Part 4 (1/2)
Another was now bearing down upon us as boldly as his co in the sa been so successful with the first, I determined to follow the sa until he should coan to thicken; for the first junk had gathered way again, and was following in our wake, although keeping at a respectful distance; and three others, although still further distant, werefor the scene of action, as fast as they could In the iving us a broadside, now and then, with his guns Watching their helm as before, we sheltered ourselves as well as we could; at the sa and praying that I would fire into our pursuers as soon as possible, or we should be all killed As soon as we caave the their decks as before This time the helmsman fell, and, doubtless, several ounded In abut boards and shi+elds, which were held up by the pirates, to protect the; their junk went up into the wind, for want of a helmsman, and was soon left so this vessel, our men called out to me that there was another close on our lee-bohich I had not observed on account of our -po wood-junk, like ourselves, which the pirates had taken a short tih uns The poor Ning-po crehom I could plainly see on board, seehtened I was afterward informed, that when a junk is captured, all the principal people, such as the captain, pilot, and passengers, are taken out of her, and a nuo on board and take her into so the islands, and keep her there until a heavy ransom is paid, both for the junk and the people Sometimes, when a ranso else which is of any value, are taken out of her, and she is set on fire
The two other piratical junks which had been following in our wake for some time, when they sahat had happened, would not venture any nearer; and at last, much to my satisfaction, the whole set of them bore away
A SEA FOWLING ADVENTURE
One pleasant afternoon in su her out of the narrow creek where she laythe iron-bound shore until he reached the entrance of one of those deep sea-caves, so coloomy recesses of these natural caverns,season; and it was aated in the ”Puffin Cave,” that Frank , with lightly-dipping oars, into the yawning chas the painter fast to a projecting rock, he lighted a torch, and, arel, penetrated into the innermost recesses of the cavern There he found a vast quantity of birds and eggs, and soon becarossed with his sport that he paid no attention to the lapse of ti waters behind hi when he entered the cave, had turned, and was now rising rapidly His first impulse was to return to the spot where he hadthat the rock to which it had been secured was now coht, however, still have reached it by swi; but, unfortunately, the painter, by which it was attached to the rock, not having sufficient scope, the boat, on the rising of the tide, was drawn, stern down, to a level with the water; and Frank, as he beheld her slowly fill and disappear beneath the waves, felt as if the last link between the living world and hio foras impossible; and he well knew that there was no way of retreating from the cave, which, in a few hours, would be filled by the advancing tide His heart died within hiht of the horrid fate which awaited him flashed across his mind He was not a man who feared to face death; by flood or field, on the stormy sea and the dizzy cliff, he had dared it a thousand tirile hopelessly with him for life in that dreary tomb, was more than his fortitude could bear He shrieked aloud in the agony of despair--the torch fell froled at his feet, and, flashi+ng for asound, that fell like a death-warning upon his ear The wind, which had been scarcely felt during the day, began to rise with the flowing of the tide, and now drove the tumultuous waves with hoarse and hideous clamor into the cavern Every ale that howled and bellowed as it swept around the echoing roof of that rock-ribbed prison; while the hoarse dash of the approaching waves, and the shrill screams of the sea-birds that filled the cavern, formed a concert of terrible dissonance, well suited for the requie grave! But the love of life, whichto it in thein Frank Costello's breast; his firradually returned, and he resolved not to perish without a struggle He remembered that, at the farther extreht of rude stairs, sloping froed steps, and he knew that, by means of them, he could place hihest tide But the hope thus suggested was quickly damped when he reflected that a deep fissure, which ran perpendicularly through the rock, formed a chasm ten feet in width, in the floor of the cavern, between hie The tide, however, which was now rising rapidly, compelled him to retire every instant, further into the cavern, and he felt that the only chance he had left hi, active, and possessed of uncoht, leaped across the abyss, in the presence of his companions, fehom dared to follow his example But now, alone and in utter darkness, hoas he to attempt such a perilous feat? The conviction that death was inevitable if he re a handful of loose pebbles from one of the numerous channels in the floor, he proceeded cautiously over the slippery rocks, throwing at every step a pebble before