The Hot Swamp Part 32

"Good! This is rare good luck. We, too, will search for Bladud and slay him. It is not every day that a man has the chance to kill a giant with leprosy, and a king's son into the bargain."

"I also learned," continued the scout, "that some lady of the court has fled, and the army is to search of her too."

"What! more women? Why, it seems as if these woods here must be swarming with them. I should not wonder, too, if it was Hudibras' own daughter that has run away. Not unlikely, for the king is well known to be a tyrannical old fellow. H'm! we will search for her also. If we find them all, I shall have more than enough of wives--the king's daughter, and Gadarn's daughter, and this run-away-lad, whoever she may be! Learned you anything more?"

"Nothing more, except that Gadarn intends to make an early start to-morrow morning."

"It is well. We, also, will make an early--an even earlier--start to-morrow morning. To your food, now, my men, and then--to rest!"

While the robber chief was thus conversing with his scouts, two men were advancing through the forest, one of whom was destined to interfere with the plans which were so well conceived by Addedomar. These were our friends Arkal and Maikar.

Filled with a sort of wild romance, which neither the waves of the sea nor the dangers of the land could abate, these two shipmates marched through the woods all unconscious, of course, of the important part they were destined to play in that era of the world's history. The two sailors were alone, having obtained leave to range right and left in advance of the column to which they were attached, for the purpose of hunting.

"We are not much to boast of in the way of shooting," remarked Arkal; "but the troops don't know that, and good luck may prevent them finding it out."

"Just so," returned Maikar, "good luck may also bring us within arrow-shot of a wolf. I have set my heart on taking home a wolf-skin to that little woman with the black eyes that I've spoken to you about sometimes."

"Quite right, young man," said the captain, in an approving tone.

"Nothing pleases folk so much as to find that they have been remembered by you when far away. Moreover, I think you stand a good chance, for I saw two wolves the other day when I was rambling about, but they were out of range."

Chance or luck--whichever it was--did not bring a wolf within range that day, but it brought what was more important and dangerous--namely, a large brown bear. The animal was seated under a willow tree, with its head on one side as if in meditation, when the men came upon it. An intervening cliff had prevented the bear from hearing the footsteps of the men, and both parties, being taken by surprise, stared at each other for a moment in silence.

No word was spoken, but next instant the bear ran at them, and stood up on its hind legs, according to bear-nature, to attack. At the same moment both men discharged arrows at it with all their force. One arrow stuck in the animal's throat, the other in his chest. But bears are proverbially hard to kill, and no vital part had been reached. Dropping their bows, the men turned and made for the nearest trees. They separated in doing so, and the bear lost a moment or two in making up its mind which to follow. Fortunately it decided in favour of Maikar.

Had it followed Arkal, it would have caught him, for the captain, not being as agile as might be wished, missed his first spring up his tree, and slid back to the bottom.

Maikar, on the other hand, went up like a squirrel. Now, the little seaman had been told that some kinds of bears can climb while others cannot. Remembering the fact, he glanced anxiously down, as he went up.

To his horror he saw that this bear could climb! and that his only chance would be to climb so high, that the branches which would bear his weight would not support the bear. It was a forlorn hope, but he resolved to try it.

Arkal, in the meantime, had recovered breath and self-possession.

Seeing the danger of his comrade, he boldly dropped to the ground, picked up his bow, ran under the other tree, and sent an arrow deep into the bear's flank. With a savage growl, the animal looked round, saw the captain getting ready a second arrow, and immediately began to descend.

This rather disconcerted Arkal, who discharged his arrow hastily and missed.

Dropping his bow a second time he ran for dear life to his own tree and scrambled up. But he need not have been in such haste, for although some bears can ascend trees easily, they are clumsy and slow in descending. Consequently the captain was high up before his enemy began to climb. That was of little advantage, however, for in a few moments the bear would have been up with him, had not Maikar, moved by the consideration no doubt, that one good turn deserves another, dropped quickly to the ground, picked up his bow and repeated the captain's operation, with even more telling effect, for his arrow made the bear so furious, that he turned round to bite it. In doing so he lost his hold, and fell to the ground with such a thud, that he drove the arrow further into him, and a vicious squeal out of him.

At this point little Maikar resolved to vary the plan of action. He stood his ground manfully, and, when the bear arose with a somewhat confused expression, he planted another arrow up to the feathers in its chest. Still the creature was unsubdued. It made a rush, but the sailor sprang lightly behind a tree, getting ready an arrow as he did so. When the animal rushed at him again, it received the shaft deep in the left shoulder, so that, with blood pouring from its many wounds, it stumbled and fell at its next rush.

Seeing how things were going, you may be sure that Arkal did not remain an idle spectator. He dropped again from the outer end of the bough he had reached, and when the bear rose once more to its feet, it found a foe on either side of it.

"Don't shoot together," panted Maikar, for all this violent action was beginning to tell on him. "Do you shoot first."

This was said while the bear was in a state of indecision.

