CHAPTER XVII

FIGHTING IN THE FOREST

"I will never surrender! However hopeless matters look, I will fight these rascals, for to give in now means almost certain death to our employer."

Dudley gave expression to his thoughts aloud, and as he spoke brought one clenched fist down upon the root of a tree against which he lay, with a thud which all could hear. About him, spread full length in the grass and brambles, and separated here and there by the trunk of a tree, lay his little band of followers, the gallant fellows who stood between him and capture. Grim and stern they were too, and, if only it had been light, Antonio Sarvisti, could he have seen them, would not have been so confident. For Dudley had already proved his pluck to the gauchos. He had once before led them through fighting and difficulty, and for that very reason, now that matters looked so hopeless, they whispered to one another that their good fortune was not yet gone, that they still had their young leader, and that he would bring them out of this scrape just as he had done out of a former. At his words they edged a trifle nearer, strained their ears, and then, as the meaning of the words was interpreted to those who had but a poor knowledge of English, they set up a cheer which astounded the enemy.

"The dogs!" exclaimed Antonio Sarvisti, emerging from the cover of a tree some twenty yards away. "That cheer sounds as if they were full of confidence. They surely can have no hope of escape, and when the light comes they will have no other course but to surrender, for we shall be able to shoot them down like rabbits. Eh, _amico_?"

His sour-faced lieutenant, a gaucho who had been in the rascal's employ for many a year, and whose predatory life seemed to have embittered him, growled a reply, and he stood for a while beside him, listening to the faint sound of conversation which came from Dudley's party, while he chewed a leaf thoughtfully. It was clear that if his employer were sanguine as to the result of this contest, this rascal had many doubts, for he shook his head, tossed the leaf to the ground, and carefully sheltered himself behind a tree.

"A cheer is a cheer anywhere," he answered surlily. "We have been expecting a call to say that they wished to surrender, and now they set up a shout which proves that they are still of good heart. What if the cheer means that one of their number has escaped?"

The very idea of such a thing caused the Italian leader to grind his teeth. But a moment's reflection reassured him.

"Pshaw!" he exclaimed, with a somewhat feeble attempt at a laugh. "That, we know, is not the case. They have made the attempt, and have failed. True, the dog who tried to slip through killed one of our number; at least that is the report brought to me. But I swear that not even a mouse could break through. They are cooped in, and when the dawn comes, ah!"

"You will not be able to shoot better than they," exclaimed his right-hand man. "Think! We are here in the forest, which is as dense as can be. Can we see them better than they can see us? Are we under finer cover than they? Pooh! They have a smart leader, who took the only possible course, and for my part I believe that we have hard work before us. That young fellow who leads them will not give in too hurriedly. He has seen some fighting, you must remember, and he knows the value of his position as well as you do. Besides----"

"Besides what?" demanded Antonio, an oath escaping his lips, for the words of his lieutenant roused his smouldering anger. "What, man? You are ever the one to croak. What is the trouble now?"

"I was about to say that even if this youngster were inclined to surrender, for the sake of his own skin, there is something else which will keep him fighting."

"Something else? And that is something even more important than his own skin?" exclaimed Antonio with a sneer.

"More important still," went on the rascal beside him, seeming to take a delight in putting the dark side to his leader. "Something which you have often been troubled with yourself. This man Blunt is a Britisher you say. An Italian, a Spaniard, a man of any nation you please to pick, would perhaps have given in before now, and have slipped away from this country. Has this man Blunt shown a sign of doing that?"

"Not yet," came the curt answer, "and it would have been better for him had he done so, though I should have followed. The fool does not know when there is danger. He has wonderful fortune. Think, man! I have raided his estancia more than once, and set the house in flames, and yet the fellow has escaped owing to some unforeseen chance. My men have attacked him in Montevideo, he has been waylaid in Buenos Ayres, and of late on the river. The dog has a charmed life. But his fortune is gone now. This time it has come in Antonio Sarvisti's direction."

"With this alteration," said the man beside him, as if determined to snatch at every chance to belittle the prospects of his own employer. "I was saying that this man Blunt is British. This young fellow who commands in front of us is of the same nationality, and we have met many besides. They are dogs for stubbornness. They will often fight when even an imbecile would see that further struggle is out of the question and likely to lead to death, and worse than that----"

He waited for a moment, while Antonio Sarvisti ground his teeth and muttered beneath his breath.

