The Hero of Panama Part 29

"See here, Tomkins," he called out. "You come along with the main party.

I'll go ahead with Sam, and one of your men can take your place. Then, in case there's need to change our plans, I shall be right at the head and able to stop the party."

They pushed on after that at a steady pace, covering ground which for the most part was only thinly studded with bush, and stretched out flat and level before them; but some five miles ahead a range of hills and broken ground cropped up before them, hiding the country beyond.

"Perhaps we shall be able to catch a sight of those rascals from the top," thought Jim, as he rode along in a brown study. "In any case there's much to be thankful for. That rainstorm has softened the ground and made it easy to follow; a little more this afternoon, or when the night falls, would give us a fine line for to-morrow."

Some two hours later they emerged at the top of the hilly ground, still on the tracks of the fugitives, and at a sign from Sam dropped from their horses.

"Stop here," he said at once, raising a warning hand. "Not show up above de skyline, else p'raps dem sc.u.m see us. Yo wait little while for me to squint all round; but not t'ink I be able to see um. De bush down dere very dense."

It was precisely as he had said, for as Jim laid himself flat in a tangled ma.s.s of brier on the summit of the ridge, and wormed his way forward till he was able to obtain a clear view beyond, he saw that the country down below was green with jungle. A vast sea of waving treetops lay below him, broken only here and there where rocky ground effectively opposed the irresistible march of creepers and verdure. The sight was, in fact, most beautiful, for the leaves shimmered and displayed a thousand different shades of green beneath the sun's rays, while, far off to the left, there came the gleam and scintillation of light falling on water.

"De lagoon," declared Sam without hesitation, tossing a finger to the front. "Not able to see de entrance, ob course, 'cos it too far away, and trees hide um; and not able to see where de riber lie for de same reason. But dat de lagoon. Sam stake him hat on it."

"And those men we are after?" asked Jim, his eyes searching every foot of the huge green vista.

"Dey down dar somewhere. Not see um wid all dose trees; but dere fo'

sure. To-morrow we come up with them."

Our hero lay for a while gazing all round and thinking deeply. The sight of the lagoon shimmering and flashing beneath the sun had reminded him of those natives with whom the two rascals they had formerly followed had struck up an acquaintance. Jim remembered that it was more than a simple acquaintance, for it had since been proved that Jaime de Oteros and his gang of evildoers had for long carried on an illicit trade in guns and spirit with the tribe in that neighbourhood. Obviously they were making in that direction to join hands with them, and, once there, how was Sadie to be recovered?

"It will be harder than I imagined," he told himself despondently. "Once these men reach the natives with their prisoner, nothing but a battle royal and the defeat of the tribe can save her. If only I were near enough to come upon them before they could reach their friends."

Again he lay silent and thinking, till Sam looked at his young master wondering. "Not good lie here and stare," he said. "Dat not de way to save de missie. S'pose we make right way down de hill and get into the jungle. Dey down dere, I say. To-morrow dey come up wid the black men we fight wid way ober by de lagoon."

"And once there Sadie is almost lost to us," cried Jim, a tone of bitterness in his voice. "See here, Sam, I'm going to make a big effort.

Tell me, can those fellows travel once the night falls? Can they push on towards those natives?"

"Dat not easy," came the answer. "Sam not tink dey try to do so. For why? I tell yo. What fo' need hurry when dey tink no one follow? Back away near de ca.n.a.l dey ride fast, 'cos p'rhaps someone discober where dey gone, and follow quick; but dey seen no one to-day. Dat I sure ob, 'cos dere tracks have never stopped fo' once; so dey t'ink dey got heaps ob time and all de jungle to demselves. Why den hurry, and bash de head against a tree in de darkness? Dat not good enough fo' anyone; dat all tommy nonsense."

"Then I shall do it."

Jim stretched his head farther from between the brambles and stared down into the jungle beneath, as if he were trying to penetrate it to the tree roots. As for Sam, the little fellow started, and looked queerly at his master, as if he half thought that anxiety and excitement had unhinged his mind; but Jim returned his gaze coolly, and once more repeated the statement.

