CHAPTER FIVE.
PERRY IS STARTLED.
The guide came to the colonel smiling as soon as he saw him seated, andpointed to; the other side of the fire, as he spoke words whichevidently announced the coming of the promised assistant.
The colonel replied in Spanish, and the Indian went back to hiscompanions. Soon after, the smell from John Manning's pipe rose on thecool night-air, and Perry sat talking to his father in a questioningmood.
"When are we going over the top of one of the snow-mountains, father?"he said.
"I have no intention of going over the top of either of the mountains,"replied the colonel. "We have nothing to gain but hard labour up there.We want to get through the first ridge, and on to the rich tablelands,or among the beautiful valleys."
Perry said "Oh!" in a tone of voice which suggested "Do we? I did notknow." Then aloud: "How high up are we now?"
"About eight thousand feet, I should say; perhaps a little more, for itis rather cold. There, let's get to sleep; I want to start early and bewell on our way soon after sunrise."
The colonel had his desire, for, long before the lower part of the ridgewas quite light, the mules were all loaded, and the party made theirstart, with Diego the Indian leading, the new arrival second, and theother man right in the rear as before.
Perry had one glance at the new-comer, and made out that he was a morestunted fellow than the others. In other respects he seemed to besimilar in aspect, but wore a good deal of radiating paint upon hischeeks, from which it was drawn along in lines right up to his brows,and downward toward the jaws. He wore the same loose, many-folded gown,reaching just to his knees, and carried a bow, arrows, and a longblowpipe, but he was wanting in his friends' plumpness and breadth ofshoulder.
"Looking at the new mule-driver, Perry?" said the colonel. "Yes? Seemsto be quite a stripling. But so long as he does his work well enough,it does not matter."
He did do his work and well, as it proved, trudging along by the mules,helping to unload and load again, managing those under his chargeadmirably, and proving to be most industrious in fetching water. But hewas timid and distant to a degree, shrinking away when either of theEnglish party approached him, and on one occasion showing so evident anintention to hurry away into the mountains, that the colonel checked hisson when next he saw him making for the Indian lad.
"Let him be," said the colonel; "he's wild as a hawk, and he doesn'tlook particularly clean."
"No," said Perry, laughing, "he is a grub. Those fellows don't wash, Isuppose, for fear of spoiling their paint."
They ceased then to take much notice of their fresh follower all throughthat day and the next; and the Indian trudged on beside the luggagemules, with his shoulders up and his head bent, as if he were carefullywatching where he should next place his feet, speaking to nobody butDiego, when the guide left the leading mule for a few minutes to stopand look right along the line, inspecting the loads as the mules passedhim, smiling at the colonel and Perry, and exchanging rather a fiercelook with John Manning; for, somehow, these two did not seem to be thebest of friends. Then he would let his companion who guarded the rearcome right up, walk beside him, talking for a few minutes, and thenstart forward again at a trot, passing them once more till he hadreached the leading mule.
There was little change that day, always a constant succession ofprecipitous walls to right and left, their way being along a narrowshelf, with the stream they followed thundering beneath them, sometimesa hundred feet beneath, at others perhaps a thousand, and quiteinvisible, but making itself evident by the echoing roar of the rushingwaters.
They passed nobody, neither did they see a single animal to tempt themto use rifle or gun that hung by its sling across their backs, till latein the afternoon, when, just as they turned the corner of a greatbuttress of rock, a huge bird suddenly swept by, gazing wonderingly atthem. By one consent, father and son paused to watch the ease withwhich the great-winged creature glided along the gorge, half-way betweenthe top and the stream below, turned suddenly and came back, as if torenew their acquaintance, and then curved round again, sweeping alongfor a short distance, and again wheeling round, not in a series ofcircles, but ellipses, each turn sending it almost without effort higherand higher, till it had reached a sufficient elevation, when it passedout of sight over the wall on their left.
"Eagle?" said Perry.
"Vulture," replied the colonel. "There you have seen one of the biggestbirds that fly. Didn't you notice its naked head?"
"Yes; and it had quite a comb over the top, and a ruff round its neck.I thought it was an eagle from its great hooked beak."
"The featherless head is a general mark of the vultures," said thecolonel. "I wish I had had a shot at it; but I don't know: I don't wantto be burdened with bird-skins, especially of such a size as that."
"What a monster to skin!" said Perry thoughtfully. "Why, its wings musthave been six or seven feet from point to point."