"Worse than that!" he exclaimed with rising anger. "Why, have you nothing but croaks to give? What is this other matter?"

"Simply this. The youth who commands is bosom friend to this Mr. Blunt, and he knows well what surrender means to his employer. You follow, _amico_? It is not his own skin and his own safety which troubles him; it is the security of his employer. There! He is British, I repeat; and men of that nation stick fast to one another. He would rather be slain himself than let you ride over to the estancia unexpectedly and murder his employer."

Having given vent to all that was on his mind, and, incidentally, roused his own rascally employer to a condition of furious anger, the gaucho who had been speaking calmly plucked another leaf from the overhanging branch, and proceeded to chew it thoughtfully. In his heart the fellow was tired of this master of his. He himself was not so young as he had been, and the constant fear of a sudden death at the hands of his employer had already begun to prey on his mind and unsettle him. He had had a warning of what he might expect that very night, and he had seen many a man shot by the cold-blooded ruffian beside him.

There was another reason to promote his dissatisfaction with his present employment. This gaucho had been unusually careful. He had not spent all his ill-gotten gains, but had hoarded them; at that very moment his mind turned to the thought of his wealth and to the spot where it was securely hidden.

"Pah!" he exclaimed beneath his breath. "I shall wait till this matter is settled, and then this Antonio Sarvisti must look for another lieutenant."

There was silence for a while between the two men, while each was engaged with his thoughts, which in the case of the leader of this robber band were none of the pleasantest. For this lieutenant of his had opened his eyes a little, and the Italian was beginning to lose some of his confidence. He could see now that even sixty men might not be able to help him, and that his own position in the forest was not a whit better than Dudley's. For many minutes he pondered on the situation, and wondered whether he should order his men to make a rush and so capture the band. But all the conquests of this robber band had been made by sudden and unexpected attacks. Often enough their raids were met by single men alone, totally unprepared to defend themselves. In consequence it was seldom that they had cause to mourn the loss of one of their number. But on this night two had been killed, while the shots which Dudley and his men had sent in response to the volleys aimed at them had resulted in half a dozen wounds amongst the enemy. The lesson had not been lost, and Antonio Sarvisti knew in his own mind that if he gave the order some at least of his following would not respond. There would be disobedience to his orders, and such a thing would be fatal when matters were so critical.

"Pshaw! I will starve the brat and his men," he exclaimed aloud. "I will keep a close ring drawn round him, and leave him till he makes up his mind to surrender."

"And what of the attack on the estancia?" his lieutenant ventured to ask. "You will make that at once?"

"Not till these men are taken," was the short answer. "I have none to spare for a raid on the estancia. Wait a little, _amico_. When the dawn comes you will see that we shall be successful."

Even the astute Antonio could not think of everything, for had he been able to do so he would have seen at once that he still had the game in his own hands. He had captured the horses belonging to Dudley's party, and had some sixty men. Had he been the energetic and clever leader which he, in his vanity, fancied himself to be, he would have left only a few of his men in the forest, just sufficient to hold Dudley with their fire, and would have spurred straight for Mr. Blunt's estancia. Once he had raided the place successfully, what did it matter if this small party of stubborn men escaped him? Supposing they discovered that he had withdrawn a number of his following, they were still without their horses, and long before they could secure them Mr. Blunt and the estancia he held would have been attacked. True, other owners would soon know that it was from Antonio Sarvisti's estancia that the raids came, but then he, Antonio Sarvisti, could move to another part of the pampas.

"For years now I have been following this man Blunt," he said to himself, as he sheltered behind a tree. "I and my brothers slew his wife, and would have killed him had we had fortune. What matters it to me if all hereabout know that I hold a gang of raiders on my place, provided I carry out the end of this vendetta? The Englishman came to Sicily when he was not wanted. He married our cousin against our will, and flouted us when we would have prevented him. He made little of the quarrel which had even then existed for some years between the two families, and for that reason he was marked for death. He shall die! I, Antonio Sarvisti, have sworn it. As soon as I have dealt with this beggarly youngster I will ride to the estancia and burn the house. Yes, I will toss this man into his own flaring dwelling."

