Real Gold Part 51

There was no fear now of their words being heard above the booming roar which came up out of the chasm, and the colonel explained his intentions.

"I am going to call upon you all to show your nerve," he said, "for we must go down, and pa.s.s along by the fall through the darkness and mist."

"But is it safe, father?" said Perry anxiously.

"Safe or no, my lad, it is a chance I cannot let slip," replied his father. "You saw their leader looking back, Cyril? He was evidently satisfied that there was no pursuit, and he and his people will conclude that once they get through the mist they will be safe, and no doubt camp just on the other side for the night.--Manning, we must steal through the mist, creep up, and surprise them. Two or three of our little volleys will, I believe, put them to flight if we come upon them suddenly, and then we must return this way, and show our teeth fiercely if they pursue."

"Right, sir; I'm ready," said John Manning. "You lead, and we'll follow."

"Let's rest, then, till it is quite dark. I believe I can lead you right through to the other side without much risk, for after our experience we know the worst. Besides, where they can go, we can go.

There, wait a bit, boys, and we shall have our own again, and the wherewithal to make a good meal. No, no," the colonel added as John Manning raised his head. "Only in case of utter starvation, my man. We can hold out a little longer, and I hope we shall not have to come to eating mule. Now, lie down, all of you, and rest. In a couple of hours' time I shall start."

CHAPTER THIRTY.

TRAPPED.

Hungry and faint, it was a dreary time pa.s.sed during that halt; but in spite of all, it was restful, though the stones were hard, and there were moments when Cyril felt as if he could go off fast asleep, and dream of banquets, as hungry people are said to do.

But there was no sleeping, and, as nearly as could be guessed, at the end of two hours the colonel rose, and gave the word "Forward."

Then began the journey down the long zigzag, every turn bringing them nearer to the spot where the river took its great plunge into the gulf.

The roar grew deeper and louder, though still smothered by the dense mist, and as they drew nearer, there was the damp odour of water, breathed in the smallest of vesicles, as it was churned and then whirled upward to battle with the breeze descending the gorge.

The last turn of the descending path at last, and then the colonel stopped, for they were face to face with the great black veil of mist.

"Now," he said, with his lips close to each one's ear in turn, "you first, Perry, take a grip of the stock of my gun, and pa.s.s your own backward as I do mine for Cyril to take hold. Then Cyril will do the same for John Manning to grasp, and we shall be linked together and well in touch. I shall lead, of course. Courage, boys, and no hesitation.

We shall soon be through. Now, forward."

In half-a-dozen steps the darkness, which had been relieved by the faint gleaming of the stars peering down into the gorge, became intense, for they were once more in the mist, and guided only by the gentle drag upon the guns, as without hesitation the colonel led on, keeping close to the wall upon his left.

The noise of the water thundering down was more confusing than ever, the mist more stifling; but the boys gathered confidence as they went on, and Perry was too much occupied in following his father's steps, to think much about the horrible slip into the gulf below; while Cyril, as he stepped on manfully, kept trying to recall how far the way was through, and calculated that they must be fully half-way.

He had just arrived at this conclusion, when he turned angrily to resent what he looked upon as absurd behaviour on the part of John Manning, who suddenly grasped him tightly, pinning his arms down to his sides, and flinging him up against the rock-wall as far as possible from the edge of the gulf.

"How stupid!" he cried aloud, though not a word was heard. "I'm all right. Now you've broken the chain."

He had arrived at this point, when he felt a rope pa.s.sed rapidly round him, binding his arms to his sides. Then he was thrown upon his back, and in spite of his struggles, his legs were treated in the same way, after which a cloth was bound over his face, so tightly as to be almost suffocating. Lastly, he felt himself lifted head and heels, and borne forward, dizzy, confused, and wondering what had happened to his companions, and finally bound to conclude that they must have been treated precisely in the same way. He felt that this must be so, and that the Indian cunning had been too much for the colonel's strategy, a party having remained in waiting in full knowledge that they were pursued, and ready to pounce upon them, just in a spot where an attack would be least expected and surest of success.

All at once, as the boy was borne along, feeling satisfied that it was useless to struggle and folly to exert himself and shout, it occurred to him that his bearers were going closer to the edge of the gulf, for the roar of the water seemed to be more deafening. There could only be one reason for this, he argued--it was his turn to be thrown in, and the others must be gone.

