CHAPTER III.
LIVELY WORK.
Now took place an unprecedented incident.
The air of comity, or at least neutrality, which brooded over the twoparties had given way to that of silent but intense hostility. Theprowling movement of the native with the spear as he slipped into thewood, the sudden advance of Jared Long, whose face became like athunder-cloud, when every hope of a friendly termination vanished, andthe abrupt halt of the bowman, showed that all parties had thrown offthe cloak of good will and become deadly enemies.
The third savage kept his place farther down the stream, his black eyesfixed on the archer in front, while he doubtless was waiting for someaction on the part of his comrade who had stolen into the wood. As hasbeen stated, he was nigh enough to hurl his javelin, so that both thewhite men were too wise to eliminate him from the curiously involvedproblem that confronted them.
The bowman having halted, stood a moment with his piercing black eyesfixed on the nearest white man, as if seeking to read in his face themeaning of his action or rather abrupt cessation of action.
"Professor," called Jared, "I'll attend to the one in front of you; butlook out for the scamp among the trees."
Grimcke was relieved to hear this, and had there been only the twonatives to confront, he would have been disturbed by no misgiving, butthere were signs that the third one down the stream was preparing to dohis part in the treacherous business. He too began advancing, butinstead of doing so with the quick, angry stride of the New Englander,he stepped slowly and softly, as if seeking to conceal his movement.
Grimcke would have been glad to turn the archer over to the care ofLong, but he was so frightfully close, that he did not dare do so. Amoment's delay on the part of his friend would be fatal. At the sametime, it was not to be forgotten that the most stealthy foe of all wasprowling among the trees on the right.
The Professor's hope, as has been explained, was that his ownretrogression had disconcerted the plans of this special miscreant forwhom, however, he kept a keen watch.
The archer still held his bow, with the arrow in place grasped by hisright hand, the long weapon resting against his hip. Provided he wasright-handed, the bow would have to be shifted to his left hand, thearrow drawn back with the right and the missile then launched at hisfoe. This, it would seem, involved enough action to give both Grimckeand Long abundance of time in which to anticipate him.
But there remained the possibility that the savage was left-handed, inwhich event, the necessary action on his part would be much less,though sufficiently complicated to afford the white men abundance oftime to anticipate him.
The native _was_ left-handed, with a quickness that surpassed allexpectation, the bow was suddenly raised, the end of the arrow drawnback and the missile driven directly at the breast of Grimcke.
At precisely the same instant, the latter's strained ear caught thecrackling of a twig, above the din of the rapids (which was much lessthere than below), and something was discerned moving among the treeson his right. His frightened glance in that direction gave him aglimpse of a dusky figure in the act of hurling his javelin.
Thus it was that the spearman and archer let fly at precisely the sameinstant, and Jared Long, who was so anxious to help his friend, sawonly the deft movements of the archer. Grimcke could not fire at bothin time to save himself, but he instinctively did the very best andindeed the only thing that could be done. Without moving his feet, hedropped to a sitting posture, instantly popping up again like ajack-in-the-box.
The movement took place at precisely the right instant, and both thejavelin and arrow whizzed over his head, without grazing him, but thearrow shot by Long's temple so close that he blinked and for an instantbelieved he had been hit.
But, like the hunter when bitten by a rattlesnake, he determined tocrush his assailant and to attend to his hurt afterwards.
The sharp crack of the Winchester, the shriek of the smitten savage andhis frenzied leap in the air, followed in such instant succession thatthey seemed simultaneous. When the wretch went back on the ground hewas as dead as Julius Caesar.
A man can fire with amazing rapidity, when using a Winchester repeater,but some persons are like cats in their own movements. The NewEnglander leveled his weapon as quickly as he could bring it to hisshoulder, but the native along the side of the Xingu had vanished asthough he never existed.
Whether he knew anything about fire-arms or not, he was quick tounderstand that some kind of weapon in the hands of the white men hadknocked the bowman out of time, and he bounded among the trees at hisside, as though he, too, was discharged from the bow. He was justquick enough to escape the bullet that would have been after him aninstant later.
The moment Grimcke knew that he was safe from the javelin, which spedover his head, he straightened up, and, still maintaining his removableposture, discharged his gun at the point whence came the well-nighfatal missile.
But the shot was a blind one, for he did not see the native at theinstant of firing. Nothing could have surpassed the alertness of thesestrange savages. The one with the javelin disappeared with the samesuddenness as did his brother down the bank, and, had the archer butcomprehended his danger he, too, would have escaped.
The affray roused the wrath of both Long and Grimcke. They had offeredthe hand of friendship, only to be answered with an attempt upon theirlives. One of their assailants had eluded them, and the other wouldhave been an assailant had the opportunity been given.
"Let's shoot him too!"
He alluded to the man who hurled the javelin and who, so far as theycould see, was left without any weapon with which to defend himself.In their natural excitement over their victory, the friends forgotthemselves for the moment. Heedless of consequences, they dashed amongthe trees, in pursuit of the savage who had flung his spear withwell-nigh fatal effect.
The undergrowth was frightfully tangled, and, as the first plunge, theProfessor went forward on his hands and knees. The wonder was how Longkept his feet; but it will be remembered that he was much moreattenuated than his companion, and seemed to have picked up a skillelsewhere which now stood him well.
The moon was shining and despite the dense vegetation around him,enough rays found their way to the ground to give him a partial viewfor few paces in front. He had not gone far when he caught a glimpseof the dusky figure slipping through the undergrowth ahead, and at nogreat distance.
Strange as it may seem, the impetuosity of the American caused him togain upon the terrified native, who, having flung his poisoned weapon,was without the means of defending himself. It was not in the natureof things, however, that Long should overtake the fugitive, who wasmore accustomed to making his way through such obstructions. The firstburst of pursuit caused the white man to believe he would win in thestrange race, but the next minute he saw he was losing ground.
Determined that the wretch should not escape, he checked his pursuitfor an instant, and, bringing his Winchester to his shoulder, let fly.
But brief as was his halt, it give the savage time to make one terrificbound which shut him almost from sight, and rendered the hasty aim ofLong so faulty that his intended victim was not so much as scratched.
Had the savage dashed deeper into the forest, he would have passedbeyond all peril at this moment, but he was seeking to do that whichLong did not discover until after discharging his gun. He headedtoward the river, where he was first seen. It must have been that hewas actuated by a desire to go to the help of his comrade, or morelikely he was anxious to recover his javelin, in which he placedunbounded faith, and believed he could do it without undue risk.
Whatever his purpose, he quickly burst from the forest, while Long, whowas pushing furiously after him, discovered from the increasing lightin front, that he was close to the Xingu again.
Suspecting his purpose, the white man tore forward at the most recklessspeed, and, before the native could recover his weapon and dart back tocover, he himself had dashed into the
moonlight.
"Now, we've got him!" he shouted; "there's no getting away _this_ time!"
This exultant exclamation was uttered to a form which appeared on hisright, and who he was certain was the Professor; but to hisconsternation, as he turned his head, he saw that it was the othernative, javelin in hand!