Kitabı oku: «Jungle and Stream: or, The Adventures of Two Boys in Siam», sayfa 18

CHAPTER XXIV
THE HELP SEEKER

Doctor Cameron satisfied himself that the wound was not bleeding, and a little sprinkling with cold water soon brought the sufferer to, but nothing more could be done till daylight lit up their refuge.

Meanwhile they waited anxiously, and ready to sell their lives dearly should they be attacked by the returning barge, Sree having given his opinion that their pursuers would not go very far.

He was quite right, for before half an hour had passed the sound of oars came over the water with what seemed to be a regular throb, which grew more distinct as the minutes passed away.

And now, to hide the clean, superior aspect of the boat, three or four of the mats, which had been taken down, were roughly torn and damaged, after which they were hung clumsily from the bamboos overhead, the lower part trailing in the water, so that, in addition to the damaged look they gave the boat, they formed a shelter behind which the party waited, weapon in hand.

Faint signs of the coming day were visible, and the notes of birds could be heard; but it was still dark enough to help their concealment, for the stars were shining faintly when the barge came in sight and swept by without its occupants noticing the boat in its tiny harbour.

But no one stirred till the barge had passed quite out of sight, and then as the daylight rapidly broadened, Doctor Cameron helped his patient to the stern of the boat, and, with Mr. Kenyon and Phra looking on, drew off the boy's jacket and proceeded to examine the wound.

"Only a slight, clean cut, Hal, my boy," he said, as he tore up a handkerchief for a bandage, and bound the wound. "It bled freely, but the edges are well together, and it will rapidly heal. How was it?"

Harry explained, watching the doctor the while, as he drew out his pocket-book, took needle and silk from within, and neatly sewed up the end of the bandage.

"Lucky for you it did not strike you in the chest. There; to-morrow or next day I will put on a little strapping. You need not even carry your arm in a sling."

Mr. Kenyon sighed with relief, and then proceeded with the others to examine the weapons Adong and Lahn had handed down from the barge before they were heard and had to make their escape.

And now it was seen that the pair had done more than merely obtain the spears, for as they rose from the bottom of the boat and stood stooping in the light which streamed clearer and clearer through every opening, they proudly showed that their lingouties, or waistbands, were stuck full, back and front, of the krises or native daggers in their wooden sheaths.

"Capital!" cried Mr. Kenyon, and the two men's eyes flashed with pride at the words of praise bestowed upon them. Even the doctor looked less sombre, and took eager interest in the process of arming their followers, the krises being handed round, and each man apportioned one of the spears, which were now laid neatly along the thwarts of the boat on either side, ready for use.

Fortunately there was a sufficiency of food left in the boat to last for a couple of days or more, for it had been well provisioned at starting, so that there was no need to attempt any search for more, and Harry drew Sree's attention to the fact that the fishing bamboos and lines were still untouched where they had been placed across the bamboo rafters. But it was a day of agony for those who had so much at stake.

Mr. Kenyon refused to look at the ruins of his home, but Harry could not resist the temptation to creep out on to the bamboo floor and then crawl a short distance up the garden, keeping well in shelter among the bushes till he could see all that was left of the charming, well-tended home.

"And all the beautiful specimens gone!" he sighed.

"Yes, sir, and all my clothes and treasures in my pantry," said a familiar voice.

"You here, Mike!" said Harry, starting.

"Yes, sir; the master said I might crawl after you to have a look. Oh dear, dear! burnt to ashes! Why didn't they build the place of stone instead of wood?"

"I don't know, Mike. I was too little to have any voice in the matter."

"Yes, sir, you was, and precious little too; but oh dear, oh dear! I'm a ruined man. Think it would be safe to go to the tool shed and get a shovel? I see it ain't burnt."

"No; we must not risk being seen. But what do you want to do?"

"Try and find something among the ashes where my pantry was, sir."

"No, you must not go now. What is it you want to search for?"

"Honour bright, sir? You won't go along with Mr. Phra and dig for it yourself?"

"Dig for it! Is it likely? What is it?"

"That little old Chinee teapot o' mine as stood on the shelf."

"What, that old bit of rubbish, Mike! Why, both the spout and handle were knocked off."

"That's so, sir," said Mike, with a queer look; "but the lid was all right."

"Pooh! I could buy you a better one for – "

"No, you couldn't, Master Harry, because you see there's no chance for spending such money here, so I saved a bit."

