In the grip of the Mullah: A tale of adventure in Somaliland

  CHAPTER V

  A DESPERATE ENCOUNTER

  Barely half an hour had passed from the time when the sail was unloosed,and the dhow cast off her moorings, before one of the crew knelt uponthe deck, and, thrusting his head through the hatchway, shouted to Jimand his companion to come out of the hold.

  "Now for it," whispered Tom. "Keep cool, and be perfectly unconcerned.If there is trouble, do not hesitate for an instant, but draw yourrevolvers and shoot. You've only got to look at those fellows' faces tosee that we have to deal with desperate men, who would kill us if theyhad the slightest doubts of our good faith. Ready?"

  "Quite," answered Jim with a calmness that surprised himself.

  "Then up we go."

  Rising to their feet, and bending low, for the cargo of guns left littlespace in which to move, they crept towards the hatchway, and in due timeemerged upon the deck, blinking as the dazzling rays of the noonday sunfell upon their eyes. When they had accustomed themselves to the stronglight, they became aware that three of the crew confronted them, whilethe fourth stood at the tiller, keeping the vessel to her course. Rightastern, a dim blue line showed the position of Aden, while ahead, and oneither hand, nothing but blue ocean could be seen. Not a sail was insight, though Jim strained his eyes in every direction, and not astreak of cloud in the sky could, by the wildest flight of imagination,be interpreted as the smoke from the funnel of the gunboat. But at thismoment one of the natives addressed him.

  "You and your comrade can lie upon the deck for a while," he said, "butyou must be ready at any moment to give us a help. Keep a keen look-outin all directions, and if you see a sail, shout so that I shall know. Ifwe are pursued we must fly, and may Allah send a breeze to aid us. Ifnot, we will fight, and in that we are told that you can help us."

  "We hear what you say," answered Tom hurriedly, anxious to explain hiscompanion's silence. "Take no notice of my friend, for, as those whosent us here may have told you, he is, for the time being, both deaf anddumb. Do not speak to him, I beg of you, for he will not answer, andwill stand, as he does now, refusing to comprehend your words. If youhave orders to give, I will hand them on to him by signs. As forfighting, what is that to us? In our country we are ever at war, andshould be miserable without it. Make your mind easy, therefore, for weshall strike hard when the moment of danger arrives."

  Apparently his words satisfied the natives, for they turned away, andwalked towards the steersman. Tom at once grasped Jim by the arm, andpointing to the deck, strode across to the bulwark, and threw himselfdown there for an instant. Then he rose to his feet again, and placing ahand above his eyes, so as to shield them from the sun, stared long andanxiously across the sea. Again he threw himself upon the deck andrepeated the process, but this time with a different result, for,apparently, he caught sight of some distant object, and giving vent to ashout, ran to communicate his news to the crew. Indeed, so realisticwas his acting that they, too, imagined he had seen something ofinterest, and at once came crowding to the bulwarks, and stared eagerlyacross the water in the vain endeavour to discover some object betweenthemselves and the horizon.

  "Where?" shouted the man who had addressed Jim, and who seemed to be themaster. "Where?" he repeated anxiously. "I can see no sail, though it ispossible that one is hidden in the haze yonder. Hold out your arm sothat I may follow the direction."

  There was no doubt from the manner in which he spoke, and from theanxiety displayed by the remainder of the crew, that the prospect ofdiscovery had filled them with alarm. They were conscious that they wereengaged upon an unlawful expedition, and though that did not troublethem much, the thought of what would follow if they were captured setthem trembling.

  "Ah, what is that?" shouted one of their number. "I can see somethingwhich has the appearance of a bird, but which may well be a sail. If so,we are safe, for the Government would follow us in a steamship, if atall."

  "It is nothing," replied Tom calmly, with difficulty keeping hisfeatures straight. "I saw nothing to alarm me, but was merely explainingto my comrade the duties he was to carry out. See, it is evident that heunderstands."

  "Is that so?" was the grumbling reply. "By the manner in which you gavethe alarm, I thought you had sighted a suspicious sail, and my heartleapt into my mouth at your shout. But it is well that there is nothingin it. Go to your places now, and do not forget to keep constant watch."

  For a minute he stood by the bulwark, while Jim and his companion wentforward and threw themselves upon the deck. Then he retired to thestern of the vessel, and sat down in the shade cast by the enormoussail.

