The Hero of Panama Part 30

To those who have had no experience of the jungle, who happen never to have pa.s.sed a night in such tropical forests as those which clothe the ground about the Isthmus of Panama, the deadly silence that pervades everything is perhaps the most noticeable feature of all. It is almost terrifying in its intensity, and with dense darkness to help it is apt to awe even the boldest. And when, as happens so often, that silence is suddenly and most unexpectedly broken by the call of some prowling wild beast, when a sharp hissing sound and a rustling amongst the fallen leaves near at hand tells of a creeping snake, then indeed the nerves tingle, the novice feels a strange sensation about the roots of his hair, while perspiration gathers thickly on his forehead. Yes, the bravest are awed. Even the old hand, the experienced hunter, holds his breath and halts to listen, his senses all alert, ready to defend his life against danger.

So it was with Jim and his friends. One only was accustomed to the jungle; and for a while, after diving into its darkness, they were overawed by its deathly silence at one moment, and at another moment by the weird calls which came to their ears. The lamplight shining on Tom's face demonstrated the fact that he was trying to smile; but it was an uneasy and an unnatural movement.

"By de poker," he gasped, "but not like dis at all! De leaves whisper murder. De branches ob de trees call out and say: 'Take care'. Tom all ob a shiber."

"He, he, he! Yo not like him, dis forest," grinned Ching, though, to tell the truth, the Chinaman's slanting eyes were moving restlessly from side to side, in a manner which denoted fear. "Yo hold de hand ob dis Chinaboy; den feel braver. No harm come when Ching near. Yo come along wid me, Tom."

His bantering tones caused the huge negro to change his smile for a scowl. He stretched out a hand and slowly doubled up the fingers, as much as to say that he could with pleasure take the Chinaman in one hand and crush the life out of him. He began to exclaim, but Jim cut him short. Our hero brushed the sweat from his forehead, and swung round upon the two.

"Silence, you babies!" he exclaimed. "A sound travels far in the jungle, and who can say how near we are to those villains we are searching for?

Silence! Follow in single file, and take care that you do not tread on fallen branches and twigs. I have often heard it stated that the snap of a broken twig can be heard as plainly as the report of a pistol. Guess it's true, too."

"But dere no fear jest now, Ma.s.sa Jim," interrupted Sam, his little eyes twinkling in the light of the lamp which dangled from his finger.

"Still, all de same, dat lubber ob a Tom better take care and keep him mouth shut. Him never can speak soft; him shout and bawl. Him a great, big, hulkin' bull, I reckon."

That brought the big negro to the point of explosion. After all, it was an event of every day for these three faithful fellows, who had clung so well to Jim, to banter one another, and for that bantering to turn mostly against Tom. It was the fate of the ponderous fellow often to be the b.u.t.t of his comrades, to provide them with a ready cause for wit at his expense, and always with the certainty that Tom would swallow the bait and lash himself into a pretended fit of anger, in which he threatened terrible things, gesticulated, and roared, and often enough shook his huge fists and bared his fine white teeth in a manner which would have disturbed the courage of a bold man, but which, with Ching and Sam, who knew him so well, or with our hero, merely resulted in roars of laughter and in further banter. However, this was not the time for such fun and frolic, and Jim put a stop to the noise promptly.

"Come," he said; "guess we've got Sadie to think about. That's better than badgering one another."

At once there came a serious look across the faces of his followers.

Their eyes shone more brightly, while Tom gave vent to an exclamation, striking himself across his broad chest at the same moment. "I's ought ter be kicked," he said indignantly. "Yo see, Tom not say anoder word till missie found. But den, ha! yo take care, Tom smash dem rascals.

Knock 'em all into c.o.c.ked hat; make jelly and jam ob dem."

All his pretended ferocity was turned upon the rascals who had abducted Sadie; and to look at him as he spoke there was no doubt, remembering the huge negro's prowess in former scuffles, that he would be as good as his word. But Sam was already moving ahead, and Jim fell in immediately behind him. With the Chinaman as third man, and Tom bringing up the rear, the party pressed on as rapidly as possible through the forest.

Nor did Sam seem to find any difficulty in holding to the track. His sharp eyes were bent for ever on the ground, while his lamp swung this way and that, lighting the hoofmarks made by the horses of Jaime de Oteros's party. And as they went, Tom, armed with a heavy knife, blazed the trees to the left, to afford a guide to those who were to follow. It was half an hour before the silence amongst them was broken; then Sam came to a sudden stop, and drew Jim towards him.

"Dey get off de hosses here," he whispered. "Jungle growing so low, dey couldn't sit in the saddle any longer. Now, yo watch extry close, and I show yo what happen. Here one, two, three, yes four ob de sc.u.m. Four ob de villain, sah, and here am anoder mark. Dat missie; yo see how small it am? Den I's sure dat missie. She walk between de rascal; two go in front, each leading a hoss. No; one ob dem hab two hosses. Den missie; she not hab a hoss. Den two oder blackguard, one wid two hosses."

