It was toil which required constant effort, and they won their way upward very slowly. Twice over they lost ground by the giving way of the branch to which the rope had been attached, and once the boat-hook slipped from the Indian"s hand and floated down-stream past the boat, the heavy iron end causing it to keep nearly upright. For a few moments it disappeared, but came gently to the surface again just as it was pa.s.sing the stern, when the boys gave a ringing cheer, for, leaning out as far as he could, Brazier secured it and pa.s.sed it back to the man.
Of minor troubles there were plenty. At one moment they would be covered with insects which were rudely shaken from the boughs; at another some branch beneath which they were pa.s.sing would threaten to sweep the canvas cabin out of the boat; and once it was Joe, whose flannel was caught by a snaggy end and hung there with the boat pa.s.sing from under him till a chorus of cries made the stalwart boatman cease his efforts and look back at the mischief he was causing as he hauled.
But, in spite of all difficulties, the boat was slowly drawn over the ground lost in the wild race downward, till at last the lake was reached, and a few st.u.r.dy efforts sufficed to drag it once more into still water.
"Once is enough for a job like that, Master Rob," said Shaddy, as he wiped his dripping brow with the back of his hand.
"It was hard work," replied Rob.
"Ay, "twas; and if you wouldn"t mind saying you were so hungry you didn"t know what to do, it would be doing us all a kindness, and make Mr Brazier think about meat instead of vegetables."
He gave his head a nod sidewise at Brazier"s back, for as the men rested under the shade of a tree the naturalist was busy hauling down some lovely cl.u.s.ters of blossoms from overhead.
"You mean you want some dinner, Shaddy?"
"That"s it, sir. This here engine will soon stop working if you don"t put on more coal."
"I"ll give him a hint," said Rob, laughing; and he did, the result being that Brazier gave the word for the men to row right across toward the clearing--a task they eagerly commenced in spite of the heat and the st.u.r.dy effort required to force a way through the dense covering of broad green leaves. They had the river to cross on their way, and as the clear stream was neared a long way above its exit from the lake the men, as if moved by one impulse, ceased rowing, and paused to take their breath before making a st.u.r.dy effort to cross it without losing ground.
It was a necessary precaution, for the moment the bows of the boat issued from among the dense growth the stem was pressed heavily downward, and the opposite side of the stream was reached after quite a sharp fight. Then the long, steady pull was commenced again, and, with the leaves brushing against the side, they forced their way onward till the clearing came in view.
The faint curl of bluish smoke encouraged the men to fresh efforts, all thinking of broiled deer meat and a fragrant cup of coffee, both of which afforded grateful refreshment soon after they touched the sh.o.r.e.
"Will it be safe to attempt to continue our journey down that part of the river?" Brazier asked as they were seated afterward in the shade.
"Oh yes, sir, safe enough," replied Shaddy.
"But suppose we have to come back the same way?"
"Well, sir, we can do it, only it will take time."
"You will not mind, Mr Brazier?" said Joe, smiling.
"Indeed I shall, for the work is terrible. Why did you say that?"
"Because you will have such a chance to collect, sir. I saw hundreds of beautiful blossoms which I thought you would like to get, and you could gather them while the men rested."
"Ay, to be sure, sir. Don"t you mind about that river being swift!
Only wants contriving, and for you to know what"s coming, so as to be prepared. Now I know what to expect, I can manage. I shall just set two of the fellows to pull gently, and go down starn first, and always sit there ready with the boat-hook to hitch on to a tree if we are going too fast. You trust me, sir, spite of all that"s gone before, and I"ll do my best for you and the young gents till your journey"s done, though I don"t see any coming back this way."
"Of course I shall trust you," said Brazier. "What"s the matter?"
"Trust me now then, sir," cried Shaddy, who had leaped up, and was looking sharply round. "Get aboard, all of you. Now, boys!" he roared to his men, and he pointed to the sky.
Shaddy"s orders were obeyed, and though there seemed to be no reason for the preparations made, the guide was so confident of the coming of a heavy storm that the waterproof sheet brought for such an emergency was quickly drawn over the canvas roof of their little cabin and made fast; the boat was moored head and stern close up to the bank and beneath a huge, sheltering tree, the balers were laid ready for use in the fore-part and the stern; and when this was all done, and the greatest care taken to keep powder and bedding dry, Brazier turned and looked at Shaddy.
