CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR.
ALL FOR THE BEST.
Shaddy had preceded him, and neither of them heard the regular beat ofoars and the faint splashing of water as four rowers, urged on by one inthe stern, forced their way toward the spot from whence the hail hadcome, till the boat went crashing among the drooping boughs, was securedto the huge trunk, and after water and a little sopped bread had beenadministered, the three sufferers were carefully lowered down and laidunder the shed-like awning.
Three weary days of delirium ensued before the first of the sufferersunclosed his eyes, illumined by the light of reason, and had the brightsemicircle of light facing him eclipsed for the moment by a slightfigure which crept in beneath the awning to give him food.
And then two more days elapsed before Rob could say feebly,--
"Tell me, Joe, have I been asleep and dreaming?"
"I hope so," said the young Italian, pressing his hand.
"Then you are not dead?"
"Do I look like it? No; but I thought you were. Why, Rob, old chap, weonly got back to you just in time."
"But I thought--we thought that--"
Rob ceased speaking, and Giovanni, who looked brown, strong, and well,finished his companion's sentence after turning to where the twofamine-pinched feeble men lay listening for an explanation of the eventsof the past.
"You thought I had been drowned, and that the men had carried off theboat while you were all looking for me?"
Rob's eyes said, "Yes," as plainly as eyes could speak. "Of course youwould," said Joe, laughing merrily. "You couldn't help thinking so; butI wasn't drowned, and the men didn't steal the boat. What say, Shaddy?"
For there was a husky whisper from where the old sailor lay--a ghost ofhis former self.
"Say?" whispered the guide sourly,--"that we can see all that."
"Tell us how it was," said Rob, holding out his hand, which Joe graspedand held, but he did not speak for a few minutes on account of a chokingsensation in his breast as the sun glanced in through the ends of theawning, after streaming down like a silver shower through the leaves ofthe huge tree beneath which the boat was moored, while the swift river,once more back within its bounds, rippled and sang, and played againstthe sides.
"The men told me," said Joe at last, with a slight Italian accent in thewords, now that he was moved by his emotion--"they told me all aboutwhat horror and agony you showed as you all went off to rescue me, whilethere I was perched up in the branches of the great tree, expectingevery moment that it would be rolled over by the river, unless I couldcreep up to the next bough and the next, all wet and muddy as they were,and I knew that I could not keep on long at that. But all at once, tomy horror, we began to glide down--oh, so swiftly, but even then I felthopeful, for the tree did not turn, and I was far above the water as wewent on swifter and swifter, till all at once I caught sight of theboat, moored some distance onward, with the four men in it sitting withtheir backs to me. I made up my mind to leap into the water and swim tothem, but the next minute I knew that it would be impossible, and thatthe branches would stop me, entangle me, and that I should be drowned.Then the tree began to go faster and drift out toward the middle, but itwas caught by an eddy and swept in again toward the shore, so that Ifelt I should be carried near to the boat, and I shouted to them then tothrow me a rope."
"No good to try and throw a rope," growled Shaddy faintly.
"Go on, my lad," whispered Brazier, for Joe had stopped.
"They saw me for the first time, and gave a shout, but they all stood updirectly, horrified, for the fierce stream now bore me swiftly on rightdown upon them, and before we could all realise it the boughs were underand over the boat, and it was carried away from where it was moored.And there it was just beneath me, with the boughs going more and moreover and under it, and our speed increasing till I began to wonderwhether we should roll right over and force it down, or the lower boughslift and raise it right up. Then there was another thing to consider--whether I ought to try and drop down into the boat, or they ought toclimb up to me."
"Ah!" ejaculated Rob, heaving a long sigh and then breathing hard.
"And all this time," continued Joe, "we were being swept down the streamat a tremendous rate, too frightened to do anything, making up our mindone way one minute, altering it the next; while, to my great delight,the tree kept in just the same position, which, I have since supposed,must have been because the roots were so laden with earth and stonesthat it served as a balance to the boughs.
"We went on down like this for hours, expecting every minute would beour last, for so sure as the tree touched bottom or side it must havebeen rolled over by the swift current, but the water was so deep that wekept on, and, at last gaining courage, I lowered myself a little and gotupon another bough, which was very near to the boat, and there I stoodupright.