"Double the length--say fourteen or fifteen, my boy," replied thecolonel. "It must have been that. Old travellers used to make them outto be twenty-five or thirty feet from wing-tip to wing-tip; but they doreach the size I say. Hallo! what are we stopping for?"
"Why, there's a bridge," cried Perry; "and the path goes along on theother side of the gorge."
"And what a bridge," muttered the colonel.
He might well exclaim, for it was formed in the narrowest part of thegloomy gorge, and though not more than five-and-thirty feet in length,it looked perilous in the extreme, being formed merely of a couple ofthick ropes of twisted fibre, secured at either side round masses ofrock, and with a roadway made by rough pieces of wood laid across andfirmly bound to the ropes.
"A suspension bridge with a vengeance," continued the colonel. "Weshall never get the mules to cross that."
And he had perfect warrant for his words. For some forty yards below,the water foamed along in a perfect torrent, falling heavily from ashelf above, and sending up quite a thick mist, which magnified thesurrounding objects and added to the gloom of the place.
Perry felt appalled, but the halt was of short duration, for afterturning to them and shouting something which was almost inaudible in theroar of the torrent, the Indian stepped on to the bridge, and walkedcoolly across, half hidden by the mist; while the mule which played thepart of leader bent its head, sniffed at the stout boards which formedthe flooring, stepped on and walked carefully across, with the bridgeswaying heavily beneath its weight.
"Not so bad as it looked, my lad," said the colonel, as the next mulefollowed without hesitation. Then, after a pause, their new Indiancrossed, followed with the mule by which he had walked, and then therest, including those from which the travellers had dismounted, for noone thought of venturing to ride across the chasm.
"Our turns now, Perry," said the colonel. "How do you feel?"
"Don't like it," said Perry huskily.
"Summon up your nerve, my lad; forget that there is any torrent beneathyou, and walk boldly across. Here, I'll go first."
"No, no, please don't," cried Perry, setting his teeth. "I'll go."
"Go on, then," said the colonel.
The boy descended from the few yards of loose stony way to where the wetrough-hewn boards began, drew a deep breath, and stepped on to thebridge, conscious that the guide was looking back, and that the newIndian was at the other end, watching him earnestly, with his lipsslightly parted and his teeth bared.
To Perry it was a sign that their attendant felt the danger of theplace, and was watching to see him fall. And if he did, he felt nothingcould save him, for he would be swept away in an instant down thatnarrow chasm full of rushing water, where it was impossible for any oneto climb down and stretch out a helping hand.
One step, two steps, three steps, all descending, for the middle of thebridge hung far lower than the ends, and Perry could feel it vibratobeneath him, and his nervous dread increased. And yet it was so short adistance to where the India
ns were waiting, as he stepped cautiously ontill he was well past the middle, when all at once the sky above himseemed to be darkened over his head, there was a peculiar, whistling,rushing sound, and looking up sharply, Perry saw that the huge birdwhich had passed out of sight had wheeled round and was flying so closeabove him, that it seemed as if its object were to strike at him withits powerful talons.
As a matter of fact, the bird swept by five-and-twenty feet above hishead, but it was near enough to destroy the lad's balance as he startedand bent down to avoid the fancied blow. The colonel uttered a loud cryof warning, and Perry made an effort to recover himself, but thisstagger caused the bridge to sway, and in another moment or two he wouldhave been over into the torrent had not the bridge vibrated more heavilyas a guttural voice whispered to him:
"Quick! _mano_--hand!"
It was accompanied by a sharp drag as his own was seized, and,recovering his balance, he half ran--was half pulled--up the slope intosafety on the other side.
Perry felt giddy and dazed as the Indian loosed his hold and hurriedaway among the mules, while before he had half recovered himself, hisfather had crossed and was at his side.
"Perry, my lad, you sent my heart into my mouth."
"Yes," faltered the boy. "It was very horrid. That bird."
"It was startling, my lad, but you ought to be able to walk boldlyacross a place like that."
"Ahoy! colonel!" came from the other side, as John Manning hailed them.
"What is it?" shouted back the colonel.
"Hadn't I better go back, sir?"
"Back? No. Come over!"
John Manning took off his hat and scratched his head, looking down atthe hanging bridge and then up at his master.
Just then there was a shout from Diego and some words in the Indiantongue, which resulted in the other Indian offering his hand to thecolonel's servant, who resented it directly.
