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diff --git a/21239.txt b/21239.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..587dc46 --- /dev/null +++ b/21239.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8593 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Cliff Climbers, by Captain Mayne Reid + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Cliff Climbers + A Sequel to "The Plant Hunters" + +Author: Captain Mayne Reid + +Illustrator: E. Evans + +Release Date: April 27, 2007 [EBook #21239] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CLIFF CLIMBERS *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + + +The Cliff Climbers +A Sequel to "The Plant Hunters" + +By Captain Mayne Reid +________________________________________________________________________ +The book begins with two young brothers and an Indian guide, in a valley +in the Himalayas, into which they had ascended with some difficulty in +the preceding book - "The Plant Hunters". + +Unfortunately they find they cannot get out at the top of the valley, +and they cannot go back the way they came. So they are stuck. + +They try various ingenious ideas for getting out, each of which appears +as though it would work, but in the end does not, usually in a quite +entertaining way. Eventually they do think of a way, which I will not +divulge here, and they get out, but it had been a long nerve-racking +period before their final release. + +The copy of the book I worked from looked at first sight as though it +had been beautifully printed. But this turned out to be a delusion, for +the type-setting had been truly awful. It does seem sad that an author, +a well-known one at the time, could take the trouble to write a good +book, that he should use a good publisher, and a good illustrator, a +good book-binder, only to have the whole thing let down by very poor +type-setting. And that goes on down to proof-reading, too, for the +publisher should have checked all this as well. NH +________________________________________________________________________ + +THE CLIFF CLIMBERS +A SEQUEL TO "THE PLANT HUNTERS" + +BY CAPTAIN MAYNE REID + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +THE HIMALAYAS. + +Who has not heard of the Himalayas--those Titanic masses of mountains +that interpose themselves between the hot plains of India and the cold +table-lands of Thibet--a worthy barrier between the two greatest empires +in the world, the Mogul and the Celestial? The veriest tyro in +geography can tell you that they are the tallest mountains on the +surface of the earth; that their summits--a half-dozen of them at +least--surmount the sea-level by more than five miles of perpendicular +height; that more than thirty of them rise above twenty thousand feet, +and carry upon their tops the eternal snow! + +The more skilled geographer, or _geognosist_, could communicate hundreds +of other interesting facts in relation to these majestic mountains; vast +volumes might be filled with most attractive details of them--their +_fauna_, their _sylva_, and their _flora_. But here, my reader, we have +only space to speak of a few of the more salient points, that may enable +you to form some idea of the Titanic grandeur of these mighty masses of +snow-crowned rock, which, towering aloft, frown or smile, as the case +may be, on our grand empire of Ind. + +It is the language of writers to call the Himalayas a "chain of +mountains." Spanish geographers would call them a "sierra" (saw)--a +phrase which they have applied to the Andes of America. Either term is +inappropriate, when speaking of the Himalayas: for the vast tract +occupied by these mountains--over 200,000 square miles, or three times +the size of Great Britain--in shape bears no resemblance to a chain. +Its length is only six or seven times greater than its breadth--the +former being about a thousand miles, while the latter in many places +extends through two degrees of the earth's latitude. + +Moreover, from the western termination of the Himalayas, in the country +of Cabul, to their eastern declension near the banks of the +Burrampooter, there is no continuity that would entitle them to the +appellation of a "chain of mountains." Between these two points they +are cut transversely--and in many places--by stupendous valleys, that +form the channels of great rivers, which, instead of running east and +west, as the mountains themselves were supposed to trend, have their +courses in the transverse direction--often flowing due north or south. + +It is true that, to a traveller approaching the Himalayas from any part +of the great plain of India, these mountains present the appearance of a +single range, stretching continuously along the horizon from east to +west. This, however, is a mere optical illusion; and, instead of one +range, the Himalayas may be regarded as a _congeries_ of mountain +ridges, covering a superficies of 200,000 square miles, and running in +as many different directions as there are points in the compass. + +Within the circumference of this vast mountain tract there is great +variety of climate, soil, and productions. Among the lower hills--those +contiguous to the plains of India--as well as in some of the more +profound valleys of the interior--the flora is of a tropical or +subtropical character. The palm, the tree fern, and bamboo here +flourish in free luxuriance. Higher up appears the vegetation of the +temperate zone, represented by forests of gigantic oaks of various +species, by sycamores, pines, walnut, and chestnut trees. Still higher +are the rhododendrons, the birches, and heaths; succeeded by a region of +herbaceous vegetation--by slopes, and even table-plains, covered with +rich grasses. Stretching onward and upward to the line of the eternal +snow, there are encountered the _Cryptogamia_--the lichens and mosses of +Alpine growth--just as they are found within the limits of the polar +circle; so that the traveller, who passes from the plains of India +towards the high ridges of the Himalayas, or who climbs out of one of +the deeper valleys up to some snow-clad summit that surmounts it, may +experience within a journey of a few hours' duration every degree of +climate, and observe a representative of every species of vegetation +known upon the face of the earth! + +The Himalayas are not uninhabited. On the contrary, one considerable +kingdom (Nepaul), with many petty states and communities (as Bhotan, +Sikhim, Gurwhal, Kumaon, and the famed Cashmere), are found within their +boundaries--some enjoying a sort of political independence, but most of +them living under the protection either of the Anglo-Indian empire, on +the one side, or that of China upon the other. The inhabitants of these +several states are of mixed races, and very different from the people of +Hindostan. Towards the east--in Bhotan and Sikhim--they are chiefly of +the Mongolian stock, in customs and manners resembling the people of +Thibet, and, like them, practising the religion of the Lamas. In the +western Himalayas there is an admixture of Ghoorka mountaineers, Hindoos +from the south, Sikhs from Lahore, and Mahometans from the old empire of +the Moguls; and here, also, are to be found, in full profession, the +three great representative religions of Asia--Mahometan, Buddhist, and +Brahmin. + +The population, however, is exceedingly small compared with the surface +over which it is distributed; and there are many tracts in the Himalayan +hills, thousands of square miles in extent, where no human being +dwells--where no chimney sends up its smoke. Indeed, there are vast +tracts, especially among the high snow-covered summits, that have either +never been explored, or only very rarely, by the adventurous hunter. +Others there are quite inaccessible; and it is needless to say, that the +highest peaks--such as Chumulari, Kinchinjunga, Donkia, Dawalghisi, and +the like--are far beyond the reach of even the most daring climber. +Perhaps no one has ever ascended to the height of five miles above the +level of the sea; and it is a question whether at that elevation a human +being could exist. At such a height it is probable that animal life +would become extinct, by reason either of the extreme cold or the rarity +of the atmosphere. + +Though the Himalaya mountains have been known from the earliest historic +times--for they are the _Imaus_ and _Emodus_ of the ancient writers--it +is only within the present century that we in Europe have obtained any +definite knowledge of them. The Portuguese and Dutch--the first +European colonists of India--have told us very little about them; and +even our own Anglo-Indian writers were long silent upon this interesting +theme. Exaggerated accounts of the hostility and cruelty of the +Himalayan highlanders--more especially the Ghoorkas--prevented private +explorations; and with the exception of some half-dozen books, most of +them referring to the western section of the Himalayas, and +comparatively valueless, from the want of scientific knowledge on the +part of their authors, this vast tract has remained almost a _terra +incognita_ up to the present time. + +Of late, however, we have obtained a better acquaintance with this +interesting portion of the earth's surface. The botanist, lured thither +by its magnificent _flora_, has opened to us a new world of vegetation. +Royle and Hooker have ably achieved this task. The zoologist, equally +attracted by its varied _fauna_, has made us acquainted with new forms +of animal life. Hodgson and Wallich are the historians in this +department. Scarcely less are we indebted to the sportsman and hunter-- +to Markham, Dunlop, and Wilson the "mountaineer." + +But in addition to these names, that have become famous through the +published reports of their explorations, there are others that still +remain unrecorded. The _plant-hunter_--the humble but useful +commissioner of the enterprising nurseryman--has found his way into the +Himalayas; has penetrated their most remote gorges; has climbed their +steepest declivities; and wandered along the limit of their eternal +snow. In search of new forms of leaf and flower, he has forded the +turbid stream, braved the roaring torrent, dared the dangerous +avalanche, and crossed the dread crevasse of the glistening glacier; and +though no printed book may record his adventurous experience, not the +less has he contributed to our knowledge of this great mountain world. +His lessons may be read on the parterre, in the flowers of the purple +magnolia, the deodar, the rhododendron. They may be found in the +greenhouse, in the eccentric blossoms of the orchis, and curious form of +the screw-pine--in the garden, in many a valuable root and fruit, +destined ere long to become favourites of the dessert-table. It is ours +to chronicle the story of an humble expedition of this kind--the +adventures of a young plant-hunter, the _employe_ of an enterprising +"seedsman" well-known in the world's metropolis. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +A VIEW FROM CHUMULARI. + +Our scene lies in the very heart of the Himalayas--in that district of +them least explored by English travellers, though not the most distant +from the Anglo-Indian capital, Calcutta. Almost due north of this city, +and in that portion of the Himalayan ranges embraced by the great bend +of the Burrampooter, may be found the spot upon which our interest is to +be fixed. Literally may it be termed a spot, when compared in +superficies with the vast extent of wilderness that surrounds it--a +wilderness of bleak, barren ridges, of glistening glaciers, of snow-clad +summits, soaring one above another, or piled incongruously together like +cumuli in the sky. + +In the midst of this chaos of rock, ice, and snow, Chumulari raises his +majestic summit, crowned and robed in white, as becomes his sacred +character. Around are other forms, his acolytes and attendants, less in +stature, but mighty mountains nevertheless, and, like him, wearing the +vestment of everlasting purity. + +Could you stand upon the top of Chumulari, you would have under your +eye, and thousands of feet below your feet, the scene of our narrative-- +the arena in which its various incidents were enacted. Not so unlike an +amphitheatre would that scene appear--only differing from one, in the +small number of the _dramatis persona_, and the entire absence of +spectators. + +From the top of Chumulari, looking down among the foot hills of this +majestic mountain, you might behold a valley of a singular character--so +singular as at once to fix your attention. You would note that it is of +a regular oval shape; and that instead of being bounded by sloping +declivities, it is girt by an almost vertical cliff that appears to be +continuous all around it. This cliff of dark granitic rock you might +guess with your eye to rise several hundred feet sheer from the bottom +of the valley. If it were in the season of summer, you might further +observe, that receding from its brow a dark-coloured declivity of the +mountain rises still higher, terminating all around in peaks and +ridges--which, being above the snow-line are continually covered with +the pale white mantle that has fallen upon them from the heavens. + +These details would be taken in at the first glance; and then your eye +would wander into the valley below, and rest there--fixed by the +singularity of the scene, and charmed by its soft loveliness--so +strongly contrasting with the rude surroundings on which you had been +hitherto gazing. + +The form of the valley would suggest the existence of the grand +elliptical crater of some extinct volcano. But instead of the black +sulphuric _scoria_, that you might expect to see strewed over its base, +you behold a verdant landscape of smiling loveliness, park-like plains +interposed with groves and copses, here and there a mound of rock-work, +as if piled artificially and for ornament. Around the cliffs appears a +belt of forest of darker green; and occupying the centre a limpid lake, +on whose silver surface at a certain hour of the day you might see +reflected part of the snow-crowned summit on which you are standing--the +cone of Chumulari itself. + +With a good glass you might distinguish quadrupeds of several _species_ +straying over the verdant pastures; birds of many kinds upon the wing, +and others disporting themselves upon the surface of the lake. + +You would be tempted to look for a grand mansion. You would send your +glance in every direction, expecting to see chimneys and turrets +overtopping the trees; but in this you would be disappointed. + +On one side of the valley, near to the base of its bounding cliff, you +might see a white vapour ascending from the surface of the earth. It +would be an error to believe it smoke. It is not that--only the _rime_ +rising over a hot-spring bubbling out from the rocks and forming the +little rivulet, that, like a silver string, connects it with the lake. + +Charmed with the view of this lovely valley, you would desire to visit +it. You would descend the long slope of Chumulari, and straggling +through the labyrinth of rugged foot hills that surround it, you would +reach the brow of the bounding precipice; but there you must come to a +halt. No path leads downward; and if you are still determined to set +foot on the shores of that smiling lake, you will have to make the +descent of the cliffs by means of a rope or rope-ladder several hundred +feet in length. + +With comrades to help you, you may accomplish this; but once in the +valley, you can only get out of it by remounting your rope-ladder: for +you will find no other means of exit. + +At one end of the valley you may perceive a gap in the cliffs; and fancy +that through this you may make your way out to the side of the mountain. +The gap may be easily reached, by going up a gentle acclivity; but +having passed through it, you will discover that it only guides you into +a gorge, like the valley itself, bounded on both sides by precipitous +cliff's. This gorge is half filled by a glacier; on the surface of +which you may pass for a certain distance downward. At the end of that +descent you will find the glacier cut by a deep crevasse, a hundred feet +in depth and a hundred in width. Without bridging the crevasse, you can +go no further; and if you did succeed in bridging it, further down you +would find others deeper and wider, over which it would be impossible +for you to pass. + +Return then, and examine the singular valley into which you have made +your way. You will find there trees of many kinds, quadrupeds of many +kinds, birds of many kinds, and insects of many kinds--you will find +every form of animal life, except that of the human being. If you find +not man, however, you may discover traces of him. Close to the +hot-spring, and forming a sort of "lean-to" against the cliff, you may +observe a rude hut built with blocks of stone, and plastered with mud +from the bed of the rivulet. Enter it. You will find it empty, cold, +untenanted by living thing. No furniture. Stone couches covered with +sedge and grass, upon which men may have slept or lain; and two or three +blocks of granite upon which they may have sat. That is all. Some +pieces of skin hanging around the walls, and the bones of animals +strewed over the ground outside, give a clue to the kind of food upon +which the inhabitants of the hut may have subsisted. Hunters they must +have been. That will be your natural conjecture. + +But how did they get into this valley, and how got they out of it? Of +course, like yourself, they descended into it, and then ascended out +again, by means of a rope-ladder. + +That would be the explanation at which you would arrive; and it would be +a satisfactory one, but for a circumstance that just now comes under +your observation. + +Scanning the _facade_ of the cliff, your eye is arrested by a singular +appearance. You perceive a serried line, or rather a series of serried +lines, running from the base in a vertical direction. On drawing nearer +to these curious objects, you discover them to be ladders--the lowest +set upon the earth, and reaching to a ledge, upon which the second is +rested; this one extending to a second ledge, on which the third ladder +finds support; and so on throughout a whole series of six. + +At first sight, it would appear to you as if the _ci-devant_ denizens of +the hut had made their exodus from the valley by means of these ladders; +and such would be the natural conviction, but for a circumstance that +forbids belief in this mode of exit: _the ladders do not continue to the +top of the cliff_! A long space, which would require two or three more +such ladders to span it, still intervenes between the top of the highest +and the brow of the precipice; and this could not have been scaled +without additional ladders. Where are they? It is scarcely probable +they had been drawn up; and had they fallen back into the valley, they +would still be there. There are none upon the ground. + +But these conjectures do not require to be continued. A short +examination of the cliff suffices to convince you that the design of +scaling it by ladders could not have succeeded. The ledge against which +rests the top of the highest must have been found too narrow to support +another; or rather, the rocks above and projecting over would render it +impossible to place a ladder upon this ledge. It is evident that the +scheme had been tried and abandoned. + +The very character of the attempt proves that they who had made it must +have been placed in a desperate situation--imprisoned within that +cliff-girt valley, with no means of escaping from it, except such as +they themselves might devise. + +Moreover, after a complete exploration of the place, you can find no +evidence that they ever did escape from their strange prison; and your +thoughts can only shape themselves into conjectures, as to who they were +that had wandered into this out-of-the-way corner of the world; how they +got into, and how out of it; and, finally, whether they ever succeeded +in getting out at all. Your conjectures will come to an end, when you +have read the history of the _Cliff-climbers_. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +THE PLANT-HUNTER AND HIS COMPANIONS. + +Karl Linden, a young German student, who had taken part in the +revolutionary struggles of 1848, had by the act of banishment sought an +asylum in London. Like most refugees, he was without means; but, +instead of giving himself up to idle habits, he had sought and obtained +employment in one of those magnificent "nurseries" which are to be met +with in the suburbs of the world's metropolis. His botanical knowledge +soon attracted the attention of his employer, the proprietor of the +nursery--one of those enterprising and spirited men who, instead of +contenting themselves with merely cultivating the trees and +flowering-plants already introduced into our gardens and greenhouses, +expend large sums of money in sending emissaries to all parts of the +earth, to discover and bring home other rare and beautiful kinds. + +These emissaries--botanical collectors, or "plant-hunters," as they may +be called--in the pursuit of their calling, have explored, and are still +engaged in exploring, the wildest and most remote countries of the +globe--such as the deep, dark forests upon the Amazon, the Orinoco, and +the Oregon in America; the hot equatorial regions of Africa; the +tropical jungles of India; the rich woods of the Oriental islands; and, +in short, wherever there is a prospect of discovering and obtaining new +floral or sylvan beauties. + +The exploration of the Sikhim Himalaya by the accomplished botanist, +Hooker--recorded in a book of travels not inferior to that of the great +Humboldt--had drawn attention to the rich and varied _flora_ of these +mountains; and in consequence of this, the enterprising "seedsman" who +had given Karl Linden temporary employment in his garden, promoted him +to a higher and more agreeable field of labour, by sending him as a +"plant-hunter" to the Thibetan Himalayas. + +Accompanied by his brother, Caspar, the young botanist proceeded to +Calcutta; and, after a short residence there, he set out for the +Himalayas--taking a direction almost due north from the city of the +Ganges. + +He had provided himself with a guide, in the person of a celebrated +Hindoo hunter or "shikaree," called Ossaroo; and this individual was the +sole attendant and companion of the two brothers--with the exception of +a large dog, of the boar-hound species, which had been brought with them +from Europe, and that answered to the name of Fritz. + +The young botanist had come to India furnished with a letter of +introduction to the manager of the Botanical Garden of Calcutta--an +establishment of world-wide renown. There he had been hospitably +received on his arrival in the Oriental city; and during his sojourn he +had spent much of his time within its boundaries. Moreover, the +authorities of the place, interested in his expedition, had given him +all the information in their power as to the route he intended +pursuing--though that was not much: for the portion of the Himalayas he +was about to explore was at that time a _terra incognita_ to +Englishmen--even in the city of Calcutta! + +It is not necessary here to detail the many adventures that befel our +plant-hunter and his party, during the progress of their journey towards +the Himalayas, and after they had entered within the grand gorges of +these mountains. Suffice it to say, that in pursuit of a beautiful +little animal--a "musk-deer"--they had gone up a gully filled by one of +those grand glaciers so common in the higher Himalayas; that the pursuit +had led them far up the ravine, and afterwards conducted them into a +singular crater-like valley--the one already described; that once in +this valley, they could find no way out of it, but by the ravine through +which they had entered; and that on returning to make their exit, they +discovered to their great consternation that a crevasse in the glacier, +over which they had passed, had opened during their absence, and to such +an extent as to render their exit impossible! + +They had endeavoured to span this crevasse; and had spent much time in +making a bridge of pine-trees for the purpose. They had succeeded at +length in getting across the chasm--but only to find others in the +glacier below, which no ingenuity could enable them to get over. + +They were compelled to abandon the idea, and return again to the valley; +which, though lovely to the eye, had now become hateful to their +thoughts: since they knew it to be their _prison_. + +During their residence in the place, many adventures befel them with +wild animals of various kinds. There chanced to be a small herd of +"yaks," or grunting oxen, in the valley; and these formed for a time the +staple article of their food. Caspar, who, though younger than Karl, +was the more skilled hunter of the two, had a very narrow escape from +the old yak bull; though he succeeded at length in killing the dangerous +animal. Ossaroo was very near being eaten up by a pack of wild dogs-- +every one of which he afterwards succeeded in killing; and Ossaroo was +also in danger of being swallowed up by an enemy of a very different +kind--that is by a _quicksand_, into which he had got his legs while +engaged in taking fish out of a net! + +Karl was not without _his_ hair-breadth "'scape"--having been chased by +a bear along a ledge of the cliff, from which he was compelled to make a +most perilous descent. The bear itself took refuge in a cave, where it +was afterwards pursued and killed, by all three acting in concert, +materially assisted by the dog Fritz. They had incurred great risk in +this chase of the bear: for although they had succeeded in destroying +the formidable animal they lost themselves in the great labyrinthine +cavern, and were only able to find their way out by making a fire with +the stocks of their guns, and rendering the bear's-grease available for +candles--which fortunately enabled them to extricate themselves. + +During the pursuit of the bear, and their subsequent endeavours to find +their way out, our adventurers had been struck by the enormous +dimensions of the cavern in which the animal had taken refuge; and in +the hope that some of its great galleries might lead out through the +mountain, and offer them a way of escape from the valley, they had made +torches, and explored it from end to end. It was all to no purpose; and +becoming satisfied that there was no exit by way of the cavern, they had +at length desisted from the search. + +From this point shall we continue, in more circumstantial detail, the +history of their attempts to escape from their mountain prison; which +they were now convinced could only be done by _climbing the cliff_ that +encircled it. + +The Cliff Climbers--by Captain Mayne Reid + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +HOME TO THE HUT. + +Emerging from the cave after their fruitless exploration, all three-- +Karl, Caspar, and Ossaroo--sat down upon the rocks in front of the +cliff, and for some time remained silent. The looks of all betokened a +deep and hopeless despair. The same thought was passing in their minds. +A painful thought it was--that they were completely cut off from all +communication with the world, and might never again look on human faces, +save their own! + +Caspar was the first to give expression to this gloomy foreboding. + +"Oh, brother!" groaned he, addressing himself to Karl, who sat nearest +to him, "oh! it is an awful fate! Here must we live, here must we die, +far away from home, far away from the world--alone--alone!" + +"No," replied Karl, deeply moved by the distress of his brother, "no, +Caspar, not alone--God is with us. Let Him be our world." + +However Caspar in his conscience might have acknowledged the justice of +the admonition, it failed to cheer him. Indeed, he could not help +perceiving, that Karl had uttered the speech half doubtingly, and with +the design of affording consolation. Moreover, the effort which Karl +was making to look hopeful and cheerful was evidently constrained; and +only the more convinced his companions that neither hope nor joy was in +his breast. + +To Karl's consolatory words his brother made no rejoinder. Ossaroo, +however, gave vent to his thoughts by an ambiguous shake of the head, +and a brief speech characteristic of that belief in fatalism peculiar to +his race. + +"Ah, sahibs," said he, addressing himself to both, "if the Great Sahib +in the sky will we go out from here, we go--if He no will, we no go-- +nivvamore." + +Ossaroo's speech, however compatible with a true faith, did not +contribute much towards cheering the spirits of the party; and for +another long interval all remained silent. + +Caspar and Ossaroo appeared completely prostrated by the new +disappointment. Karl, on the other hand, seemed less disposed to view +things despairingly; and as he sate, was evidently engaged in active +thought. + +After awhile his companions observed this; though neither made any +attempt to rouse him from his reverie. They guessed, that, whatever was +passing in his mind would soon be communicated to them. + +They were right in this conjecture: for in a few minutes Karl terminated +the silence by addressing them. + +"Come!" said he, speaking in a tone of encouragement, "we are wrong in +so soon yielding to despair. Let us not give up, till we are beaten at +all points. I have told you what my object was, when I first mounted +upon that ledge, and discovered the cave and its surly occupant, the +bear. I thought then, that, if we could find a series of ledges one +above another, and sufficiently near each other, we might plant ladders +upon them, and so reach the top. You see that there is such a +succession of ledges--just before your faces there. Unfortunately there +is one of the spaces high up yonder--where the cliff is darkest--that +cannot be less than sixty or seventy feet in width. I have ascertained +that by comparing it with the height from the ground to the cave--which +I had just finished measuring when I met the bear. It would be +impossible for us to make a ladder that length--or even to hoist it up +there if made--so that all thought of scaling the cliff at this point +must be given up." + +"Perhaps," interposed Caspar, catching at Karl's idea, "there may be +some other part of the precipice where the ledges are nearer to each +other? Did you examine it all around?" + +"No. I had got no further than this place, when I met Master Bruin; +and, as you know, our adventures with him and our exploration of the +cave have taken up our time ever since, and, indeed, driven the design +of the ladders quite out of my head. Now, however, we may return to it; +and our next move will be to go all round, and see whether a better +place may not be discovered. To-night it is too late. It already +begins to darken; and we must have clear daylight for such a purpose. +Let us home to our hut, and have some supper and then go to rest--having +first prayed to Him for success. We may rise in better spirits, and +continue our examination in the morning." + +To this proposal there was no objection on the part of either Caspar or +Ossaroo. On the contrary, the mention of supper--both being very +hungry--had caused them to start to their feet with remarkable alacrity; +and Karl, taking the lead, they followed him, Fritz in turn following +them. + +On arriving at their hut, supper was cooked and eaten, with that zest +which hunger always gives, even to the coarsest viands; and, having +carried out the remaining part of the programme which Karl had +suggested--that is, the offering up a prayer for success on the morrow-- +the trio sought their grass-covered couches with a feeling of renewed +hopefulness. + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +A MIDNIGHT INTRUDER. + +They had been asleep several hours, when all three were suddenly +awakened by the barking of Fritz. During night hours the faithful +creature stayed habitually within the hut--where he also had his bed of +dry grass. On hearing any unusual noise without, he would rush forth +and prowl about for awhile; and, after satisfying himself that there was +no enemy in the neighbourhood, would return quietly to his lair. + +Fritz was far from being a noisy dog. He had seen too much service, and +gathered too much wisdom, to waste his breath in idle barking; and it +was only upon grand and important occasions that he condescended to give +tongue. Then, however, his bark--or bay, it should rather be termed-- +was terrific. + +On the occasion in question--which happened just about the hour of +midnight--the three sleepers were suddenly awakened by his expansive +"yowl," that filled the whole valley, and reverberating from the cliffs, +appeared continuous. The dog, after uttering this warning note, had +rushed out of the hut--which had no door to it--and it was from some +place down near the lake that his barking appeared to proceed. + +"What can it be?" was the prompt and _very_ natural inquiry of the three +individuals, whom Fritz had so abruptly awakened from their slumbers. + +"Something Fritz is frightened at," said Caspar, who knew the dog's +nature better than either of the others. "He don't bark that way at any +sort of game that he knows he can conquer. It's some animal that's a +match for him, I warrant. If the old yak bull were still alive, I +should say it was he." + +"There may be tigers in this valley; I never thought of that," rejoined +Karl. "Now that I do think of it," continued he, drawing upon the +reminiscences of his zoological reading, "it is quite probable. People +believe the tiger to be exclusively an inhabitant of tropical or +subtropical regions. That is an error. On this continent (the speaker +was in Asia) the royal Bengal tiger ranges at least as far north as the +latitude of London. I know he is found on the Amoor as high as the +fiftieth degree." + +"Mercy on us!" broke in Caspar; "it may be a tiger, and we have never +thought of having a door to our hut! If it should be one--" + +Here the hypothetic speech of Caspar was abruptly brought to a +conclusion, by a singular noise from without--which was heard mingling +in chorus with the baying of Fritz. + +The noise in question bore some resemblance to the sound of a trumpet, +only sharper and more treble in its character. It was in effect more +like the squeak of a _penny trumpet_ than the real article; and yet, +withal, there was something terrifying in the sound. + +It must have terrified Fritz: for the moment after it was heard, the dog +came rushing back into the hut, as if pursued by a legion of horned +bulls; and, though he kept up his angry baying, he appeared altogether +disinclined to venture out again. + +Just then, the singular noise was heard outside the door--something +between a shriek and a whistle--and this time with a far more terrifying +effect: since, whatever produced it--bird, beast, or man--was evidently +near, and still approaching nearer. + +Of the three individuals within the hut, only one had ever before heard +a sound exactly similar to that. Ossaroo was the one. The old shikaree +recognised the noise the moment it reached his ears, and knew perfectly +well the