"`Shall I jump?' I said, and they stood up ready to catch me, but Ihesitated for a few moments before making a spring, which would take methrough some thin twigs between us.
"In my hurry and excitement, I jumped with all my force, but caught onefoot against a little branch, and was jerked forward so violently intothe boat that in their efforts to save me they made her give a greatlurch, and she began to rock violently, and nearly sent two of themoverboard. The next minute we saw that she had been driven clear of theboughs which held her and was floating away, but at the same moment thebranches above us began to descend slowly, for the tree was rollingover, the buoyancy of the boat wedged in among the branches having keptit stationary so long.
"Our position was now terribly dangerous, for the size and force of theboughs were sufficient, with the impetus they now had from being inmotion, to drive us right under, an accident which meant death if wecould not escape, but in their desperation the men seized the oars, andby pushing against the tree thrust the boat so far toward the clearwater that we were only brushed by the outer twigs and thinnest parts aswe were caught by the swift stream and went on down at a tremendousrate.
"It was not until night was drawing near that we thought of making fastto a tree at the side where we could rest for the time and then startback in the morning to reach you again as soon as we possibly could, forI knew you would be fancying still that I was dead, and that the men hadforsaken you. So we had a meal, and I set the watches, meaning to seeto the men taking their turn. Then, feeling tired out, I lay down for afew minutes to rest, but--I dropped asleep."
"'Course you did," said Shaddy sourly.
"And when I awoke in a fright the sun was shining, the men were allasleep at the bottom of the boat, and we were spinning down the river ashard as we could go."
"Sarved you all right if you'd been upset," growled Shaddy. "That wouldhave woke some of you up."
"Don't scold me, Shaddy," said the lad humbly. "I know I ought not tohave gone to sleep, but I thought I could trust the men."
"Thought you could trust them?" cried the old sailor. "Why, youcouldn't even trust yourself!"
"No," said Joe humbly.
"Why, Mr Brazier, the pains I've took to make a seaman of that youngchap, no one knows. I only wonder as they weren't all wrecked anddrowned," protested Shaddy.
"Let him go on, Naylor."
"Ay, go on, Mr Jovanni. If there's anything more you ought to beashamed on, speak it out and get it over. You'll be better after."
"Isn't he hard upon me, Rob?" said Joe, smiling.
"Yes, but it all turned out for the best," said his companion.
"I didn't think so then," continued Joe, "when I began to find that wemust have been gliding down the river fast all that night, and what Ihad begun to find out then I knew more and more as we tried to work ourway back. We couldn't pole because the water was too deep, and we hadto work our way along by the trees, sometimes getting a little way upthe river and then making a slip and being swept down again for farenough, till I gave it up in despair. The men worked till they couldwork no longer. And all the time you were left alone without the
gunsand fishing tackle and food, and it used to make me mad to have to useany of the stores; so I made them fish all I could, and I did a littleshooting, so that we didn't use much."
"Oh, come," said Shaddy in a more agreeable tone, "that's the best thingwe've heard you say yet, Mr Jovanni. That's where my teaching comesout, but don't you never say a word to me again about your seamanship!"
"But you are keeping him from telling us how he came and saved us justas he did in the nick of time, Shaddy," said Rob.
"All right, sir, all right! won't say another word," cried the oldsailor querulously, "only don't let him get bragging no more about hisseamanship and management of a crew."
"I never will, Shaddy, and I hope I shall never be placed in such apredicament again."
"How did you manage to get up the river?" asked Rob.
"Oh, that was easy enough as soon as the flood came; we should neverhave got to you without; but as soon as the land was all flooded, Ifound that we could get right away from the swift stream and keep alongat a distance, poling generally. Then we were able to take short cutsacross the bends. We did get caught now and then and swept back a bit,but every day we made a good many miles, and at last as we were rowingsteadily on over the flooded land, which is a good deal more open below,we neared the opening, and thought it was a good deal altered; but themen said I was wrong. I felt sure that I was right, and had just cometo the conclusion that you must all have been swept away and drowned,when I heard the hail, and you are all safe once more."