The Ocean Cat's Paw Part 65

"Ay, ay, my lad; that's our old man," shouted Joe.

"And there's the Count, and eight men rowing hard, in the other, but-- but--oh, I say, Morny isn't there!"

"Oh, he's being skipper and taking care of the brig, sir," cried Joe sharply, as he noted the boy's disappointed tone of voice.

"No, he isn't," shouted Rodd, signalling with his pole, as he saw one of the rowers rise up in the brig's boat and begin waving an oar; "he's pulling with the men!" And his voice sounded hoa.r.s.e and choking, while, realising this fact, the boy coughed loudly and forcibly, as if to clear his throat.

"Here, you've ketched a cold, Mr Rodd, sir," cried Joe. "But never mind them behind in the boats. They'll ketch us up soon. There's another of them beauties coming at us. The beggars do seem hungry this morning. We hardly seed any of them when we were coming up yesterday.

Why, of course, this is their breakfast-time, and the sight of us has made them peckish. Now then, all together, lads! Let him have it."

Four poles were thrust together, with somewhat similar effects to those on the last occasion, for the onset of the great reptile was diverted, the boat's head turned aside, and the blows aimed at them by the creature's tail fell short, though to the men's dismay their efforts had driven them towards another of the monsters, which was gliding towards them from their left.

But here again they successfully turned the creature aside, and Rodd exclaimed--

"Suppose we missed!"

"Oh, the beggars are too big to miss, sir," cried Briggs. "But suppose we did; what then, sir?"

"I don't know," cried Rodd excitedly. "What do you say, Joe?"

"I don't know, sir. I never learned crocodile at school, though there was one in my spelling-book, and I 'member I couldn't understand why a four-legged chap like him, as lived in the water, should make a nest and lay eggs like a bird. Here, Harry, let me handle that pole for a few minutes. I should like to have a turn. Thank you, lad," he continued.

"Yes, they're rum beasts, Mr Rodd, sir, and I dare say they are very slippery; but I don't suppose I shall miss the next one--Ah! Would yer!" he shouted as one of the reptiles rose suddenly, open-mouthed, close to the boat's head.

As the man spoke he made a heavy thrust with his pole, his companions having no time to take aim, and the next moment the hideous jaws snapped to, there was a fresh swirl, the bamboo pole was jerked out of Joe's hand, and he would have overbalanced himself and gone overboard had not those nearest to him seized him and s.n.a.t.c.hed him back.

"Well, now," he cried, "just look at that!" For about half of the bamboo remained visible and went sailing up the stream.

Just then there was the sharp report of a gun from behind, followed by another, while before there was time for re-loading there was the loud _crack, crack_ of a double fowling-piece.

"Hurrah! That's uncle!" cried Rodd. "They are firing at the crocodiles, and it will be with bullets."

"And sarve them jolly well right, Mr Rodd, say I," cried Joe, "for I call it taking a mean advantage of a man to sneak off like that with his pole. Why, look at him, sir. He's having a regular lark with it-- picking his teeth, or something. Look how he's waggling the top of it about. What do you say to try and steer after him and get it back?"

"Ugh! No!" cried Rodd. "It would be madness."

"Well, not quite so bad as that, sir. Say about half-cracked; and that's about what I'm beginning to think. I say, they are getting all the fun behind there."

"Look out; here comes another!" cried Rodd, for there was a pair of eyes in front gliding rapidly towards them just above the water, but apparently not satisfied with the appearance of the boat, or perhaps less ravenous, the two prominences softly disappeared before they were close up, and Joe Cross, evidently divining what might happen, suddenly caught Rodd round the waist and forced him down into the bottom of the boat.

"Look out, my lads!" he yelled.

As he spoke the hinder part of the boat began slowly to rise, showing that they were gliding right over a reptile's back. Then it was turned to starboard, the water coming almost to the edge; but as it glided on it began to sink to the level again, just as it received a heavy shock from below and was driven forward with a jerk just far enough to escape a blow from a serrated tail which rose astern and showered the water over them in so much blinding spray.

"Here, ahoy there!" shouted Joe. "Look alive, and bring up them guns!

There's more sport up here than we want. I wouldn't care, Mr Rodd, if we had got our oars and my boat-hook. Nay, I don't know, though. It's just as well I haven't, for I should be getting it stuck perhaps, and never see that no more."

A few minutes after, while the firing was kept up from astern, the two boats came up on either side, and amidst the heartiest of congratulations Rodd cried--

"Ah, uncle, you have overtaken us at last! I am glad you have come!"

"Overtaken you, my boy! Why, we have been miles down the river towards the mouth. We started as soon as the tide was slack enough for us to leave the vessels. We must have pa.s.sed you in the fog, and we were beginning to despair. But we came upon one of the sailors' caps hanging in a bough, when, thinking that perhaps we had gone too far, and Captain Chubb feeling sure that you had run ash.o.r.e somewhere in the darkness, perhaps been carried right into the flooded forest, we came back and--"

He ceased speaking, took a quick aim over the side of the boat, and discharged the contents of his double gun into the head of a reptile which rose three or four yards away.

"The brutes!" he went on. "But there don't appear to be so many here.

We seem to have been coming through quite a shoal."

"There's plenty of them," growled the skipper, "but three boats together scares them a bit. Here, my lads, lay hold of this line and make fast, and we will give you a tow back to the schooner. We shan't be long getting up to it with this tide. Why, hallo here! Not content with losing the oars and boat-hook, you've been and got the gig stove in!

And the grapnel gone too! Here, you Joe Cross, what's the meaning of all this?"

"I'll tell you about that, captain, by and by," said Rodd quickly.

"What's that? You want to come aboard, Morny? No, you had better not.

It's all muddy, and we shall have to begin baling. Pitch us in a couple of tins."

"I'll bring them," cried the young Frenchman, rising in the boat.--"Yes, my father, I wish to go. Hook on, and let me get aboard," he continued to the French c.o.xswain.

Half-an-hour later, with the men taking it in turns to bale, and with the crocodiles seeming to have become more scarce, they ran up alongside of the two anch.o.r.ed vessels, cheering and being cheered from the moment they came into sight.

"Now, my lads," cried the doctor, "every one of you take what I'll mix up for you directly, and have a good bathe and rub down. I am not going to have you all down with fever if I can stave it off."

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.

TALKING LIKE A BOY.

Perhaps it was nearly all weariness and the result of the excitement, but it may have been due to Uncle Paul's potion; at any rate Rodd went off fast asleep, and when he awoke it was to find Morny sitting by his cot. "Hullo!" he cried. "You here!"

"Yes, I am here," was the reply. "How are you?"

"Oh, I am all right. Have I been to sleep?"

"Well, yes, you have been to sleep," said Morny, smiling at him in a rather peculiar way.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Oh, I was only smiling at you."

"What, am I scratched and knocked about?"

"Oh, very slightly."

"But I say, I am so precious hungry. What time is it?"

"Just upon six. Some bells or another, as you call it."

"Get out! Why, it was seven o'clock this morning when I lay down to sleep after my bath; so how can it be six o'clock? You don't mean to say that it is six o'clock in the evening?"

"Indeed, but I do. You had better jump up, or it will soon be dark."