The captain obeyed and put another arrow in its neck. The bear turned savagely on him, thus exposing its side to Maikar, who took swift advantage of the chance, and, sending an arrow straight to its heart, turned it over dead!

It must be remarked here, that all this shooting was done at such close range that, although the two seamen were, as we have said, rather poor shots, they had little difficulty in hitting so large an object.

"Now, then, out with your knife and off with the claws for the little woman at home with the black eyes," said Arkal, wiping the perspiration from his brow, "and be quick about it, so as to have it done before the troops come up."

The little man was not long in accomplishing the job, and he had just put the claws in his pouch, and was standing up to wipe his knife, when the captain suddenly grasped his arm and drew him behind the trunk of a tree, from which point of vantage he cautiously gazed with an anxious expression and a dark frown.

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.

ENEMIES, FRIENDS, SCOUTS, SKIRMISHES, AND COUNCILS OF WAR.

Arkal's attention had been arrested by the figure of a man who suddenly appeared from behind a cliff not four hundred yards distant from the scene of their recent exploit. The stealthy manner in which the man moved among the bushes, and the earnest gaze which he directed from time to time in one particular direction, showed clearly that he was watching the movements of something--it might be a deer or an enemy.

"Evidently he has not seen us," whispered Maikar.

"Clear enough that, for he is not looking this way," returned Arkal.

"He presents his back to us in a careless way, which he would hardly do if he knew that two crack bowmen were a hundred yards astern of him."

"Shall I shoot him?" whispered Maikar, preparing his weapons.

"He may be a friend," returned the captain. "But, see! yonder comes what interests him so much. Look!"

He pointed to a distant ridge, over the brow of which the head of Gunrig's column of men was just appearing.

"He is a scout!" exclaimed Maikar.

"Ay, and you may be sure that an enemy is not far off ahead of our column--unless, perchance, he may be the scout of some tribe friendly to the king. Hold your hand, Maikar. You are ever too ready to fight.

Listen, now; yonder is a convenient hollow where I may get into the thick wood unseen by this scout, and run back to warn our friends.

Ahead, yonder, is a narrow pa.s.s which leads, no doubt, into the next valley. Run you, as fast as your legs can wag, get through that pa.s.s, and see what you can see. In the nature of things the scout is almost sure to return through it, if he intends to carry the news of our approach to his people, who are probably there. You must hide and do the best you can to prevent him from doing this--either by killing him or knocking him down. Be off, we have no time to lose."

"But how if he should be a friend?" asked Maikar with a smile. "How am I to find out?"

Arkal paused and was perplexed.

"You must just exercise your wisdom," he replied. "If the fellow has an ill-looking countenance, kill him. If he looks a sensible sort of man, stretch him out somehow. I would offer to go instead of you, being more of a match for him, but I could not match his legs or yours, so it might well chance that he would reach the pa.s.s before me."

"Pooh, captain," retorted Maikar, with a look of scorn. "Ye think too much of yourself, and are unwarrantably puffed up about the advantage of size."

Without a reply--save a grin--Arkal turned, and, jumping into the bushes, was immediately out of sight. His comrade, before starting off to carry out his part of the programme, took a good look at the scout whom he was bound to circ.u.mvent.

He was evidently a tall, powerful man, armed with a bow, a short sword, and a stout staff somewhat longer than himself. That he was also a brave and cool man seemed probable, from the fact that, instead of hurrying off hastily to warn his friends that troops were in sight, he stood calmly leaning on his staff as if for the purpose of ascertaining the exact number of the strangers before reporting them.

He was still engaged in this inspection when Maikar started off and fled on the wings of hope and excitement toward the pa.s.s. Arrived there, his first glance revealed to him the troops of Addedomar busy with their evening meal in the valley below.

"The question is, are they friends or foes?" thought the little seaman.

"H'm! it's an awkward thing for a poor fellow not to be quite sure whether to prepare for calms or squalls. Such a misfortune never could befall one at sea. Well, I must just take them to be foes till they prove themselves to be friends. And this scout, what in the world am I to do about _him_? I have no heart to hide in the bushes and shoot him dead as he pa.s.ses."

The little man had probably forgotten his readiness to shoot the scout in the back only a few minutes before--but is not mankind at large p.r.o.ne to inconsistency at times?

"I know what I'll do," he muttered, pursuing his thoughts, and nodding his head, as he stepped aside into the shrubbery that clothed the slopes of the pa.s.s.

Cutting down a suitable branch from a tree, he quickly stripped off the smaller branches and reduced it to a staff about six feet in length.

Then, hiding himself behind a part of the cliff which ab.u.t.ted close on the footpath that had been worn through the pa.s.s by men and wild animals, he laid his bow and quiver at his feet and awaited the coming of the scout.

He had not to wait long, for that worthy, having ascertained the size of the invading band, came down the pa.s.s at a swinging trot. Just as he pa.s.sed the jutting rock his practised eye caught sight of Maikar in time to avoid the blow of the pole or staff, which was aimed at his head, but not to escape the dig in the ribs with which the little man followed it up.