"Saved a bit?" said Harry.

"Yes, sir; there was just a hundred and one silver Chinese dollars in that teapot. Now do you understand?"

"Yes, Mike, I understand," said the boy sadly. "But never mind; they'll be safe enough till we've got the mastery over these wretches."

"Don't think they'll all ha' melted away, do you, sir?"

"They may have melted, Mike, but not away. Perhaps they'll have all run down into the shape of the bottom of the teapot; but if they have, the silver will be worth the money."

"Oh, come, sir; there's some comfort in that. I say, Master Harry, are we going to have to fight?"

"I think we are sure to, Mike."

"Well, I s'pose I am a coward now, sir. I used to be a bit of a dab with my fists when I was your age; not as I was over fond of it; but I've never killed anybody, and I'd rather clean the guns any day than shoot men with 'em. But after hearing all I have, and after seeing what they'll do with spears – for it wasn't that chap's fault that he didn't send that spear through you instead of your arm – and what with the business last night, and the doctor's trouble, and now seeing our house and my pantry turned into just a heap of ashes, it's a bit too much. It makes me want to fight, sir; and if there is any going on, I will."

"That's right, Mike. You will stand by us then?"

"That I will, Master Harry," said the man, with the tears in his eyes. "I aren't been all I should ha' been as your father's servant, but I am a man, sir, and an Englishman, and Englishmen must stick together out in foreign parts like this."

"They must indeed, Mike."

"Then I'll be close at your back, Master Harry, wherever you go; and if I gets killed, well, I do, sir, and I leave you all the silver in that old pot."

"Phee – ew!"

"Quick! let's get back," whispered Harry, giving the man a grateful look, and hiding a disposition to laugh; "that was Sree whistled. Some one must be coming along the river."

The warning was repeated softly before they reached the landing-place.

"Quick, quick!" said Mr. Kenyon, in a loud whisper, and they had only just time to creep down into the shelter when half a dozen large boats were seen coming up the river, each filled with men, whose spear-points glittered in the sunshine; and once more all crouched in readiness to defend their little stronghold, should the boat attract the attention of the enemy as they passed by.

But the boats passed on, following in each other's wake, the occupants being too much taken up by the sounds which suddenly arose from the direction of the palace; for just as the first boat was nearly abreast of the landing-stage the sharp reports of guns told that a fresh attack was being made upon it, the first discharges producing a strange excitement amongst the enemy, who began rowing with all their might, so that they soon passed, but without giving much relief to those who watched, for the firing increased, and it was evident that a desperate attack was going on.

Then the firing ceased as suddenly as it had begun, leaving the listeners in a frightful state of doubt.

For the cessation might just as probably mean that the enemy had forced their way in as that they had been beaten off; and as the silence continued for quite an hour, Harry and Phra moved so as to be close to the doctor, and then gently take his hand.

The sound of firing, when every shot may mean the death of a fellow creature, is a strange reviver of hope – a peculiar comforter; but when at the end of that weary hour the firing began again, both Phra and the doctor started up with their faces flushed with eager excitement, and Harry felt ready to shout.

"They're not beaten," he said proudly. "The King's too strong, and he drives the wretches back every time. Why, father, when we get to them to-night, they will all be in such good spirits that it will be dangerous for the enemy to show themselves again."

"We must be thinking about our attack, Sree," said Mr. Kenyon, without making any reply to his son's outburst.

"I am going as soon as it grows dark, Sahib. There is not much to do. A little brown earth to moisten and rub over your hands, arms, and faces."

"Yes, yes, that is easy enough; anything will do as it is night; even gunpowder could be used. But the garments? it is of them that I was thinking."

"The sahibs will have to use those of the common people, and so many are away from their boats that it will not be long before I can get padungs enough. Those are all that you will need, and be the best things to hide you; for no one would think that you could be sahibs, dressed like that."

The rest of the day went sluggishly by, with total cessations of the firing filling the listeners with despair and hope returning whenever it was resumed.

At last, after many alarms from passing boats, the sun sank low, and the question of sending off a message to some English vessel in the port had to be decided for Mr. Kenyon had pencilled a few lines containing an urgent appeal for help from any captain into whose hands it might fall, begging that he would at once set sail for the nearest port where a British man-of-war might be found – Hong-Kong or Singapore – and lay before the authorities the critical position in which the tiny English colony was placed, and imploring that steps might be at once taken for their rescue.