sort of instrument that must have been producing it; but he was +hindered for a time from proclaiming his knowledge, by surprise, as well +as a strong feeling of terror at hearing such a sound in such a place. + +"By de wheels ob Juggernaut car!" he gasped out. "Can't be--can't be; +no possible him be here." + +"Who? What?" demanded Karl and Caspar, in a breath. + +"See, sahibs! it him--it him!" hurriedly rejoined the Hindoo, in a sort +of shrieking whisper. "We all perish--it him--it him--de god--de +mighty--de terrible--" + +There was no light within the hovel, except a faint glimmer from the +moon shining brightly enough outside; but it did not require any light +to tell that the shikaree was frightened pretty nearly out of his +senses. His companions could discover by his voice that he had suddenly +changed position, and was retreating backward to that corner of the hut +furthest from the doorway. At the same time his words reached them in +whispers, cautioning them to lie close and keep silent. + +Both, without knowing what the danger was, of course obeyed injunctions +thus emphatically delivered; and remained sitting up on their couches +without uttering a word. Ossaroo, after having delivered his cautioning +speeches, kept equally silent. + +Once more the strange sound fell upon their ears--this time as if the +instrument that produced it had been thrust into the doorway of the +hovel. At the same instant the turf outside, hitherto glistening under +a bright moonlight, became darkened by the shadow of an enormous +creature--as if the queen of night had suddenly disappeared behind the +blackest of clouds! Still the light could be seen beyond, and the moon +was shining. It was no cloud that had obscured her; but some vast body +moving over the earth, and which, having come up to the front of the +hovel, was there halting. + +Karl and Caspar fancied they could see a gigantic living form, with huge +thick limbs, standing outside; but, indeed, both were as much terrified +by the apparition as Ossaroo himself, though perhaps for a different +reason. + +Fritz must have been as much frightened as any of the four; and fear had +produced upon him an effect exactly similar to that it had produced upon +Ossaroo. It kept him silent. Cowering in a corner, Fritz was now as +quiet as if he had been born a voiceless _dingo_. + +This speechless trance seemed to have its influence upon the +awe-inspiring shadow outside the door: for, after giving utterance to +another specimen of shrill piping, it withdrew with as much silence as +if it had been but the shadow it appeared! + +Caspar's curiosity had become too strong to be kept any longer under the +control of his fears. As soon as the strange intruder was seen moving +away from the hut, he stole forward to the entrance, and looked out. +Karl was not slow in following him; and Ossaroo also ventured from his +hiding-place. + +A dark mass--in form like a quadruped, but one of gigantic size--could +be seen going off in the direction of the lake. It moved in majestic +silence; but it could have been no shadow, for on crossing the stream-- +near the point where the latter debouched into the lake--the plashing of +its feet could be heard as it waded through the water, and eddies could +be seen upon the calm surface. A simple shadow would not have made such +a commotion as that? + +"Sahibs!" said Ossaroo, in a tone of mysterious gravity, "he be one ob +two ting. He eider be de god Brahma, or--" + +"Or what?" demanded Caspar. + +"An ole rogue." + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +A TALK ABOUT ELEPHANTS. + +"An old rogue?" said Caspar, repeating the words of the shikaree. "What +do you mean by that, Ossy?" + +"What you Feringhee, sahib, call _rogue_ elephant." + +"Oh! an elephant!" echoed Karl and Caspar--both considerably relieved at +this natural explanation of what had appeared so like a supernatural +apparition. + +"Certainly the thing looked like one," continued Caspar. + +"But how could an elephant enter this valley?" + +Ossaroo could not answer this question. He was himself equally puzzled +by the appearance of the huge quadruped; and still rather inclined to +the belief that it was some of his trinity of Brahminee gods, that had +for the nonce assumed the elephantine form. For that reason he made no +attempt to explain the presence of such an animal in the valley. + +"It is possible for one to have come up here from the lower country," +remarked Karl, reflectively. + +"But how could he get into the valley?" again inquired Caspar. + +"In the same way as we got in ourselves," was Karl's reply; "up the +glacier and through the gorge." + +"But the crevasse that hinders us from getting out? You forget that, +brother? An elephant could no more cross it than he could fly; surely +not?" + +"Surely not," rejoined Karl. "I did not say that he could have crossed +the crevasse." + +"Oh! you mean that he may have come up here before we did?" + +"Exactly so. If it be an elephant we have seen--and what else can it +be?" pursued Karl, no longer yielding to a belief in the supernatural +character of their nocturnal visitant--"it must of course have got into +the valley before us. The wonder is our having seen no signs of such an +animal before. You, Caspar, have been about more than any of us. Did +you never, in your rambles, observe anything like an elephant's track?" + +"Never. It never occurred to me to look for such a thing. Who would +have thought of a great elephant having climbed up here? One would +fancy such unwieldy creatures quite incapable of ascending a mountain." + +"Ah! there you would be in error: for, singular as it may appear, the +elephant is a wonderful climber, and can make his way almost anywhere +that a man can go. It is a fact, that in the island of Ceylon the wild +elephants are often found upon the top of Adam's Peak--to scale which is +trying to the nerves of the stoutest travellers. It would not be +surprising to find one here. Rather, I may say, it _is_ not: for now I +feel certain what we have just seen is an elephant, since it can be +nothing else. He may have entered this valley before us--by straying up +the glacier as we did, and crossing the chasm by the rock bridge--which +I know he could have done as well as we. Or else," continued Karl, in +his endeavour to account for the presence of the huge creature, "he may +have come here long ago, even before there was any crevasse. What is +there improbable in his having been here many years--perhaps all his +life, and that may be a hundred years or more?" + +"I thought," said Caspar, "that elephants were only found on the plains, +where the vegetation is tropical and luxuriant." + +"That is another popular error," replied Karl. "So far from affecting +tropical plains, the elephant prefers to dwell high up on the mountains; +and whenever he has the opportunity, he climbs thither. He likes a +moderately cool atmosphere--where he may be less persecuted by flies and +other troublesome insects: since, notwithstanding his great strength and +the thickness of his hide, so small a creature as a fly can give him the +greatest annoyance. Like the tiger, he is by no means exclusively a +tropical animal; but can live, and thrive too, in a cool, elevated +region, or in a high latitude of the temperate zone." + +Karl again expressed surprise that none of them had before that time +observed any traces of this gigantic quadruped, that must have been +their neighbour ever since the commencement of their involuntary +residence in the valley. Of course this surprise was fully shared by +Caspar. Ossaroo participated in it, but only to a very slight degree. +The shikaree was still inclined towards indulging in his superstitious +belief that the creature they had seen was not of the earth, but some +apparition of Brahma or Vishnu. + +Without attempting to combat this absurd fancy, his companions continued +to search for an explanation of the strange circumstance of their not +having sooner encountered the elephant. + +"After all," suggested Caspar, "there is nothing so strange about it. +There are many large tracts of the valley we have not explored; for +instance, that wide stretch of black forest that lies at its upper end. +Neither of us has ever been through there since the first two days, when +we followed the deer all round, and went afterwards to examine the +cliff. For myself, I never strayed that way while hunting--because I +always found the game in the open grounds near the lake. Now the +elephant may have his lair in that piece of forest, and only come out at +night. As for tracks, no doubt there are plenty, but I never thought of +looking for them. You know, brother, we have been too busy in making +our tree-bridge, and afterwards exploring the cavern, to think of much +else." + +Karl admitted the truth of these observations; for it was as Caspar had +alleged. During the whole time of their residence in the valley, the +minds of all three, filled with anxiety about the future, had been +keenly bent upon devising some means of escape; and on this account they +had given very little attention to anything that did not in some way +contribute to that end. Even Caspar, in his hunting excursions, had not +gone over one-half of the valley; nor had these excursions been very +numerous. In three or four days he had procured as much _meat_ as was +necessary. This had been carefully cured by Ossaroo, and formed the +staple of their daily food. Only upon rare occasions were the guns +afterwards used to procure a little fresh provision--such as a brace of +wild duets from the lake, or one of the smaller game animals which could +be found almost any morning within gunshot distance of the hut. For +these reasons many parts of the valley had been left unvisited; and it +was deemed possible enough for even a great elephant to have been all +the time dwelling within its boundaries, unseen by any of the party. +Indulging in these conjectures, all three remained awake for more than +an hour; but as the subject of their speculations appeared to have gone +altogether away, they gradually came to the conclusion that he was not +going to return at least for that night--and their confidence being thus +restored, they once more betook themselves to sleep--resolved in future +to keep a sharp lookout for the dangerous neighbour that had so +unexpectedly presented himself to their view. + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +RE-STOCKING THE GUNS. + +Next morning all three were astir betimes, and out of the hut by the +earliest light of day. Karl and Caspar were anxious to obtain more +definite information about the elephant, whose existence Ossaroo was +still inclined to doubt. Indeed, with the exception of the three or +four shrieking whistles to which the animal had given utterance, so +silently and mysteriously had he come and departed, that they might +almost have fancied the whole thing a dream. + +But such an immense creature could not move about, without leaving some +traces of his presence; and as he had crossed the stream, or rather a +little embayment of the lake into which the stream emptied itself, no +doubt his tracks would be found on the sandy shore. + +As soon, therefore, as the day broke, all three started for the spot +where the creature had been seen to cross. + +On reaching it, they could no longer doubt that an elephant had paid +them a visit. Huge footprints--nearly as big as the bottom of a bushel +measure--were deeply indented in the soft sand; and looking across the +"straits" (for so they were in the habit of calling the narrow mouth of +the bay), they could see other similar tracks on the opposite shore, +where the animal had waded out. + +Ossaroo was no longer doubtful as to the character of the creature that +had made those tracks. He had hunted elephants in the jungles of +Bengal, and knew all the peculiarities of the grand quadruped. Such +footmarks as were now under his eyes could not have been made by a mere +visionary animal, but only by a real elephant in the flesh. + +"And one of the biggest kind," asserted the shikaree, now speaking in +full confidence, and declaring, at the same time, that he could tell its +height to an inch. + +"How can you do that?" asked Caspar, in some surprise. + +"Me berra easy tell, young sahib," replied Ossaroo; "only need takee +size ob de rogue's foot. Dis way, sahibs." + +Saying this, the shikaree drew forth from one of his pockets a piece of +string; and, choosing one of the tracks which had made the clearest +impression, he carefully applied the string around its outer edge. In +this way the circumference of the elephant's foot was obtained. + +"Now, sahibs," said Ossaroo, holding the string between his fingers-- +that portion of it which had been applied around the footprint--"_twice_ +the length of dis reachee to the top of he shoulder; that how Ossaroo +know he biggee elephant." + +The circumference of the foot thus measured being nearly six feet, it +would follow, from the rule laid down by the shikaree, that the elephant +in question was nearly twelve feet high; and this Karl knew to be one of +the largest. Nor did Karl question the correctness of the deduction: +for he had often heard, from hunters whose word was not to be doubted, +that the height of an elephant is exactly twice the circumference of his +foot. + +Ossaroo, having now yielded up his belief--that the elephant was one of +his gods in disguise--declared with full confidence that the animal was +a _rogue_. Karl needed no explanation of what was meant by this. He +knew that the rogue elephant is an old male, who, for some reason or +other--perhaps for bad behaviour--has had the cold shoulder given him by +the rest of the herd, and from whose association he has been driven +away. Thus _cut_ by his former acquaintances, he is compelled to lead a +solitary life--the consequence of which is, that he becomes exceedingly +spiteful and morose in his disposition, and will not only attack any +other animal that may chance to cross his path, but will even seek them +out, as if for the mere purpose of indulging in a spirit of revenge! +There are many such in the jungles of India, as well as in Africa; and, +since man himself is not excepted from this universal hostility, a rogue +elephant is regarded as an exceedingly dangerous creature in the +neighbourhood where he takes up his abode. There are many instances +recorded--and well authenticated too--where human beings have been +sacrificed to the fury of these gigantic monsters: and cases are known +where a rogue elephant has purposely placed himself in waiting by the +side of a frequented path, with the object of destroying the unwary +traveller! In the valley of the Dheira Doon an elephant of this class-- +one, too, that had once been tamed, but had escaped from his servitude-- +is known to have taken the lives of nearly twenty unfortunate people +before his destruction could be effected. + +Well knowing these proclivities on the part of the _rogue_, Ossaroo at +once counselled caution in the future movements of all--a counsel which +Karl was too prudent to reject; and even the bold, rash Caspar did not +think it proper to dissent from. + +It was resolved, therefore, before continuing their projected +exploration of the cliffs, to set their weapons once more in proper +order--against any chance of an encounter with the elephant. + +Their guns had to be re-stocked, and a new handle put into the axe--as +well as a shaft into the boar-spear of Ossaroo--for all the woodwork of +these weapons had been broken up and burnt into ashes in the manufacture +of the candles of bear's-grease that had lighted them out of the cave. + +The search after the ledges must necessarily be postponed; until they +could go upon that errand properly armed and equipped, against any enemy +that might oppose their progress. + +Having come to this wise determination, they returned to their hut; +kindled a fire; cooked breakfast; and having despatched the meal, at +once set about selecting pieces of wood for the various purposes for +which they were required. + +They had no difficulty in procuring just what was wanted: for the valley +contained many valuable sorts of timber; and several kinds that had been +already cut for other purposes, now well seasoned and ready to hand, +were found lying about the hut. + +Setting about their work in earnest, and labouring diligently from +morning to night--and even into the night hours--they knew they would +not be long in accomplishing a task so trifling as the stocking of a +gun, or putting the handle to a boar-spear. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +INSPECTING THE CLIFFS. + +Working diligently with their knives two days sufficed to make guns, +axe, and spear as good as ever. Ossaroo also made himself a new bow and +a full quiver of arrows. + +On the third morning, after breakfasting, all three set out with the +determination not to leave any portion of the cliff unexamined. + +The part which lay between their hut and the cave, Karl had already +scrutinised with great care; so they went direct to the point where he +had left off, and there commenced their new survey. + +It is true they had already examined the cliffs all around; but this was +just after they arrived in the valley, and the purpose of that +exploration was very different from that of the present one. + +Then they were only looking for a place by which they might climb out; +and the idea of making ladders had not occurred to them. + +Now that this scheme had suggested itself, they entered upon their +second survey with the view of ascertaining whether it was practicable +or possible. Consequently, they went in search of facts of a different +nature--viz., to see if there existed a series of ledges, one above +another, that could be spanned by an equal number of such ladders as +they might be able to construct. + +That they could make ladders of a prodigious length--allowing sufficient +time for the execution of the work--all felt confident. They knew that +the Thibet pine-trees--the same sort as they had used in making the +bridge for the glacier crevasse--grew in great numbers not far from +their hut; and by selecting some of the slenderest trunks of these, they +would have the sides of as many ladders as they might want, almost ready +made, and each forty or fifty feet in length. + +If there should only be discovered a series of ledges, with not more +than forty feet space between each two, there would be a fair hope of +their being able to escalade the cliff, and escape from a place which, +although one of the pleasantest-looking spots in the world, had now +become to them loathsome as the interior of a dungeon. + +Sure enough, and to the great joy of all, such a set of shelves was soon +after presented to their eyes--having, at least in appearance, all the +requirements of which they were in search. The spaces between no two of +them appeared to be greater than thirty feet, some were much nearer to +each other. + +The part of the cliff where these terraces were found was not quite so +low, as that where Karl had made his measurement. It did not appear, +however, to be more than three hundred and fifty feet--a fearful height, +it is true--but nothing when compared with other sections of the same +precipice. To reach to its top, more than a dozen ladders would be +required--each between twenty and thirty feet in length. The labour of +making these ladders, with such tools as they had, might be looked upon +as something stupendous--sufficient, you might suppose, to deter them +from the task. But you must endeavour to realise the situation in which +they were placed--with no other hope of being delivered from their +mountain prison--and with this idea in your mind, you will comprehend +why they should have been willing to undertake even a far greater +labour. Of course, they did not expect to complete it in a day, neither +in a week, nor in a month: for they well knew that it would take several +months to make the number of ladders that would be required. And then +there would be the additional labour of getting each into its place: as +all, after the first one, would have to be carried up the cliff to the +ledge for which it should be constructed. Indeed, to raise ladders of +thirty feet in the manner contemplated, would seem an impossibility-- +that is, for such strength or mechanism as they could command. + +And so it might have proved, had they intended to make these ladders of +the ordinary weight. But they foresaw this difficulty, and hoped to get +over it by making them of the very lightest kind--something that would +just carry the weight of a man. + +Becoming more than half satisfied that at this point the precipice might +be scaled in the manner contemplated, they remained upon the ground in +order to give it a thorough examination. That done, they intended to +make the complete circuit of the valley, and ascertain whether there +might not be some other place still easier of ascent. + +The point where they had halted was behind the tract of heavily-timbered +forest--of which Caspar had spoken, and which up to this time none of +them had entered. Between the trees and the cliff they were now +contemplating, there was a narrow strip of ground destitute of timber; +and covered with a shingle of loose stones which had fallen from the +mountain above. Several boulders of large dimensions rested upon the +ground, at short distances apart; and there was one of a pillar-shape +that stood some twenty-feet high, while it was only about five or six in +diameter. It bore a sort of rude resemblance to an obelisk; and one +might easily have fancied that the hand of man had accomplished its +erection. For all that, it was a mere freak of Nature, and had probably +been set up by ancient glacier ice. Up one of its sides there was a +series of projections, by which an active man might climb to the top; +and Ossaroo _did_ climb it, partly out of playfulness, and partly, as he +said, to get a better view of the cliff. The shikaree stayed only a few +minutes on its top; and his curiosity having been satisfied, he had let +himself down again. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +A RECONNOISSANCE INTERRUPTED. + +Though the three had set out that morning with a wholesome dread of the +elephant, and a determination to go about their reconnoissance with +caution, their joy at the discovery of the ledges, and the eagerness +with which they were scanning them, had for the moment banished from +their minds all thoughts of the great quadruped. They were thinking +only of ledges and ladders, and talking loudly of how the latter might +best be made and placed upon the former. + +Just then, and just at the moment Ossaroo descended from the obelisk +rock, Fritz, who had been prowling about among the trees, set up a +fearful baying--such another as that to which he had given utterance on +the night when the elephant had paid its visit to the hut. + +There was a certain intonation of terror in the dog's voice--as if +whatever called it forth was something that inspired him with fear. The +apprehension that it was the elephant occurred to all three at once; and +with a simultaneous impulse they faced towards the spot whence the +baying of the dog appeared to proceed. Simultaneously, too, they +clutched more firmly their respective weapons--Karl his rifle, Caspar +his double-barrel, and Ossaroo his bow, with an arrow at the string. + +It is superfluous to say, that there was a certain amount of +consternation visible in the countenances of all three; which was rather +increased than diminished by the sight of Fritz dashing suddenly out of +the underwood, and running towards them at full speed, with his tail +considerably below the horizontal. Fritz, moreover, was giving +utterance to something that very closely resembled a howl. The dog had +evidently been attacked by some animal that had put him to flight; and +his masters knew that it must be a formidable creature that was causing +the variant Fritz to behave in such an ignominious manner. + +They were not kept long in doubt as to the character of Fritz's +conqueror and pursuer: for close behind his hips, almost touching them, +appeared a long, cylindrical, or trumpet-shaped object, of a bluish-grey +colour, protruding between two yellowish crescents, like a pair of huge +ivory horns. Behind those appeared a pair of large ears, like flaps of +sole leather; and in the rear of these last appendages came the round, +massive form of an enormous elephant! + +Crashing through the underwood, the monstrous creature soon cleared his +body from the timber, and rushed straight across the open ground-- +winding his terrible trumpet as he went. He was following Fritz as +straight as he could go, and evidently enraged at the dog. + +The latter, on escaping from the tangle of the thicket, made direct for +the spot occupied by his masters--thus directing the elephant upon them. + +It was no longer a question of protecting Fritz from his formidable +pursuer; for the elephant, on seeing three adversaries more worthy of +his tusks, seemed to forget all about the puny four-footed creature who +had provoked him; and at once directed his attack upon the upright +bipeds--as if resolved to punish them for the misbehaviour of their +subordinate. + +The three, standing close together, saw at a glance that Fritz was no +longer the object of the elephant's animosity: for the massive monster +was now charging directly down upon them. + +There was no time for concerted counsel--neither to take nor to give it. +Each had to act upon his own instinct; and following this each acted. +Karl sent the bullet from his rifle right between the tusks of the +advancing foe; while Caspar fired both barrels of his piece "bang" into +the forehead of the monster. Ossaroo's arrow was seen sticking through +the elephant's trunk; and the moment after Ossaroo's heels were +presented to the enemy. + +Karl and Caspar also ran: for it would have been sheer madness to have +remained a moment longer in that perilous proximity. Indeed, it is but +justice to the shikaree to say, that Karl and Caspar ran first: for they +had been the first to deliver their fire; and as soon as they had done +so, each scampered as he best could. They ran together; and fortunately +for both a large tree was near, with low horizontal limbs, which +favoured a rapid ascent towards its top. + +There was only a second of time between the commencement of their flight +and that of Ossaroo; but short as it was, it decided the preference of +the pursuer, and Ossaroo became the sole object of pursuit. + +The shikaree would fain have made for the tree, to which the others were +retreating; but the proboscis of the elephant was already so far +advanced in that direction, that there was every probability it might +get lapped upon him before he could climb beyond reach. For a moment he +was in a dilemma, and his customary coolness seemed to have forsaken +him. + +The elephant was advancing upon him, its little switch of a tail +oscillating rapidly in the air, and its trunk stretched horizontally +towards him, with Ossaroo's own arrow still sticking in it. It seemed +to know that it was he who had sent that skewer through its gristly +snout--perhaps giving it far more pain than the leaden missiles that had +flattened against its thick skull; and for this reason it had chosen him +as the first victim of its vengeance. + +In truth, Ossaroo's position was one of extreme peril--so much so that +Karl and Caspar--now perceiving themselves comparatively safe from the +pursuit--uttered a simultaneous cry: both believing that their faithful +guide and follower was on the point of "coming to grief." + +Ossaroo seemed bewildered at the very imminence of the danger. But it +was only for a moment--only while he hesitated as to whether he should +try to reach the tree. On perceiving that he could not do this with a +fair chance of safety, he turned and ran in an opposite direction. + +Whither? To the obelisk. Yes, by good fortune, the pillar from which +he had just descended was only ten paces distant; and Ossaroo, in +returning towards it, measured the ground with less than five. Flinging +away his now useless weapons, he clutched hold of the prominent points +of the rock, and "swarmed" up it like a squirrel. + +He had good occasion to employ all his powers of agility. A second-- +half a second more--and he would have been too late: for ere he had +reached the summit of the pillar, the digit point of the elephant's +trunk was inserted under the skirt of his tunic; and had the garment +been of tougher material; Ossaroo would have been jerked back to the +ground more rapidly than he had ascended. + +As it was, the cotton fabric--frail from long wear and exposure--gave +way with a loud "screed;" and although the shikaree was stripped of his +coat-tail, and suffered a rather ignominious exposure, still he had the +satisfaction of knowing that to this circumstance he was indebted for +the safety of his skin. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +OSSAROO ON THE OBELISK. + +The moment after, Ossaroo stood upon the summit of the obelisk. But +even there he was far from being confident of security: for the pursuer +had not abandoned the hope of being able to reach him. On the contrary, +the infuriated animal, on finding itself baulked by the worthlessness of +the fabric composing the skirt of the shikaree, spitefully tossed the +piece of cloth from its trunk; and, rearing itself on its hind-legs, +threw its body into an erect attitude, with its fore-feet resting high +up against the rock. + +One might have fancied that it was about to climb the obelisk; and this +it would certainly have done had the thing been possible. As it was, +however, Ossaroo was not out of danger: for as the elephant stood on its +hind-legs, with its prehensile proboscis extended to the full length, +the tip of the latter was not more than six inches from the soles of his +feet. + +The shikaree stood upright like a statue on its pedestal--though unlike +to a statue in his features, which were anything but unmoved. On the +contrary, his countenance exhibited the utmost consternation. And no +wonder: for he could plainly perceive that should the elephant succeed +in lengthening its carcase only another twelve inches, he himself would +be brushed from the summit like a fly. + +In fearful suspense, therefore, did he stand, contemplating the monster +which was making every effort to reach him. + +These efforts were made with as much sagacity as energy. Not only did +the quadruped erect itself to its greatest height--standing, as one +might say, upon its toes--but on finding that it was not tall enough, it +fell back upon all fours, and then reared up afresh in an endeavour to +stretch still higher. + +Several times did it repeat the attempt--on each occasion trying a +different side of the rock--as if in hopes that a greater elevation of +the ground around the base might give it that advantage of twelve inches +which it required for seizing its victim. + +Fortunately for Ossaroo, the elephant had reached its very highest on +first rearing up; and though it kept going round and round the rock, +from no side could it do more than just touch with the top of its trunk +the edge of the little flat space, upon which the feet of the shikaree +were resting. + +Ossaroo was beginning to be satisfied with this fact; and probably might +have come to believe himself secure in his position, but for a +circumstance that was making him uneasy. It was, that, standing upon +such a limited surface--a pedestal whose diameter was but little over +the length of his own feet--he found it exceedingly difficult to keep +his balance. Had he been on the ground, there would have been no +difficulty about it; but, perched as he was full twenty-feet aloft, the +thing was quite different; and, with nerves unstrung by the fearful +danger that threatened him below, it was just as much as he could do to +keep his equilibrium. + +Though only a "mild Hindoo," Ossaroo was possessed of a high degree of +courage; and, most of his life having been spent as a shikaree, he had +become well inured to the risk of losing it. Had he been a coward, or +unused to such perils as at that moment surrounded him, he would in all +likelihood have succumbed through fear; and toppled helplessly over upon +the shoulders of the merciless monster that was threatening to destroy +him. With all his bravery, however, it was just as much as he could do +to keep his balance. Unfortunately, in climbing up the rock, he had +been compelled to abandon his boar-spear: else with that he might have +supported himself. His long knife was still in his belt; and this he +drew forth--not with the design of using it upon his antagonist, but +only the better to balance himself. It is true he would have been fain +to take a chop or two at the gristly proboscis of the elephant; but he +dared not bend his body into a stooping attitude, lest his centre of +gravity might get beyond the supporting base, and thus bring about the +result he dreaded. + +No other course remained for him, than to preserve his body in an +upright attitude; and, conscious of this fact, he braced his nerves to +the utmost, and maintained himself erect and rigid as a statue of +bronze. + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +A WHOLESALE TUMBLE. + +In this attitude he remained for several minutes--the elephant all the +while continuing its efforts to reach him Karl and Caspar, seated upon +the branches of the tree, to which they had retreated, were witnesses of +the whole scene from beginning to end. The situation of Ossaroo would +have bean sufficiently ludicrous for Caspar to have laughed at it, but +for the danger in which the shikaree was placed. This was so evident, +that instead of indulging in anything akin to levity, Caspar looked on +with feelings of deep anxiety, Karl being equally apprehensive about the +result. Neither could do anything to aid or rescue him, as they were +unarmed--both having dropped their pieces when ascending the tree. + +I have said that Karl was as uneasy about the result as his brother. He +was even more so. It was not that he liked Ossaroo better, or would +have more bitterly lamented his fate, had the latter perished by the +proboscis of the elephant. No, that was not the reason; but simply that +Karl more clearly comprehended the danger in which the shikaree was +placed. + +After watching the efforts of the elephant for a short time, Caspar had +become convinced that the animal could not reach Ossaroo--so long as the +latter preserved his balance upon the summit of the rock. Karl was +equally satisfied of this; and both by their shouts kept encouraging the +shikaree to stand firm. But Karl soon noted another circumstance, which +was as yet unperceived by Caspar, and it was this that was inspiring him +with keener apprehension than that felt by his brother. He had noticed +that, each time as the elephant erected himself against the obelisk, the +rock seemed slightly to shake. Ossaroo was himself well aware of the +circumstance--and more troubled at it than any of them--for it rendered +it more difficult for him to preserve his equilibrium. Caspar at length +also observed the trembling of the rock, but it gave him no particular +uneasiness: as, after what had passed, he felt confident that Ossaroo +would be able to keep his place. Nor was it the fear of his falling in +that way that was distressing the young botanist; but rather a deduction +which he drew from the circumstance, not apparent to the less +philosophic mind of his brother. + +The shaking of the rock had suggested to Karl a dangerous contingency. +What was it? The speech addressed by him at that moment to Caspar will +explain. + +"Oh, brother!" he exclaimed, on perceiving the danger, "if the rock +should fall--" + +"No danger of that," said Caspar, interrupting him; "it stands firm +enough. True, I see it shake a little, but only a very little; and that +only when the brute springs up against it. No danger, I should think!" + +"But I fear there is clanger," rejoined Karl, in a tone of undiminished +anxiety. "Not," added he, "so long as the elephant acts as he is doing; +but he may not continue thus. These creatures are wonderfully +sagacious; and if he only perceives that the pillar moves under his +weight, a new idea may get into his brain, and then it will be all up +with Ossaroo." + +"Ha! I begin to comprehend you," said Caspar, beginning to share the +alarm of his brother. "There is danger in that. What is to be done? +If we only had our guns up here, we might open fire on the brute. +Whether we succeeded in killing him or not, we might at all events +divert his attention from Ossaroo, and perhaps hinder him from thinking +of the plan you speak of. We might go down and get our guns. What is +to hinder us?