The darkness of the night and the deep shadows cast by the trees hid the ruffian's snarling features; but darkness did not cloak the sound of his voice, for he had spoken aloud. Indeed Dudley and his comrades could hear someone speaking, faintly, it is true, but sufficiently clear to give them the direction from which the sound came. It was Harold who calmly raised his rifle, held the muzzle low, and sent a shot swishing past the tree behind which the rascally leader of this band of robbers sheltered.

"Ah! Not frightened into surrender yet?" cried Antonio, shaking his fist with rage. "You shall see. I will teach you when the morning comes."

He stared out from behind the trunk of the tree, only to withdraw somewhat hastily, for Harold had reloaded, and a moment later sent another shot thudding against the tree, a second reminder to Antonio Sarvisti that matters were not so desperate for the small party hemmed in by the circle which he had drawn about them.

"Sixty was the number of the men he said he had with him," said Dudley a moment later. "Do you consider that he has as many as he says?"

He swung round to Pepito, who at that moment was engaged in fastening a long scarf about his wounded limb. The gaucho dropped the ends at once, stared out into the trees, and then nodded.

"He has as many, señor," he said with emphasis. "A ruffian out on the pampas can have as many men as he desires. This fellow has sixty, if he said so, and if I had been in command those men would long ago have rushed forward and made a capture. It is a good sign. Ruffians are often cowards. They fear to attack us. They wait for the dawn, when they hope to be able to shoot us down. Were I one of them, and the plan that you speak of had been formed, I would leave a few in the trees to fire, and make it appear that there were many, while I sent off the bigger half to raid the estancia."

"The very thing that I fear this Antonio Sarvisti may do," said Dudley, a note of anxiety in his voice. "Now, listen. I have said that I refuse to surrender."

"Hooray!" shouted Harold, gripping his hand. "That's what the men feel about the matter. I have been speaking to a few. They will fight to a finish."

"Then we must prepare. We have two matters to attend to. We have to decide how to defend ourselves, and we must send news to our employer. If he is warned in time, no danger can threaten him, and in addition he could, by collecting gauchos from neighboring estancias, relieve this party, and perhaps even surround this band of robbers. Those two points must be seen to."

There was silence for a while as Dudley and Harold and the gaucho leader considered the matter. To Harold and Pepito it seemed hopeless even to consider the question of sending a warning to their employer, for an attempt had already failed, and it was clear that the enemy were in a close ring round them.

"What food and ammunition have we?" asked our hero suddenly.

"Abundance!" came the prompt answer. "The señor gave orders that each man should ride to-night with rations for two days. Those rations will last, at a pinch, for four days."

"And water?" suddenly demanded Harold.

"We have none, señor, but I had not forgotten its need. Do not forget that a forest in this pampas region spells water, for otherwise there would not be trees. I have been here before, and know that there are wells. If those are out of our reach, as seems probable, then a hole dug only a little distance into the soil will soon be filled with fluid. As to ammunition, each man has many rounds. Given a good position, there is sufficient here to protect the party for many hours."

"Then we will make the position," said Dudley, "and now I will tell you what I am going to do. I cannot expect any of my men to undertake a task which I do not eagerly accept myself. I place Harold Joyce in charge of this party once I am gone, while I myself am determined to get through these men and ride for the estancia. Listen!"

"You! It is madness! You are in command, and the defence depends on your being here. You are not serious!"

It was Harold who suddenly spoke, rising to his feet in his excitement. But Dudley dragged him to the ground at once, and fortunately for him, for Antonio had given recent orders that fire should be opened whenever a sound was heard. It happened, therefore, that hardly had Harold fallen full length again when a storm of bullets swept over the prostrate party, showering leaves on to their heads, and then speeding harmlessly out over the pampas.

"I will go," repeated Dudley quietly. "It may seem to some that my place is here, and I have already said so, and that the danger to this party is greater than that threatening Mr. Blunt. I do not think so now. This little following of mine is certain to be captured as soon as its ammunition gives out, though I think that it can hold its own till then. After that it will be captured. What then will happen to our employer?"

An exclamation came from either side of him, showing clearly that Harold and Pepito knew well what would be the result.