  For three hours the dhow kept steadily on her course, and then Jim, wholay upon the starboard side, suddenly caught sight of a speck of whitecoming from the opposite direction. Keeping his eyes fixed upon it, henoticed that it increased rapidly in size, and soon there was no doubtthat it was another vessel. Giving a low cough to attract Tom'sattention, he pointed towards the object, and then sprang to his feet.Walking along the deck, he approached the group at the farther end, andlaid his hand upon the shoulder of the master, shaking him as he did so,for he had fallen asleep.

  In a moment all were on their feet, and staring across the sea.

  "It is a large dhow," said the man who commanded the crew, "and she issweeping down in our direction. What do you think she is?"

  "It is too early to say," answered one of the men, "but she is not atrader--of that I am sure--nor does she belong to the Government. It ispossible that she comes from some African port, but until she is closerI cannot be certain. This I can say, she is larger than any dhow plyingbetween Aden and the opposite coast, and therefore we shall do well tokeep her at a distance."

  For a few minutes the natives held a heated conversation, and a sharporder was given to alter the course. When that was done, and the dhowwas holding along in a southerly direction, the crew gathered in thebows and stood there, gazing anxiously at the distant vessel. Cries ofalarm escaped their lips when they noticed that her head came round, andthat she, too, had altered her course so as to intercept them.

  "She sails faster than we do!" exclaimed the master, with an oath. "Wecannot hope to escape her, and therefore I advise that we resume ourcourse, and make ready for an encounter, though it is more than likelythat she will prove to be a friend. And if not that--well, we mustprepare to sell our lives dearly. But I cannot believe that we haveanything to fear, for none but peaceful traders sail upon this sea."

  "That is so," agreed one of the crew. "But I have heard that, at times,piratical craft sail from the coast of Africa, and swoop down upon thetraders. If that dhow is bent upon such an expedition, we are lost, forher owners care no more for the Mullah than they do for other people."

  The news filled his companions with dismay. In a half-hearted mannerthey produced a number of guns from the hold, and proceeded to loadthem. Then they placed swords beside the bulwark, and motioned to Jimand Tom to select a couple.

  "There is trouble before us, and we must fight for our lives," said themaster, brightening up a little. "If you do not wish to be killed, youmust join us, and help in the struggle."

  "We shall do so gladly, if there is need," answered Tom. "But let ushope that the stranger will turn out to be a friend."

  "I wish I could think the same," the master replied with a shake of hishead. "It is more than likely that she is a pirate. But now we mustseparate. You and your friend go forward into the bows. I shall stationtwo of my men in the centre of the dhow, while I and the fourth go aft.Then we shall be prepared at all points, and wherever they attempt toboard us, we shall have men at hand to beat them back."

  "If I were you I should order everyone to lie down," said Tom,thoughtfully. "At the distance they are from us now they cannot haveascertained how many we have on board, and will naturally keep awayuntil they are certain. If they are bent on capturing us, and open firewhen within range, we can all creep to the centre and give them avolley. Then we'll hasten to the bows, and fire from that quarter. Youhave plenty of g
uns, so that you have only to load a number, and pilethem at various points along the deck, in readiness for our volleys. Ifwe are quick, and take good care to keep well below the bulwarks, weought to confuse them, and make them think that we have plenty of men."

  "It is a good plan," the native answered. "I shall see that the guns arebrought up at once, and the men warned. That ship will sail close up tous, expecting us to fall an easy prey. But we'll astonish them with ourbullets, and will set them wondering, for it is unusual for a peacefultrader, as we are supposed to be, to carry any firearms. Go forward now,and explain to your comrade."

  Tom at once ran to the bows, where Jim was reclining on the deck,watching the oncoming ship, and throwing himself down beside him, beganto make signs to him, keeping a watch all the time, however, upon theother members of the crew.

  "Ah, they've gone below for the guns," he said at last, "and there isonly the man at the helm to be feared, and he is engaged in watchingthis pirate, or whatever she may be. Listen, Jim. We're in for astruggle, for that ship is an enemy, and is probably filled with negrocut-throats. I have advised the master of our ship to make a fight forit, but I doubt if he or his men have the necessary courage. What are weto do if that is the case?"

  "It is hard to say, Tom. If the dhow over there carries a big crew,resistance would be madness, in my opinion. Better to give in andfraternize with them, if they will allow us, trusting to get away fromthem at some future date. That's the best advice I can give. But if youthink we have any chance, I'm ready and willing to stand by you."