The horrible thought made him begin to struggle with all his might, but at the first writhe a strong additional arm was pa.s.sed over his body, gripping him tightly to its owner's side, and in this fas.h.i.+on he became helpless, and was carried forward, to grow calmer, for he awoke to the fact that his life was certainly for the present safe.

Then a curious feeling of faintness came over him, the heat of the cloth over his mouth was suffocating, bright specks of light danced before his eyes, there was a singing in his ears, and then everything seemed to be at an end, till the stars were looking down at him from far on high, and above the low distant booming of the fall he could hear the pleasant silvery gurgle of water, and the heavy breathing of sleepers close at hand.

By degrees the boy's head grew clearer, but at the expense of his body, for as the power of thinking brightened, his limbs grew heavier, numb, and helpless, and the effort he made to turn over upon one side proved to be in vain. He felt that the cloth which bound his lips was gone, but there was no inclination to cry for help, and he lay perfectly still, wondering whether his companions were near, and then utterly exhausted, all pa.s.sed away again, but this time he slept.

It must have been near morning once more, when Cyril awoke with a feeling of something warm touching his ear, and a voice whispered:

"Careful, my lad. I've cut you free, and I'm going to cut the colonel and Master Perry clear. Now try and rub your legs gently. We must make a dash for it, as soon as you're ready. Don't speak."

The lips were removed from his ear, and there was a faint rustling, that was all.

He tried to obey the orders he had received, but for some minutes there was scarcely any sense of feeling in his hand, or in the part he touched, but he worked on, feeling hopeful now. John Manning was fighting for their freedom, and the others must be close at hand, but he felt that if they were as helpless as he, they would not be of much use in an attempt to escape from their captors.

And as Cyril went on softly rubbing circulation into his numbed and swollen legs once more, a faint point of light high up in the clouds, where an ice peak was catching the first rays of the coming morn, shone out like a hopeful sign to tell him that all was not yet lost.

For quite half an hour he kept up the gentle friction, bringing back circulation, but with it intense pain. Then his heart bounded, and he forgot his agony, for John Manning crept close to him again.

"Been rubbing?" he whispered.

"Yes."

"Can you fight?"

"I'll try."

"All right then, boy; the others are ready, and I think the Indians are asleep. We must make a dash for it now, before they make up their minds to put us out of our misery, for I am afraid it's that they mean."

"What do we do first?" whispered Cyril, who felt the power rapidly coming back into his legs.

"Wait till the colonel joins us with Master Perry. They're coming as soon as they feel it safe, and then we dash back for the falls, and retreat up the gorge. When we jump up, keep together and run. Hit out, lad, at anybody who tries to stop you. They're only cowards after all, but the colonel's coming. Now get up softly. Ready?"

"Yes."

At that moment there was a fierce yell, and Cyril was dashed back upon the ground, three Indians flinging themselves upon him; there was a dull blow, a groan, and John Manning cried aloud:

"They've done for me, lad; run for it, if you can get free. Tell the colonel I did my duty to the last."

Almost at the same moment Cyril, as he fiercely struggled, heard a shrill cry of agony from Perry, a shout from the colonel, and the reports of half-a-dozen guns fired in rapid succession.

Then all was blank, for a heavy blow on the side of the head made the lad insensible to what was pa.s.sing around.

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.

FATHER AND SON.

When Cyril opened his eyes and began to look about, his head was aching violently, and a swimming sensation made everything near him look misty and indistinct. But he was conscious that the sun was s.h.i.+ning brightly all around, and that he was lying in the shade cast by a tree, whose foliage was so familiar that he closed his eyes again to think and wonder whether he was dreaming.

For that was unmistakably a cinchona tree, one of those he had thought about so much of late.

He opened his eyes again, and looked round to see that there were several mules about grazing on the rich gra.s.s, and there was a peculiar odour in the air which he knew to be caused by burning wood.

A low buzz of conversation was going on, too, somewhere close behind him, and he tried to look round, but the movement gave him so much pain that he let his head sink down, uttering a weary sigh, which was evidently heard, for there was a rustling sound behind him, and some one came and bent down and took his hand, at the same time laying another upon his forehead and gazing into his eyes.