Part 5 (1/2)
”Is that so?” questioned Harry ”Then in that case we had better press forithout further delay” And, digging his heels into the ribs of his lishman resumed his march
It was shortly after three o'clock on the following afternoon when Ari slowly and studying the ground intently, suddenly reined up his round, knelt down and carefully exarass that thickly carpeted the soil For a full ently pushi+ng theh of satisfaction, pointed with his finger, saying:
”Here is the trail of the chief, Senor; he came from yonder and went in that direction”
”Are you sure, Arie of a rass”
”Very possibly not, Senor,” answered Arima dryly, ”because, you see, you are not accusto; moreover, this trail is sorass et and beaten down by the rain But it is there, nevertheless, for practised eyes to read, and, being found, can now be easily followed When the chief passed here he was in a terribly exhausted state, and staggered as he ran, exactly as Mama Cachama described, for just here he stumbled--if your honour will take the trouble to dis into the soil--and I think the spot where he fell finally cannot be very far from here”
”In that case,” said Harry, ”let us press on as quickly as possible, for evenand exa the marks for myself, we have no time for that at present, Arima, and I am quite content to take your word for it that matters are as you say Can you follow the trail mounted, or must you proceed on foot?”
”I can follow itthat I was mounted when I found it,” answered Arima ”But it will be well that you should ride a few yards behind ht or left and be crossed by yourinto his saddle and, turning the head of his ani the sea of waving grass before him For a quarter of an hour he rode on thus, with Harry, leading Butler's horse, following a yard or two in his rear; then he suddenly reined histo a barely perceptible depression in the grass, said:
”See, Senor, there is where the chief first fell, as described by Mama Cachama--yes--and,”--as his keen eyes roved hither and thither--”yonder is the spot where he fell and lay”
A few paces brought theh for even Esob's untrained eyes to read, the grass being still depressed sufficiently to show that a huth for several hours; moreover, at that part of the depression where the rass blades were still flecked here and there with dried, ruddy froth, beneath which lay a little patch of coagulated blood, from which a swarm of flies arose as Ariitive had disappeared, and the Indian gave it as his opinion that the chief had revived after lying insensible for about six hours, and had iht As to the direction in which he had gone, there was no difficulty in deter away toward the eastward there were tavering lines, close together, traced through the long grass by the feet of the wanderer, and still distinct enough to be followed by even so inexperienced a tracker as the young English worth knowing to be gained by a prolonged examination of this 'form'? Because, if not, ill press on at once, since time is precious The chief went in that direction, of course--even I can see that--and the trail is so clear that we ought to be able to follow it at a canter”
”Yes, quite easily, Senor,” acquiesced Ari to be learned here beyond the fact that the Senor Butler fell at this spot, and lay absolutelya time that he must have been in a swoon Then he revived, sat up, rose to his knees--see, there are the impressions of his two knees, and of the toes of his boots behind theh uncertain whither he would go, and finally struck off to the eastward But see how the trail wavers this way and that way, even in the short length of it that we can trace fro whither he would go; and I think that, if he is still alive e find hireater reason for finding him as quickly as possible
Mount and ride, Ari his heels into histhe plainly ht better by the Indian
”Never ride i, Senor, but close beside it, on one side or the other of it, so that the trail itself is left quite undisturbed One never can tell when it may be necessary to study the trail carefully in search of soht easily be obliterated if it were ridden or walked over”
Harry at once pulled hisit on the opposite side, and the pair pushed on, winding hither and thither as the track of the fugitive swerved this way and that, until they had travelled a further distance of some nine or ten miles, when they came upon another ”form”, where Butler had laid himself down to rest for--as Ari of iain with all possible speed, for the sun was now rapidly declining toward the western horizon, and Esob was anxious to find the wanderer before nightfall, if possible, since another night's exposure in the keen air of that elevated plain ht very well prove fatal to a man in Butler's terribly exhausted condition
For the last hour of the pursuit the track had led over rising ground, and it soon beca his uncertain way toward a gorge between twoout ahead of the pursuers Meanwhile the spoor had been growing fresher with every stride of the canteringupon the chase, and that the latter was now in the very last stage of exhaustion, for the ”for ether
The Indian, therefore, after attentively studying the last forave it as his opinion that the hunted ested that Harry should push straight on for the entrance of the gorge, in the hope of sighting the fugitive and running him dohile he (Arima), with the led horse, should continue to follow the trail, for if Butler should gain the gorge before being overtaken, his pursuit over the rocky ground ly, Harry turned his ht for a land his beast forward at its best pace He had ridden thus about a quarter of an hour, and was rapidly approaching the entrance of the gorge, when he suddenly caught sight of aa nu his exhausted mule to a final effort, Esob presently had the satisfaction of identifying theobject as a man--a white man--attired in a few tattered re That the man was Butler there could be no shadow of doubt, and a few strides farther enabled Harry to recognise hiure paused for a lanced behind hi his arms above his head, emitted a ain, staggered a few paces, and fell forward prone upon the ground, where he lay motionless
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE JEWEL
Reining up his lanced behind hiht Yes, there he was, about ahither and thither, as he persistently followed the erratic twistings and turnings of the pursued man's spoor Harry therefore drew his revolver fro the ed two shots in rapid succession to attract the Indian's attention, and then waved his white pocket handkerchief in the air as a sign that the lost man had been found, and that the pursuit was at an end The Indian immediately uttered a peculiar shrill whoop by way of reply, and turned his beast's head directly toward the spot where the young Englishto the ground and, throwing his n which the ani perfectly still--rushed toward the prostrate figure, and, turning it gently over, raised it to a sitting posture, passing his ar head
Yes, the man was Butler, there could be no doubt about that; but oh!
what a dreadful change had been wrought by those few days of flight and exposure! Butler had always been a man of somewhat spare build, but noas emaciated to an extent almost past belief--his cheeks were so hollow that it seeh touch would cause the protruding cheek-bones to burst through the skin; his closed eyes were sunk so deep in their sockets that the eyeballs appeared to have dwindled to the size of small marbles; while the lips had contracted to such an extent as to leave the tightly clenched teeth clearly visible, the general effect being that of a grinning, fleshless skull with a covering of shrivelled skin drawn tightly over it The once i was now deeply soiled and stained by contact with the earth and grass, and was aar ribs and the shrunken li al and deep blood-smeared scratches that h all obstacles in his headlong, panic-stricken flight; his finger nails were broken and ragged; his boots were cut and torn to pieces to such an extent that they afforded scarcely any protection to his feet; and his once iron- grey hair and rowth of stubbly beard, were almost perfectly white
With a quick slash of his knife Esob severed the filthy wisp of silk that had once been a shtly knotted round the unconsciousof Ari the horse on the saddle of which were strapped the s to ency as this; and a fewhimself from the back of histhe man kneel down and support the unconscious Butler's head, Harry sprang to the saddle bags and drew forth a flask of brandy, which he held to the sicka few drops of the liquid to find their way between the clenched teeth For fully ten minutes he strove to coax a small quantity of the spirit down his chiefs throat, and at length had the satisfaction of seeing that some at least had been sed The alht, spasmodic movement of the emaciated limbs; and presently, after a few minutes of further persistent effort, Butler opened his eyes
”Ah, that's better!” ejaculated the ah of extreht now, sir Let ive you just another spoonful and you will feel like a new man No, no, please don't keep your teeth clenched like that; open your mouth, Mr Butler, and let me pour a littletone of voice--”it will do you no end of good Arima, take hold of his chin and see if you can force his lower jaw open, but be as gentle as you can There, that's right! Now then!”