To deliver this note, a trusty messenger was needed, and a boat.

And now there was a feeling of bitter regret that the sampan in which Adong had followed them up the river had been abandoned from the hour the man came on board as being a useless appendage at such a time of peril. But Sree declared that there would be no difficulty in finding one after dark, so part of the trouble was at an end.

The question then arose as to who should be the messenger, and Sree now proposed Adong.

He would soon find a boat, Sree said, but he thought that some one should accompany him, and that the some one should be Sahib Harry.

"I couldn't go," said Harry hastily. "I must stay to help here."

"But the young Sahib is wounded; and if he took the letter with Adong, he would be safe."

"I don't want to be safe like that," said Harry hastily. "I can't go, father; I must stay with you."

"But it is most important that the letter should be placed in some Englishman's hands," said Mr. Kenyon; "and Sree is right, my boy; you would be safe."

"Oh no, father," cried the boy excitedly; "there would be as much risk in sending me there as in letting me stay. I may be of some help here; and, besides, I couldn't go and leave you."

Mr. Kenyon gave way. The paper was rolled up small, a bamboo was cut, and into one of its hollows the paper was thrust, and then the place was plugged so that it was water-tight, in case the messenger had to swim. Lastly, armed with a kris in his waist-band, and with one of the spears, Adong, who fully appreciated the importance of his mission, proudly took his departure, going off through the garden; for, as Sree said, no one was likely to interfere with such a man as he at a time like that.

The little party breathed more freely when the man had gone, for it was like the first step towards a rescue; but in a few minutes there was a short, earnest conversation with Sree as to how his man would manage.

"He will journey down the river till he sees a boat that he can take, and then go on, lying up close to the shore when there is danger, and going on down again towards the sea."

This decided, the perilous enterprise of joining with some portion of the attacking force was discussed in what was really a little council of war; and it was determined that Sree should assume the character of leader, with Phra as his lieutenant, the rest being followers. How and where they were to join the enemy must, it was agreed, depend upon circumstances.

The men were eager to a degree, declaring themselves ready to die so that they might save the King; and as soon as it was quite dark the well-armed party quitted their cramping position in the boat to assemble in the forlorn and deserted garden, the boat being well secured, and left as a place of rendezvous in case of fortune being against them, and as a means of escape in dire peril. Then Sree went away for an hour, and returned, declaring the time had come.

In the few words which passed in whispers as they made for the gateway opening on the riverside track leading to the rest of the English bungalows, and beyond that to the palace, it was quite decided that they had nothing to fear in marching boldly onward through the darkness, for their appearance as so many well-armed men going to join in the attack would be quite natural, the second king's army consisting as it did merely of an armed rabble, with which some of the King's half-drilled guards were mixed after they had deserted him in his peril.

Of all this Sree in his efforts to spy out the state of affairs had thoroughly convinced himself; the great danger was that Phra or the gentlemen might excite suspicion; but the efforts to disguise them had been most successful, the simplicity of their garb and the coloured skins promising in the darkness and confusion to be enough.

Then a few words were addressed by the old hunter to the men, and the adventurers moved out of the gateway, and with beating hearts made for the lights whose reflections could be seen above and through the trees.

CHAPTER XXV
A DESPERATE VENTURE

It was an exciting tramp, but those most concerned in the success marched on with such a display of eagerness as sent a thrill of confidence through Harry, who, for the first part of their little journey, walked beside Phra, the boys talking in whispers about what would probably be done.

"It seems very horrid," whispered Harry. "Why, when we go up to the attack, we shall be longing to stick our spears into the wretches who are about us, and all the time we shall have to seem like friends."

"You will not be able to do anything but carry your spear over your shoulder," replied Phra.

"Shan't I? You'll see. My arm doesn't hurt much now; and if we get fighting, I believe that I shall not feel it at all. Oh, Phra, how I do long to begin! It's the thinking about it all and the waiting that is the worst."

"Talk in a lower tone," said Mr. Kenyon in a whisper; "and as soon as we hear the enemy be silent."

Phra kept by his comrade's side, and twice over, when voices were heard in front, Sree halted his party, a low, snake-like hiss being the agreed signal.

To the great satisfaction of all, the voices came from a couple of parties, apparently, as far as could be made out in the darkness, similar in numbers to their own, and moving in the direction of the palace.