"Now listen to the plan," said Dudley. "Let each man make use of his hunting knife and cut a trench in front of him. Feel here for yourselves. The ground is soft, and I have already made quite a respectable hollow. The earth removed from the hole has been thrown up in front, so that, when my trench is longer I shall be able to lie at full length and shall have splendid protection. Now if, during the three or four hours which still must pass before the dawn comes, we cut our trenches, and connect them up one to another, we shall have quite a little fort to protect us, about which we shall be able to move, with care, so as to reinforce any point which may be attacked. In any case the whole of our trenches will cover very little ground, for we had better keep close together. Do you begin to follow?"

During the last five minutes, as he lay on the ground, he had been diligently using his knife and fingers, and, as he said, had found the soil at the base of the trees light and loamy. Gripping Pepito's arm, and then Harold's in turn, he placed their hands on the mound which he had thrown up in front of him, and in a few moments showed them plainly what he meant.

"It is good," said the former with something approaching a chuckle. "The señor's busy brain is at work, just as it was on the eve of our night attack on the Indians. This fort is as good as made. In an hour the men will have completed it. There will be a bank between us and the enemy, and encircling us, and in the hollow within we shall lie. Our provisions can be placed in one corner under my charge, and also the ammunition. Then an allowance can be given to each man, and the supply made to last all the longer, for there will be no waste. Good, señor, I begin to fear these ruffians less. But the second portion of your plan?"

"Will be carried out as soon as the fort is completed," answered Dudley, determined to keep his own counsel for the moment. "Instruct the men, and let us get to work."

It wanted very little tuition to inform the gauchos what was expected from them, for, though almost devoid of education, these honest fellows of the pampas were nature's pupils. They had roughed it from their earliest days, and often their own safety had depended on their sagacity. They received Pepito's whispered instructions with enthusiasm, waited only till the limits of the narrow fort had been marked out, and then each set to work with frantic energy, chopping the ground with his knife, throwing handfuls of soil before him, and gradually hollowing out the ground in his immediate rear. It is wonderful what active men can do under such circumstances, when life may depend on their exertions. Dudley's party had soon cleared quite a respectable-sized hollow, and had thrown up a mound all round, on the top of which the brambles and grass which they had cut during the operations were deposited. Here and there a tree thrust its trunk up in their hollow, but that only added to their cover and caused no inconvenience, while one of them, one of the forest giants, happening to have a large hollow at its root, provided a storehouse for food and ammunition, over which Pepito at once took charge. As for water, one of the gauchos set to work in the very centre of the hollow, and in a little while had dug some three feet into the ground, scooping the earth out with his hands. Into this shallow well water began to trickle almost immediately, a fact which heartened the garrison and caused them to give vent to another cheer.

"The novelty of the idea strikes them, señor," said Pepito with a chuckle of delight. "A little time ago matters looked desperate and hopeless. Now they are rosy with promise. We are ready, señor. Your orders?"

"They are simple, Pepito. Two of the enemy were killed?"

"Two, señor: one who sent his bullet into my thigh, and the other whom our comrade settled."

"It is the first we have to deal with. He lies a matter of five yards outside our fort, I think?"

Pepito nodded emphatically, forgetting that the darkness hid all movement.

"That is so, señor," he said eagerly. "I know the spot well. It is perhaps less than five yards away. What then?"

"I am about to borrow his clothes, that is all," came the calm answer. "At least, I shall borrow a portion. I noticed that every gaucho in the service of this Antonio wore a red scarf about his neck, and a hat of different color from ours. I shall borrow those two articles from the man who is dead, and shall then join the enemy. Now listen to my instructions. One of you will creep away in the direction opposite to that in which this body lies, and will cut a narrow trench. His task is to strike the nearest tree with a stick, and to make such sounds as will cause the enemy to think that an attempt at escape is being made in that direction. As he lies there, the others will fire above his head--anywhere, so long as they take care not to hit him. They will, in particular, pay attention to that part of the forest where the dead man lies. You understand?"

An exclamation broke from Pepito and Harold.

"It is all clear," said the latter. "We attract their attention to the opposite direction, and, having searched the forest along the path which you will be taking, and, let us hope, shot any of the ruffians hiding there, we occupy the attention of the rascals till you get clear. But, by Jove, Dudley, the risk is terrible."

"Hush! There is a movement. I hear men creeping in the forest!"

It was one of the gauchos who gave the alarm, and at once every member of Dudley's party had taken his place behind the low walls of the fort.