--the elephant is too busy to notice us." + +"True--an excellent idea of yours, brother Caspar." + +"Well, then, to put it in execution. I shall slip down to the ground; +you follow to the lowest branch, and I can hand the guns up to you. +Keep steady, and don't you fear, Ossy!" added the young hunter in a +louder voice, addressing himself to the shikaree. "We'll fetch him away +from you directly--we'll tickle him with an ounce or two of lead through +that thick hide of his." + +So saying, Caspar commenced letting himself rapidly down from branch to +branch, Karl following more leisurely. + +Caspar had got upon the lowest limb of the tree, and Karl on that +immediately above it, when a loud crash, accompanied by a piercing +shriek, arrested the progress of both, causing them suddenly to turn +their faces towards the obelisk. During the short time that their eyes +had been averted from it, a complete change had taken place in that +curious tableau. Instead of a tall column of stone, standing +twenty-feet perpendicular, the same column was now seen lying along the +earth in a nearly horizontal position, with a huge mass of broken boughs +and branches of trees crushed under its top. Near its base, now +upturned and standing almost vertically, was the elephant, no longer on +its hind feet, nor yet on all fours, but down upon its back, kicking its +huge hoofs in the air, and making the most stupendous efforts to recover +its legs. Ossaroo was nowhere to be seen! + +The contingency dreaded by Karl had come to pass. The elephant, finding +it impossible to reach the shikaree with its trunk--and no doubt judging +by the "feel" that the rock was not immobile--had at length dropped down +on all fours and, placing its broad shoulder against it, backed by the +enormous weight of its bulky body, had sent the column crashing among +the tops of a chestnut tree growing near--the trunk of which, yielding +to the weight, gave way with a crash, and trunk, limbs, and branches +were all borne downward to the earth! + +The elephant itself, not calculating that it should find the task so +easy of performance, had fallen at the same time--its cumbrous body +losing balance by the impetus which it had thrown into the effort. In +short, of the four objects that formed the tableau--rock and tree, +quadruped and man--not one was standing any longer in its place--for it +is superfluous to say that Ossaroo had gone down with the obelisk. + +But where was Ossaroo? That was the question that occurred to both Karl +and Caspar. + +"Oh! brother!" groaned Caspar, "I fear he is killed!" + +Karl made no reply; but for all that, Caspar's reflection, delivered in +a loud tone, was not left without rejoinder. Directly after the phrase +had issued from his lips, an answer was heard proceeding from among the +branches of the fallen chestnut tree, in a voice and with words that +caused the hearts of the brothers to beat with joy. + +"No, young sahibs," replied the unseen Ossaroo; "me no killee, me no bit +damage. If I only can get pass de old rogue, I safe and sound as ibber. +Here go for run!" + +At the same moment the shikaree was seen shooting out from among the +branches under which he had been for the time buried; and, then running +with all his might towards the tree upon which the brothers had found +refuge. + +Long before the elephant could regain its feet, Ossaroo had reached a +position of perfect security among the upper branches of the great tree; +which Karl and Caspar, no longer thinking of their guns, had also +re-ascended. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +A RING PERFORMANCE. + +As the tree into which they had retreated was a very large one, there +was no longer any present fear of danger from the elephant, however +furious the latter might be; and they could look down upon it and watch +its movements with a feeling of perfect security. The only one of the +party that was in dangerous proximity to that dreaded proboscis was +Fritz; but Fritz had already been well warned of the wicked designs of +the great brute, and was sufficiently swift-footed and sage enough to +give the animal a wide berth. + +As for the elephant itself, having recovered its feet, it stood for some +seconds flapping its huge ears, and apparently in a kind of quandary--as +if taken aback by the unexpected accident that had befallen it. Not for +long, however, did it continue in this tranquil attitude. The arrow +still sticking in its trunk reminded it of its purposes of vengeance. +Once more angrily elevating its tail, and sounding its shrill trumpet, +it rushed towards the fallen tree, and buried its long proboscis among +the branches. One by one it turned them over, as if in search of some +object. It was searching for the shikaree. + +After a time it desisted from this manoeuvre, and looked around-- +evidently with a puzzled air, and wondering what had become of the man. +It had not seen him as he rushed towards the great tree: for his retreat +had been made while the creature was sprawling upon its back. Just then +Fritz chanced to show himself--crouching under the branches upon which +his masters had taken refuge, and evidently envying them their secure +situation. + +The sight of Fritz was enough. It was he who had first challenged the +elephant on its approach through the woods, and had conducted it under +that terrible battery of bullets and arrows. As soon, therefore, as the +latter set eyes upon the dog, its fury not only became rekindled, but +apparently redoubled; and, hoisting its tail on high, it charged full +tilt upon its original adversary. + +Had the assailant been a boar, or even a bull, no doubt Fritz would have +stood his ground, or only swerved to one side, the better to elude the +onset, and make an attack in turn. But with a quadruped as big as a +house--and of which Fritz, not being of Oriental origin, knew so little; +and of that little nothing that was good--one, too, evidently provided +with most formidable weapons, a tongue several feet long, and tusks in +proportion--it is not to be wondered at, nor is it any great blot upon +his escutcheon, that Fritz turned tail and fled. So fast fled he, that +in less than a score of seconds he was out of sight--not only of his +masters in the tree, but of his pursuer, the elephant. The latter only +followed him for some half-dozen lengths of its own carcase; and seeing +that the pursuit was likely to be a wild-goose chase, declined following +Fritz any farther. + +They in the tree, as the elephant started after the dog, were in hopes +that the pursuit might carry the dangerous animal to some distance, and +thus give them time to get back to the ground, and make their escape +from the spot. + +In this, however, they were doomed to disappointment; for having +desisted from the chase of the dog, the great pachyderm returned to the +point from whence it had started; and, after once more tossing the +broken branches of the fallen chestnut tree upon the point of its +proboscis, it commenced pacing round and round the fallen obelisk, +keeping in regular circles, as if it were training itself for some +performance in an amphitheatre. + +For more than an hour did the brute continue this circular promenade, at +intervals stopping to give utterance to its shrieking note; but most of +the time moving on in sullen silence. Now and then it directed its +eyes, and once or twice its trunk, towards the branches of the prostrate +tree as if it had still some suspicion that he who sent that stinging +arrow was there concealed. Indeed, it appeared by its movements to be +keeping guard over that particular spot, lest its enemy should escape. +It had long since extracted the arrow, by placing its great foot upon +the shaft, and drawing it forth. + +Fritz had stolen back to the edge of the thicket, but kept cowering so +close that the elephant could not see him. + +The parties perched above were more than annoyed by their imprisonment +thus procrastinated, and began to think of how they might set themselves +free. They talked of making a rush to possess themselves of their guns; +but to Karl this appeared too perilous to be attempted. It was not +twenty yards from the tree to the spot where rested the dismounted +monolith; and the elephant, whose eye was in a state of continual +activity, could not fail to see them descending from the branches. The +massive creature, though it moved about with apparently a gentle griding +step, could go almost as fast as a galloping horse; and should it espy +them in time, there would be but slight chance of eluding its prehensile +trunk. + +Moreover, the sight of them--even should they succeed in regaining the +tree--would rekindle its rage, and cause it to prolong its stay upon the +ground. + +There was yet another consideration that influenced them to remain +patiently on their perch. They knew that they had provided themselves +with only a very limited quantity of ammunition. That article had +become scarce with them; and they had prudently determined to economise +it. Karl had only two bullets left, with just powder enough to make two +charges; while Caspar's horn and pouch were not better filled. They +might fire their whole stock of lead into the elephant, and still not +succeed in killing a creature that sometimes walks off triumphantly with +a score of bullets "under his belt." These shots might only have the +effect of incensing it still more, and causing it to stay upon the +ground to an indefinite period. + +It was a true _rogue_--Ossaroo had long since pronounced it one--and an +"old tusker" at that. It was therefore a most dangerous creature; and +though they knew they would never be safe in that valley until it should +be destroyed, it was agreed by all that it would be more prudent to +leave it undisturbed until some more favourable opportunity occurred for +effecting its destruction. + +For these various reasons they resolved to remain quiet in the tree, and +patiently await the termination of that curious "ring performance," +which the old tusker still continued to keep up. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +AN ODD APPEARANCE. + +For the full length of another hour did the trio in the tree have their +patience tested. During all that time the "rogue" remained upon the +ground, continuing his perambulations around the rock--until he had +trodden out a path that resembled the arena of a circus at the close of +a night's performance. + +It is not necessary to say that the time hung heavily upon the hands of +the spectators--to say nothing of Fritz, who would no doubt have been +satisfied with a much shorter programme. + +As regards the former, the hour might have been spent less pleasantly +than it was; for it so chanced that an _interlude_ was introduced, of so +interesting a character to all, but more especially to the naturalist +Karl, that for a while the proximity of their savage besieger was +forgotten, and they scarcely remembered that they were besieged. + +Favoured by the accident of their situation, they became spectators of a +scene--one of those scenes only to be viewed amid the wild solitudes of +Nature. + +Not far from the tree on which they had found shelter, stood another of +equal dimensions, but of an entirely different species. It was a +sycamore, as even Caspar, without any botanical skill, could testify. +Its smooth bark, piebald with white and green spots, its +widely-straggling limbs and leaves, left no doubt about its being one. +It was the sycamore, identical with its European congener, the _Platanus +orientalis_. + +It is the habit of this fine tree to become hollow. Not only does the +lower part of its trunk exhibit the phenomenon of great cavities, but +holes are found high up in its main shaft or in the larger limbs. + +The tree in question stood within a few yards of that on which Karl, +Caspar, and Ossaroo were perched. It was just before their eyes, +whenever they looked in a horizontal direction; and occasionally, when +tired with watching the monotonous movements of the elephant, one or +other of them _did_ look horizontally. The scanty foliage upon the +sycamore enabled them to see its trunk and most of its larger limbs, +without any obstruction of leaves or branches. + +Caspar had not cast his eyes more than twice in the direction of this +tree, when he saw there was something peculiar about it. Caspar was a +youth of quick sight and equally quick perception. In the main stem of +the tree, and about six feet above its first forking, he perceived an +object that at once fixed his attention. It looked like a goat's horn, +only that it was more like the curving tusk of a rhinoceros or a very +young elephant. It was sticking out from the tree, with the curve +directed downwards. Altogether, it looked quite different from a branch +of the sycamore, or anything belonging to the tree. + +Once or twice, while Caspar had his eyes upon it, he thought or fancied +that it moved; but not being sure of this, he said nothing, lest the +others might laugh at him. It would not have been the first time that +Karl, from his superior knowledge, had indulged in a laugh at his +brother's expense. + +Caspar's attention being now engrossed by the peculiar appearance he had +noted, he continued to scrutinise it; and soon perceived that around the +curved excrescence there was a circular disc some eight or ten inches in +diameter, and differing in colour from the bark of the sycamore--by +being many shades darker. This disc appeared composed of some substance +that was not ligneous: for it no more resembled wood than the curved +ivory-like object that protruded from its centre. Had Caspar been asked +what it did look like, he would have answered that it resembled the +agglutinated mud used by swallows in building their nests--so like it, +that it might have been the same substance. + +Caspar continued to scrutinise these two curious objects--the tusk-like +excrescence, and the dark disc from which it protruded; and not until he +became fully aware that the former had life in it, did he communicate +his discovery to his companions. Of this fact he was convinced by +seeing the crescent suddenly disappear--as if drawn within the tree, +while in its place a dark round hole was alone visible. Presently the +yellowish horn reappeared through the hole, and protruded outside, +filling it up as before! + +Caspar was too much astonished by this exhibition to remain any longer +the sole proprietor of such a mysterious secret, and without more delay +he communicated his discovery to Karl, and indirectly to Ossaroo. + +Both at the same time turned their eyes towards the tree, and bent them +upon the indicated spot. Karl was as much mystified by the strange +appearance as had been Caspar himself. + +Not so Ossaroo. The moment he saw the carving ivory and the +dark-coloured disc, he pronounced, in a tone of careless indifference, +the simple phrase,-- + +"_Hornbill_--_de bird on him nest_." + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +A CURIOUS NEST. + +Just then the curved projection was observed to recede within the tree; +and in its place appeared a small dark hole, apparently the entrance to +a larger cavity. Karl, as Caspar had done the moment before, saw this +with surprise. + +"Nest?" repeated Caspar, astonished at the shikaree's statement. "A +bird's nest? Is that what you mean, Ossy?" + +"That just it, sahib. Nest of great biggee bird. Feringhees him call +_horneebill_." + +"Well," rejoined Caspar, not greatly enlightened by Ossaroo's +explanation, "that's very curious. We have seen something like a horn +sticking out of the tree, though it looks more like ivory than horn. It +may be the bill of a bird; but as to a bird itself, or the nest of one, +where is that, pray?" + +Ossaroo intimated that the nest was inside the tree; and that the bird +was on the nest just behind its beak, where it ought to be. + +"What! the bird is in that hole where we saw the white thing sticking +out? Why, it quite filled the hole, and if there's a bird there, and +what we saw be its bill, I have