"It"s of no use, my lad," he said. "I"m very sorry, but we"ve drove it too late. The more we try the farther we shall get in the wood."
"What do you mean to do, then?" said Rob, wearily.
"Light a fire, and get some boughs together for a bed."
"Oh, Shaddy, don"t you think we might reach camp if we went on?" cried Rob, despairingly.
"Well, we"ll try, Mr Rob, sir; but I"m afraid not. Now, if your friend there would be a good comrade and bring in our supper, we could roast it, and be all right here, but he won"t, so we"ll try to get along. We shall be no worse off farther on, only we may be cutting ourselves out more work when it"s day. Shall we try?"
"Yes, try," said Rob; and he now took the lead, on the chance of finding the way. A quarter of an hour later, just as he was about to turn and give up, ready for lighting a fire to cook nothing, but only too glad of the chance of throwing himself down to rest, Shaddy uttered a cheery cry.
"Well done, Mr Rob, sir!" he said. "You"re right. Camp"s just ahead."
"What! How do you know?"
"By that big, flop-branched tree, with the great supports like stays. I remember it as well as can be. Off to the right, sir, and in a quarter of an hour we shall be in the clearing."
"Unless that"s one of thousands of trees that grow like it," said Rob sadly, as he pressed on.
"Nay, sir, I could swear to that one, sir, dark as it is. Now, you look up in five minutes, and see if you can"t make out stars."
Rob said nothing, but tramped on, forcing his way among trees which he only avoided now by extending his bow and striking to right and left.
Five minutes or so afterwards he cast up his eyes, but without expecting to see anything, when a flash of hope ran through him, and he shouted joyfully,--
"Stars, Shaddy, stars!" and as a grunt of satisfaction came from behind, he raised his voice to the highest pitch he could command, and roared out, "Mr Brazier I Mr Brazier! Ahoy!"
Shaddy took up the cry in stentorian tones--
"Ahoy! Ahoy! Ahoy!" and the shout was answered.
"There he is!" cried Rob, joyfully. "Hurrah!"
Shaddy was silent.
"Didn"t you hear, Shaddy? Mr Brazier answered. You are right: he did get back, after all."
Still Shaddy remained silent, only increasing his pace in the darkness, lightened now by the stars which overarched them, so as to keep up with Rob"s eager strides.
"Why don"t you speak, man? Let"s shout again: Mr Brazier! Ahoy!"
"Mr Brazier! Ahoy!" came back faintly.
"I don"t like to damp you, Mr Rob, sir," said Shaddy, sadly, "but you don"t see as we"re out in the clearing again. That"s only the echo from the trees across the river. He isn"t here."
"No," said Rob, with a groan; "he isn"t here."
Just then there was a rustling sound behind them, and a low growl, followed by a strange sound which Rob understood at once.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
THE FOUR-FOOTED FRIEND.
The lad said nothing, so great was the change from hope to despondency; and he hardly noticed the sound close beside him, as Shaddy said gruffly--
"Well, if any one had told me that, I wouldn"t have believed it!"
"Is it any use to shout again, Shaddy?" said Rob, as he looked down at the indistinctly-seen shape of the dull tawny-coated puma, which had carried its captive after them to the clearing, and had now quietly lain down to its feast.
"No, Mr Rob, sir; if he"s here, it"s in the shelter-place we made, utterly done up with tramping. Let"s go and see."
It was no easy task to get even there in the darkness, but they soon after stood at the end, and Rob convinced himself in a few moments that they were alone.
"Oh, Shaddy!" he cried piteously, "he hasn"t come back. What can we do to find him?"
"I"ll show you, sir," said the man, quietly. "First thing is to make up the fire."
"For him to see? Yes; that"s right."
"Man couldn"t see the fire many yards away in the wood, Mr Rob, sir. I meant for us, so as to roast a bit of that deer, if the lion"ll let us have it."
"I must do something to help Mr Brazier!" said Rob, angrily.
"That"s helping him, my lad--having a good meal to make us strong.
After that we"ll have a good sleep to make us rested."
"Oh, no! no!" cried Rob, angrily.
"But I say yes, yes, yes, sir!" said Shaddy, firmly. "I know what you feel, my lad, and it"s quite nat"ral; but just hark ye here a moment.
Can we do anything to find him in that black darkness to-night?"
"No," said Rob, in despair; "it is, I know, impossible."
"Quite right, my lad. Then as soon as it"s daylight oughtn"t we to be ready to go and help him?"
"Of course, Shaddy."
"Then how can we do most good,--as half-starved, worn-out fellows, without an ounce of pluck between us, or well-fed, strong, and refreshed, ready to tramp any number of hours, and able to carry him if it came to the worst? Answer me that."
"Come and light the fire, Shaddy," said Rob, quietly.
"Ah!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the old sailor, and he led the way to where the embers lay, warm still, and with plenty of dry wood about. Five minutes after the fire was blazing merrily and illumining the scene.
"Now," cried Shaddy, "if your Tom would play fair, and let us have the hind-quarters of that deer, we might have it instead of the lizard.
He"ll only eat the neck, I daresay. Shall we try him? I don"t think he"d show fight at you, sir."