hith he heard the stone, as it fell fro noise, that continued for several seconds He kneas standing on the brink of the chasm One quick and earnest prayer he breathed to the invisible Pohose hand could protect hile pace, and screwing every nerve and muscle in his body to the utmost tension, he made a step in advance, and threw himself forward into the dark and fearful void Who can tell the ind of thought that rushed through his brain in the brief ulf? Should he have miscalculated his distance, or chosen a place where the cleft idest--should his footing fail, or his strength be unequal to carry him over, what a death were his! Dashed down that horrible abyss--crashi+ng from rock to rock, until he lay at the bottoony of years was crowded into one ainst the firm rock on the opposite side of the chasm, and he was saved At least, he felt that he had for the moment escaped the imminent peril in which he was placed, and, as he claed slope at the end of the cave, he thought little of the dangers he had still to encounter
All through that long night he sat on the narrow ledge of a rock, while the angry waves thundered beneath, and cast their cold spray every instant over hi of the tide, the sea receded fro the chas abstinence had so weakened his powers that he shrank fro way to theand echoed through the cavern; and never had the human voice sounded so sweetly in his ear He replied to it with a thrilling shout of joy, and, in a fewA plank was speedily thrust across the fissure, and Frank Costello once roup of his friends, ar him upon hisreturned hoenerally concluded that he had been drowned, and a party of his neighbors proceeded in a boat, early in the”Puffin Hole,” they discovered his boat fastened to a rock, and full of water, as she had re of the tide This circumstance induced them to examine the cavern narrowly, and the happy result of their search is already known
ADVENTURE WITH A COBRA DI CAPELLO
I ht have slept so sleep it was; but certain it is--let scholiasts say what they will, and skeptics throw doubts by handfulls on the assertions of metaphysicians--that, before I awoke, and in my dreamless slumber, I had a visible perception of peril--a consciousness of the hovering presence of death! How to describe s I know not; but, as we have all read and heard that, if the eyes of a watcher are steadily fixed on the countenance of a sleeper for a certain length of time, the slunetism of a recondite principle of clairvoyance; so it was that, with shut eyes and drowsed-up senses, an inward ability was conferred upon er near h sleep-blind, the for beside htmate was of a nature to be quickened into fatal activity by any motion on my part, I felt inquite still; so that, when I at last awoke and felt that as I lay with my face toward the roof, there was a thick, heavy, cold, creeping thing upon er and fear may occasionally dull the sense and paralyse the faculties, but they more frequently sharpen both, and ere I could winkitself up into a circle of twists, an enormous serpent was on my breast
When I tell you that the whole of my chest, and even the pit of my stomach, were covered with the cold, scaly proportions of the reptile, you will own that it hts were--so made up of abhorrence, dread, and the expectation--nay, assurance of speedy death, that must follow any e sufficiently distinct and vivid to convey their full force It was evident the loathsoth settled itself to sleep; and I felt thankful that, attracted by my breath, it had not approached the upper part of hty pressure--its first claradually (so it see heat--and the odious, indescribable odor which exhaled from its body and pervaded the whole air--so overwhelle I preservedAs it was, a cold sweat burst fro of my heart--and I felt, to itate ht I, ”and then all is over!” At this juncture, soe beetle--fell fro upon my left ar its head, raised itself, with a low hiss, and then, for the first ti in themy eyes to exclude the dreadful spectacle, I lay allances encountered mine, all would have been over; but, apparently, it was onceabout, undoing the fastenings of the tent, and striking a light A thought suddenly struckshort of desperation, though its effects were so providential, I uttered, in a loud, but sepulchral tone, ”Kulassi! Lascar” ”Sahib!” was the instantaneous response, and my heart beat quicker at the success of ain, for the reptile, evidently roused, made a movement, and its head, as I suppose, fell on ony of that ave way to ain endeavor to attract the attention of the Kulassi, or remain perfectly quiet; or whether it would not be better than either to start up at once and shake the disgustful burden froestion was at once abandoned, because of the assurance I felt that it would prove fatal; impeded by the heavy coils of the creature, weak and nerveless froain, therefore, I spoke with the hollow but distinct accents which arise from the throat when the speaker is afraid to h!”--Lascar, a lanthorn! ”Latah own Sahib” I a , flashes across the roof of the veranda--and, at the noise of co steps, lo!
