The Hot Swamp

and at its mercy. Bladud's ponderous sword, however,flashed in the air at that moment, and fell on the creature's neck witha force that would have made Hercules envious if he had been there.Deep into the brawn it cut, through muscle, fat, and spine, almostslicing the head from the trunk, and putting a sudden stop to the lastyell when it reached the windpipe. The boar rolled head over heels likea shot hare, almost overturning Bladud as it wrenched the sword from hishand, and swept the captain off his legs, carrying him along with it ina confusion of blood and bristles.

  It was truly a terrific encounter, and as the prince stood observing theeffect of his blow, he would probably have burst into a fit of laughter,had he not been somewhat solemnised by Captain Arkal's fearfulappearance, as he arose ensanguined, but uninjured, from the ground.

  CHAPTER EIGHT.

  DISCOVERY AND FLIGHT.

  Being now provided with material for making shields, they resolved tospend a day in camp. This was all the more necessary, that the shoes orsandals which they had worn at sea were not well suited for the roughtravelling which they had now to undertake.

  Accordingly they selected a spot on the brow of a hill from which thesurrounding country could be seen in nearly all directions. But theywere careful also to see that several bushes shielded themselves fromview, for it was a matter of uncertainty whether or where natives mightmake their appearance.

  Here, bathed in glorious sunshine, with a lovely prospect of land andwater, tangled wood and flowery plains, to gladden their eyes, and thesavoury smell of pork chops and turkey to tickle their nostrils, theyspent two days in manufacturing the various necessary articles. CaptainArkal provided himself with a new javelin.

  Maikar made another bow, and both fabricated tough round shields withdouble plies of the boar's hide. Out of the same substance Bladud madea pair of shoes for each of them.

  "The sandals you wear at home," he said, "are not so good as those usedby us in Albion. They don't cover the feet sufficiently, and theyexpose the toes too much. Yet our sandals are easily and quickly made.Look here--I will show you."

  His companions paused in their labour and looked on, while the princetook up an oblong piece of boar-hide, over a foot in length and sixinches broad, which had been soaking in water till it had become quitesoft and limp. Placing one of his feet on this he drew the pattern ofit on the skin with a pointed stick. Around this pattern, and about acouple of inches from it, he bored a row of holes an inch or so apart.Through these holes he rove a thong of hide, and then rounded away thecorners of the piece.

  "There," said he, placing his foot in the centre of it and drawing thethong, "my sandal is ready."

  The tightening of the thong drew up the edges of the shoe until theyoverlapped and entirely encased his foot.

  "Good," said the captain, "but that kind of sandal is not new to me.I've seen it before, not only in your country, but in other lands."

  "Indeed? Well, after all, it is so simple, and so likely to hit theminds of thoughtful men, that I doubt not it is used wherever travellingis bad or weather cold. We shall need such sandals in this land, forthere is, no doubt, great variety of country, also of weather, and manythorns."

  While our travellers were thus labouring and commenting on their work,unseen eyes were gazing at them with profound interest and curiosity.

  A boy, or youth just emerging from the state of boyhood, lay low in aneighbouring thicket with his head just elevated sufficiently above thegrass to enable his black eyes to peer over it. He was what we of thenineteenth century term a savage. That is to say, he was unkempt,unwashed, and almost naked--but not uneducated, though books had nothingto do with his training.

  The prince chanced to look round, and saw the black eyes instantly, butbeing, as we have said, an adept in woodcraft--including savagewarfare--he did not permit the slightest evidence of recognition toescape him. He continued his gaze in the same direction, allowing hiseyes slowly to ascend, as if he were looking through the tree-tops atthe sky. Then turning his head quietly round he resumed his work andwhistled--for whistling had been invented even before that time.

  "Comrades," he said, after a few minutes, "don't look up from your work,but listen. We are watched. You go on with your occupations as if allwas right, and leave me to deal with the watcher."