  "I know that, old boy," answered Tom warmly; "but though I have advisedresistance, I doubt whether it will be attempted. We'll just wait, andsee how things go. This stranger may turn out, after all, to be afriend."

  Whatever hopes they might have had as to the peaceful nature of theapproaching dhow, they were quickly disappointed, for she was coming uprapidly, aided by a steady and brisk breeze. Almost before they thoughtit possible, she was within range, and then they saw that she was quitedouble the size of their vessel. Shooting up into the wind, she lay todead across their bows, displaying at the same moment a broad expanse ofwhite deck, which was thickly crowded with men. Almost instantly a puffof smoke belched from her bulwarks, and a ball came hurtling over thewater.

  "Caught, I am afraid," whispered Jim, peeping at the stranger. "Wehaven't a chance, Tom, for look at our comrades."

  As he spoke the leader of the native crew rushed to the helm and wavedhis arm frantically in token of surrender, while his men threwthemselves upon the deck, and grovelled there, in terror lest anothershot should be fired by the pirate.

  "Curs!" exclaimed Tom, angrily. "When there is no danger to be feared,they are fierce enough looking fellows. But now that we are in trouble,they show the real stuff of which they are made. But what are we to do?"

  "Stay where we are till the enemy comes alongside," answered Jim,promptly. "If they rush on board with the intention of killing us, wemust stand side by side up here in the bows, and keep them off with ourrevolvers. It is ten chances to one that they are only armed withswords, and in that case we ought to be able to make a good fight of it.Whatever happens, I don't mean to be killed without a struggle."

  He spoke quite calmly, and thrust his hands into his waistcloth to makecertain that his weapons were there. As for Tom, he looked at his youngcompanion with amazement, and then, fired by his example of pluck,prepared to do as he had said.

  "Then it's agreed that, if there is no hope, we fight," he said; "and ifthere is, we give ourselves up, and trust to better luck later on."

  "That's it," replied Jim, shortly. "It would be madness to resist ifthey were inclined to spare our lives. But if they want to slay us,they'll find one here who strongly objects."

  By now, the big native dhow had paid off into her course again, and,seeing that she had nothing to fear, came on till within easyhailing-distance. Then a huge negro, dressed in gaudy colours, andbearing a cutlass in his hand, sprang upon the bulwarks, and shouted tothem.

  "Who are you?" he cried. "And where do you come from?"

  Shaking with terror, the master went to the side, and answered thatthere were five besides himself on the vessel, and that she came fromAden.

  "Where for, and what cargo?" was the next question.

  "For the coast, with arms for the Mullah."

  "Then we are friends," came the answer. "The Mullah is our master also,and we sail the sea in his ship. All whom we capture we send to him toswell his forces, while the loot we keep for ourselves. Do you know ofany trader about to leave the shores on the farther side?"

  "Not one," shouted the master, scarcely able to restrain his joy. "But Ican tell you that a British gunboat is on patrol, and you will do wellto keep clear of her. Now, good-bye. We must press on at our fastestpace."

  Going aft to the helm he brought the dhow round, and in another minutethey were shooting away from the piratical-looking stranger, leaving herrolling gently on the water, with her bulwarks lined by a crew ofnatives, of all sorts of every race, who stood there watching thesmaller vessel depart. Ten minutes later she, too, had turned, and wasdashing away at a pace which showed how hopeless it would have been forthe dhow to have attempted to evade her.

  The delight of the master and crew of the smaller vessel was immense,and they could scarcely contain themselves for joy. They threwthemselves into one another's arms, leapt high into the air, and shoutedat the top of their voices. Then they produced a hubble-bubble, and,going aft, squatted down close to the steersman, and began to conversein loud tones. It was wonderful to see the change in their appearance.Whereas, a few minutes before, they had been shaking with terror, andprepared to accept their death without so much as a struggle, now theyheld their heads erect, and recounted to one another, in piercing tones,the brave deeds which they would have accomplished had the larger dhowturned out, after all, to be an enemy.

  As for Jim and his friend, they lay full length upon the deck in thebows of the vessel, keeping a bright look-out over the bulwarks, andapparently undisturbed by the excitement of recent events. But, for allthat, they were deeply relieved, for the situation had for a time seemeddesperate.

