Chapter 11

THE RUSE TO ESCAPE THEIR PURSUERS

The wagon was now driven behind the densest chapparal of trees, unyoked, and tethered behind the wagon, and two of the boys took up a concealed position with a pair of extra guns, at each side.

Harry, who had, by common consent, assumed the command, now made the following observations as to their course: "Remember the Professor's instructions, to keep cool and not to fire until you are perfectly sure the shot will count. And by all means don't use the reserve guns, except as a last extremity. The moment you fire, retire out of sight, and reload, and we should try and fire in separate volleys. Two shots at a time, unless they attempt a rush, will, probably, be more effective, than if all fire at the same time."

In a short time the band appeared, and it was well that they had no idea of the distance the boys had traveled, as they came along rapidly, following the plainly made tracks of the wagon.

"Now, ready boys; Tom and I will give them the first shot, and you may fire the moment I give the command. Ready, Tom; fire."

Both shots took effect, and the astonishment of the savages, was exhilarating to the boys. George and Ralph could hardly restrain themselves. The warriors were in the open, and had little brush to serve as a shield. For a moment they were entirely at a loss to know which way to go.

"Give them a shot," whispered Harry, and as the two guns spoke, two more fell, both wounded. Without waiting for another shot the rest of them broke for the rear, and the boys appeared in the opening.

This was not necessary, as the depletion of the fighting force was a sufficient argument for them to retreat.

"Hitch up the team as quickly as possible," and George and Ralph did not wait to witness the flight. Harry and Tom remained on guard.

"Move the wagon to the north, and stop at every good place of concealment, and we will remain as a rear guard. We have no assurance that they will not follow up the attack."

After the wagon had gone on some distance, the two boys slowly effected a retreat in the trail of the wagon. Only eight savages had been left after the two fires.

During one of the temporary stops Harry observed: "When they retreated we saw eight of them, and there are now only six following. What do you suppose that means?"

"Those people are regular devils, and it is my opinion that there is another force of them near, and the others have gone to bring reinforcements."

"Run to the wagon quickly and tell them to force the yaks forwardly as fast as possible. Wait just a moment." And Harry looked to the north and continued: "Do you see the two large trees in the distance, a little to the left? Tell them to drive for that with the utmost speed, and await our coming."

Tom was off, and imparted the information, and Harry kept on retreating, while the scouting party approached very cautiously, the apparent object being to keep within sight of the trail.

When Tom returned Harry said: "I suppose we had better give them another shot, to hold them off as far as possible. At the next place of concealment, let us wait for them, until they are near enough."

The savages were now very wary, and did not attempt to come within gunshot distance of the place of concealment for some time, but when they had approached sufficiently near both fired, only one being wounded.

Without waiting to determine the results of the last volley, the boys made a rush for the next available place of concealment, and as the wagon was now in sight they selected another object far beyond the present position of the wagon, and Tom was off to inform the boys at the wagon.

Thus, by a succession of marches, the wagon was placed fully a mile beyond the pursuers, and when the last stretch was made Harry made the following suggestion:

"As we have now kept up our course for fully three miles in this direction, tell the boys to turn abruptly to the east, and, if possible, take the wagon over a trail which they cannot follow. Select some object beyond so we will know where the line of retreat is, and I will keep them at bay. In this way we may be able to throw them off the track."

The team had made the last stop at the crossing of one of the little streams, and he had the ingenuity, after Tom imparted the last information to him, to drive the team to the west, for a distance, and then turn it abruptly to the east, and by making his way over the most rugged surfaces he could find, so effaced the tracks that it was hoped they could not find the traces.

When Tom returned, Harry had another ruse: "They are not following the wagon trail now, as they are after us. Now let us direct our course to the west, so that we will not go on the trail which the wagon had made, and occasionally show ourselves, so they will follow, and when we have taken them sufficiently far from the course of the wagon we must depend on our own tricks to evade them."

This plan was put into immediate execution, and by the time the two had gone a quarter of a mile beyond the turn which the wagon had made, they turned eastwardly, in the direction of the wagon, keeping well out of sight, and it was a relief to see them finally pass along the trail far beyond the turning point which they had made, and this was evidence that they had been outwitted.

Harry and Tom now sprinted for the direction of the wagon, and a course was laid for the northeast, as they did not want to go too far from the mouth of the river where the boat lay.

They calculated the distance to travel at about eight miles before reaching the river. The only fear now was, would their pursuers keep up the hunt until the sea came in sight? If they did it meant another fight, or a retreat, with the only hope of securing the boat gone.

