Produced by Robert Prince, Juliet Sutherland, CharlesFranks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
Pampas. THE FIGHT WITH THE PUMA]
ON THE PAMPAS OR THE YOUNG SETTLERS
BY
G. A. HENTY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
Mrs. Hardy's Resolution
CHAPTER II.
The Start
CHAPTER III.
A New Life
CHAPTER IV.
The Pampas
CHAPTER V.
The Settler's Home
CHAPTER VI.
A Tale of the Mexican War
CHAPTER VII.
Seth Continues His Narrative of the Mexican Adventure
CHAPTER VIII.
Farm Work and Amusements
CHAPTER IX.
Neighborly Visits and Advice
CHAPTER X.
The Lost Cattle
CHAPTER XI.
Quiet Times
CHAPTER XII.
A Steady Hand
CHAPTER XIII.
The Indian Attack
CHAPTER XIV.
Terrible News
CHAPTER XV.
The Pampas on Fire
CHAPTER XVI.
At the stake
CHAPTER XVII.
Rescued
CHAPTER XVIII.
And last
CHAPTER I.
MRS. HARDY'S RESOLUTION.
"What are you thinking of, Frank?" Mrs. Hardy asked her husband oneevening, after an unusually long silence on his part.
"Well, my dear, I was thinking of a good many things. In the firstplace, I think, I began with wondering what I should make of theboys; and that led to such a train of thoughts about ourselves andour circumstances that I hardly knew where I was when you spoke tome."
Mr. Hardy spoke cheerfully, but his wife saw at once that it waswith an effort that he did so. She put down the work upon which shewas engaged, and moved her chair nearer to his by the fire. "It isa serious question, Frank, about the boys. Charley is fifteen now,and Hubert fourteen. I wonder myself sometimes what we shall dowith them."
"There seems no opening here in England for young fellows. Theprofessions are crowded, even if they were not altogether beyondour means; and as to a clerkship, they had better have a trade, andstick to it: they would be far happier, and nearly as well paid.The fact is, Clara," and here Mr. Hardy paused a little, as if togain courage to say what he feared would be very disagreeable tohis wife--"the fact is, we are altogether too crowded here. Thebest thing for the children, by far, and I think the best thing forourselves, would be to emigrate."
Mrs. Hardy gave a little sigh, but said nothing, and sat lookingquietly into the fire, as her husband went on: "You see, my dear, Iam just, and only just, earning enough for us to live upon. Nor isthere any strong probability of an increase of business. The boys,as you say, are growing up, and I see no prospect of giving them afair start in life. Abroad it is altogether different: we can buyland and stock it for next to nothing. We should live roughly,certainly; but at least there is no fear for the future, and weshould start our boys in life with a fair certainty of success.Still, Clara, I do not of course mean that I have made up my mindupon the subject. It is far too serious a matter to decide uponhastily. I only threw out the suggestion; and if you, afterthinking it over, are against it, there is an end of the matter."
Mrs. Hardy was silent for a little, and a tear sparkled on hercheek in the firelight; then she said, "I am not surprised, Frank,at what you have said. In fact I have expected it for some time. Ihave observed you looking over books upon foreign countries, andhave seen that you often sat thoughtful and quiet. I guessed,therefore, what you had in your mind. Of course, dear, as a woman,I shrink from the thought of leaving all our friends and going toquite a strange country, but I don't think that I am afraid of thehardships or discomfort. Thousands of other women have gone throughthem, and there is no reason why I should not do the same. I dothink with you that it would be a good thing for the boys, perhapsfor the girls too; and that, when we have got over the firsthardships, we too should be happier and more free from care than weare now. So you see, Frank, you will meet with no opposition fromme; and if, after deliberation, you really determine that it is thebest thing to do, I shall be ready to agree with you. But it is ahard thought just at first, so please do not say any more about itto-night."
Mr. Hardy was an architect, as his father had been before him. Hehad not, however, entered the office at the usual age, but wheneighteen had gone out to the United States, to visit an uncle whohad settled there. After spending some time with him, the love ofadventure had taken him to the far West, and there he had huntedand shot for nearly three years, till a letter, long delayed on theway, entreated him to return to England, as his father's health wasfailing. He at once started for England, and found that his fatherwas in a feeble state of health, but was still able to carry on thebusiness. Frank saw, however, that he was unequal to the work, andso entered the office, working hard to make up for lost time. Hewas a good draughtsman, and was shortly able to take a great burdenoff his father's shoulders.
He had not been long at home, however, before he fell in love withClara Aintree, the daughter of a clergyman; and his father makingover to him a share in the business, they were married just asFrank attained his twenty-fourth year, his wife being aboutnineteen. Two years after the marriage Mr. Hardy senior died, andfrom that time Frank had carried on the business alone.
