Old Gold Part 23

"I hope so," said Sir Humphrey calmly, and he closed his eyes once more, while Brace turned his upon his companion with a look full of wild anxiety, but only to receive a quiet nod and a rea.s.suring smile in return.

"I don't think there are any more near," said Briscoe, "and I don't want to have the unpleasant feeling upon my conscience that I've killed a fellow-creature; but if any more of them send arrows in this direction, Dan and I will shoot at sight, and we're uncommonly good shots."

He had hardly uttered the last words when there was a sharp whirr as if a beetle had darted by the speaker's ear, and they could see an arrow stuck quivering in a tree the boat was just pa.s.sing, while Dan immediately sent a charge of buckshot cras.h.i.+ng among the leaves.

"That was a bad aim," said the American, facing sharply round, "and I can't see who sent it. Can you make out a bit of dark skin anywhere among the bushes, Dan?"

The man shook his head as he quickly reloaded his weapon, and there was a grumbling murmur in the negative.

The rustling, was.h.i.+ng sound of the water beneath the boat as the men urged it along with all their might, everyone giving a thrust with his oar whenever he could reach a tree, was now the only thing that disturbed the silence.

But the opening out of the creek into the river seemed as far off as ever, and Brace's agony increased as he kept watching for the bright suns.h.i.+ne flas.h.i.+ng from the water, but only to turn his eyes back to where his brother lay with his face looking very hard and drawn.

"Can't get a glimpse of anyone," said Briscoe; "and I don't think it's of any use to fire to scare 'em. Whoever fired that last shot must be on the land, for there's no sign of a boat. Does anyone of you hear paddling?"

"No, no. We can't hear anything moving," came in chorus.

Then Brace spoke out excitedly: "Surely we ought to be back in the river by this time! Have we missed our way?"

"Well, I don't like to say we have," replied the American; "but it does seem a very long time before we get out of this watery swamp. Hold hard a minute, my lads, and try and make out how the stream runs."

The men ceased thrusting at the tree-trunks as soon as Briscoe had given the word, and by slow degrees the boat came to a stand, and then began to float back in the opposite direction to that in which they had been forcing it.

"Why, we're going wrong," cried one of the men excitedly, springing up.

"Well, never you mind," said the American sharply. "Just you sit down and wait for orders. We'll tell you which way to go."

"But--" began the man.

"Silence, sir!" cried Briscoe sharply. "All! look out!"

An arrow stuck in the side of the boat so close to Brace that it pa.s.sed through his loose flannel s.h.i.+rt, pinning it to the wood; and Briscoe swung himself round and fired sharply in the direction from which it had come.

The shot rattled among the leaves, and they and a few twigs came pattering down into the water, while directly after there was another report from right away to their left.

"Hah! that must have come from the brig," cried Brace.

"Right," said Briscoe. "Now then, lads, you know which way to punt her along: the creek opens out and winds about in all sorts of ways, and I daresay we could wander in a regular maze for hours; but we know which direction to make for now. You listen keenly for the next answer to my shot, Mr Brace, for I'll fire again soon: only I should like something to fire at. See that arrow?"

"Yes," said Brace, stretching out his hand to withdraw the arrow from where it had pierced the side of the boat.

"Don't do that; let it be, and draw your flannel over the feathering.

Look at the slope it takes. I fancy the man who shot that must have been seated on the branch of a tree."

"It may have been shot from a distance and taken a curve."

"No," said Briscoe; "there are too many boughs for it to have come through. It was sent from pretty close, I should say; and between ourselves I hope we shan't have any more. Ah, that's right, my lads.

She's moving nicely now. I only wish you were able to row."

"Same here, sir," growled the man handling the boat-hook; "and we wish you could bring down one of they savages as keeps on trying to hit the target, meaning we. This sort of thing aren't pleasant here in the dark."

The American nodded, as his eyes literally glittered in the gloomy shades, for he kept on turning them in all directions, and then with his face lighting up he took a quick aim and fired away to his right, scattering leaves and sending them pattering down; but apparently with no other effect save that there was another shot fired, and certainly from a much nearer point.

Just then the men gave a cheer, for as they urged the boat in the direction of the spot whence came the last shot, they caught sight of a bright ray of light.

Five minutes later there was a distinct lightening of the gloom, and before many more minutes had pa.s.sed the boat was forced out suddenly through a curtain of drooping boughs into the dazzling light of the open river.

The "Jason" was riding at anchor quite a quarter of a mile lower down the stream, while close in sh.o.r.e was another of the brig's boats, standing up in whose stern the unmistakeable figure of Captain Banes was seen.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

ABOARD THE BRIG AGAIN.

The two boats reached the anch.o.r.ed vessel about the same time, and Sir Humphrey, who looked ghastly, was carefully lifted on board and borne down into the cabin, where the captain examined the injured arm.

Brace watched his countenance anxiously while he was doing so, feeling, as he did, ready to cling to the first hand extended to him in his terrible difficulty, for his brother lay back now half-insensible and as if overcome by a terrible feeling of drowsiness. The young man stood silently waiting for the captain to speak.

"Now then, squire," said the captain grimly, after his long examination, "do you want to hear what I think of this?"

"Yes, yes, of course I do, captain," cried Brace excitedly.

"Then look here, squire, I'm not a doctor nor a surgeon; but a skipper who goes on long voyages all over the world gets to know something about physic as well as about broken bones and out-o'-joints, cuts, and scratches."

"Yes, of course, I know that," said Brace, who was becoming very anxious about his brother's condition, and could not understand how the captain could remain so calm and unmoved.

"Well, then, this is just the same as a cut, only it happens to be a deep one that goes right through the arm."

"Yes, yes, I know that," said Brace impatiently. "But--"

"Wait a bit, squire. You young chaps are always in such a hurry. Now, I was going to say that your brother here, being a fine healthy man who don't take liberties with his const.i.tution, all there'd be to do would be to tie up the cut and make him a sling for his arm, keep the wound clean, and wait patiently till it had grown together again."

"But don't you see it's a wound from an arrow? Talk low, or he will hear you."

"Not he," said the captain; "he don't understand a word we're saying-- poor chap! He's quite unconscious. I know what you mean about the poison, and I've seen a man once who had a poisoned arrow shot into him."

"And did he look like my brother does now?"

"Not a bit, my lad; and I fancy that if there was any poison on the arrow that went through your brother's arm, you pretty well sucked it out and washed it away."

"Then you don't think there is any danger?" asked Brace.

"That's right, squire. I don't think there's any danger. Mind, I say _think_, for I'm not a proper qualified man."

"But you can tell me your candid opinion about my brother's wound," said Brace.

"Well," replied the captain, "I'll go so far as to say that if I'd got that hole through my arm I should be very savage, I should make use of some language, and I should say I'd shoot every Indian I saw with a bow and arrows, and of course I shouldn't do it; but I don't think I should make myself uncomfortable about it any more, but just leave it to Nature to cure."