  "I am trying to think what would have happened," whispered Jim, takingadvantage of the fact that the natives were fully engaged inconversation. "Suppose those pirates had compelled us to join them, andwe had afterwards fallen in with a British ship, we should have been ina very awkward position, for we could not have refused to fight."

  "We should have found a way out of it somehow, Jim. I noticed that, likethis dhow, she carried a dinghy on her decks, and we could have takenadvantage of that and slipped away during the night. But I am glad thatthings have turned out as they have, for now we have a better chance ofcapturing this vessel. Look out! Here's one of the beggars coming totalk to us."

  As he spoke one of the men aft handed the stem of the hubble-bubble tohis companion and came running forward.

  "The chief bids you come and join us," he cried, and at once returned tohis old position.

  "You stay here, Jim," whispered Tom; "those fellows want a chat, so I'llgo and smoke with them. If you were to attempt that you would certainlyfail, for it requires a deal of practice to tackle a hubble-bubble."

  Accordingly, leaving Jim on the look-out in the bows of the vessel, Tomsauntered aft, and was soon squatting beside the natives. The stem ofthe pipe was at once handed to him, and soon he was engaged in animatedconversation. It was evident that something had aroused the suspicion ofthe master and his crew, for they questioned him closely. But hisanswers seemed to satisfy them, and in half an hour he returned to Jim'sside, and taking advantage of the fact that the natives were stillengaged in animated conversation, began to chat in low tones to him.

  "They seem inclined to be very friendly," he said, "but I am not quitesatisfied. Something--I don't know what it is--seems to have upset them.The fact of the matter is they don't quite believe in this silence ofyours. One man declared that he had seen us e
xchanging words when thepirate bore down upon us. Of course, I said that that was impossible,and that he had imagined it. But he was positive, and, I could see, hadbeen talking to his fellows. However, the subject dropped, and after atime turned to the Mullah. His position was mentioned, and, bypretending to know a great deal more about him than I really do, theybecame quite confiding, and told me the number of adherents of which heboasted. In the most unconcerned manner, I mentioned that a whiteprisoner had fallen into his hands of late, and I could see at once thatthey knew all about it. But I could get no further information fromthem.

  "'Yes,' said their chief, 'a man was thrown upon the shore, and fellinto the Mullah's hands; but he is only one, whereas, as soon as thefoolish English advance, hundreds more will be made into slaves.'

  "That's all I could get out of him, and so, after changing theconversation and having another turn at the hubble-bubble, I rose to myfeet and returned."

  "I'm not surprised to hear that they are suspicious, Tom. I saw one ofthe natives look at us while we were deciding what to do, and if he isquite certain that he saw us speaking, he will never be satisfied untilhe has found out all about us. You know what kind of men these fellowsare, better than I do, and I have no doubt that, rather than run anyrisk in the matter, they would pounce upon us and throw us overboard. Iadvise that we keep watch in turn. It's already getting dark, and, ifyou like, I'll take the first watch. I'll wake you in a couple of hours,and you can do the same for me when you have had your turn. Hush! Theyare moving."

  Turning his head, Jim saw the natives rise to their feet and disappeardown the hatchway. Ten minutes later they climbed to the deck again,bearing a large dish and a gourd of water, and, having given thesteersman a drink and placed a pile of food beside him, they advanced tothe mast and sat down there, motioning to Jim and Tom to join them.Gladly did the young fellows obey the summons, for many hours hadelapsed since they had partaken of any food, and their naturally keenappetites were sharpened by the sea air and by the excitement of thepast few hours. Indeed, up to that moment, so much had occurred that Jimhad had no time to think of food, for all his thoughts had beenconcentrated upon his surroundings. But the sight of it reminded him atonce of his long fast, and he joined the group, feeling that it wouldrequire a large amount to satisfy his hunger.

  Squatting around the bowl, they helped themselves to dates, of whichthere was an abundant supply. Simple though the food was it wassatisfying, and Jim soon returned to his old position, feeling very muchbetter. Tom remained for a short while chatting with the natives, andthen rejoined his friend. It was now evening, and within a few minutesdarkness fell, for there is scarcely any twilight in the Tropics.

  "The night will be a cold one, and the dew heavy," said the master,coming up to them. "You had better go down into the hold and sleepthere. I will post a man up here to keep watch."

  "If it is the same to you, we would rather remain where we are," Tomanswered promptly. "You see, we are not used to this kind of thing, andthat stuffy hold makes us feel ill. We will ask you to lend us a coupleof blankets in which to wrap ourselves."