B--- was a large provincial town, but it scarcely affordedremunerative employment for an architect; and although Mr. Hardyhad no competitor in his business, the income which he derived fromit was by no means a large one, and the increasing expenses of hisfamily rendered the struggle to make ends meet yearly more severe.His father had been possessed of a small private fortune, but hadrashly entered into the mania of railway speculation, and at hisdeath had left about fifteen thousand dollars to his son. This sumFrank Hardy had carefully preserved intact, as he had foreseen thatthe time might come when it would, for his children's sake, beadvisable to emigrate. He had long looked forward to this, buthad abstained from taking any step until his sons were of an age to beable to make themselves useful in a life in the bush or upon theprairies.
Frank Hardy, at the time our story begins, was about forty. He wasa tall, active man, and the life he had led in America when younghad hardened his muscles, and given him the full use of everyfaculty.
Mrs. Hardy was five years younger than her husband, and scarcelylooked thirty years old. She was a high-spirited woman, well fittedto be her husband's companion in the dangers and hardships of asettler's life.
The subject of emigration once started, was frequently continued,and presently books and maps began to be consulted, and theadvantages and disadvantages of the various countries and coloniesto be debated. Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Hardy agreed that theArgentine Republic, in its magnificent rivers, its boundless extentof fertile land, in its splendid climate, its cheap labor, and itsprobable prospects, offered the greatest advantages.
The decision once arrived at, it was determined to announce it tothe children, who had up to this time no idea of the great changedecided upon. Breakfast was over, and the boys, whose holidays hadjust begun, were about to leave the table, when their father said:"Wait a moment, boys; there is something we want to talk to youabout."
The boys resumed their seats. "Your mamma and I have been wonderingwhat you boys are to become, and we do not see any openings likelyto occur here. Now, what should you say to us all emigrating?"
"What, going abroad, papa!" they both exclaimed joyously.
"Yes, boys, set
tling in the backwoods or in the prairies."
"Oh, that would be jolly," Charley said, "I know, I papa, havingfights with Indians, and all that sort of thing. Oh, it would beglorious!"
"Well, Charley," his father said, smiling, "I do not know that weshall have fights with Indians, nor do think it would be very jollyif we did. But we should have to rough it, you know; you boyswould have to work hard, to help me in everything, and to look afterthe cattle and sheep."
"What fun! what fun!" the boys both shouted; "we should like it ofall things in the world."
"And what do you think of it, Maud and Ethel?" their mamma askedthe two little girls, who were looking very surprised, but ratherdoubtful as to the pleasure of the fights with Indians which theirbrothers had spoken so delightedly about. "You will have to be twovery useful little women, and will have to help me just as the boyswill have to help your papa. Very likely we may not be able to geta servant there, and then we shall have to do everything."
"That will be fine, mamma," said Maud, who was rather over twelve,while her sister was just eleven. "I don't think I could cook, butyou should cook, and I could scrub and do all the hard work, andEthel could wash up, and lay the table, and that sort of thing.That would be fine, mamma."
Ethel, who almost always agreed with her elder sister, did so now,and the four young ones became quite uproarious in their plans formaking themselves useful. At last Mr. Hardy called for order.
"Now silence all, and listen to me. This affair is a seriousbusiness; and although I hope and believe that we shall all enjoyour life very much, still we must prepare for it, and look upon itin earnest, and not as a sort of game. I have business here which Icannot finish before another eight or nine months. Let us all makethe most of our time before we start. In the first place, thelanguage of the people among whom we are going is Spanish, and wemust all learn to speak it well before we leave. For the next threemonths we will work together at grammar and exercises, and then Iwill try and get some Spanish teacher to live in the house, andspeak the language with us until we go. In the next place, it willbe well that you should all four learn to ride. I have hired thepaddock next to our garden, and have bought a pony, which will behere to-day, for the girls. You boys have already ridden a little,and I shall now have you taught in the riding school. I wentyesterday to Mr. Saris, and asked him if he would allow me to makean arrangement with his head gardener for you to go there to learngardening. He at once agreed; and I have arranged with the gardenerthat you are both to be there every morning at six o'clock, and areto work until nine. At nine you will come in to breakfast. Frombreakfast to dinner you will have to yourselves, except upon thedays you take riding lessons; and I should wish you to spend thistime at your usual studies, except Latin, which will be of no useto you. From two till half-past four you are to learn carpentering.I have made an agreement with Mr. Jones to pay him so much to takeyou as a sort of apprentices for the next nine months. In theevening we will all work together at Spanish. It will be hard work;but if you want to be of any real use to me, it is absolutelynecessary that you should be able to use a spade and to do roughcarpentering. As the time draws on, too, I shall ask one of thefarmers near to let you go out with his men and get some notion ofplowing. Well, what do you say to all that?"
