Rob Harlow's Adventures Part 5

"Mind your eye, sir," shouted Shaddy.

"You mean my finger, I suppose," said Brazier, s.n.a.t.c.hing back his hand.

"That's so, sir," replied Shaddy. "I'd a deal rather have mine in a rat-trap. Just you look here!"

He picked up the boat-hook and presented the end of the pole to the fish as its jaws gaped open, and touched the palate. In an instant the mouth closed with a snap, and the teeth were driven into the hard wood.

"There, sir," continued Shaddy, "that's when he's half dead. You can tell what he's like when he's all alive in the water. Pretty creetur, then," he continued, apostrophising the dying fish, "it was a pity to kill you. They'll be pretty glad down below, though, to get rid of you.

Wonder how many other better-looking fish he ate every day, Mr Harlow, sir?"

"I didn't think of that," said Rob, feeling more comfortable, and his regret pa.s.sing away.

"With teeth like that, he must have been a regular water tyrant," said Brazier, after a long examination of the fish, from whose jaws the pole was with difficulty extracted. "There, take it away," he continued.

"Your cook will make something of it, eh, Giovanni?"

"Yes," said the lad; "we'll have some for dinner."

"But what do you suppose it weighs?" cried Rob.

"Good sixty-pound, sir," said Shaddy, raising the captive on the hook at arm's length. "Wo-ho!" he shouted as the fish made a struggle, quivering heavily from head to tail. "There you are!" he cried, dropping it into the dinghy. Then in the Guarani dialect he told two of the Indian boatmen to take it on board the schooner, over whose stern several dark faces had now appeared, and soon after the gorgeous-looking trophy was hauled up the vessel's side and disappeared.

CHAPTER THREE.

AN ITALIAN ALLIANCE.

"Now, sir, if you please," said Shaddy, "I think it's time to do something to this covering-in. We've had fine weather so far, but it's going to change. What do you say to spreading another canvas over the top?"

"If you think it's necessary, do it at once."

"It's going to rain soon," said the Italian lad, who was seated by Rob carefully winding up the line so that it might dry.

"And when it do rain out here, sir, it ain't one of your British mizzles, but regular cats and dogs. It comes down in bucketfuls. And, as you know, the best thing toward being healthy's keeping a dry skin, which you can't do in wet clothes."

Work was commenced at once after the boat had been swabbed clean, and a canvas sheet being unfolded, it was stretched over the ridge pole which covered in a portion of the boat, tightly tied down over the sides, and secured fore and aft.

"There," said Shaddy when he had finished, the boys and Mr Brazier helping willingly, "if we can keep the wind out we shall be all right now. Nothing like keeping your victuals and powder dry. Not much too soon, sir, eh?"

Martin Brazier and his companion had been too busy to notice the change that had come over the sky; but now they looked up to see that the sun was covered by a dull haze, which rapidly grew more dense. The heat that had prevailed for many days, during which they had fought their way slowly up the great river, pa.s.sed rapidly away, and Rob suggested that rain would begin to fall soon.

"Not yet, my lad. These are not rain-clouds," said Shaddy; "that's only dust."

"Dust? Where are the roads for it to blow off?" said Rob incredulously.

"Roads? No roads, but off the thousands of miles of dry plains."

Just then a hail came from the schooner, the captain looking over, and in extremely bad English suggesting that the party should come on board; but directly after he lapsed into Italian, addressed to his son.

"Father says we shall have two or three days' rain and bad weather, and that you will be more comfortable on board till the storm has gone by."

"Yes," said Mr Brazier, "no doubt, but I don't like leaving the boat."

"She'll be all right, sir," said Shaddy. "I'll stop aboard with one of the Indians. Bit o' rain won't hurt us."

Mr Brazier hesitated.

"Better go, sir."

"To refuse would be showing want of confidence in him," said Brazier to Rob, and then aloud,--

"Very well. Take care of the guns, and see that nothing gets wet."

Just then there was a whirling rush of cool wind, which rippled the whole surface of the water.

"I shall take care of 'em, sir," said Shaddy. "Here comes the dinghy.

Better get aboard whilst you can. She'll be off that sand-bank 'fore an hour's past. You can send us a bit of the fish, Mr Harlow. Haul us up close, and drop some in."

"Yes, I'll look after you, Shaddy," replied Rob.

"And if this wind holds we shall soon be in the Paraguay river, sir, and sailing into another climate, as you'll see."

They went on board the schooner, where they were warmly welcomed by the Italian skipper, and in less time than Shaddy had suggested there was a heavy sea on, which rocked the loftily masted vessel from side to side.

Then a sail or two dropped down, a tremendous gust of moisture-laden air came from the south, the schooner rose, dipped her bowsprit, creaked loudly, and as quite a tidal wave rushed up the river before the storm she seemed to leap off the sand-bank on its crest right into deep water, and sailed swiftly away due north.

All whose duty did not keep them on deck were snugly housed in the cabin, listening to the deafening roar of the thunder and watching the lightning, which flashed incessantly, while the rain beat and thrashed the decks and poured out of the scuppers in cascades.

"They were right," said Brazier to Rob. "We're better here, but if this goes on our boat will be half full of water, and not a thing left dry."

"Shaddy will take care of them," said Rob quietly. "Besides, most of the things are packed in casks, and will not hurt."

Mr Brazier shook his head.

"I don't know," he said; "I'm afraid we shall have to renew our stock of provisions and powder at a.s.suncion, and they'll make us pay pretty dearly for it, too."

The storm lasted well through the night, but at daybreak the rain had ceased. When they went on deck, there, swinging behind them, was the drenched boat, with Shaddy seated astern, scooping out the last drops of water with a tin, and saving that the canvas tent was saturated and steamed slightly, nothing seemed wrong. The morning was comparatively cool, a gleam of orange light coming in the east, and a pleasant gale blowing from the south and sending the shallow-draughted schooner onward at a rapid pace.

A couple of hours later, with the sun well up, the temperature was delicious, the canvas of the boat tent drying rapidly, and Shaddy, after hauling close up astern for the fish he had not forgotten, had reported that not a drop of water had got inside to the stores.

Days followed of pleasant sailing, generally with the pampero blowing, but with a few changes round to the north, when, as they tacked up the river, it was like being in another climate.

One or two stoppages followed at the very few towns on the banks, and at last the junction of the two great rivers was reached, the Parana, up which they had sailed, winding off to the east and north, the Paraguay, up which their destination lay, running in a winding course due north.

As Shaddy had prophesied, the change was wonderful as soon as they had entered this river, and fresh scenes and novelties were constantly delighting Rob's eyes as they slowly sailed on against the current.

"Oh yes, this is all very well," said Shaddy; "but wait till we've got past the big city yonder and left the schooners and trade and houses behind: then I shall show you something. All this don't count."

Mr Brazier seemed to think that it did, and a dozen times over he was for bidding Captain Ossolo good-bye, thanking and paying him for towing him up the river, and turning off at once into one of the streams that ran in through the virgin land west. But Shaddy opposed him.