His voice sounded strange in the midst of the croaking, chirping, and crying going on, but it started conversation directly.
"I was just going to speak about it, sir, to Mr Rob here. Fish--that"s what it is. They"re come up out of the deep holes and eddies where they lie when the river"s in flood, and spread all about to feed on the worms and insects which have been driven out by the water. If we only had the fishing-line there"d be no fear of getting a meal. Oh, there is no fear of that. We shall be all right till the water goes down, and be able to provide for the cupboard somehow."
"Hush! what"s that?" whispered Rob, as a terrible and mournful cry rang out from somewhere among the trees--a cry which made the puma move uneasily.
"Monkey," said Shaddy. "One of those long spider-like howlers. I daresay it was very pleasant to its friends--yes, hark: there"s another answering him."
"And another, and another," whispered Rob, as cries came from a distance. "But it does not sound so horrible, now that you know what it is."
Then came the peculiar trumpet-like cry of a kind of crane, dominating the chirping, whistling, and croaking, while the shrieking sounds over the open lake-like flood and beneath the trees grew more frequent.
There was plenty to take their attention and help to counteract the tedium of the night; but it was a terribly weary time, and not pa.s.sed without startling episodes. Once there was the loud snorting of some animal swimming from the river over the clearing toward the forest. It was too dark to make it out, but Shaddy p.r.o.nounced it to be a hog-like tapir. At another time their attention was drawn to something else swimming, by the peculiar sound made by the puma, which suddenly grew uneasy; but the creature, whatever it was, pa.s.sed on toward the trees.
Several times over Rob listened to and spoke of the splashings and heavy plunges about the surface.
""Gators," said Shaddy, without waiting to be questioned. "Fish ain"t allowed to have it all their own way. They came over the flooded land to feed, and the "gators came after them."
It was with a wonderful feeling of relief that Rob heard Brazier say, "Morning can"t be far distant," and the guide"s reply:
"Daylight in less than an hour, sir. Croakers and squeakers are all going to sleep fast till darkness comes again."
"Hist! listen!" whispered Rob excitedly.
"Yes, I hear it, sir. Something moving towards us."
"What is it?"
"Don"t know, sir. May be a deer. If it is, so much the better for us, even if it has to be eaten raw. But it"s more likely some kind of cat making for the trees. Hark at your lion there; he"s getting uneasy.
Mate coming to keep him company, perhaps."
They could see the reflections of the stars blurred by the movements of the swimming animal, and that it was going on past them; but it was too dark for them to distinguish the creature, which apparently was making for the forest, but altered its course and began to swim for the tree where the party had taken refuge.
"Oh, come: that will not do," cried Shaddy; "we"re full here. That"s right: drive him away."
This last was to the puma, which suddenly sprang up with an angry snarl, and stood, dimly seen against the stars, with its back arched, tail curved, and teeth bared, uttering fiercely savage sounds at the swimming creature approaching.
"Some kind of cat," said Shaddy in a low voice. "Can"t be a mate, or it would be more friendly. Hi! look out," he said sharply, his voice full of the excitement he felt. "It"s a tiger as sure as I"m here. Out with your knives: we mustn"t let him get into the tree. No, no, Mr Brazier; you"re too weak yet. I"ll tackle him. There"s plenty of room in the other trees. We can"t have the savage brute here."
As the man spoke, he whipped out and opened his keen-bladed Spanish knife, and, getting flat down on his chest to have his arms at liberty, he reached out the point of his knife like a bayonet.
"Take care, Shaddy," cried Rob hoa.r.s.ely, as, knife in hand and holding on by the nearest bough, he peered forward too.
"Trust me, sir. Perhaps if I can get first dig at him before he claws me, he may sheer off. Ah, mind, sir! you"ll have me off. Oh! it"s you, is it?"
The first was a fierce shout of warning, but the second was in a tone of satisfaction.
"I thought it was you come down on my back," growled Shaddy; "but this is as it should be. You never know who"s going to help you at a pinch."
For without warning the puma had silently made one bound from its perch, and alighted upon the flattish surface presented by the old sailor"s back. Then planting itself with outstretched paws firmly on his shoulders, and lowering its head, it opened its jaws and uttered a savage yell, which was answered from the golden-spangled water where the new-comer was swimming.
"It is a tiger, and no mistake," said Shaddy in a low voice; "and we"d better let our lion do the fighting, so long as they don"t claw me.
Mind, old fellow! That"s right. I"ve got fast hold now."
