a few seconds more they would be quite extinguished; and what then?

Ay, what then? that was the thought that was troubling them--that it was that caused them to stand looking anxiously towards one another.

Even they themselves did not fully comprehend the peril of their situation. They saw that they were going to be left in darkness--the perfect darkness of a dungeon--but it had not yet occurred to them that _they might never again see the light_! That appalling thought had not yet shaped itself in their minds--they only believed that the want of torches would put them to much inconvenience--they would have great trouble, and perhaps difficulty, in finding their way out of the cave, and getting the bear along with them--they might first have to grope their way out, and then get fresh torches, and return for the game; and all this would take a good deal of time, and give them a large amount of trouble; but never mind that--the prize they had obtained in the fat of the bear, and his fine hide--which would make a grand winter robe--would repay them for all.

Ha! it was only after their torches had gone quite out, and they were left in total darkness--only after they had groped and groped, and wandered about for hours--now sprawling over loose rocks, now tumbling down into deep clefts--only after they had gone through all this, and still saw no light--no sign by which they could even guess at their whereabouts, that they became fully alive to the peril of their situation, and began to experience the awful apprehension already expressed--that _they might never again see the light_!

And such in reality was their fear, when, after hours spent in fruitless wandering, they stood holding each other's hands, crouching and cowering together in the midst of that amorphous darkness!

CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN.

A RAMBLE IN THE DARK.

Their dread was not at all unreasonable, considering the vast extent of the cavern--considering the distance which they knew they had penetrated--considering the various devious and like ways through which they had pa.s.sed while in pursuit of the bear--and, above all, considering the absolute darkness that now reigned around them. Of course they could see nothing, not even each other; not one of them could have seen the nose upon his own face, had he been looking for it.

Place yourself in the midst of complete darkness, and you will wonder how little progress you can make in any direction. Indeed, you cannot follow a right line even were there no impediment in your way.

After you have advanced a few steps, your face will begin to turn in a new direction, and perhaps keep turning, until you have gone round the four cardinal points! You need not be told this; "blind man's buff"

will have imparted to you the idea, long ere now. You will remember that, after having made a turn or two, you could not tell to which side of the room you were facing, unless you laid your hand upon the piano, or some piece of furniture, and recognised it by the touch.

How just like the blind man in the game, so the three were situated; with the exception that they had no piano--no furniture--no object of any kind--to guide them. They knew not where to turn--they knew not which way to advance--which way to go back.

For many minutes, they stood paralysed by the confusion. As already stated, they held each other by the hand, and in this way they stood.

Each feared to let the others go, lest he might lose them! Of course this was but an idle tear, as their voices would enable them to keep together; but there was something so awe-inspiring in their situation, that they all felt childish and helpless, and they needed the support of one another.

After remaining at rest a while, they started off afresh; holding each other by the hands, as they moved. This precaution was more necessary while they were in motion than at rest. They dreaded that one of their number might fall over some high steep or into a deep hole; and while thus clinging together, the danger would be less--that is, if all three did not go over together.

For several hours they wandered about, and, according to their own belief, must have walked many miles; but of course their progress was slow, as they had to feel their way at _every_ step. They grew tired with the effort they had to make, and at intervals sat down to rest themselves; but their feelings would not permit them to pause long; and they would up to their feet again, and scramble on as before.

For many hours--and many miles, say they--they walked, but saw no ray of light to cheer them--saw nothing, felt nothing that they could recognise. At times they thought they must be far into the mountain-- perhaps miles from the entrance of the cavern; at other times they fancied they had gone several times through the same pa.s.sage; and once or twice they knew they had done so, by recognising the rocks over which they had pa.s.sed.

This gave them a hope that in time they might get acquainted with the different turnings and pa.s.sages,--and that would have been possible enough; but it would have taken a long time, and what were they to subsist upon while acquiring this knowledge? They thought of this, and saw at once the foolishness of the hope they had conceived.

The dog Fritz moved along, sometimes before, sometimes by their side, and sometimes in the rear. He kept silent, seemingly as much frightened as they. They could tell he was there, by hearing at intervals the scratching of his claws upon the rocks, when some boulder lay in the way, and compelled him to scramble over it. What could Fritz do more than they? In such darkness he could not see his nose any more than they? No--but he could make use of that nose to direct himself, which was more than any of his masters could do.

"Ha!" shouted Caspar, as this idea pa.s.sed through his mind. "Ha, brother! Ossaroo! why might not Fritz guide us? Why might he not scent his way out of this horrid dungeon? Surely he must be as tired of it as we are!"

"Let us try what may be done," rejoined Karl, by his tone showing that he had no great hope in the experiment. "Call him up, Caspar! He knows you best."

Caspar addressed the dog by name, adding a few coaxing words, and in an instant Fritz was by his side.

"How shall we manage? Leave him to himself?" inquired Caspar.

"I fear he will stand still, and not attempt to go ahead of us," replied Karl.