Encouraged by this, Sree went on more boldly, and they soon found that the very daring of their enterprise would prove their safety, the attacking force being made up of groups all strange to one another, their only bond being that they were bent on the same errand – the destruction of the palace and overthrow of the King's power, with the massacre of the whites.

In fact, as during one halt Sree told Mr. Kenyon, it would be quite possible to join on to any party they liked, their presence showing to the strangers that they were on the same side, and consequently, for the time being, friends.

"We can go where we like now, sahibs," said Sree; "and all you have to do is to keep away from any of the lights."

Consequently the need for caution was at an end, and, after a short consultation with Phra, Sree determined to go right round to the back of the palace, where he proposed that they should scale the outer wall, cross the garden, and then make for the inner wall near the elephant house, where the great gates were with their sculptured figures.

Increasing their pace now, they passed through several groups numbering hundreds; the people, who were non-combatants, gathered in the hope of plunder, giving way at once at the bold advance of the little band of spearmen, and following at a distance for some hundreds of yards before halting, for there in front were the outer walls.

Before they reached these, as they loomed up in the darkness, the gloom was cut in many directions by flashes of light, and there was once more the loud, sputtering fire of the defenders, who were still safe and keeping their enemies at bay.

The firing seemed to inspire the little party with renewed eagerness, and at a word from Sree they broke into a trot, following an avenue of palms which led right up to the wall, where there was a little, strongly-made gate.

Before reaching it, Sree called a halt, and there was a short debate.

"The enemy must have broken open the gate," Phra whispered; "and they are in the gardens."

"Never mind," said Sree; "we must go on and try to get to the Great

Elephant gates."

The next minute they found that they were wrong, for the little doorway in the stone wall was fast, but directly after they found that a couple of roughly-made bamboo ladders had been tied and placed against the wall, up one of which Sree crept, Phra mounting the other, followed by Harry, while Mr. Kenyon and the doctor followed Sree.

Then the first check came. There was a sharp movement, the staves of spears rattled on the other side, and a voice challenged them with the question where they were going.

"To help take the palace, of course," said Sree sharply.

There was a laugh.

"Over with you, then," said the man who challenged; "but you will not all come back."

Sree made a show of hesitating.

"What, is it a hard fight?" he said.

"Yes; hundreds have been shot down as fast as they tried to climb the gates. What! Are you afraid?"

"Afraid? No," said Sree, seating himself on the top of the wall.

The man laughed again, and his laugh was echoed by what sounded like a score of companions.

"There, don't shirk it," said the man in command. "You must take your chance, and there'll be plenty of loot for those who are first in."

"Then why don't you go?" growled Sree.

"Because we're ordered to stop here by our leader. Come, over with you."

Sree hesitated for a moment or two.

"They can't see to shoot in the dark," he said; and calling on his party to follow, he hurried down the ladder on the other side, followed by the rest, and receiving an encouraging cheer from the enemy. Phra stepped to Sree's side and guided the party by the most direct path towards the gates they sought.

Naturally it was familiar enough to Harry, but it seemed strange and terrible as they approached the great bronze gates behind which a little party of their friends had evidently entrenched themselves and kept up a fire whenever a party of the enemy dashed up to thrust with their spears through the open work of the barrier.

Harry had instant warning of the danger of their position in the bullets which came whistling by, but a word of warning from Sree made the new-comers strike off to the left, where they were out of the line of fire; while now the boy made out, more by the murmuring of voices than by the eye, that the rebels, in two strong bodies, had grouped themselves on either side of the opening for safety, and from one or the other of these a little party kept on dashing up to the front, shouting defiance and trying to alarm the defenders in the hope of driving them back, so that the gates might be climbed.

This was evidently the principle upon which the attack had been carried on – a desultory, useless plan so long as the defenders stood firm. In fact, there was no discipline, no cohesion in the attacking force, no mutual dependence; merely the hand-to-hand fighting of a barbarous people, and the result could be heard in the many sighs and groans which came from where the wounded had been carried or had dragged themselves out of the line of fire.

There was the humming crowd in the darkness just in front, and a few steps would have taken Mr. Kenyon's party right amongst them; but no one heeded the new-comers, and once more the leaders drew together to consult.

"We can do nothing here," whispered Phra. "If we were not shot down by our friends, we could not sham dead. Look there, we should be seen."

