Rob Harlow's Adventures Part 27

"Then you are not an Englishman?" said Joe.

"No, only an English boy," said Rob, laughing. "I say, though, never mind about bragging. I'm precious glad, whatever it was, that it has gone."

"I remember, now, my father telling me about his hearing some horrible noise in the Grand Chaco one night when the schooner was at anchor close in sh.o.r.e. He said it gave him quite a chill; but I didn't take any more notice of it then. It must have been one of those things."

"No doubt," said Brazier, who had overheard his words; "but there, our adventure is over for this time, and it will be something to think about in the future."

"Perhaps we shall see it yet," said Rob.

"I hope not," cried Joe uneasily.

"Gone, Naylor?" continued Brazier.

"Yes, sir, I think so."

"Good job too. Why, Naylor, my man, I never thought you were going to bring us to such a savage, dangerous place as this."

"What? Come, sir, I like that! Says to me, you did, 'I want you to guide me to some part of the country where I can enter the prime forest.'"

"Primeval," said Brazier, correctively.

"That's right, sir. 'Where,' you says, 'the foot of man has never trod, and I may see Natur' just as she is, untouched, unaltered by any one.

Do you know such a place?' Them was your very words, and Master Rob heered you."

"Quite true, my man."

"And I says to you, 'I knows the spot as'll just suit you. Trust to me,' I says, 'and I'll take you there, where you may see birds, beasts, and fishes, and as many o' them flowers'--orkards you called 'em--'as grows on trees, as you like;' and now here you are, sir, and you grumble."

"Not a bit, Naylor."

"But, begging your pardon, sir, you do; and I appeals to Master Rob whether I arn't done my dooty."

"No need to appeal to Rob, Naylor, for I do not grumble. You have done splendidly for me. Why, man, I am delighted; but you must not be surprised at my feeling startled when anacondas come to supper, and we are frightened out of our wits by cries that impress even you."

"Then you are satisfied, sir?"

"More than satisfied."

"And you don't want to go back?"

"Of course not. What do you say, Rob? Shall we return?"

"Oh no--not on any account; only let's keep more in the boat."

"Yes, I think we are safer there," said Brazier. "But our friend, or enemy, seems to have gone."

"Wait a bit, sir," replied Shaddy; "and glad I am that you're satisfied.

Let me listen awhile."

They were silent, and stood listening as well, and watching the weird effects produced by the fire, as from time to time one of the pieces of wood which the men had planted round the blaze in the shape of a cone fell in, sending up a whirl of flame and glittering sparks high in air, lighting up the trees and making them seem to wave with the dancing flames. The wall of forest across the river, too, appeared to be peopled with strange shadows, and the effect was more strange as the fire approached nearer to the huge b.u.t.t of the largest tree, throwing up its jagged roots against the dazzling light, so that it was as if so many gigantic stag-horns had been planted at a furnace mouth.

And all the while the fiddling, piping, strumming and hooting, with screech, yell and howl, went on in the curious chorus, for they were indeed deep now in one of Nature's fastnesses, where the teeming life had remained untouched by man.

"Well," said Brazier at last to the guide, whose figure, seen by the light of the fire, looked as wild as the surroundings, "had we not better get on board? You can hear nothing through that din."

"Oh yes, I can, sir," replied Shaddy. "I've got so used to it o' nights that I can pick out any sound I like from the rest. But we may as well turn in. The fire will burn till morning, and even if it wouldn't, those chaps of mine wouldn't go ash.o.r.e again to-night; and I certainly don't feel disposed to go and mend the fire myself, for fear of getting something on my shoulder I don't understand."

"It has gone, though," said Brazier.

"Something moving there," whispered Rob, pointing to the gilded ma.s.s of foliage beyond and to the left of the fire.

"Eh! where?" cried Shaddy. "Nay, only the fire making it look as if the trees were waving. Nothing there, my lad. Whatever it is, it has slinked off into the forest again. The fire drew it this way, I suppose. There, we've heard the last of him for to-night. Sings well when he do oblige."

"I should have liked to hear the cry once more, though," said Brazier; and as the words left his lips the horrible noise rang out, apparently from behind the fire, and without hesitation the little party hurried on board the boat.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

SHADDY'S REMORSE.

That last movement was not performed without difficulty, for at this fresh alarm, urged by a desire for self-preservation, the men had thrust the boat away from the bank, and were actually in the act of unfastening the mooring rope, when Rob shouted to Shaddy.

"What!" he roared, running to the other end where it was fast to a branch, and then yelling out such a furious tirade of words in their own tongue that the men shrank back, and the boat was drawn close in among the boughs that were worn sharp by the action of the stream.

"Lucky for them," growled Shaddy, as he held the boat's gunwale for the others to get on board, while the singular silence which had followed the first cry of the beast was again maintained. "I never did break a man's neck yet, Master Rob," he whispered, as they took their places on board, "and I never mean to if I can help it; but if those fellows had run off and left us in the lurch I'd have gone as far as I could without doing it quite."

"First catch your hare," whispered back Rob, who felt better now he was safe on board, with the boat gliding outward to the full length of the mooring line.

"Eh! what hare? No hares about here," said Shaddy.

"I mean, how would you have managed to punish the men if they had gone off and left us here?"

"I never thought of that," said Shaddy, shaking his head; and then they all sat in the boat listening, and thinking that it was a good thing they had had enough supper before the interruption.

There was no fresh alarm for awhile. The birds, insects, quadrupeds, and reptiles resumed their performances, the boatmen settled down to sleep, and at last, after watching the fire sinking, rising up as some piece of wood fell in, and then blazing brightly just beyond the great root, the hole from which this had been wrenched having been selected by the crew of the boat as an excellent place for cooking, Rob suddenly fell asleep, to dream of huge boa constrictors and anacondas twisting themselves up into knots which they could not untie.

It only seemed to be a few minutes since Rob had lain down, when he awoke with a start to gaze about him, wondering where he was and why the awning looked so light. Then coming to the conclusion that it was sunrise, and being still weary and drowsy, he was about to close his eyes again and follow the example of those about him, when he became conscious of a peculiar odour and a choking smell of burning.

This completely aroused him, and hurriedly creeping from beneath the awning without awakening his companions, he found that the boatmen and Shaddy were fast asleep and a line of fire was rapidly approaching them from the sh.o.r.e; not with any rush of flame, but in a curious sputtering, smouldering way, as the touchwood of which the huge trunk, to which they were tethered, was composed rapidly burned away.

It was all plain enough: the root had caught fire at last from the intense heat so near and gradually started the rest, so that as Rob gazed sh.o.r.eward there was a dull incandescent trunk where the previous night there had been one long line of beautiful orchids and epiphytic plants.

But there was no time to waste. Waking Shaddy with a sharp slap on the shoulder, that worthy started up, saw the mischief pointed out, and shouting, "Only shut my eye because the fire made it ache," he took up a boat-hook, went right forward, trampling on the boatmen in his eagerness, and, hauling on the line, drew the boat close up to the glowing trunk, hitching on to one of the neighbouring branches. It was only just in time, for the rope gave way, burned through as he got hold, and the smouldering end dropped into the water, giving a hiss like a serpent as the glowing end was quenched.

Brazier and Giovanni were aroused before this, and were fully alive to the peril which had been averted by Rob's opportune awakening.

"Why," cried Brazier, "we should have been drifting down the stream, and been carried miles, and in all probability capsized."