Hubert looked a little downcast at this recital of the preparatorywork to be gone through, but Charley said at once, "It soundsrather hard, papa, but, as you say, we shall have to work hard outthere, and it is much better to accustom one's self to it at once;besides, of course, we should be of no use at all to you unless weknew something about work."
"And what are we to learn, mamma?" Maud asked.
"Not a very great deal, my dear," Mrs. Hardy said. "Spanish tobegin with, then cooking. I shall teach you at any rate, to makesimple dishes and puddings, and to boil vegetables properly. Ishall myself practice until I am perfect, and then I shall teachyou. Besides that, it will be as well for you to learn to attend topoultry; and that is all I know of at present, except that you mustboth take pains to improve yourselves at sewing. We shall have tomake everything for ourselves out there."
"I suppose we shan't do any more regular lessons, mamma?"
"Indeed you will, Maud. You do not imagine that your education isfinished, do you? and you cannot wish to grow almost as ignorant asthe poor Indians of the country. You will give up the piano, andlearn Spanish instead of French, but that will be all thedifference; and I shall expect you both to make as much progress aspossible, because, although I shall take you both out there, andshall teach you whenever I find time, your lessons must ofnecessity be short and irregular. And now you can all go out intothe garden and talk the matter over."
"But you have not told us yet where we are going to, papa," Charleysaid.
"We are going to farm upon the bunks of one of the great SouthAmerican rivers--probably the Parana, in the Argentine Republic."
Mr. and Mrs. Hardy watched their children from the window. Theywent out in a group to the summer-house in the corner of thegarden, all talking excitedly. Then Maud ran back again to thehouse, and in a minute or two returned with the schoolroom atlas,and opening it upon the table, they all clustered over it in eagerconsultation.
Mrs. Hardy turned to her husband with a smile. "You will have toget up the subject, Frank, so as to be able to answer theinnumerable questions you will be asked."
"I shall always refer them to you."
There was quite a talk in B--- when it was known that Mr. Hardy wasgoing to emigrate with his wife and family. He, and his fatherbefore him, had been so long established in the town that therewere few people who did not know him, more or less.
Emigration in the year 1851 was far less common than it is now, andthe interest was proportionately greater. Charley and Hubert becamequite popular characters among their late schoolfellows, who,whenever they met them, would always stop to have a talk about thedistant country to which they were going. The boys, however, hadnow but little time for talking; for upon the week after theirfather had first told them of his intention, they had set-toregularly at the work he had laid down for them. They rose everymorning at five, had a slice of bread and a cup of milk, and wereoff to the gardener's, where they worked hard until half-pasteight. Mr. Hardy had requested that they should be speciallyinstructed in the raising of vegetables, and in the planting andpruning of fruit-trees. The culture of flowers could be of noutility. The digging made the boys' backs ache at first, andblistered their hands, but they stuck to it manfully, and soonbecame accustomed to the work, returning to breakfast with glowingcheeks and tremendous appetites.
In the afternoon they might be seen in the carpenter's shop withtheir coats and waistcoats off, working away with saw or plane.
Although both made good progress in both pursuits, yet their tastesdiffered; Charley preferring the carpentering, while Hubert was thegardener's most promising pupil. The former was thereforechristened the head carpenter by his sisters, while the latter waspromoted to the post of chief gardener.
Four or five months of this work made a visible difference in theboys' appearance. They both widened out across the shoulders, theirarms became strong and muscular, and they looked altogether morehealthy and robust. Nor did their appearance belie them; for oncewhen spending a holiday in the cricket-field with their formerschoolfellows, wrestling matches being proposed after the game wasover, they found that they were able to overcome with ease boyswhom they had formerly considered their superiors in strength.
In the meantime Mr. Hardy had succeeded in obtaining the servicesof a young Spanish lady, who had come to England to learn thelanguage, as governess; and of an evening the whole family workedat Spanish, and made such progress that they were soon able toestablish the rule that no other language should be spoken atmealtimes. The girls here soon surpassed their brothers, as theyhad the advantage of morning lessons in the language, besides whichyoung children can always pick up a language sooner than theirelders; and they had many a hearty laugh at the ridiculous mi
stakesCharley and Hubert made in their efforts to get through a longsentence. In six months, however, all could speak with tolerablefluency.
Maud and Ethel were as amused and as diligent at learning householdwork as their brothers were in their departments, and might havebeen seen every afternoon in the kitchen, in their little whitepinafores, engaged in learning the mysteries of cooking.
One day, after they had been so engaged for about four months, Mrs.Hardy said at breakfast: "I am going to try an experiment. I havegiven the cook leave to go out for the day. Mr. and Mrs. Partridgeare coming to dinner, and I intend handing over the kitchen to thegirls, and letting them make their first essay. We are going tohave soup, a leg of mutton with potatoes and spinach, a dish offried cutlets, and a cabinet pudding. I shall tell Sarah to liftany saucepan you may want on or off the fire, but all the rest Ishall leave in your hands. The boys will dine with us. The hourwill be half-past five, punctually."