"We have a ticklish task before us. We must cross the river before we get to the location of the boat, and if they are anywhere in the neighborhood, our tracks will surely be seen," and Harry was at a loss what suggestion to make in such an emergency.

"It seems to me," ventured George, "that one should take the rear, as a guard, the one front keeping within supporting distance of the wagon at all times. In this way we will not run into the party, and we shall then know whether they are still trailing us."

This seemed the proper thing to do, and it was followed at once, Harry taking the rear guard and Ralph acting as advance scout.

Fully three miles was covered, before the sun admonished them that a camp must be made for the night. The selection of a suitable place was a matter of great concern, as may be imagined.

They went on and on, ever in the search for a suitable place, and it was beginning to grow dusk before their minds could agree as to a safe place. Probably they passed a dozen spots more suitable than the one finally selected, but it was that much nearer the river, and that was some satisfaction.

The utmost care was taken to put the wagon and the yaks in a protected position, and all that night two were on duty. Angel, during the entire time, was quiet, and did not scent the approach of an enemy.

Early in the morning a hurried meal was prepared, and while the preliminary steps were taken for a departure Harry and Tom made a scouting tour to the southwest for nearly a half mile, and returned satisfied that they had temporarily, at least, thrown them off the track.

It was a surprise to find the river within a half mile of their last camping place. If they had known this they would have pushed on and attempted the crossing during the night. But there was no help for it now.

"How far do you think we are from the mouth of the river, Harry?"

"This part is unfamiliar to me, but it is no doubt south of the point where we crossed it on our way home."

"Do you think we ought to cross here or go down still farther?"

Ralph and Tom both urged an immediate crossing, for the reason that as the savages were not in sight, they might as well take advantage of the situation, whereas if they continued down the river, they might again come across the tribe, and which would by this time be materially reinforced.

This seemed the part of wisdom, and the work of getting out the raft timbers was vigorously proceeded with, and within an hour the yaks were driven into the water, and the wagon floated.

The wagon had hardly left the shore before Ralph cried out: "See the devils coming. They reached the clearing, but out of gunshot, and the boys smiled at their discomfiture, and when the opposite bank was reached the boys halted the wagon, removed the logs, and sat down to witness the chagrin of the natives.

"I wonder what they think of themselves by this time," said Ralph as he heartily laughed.

The savages had been reinforced, as was apparent, for more than thirty were plainly visible, and their tactics in following up the wagon was now apparent.

"Let us give them another little shock." All eyes were now on Harry, as he continued: "I suggest that we get into the wagon and move into the interior, hiding the wagon in a safe place beyond, and then return to this mass of brush here, where we will be entirely concealed. As this is not more than thirty feet from shore we will be in good position to watch the crossing and attack them if they attempt to venture across."

The plan was adopted with alacrity, and seating themselves in the vehicle, they waved a salute to the party and started off as fast as the team could be urged on.

Instantly there was commotion in the ranks of their enemies. They rushed down to the bank, and engaged in an animated conversation.

The boys carefully crawled back to the brush, and witnessed the evident attempt to decide on a course to pursue.

"Do you think they will cross?"

"I wish they would try it," answered Ralph. "Oh, wouldn't that give us a chance at them!"

"I do believe they are going to try it."

Two of the warriors started for the water, and plunged in, and the boys looked at each other in surprise.

"Ralph, do you think all of those fellows will try it?"

"No, indeed; those fellows don't like water, and if our experience in crossing the river, when they took us back with them, is any indication, they have very few who can swim."

"But the difficulty is that they can raft across."

"That is just the reason why I thought a little surprise of this kind might make them think better of it, and not try it."

"You must remember," answered Tom, "they live on this side of the river, and they are bound to get across some time."

"I know that, but their rafts are no doubt miles up the river."

It was now plain why they determined to follow up our party. Their own territory had been invaded, and this came to all of the boys with a shock. The getting of the boat was now a most hazardous operation.

They saw the two savages swim from the shore, and remained quiet until they came within thirty feet of the shore.

"Now," said Harry, "the moment they start to wade, let us make a rush for the bank, and we will have them at our mercy."

Each of the warriors carried a spear, but no other weapon, but those on the opposite shore had bows, as well.

The surprise and consternation on the faces of the savages, when the party appeared, was too remarkable to describe. Their first action was to turn, but Ralph cried out: "Hola, hola," and Tom laughed as he now remembered the savage word for "stop."

They did "hola," but for a moment only, and then diving down in the water, attempted to make their escape.

The boys were now on the brink of the stream, and not more than twenty feet away from the struggling men. "Hola, hola," shrieked Ralph and Tom in concert, as they aimed their guns at them.