"Well," he said, "is not this a false alarm?"
"No, sir; there"s a storm coming. We shall have it soon. Good job we"d got the cooking done."
"But I can"t see a cloud," said Rob.
"Don"t matter," replied Joe, who was also looking keenly round. "I"ve seen the heavy rain come streaming down when the sky has been quite clear, and the water has felt quite warm. Look at those fellows; they know the storm"s coming, or they would not do that."
He pointed toward the boatmen, who were throwing a tarpaulin across the bows, ready for them to creep under as soon as the rain came.
"False alarm, boys!" said Brazier.
Shaddy overheard him, and wrinkled up his face in a curious grin as he looked hard at Rob. It was as much as to say, "All right! Just you wait a bit and see who"s right and who"s wrong."
"My word, how hot!" cried Rob the next minute, for the sun appeared to be shining down through a kind of transparent haze so dense that it acted like a burning gla.s.s.
"Yes, this is fierce," said Joe, drawing back into the shade afforded by the great tree.
"It would give one sunstroke, wouldn"t it, if we stopped in the full blaze?"
"I suppose so. But I say, Shaddy"s right. We are going to have a storm."
"How do you know?"
"By the sun gleaming out like that."
"Oh, I don"t think that"s anything," said Rob. "Here, let"s get up into this tree and collect some orchids for Mr Brazier."
He looked up into the large forest monarch as he spoke--a tree which on three sides was wonderfully laden with great drooping boughs.
Consequent upon its position at the western corner of the clearing where the boat was moored, the boughs formed a magnificent shelter for their boat down almost to the water, while on the side of the opening they pretty well touched the ground.
But Rob paid little heed to this, his attention being taken up by the fact that, though there was perfect silence, the tree was alive with birds and monkeys, which were huddled together in groups, as if their instinct had taught them that a terrible convulsion of nature was at hand. As a rule they would have taken flight or scampered about through the branches as soon as human beings had come to the tree, but now, as if aware of some great danger, they were content to share the shelter and run all risks.
"See them, Master Rob?" said Shaddy, with a grin. "No mistake this time! Look out; I daresay there"ll be snakes dropping down there by-and-by, but so long as you don"t touch "em I don"t s"pose they"ll touch us. Shouldn"t wonder if we get something else."
Just then Brazier called him to draw his attention to some of the covering, and they heard him say,--
"Don"t see as we can do any more, sir. Things are sure to get wet; you can"t stop it. All we can do is to keep "em from getting wetter than we can help."
The sun still shone brilliantly, streaming down, as it were, through the leaves of the great tree like a shower of silver rain, but the silence now was painful, and Rob strained his ears to catch the peculiar modulation of one of the cricket-like insects which were generally so common around. But not one made a sound, and at last, as if troubled by the silence, the boy cried half jeeringly, "All this trouble for nothing! I say, Joe, where"s the storm?"
"Here!" was the reply in a whisper, as all at once out of the clear sky great drops of rain came pattering down, then great splashes; and directly after, with a hissing rush, there were sheets of rushing water streaming through the branches and splashing upon the tarpaulin coverings of the boat.
"I say, I never saw it rain like this before," cried Rob as he sheltered himself beneath the tarpaulin and canvas. "Will it thunder--"
He was going to say, "too," but the word remained unspoken, and he shrank back appalled by a blinding flash of vivid blue lightning, which seemed to dash through beneath their shelter and make every face look of a ghastly bluish-grey.
Almost simultaneously there was a deafening peal of thunder, and, as if by an instantaneous change--probably by some icy current of air on high--the moisture-laden atmosphere was darkened by dense mists whirling and looking like foam, clouds of slaty black shut out the sun, and the rain came down in a perfect deluge, streaming through the tree and pouring into the lake with one incessant roaring splash.
One moment beneath the awning it was black as night, the next it was all one dazzling glare, while in peal after peal the mighty thunder came, one clap succeeding another before it had had time to die away in its long metallic reverberations, that sounded as if the thunder rolled away through some vast iron tunnel.
No one attempted to speak, but all crowded together listening awe-stricken to the deafening elemental war, one thought dominating others in their minds, and it was this: "Suppose one of these terrible flashes of lightning strikes the tree!"