The little girls' eyes flashed with pleasure, and they quitecolored up at the thought of the importance and difficulty of thetask before them. At lunch the boys pretended to eat an extraquantity, saying that they felt very doubtful about their dinner.In the afternoon Mrs. Hardy felt strongly tempted to go into thekitchen to see how things were getting on; but she restrainedherself, resolving to let Maud and Ethel have entirely their ownway.
The dinner was a great success, although the soup was rather hot,from Ethel, in her anxiety, having let too much pepper slip in; andthe cabinet pudding came up all over the dish, instead ofpreserving its shape, it having stuck to the mold, and Maud havingshaken it so violently that it had come out with a burst and brokenup into pieces, which had caused a flood of tears on the part ofthe little cook. It did not taste any the worse, however. And whenthe little girls came in to dessert in their white frocks, lookingrather shy, and very scorched in the face, from their anxiouspeeping into pots to see that all was going on well, they werereceived with a cheer by the boys; and their friends were not alittle astonished to hear that the dinner they had partaken of hadbeen entirely prepared and cooked by these little women.
After four months' gardening, Mr. Hardy placed the boys with afarmer who lived a mile distant, and made an arrangement for themto breakfast there, so that they now remained at work from six inthe morning until twelve. Here they obtained some idea ofharnessing and driving horses, of plowing, and of the other farmingoperations.
They now only went four days a week to the carpenter's, for theirpapa had one day said to them when they were alone with him beforedinner: "Do not put on your working clothes this afternoon, boys; Iam going to take you out with me, but do not say anything about itat dinner. I will tell you why afterward."
Rather surprised, they did as he told them, wondering where theycould be going. Their father said nothing on the subject until theyreached the town, which was a quarter of a mile distant from theirhouse. Then he said: "Now, boys, you know we are going out to acountry of which a great portion is still unsettled; and as land isa good deal cheaper at a short distance from the inhabited parts,we shall perhaps have no one within many miles of us. Now it isjust possible that at first the Indians may be disposed to betroublesome. I do not suppose that they will, but it is just aswell to be prepared for everything. There is no reason why you boysshould not be able to shoot as straightly as a man, and I havetherefore bought two carbines. They are the invention of anAmerican named Colt, and have a revolving breech, so that they firesix shots each. There is a spare chamber to each, which is veryquickly shifted in place of the one discharged; so that each of youcould fire twelve shots in a very short time. They will carry up tofive hundred yards. They are a new invention, but all accountsagree that they are an excellent one. I have obtained leave fromMr. Harcourt, who lives three miles from here, to put up a targetat the foot of some bare hills on his property, and we will walkover there twice a week to practice. I used to be considered afirst-rate shot with a rifle when I was a young man in America, andI have got down a rifle for my own use. I do not want you to speakabout what we are doing to your mamma, or indeed to any one. Weshall keep our rifles at a cottage near where we shoot, and no oneneed know anything about it. It is not likely that we shall haveany trouble with the Indians, and it is of no use making your mammauncomfortable by the thought of the probability of such a thing."
As Mr. Hardy spoke the boys were ready to dance with delight, andthis was increased when they turned into the gunsmith's shop, andwere shown the arms which their father had bought for thisexpedition.
Mr. Hardy had already an excellent double-barreled gun, and he hadnow purchased a long and heavy rifle carrying a conical ball. Inaddition to the boys' carbines, he had bought them each a lightdouble-barreled gun. Besides these were two brace of Colt'srevolving pistols. These were all new; but there were in additiontwo or three second-hand double-barreled guns for the use of hisservants, in case of necessity, and three light rifles of the sortused for rook-shooting. Altogether, it was quite an armory. Thecarbines were in neat cases; and the boys carried these and a boxof cartridges, while Mr. Hardy took his rifle; and so they startedoff to their shooting ground.
Here their father instructed them in the use of their revolvingcarbines, and then, after some practice with caps only, allowedthem to fire a few shots each. The firing was certainly ratherwild, owing to the difficulty they felt at first of firing withoutshutting their eyes; but after a few weeks' practice they becamevery steady, and in three or four months could make pretty certainof a bull's-eye at three hundred yards. Of all this Mrs. Hardy andthe girls knew nothing; but there was not the same secrecy observedwith reference to their shotguns. These they took home with them,and Mr. Hardy said that he understood that the plains of SouthAmerica swarmed with game, and that, therefore, it was well thatthe boys should learn how to shoot. He insisted, however, that onlyone gun should be taken out at a time, to diminish the danger ofaccidents. After that the boys took out their guns by turns whenthey went to work of a morning, and many a dead blackbird soonattested to their improving skill.