It seemed clear enough to Sam, though for Jim the reading of these elusive signs was a somewhat different matter; but by dint of following Sam's indicating finger, and with the help of a little imagination, he was able to make out the various signs. Indeed, once the whole had been shown him he began to wonder how it was that he himself had failed to light upon them at once. However, a couple of hundred yards farther on, when they came to a halt once more, he was again at as much of a loss as before, and was glad to have Sam's help to read what the ground beneath the jungle had written upon it.

"Six hosses," he said. "One for each of the four men, one for Sadie, and a spare."

"For de swag," suggested Sam. "Dey's robbed de people ober at Ancon."

Jim remembered the fact, though till that moment he had lost sight of it; for all his interest was, very naturally, centred in Sadie. In his eyes that was the maximum offence Jaime and his rascals had committed.

"We'd best go very quietly now," he whispered to his companions. "If they have dismounted, as the marks show, and if the jungle continues to get thicker, as we can tell for ourselves is the case, why, guess they'll soon come to a halt and camp. That'll be our chance."

"Halt any time," answered Sam, stopping for a moment and facing round with brightly shining eyes. "Dey camp when dey find de right spot. Not care to lie out here in de jungle. Dat not do; p'raps some beast come along and gib trouble. Dey wait till dey find an open place, den spread de blanket, boil de kettle, eat, and sleep. Sam know; him libed in a jungle country before now."

He was filled with a.s.surance, fortunately for Jim and his comrades, for otherwise there was no doubt that without a guide they would have lost the track and themselves many times before this. Seeing the difficulty of making a straight path through this trackless forest, it became evident to Jim before long that Jaime and his comrades, like Sam, must have had experience of the jungle. Indeed, had he but been aware of it, the ruffian who commanded the rascally band was an excellent leader in more ways than one. Putting aside his vindictive and cruel nature, which seemed natural to him, the man was exceedingly clever and cunning, as he had proved to the police of many a port along the Gulf of Mexico. But he was as accustomed to the wilds as to a city, and had indeed during the past two years found that safety, complete security from arrest in fact, lay in the jungle. He had made himself at home in it, had discovered the ways of trackers, and, thanks to his own hardiness, had so far defied fever. He was, then, just the man to lead a band across the isthmus, and the straight line which his trail had held all along showed that no novice was at the head of affairs. But in one particular he failed.

Jaime had been too successful; he had for so long successfully hoodwinked the police, and had robbed with such little interference, owing to his wonderful astuteness, that he had become too sure of himself, and, as a natural consequence, had become careless. At this very moment he imagined that no one was in pursuit. He had waited on that open patch of ground where Jim's comrades were at this moment encamped, and had kept a watch on the top of the ridge. The fact that he had seen no one crossing it had convinced him that all was well, that the scheme of the boatman who was to put to sea from Colon had again put the police on a false track. And at once he had neglected further precautions.

"We'll jest run ahead through the jungle," he told his followers, "till we've put a good belt of it between us and the ridge. Then guess we'll take a fine sleep, and so be fresh by the time we come to the end of the journey. Gee! What a commotion there'll have been 'way down by Ancon!

That explosion fairly shook the whole isthmus; but why Juan never came along is more than I can say, onless he was captured."

"Or blown sky-high with his bomb," ventured one of his fellows.

"Blown up by his own bomb! Don't you think it," came from Jaime. "Juan is too clever by half to do a thing like that. Most like he found himself cornered, and unable to come to our meeting place; so he's lying hid up somewhere, and when he gets the chance will make across to join us. See here, boys, we'll take a fine rest when we get to those natives.

We'll lie up for a month, till things get blown over a little, and until people have begun to forget that dollar notes were taken; then we'll get aboard the launch, steam out from the lagoon, and take one of the pa.s.sing traders. There won't be no difficulty about that. Guess we're armed, and the folks aboard the traders don't carry a weapon. Once we've got a boat, we'll sail to the nearest port, tranship to New Orleans, and from there to France. Paris will take every dollar we have, even though the numbers of the bills have been published. In six months' time we shall have enough to make a tidy sum for each of us when the stuff's divided."

He led his little following through the forest till they arrived at an open, rocky s.p.a.ce, where the blackened ground showed that a fire had been made on a former occasion. Indeed it was a spot which Jaime knew well, for he had travelled this route many times now. Here saddles were taken from the horses, while the beasts were given a drink at a tiny stream which trickled from the rocks; then they were tethered to long ropes, which would allow them to graze. Sadie was not treated unkindly.

Indeed, hardened villain though he was, Jaime had some pity for the child. He had her placed near the fire, and saw to it himself that food and drink were given her.

"You'd best get settled down in one of the blankets and take a sleep,"

he advised. "I ain't goin' to put any ropes on you, and I'll tell you why. If you were to try to make off into the jungle, you'd just get lost, and there's wild things in the forest that would scare the life out of you; so be sensible, and take a sleep."

Sadie was, in fact, far too frightened by her surroundings to venture to move. To speak the truth, the trying scenes through which she had pa.s.sed had practically unnerved her, though the child had plenty of courage; but she was a sensible child too, and saw the futility of attempting escape at this moment.

As to Jim and his little band, they had no idea where the party they were in pursuit of had camped, if, indeed, they had camped at all. They pressed on slowly through the jungle, Sam leading with the lantern, and Tom bringing up the rear, slashing a tree every few paces as he pa.s.sed.