"Someone is moving, certainly," whispered Pepito. "There, I heard the sounds. They are coming closer."

"Are all loaded?" asked our hero quickly. "Then let them hold their fire till I call. Yes, it looks as if we were about to be attacked, and in that case our defences are likely to prove useful. Tell the men to lie at full length and keep absolutely silent. We will give these rascals a lesson if we have the chance."

But now the swish of leaves and the noise of many men approaching was plainly to be heard, and every second proved to the defenders that a forward move was being attempted by the enemy. Dudley's little following lay as still as rocks, each man with his rifle at his shoulder and his eyes close behind the screen of brambles thrown up in front of him.

"Repeat the order," whispered Dudley. "No one is to fire till I call, and then only at the flashes made by the weapons of the enemy. If they rush us, lie still in the hollow. That will puzzle them badly."

A minute later a shrill whistle sounded through the forest, and then came a call from Antonio Sarvisti.

"On them!" he shouted. "Pour in a volley and then charge."

From every quarter, from the forest in front and to right and left, and from the pampas in the rear, came the splutter of musketry, while flashes broke out here and there, lighting up the darkness for an instant and then disappearing, only to be succeeded by others. And the light which they gave showed the leader of the band of robbers and his men charging down upon the small party enclosed within their lines. The gaucho following of Antonio Sarvisti were undertaking a task which few appreciated. They were attacking men fully prepared to receive them, and men, moreover, whose exact whereabouts was unknown. They had crept as close as possible, and now, despite the danger of wounding comrades, poured in an irregular and harmless volley, which ripped the trees and sped away in all directions. Then they charged, only to come quickly to a halt and commence to reload their pieces. For not a shot answered them; not a voice was heard. The sensation was uncanny. They began even to think that the birds had flown.

"Charge!" shouted Antonio again, placing himself at the head of some of the men and advancing, revolver in hand. "Now, another volley!"

"Fire!" cried Dudley, hearing and understanding his order. "Fire at the flashes!"

There was silence for one brief instant, and then once more, from every quarter, but on this occasion from a closer range, numbers of weapons were discharged, while from the dark hole in which the defenders hovered a stinging reply came, each one of the gauchos waiting his time, and aiming at the flashes made by the weapons of the enemy. A minute later the attack had been abandoned. Antonio Sarvisti and his men had slunk back to their old positions, while the defenders still lay in their primitive fort, confident and brimful of enthusiasm.

"Just the time for me to move," whispered Dudley. "Harold, I leave the men to you. Whatever happens, hang on to this place and hold these rascals round you. If I get through, and can take a horse, I shall be at the estancia by noon, and might even be back soon after dark. If all is well, fire an occasional shot through the night. I shall then know that you can last till morning, and will make arrangements to attack these fellows. Now, good-by! Don't forget. Hang out, whatever happens. We have to think not of ourselves but of the man whose bread and butter we eat. Good-by!"

The two gripped hands in the darkness of the forest, and lay there a moment or two without saying a word. Then Dudley turned to Pepito.

"Carry out the orders," he said softly, "and when I am gone look to my comrade here for all commands. Let the men stick to him whatever happens."

The tall and handsome gaucho would have liked to shake his leader's hand, and even to detain him, but Pepito was at heart a soldier, trained to obedience, and always ready to carry out his instructions. For one second he waited, and then, turning to the men, whispered that the time had come to open fire, and for one of their number to creep some few yards into the forest. Presently a hail of bullets was sweeping through the trees, now in this direction and now in that, searching every part, but hurtling in particular along the path which Dudley would take. The shots died down for a while, and the rascals, stretched in a wide circle around, heard the sounds made by a man creeping through the trees. A stick snapped, a rifle struck a tree and repeated the clumsy blow. Leaves were disturbed, and every whisper told that the tiny garrison was sending someone to seek for help.

"Good! We will teach them," muttered Antonio. "Send a dozen men in that direction, _amico_."

"Time to move," whispered Dudley. "I think our comrade has attracted their attention. Give them a few more shots as I go."

He wriggled out of the fort, listened for a moment, and then dived into the forest, his fingers searching in every direction for the body of the man whom Pepito had slain. Not a sound did he make. Those he left behind strained their ears in vain. Their leader was gone on a quest which was full of danger, but which might yet preserve the life of the man who employed them and save those whom Dudley had left behind.