Condemned as a Nihilist Part 38

"That is it, sure enough. Now, run ash.o.r.e and dash up the bank."

As soon as the canoe touched the sh.o.r.e they leapt out and ran up the bank. Not twenty yards away were the Samoyedes. G.o.dfrey uttered a shout and raised his gun to his shoulder, and the natives with a yell ran off at full speed.

"Now, Luka, do you go and get the canoe in the water. Be careful; if you find it heavy for you with the stores on board, take them out; there is no occasion for hurry. Those fellows won't venture within range of my gun again; they will keep at a distance, and send up word to the tents that we have landed. So take your time over it; if you were to make a slip and damage the canoe it would be fatal to us."

The natives stopped at a distance of a quarter of a mile, and then, as G.o.dfrey expected, one of them started at a run back towards the village.

In ten minutes G.o.dfrey heard a shout from below, and looking round saw the canoe safely by the side of the boat. He ran down and took his place in her, and they paddled out towing the boat behind them.

CHAPTER XVII.

A SEA FIGHT

As soon as they had reached a distance of two or three hundred yards from the sh.o.r.e G.o.dfrey ceased paddling. "Now we can talk matters over, Luka. There is no occasion for hurry now. If these fellows in the canoes are disposed to fight we can't prevent them. They will certainly be out of the river before we could get back there; and even if we did pa.s.s first they could easily overtake us, for those light craft of theirs would go two feet to our one unless we had wind for our sail. So we may as well take things easy, and decidedly the first thing to do is to wash and dress Jack's wound, and then to get some tea and something to eat.

We have had nothing since we were caught yesterday between twelve and one o'clock.

"What a lucky thing it was we hid the canoe, Luka!" he went on, as the Tartar pulled the boat up alongside the canoe and began to prepare to light a fire. "The chances are we should not have been able to get her off as well as the boat, and even if we had they would have taken out all our stores. The meat we might replace, but the loss of the tea and tobacco, and above all of the matches, would have been terrible; besides, they would have got our spare hatchets and knives, the fish-hooks and lines, and all our furs. We don't want the furs for warmth now, but it would make a deal of difference to our comfort if we had to sleep on hard boards. I do not know how to feel thankful enough that we hid the canoe away."

"We could not have gone without our things," Luka said. "We would have fought them all and killed them rather than lose our tea and tobacco."

G.o.dfrey laughed at his companion's earnestness.

"I think that would have been paying too dearly for them, Luka. Still we should have missed them badly."

Just as they had finished their meal they saw some black spots ahead of them close insh.o.r.e. "I should not be surprised if they have been picking up those fellows who followed us, Luka. No doubt the man who ran back would tell them they could do nothing against our arms. But I don't think they will dare attack us in our boat even if they have got all the men there. There were only twelve at first, not counting the old men who were in their camp when we were brought there. You shot one of them, so there are only eleven, even if they have got on board those who followed us. I have always heard that they are plucky little fellows, but I do not think they would be fools enough to attack us on the water.

I feel sure they can't have any intention of doing so. I expect their original idea was to hover about us night and day, and then, when we went ash.o.r.e to get food, to steal the boat and hunt us down. Now they find we have got a second boat they will see that it is a longer job than they expected, for they will guess that our real valuables are on board the boat we hid, and that we may have enough provisions here to last for some time."

The canoes, as they approached them, sheered off to a distance of a quarter of a mile, and then gathered together evidently in consultation.

Then they turned and paddled rapidly back again, soon leaving the canoe and boat far behind.

"I wonder what they are up to now?" G.o.dfrey said; "some mischief I have no doubt."

"Perhaps more yourts on farther? They might send on a man with fast reindeer a long way ahead, so that they might attack us with forty or fifty canoes."

"So they might, Luka. That would be very awkward, and we should be afraid of landing anywhere. They may pa.s.s the news on from camp to camp for any number of miles. Yes, that is a very serious business. The only thing I see for it is to make right out beyond sight of land, and then push on as fast as we can. Fortunately they don't know anything about our sail, and as they left us so fast just now they will reckon that we cannot make much more than two miles an hour; while, when we get the wind, we can go six if we help with the paddles. We may as well keep on as we are at present, as if determined to keep near the land till, at any rate, we are some distance past the mouth of the river. There is not likely to be another of their camps for some distance along, for, of course, they would always be near a river, as they must have water for themselves and their reindeer."

Paddling quietly, they continued on their course until they had pa.s.sed the mouth of the river. When they had gone half a mile they saw nine canoes, each containing one man, come out from the river and follow them.

"They mean to stick to us," G.o.dfrey said uneasily. "I'm afraid we are going to have a lot of trouble with them, Luka."

After paddling for another two hours they turned their heads seaward.

The canoes did the same. In four hours more the land had almost disappeared, but the clump of canoes still maintained their position behind them.