For now there was a flash of light, and a blazing mass of fire, somewhat after the fashion of a blue light, came flying over the gate, to fall twenty yards outside, and throw up the swarthy bodies of the enemy like so many dark silhouettes, while a rapid burst of shots told the reason for the light, several men having afforded good aim to the defenders, and half a dozen dropping amidst groans and howls of rage.

"Yes, it is impossible," whispered Mr. Kenyon in Siamese. "Is there no place where we could climb this wall?"

There was no reply for some moments, during which the blue light began to burn out, and a man darted forward to trample upon it, but to his cost, for two shots were fired, and in the expiring, pallid glare the man was seen to stagger a few paces and then fall.

A roar of rage followed this proof of the defenders' marksmanship, and another rush was made at the gate by the maddened enemy, not in obedience to any order, but every man acting upon his own impulse; and amidst the roar of voices, the clattering of spears against the bronze ornamentation, and the firing of the defenders, Sree uttered his low hiss, and led the way with Phra away to the left, the latter plunging directly after into a secluded walk close to the wall, where all was completely deserted, and Harry felt that if they only had one of the bamboo ladders they had so lately used, it would be perfectly easy to climb up and drop within the palace courts.

Their evasion was either not heeded, or merely looked upon as part of an attempt to turn the defenders by means of a fresh attack; so the little party crept silently along through the bushes which acted as a blind to this part of the wall, above which a portion of the palace rose.

A sudden thought struck Harry, and, with his spear sloped back over his shoulder, he pressed on quickly to the front.

"Phra," he whispered, as he reached his friend, "the big tree."

"Hist! Yes."

In another minute they were all halted in the intense darkness close up to the trunk of a huge tree whose boughs spread horizontally in every direction, some overhanging the walls, a place familiar to Harry; but as soon as he had realized Phra's intent he felt convinced that the defenders would have taken steps to do away with so vulnerable a part of their defence.

For here it was quite possible to climb up the dwarfed trunk, crawl along one of the enormous horizontal boughs, and drop down into the open space between the wall and the palace.

Phra had evidently the same idea; but upon searching round a little, the bushes beneath rustling as he and Sree passed here and there, it was evident that no saw had been at work, and in a whisper Sree announced that he was going first to show the way.

"The bough will bend down at the far end," whispered Phra, "and it will not be so far to drop. Here, I will go first; I can climb."

Amidst the almost breathless silence beneath the tree, Phra began to mount, and Harry whispered that he would come next, just as a fresh burst of firing, which sounded distant, arose.

"You cannot climb, Sahib," whispered Sree; "your arm."

"I will climb," whispered back Harry. "Hold my spear."

He passed the weapon to the old hunter, and followed Phra right up to the fork, level with the top of the wall; and by that time his comrade had nearly reached the wall, which was a couple of feet below the great bough, when there was a bright flash from a window, the crashing of a bullet through the branches of the tree, and almost simultaneously a loud report.

"Don't fire – don't fire! Friends!" cried Mr. Kenyon; but before the words had passed his lips there was another report.

"Who is it?" came now.

"Kenyon, Cameron, and men to help," cried the doctor.

"How are we to know that? Speak again."

"Up with you, and over!" cried Mr. Kenyon angrily. "We shall have the wretches round here directly. Quick, boys; get on, and drop!"

There was no further opposition; the English was unmistakable, and the two who had been at the window guarding the well-known weak spot, descended from the barricaded window to help the new-comers, welcoming each warmly as he descended.

It was close work though, for, hearing the firing, a party of the watchful enemy was attracted to the spot before all were over, the last man and Sree – who had stayed to see all in safety before he crossed the natural bridge – having to halt and engage in a sort of duel with spears in the darkness, when from their crippled position in the tree, matters would have gone ill with them but for the diversion made by the defenders, who fired a little volley from the window, which held the enemy in check till Sree was safe.

"What an escape!" whispered Harry, as he caught the old hunter's arm when he dropped into the narrow court.

"Yes, Sahib; they came very near to stopping me from joining you; but there, I'm used to such escapes. It is many times that I have been nearly killed. But now some of us must stop here to keep the enemies of the King away, for where we got over they will try to do the same."

It was felt that no better way of defending the spot could be adopted than that already in practice, and the two colonists, after warm congratulations had passed between them and their friends, returned to their position at the window, while Phra eagerly led his tiny reinforcement round to the little court by the Elephant Gates, where the small wing of the palace had been fortified as much as was possible, and was being held by the King.