  His comrades took the hint at once and went quietly on with theirlabours, while the prince arose, stretched himself, as if weary of hiswork. After a few minutes of looking about him, as though undecidedwhat to do next, he sauntered into the bush at the side of theirencampment opposite to that where the watcher lay.

  The moment he got out of range of the boy's eyes, however, his carelessair vanished, and he sped through the underwood with the quietness andsomething of the gait of a panther--stooping low and avoiding to treadon dead twigs. Making a wide circle, he came round behind the spotwhere the watcher was hid. But, trained though he had been in the artof savage warfare, the boy was equal to him. From the first he hadobserved in Bladud's acting the absence of that "touch of nature whichmakes the whole world kin," and kept a bright look-out to his rear aswell as in his front, so that when Bladud, despite his care, trod on adry stick the boy heard it. Next moment he was off, and a moment afterthat he was seen bounding down the hill like a wild-cat.

  The prince, knowing the danger of letting the boy escape and carryinformation to his friends, dashed after him at full speed--and the rateof his running may be estimated when it is remembered that many a timehe had defeated men who had been victors at the Olympic games. But theyoung savage was nearly his match. Feeling, however, that he was beingslowly yet surely overtaken, the boy doubled like a hare and made for aridge that lay on his left. By that time the chase was in full view ofthe two men in camp, who rose and craned their necks in some excitementto watch it.

  "He's after something," said the captain.

  "A boy!" said Maikar.

  "Ay, and running him down, hand over hand."

  "There seems to be no one else in sight, so we don't need to go to hishelp."

  "If he needs our help he'll come for it," returned the captain with alaugh, "and it will puzzle the swiftest runner in the land to beat hislong legs. See, he's close on the lad now."

  "True," responded the other, with a sigh of disappointment, "but weshan't see the end of it, for the boy will be over the ridge and out ofsight before he is caught."

  Maikar was right. Even while he spoke the youthful savage gained thesummit, where his slim, agile figure was clearly depicted against thesky. Bladud was running at full speed, not a hundred yards behind him,yet, to the amazement of the spectators, the boy suddenly stopped,turned round, and waved his hand with a shout of defiance. Next momenthe was over the ridge and gone. A few seconds later the prince was seento halt at the same point, but instead of continuing the pursuit, heremained immovable for a few minutes gazing in front of him. Then hereturned toward the encampment with a somewhat dejected air.

  "No wonder you look surprised," he said, on arriving. "The other sideof that ridge is a sheer precipice, down which I might have gone if Ihad possessed wings. There was no track visible anywhere, but of coursethere must have been a well-concealed one somewhere, for soon after Ireached the top I saw the young wild-cat running over the plain farbelow. On coming to the edge of a long stretch of forest, he stoppedand capered about like a monkey. I could see, even at that distance,that he was making faces at me by way of saying farewell. Then heentered the woods, and that was the end of him."

  "I wish it was the end of him," observed the captain, with somethinglike a growl--for his voice was very deep, and he had a tendency tomutter when disturbed in temper. "The monkey will be sure to run homeand tell what he's seen, and so bring all his tribe about our ears."

  "Ay, not only his tribe," remarked Maikar, "but his uncles, brothers,fathers, nephews, and all his kin to the latest walkable generation."

  "Are your weapons ready?" asked Bladud, taking up his sword and puttingon his helmet.

&n
bsp; "All ready," answered the captain, beginning to collect things--"I havejust finished two head-pieces out of the boar-hide for myself andMaikar, which will turn an arrow or a sword-cut, unless delivered by astrong arm. Don't you think them handsome?"

  "They are suitable, at any rate," said Maikar, "for they are as ugly asour faces."

  "Come, then, we must make haste, for wild men are not slow to act,"rejoined Bladud. "By good fortune our way does not lie in the directionthe boy took. We shall get as far away from them as possible, andtravel during the night."

  In a few minutes the little party--by that time fully equipped for thechase or war--were hurrying down the hillside in the direction of thesetting sun. It was growing late in the evening, and