"It is of no use going out any further, Luka. We are a long way out of sight of any one on sh.o.r.e now. Now let us head west again." An hour later one of the canoes left the group and paddled rapidly towards the land.

"That is what their game is," G.o.dfrey said. "They have sent off to tell their friends ash.o.r.e the course we are taking, and do what we will they will keep them informed of it. We may have a fleet of canoes out at any moment after us. Do you think we could leave them behind if we were to cast off the boat?"

Luka shook his head decidedly. "No; their canoes are very small; paddle quick, much quicker than we could."

"She is very fast, Luka."

"Yes; but too many things on board. If we threw over everything--food, and kettles, and dog, and furs--we might go as fast as they could; but even then I think they would beat us."

"Well, we won't try that anyhow, Luka; I would rather risk a fight than that. I don't see anything to do but to wait for the wind. It is not often calm like this long, and we have had it three or four days already. If we do get a wind we can certainly beat them by cutting loose the boat."

"Beat them anyhow," Luka said. "With wind and paddles they might keep up with us rowing very hard for a bit; but men tire, wind never tires. We sure to beat them at last. I think we shall have wind before very long."

"I hope so, Luka; and not too much of it. Well, as we can't get away from them by paddling, Luka, we may as well lower our lines. We have only got two or three days' provisions on board, and we may just as well lay in a stock while we can."

The hooks were baited with pieces of meat and lowered, and the paddles laid in. Scarcely were the lines out when G.o.dfrey felt a fierce tug.

"Hulloa!" he exclaimed, "I have got something bigger than usual." He hauled up, and gave a shout of satisfaction as he pulled a cod of fully ten pounds weight from the water. Five minutes later Luka caught one of equal size.

"That will do, Luka. I will throw mine into the boat, and we will keep yours on board. Now we have got among cod there is no fear of our not getting plenty of food. I know they catch enormous quant.i.ties off the northern coast of Norway, and it is evident that they come as far as these waters. It is some time since we tried this deep-sea fishing, which accounts for our not having caught any before."

"Are they good fish?" Luka asked. "I have never seen any like them."

"First-rate, Luka, especially if we had some oyster sauce to eat with them; as we haven't we must do without. They are capital, and they are not full of bones like the herrings. Now we will paddle on again. You leave that fish alone, Jack; you shall have some of it for supper."

"There is a dark line on the water over there," Luka said presently, "wind coming."

"That is a comfort, Luka."

Half an hour later the breeze came up to them. "Shall I get up the sail, G.o.dfrey?"

G.o.dfrey did not reply for a minute or two. "Yes, I think we may as well, Luka. Whether we go fast or slow these fellows will be able to send word on sh.o.r.e, and we may as well tire them a bit."

The sails were hoisted, G.o.dfrey took the sheet and laid in his paddle.

"The wind may freshen," he said, "and it would not do to fasten the sheet."

Luka, who seemed tireless, continued paddling, and the boats went through the water at a considerably faster pace than before. The effect on their pursuers was at once visible. Instead of paddling in a leisurely manner in a close group, the paddles could be seen to flash faster and faster.

"They have to row pretty hard to keep up with us now," Luka said, looking over his shoulder at them. "Up to now they felt comfortable, think everything right, and quite sure to catch us presently. Now they begin to see it is not so easy after all." They maintained their relative positions till the sun was near the horizon.

"It is ten o'clock, Luka, the sun will set in half an hour. You lay your paddle in, and get us a cup of tea and a bit of that dry meat. You had better boil the kettle over one of the candles. Then you lie down to sleep for four hours, after that I will take a turn. We are a deal better off than those fellows behind; they must keep on paddling all night, and as they only have one man in each boat there is no relief for them."

Luka did as he was ordered. After drinking his tea G.o.dfrey lighted his pipe, and Luka lay down. G.o.dfrey did not feel very sleepy, although he had not closed his eyes the night before; but they had had a long bout of sleep when compelled to keep their tent by the fog, and the excitement of the chase kept him up now. As it grew dusk he could see that the canoes drew closer, but he had no hope, in any case, of giving them the slip, for it was never perfectly dark. When, four hours later, he woke Luka the sky was brightening again.

"More wind come presently," the Tartar said, looking at the sky.

"I won't lie down just yet, Luka. It will be quite light in half an hour, and I want to have a good look towards the sh.o.r.e before I go to sleep."

Luka at once took the paddle. The wind was perceptibly freshening and the canoe was slipping fast through the water.

"Now, Luka," G.o.dfrey said presently, "stand up and have a look round. Be careful how you do it; it would not do to capsize her now."

Two minutes later Luka exclaimed, "I see them; a whole lot of canoes, twenty or thirty, over there," and he pointed towards the sh.o.r.e but somewhat ahead of them.