one after one its terrible coils unwinding, the grisly lided away fro were the--”Ya illahi samp!” Oh God! a snake!--of the lascar; for I fainted away for the first time in my life
[Illustration]
COMBAT OF WILD ANIMALS
We were conducted to a gallery which commanded a view of a narrow court or area beneath, inclosed by walls and palisades This was the arena in which the spectacle was to take place Unfortunately, the space allotted to spectators was so narrowed by the great number of European ladies ere present, that we could only find indifferent standing roolare of the sun was very oppressively felt; but the draht in the deep space beloas such that every discohty buffaloes, not of the ta of the Arni-buffalo of the hill country, at least four feet and a half high froround to the withers, with enor There they stood, on their short, clury breath from their protruded muzzles, as if they were already aware of the nearly approaching danger What terribly powerful brutes! what vast strength in their broad and brawny necks! It would have been a noble sight, had not their eyes the while expressed such entire stupidity
A rattling of sticks, and the cries of several kind? of bestial voices were heard--to which the buffaloes replied with a deep bellowing On a sudden, froer, certainly froht Without ht a his body out of the reach of the formidable horns, he seized by the neck with both claws and teeth at once The weight of the tiger almost overthrew the buffalo A hideous coed his powerful assailant up and down the arena; while the others, with their heavy, pointed horns, dealt the tiger fearful gashes, to liberate their fellow beast A deep stillness reigned aer suspense the issue of this contest between the tiger and the buffaloes; as well as the fate of some unfortunate asses, which latter, to increase the sport, being uinary action, at first looked down upon it from their poles with inexpressible horror, and afterward, when their supports were shaken by the butting of the buffaloes, fell to the ground as if dead, and, with outstretched lination--without ers, of soreat difficulty, driven in; while theforward But no efforts could induce them to attempt an attack of any kind; they shrank down like cats, crouching as closely as possible to the walls of the inclosure, whenever the buffaloes, who still continued, however, to butt at their eneer had, at last, received a push in the ribs, which lifted hi down, and crawled like a craven into a corner; whither he was pursued by the buffalo, maddened by the pain of his lacerated neck--and there had to endure many thrusts with his horns, at each of which he only drew up histhe smallest motion to ward off the attack
The spectacle was by no ht with y
PERILOUS INCIDENT
ON A CANADIAN RIVER
A youngwhich they have performed many acts of heroic benevolence, and have rescued nurave One of these had so y for giving some account of it, theand anxious spectators of the whole scene
A raft of timber, on its way down the river to the nearest port, was dashed to pieces by the violence of the rapids There was the usual number of h to get upon a few logs, which kept together, and were comparatively safe, while their two poor co waves, al able to afford thehtest assistance After a minute or two, and when one ing to the wretched raft, ca by They instantly seized it, and held on till they were carried down ; but what aid could we render them?
No craft, none, at least, which were on the banks of the river, could live in such a boiling torrent as that; for it was during one of the high spring freshets But the ferryht of their dying before his eyes without his le effort to save the on,” he said to ht little craft at my feet, and hear their cries for help, and see them drowned?” He determined, at all risks, to try to rescue them from the fate which seeo alone, and there was not another man on that side of the river within half a eously, like another Grace Darling, proposed, at once, to acco so often on the water with her brother, she kneell how to handle an oar Often, indeed, without hier across the ferry in her little canoe He accepted her proposal, and we had the satisfaction of seeing the light punt put off from the shore opposite to that froallantly over the surging torrent toward the sinking men We feared, however, that it would not be in tirew fainter and fainter, till each one, we thought, would have been their last We saw that the oar, with the drowningrapidly down the middle of the stream, which, in this particular locality, is more than a quarter of a mile in breadth, and would inevitably, in two or threethe breakers, when their fate must be sealed, and the boat, if it followed, dashed to pieces aer, and they had to run doithin a most fearful proxi , and, as they did so, to seize hold of the their own headway; for there was not ti athwart the current, rapid as it was, just below the men With breathless and painful anxietytheerous manoeuver We saw the ferryman lean over the side of his boat, for a moment, as it passed them, while his sister backed water with her oar
”They are saved!” some one said, close behind me, in a whisper so deep and earnest that I started, and turned to look at the speaker; when another, who heard hione! they are lost! the boat has left theh, it had But, in an instant afterward, just as we thought they were about to be driven into the fatal breakers, they turned, to our inexpressible delight, as if drawn by some invisible power (the rope the ferryman had attached to the oar was, indeed, invisible to us,) and followed the boat
The ferryman and his sister had yet to pull a fearful distance for the tiet out of that part of the current leading to the breakers: and they accomplished it The h ash bend like a and as he stretched out to keep the head of the boat partially up the stream His sister, too, ”kept her own,” and the little punt shot out rapidly into the comparatively quiet stream, beyond the influence of the fearful current, which was rapidly driving them upon the breakers When this was accomplished, our fears for the noble-hearted brother and sister were at an end, and we took a long breath; it was, indeed, a relief to do so