  "You shall have them, but you cannot sleep here, for the look-out manmust stand in this position; but you can go farther along the deck, ifyou like. Come with me now, and I shall give you what you have askedfor."

  Ten minutes later Jim and his friend were wrapped from head to foot inthick blankets, and had taken their places close to the bulwark on oneside, and about the centre of the vessel. As they did so one of the crewpassed them and went to take his station forward, while the remainderproceeded aft, and throwing themselves down upon the deck, prepared tosleep. Two hours passed without incident, Tom's heavy breathing tellingclearly that he was asleep. Then Jim, whose eyes had been wide open allthe time, touched him gently with his foot, and had the satisfaction ofseeing that he had awakened his companion. Then curling himself in hisblanket, he closed his eyes. He could not sleep, however, for, though hewas tired out with the long day of excitement, his novel position, andthe thought that danger threatened them, kept him wide awake. He was,therefore, fully prepared when Tom stealthily stretched out an arm andtugged at his blanket, and at once sat up with his back against thebulwark. Once more it was time for his companion's watch, and Jim, whowas now feeling decidedly drowsy, awoke him and lay down again upon thedeck. A few minutes later he was fast asleep, and remained so for aconsiderable period. But a shout from Tom suddenly roused him, and,starting up, he saw that a struggle was taking place within a few feetof him. Dawn was just breaking, and the light enabled him to discoverthe fact that his companion was clasped in the arms of two of thenatives, who were hustling him towards the bulwarks, and evidentlyendeavouring to throw him overboard.

  Springing to his feet, Jim leapt across the deck at one bound, and senthis fist crashing into the face of one of Tom's opponents. Then, with ashout, he clasped the other by the neck, and, tearing him from his hold,sent him reeling across the deck.

  "What has happened, Tom?" he asked. "What made them attack you?"

  "I can't say," was the breathless answer; "but I deserved to be thrownoverboard, for I believe I had fallen asleep. At any rate, they wereupon me before I was aware of it, and, while one held me by theshoulders and placed a hand firmly over my mouth, the other caught me bythe legs, and hustled me to the side. I fought like a cat, and managedto free my mouth. But you saved my life, old chap."

  "Look out! They are preparing to rush again," cried Jim, in a warningvoice. "I suppose we must make a fight for it."

  As they were talking, the two men who had attacked Tom had pickedthemselves up, and had retired to their comrades, who stood close to thehelm. That they were disconcerted by the sudden resistance was evident,but, seeing only two unarmed young fellows, they forgot their fear, andat once prepared to renew the combat. Snatching arms from a pile whichlay beside them on the deck, they shouted to their comrades to join inthe struggle, and then came rushing towards Jim and Tom at their fastestpace.

  It was a critical moment, and might well have unnerved the bravest ofmen. Indeed, Tom was so shaken by the narrow escape he had had, that,for a second or two, he did nothing but stare at his opponents, as iffascinated. Jim, however, was fully alive to the danger, and promptlytook measures to protect himself. Without taking his eyes from thenatives he felt for and grasped the butt of a revolver, and, as theyapproached, presented it at their heads, hesitating to press the triggerin the hope that a sight of the weapon would overawe them. But they weremaddened with rage, and, with shrill cries, came on boldly, waving theirswords above their heads.

  Crack! Jim pressed the trigger ever so gently, and, to his astonishment,the report had scarcely rung out upon the air when the leading mansuddenly tossed his weapon above his head and fell to the deck with acrash. A second later, the native who followed him tripped over hisbody, and came sprawling upon all fours, where he lay, stunned by thefall.

  "Now get ready for the other two," cried Jim. "Pull yourself together,Tom, and when they rush, leave me to manage the first one. You can put abullet into the second, if necessary, but we don't want to kill themall, if it can be helped. Ah, here they come!"

  Undeterred by the quick fate which had befallen their comrades, themaster of the dhow advanced cautiously along the deck, accompanied bythe steersman, and armed with an enormous double-handed sword, which heheld well before him. The steersman snatched at one of the guns whichhad been loaded in preparation for the attack of the pirate on theprevious evening, and sinking upon one knee, took steady aim in Jim'sdirection. He was in the act of firing it when Tom, who had suddenlycome to his senses, took a snapshot at him with his revolver, in thehope of killing him before he could do any harm. But the bullet flewwide of the mark, and striking the bulwarks, buried itself deep in thewood. An instant later there was a loud report, and, to Jim's amazement,the folds of linen which were bound about his head flew high into theair, while he staggered back, feeling as though someone had struck himviolently.