"Then I shall do it," he said. "Listen here, Sam, and tell me what you think of the idea. You admit that these men will camp for to-night, satisfied that they are not followed, and that they can easily reach their native friends to-morrow. Once there, you can see that Sadie will be surrounded, and that rescue will be almost impossible. Well now, I'm going to push along through that jungle as quickly as horses can take me, and as quickly as the undergrowth will allow. This evening, the instant night falls, I shall go on on foot, taking the lantern. There's not much danger of the light being seen with all those trees about, and there is a good chance of being able to come up with the fugitives. If I do, I'll s.n.a.t.c.h my sister away, and return towards our party, who will mount and ride at the first dawn."

The little negro gasped as he heard the plan outlined. It was not that the danger of such an attempt staggered him; it was the shrewdness of the suggestion. He pinched himself as punishment for not having produced it himself, and turned upon his master with a flash in his eye which showed his pleasure.

"By lummy, dat fine!" he cried. "Dat de only way to do um. S'pose dem sc.u.m camp as I say--I sh.o.r.e dey do it. But s'pose dey don't, and ride right on, den no harm done; but if dey camp, den yo have de one chance of savin' missie. Ob course I hab to go with yo; yo not able to follow de trail widout Sam. And Tom extry strong, and able to creep along right well, in spite of his size; besides, he able to carry missie once we have managed to rescue her. Den Ching know de ways ob de jungle; he mighty fine fighter. Him----"

Jim stopped the garrulous little fellow with a movement of his hand.

Suddenly his finger shot out from the brambles, and he pointed towards the huge sea of waving palms and forest trees, all thickly clad in green. But it was not the jungle to which he drew Sam's attention; it was a wide patch of yellowish-white that cropped up amidst the green some miles away, direct in the line of the lagoon.

"Watch that spot," he ordered curtly. "I saw something moving, but the distance is too great for me. What do you see?"

Eagerly he awaited the answer, but it was more than a minute before the negro ventured to open his mouth. He plucked Jim by the sleeve and drew him backward, sliding through the briers himself as if he were a snake.

"Dat extry lucky," he suddenly whispered, when they had withdrawn from the skyline, and as if he were afraid someone beyond would overhear him.

"Dat special fortunate, I tell yo. Fo' down dere on dat patch am de mens we follow. Yo see de little game, eh? Not see um? Den I gib yo dere reason. Dem sc.u.m now well away from de ca.n.a.l, and ride hard all de while. Dey say to demselbes: 'Stop little bit here, let de hosses hab a rest while watch de hill. If police follow, den sure to come by de way of de tracks we leab. Good! We see um come ober de hill. If dey come, we mount and push along; if not, take him easy, ride 'way on a little, and den sleep."

"Then we will take good care not to show ourselves; but advance we must," cried Jim. "See here, Sam, find a way over for us where we can pa.s.s without anyone being able to see us. If necessary I'll push on with a small party afoot and leave the horses to come later; but I'd rather take the whole lot on their mounts, because then we shall be able to get nearer to those ruffians. Look around and choose a likely spot."

He crept back to the party, while the negro stole off along the ridge, keeping well away from the skyline. In ten minutes he was back with them, his face shining under the sun, a hopeful smile on his lips.

"Come 'long, and lead de hosses," he whispered. "Sam make along de side ob de hill and find a place where we can slip to de bottom; but not ride. Ground very rough and full ob stones and holes."

They followed him in silence, each man leading his own horse, while the huge Tom led also the beast which carried their blankets and ammunition.

And a very business-like party they looked as they filed away amongst the bushes; for each one carried a rifle slung across his shoulders, the muzzle sticking up well above his head, while a pouch attached to the belt about his waist was filled with cartridges. Khaki clothing was chiefly worn, for since the British introduced the colour many nations have adopted it for their uniforms. Water bottles were slung to the belts, and every member of the band was provided with a revolver.

"Best take 'em," said the Major, just before the expedition started. "I grant that a rifle is useful most anywhere; but there are times when it is apt to get into the way, and in case such a time should turn up you'd better carry shooters."

"Halt! Not come too fast," said Sam suddenly, when he and Jim had arrived at a rocky crevice which broke its way into the side of the hill. "Plenty hole-and-corner 'way in here, and mind yo go very careful.

Yo Chinaboy, don't yo smile as if yo was clever'n anyone; yo hab a bad fall if yo not extry cautious."

