Harry Milvaine Part 48

KING KARA-KARA'S ARMADA--THE BATTLE ON THE LAKE--TERRIBLE FIGHTING.

Briefly stated, the news which the scout had brought from the mainland was to the effect that King Kara-Kara, who held the white men at his court as slaves, having heard of the prosperity and wealth of the king of the hundred isles, and that he also owned a white slave, had determined to invade the island territory.

From the hill-top, at a safe distance, this scout had beheld Kara-Kara's camp with his own eyes, and he a.s.sured King Googagoo that the army was a well-armed and a vast one, and that they were already busily engaged in cutting down trees and making dug-outs. [Note 1.]

"So," said Harry, "the tables are turned. Instead of our making war on Kara-Kara, Kara-Kara is going to make war upon us."

"Let them come," replied Googagoo, "I care not; you have taught me to put my trust in Heaven. I do so, and feel sure that the Great Eye which looks upon us from beyond the clouds, will keep us safe and give us the victory."

Although there were now thunderstorms and rain almost every day, Harry made himself busier with his little army than ever.

He picked out the best, quickest, and boldest men for officers--and I need hardly say that both Walda and Somali Jack had high appointments-- and he kept drilling the men and amazons from morning till night.

Nor did he forget the commissariat This was to be very simple--little else, in fact, save dates and rice and water.

Often now of a night great fires could be seen gleaming among the wooded hills on the distant horizon, showing plainly enough that King Kara-Kara's men were far from idle.

So the time wore on, and the wet season pa.s.sed; the lake was no longer lashed into foam by driving squalls, but slept as peacefully under the blue sky as if waves had never yet been invented.

Harry was now wholly ready for action, and he had almost made up his mind to carry the war into the enemy's country before he had time to attack the islands.

The king and he had a long palaver over the particulars of this plan.

His majesty had very great faith in his navy.

"My boys," he said, "can fight as well on the water as they and my brave amazons can do on sh.o.r.e. Let them come. We will cripple them, sink them, then the work of utterly destroying them on their own sh.o.r.e will be easy indeed."

Harry, on second thoughts, would have preferred surprising Kara-Kara by night, but he acquiesced in the king's wishes.

They would be ready, therefore, and wait. How or when would the enemy come? By night or by day? and in what formation?

Tall signal-posts were built on every island, to give warning of the approach of the foe, and round every isle sentinels were stationed day and night, with great fires built and ready to light.

For there was no saying from what direction the attack might be made.

In all probability they would steal round the lake under the shadow of the land, and under the cover of the darkness, and attack Googagoo at the place where he was most vulnerable.

More than once, in the starlight, small canoes had been detected gliding about at night, but were speedily chased and put to flight. They were spies without a doubt.

The island fleet had been by no means a first-cla.s.s one, consisting for the most part of large dug-outs with outriggers, like great gates at each side This last certainly gave them extra stability and prevented their turning over, but it greatly lessened their speed.

Even the flagship, which the king's barge might well be called, was rather an unwieldy craft. She was the only one that had sailing power, and that was merely a clumsy square sail, on one centre mast.

But Harry had gone in for naval reform--as far as practicable, and with all the enthusiasm of a British sailor.

He had the men--for every one of these islanders was amphibious in a manner of speaking--what he wanted was the ships.

Some new boats were accordingly made of a light wood that had been cut down years ago. He made these broader in the beam, so that he managed to dispense with the abominable way-stopping outriggers. Seven in all of these were constructed, the bottoms being made shapely and smooth, the sides light and thin, and the whole arrangement capable of double the speed.

These new boats were to contain a crew of picked archers, the very best shots in his little army, which consisted of eight thousand men all told. There were also one thousand amazons.

Harry, in the forthcoming expedition to the mainland, wanted to leave these women folks--"leave the ladies"--that is how he politely worded it--at home. But the king, who was to command in person, would not hear of such a thing. They were his body-guard, and so go they must.

Attention was now turned to the royal barge, and she lay bottom upwards for a week to be strengthened by skin and pieces of thin iron, so that when she was again launched, she looked a st.u.r.dy, useful craft indeed.

Extra oars or paddles were placed in every war-boat, and spears and daggers innumerable.

Between a few of the islands, and quite out of view of the enemy, a great naval review was held, and everything pa.s.sed off in a most satisfactory way.

Still, by taking away the outriggers Harry had considerably increased the risk of capsizing in his boats. So he took the matter into still more serious consideration, the result of which was that he constructed a small fleet of special war-boats, each one consisting of two of the ordinary dug-outs lashed together side by side, and he found to his great joy that even these had as much speed in them as the clumsy outrigger canoes.

The islanders were now ready for battle either by land or water.

Scouts were sent to the hills to spy out the doings of the enemy.

They returned with tidings to the effect that they had over two hundred large dug-outs afloat, and that each of these had outriggers. That their army consisted of nearly 20,000 warriors, armed with spears, and clubs, and broad knives.

It was only a question now of time, so Harry waited. He himself was to command in the naval engagement, the king would be otherwise engaged as we shall presently see.

Whether it was that King Kara-Kara did not possess much ingenuity, or was a staunch Conservative of the old school, or trusted entirely to his great numbers and power, I know not; certain it is, however, that he chose to make the attack upon the islanders in the simplest fashion possible.

He put to sea one morning early with all his fleet of over one hundred and fifty large boats, each containing about twenty oarsmen and warriors, and in three extended lines began slowly pulling towards Googagoo's private island.

Harry saw through his tactics at once, for after all war is very much like a game of draughts, and skill goes a long way, while the more you can guess your opponent's thoughts the surer you are of victory: so Harry rightly guessed that Kara-Kara's plan of action was first to capture the island king's palace and stronghold, king and all, then take the other islands one by one.

"It is a very pretty arrangement," said Harry to his host, "if it can be successfully carried out."

"Let them try," cried the king, who was dressed in his war clothes, with spear, and sword, and short stout battle-axe, and really looked imposing.

"Let them come on; I am now burning for the fight."

"So am I," cried Harry, laughing and spitting in his hand--the hand that held a drawn ship's cutla.s.s.

"I go away into my tent now to pray," continued the king. "Then I make my army kneel and pray. Oh, I do not fear. See, the clouds are rolling up and hiding the sun. The sun fears to look on the battle: but the Eye, the Eye that will guide us to victory, is far beyond the sun. Your Book tells me so."

"It is," said Harry, solemnly. "Good-bye."

Then he shook hands with the king and hurried away to action.

He had had a skiff of great speed built expressly for this great day.

His oarsmen were two, with a child to steer, and Somali Jack with the rifles in the stern sheets.

There were only fifty cartridges left!

On came Kara's great fleet.

They had three miles and over to row, and they were allowed to do more than two-thirds of the distance before ever Harry ordered his boats to shove off to meet them.

Greatly to his surprise and joy he noticed that the enemy's boats were far too much crowded to permit anything like freedom of action among the men.