  But he was not the lad to
give way without a struggle, or to cry outbefore he was hurt. Starting forward a pace or two, he levelled hisrevolver at the man who had just fired, and who was, at that moment,engaged in reaching for another gun. Sighting carefully, and with theutmost coolness, he pressed gently upon the trigger, and had thesatisfaction of seeing the native start to his feet with a shriek ofpain, and then collapse suddenly upon the deck.

  "And now for the master!" he said quietly, turning to Tom. "Tell himthat if he moves a pace forward we will shoot him like a dog."

  "Drop your weapon!" Tom at once shouted, advancing towards the man,revolver in hand. "We have already killed two of your number, and willshoot you also, if you show the slightest wish to continue the conflict.Drop your sword, I say, and hands up!"

  "You are too strong for us," answered the native humbly, letting hisweapon tumble with a crash to the deck. "Spare my life, and I promisenot to attack you again."

  "That's right! And now, wake this fellow up," continued Tom, pointing tothe man who had been stunned, and who was now recovering consciousness."When you've done that, go aft, and send him into the bows; but beforedoing so, you can repeat to him what I have said."

  Meekly obeying these commands, the master of the vessel went to hisfallen comrade and shook him savagely. Then he dragged him to his feet,and shouting words of warning in his ear, sent him forward, retiringhimself to the helm.

  "And now let us see to these other fellows," said Jim. "I expect thefirst is dead, for I fired at close quarters, and aimed plump at themiddle of his chest. The second was a longer and more difficult shot,and may not have proved fatal."

  Keeping their revolvers in their hands, in case of treachery, theycrossed the deck to the fallen native, and turned him upon his back, Jimin vain attempting to disguise the horror with which the sight filledhim.

  "Dead!" he said in a whisper. "It's terrible to think that I killedhim."

  "I dare say it is, old boy," Tom answered calmly. "But then, you see, itwould have been far more terrible if he had run you through with thismurderous-looking sword, and had then thrown you into the sea. It's notnice, I admit, to feel that that ugly-looking wound is due to yourbullet, but then, you know, he fully deserved it, for he had everyintention of killing you, and, as you saw, did his best to rid the worldof my presence. So, cheer up, Jim. It was a splendid shot, and I'm stillmarvelling at your pluck and coolness. If it hadn't been for you, Ireally believe that our bodies would have been floating a mile or moreastern by now, a prey to the sharks, for I was completely unhinged by mystruggle with them. You behaved grandly, I tell you, and you saved bothmy life and your own."

  "I don't think so," replied Jim modestly. "You see, I couldn't very wellhave behaved in any other way. Your shout awakened me with a start tofind you fighting with those two ruffians. Naturally, I went to yourhelp, and as an Englishman's first weapons are his fists, I used minewith a result that fairly astonished me. After that, everything was, ofcourse, plain sailing."

  "There's no plain sailing at all about it, Jim, my boy," said Tomsharply, "and I'm not going to allow you to run down the share you tookin the matter. You behaved splendidly, and with the greatest pluck,while I made a fool of myself. First of all, I fell asleep when I shouldhave been keeping careful watch, and then I was so thoroughly upset bythe attack made upon me that I was practically useless. But there, I cansee you don't like the subject, so I'll say no more. Shake hands! That'sright. I feel better now."

  "Then let us look at this other fellow, Tom."

  Walking along the deck, they knelt down beside the second native who hadfallen, and turning him over, at once saw that he was dead, for he hadbeen struck in the neck.

  "A lucky shot," said Jim, looking pityingly at the man.

  "And mine was an execrable one!" exclaimed Tom, in disgust. "It almostlost you your life. Let's look at your head."

  "Yes, it was a narrow shave, Tom, but I was so excited that I forgot allabout it in a moment. George! Look at that!"

  Jim placed his hand to his head, and withdrew it with a long curl ofdark hair, which had been neatly severed by the bullet.

  "Yes," he repeated, "it was a close shave, and I never want another likeit. Indeed, I have very much to be thankful for, for had the gun beenaimed half an inch lower, my head would have been shattered, and Ishould be lying like that poor fellow there."