Part 54 (1/2)

”Bit disappointing, though, sir.”

”Yes, my lad, but we can wait. Now then, we must drop down a little farther, and then drop the grapnel or hook on to one of the trees of the farther bank.”

”And not make a dash of it, sir?”

”No, my lad; not till it is quite dark.”

Tom May stared.

”According to what your messmates said, the enemy was in pretty strong force. How many of them were there?”

”'Bout twenty, sir,” said Lang.

”And all armed?”

”Yes, sir; they'd all got guns,” said the other.

”Then they will be lying in wait for us,” said Murray decisively. ”I only said that we shall be trying to run by them as soon as it is dark.”

”Well, sir, but we could do it,” said May warmly.

”Yes, we could run by them if I risked everything, my lad,” said the middy, ”but I can't afford to lose a man. Besides, they will have been making arrangements to receive us. There is that lugger we saw lying in the mouth of the river; they have plenty of men, I am sure, and they may have brought her up to block our way, for they are bound to try and capture us if they can.”

”Yes, sir; bound to take us if they can,” a.s.sented the sailor.

”How long do you think it will be before it is dark?” asked Murray.

”Not half-an-hour, sir,” was the reply.

”And how far are we above the landing-place?” said the middy, speaking in a low tone now and turning to the first boat-keeper.

”Can't say, sir, for sartain,” replied the man. ”What do you say, Harry Lang?”

The man shook his head.

”You see, sir, we put our backs into it when we started to row, and pulled and pulled, thinking of nothing else but getting as far up'ards as we could. Hour's hard rowing, I should say, in and out, and we got a long ways before we come upon Bill t.i.tely.”

”Then we'll begin moving as soon as it is quite dark, my lads,” said Murray. ”Till then, a careful watch and silence, for there is no knowing whether the enemy may not have a way through the cane brake which will enable them to come upon us by surprise.”

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.

A FIGHT IN THE DARK.

It was sooner than they expected that the darkness came on--thick, black, dense darkness, which in spite of its gradual approach seemed strange and full of suggestions of being peopled with enemies ready to draw trigger on the banks and send lightning-like flashes at the occupants of the boat--flashes each of which might be a messenger of death.

The boat was set in motion and glided down stream slowly, with Murray in the bows peering straight before him, trying to pierce the darkness; Tom May right astern with one oar dipped, with which he kept the boat level; while the others sat with oars balanced ready for use in case of attack, and so as to ensure retreat.

In this fas.h.i.+on they floated down, carried along by the gentle current, not a word being spoken, and the mids.h.i.+pman hardly daring to breathe as he listened to the strange nocturnal sounds which came from the banks on either side--weird croakings, pipings, and strange trumpeting notes which sounded like a challenge to the strangers who were daring to penetrate the thick darkness of the night.

More than once there was a sudden motion, a heaving and a rising wave as of some huge fish or reptile which had been disturbed from its slumbers, and from which attack was expected at any moment.