"No," he growled; "I'll do it alone. One must be safer by one's self;"and stretching out his arms like a tight-rope dancer, he came downcautiously, stepped on to the bridge and slowly walked across, theIndian following at a trot, as if astonished at any body finding so gooda pathway difficult.
"I hope there ain't many more o' them spring playthings, sir," said JohnManning gruffly. "I thought Master Perry was gone."
"Nonsense!" said the colonel shortly. "That great bird startled him.Forward again; the men are going on.--Perry, my boy, you must give thatIndian lad a knife, or something as a present: he saved your life."
"Yes, father," said the boy, looking dazed and strange. "I--I'm betternow."
"Yes, of course you are. Pish! we mustn't dwell upon every slip wehave. There, think no more about it," he continued, as he noticed theboy's blank, pale face. "Go on, and mount your mule."
"I think I would rather walk," said Perry.
"Walk, then," said the colonel shortly, and he went on and mounted hismule.
"Quick! _mano_--hand!" buzzed in Perry's ear, and at the same time heseemed to hear the booming roar of the torrent beneath his feet, and therush of the huge bird's wings just above his head--"Quick! _mano_--hand!"
"I say, Master Perry, sir, don't look that how," said John Manning in alow voice; "you're as white as taller candle. You're all right now."
"Yes," said Perry, trying hard to recover his natural balance. "I'm allright now."
"You've made the colonel look as black as thunder, and it wasn't ourfault. They've no business to have such bridges in a Christian country.But it was enough to scare any one, my lad. I thought that there birdmeant to have you."
"That was fancy," said Perry hastily. "I ought to have known better."
"No, it wasn't fancy, my lad. I think he'd have had you, only seeing usall about made him give you up. But it's all right."
"All right?"
"Yes, sir, we're on the c'rect track."
"Of course we are," said Perry, as they marched on once more behind themules, followed by the Indian.
"You dunno what I mean, sir," said John Manning testily. "I meant onthe track for one o' them di'mond valleys. Know what that bird was?"
"Yes; a condor."
"Con grandmother, sir. It was a roc, one o' them birds as carriedSindbad out o' the valley. This was only a chicken, I should say; butit was a roc, all the same."
"What nonsense!" said Perry. "That was all fancy tale and romance."
"Not it, sir. I might have thought so once, but I don't now. Let meask you this, sir," said Manning: "suppose there was no way out or noway into the valleys we've come along, could you climb up the sides?"
"No, of course not."
"And if you'd heard tell of birds with wings thirty foot across beforeyou'd seen 'em, would you have believed in them?"
"No, and I don't now."
"What! after one of 'em come down to attack you, and we scared it away."
"That was only about half the size."
"Oh, come, Master Perry, sir, don't get a haggling about trifles; thereain't much difference between fifteen foot and thirty. You mark mywords, sir, the colonel's been studying up his _'Rabian Nights_, andhe's on the right track now for one of them valleys, and we shall goback to San-what's-its-name with these ugly-looking donkey mules loadedup with all kinds of precious stones. You're a lucky one, Master Perry,sir, and your fortune's about made."
"Think so?" said Perry, for the sake of speaking, for he was verythoughtful.
"Yes, sir, I just do; and as for me, I hope it's going to be my luck toget just a few nubbly bits for myself, so as I can buy myself a cottageand a bit o' garden, and keep a pig, so as to live retired. You'll comeand see me, Master Perry, then, won't you?"
"Of course," said the boy, and then, making a trivial excuse to getaway, he hurried along the line of slow-going mules to see that hisfather was right in front before their guide, who walked by the firstmule; then there were three more plodding along, just far enough behindeach other to be safe from any playful kick. By the head of the thirdmule their new Indian driver was walking with his bow over his shoulder,a handful of long arrows tucked under his arm, and his head bent downwatching his footsteps.
Perry kept behind at some distance, watching the Indian's every gesture,till he saw his father returning, for the track had become wider, andthe boy watched intently; for he saw the colonel bend down from his muleand tap the Indian on the shoulders as he said a few words in Spanish.But what they were Perry was too far off to hear, the mules too making agood deal of clattering on the rocky track, which noise was echoed allaround in a wonderful way.
"It must have been my fancy, but I could have been sure he saidsomething to me in English," muttered Perry. "I was so excited, Isuppose."