As he was speaking he took a firm grip of a bough by his side, and with breathless suspense Rob and Brazier waited for the next phase in the exciting episode, for they were in momentary expectation of the jaguar, if such it was, reaching the tree, climbing up, and a fierce battle between the two savage creatures ensuing, with a result fatal to their companion, unless in the darkness, while they were engaged in a deadly struggle, he could contrive to direct a fatal blow at the bigger and fiercer beast.
They could now dimly make out its shape as it swam to and fro, hesitating about coming up; for the puma, generally so quiet, gentle and docile, had now suddenly become a furious snarling and hissing creature, with its ears flat to its head and paw raised ready to strike.
"I don"t know what"s going to happen next," said Shaddy in a low voice, "for this is something new to me. I did think I"d gone through pretty well everything; but being made into a platform for a lion and a tiger to fight out a battle"s quite fresh. Suppose you gentlemen get your knives out over my head, so as to try and guard it a bit. Never mind the lion; he won"t touch you while that thing"s in front of him. He can"t think of anything else. I can"t do anything but hold on. That"s right, messmate," he cried, as the puma made a stroke downward with one paw. "You"ll do the business better than I shall."
"It will be light soon," whispered Brazier, as he leaned forward as far as he could, knife in hand.
"Look out, gentlemen; he"s going to land now!"
For the jaguar made a dash forward, after drawing back a bit, and came close up, so that they could see the gleaming of its eyes in its flattened, cruel-looking head.
The puma struck at it again with a savage yell, but it was beyond the reach of its powerful paw, and the jaguar swam to and fro again in front of their defender, evidently feeling itself at a disadvantage and warily waiting for an opportunity to climb up the tree.
This, however, it could not find, and it continued its tactics, swimming as easily and well as an eastern tiger of the Straits, while the puma shifted its position from time to time on Shaddy"s back, making that gentleman grunt softly:
"That"s right: never mind me, messmate. Glad you"ve got so much confidence in me. Keep him off, and give him one of those licks on the side of the head if he does come within reach. You"ll be too much for him, of course. Steady!"
By this time Rob had shifted his position, and was crawling down on the other side of the puma, ready to make a thrust with his knife.
Still the jaguar did not come on, but swam warily to and fro, as a faint light began to dawn upon the strange scene; and the change came rapidly, till there before them was the fierce creature, which paused at last and seemed to float out slowly, raising its paws, while its long tail waved softly behind it on the surface of the water like a snake.
"Now," cried Rob, "he"s going to spring."
He was quite right, for the jaguar gathered itself together, and made a dash which shot it forward; but there was water beneath its powerful hindquarters instead of solid earth, and instead of its alighting from its bound right upon the puma it only forced itself within reach of the tawny animal"s claws, which struck at it right and left with the rapidity of lightning on either side of its neck, and drove it under water.
It rose to the surface to utter a deafening roar, which was answered with savage defiance by the puma from its post of vantage upon Shaddy; but the jaguar was satisfied of its powerless position, and turned and slowly swam toward the huge tree upon their left.
"Why, it"s going to climb up there by the serpent!" cried Rob, in a voice husky with excitement.
At that moment the puma leaped from Shaddy"s back up one of the great branches nearest to the next tree, whence he poured down a fierce torrent of feline defiance upon his more powerful enemy; while Shaddy rose and shook himself just as the rising sun sent a glow of light in the heavens, and illuminated the savage drama commencing in the neighbouring tree.
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.
"OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN INTO THE FIRE."
For all at once, as the jaguar reached the huge trunk, and rapidly clawed its way to the fork, bleeding from both sides of its head, the serpent awoke to the presence of the intruder; its scaly folds glistened and flashed in the morning light, as it quivered in every nerve and coiled itself fold over fold, and the head rose up, the neck a.s.sumed a graceful, swan-like bend, and the jaws were distended, displaying its menacing sets of teeth, ready to be launched forward and fixed with deadly tenacity in an enemy"s throat.
"I"m thinking that we"re going to get rid of an unpleasant neighbour,"
said Shaddy slowly, as the jaguar, reaching the fork of the trunk, seemed for a moment to be about to spring upon its fellow-prisoner in the tree, and then bounded to a great bough and ran up three or four yards. Here it was right above the serpent, with the large bough between them, round which it peered down at its enemy, as it crouched so closely to the rugged bark that it looked like some huge excrescence.
The serpent shrank back a little, lowering its head, but keeping it playing about menacingly, as its eyes glittered in the sunlight.
Then there was a pause, during which the puma crouched down above Rob"s head, uttering from time to time a low growl, as it watched the jaguar, which began pa.s.sing its paws alternately over its wounded head and licking them, exactly as a cat would have done on a rug before the fire.