"That devil in front is the fellow we want to get. He is the meanest of the entire outfit. Oh, yes, you remember me, don't you?" Ralph continued, talking to the savage. "I have a notion to bore a hole through you."

The savage raised himself, and evidently believing his hour had come, did, as all savages do, poised his spear, as he raised himself out of the water, and attempted to throw it. But before he could execute the movement, a shot from Harry threw him back into the water and his spear disappeared.

During this commotion the other savage dived, and he must have been an expert, because the boys shot three times before he showed any evidence of being hit, and then it was only a wound.

The boys ran back to their place of concealment to get the reserve guns, and during that period the wounded one floated out into the stream and the boys made no further effort to reach him.

The chief, as Ralph called him, was undoubtedly struck in a vital spot, as he disappeared and reappeared, while slowly floating down with the current.

The boys retreated behind their shelter, and sat down to rest and recover from the excitement of the last fifteen minutes.

Meanwhile, what were the savages beyond doing? Consternation seemed to seize them. They ran back and forth, and shouted to their companions in peril, and Ralph and Tom both tried to make out the meaning of the warning cries, but were not sufficiently versed in their jargon to comprehend.

"Well, boys, we have kicked up a pretty serious muss, and we might as well give up the boat."

Tom, who seemed to have some very good ideas, suggested a plan that had considerable merit, and they were now considering it.

"My scheme is this: Let us now make a show of retreating into the interior to the west, covering our tracks as best we can. Then turn to the north, for a mile or two, and go back to the river and cross, and then make for home as fast as we can travel."

"That is a first-class plan," was Harry's reply; "but I think two of us should remain here in order to keep up a show. We can exhibit ourselves at intervals, while the wagon is proceeding on its way, and the moment the wagon reaches the river, those with it can get the floats ready, so that when the scouts reach the wagon it will be ready to cross."

Ralph and Harry volunteered to act as the rear guard, and the wagon went forward, making a wide detour to the north and finally veered around to the east, reaching the river fully a mile below. Fortunately, a lot of driftwood was in convenient reach, and the spot was hidden by a bend in the stream, so that it was not at all likely the savages would see them from their low position at the river bank.

The wagon was on the brink of the stream, and the logs ready, still the boys in the rear did not appear.

"Don't you think I had better go back and let the boys know we are ready?"

"Yes, Tom, and tell them to hurry."

The fact was that the providential pile of driftwood made the task an easy one for the boys, and Ralph and Harry were only too much relieved at the news to wait a moment longer than was necessary.

The savages were still on the opposite bank. Was it likely they were inactive? Harry did not think so, as they noted parties disappear at various times, and again others came up, thus indicating there was some movement on foot.

"Before we start now, it would be a capital idea for all of us to show ourselves, and then make a cautious break for the wagon."

Without exposing themselves too ostentatiously, the start was made directly to the rear, and then, as they left the river in the rear, and beyond the sight of their pursuers, turned to the north, and relieved George of the great tension of single-handed guarding the wagon.

Without waiting for any explanations the yaks were driven in, and the opposite shore reached. Quickly denuding the wagon of the raft timbers, the trail was taken up for home but they were too hungry for words.

"We can't stop to set up the stove and arrange our kitchen now. Let us take such things as we can find, and eat on the way."

Harry's advice was followed. And now they recognized the country through which they were going. It was almost the same trail over which they had traveled twice before, and it went through the roughest part of the island, and when they made the first trip with the team they had to go south to get into a part of the country which was better suited for easy traveling.

"The trouble is we cannot safely go south now, as it will bring us too close to the savages, and we shall have to bear up with this bad ground until to-morrow noon, at least."

By night fully fifteen miles had been covered, but it was a terrible strain on the poor animals, and not any the less wearing on the wagon. The ground was broken up into little hillocks, and studded with vegetable growth in such dense tufts, that constant detours had to be made to get around them.

When evening approached it was with a feeling of the greatest relief, and they certainly craved the rest. A careful watch was kept up during the entire night. They had, of course, no means of knowing whether the savages had discovered the ruse, but there could be no question about the determination to revenge the death of their chief and of the others who had fallen during the day.

As soon as it was light enough to see, and without waiting for the preparation of a breakfast, in the usual way, the trip was continued, and the western edge of the forest did not come near until near evening. They had eluded their pursuers, and felt happy, and Ralph could not help expressing his satisfaction over and over, at finishing the chief who had treated them so vilely while in captivity.

Shortly after noon of the following day they reached home, and related their adventures.

The Professor was not surprised at their failure to bring the boat back. He was a little disappointed, but they were certainly in a better position to build a boat now than when the old one was undertaken.