Part 27 (1/2)

The kneeling figure was instantly covered; I pulled the trigger, and he leapt convulsively to his feet, staggered forward, and fell upon his face. I had no sooner fired than some twenty natives sprang from their cover, and ran towards us. They seemed, I thought, to have seen fire-arms before, for their advance was made with the confidence of those who know that their enemy has just emptied his piece; but they were about to make the acquaintance of a new and terrible weapon, of the properties of which they were doubtless. .h.i.therto ignorant.

Levelling again, I fired at the foremost, and then quickly turned my piece upon one close beside him. The reports rang out sharp and clear one close upon the other, and both the savages fell. Their companions paused an instant in evident surprise; and that pause proved a serious, if not fatal, matter to a fourth, whom I immediately afterwards brought down.

This was too much for them. They saw that to stand exposed to view was to court death, and with a yell of disappointed rage, they sprang back into cover.

I instantly profited by this retrograde movement on the part of the enemy to make a push for the beach, hoping that Bob would hear the rifle-shots (especially the double report, which I had arranged with him on a former occasion should be a signal of warning or a call for a.s.sistance), and hasten to the rendezvous which was now clearly within sight, or would be as soon as uncovered by an extensive screen of bush which lay a couple of hundred yards on our right.

I also reloaded with all dispatch the emptied chambers of my rifle, with which I hoped to be able to keep the savages at bay until we were fairly afloat once more.

But the fight was by no means over yet, for we had not gone far when a shower of at least thirty arrows flew about us from a point on our left, showing that the savages were following us up under cover, evidently with the intention of heading us, if possible.

I was wounded thrice by this discharge: one arrow sticking in the back of my neck, and causing me the greatest uneasiness, a second lodging in my left shoulder, and a third completely piercing the calf of my leg. I succeeded in removing some of these annoyances by thrusting them right through the flesh, breaking off the heads, and drawing out the broken shafts; but those in my neck and shoulder were firmly imbedded in the muscles, and I found I could not remove them without some sort of surgical a.s.sistance.

Ella had fortunately escaped again, and as soon as I had rid myself as far as I could of the arrows, we pressed on once more, I keeping as much between my companion and the cover of the foe as was possible. The poor girl was nearly fainting with terror, but she made a brave effort to keep up her spirits, and really behaved wonderfully well.

There was now a pause of a minute or two in the attack, and this enabled us to reach a point where we were not only nearly out of range of the arrows, but where we were also enabled to get a clear view of our goal.

We pa.s.sed beyond the cover of the intervening bush, and there lay the beach, with no less than fifteen canoes drawn up on it. They were of various sizes, some large enough to carry perhaps thirty men, others not capable of accommodating more than four or six.

The headland I had indicated to Bob lay about a mile on our right; but the boat was nowhere to be seen. Fortunately there seemed to be no one left in charge of the canoes, and I at once made up my mind to take the smallest (if I could succeed in gaining the beach), and push off in it, and finish the fight afloat, trusting that Bob would yet arrive in time to lend us his aid in effecting our escape.

I told Ella, in a few hasty words, what I intended, directing her to get into the smallest canoe the moment we reached the beach, and then lie down flat in the bottom of it. We hurried forward, for increasing weakness and an occasional swimming of objects before my sight, warned me that my strength was rapidly failing with the blood which was trickling from my wounds.

I had just communicated my intentions to Ella, when I saw something pa.s.sing swiftly along beyond the low point which formed the northern extremity of the bay, which I knew at once to be the head of the boat's mainsail, and presently she shot clear of the land, and headed well up for the very spot where the canoes lay.

The savages no doubt saw her too, for a shower of arrows was immediately let fly at us; but by this time we were out of their range. A second shower followed, but with no greater success; and then, with a savage yell, at least a hundred blacks sprang forth into the open, apparently _determined_ to prevent our escape.

I at once faced round, for, though we were beyond the reach of their arrows, they were by no means beyond the reach of my bullets; and, quickly levelling my rifle, I took deliberate aim, calling on Ella to make the best of her way to the canoes as I did so, covered the nearest savage and fired. Without lowering the rifle from my shoulder, I quickly selected another mark, which, in my haste and eagerness, I missed, hitting a man close behind him however, so that my shot was not thrown away; then another, and another, and a fifth.

This checked their rush, and a sixth shot stopped them altogether. My rifle was now empty. I glanced over my shoulder, and saw that Ella was within a few yards of the canoe I had indicated, and that Bob was coming up at a rattling pace; so I suddenly dropped the rifle from my shoulder, and turned and ran for the beach as fast as my now rapidly failing strength would permit, reloading as I ran.

This, as I expected, proved the signal for a general chase, the savages rus.h.i.+ng after me two feet to my one, uttering the most terrific cries and yells, brandis.h.i.+ng their clubs and spears, and sending an occasional arrow after me.

I was soon unpleasantly informed that I was once more within reach of their missiles, one of the arrows entering my left shoulder and piercing the shoulder-bone, a second sticking in my left arm, close to the former wound, and three entering my right leg almost simultaneously, taking effect about six inches above the knee. I still staggered on, however, and, in about two minutes more, which spread themselves out to the length of ages in that exhausting and agonising race, I reached the canoe in which Ella had already placed herself as I had directed.

I had succeeded in reloading all six chambers of my rifle, and I now turned to open fire upon my pursuers once more, in the hope of checking them long enough to get the craft afloat. As I did so, the whole earth appeared to rock and heave about me; my eyes became dizzy and my sight failed, so that I could see nothing but a vast dark crowd of savage faces scowling upon me, and surging to and fro before my reeling vision.

Into this heaving crowd I discharged the contents of my rifle rapidly, but without any attempt at aim, and then turning and flinging the now-useless weapon into the canoe, I concentrated all my fast fleeting energies into one supreme effort to launch her.

I faintly heard Bob's shout of encouragement, and earnestly prayed that he might succeed in saving my darling. I felt that _I_ was lost, and, as the cheering cry rang across the water, I threw myself with all my weight against the light craft, which was already half afloat, braced myself against the stem, and felt her move. A spear at this instant pierced me in the back; but its effect for the moment was but to stimulate me further, and with another violent effort I succeeded in getting her fairly afloat.

I saw, or fancied I saw, the boat within a few yards' distance, and Bob in her, with a rope in his hand ready to heave and plunging heavily into the clear cool sparkling water, I gave the canoe one final desperate outward impulse, and at the same moment felt a cras.h.i.+ng, stunning blow at the back of my head--a million stars seemed to dance before my darkening eyes--a momentary feeling of the intensest agony surged through my brain and I sank insensible into the ankle-deep wavelets which came rippling merrily up to the sh.o.r.e, Ella's despairing shriek ringing in my ears as the last faint glimmering spark of consciousness faded away.

When consciousness at length returned, it was accompanied by a sensation of almost unendurable agony from my numerous smarting, inflamed, and stiffening wounds; and to this was added the torture of a burning thirst.

I was lying, completely naked, upon the scorching sand, a few yards distant from the water's edge, whither I had been dragged, apparently for the purpose of being stripped of the poor spoil of my clothing.

The sun, now nearing the horizon, poured his fiery beams full upon me, still further increasing the tortures from which I was suffering; but I believe that to this circ.u.mstance alone am I indebted for my preservation from death, for the glowing rays dried and hardened the blood as it oozed from my wounds, and thus prevented my bleeding to death.

To my great surprise, I was entirely alone. The sand around me was impressed with numerous footprints from unshod feet; and, on looking more intently about me, I saw that they had all left me in the direction of the beach, and the canoes were gone.