A grim smile lit the usually saturnine face of Tomkins, the surly policeman; and indeed anyone could have been excused for merriment. For Sam's importance, his high-flown language, to which we cannot here venture to give outlet, and the quick way in which he flashed round upon the harmless Chinaman, was most amusing. However, Tom quickly silenced the little fellow.

"Yo leab dis Chinaboy alone," he cried, looking fiercely at Sam, but showing his teeth in a grinning smile for all that. "Yo look to yoself, little man. If dere holes way in dere, p'raps yo fall into one; den lost fo' good. No Sam to be found. All de boys call out hooray! Yo get along, young feller."

That set Tomkins grinning more than ever. To do the man but common justice, he was an excellent fellow at heart, though his taciturnity and the shortness and crispness of his remarks made people consider him to be surly. No one saw the humour of the thing sooner than he did, and no one was more ready to smile. He turned upon the two negroes a scowl which would have scared them, had they not been accustomed to the constable,

"See here, you two sons of guns," he cried, "there'll be something bad happenin' ef we have more of your lip. Get in at it; we ain't here to listen to darkies chatterin' as if they was monkeys."

Sam glowered upon the man, and looked as if he would be glad to do him an injury; but Tom gave vent to a roar, and, dragging his horses after him, stood to his full height within a foot of Tomkins. It looked for a moment as if there was to be a fracas, for the two men, white and black, glared at one another furiously; but no one could expect the jovial Tom to wear such an expression for long. He burst out laughing, and, swinging round, placed himself side by side with Tomkins.

"Oh, yo heard dat?" he called out. "He tink us like monkeys. Den yo say, Ma.s.sa Jim, who de most handsomest, Tom or Tomkins."

But Jim was in no mood for jesting. He sent the huge Tom to the rear with an impatient movement of his hand, and then bade Sam push forward.

A moment later he was following, holding his horse by the bridle. For the next half-hour silence again settled down upon the party, though in place of the sound of their voices there came the slither of hoofs on rocks, the crash of boulders falling, and now and again a sudden exclamation as a man just saved his animal from falling; for the gully which Sam had found and selected was rough, to say the least of it.

Probably in the wet weather it was nothing but a watercourse. Now it displayed huge holes where the rains had washed the soil away, while every few feet the members of the party had to negotiate boulders, sometimes causing their animals to squeeze round them, and at others having to urge them over the obstruction. Finally they all arrived at the bottom, where they were thickly surrounded by jungle.

"Forward," said Jim at once, seeing the whole party mounted. "I suppose the first thing is to get back on the track, and then ride for that yellowish-white patch where we saw figures moving. Perhaps we'll get there before those rascals leave; if not, we can but follow."

Some three hours later, after making but slow progress through a jungle which was very dense in parts, and after having crossed a stream, the bed of which was soft and boggy, they came to the rocky part where no vegetation had succeeded in growing. It was almost dark then, and experience told them that within a few minutes it would be impossible to see more than a foot or two before them; for in jungle countries, even under a brilliant moon, the shadows beneath the trees are of the densest. No light can penetrate those thick ma.s.ses of leaves and the thousands of gaily flowered creepers which cling to the branches. Here and there, perhaps, where the leaves give back from one another, or where a veteran of the forest has fallen to the ground, some few rays will filter through, making the trunks beneath look strangely ghostly, but for the most part there is dense darkness, the kind of darkness which one can almost feel.

"Here we camp for the night," said Jim, slipping from his saddle.

"Tomkins, I am going ahead with the two negroes and the Chinaman. I leave Mr. Barton in charge of the whole party remaining; but of course, if there is fighting, you will handle your men. See here, I'm going to try to come up to the camp those fellows will have formed and s.n.a.t.c.h away their prisoner. Whatever happens, ride at the first streak of light and follow our tracks; we'll take good care to make them clear and open.

Tom shall blaze the trees as we pa.s.s."

Some fifteen minutes later, having meanwhile partaken of a hurried meal, Jim, with Sam and Tom and Ching, slipped away from the little camp where their friends were lying. For a minute, perhaps, the gleam of the lamp that Sam carried remained visible; then the jungle swallowed it effectually, so that presently our hero had disappeared entirely. He was gone on an expedition which might bring success or failure, and which in any case meant danger for him and his little party.

CHAPTER XVII

On the Track of Miscreants