It was perhaps an hour later before the little negro came to a sudden halt, and lifted his head in the air.

"Smell hosses!" he whispered, snuffing at the breeze for all the world as if he were a dog. "Sartin sure I smell hosses!"

Promptly his hand went to the lamp and extinguished it. Jim heard the catch click to, and found himself in utter darkness. But though he held his head erect, and sniffed with all his power, he could detect nothing but the strong, aromatic scent of some tropical creeper clinging to the trees near at hand, and supporting from the finest tendrils some magnificent blossoms.

"Horses? You're sure?" he asked.

"Sartin sure," came the confidant whisper. "Listen to dat!"

Through the silence of the forest there came of a sudden a dull cough, and then a loud neigh. It was followed by a second, and then, faintly to Jim's ears, but with startling loudness to Sam's, there came the sound of stamping.

"I'se tell yo' all about it," whispered the little negro. "One ob de hosses restless; de flies trouble him. He cough fust ob all, den he neigh. Now he stampin'. Dat all simple, simple as A B C. But him very close; too close. S'pose dem sc.u.m hab seen de lantern."

They crouched in the jungle in death-like silence for the s.p.a.ce of ten minutes, fearful lest what Sam had suggested were the case; but though they listened there came no other sound than the stamp of the restless horse which had first attracted their attention--that and an occasional cough from the same animal. As to Sam's statement that he could smell horses, a statement which must have been true, and which had undoubtedly saved Jim and his party from blundering into the enemy's camp, our hero could not even now detect the characteristic smell. Nor could Ching nor Tom.

"But dem dere all de same," whispered Sam, chuckling at the recollection of his own sharpness, "and precious near too. What yo do, sah? Wait here and listen."

"No; I shall creep forward at once. We'll all go, for if we were to divide we might never find one another. Wasn't there a moon when we started?"

Sam took his young master by the sleeve and pulled his arm towards the right, to a spot where the trees gave back from one another, and a long ghostly stream of pure white light broke in from above and bathed the tree trunks.

"What dat say?" he asked. "Yo can see fo' yoself dat dere's a moon; but down here dark as a ditch, black as de hat. Out in de open splendid light; see to read if yo like to."

"Then we may be able to see them. Lead along, Sam; clear the ground before you as much as you can."

They set forward again, this time on hands and knees, and slowly, inch by inch, approached the clearing where Jaime had made his camp. Not that they could see it yet; but Sam proclaimed the fact that they were nearer with his usual a.s.surance.

"Tell dat by the sniff ob de hosses," he said shortly; "anyone can say dat fo' sure. In ten minute yo see dese sc.u.m, and den know what to do."

True enough, that number of minutes brought the whole party to the edge of the jungle, though as to their knowing how to act, that was a very different matter. Jim stared out into the open, and saw there five figures, huddled within a few feet of one another, wrapped from head to foot in blankets. Farther away were the horses, half-hidden in the shadow cast by the far edge of the jungle, while to one side was a pile of bags and kit, amongst which were the saddles. And little by little, as the scene unfolded itself to our hero, and from gazing at the whole he was able to concentrate his attention on each individual item, he was able to decide which of the five figures was that of his sister.

"She lies to this side of what has been a fire," he told himself, "while those rascals are on the far side. That is in our favour at any rate; but to reach her will be a bother. How's it to be done?"

Once more his eyes pa.s.sed round the clearing. They went from the figure of Sadie to those of the band of ruffians, and from the latter to their saddles and other possessions. Then they pa.s.sed to the horses, and so round the edge of the clearing till he found himself leaning far out from the undergrowth and staring into the faces of his own followers.

There was Sam's, his eyes twinkling as ever in the moonlight, every feature denoting eagerness, while the broad line across the forehead, and beneath the tattered peak of his dirty cap, seemed to show that he, too, was puzzling his brains as to how to act. And there was Ching's Oriental countenance next to Sam's, the slant-like eyes gazing upon the scene as if it were one of the most ordinary, as if he could see nothing before him to arouse unusual interest, nothing to disturb his accustomed equanimity. The man was actually toying with the end of his pigtail, as if he could find nothing better to do. But who could really read those features? Not Jim, nor Sam, nor Tom; not even a European accustomed to China and its natives. The face was inscrutable; those blank, immobile features hid a mind which, for all its seeming somnolence, was working fiercely, relentlessly, and shrewdly to provide a solution for this difficulty. For Ching was possessed of a doglike faithfulness; he would gladly have given his life for that of "the missie" or for that of his master. And Tom--what did his expression show? The thick lips were moving as Jim looked, while the alae of his wide nostrils were dilated widely, pulsating as if with excitement. The usually merry, childish face was set with an expression so severe that our hero was astonished.

It brought a gulp to his throat as he suddenly realized to the full what he had known now for so long, that these three men were such true comrades. Then back went his eyes to the figure of his sister.

"I'll risk it," he whispered to himself. "I'll creep out there and bring her back with me. But supposing they awake, supposing Jaime or one of the others suddenly sits up and lets drive with a shooter?"