only to say that its bill must be as big +as its body--else how can it get out and in through so small an +aperture? Certainly I see no hole but the one. Oh! perhaps the bird is +a _toucan_. I have heard there are some of that sort that can go +through any place where they can pass their beaks. Is it a toucan, +Ossaroo?" + +Ossaroo could not tell what a toucan was, never having heard of such a +bird. His ornithological knowledge went no further than to the birds of +Bengal; and the toucan is found only in America. He stated that the +bird in the tree was called by the Feringhees a "hornbill," but it was +also known to some as the "rhinoceros bird." Ossaroo added that it was +as large as a goose; and that its body was many times thicker than its +bill, thick as the latter appeared to be. + +"And you say it has its nest inside that hole?" interrogated Caspar, +pointing to the little round aperture, which did not appear to be over +three inches in diameter. + +"Sure of it, young sahib," was Ossaroo's reply. + +"Well, certainly there is some living creature in there, since we have +seen it move; and if it be a bird as large as a goose, will you explain +to me how it got in, and how it means to get out? There must be a +larger entrance on the other side of the tree." + +"No, sahib," confidently asserted Ossaroo; "that you see before your +eye--that the only way to de horneebill nest." + +"Hurrah for you, Ossy! So you mean to say that a bird as large as a +goose can go in and out by that hole? Why, a sparrow could scarcely +squeeze itself through there!" + +"Horneebill he no goee in, he no goee out. He stay inside till him +little chickees ready for leavee nest." + +"Come, Ossy!" said Caspar, in a bantering way; "that story is too good +to be true. You don't expect us to believe all that? What, stay in the +nest till the young are ready to leave it! And how then? How will the +young ones help their mother out of the scrape? How will they get out +themselves: for I suppose they don't leave the nest till they are pretty +well grown? Come! good shikaree; let us have no more circumlocution +about the matter, but explain all these apparently inexplicable +circumstances." + +The shikaree, thus appealed to, proceeded to give the explanation +demanded. + +The hornbill, he said, when about to bring forth its young, selects a +hollow in some tree, just large enough conveniently to hold the nest +which it builds, and also its own body. As soon as the nest is +constructed and the eggs all laid, the female bird takes her seat upon +them, and there remains; not only until the eggs are hatched, but for a +long time afterwards--in fact, until the young are nearly fledged and +able to take care of themselves. In order that she may be protected +during the period of her incubation against weasels, polecats, +ichneumons, and all such vermin, a design exhibiting either wonderful +instinct or sagacity, is carried into execution by the male. As soon as +his mate has squatted upon her eggs, he goes to work at the masonic art; +and using his great horned mandibles, first as a hod, and afterwards as +a trowel, he walls up the entrance to the nest--leaving an aperture just +large enough to be filled up by the beak of the female. The material +employed by him for this purpose is a kind of agglutinated mud, which he +procures from the neighbouring watercourse or quagmire, and somewhat +similar to that used by the common house-swallow for constructing _its_ +peculiar nest. When dried, this mud becomes exceedingly hard--bidding +defiance to the teeth and claws of all would-be intruders, whether bird +or quadruped; and with the horny beak of the old hen projected outward, +and quite filling up the aperture, even the slippery tree-snake cannot +find room enough to squeeze his body through. The female, thus free +from all fear of being molested, quietly continues her incubation! + +When Ossaroo had got thus far with his explanation, Caspar interrupted +him with a query. + +"What!" said he, "sit all the time--for weeks, I suppose--without ever +coming out--without taking an airing? And how does she get her food?" + +As Caspar put this question, and before Ossaroo had time to answer, a +noise reached their ears which appeared to proceed from the sky above +them. It was a noise well calculated to inspire terror in those who had +never before heard it, or did not know what was causing it. It was a +sort of fluttering, clattering sound, or rather a series of sounds, +resembling the quickly repeated gusts of a violent storm. + +The moment Ossaroo heard it, he knew what it was; and instead of giving +a direct answer to Caspar's question, he simply said-- + +"Wait a bit, sahib. Here come old cockee horneebill; he show you how de +hen getee her food." + +The words had scarcely passed from the lips of the shikaree, when the +cause of that singular noise became known to his companions. The maker +of it appeared before them in the form of a great bird, that with a +strong flapping of its wings flew past the tree in which they were +seated, towards that which contained the nest. + +In an instant afterwards, it was seen resting on a spur-like projection +of the trunk, just below the aperture; and it needed not Ossaroo to tell +them that it was the cock hornbill that had there alighted. The large +beak--the tip of it resembling that which they had already seen sticking +out of the hole, and which was once more visible and in motion-- +surmounted by an immense helmet-like protuberance, rising upon the +crown, and running several inches along the top of the upper mandible, +which might have been taken for a second beak--this singular appendage +could belong to no other bird than the _hornbill_. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +THE HORNBILL. + +Karl, although he had never seen one of these birds alive, had yet +examined stuffed specimens of them in museums, and he had no difficulty +in recognising the bird. He was able even to identify the species, for +there are many species of hornbill, known under the generic name, +_Bucerus_. That before their eyes was the _Bucerus rhinoceros_, or +"rhinoceros hornbill," called also the "topau," and sometimes the +"horned Indian raven," from a sort of resemblance which it bears both in +shape and habits to the well-known bird of this name. + +Ossaroo had not exaggerated the size of these birds when he compared it +to that of a goose. On the contrary, he had rather moderated the +dimensions: for the one in question looked much larger than either goose +or gander. It was rather more than three feet in length--reckoning from +the tip of its tail to the point of its curving beak, which of itself +was nearly a foot long! Its colour was black above, and yellowish-white +underneath, the tail feathers being a clear white, with a broad black +band crossing them near the middle. Its bill, like that of its mate +already observed, was of a yellowish-white, the upper mandible being +reddish around the base, while the casque-like protuberance exhibited a +mottled surface of white and black. + +Ossaroo had to tell them pretty nearly all he knew in relation to this +curious bird; for although there are several species of hornbills +natives of India, it is by no means a common creature, even at home in +its own country. + +Karl could have told them much more about its species and habits, and no +doubt he would have done so had they been otherwise engaged. But +situated as they were, with an angry elephant besieging them in the +tree, and now for a while interested in observing the movements of the +bird itself, Karl was in no humour to deliver an ornithological lecture. +He might have told them that ornithologists have differed much about +the classification of the hornbill--some of them placing it among the +toucans, while others assert that it belongs to the crow family. Its +immense beak--out of all proportion to its body--is not the only point +of resemblance it bears to the toucans. Like them, it flings its food +into the air, catching and swallowing it as it comes down. Unlike the +toucans, however, it cannot climb trees, and is therefore not of the +Scansorial order. It is said to be omnivorous in its food; and in this +it resembles the crows and ravens: but, indeed, as already stated, there +are many species of hornbills, and the habits of the different kinds, by +no means uniform or alike, have been confounded by most writers. There +are species in Africa, others in India and the Indian islands, and New +Guinea is known to have one or two distinct species of its own. All +these differ not only in size, colour, shape of their beak, and the +protuberance that surmounts it; but also in the kind of food which they +live upon. For instance, the African hornbills, and one or more of the +Asiatic species, are carnivorous, and some even carrion-eaters. These +are filthy birds, their flesh and feathers smelling rank as those of +vultures. On the other hand, there is a species in the Indian islands-- +the Moluccas more particularly--whose sole food is the nutmeg, which +gives to its flesh an exquisite aromatic flavour, causing it to be much +relished at the tables of Oriental epicures. The bill of this species +after a certain time appears with a number of grooves or furrows in it. +As these furrows are observed only on the beaks of the old birds, the +Dutch colonists established in the Moluccas believe them to indicate +their age, each wrinkle standing for a year. Hence the hornbill has +obtained among the colonists the name of _Yerrvogel_ (year bird). + +Karl, as I have said, was acquainted with all these facts in the natural +history of the hornbill; but just then he did not think of making them +known to his companions--all three being too much occupied in watching +the movements of the male bird. It was evident that he was not one of +the vegetable feeders: for on his alighting they could see hanging from +his beak a long cylindrical object, which they were able to identify as +a portion--the head and part of the body--of a dead snake. It was +equally evident that his mate was not accustomed to a vegetable diet: +for from the way in which he was manoeuvring, the spectators saw that +the mutilated reptile was intended for her. No doubt it was her dinner, +for it had now got to that hour of the day. + +She was not to be kept waiting any longer. Almost on the instant her +provider alighted on the projecting spur, with a toss of his head he +jerked the piece of snake up into the air, and then caught it as it came +down again--not with the intention to swallow it, but only to get a +better grip, in order that he might deliver it the more adroitly into +the mandibles of his mate--now protruding through the aperture, and +opened to receive it. + +In another instant the savoury morsel was transferred from the beak of +the male to that of the female; and then the ivory forceps of the +latter, with the snake held tightly between them, disappeared within the +cavity. + +The old cock stayed not a moment longer upon the tree. He had served +his mate with her dinner, and perhaps he had yet to bring on the +dessert. Whether or not, he rose immediately afterwards into the air, +with the same clangorous clapping of his wings; but this time the noise +was accompanied by the clattering of his horny mandibles, like a pair of +castanets, causing a sound not only singular, but, if heard by +strangers, calculated to beget within them a considerable feeling of +alarm. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +A FOUR-FOOTED BURGLAR. + +After the departure of the bird, that had taught our young adventurers +so interesting a chapter of natural history, the elephant once more +engrossed their attention. Not that there was anything new in the +movements of the latter--for it was acting just as before--but simply +because they knew that, so long as it remained upon the ground, they +would have to stay in the tree; and they naturally bent their eyes upon +it, to see if it was showing any signs of moving off. They could +perceive none. Not the slightest appearance to indicate its intention +of departing from the spot. + +While engaged in regarding the besieger, their eyes were of course +removed from the sycamore; nor might they have been again turned towards +that tree--at least, not for a good while--but for a sound that reached +their ears, and which appeared to proceed from the direction of the +hornbill's nest. It was a soft and rather plaintive sound--unlike any +that had been made by the rhinoceros bird; nor was it at all like the +voice of a bird, of any kind. It was more like the utterance of some +four-footed creature; or it might even have been a human voice +pronouncing the syllable "wha," several times repeated. + +That it was neither bird nor human being, Ossaroo could tell the moment +he heard the first "wha." Almost as soon were the others convinced that +it was neither: for on turning their eyes to the sycamore, they saw upon +the projecting spur that had been so lately occupied by the hornbill, a +creature of a very different kind--in short, a quadruped. + +Had it been in an American forest, they might have taken the creature +for a racoon though a very large one. On closer scrutiny, many points +of resemblance, and also of difference, would have become apparent. +Like the racoon, it had plantigrade feet, a burly, rounded body, and a +very thick hairy tail--ringed also like that of the American animal--but +unlike the latter, its muzzle, instead of being long and slender, was +short, round, and somewhat cat-like; while its hair, or more properly +its fur, formed a thick even coat all over its body, limbs, and tail, +and presented a smooth and shining surface. Its general colour was a +very dark brown, streaked and mottled with golden yellow; and Caspar +remarked, upon the moment of seeing it, that it was one of the +handsomest creatures he had ever beheld. + +The naturalist Cuvier had made the same remark long before Caspar's +time. So said Karl, on hearing the observation escape from the lips of +his brother. + +Ossaroo knew that the animal was the "wha," a name derived from its +ordinary call; and that it was sometimes known as the "chetwa," and also +the "panda." + +Karl, on hearing Ossaroo's name for it, and indeed, on hearing it +pronounced by the creature itself, was able to identify the animal, and +to give it still another name--that which has been bestowed upon it by +Frederick Cuvier--_ailurus_. This is the generic name, of which, up to +the present time, it has been left in undisturbed possession. Since +only one species has been discovered, it has the name all to itself; and +therefore would not require any specific appellation. But for all that, +one has been given to it. On account of its shining coat, it has been +called the _ailurus fulgens_. + +Though the closet naturalists, in following out their pedantic +propensities, have created a genus expressly for this animal, there is +nothing either in its appearance or habits to separate it from the +badgers, the racoons, the coatimondis, and such other predatory +creatures. Like them it preys upon birds and their eggs, as also on the +smaller kinds of quadrupeds, and like the racoon, it is a nimble +tree-climber. + +The situation in which the particular panda, of which we are writing, +first appeared to the eyes of Karl and Caspar, proved this capacity, and +its actions the moment after testified to its fondness for birds'-eggs. +It had not been a minute under the eyes of the spectators, when they saw +that it was after the eggs of the hornbill; perhaps, too, it might have +had a design of tasting the flesh of their owner. + +Resting its thick plantigrade hind feet upon the projection of the tree, +it erected itself like a little bear; and with its fore-paws commenced +scraping at the barrier wall which the male bird had spent so much time +and taken so much pains in building. It is possible that if it had been +left to itself, it might in time have succeeded in forcing an entrance +into the nest, and highly probable too--or it would scarcely have +entered upon the task. But it was not left to itself. Not that the +sitter inside could have done much to hinder it: though it was evident +from the way in which her beak was repeatedly projected and drawn back +through the hole, and also from her angry hissing, that she knew there +was danger without, and that an enemy was assailing her citadel. + +Most likely after a time, and by constant scraping, the clay wall would +eventually have been pulled down; but before that event came to pass, a +loud flapping and fluttering, and cracking and clattering, was heard +among the tops of the trees; and in an instant afterwards the broad, +shadowy wings of the old male hornbill were swashing about the ears of +the four-footed robber, where the long cutlass-like beak, armed at its +edges, at once interrupted the intent. + +The panda, taken by surprise, quailed at this first onset: for like any +other _paterfamilias_ who on returning home finds a burglar breaking +into his house, the cock bird charged in the full tide of impetuous +fury. + +The robber, however, evidently used to this sort of thing, soon +recovered his self-possession; and instead of retreating from the tree, +he only planted himself more firmly upon the projection; and, facing +towards his feathery assailant, prepared to show fight. + +And fight was instantly shown on both sides--the bird swooping +repeatedly at its adversary, striking with its strong wings and +thrusting with its ensiform beak; while the quadruped played back both +with teeth and claws--several times plucking a mouthful of feathers from +the breast of its winged adversary. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +FRITZ INTERFERES. + +How the affair might have ended had the panda and the hornbill been the +only parties to the combat, can but be guessed at. In all likelihood +the quadruped would have triumphed over the biped: the entrance would +have been forced; the old hen dragged off her nest--perhaps killed and +eaten--and the eggs after her. + +But it was not written in the book of destiny that this should be the +_denouement_ of that little drama: for at that moment an incident +occurred which changed the whole character of the contest--followed by a +series of other incidents which brought the affair to a termination +unexpected by all parties engaged, as well as by those who witnessed it. + +The first of these incidents--and that which formed the key to this +change in the circumstances of the combat, was one of a very ludicrous +character--so much so as to elicit laughter from the spectators in the +tree. + +It chanced that the eyes of the panda, as the animal stood erect on its +hind quarters, were directly opposite the little aperture that +represented the entrance to the nest. Not dreaming of any danger in +that direction, the robber only thought of guarding his "daylights" +against the hornbill upon the wing. But the hen bird inside the nest-- +who could see well enough what was passing outside--had no idea of +remaining a passive spectator; and perceiving her opportunity--for she +was within striking distance--she quietly drew back her long ivory beak, +and, throwing all the strength of her neck into the effort--assisted by +the weight of her heavy helmeted head--as if with the blow of a +pick-axe, she struck the panda right in the eye--the sharp point +penetrating almost to its skull. + +Terror-stricken, partly by surprise at this unexpected stroke, and +partly by the pain caused by it, the quadruped uttered a shrill cry; and +at once scrambling down from the tree, seemed only anxious to make his +escape. In this design he, no doubt, would have succeeded, with only +the loss of an eye; but the eye of still another enemy had been upon +him--one whom he had yet to encounter. Fritz, from his position near +the bottom of the tree, attracted by the noise of the strife, had drawn +nearer; and looking up, had been watching the combat throughout. It is +scarcely probable that the sympathies of honest Fritz could have been +otherwise than in favour of the innocent bird, and against the guilty +beast; but whatever way they may have been inclined, certain it is that +as the panda came to "grass," the dog "jumped" it upon the instant, and +commenced worrying it, as if the creature had been the oldest and +bitterest of his enemies! + +Despite the suddenness of this new attack--equally unexpected as the +peck in the eye--the fierce panda showed no signs of yielding without a +struggle; and, although far overmatched by its canine antagonist, it was +likely to give the latter a scratch or two, as souvenirs that he would +carry to his grave. + +But at this moment a much greater danger was threatening Fritz than any +harm he might suffer from the claws of the panda; and had chance not +favoured him, as he jumped about in the struggle, by turning his eyes in +a particular direction, he would have found himself in the clutches of +an antagonist, that would have shown him as little mercy as he was +himself extending to the poor panda. + +But he was favoured by chance: for it was nothing more that directed his +glance towards his old pursuer, the elephant; and showed him the latter, +at that moment advancing upon him at a charging pace, with eyes +sparkling in silent vengeance, and trunk extended to seize him. Under +the circumstances, it did not cost Fritz a moment's calculation as to +what course he should pursue. Suddenly dropping the panda--as if he had +discovered the quadruped to be a lump of poison--he bounded from the +spot in a direction the very opposite to that by which the elephant was +approaching; and in less than a score of seconds the only part of him to +be seen was the tip of his tail just disappearing into the thicket. + +Of all the creatures that had borne part in this curious affray, the +poor panda was perhaps the most to be pitied. At all events he was the +most unfortunate: for with the drama ended also his life. In every one +encountered by him he had found an enemy; and in the last he met with a +dread foe that soon made a finish of him. This last was the elephant. +The great animal, rushing forward upon Fritz, seeing that the latter had +escaped, was determined this time not to be baulked of a victim. +Instead of carrying out the design it had only partially resolved upon-- +that of following Fritz into the forest--it suddenly altered its plan, +and transferred its hostility to the panda. It saw that the latter was +within reach: for half blinded by the beak of the bird, and half worried +to death by the dog, the creature did not perceive, as Fritz had done, +the approach of the elephant. It is possible it may have seen the +danger, but not until the elephant had got in such dangerous proximity +as left it no chance of escape. + +Before the panda could make the slightest effort to get away from the +ground, the elephant had lapped its prehensile proboscis around it, and +lifted it into the air as if its body had been no heavier than a +feather. Holding it aloft, the merciless monster took several long +strides in the direction of the fallen obelisk; and then, as if choosing +a spot suitable for its design, it placed the still struggling body of +the panda upon the ground, set its huge fore-feet upon it, and using +them alternately, continued to trample it until the only vestige left of +the crushed creature was a shapeless mass of fur and flesh! + +It was a painful spectacle to those in the tree; but it was succeeded by +a sight that was pleasant to all three--the sight of the elephant's hind +quarters as it walked off toward the woods, evidently with the intention +of retiring from the ground. + +Whether its vengeance had been satisfied by the destruction of the +panda, or whether it had gone off in search of Fritz, none of the three +could conjecture; but whatever may have been the motive, certain it is +that it guided the rogue from the spot, and raised a siege that was on +the point of becoming exceedingly irksome. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +"DEATH TO THE ROGUE." + +As soon as the elephant was fairly out of sight, the besieged took +counsel among themselves about descending to the earth. They were +sorely tired of the positions which they had been so long constrained to +keep; for, to tell the truth, sitting astride upon the hard branch of a +tree, though easy enough for a short spell, becomes in time so painful +as to be almost unendurable. Caspar especially had grown impatient of +this irksome inaction; and highly exasperated at the _rogue_ who was +forcing it upon them. Several times had he been on the point of +forsaking his perch, and stealing down for his gun; but Karl, each time +perceiving his design, very prudently persuaded him to forego it. + +All were anxious enough to get out of the tree; and they would have +vacated their sents at once on the disappearance of their dreaded enemy, +had they been certain that he was gone for good; but they were +suspicious that it might be only a temporary absence--perhaps some +_ruse_ of the rogue to decoy them down: for elephants of this character +have been known to practise tricks with almost as much cunning as rogues +among men. + +While holding counsel as to how they had best act, Ossaroo cut short +their deliberations by volunteering to descend first; and by stealing a +short way along the track which the elephant had taken, ascertain +whether he was really gone from the ground, or only tying in ambush near +the skirt of the forest. + +As the shikaree could creep through underwood as silently as a snake, +there could be no great danger in his doing this, provided he did not go +too far. He could not fail to see the elephant before approaching too +near to it; and in the event of its turning and pursuing him, he could +once more flee to their tree-fortress. + +He scarcely waited for the consent of his companions; but, immediately +after conceiving the idea, he let himself down among the branches; and +once on the ground, glided hurriedly, but cautiously, off in the +direction taken by the elephant. + +Karl and Caspar stayed some five minutes longer upon their perch; but +the shikaree not returning as soon as they had expected, they became +impatient, and also dropped down from the tree. + +Their first act was to recover their guns, and reload them; and then, +taking stand in a position from which, in case of being suddenly +attacked, they could easily spring back among the branches, they awaited +the return of Ossaroo. + +A considerable time elapsed, without their either seeing or hearing +aught of the shikaree. Indeed they heard nothing: for a complete +silence reigned around them, broken only now and then by the fluttering +of the wings of the old male hornbill--who was still keeping in the +neighbourhood of the nest, apparently puzzled to make out by what +mysterious combination of circumstances he had been so abruptly +disembarrassed of his adversary, the panda. + +The movements of the bird had no longer any interest for Karl and +Caspar--who were beginning to grow uneasy at the prolonged absence of +Ossaroo. + +Soon after, however, they were relieved from their suspense, by seeing +the shikaree emerging from the underwood, and advancing at a quick pace +to the open ground. They had the additional pleasure of beholding Fritz +following at his heels. The dog had joined Ossaroo near the edge of the +timber--where he had been quietly secreting himself from the eyes of the +dreaded elephant. + +As Ossaroo drew near, both Karl and Caspar noticed an expression upon +his countenance, which, combined with his hurried advance, told that he +had something of an important nature to communicate. + +"Well, Ossy," asked Caspar, who was the first to speak, "what news? +Have you seen anything more of the rogue?" + +"Ah, rogue indeed!" replied Ossaroo, in a tone expressive of some secret +fear. "You speakee true, sahib; the rogue, if he no worse." + +"Why, what now? Have you seen anything since you left us?" + +"Seen, sahibs! Where you tinkee he now gone?" + +"Where?" + +"Hee go for de hut." + +"For the hut?" + +"Straight trackee. Ah, sahibs!" continued the shikaree, speaking in a +low voice and with an air of superstitious terror; "dat animal too wise +for dis world; he know too much. I fear him be no elephan' after all, +but only de devil, who hab takee elephan' shape. Why he go back there?" + +"Ah! why, I wonder," inquired Caspar. "Do you think," added he, "it is +in the hope of finding us there? If that's his purpose," he continued, +without waiting for a reply, "we shall have no peace so long as he +remains alive. We must either kill him, or he will do as much for us." + +"Sahibs," observed the Hindoo, with a significant shake of the head, "we +no able killee him; that elephan' he nebba die." + +"Oh, nonsense, Ossy! If that's what you mean," rejoined Caspar, +disdainfully repudiating the superstitious belief of the shikaree; +"there is not much doubt of our being able to kill him, if we once get a +fair shot; and by my word, the sooner we set about it the better. It's +evident, from his having gone back to our hut, that he has some wicked +design. Very likely he remembers being first attacked there by Fritz; +and as he may be under the belief that the dog has retreated there, he +is gone in search of him. Ho, Fritz, old fellow! you needn't be afraid. +You can easily get out of his way, whenever you like. Your masters are +in more danger than you, my boy." + +"You are sure, Ossaroo," said Karl, who had stood for some time silently +reflecting, "you are sure he has gone to the hut?" + +In reply to this interrogation, Ossaroo would not state positively that +he had seen the elephant arrive on the very spot where the hovel stood; +but he had followed his track through the belt of heavy timber; and +then, having climbed a tree, had descried the great quadruped moving in +the direction of the hut. He had no doubt it was for that point he was +making, though with what design Ossaroo could not guess--his +superstitious dread having hindered him from venturing upon any +conjecture. + +"One thing is clear," said Karl, after another interval spent in +reflection: "it will be no list our attempting to continue the survey we +have commenced, until the elephant be got out of the way. What you say, +brother Caspar, is quite true. Now that he has become aware of our +presence, and has, moreover, been roused to fury by the wounds we have +given him, it is not likely he will forget what has passed; and we can +hope for neither peace nor safety till we have succeeded in destroying +him. There is no reason why we should not set about it at once, but +every reason why we should. Our very lives depend upon his destruction; +and they will not be safe till that has been accomplished." + +"Let us after him at once, then," cried Caspar; "and be our motto, +`_Death to the rogue_'!" + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN. + +A HOME IN RUINS. + +Without further delay, our adventurers took the back track towards the +hut, which was exactly that which the elephant had taken--as they could +tell by traces of the animal all along the route, which the experienced +eye of the shikaree had already discovered, and which he now pointed out +to his companions as they passed on. Here and there its great +footprints were visible in the turf, in places where the ground was +soft; and at other places where no tracks appeared, leaves and twigs +freshly strewn upon the earth, and also branches of considerable size +broken off from the trees, and borne for some distance before being +dropped, clearly indicated to Ossaroo the route which the rogue had +taken. + +The shikaree had often followed the spoor of wild elephants through the +jungles of Bengal, and knew everything about their way of travelling. +He was therefore able to tell the others that the rogue had not been +browsing as he went--for the leaves and twigs showed no signs of his +teeth--but on the contrary, he had moved forward rapidly, and as if with +some special determination. The broken branches which they saw were +more likely to have been torn off out of spite at the ill-usage he had +received, and the disappointment at not having succeeded in his purposes +of vengeance. + +It did not need for Ossaroo to caution his companions to circumspection. +They knew as well as he that an elephant enraged as this one was, +whether a _rogue_ elephant or an _honest_ one, was anything but a safe +customer to come in contact with; and that this particular rogue was +most particularly angry they had just had both ocular and auricular +evidence. + +They went forward, therefore, with unusual caution, taking care to keep +both their eyes and ears on the alert, and at the same time moving in +perfect silence, or conversing only in whispers. + +The path upon which they were returning was not that by which they had +gone forth. The reconnoissance of the cliffs had carried them a good +distance around the edge of the valley; but now they were following the +track taken by the elephant, which, as already ascertained by Ossaroo, +led almost in a direct line to the hut. + +As they drew nearer to their rude habitation, they saw indications that +the enemy was still before them. As they knew that in the immediate +neighbourhood of the hot-spring, and consequently of the hut itself, +there were no large trees or other place of safety to which they might +retreat in case of being again attacked, they began to advance with +increased caution. From the direction in which they were approaching, +the hovel could not be seen until they should get within less than two +hundred yards of it. There was a belt of rather tall jungle to be +passed through, and then it would be in sight. + +Through this jungle they commenced advancing; and there, to their no +slight uneasiness, they also observed fresh traces of the elephant. +They were now certain that he had passed through it before them, still +going direct for the hut. + +What on earth can he want there? was the query that once more suggested +itself to the minds of all three. It certainly looked as if he had +proceeded there in search of _them_! As if, missing them from the scene +of the encounter, he believed they had returned home, and was following +up their acquaintance. + +From what they had observed, they could not help attributing to the +great quadruped the possession of an intelligence something more than +natural; and this, though it may have been only an absurd fancy on their +part, had the effect of begetting within their minds a very painful +feeling of apprehension. What they saw on coming out on the other side +of the jungle not only strengthened this feeling of apprehension, but +increased it all at once to a positive terror. + +The hut, which should now have been before their eyes, and at a distance +of not quite two hundred paces, _was no longer there_! The ruins of it +alone were visible. The large boulders with which its walls had been +built, the beams and thatch that had composed its roof, the grass +couches upon which they had slept, the rude improvised utensils and +other articles which had served them for furniture, were all strewed far +and wide over the ground; and not the semblance of a house, or even +hovel, remained to show that the spot had been occupied by a human +habitation! + +Yes--in what had been their rude dwelling our adventurers beheld only a +ruder ruin--scarce one stone standing upon, another! + +They beheld all this with feelings of fear--ay, something stronger--with +awe. The Pagan worshipper of Brahma or Vishnu was no longer alone in +his superstitious imaginings. His young Christian companions were +almost equally victims to a belief in the supernatural. They +comprehended well enough what had caused the destruction of the house. +Though the author of that mischief was nowhere to be seen, they knew it +was the elephant. There was no alternative but to accept that +explanation; and it was not the act itself that was awing them, but the +contemplation of the human-like, or rather demon-like, intelligence that +had guided the animal thither, and instructed it to this act of +retribution, perhaps only preliminary to a still greater one. + +Though the work of devastation could not have been completed many +minutes before their arrival, the elephant appeared to have gone away +from the ground. At east, it was not to be seen anywhere near the spot; +and it is needless to say that it was carefully looked for. Dreading +its dangerous proximity, they had kept under cover of the bushes while +contemplating the ruin from a distance; and it was not until after a +considerable interval had elapsed that they ventured forward over the +open space to ascertain the full extent of the damage. + +This they at length did, and found that it was _total_ destruction. So +far as the hut was concerned, not a vestige of construction remained-- +walls and roof had been alike levelled with the ground. But what was a +greater source of chagrin to the now homeless plant-hunters, was that +their little store of ammunition--the gunpowder, which during all the +period of their imprisonment they had been carefully hoarding--was +spilled among the rubbish, and of course irrecoverable. It had been +deposited in a large gourd-shell prepared for the purpose; and this, +among other similar chattels, the enraged quadruped had crushed under +its feet. Their cured provisions had also been turned out from their +place of deposit, and trampled into the dust of the earth. But this, +though also a chagrin, was one of less bitterness. Other provisions +might be obtained--not now so easily, since the powder was destroyed-- +but the latter they could not replace. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY. + +UP A TREE AGAIN! + +They might have remained longer on the ground lamenting this irreparable +loss, but that they were still apprehensive of the return of the +elephant. Whither had it gone? That was the question which one was +addressing to the other, while the eyes of all kept turning in different +directions, and with glances that betrayed their uneasiness. + +The rogue could not have been off the ground more than a very few +minutes: the grass that he had trampled down was still wet with its own +sap, crushed out by his ponderous weight. And yet he might have been +seen all around for nearly a quarter of a mile's distance. There was no +timber within that distance that could have given concealment to an +animal so bulky as an elephant? + +So thought Karl and Caspar; but Ossaroo was of a different opinion. The +bit of jungle through which they had passed would suffice to screen the +rogue, said he: adding at the same time a piece of intelligence derived +from his shikaree experience: that an elephant, large as it is, can hide +in a slight cover with wonderful cunning; that its sagacity enables it +to select the best place for concealment; and that, although it neither +crouches nor squats, it contrives, by keeping perfectly still--added to +the circumstance of its being a shapeless sort of mass--ofttimes to +elude the eye of the most vigilant hunter. Though Karl and Caspar could +scarcely credit him, Ossaroo expressed his belief, not only that the +elephant might be hid in the scant jungle they were talking about, but +that it actually _was_ there. + +Unfortunately for them, Ossaroo's argument was too soon to be supported +by facts which left no doubt of its accuracy. As they stood scanning +the jungle with keen glances, and with ears acutely bent to catch every +sound that might issue from it, a movement was perceptible among the +tops of some tall saplings that grew near its centre. In the next +moment a brace of the beautiful argus pheasants rose on whirring wing, +at the same time giving forth their loud note of alarm. + +The birds, forsaking the jungle, in their flight passed over the heads +of our adventurers, and by their cries caused such a clangour as to set +Fritz off into a prolonged fit of baying. + +Whether it was that the enemy had been only lying in ambush, waiting for +a good opportunity to charge, or whether the voice of the dog--already +known and hated--had been just then heard by the elephant, stirring him +to a fresh thirst for vengeance, certain it is, that before a sentence +could be exchanged among the terrified trio, the long conical trunk and +broad massive shoulders were visible through the scanty jungle; and it +was plain to all that the monster was making towards them with that +deceptive shamble which, though only a walk, carries the huge quadruped +over the ground almost with the speed of a galloping horse. + +For a moment our adventurers stood their ground--not, however, with any +idea of awaiting the attack or attempting to repel it; but simply +because they knew not in what direction to retreat. + +So dismayed were they at the sight of the advancing enemy, that it was +some seconds before any of the three could suggest a plan that offered a +prospect of escape. Rather mechanically than otherwise did Karl and +Caspar bring their pieces to the level, with the intention of firing in +the face of the foe: for they had but little hope that the lead from +their guns, both of light calibre, would stop his impetuous charge. +Both fired at the same instant; and then Caspar delivered his second +shot; but, just as they had expected, the elephant continued to charge +onward. + +Fortunately for them, the shikaree had not condescended to draw the +string of his bow. Experience had taught him that under such +circumstances an arrow was an useless weapon. He might as well have +attempted to kick the elephant, or stick a pin into its trunk; either of +which proceedings would have damaged the animal nearly as much, and +perhaps irritated it a little less, than would one of Ossaroo's arrows. +Knowing this, the shikaree, instead of bothering himself with his bow, +or wasting time by any thoughts of resistance, had occupied the few +seconds left for consideration in a rapid reconnoissance of the +neighbourhood--to see if it offered any chance of escape. + +To tell the truth, the vicinity appeared rather unpromising. The cliffs +offered no ledge upon which they might have climbed out of reach of the +rogue, the jungle might have afforded them a temporary shelter; but +although it had concealed the elephant from their eyes, it could not +long conceal them from the eyes of such a sagacious creature as their +antagonist appeared to be. Besides, the elephant was between them and +it, and to retreat in that direction would be to run point blank upon +its proboscis! + +Fortunately in this moment of uncertainty and irresolution a point of +safety appeared to the eye of the shikaree, in the shape of a tree--the +only one near the spot. It was a tree that had already been +instrumental in saving his life: for it was the same that stood by the +little straits where Ossaroo had set his nets, and by means of which +Caspar had been enabled to hoist him up out of the quicksand. + +This tree was a very large one; and standing alone, its branches, free +to extend their growth, had spread far out in every direction, almost +stretching across the straits. + +Ossaroo wasted not the precious moments in idle reflection, but shouting +to the young sahibs, and signalling them to follow his example, he +struck off towards the tree with all the speed that lay in his legs; and +not till he had got up to the third or fourth tier of branches did he +look behind him, to see whether his advice had been taken. + +The young sahibs had adopted his suggestion with alacrity, without +staying a moment to question its propriety; and both were up the tree +almost as soon as the shikaree himself. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. + +AN IMPLACABLE BESIEGER. + +Fritz had retreated with his masters as far as the bottom of the tree; +but possessing only canine claws, he was not a climber; and of course +could follow them no further. But if he could not ascend the tree, he +had no intention of remaining under it--when he saw no chance of +avoiding the vengeance of the elephant--and, without pausing for a +moment, he plunged into the water, and swam across the straits. Then +wading out on the the opposite bank, he scuttled off into a cover of +reeds which grew along the shore of the lake, and there concealed +himself. + +This time the elephant paid no attention to the dog. It was upon the +hunters alone that its eyes were fixed; and towards them its vindictive +designs were now specially directed. It had been close upon their +heels, as they ran over the open ground, and distinctly saw them +ascending into the tree. Indeed, so near was it, that both Karl and +Caspar were once more obliged to let go their guns, in order that they +might have both hands free for climbing. Otherwise they might have been +too late to get out of reach, and the least delay on their part might +have been fatal to one or both. + +Karl was the last to climb up; and just as he lifted his feet from a +branch to set them on one higher up, the rogue twisted his trunk around +the former, and snapped it in two, as if it had been only a slender +reed. + +But Karl, with the others, was now beyond his reach; and all three +congratulated themselves on once more having escaped from a danger that +was nothing short of death itself. + +If possible, the elephant was now more enraged than ever. It had not +only been a second time baulked in its vengeance, but had received three +fresh bullet-wounds; which, though mere scratches upon the skin of its +huge cranium, were sore enough to irritate it to an extreme degree. +Uttering its shrill, trumpet-like screech, it flourished its proboscis +high in the air; and seizing the branches that were within its reach, it +snapped them off from the main stem as if they had been tiny twigs. + +In a short time the tree, which had been furnished with low-spreading +limbs, was completely stripped of these to a height of nearly +twenty-feet from the ground; while the space underneath had become +strewn with twigs, leaves, and broken branches, crushed into a litter +under the broad, ponderous hooves of the mammoth as he kept moving +incessantly over them. + +Not content with stripping the tree of its branches, the old tusker +seized hold of its trunk--lapping his own _trunk_ as far as he could +around it--and commenced tugging at it, as if he had hopes of being able +to drag it up by the roots. + +Perceiving after trial that this feat was beyond his power, he relaxed +his hold, and then set about another experiment--that of pushing down +the tree with his shoulder. + +Although he succeeded in causing the tree to tremble, he soon became +satisfied that it stood firm enough to resist all his strength, great as +it was: and under this conviction he at length desisted from the +attempt. + +He showed no sign, however, of any intention to leave the ground; but, +on the contrary, took his stand under the tree: since the very opposite +was the determination which he had formed in his mind. + +Although confident that they were in security, our adventurers were +anything but exultant. They saw that they were only safe for the time; +and, that although their dreaded adversary might after a while withdraw +and leave them free to descend, still there could be no security for the +future. They had now less hope of being able to destroy this powerful +enemy: as they had only one charge left for their guns, and that might +not be sufficient to take away his life. The spilling of their powder +by the elephant itself seemed like a piece of strategy on his part, +leaving them in a sad dilemma. + +Inside any house they might build, they would be no better protected +against him than on the open ground: for the rogue had proved himself +capable of demolishing the strongest walls they might construct; and to +be out of his reach, they would be obliged to keep eternally among the +tops of the trees, and lead the life of monkeys or squirrels--which +would be a very disagreeable kind of existence. + +Just then an idea occurred to Caspar that offered them an alternative to +this unpleasant prospect of an arboreal life. He bethought him of the +cave in which they had killed the bear. It could only be reached by a +ladder, and would of course be inaccessible to the elephant. Once out +of their present dilemma, they might seek refuge there. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. + +DRAWING THEIR DRINK. + +The idea about the cave was a good one, and gave them some little +comfort in the midst of their tribulation. + +Still, it was not much; for although they would be safe enough while in +the cavern, they could not accomplish anything there. The want of light +would hinder them from working at the ladders; and while cutting the +timber out of which to make them, and every hour that they might be +engaged upon them, they would be exposed to the attacks of their +implacable enemy. + +The prospect was sufficiently discouraging--even with the knowledge that +the cave would offer them a safe asylum to which they could retreat +whenever pursued. + +As the elephant remained comparatively tranquil for a length of time, +these thoughts of future operations had engaged their attention. +Confident in their present security, they were not troubled by the fear +of any immediate danger. + +Very soon, however, this confidence began to forsake them. How long +were they going to be kept in the tree? That was a question that now +presented itself; and as the time passed, became a source of uneasiness. + +Though none of them could answer this question, yet all could understand +that the siege promised to be a long one--perhaps much longer than that +which had so lately been raised: for the rogue, inspired by a rage +profound and implacable, exhibited in his sullen look a determination to +stand his ground for an indefinite period of time. Seeing this, our +adventurers once more became uneasy. Not only was their situation +irksome--from the fact of their having to sit astride slender branches-- +but should the siege be continued, they would be subjected to that +danger peculiar to all people besieged--the danger of starvation. Even +at the outset all three were as hungry as wolves. They had eaten but a +very light breakfast, and nothing since: for they had not found time to +cook dinner. It was now late in the afternoon; and should the enemy +continue there all night, they would have to go to bed supperless. Ah! +to bed indeed. Perhaps there would be neither bed nor sleep that night: +for how could they slumber upon those hard branches? Should they lose +consciousness for a moment, they would drop off, and tumble down upon +their sleepless besieger! Even should they tie themselves in the tree, +to go to sleep upon such narrow couches would be out of the question. + +Thus, then, they saw no prospect of either supper or sleep for that +night. But there was another appetite now annoying them far worse than +either hunger or longing for sleep. It was the desire to drink. The +rough and varied exercise which they had been compelled to take since +starting in the morning--climbing trees, and skulking through pathless +jungles--combined with the varied emotions which their repeated perils +had called up--all had a tendency to produce thirst; and thirst they now +felt in an extreme degree. It was not lessened by the sight of the +water shining beneath them. On the contrary, this only increased the +craving to an extent that was almost unendurable. + +For a considerable time they bore the pain, without any hope of being +able to get relieved of it; and with the lake glistening before their +eyes under the clear sunlight, and the current gently gliding through +the straits underneath, they could realise, in something more than +fancy, what must have been the terrible sufferings of poor Tantalus. + +After submitting to this infliction for a considerable length of time, +an exclamation escaping from Caspar drew upon him the attention of the +others. + +"Dunder und blitzen!" cried he; "what have we been thinking about all +this time? The three of us sitting here choking with thirst, and a +river of water within our reach!" + +"Within our reach? I wish it were, Caspar," rejoined Karl, in rather a +desponding tone. + +"Certainly it is within our reach. Look here!" + +As Caspar spoke, he held out his copper powder-flask, now nearly empty. +Karl did not yet quite comprehend him. + +"What is to hinder us from letting this down," he inquired, "and drawing +it up again full of water? Nothing. Have you a piece of string about +you, Ossy?" + +"Yes, sahib, I have," briskly replied the shikaree, at the same time +drawing a roll of hempen twist out of the breast of his cotton shirt, +and holding it out towards the young hunter. + +"Long enough, it is," said Caspar, taking the cord; which the next +moment he attached around the neck of the flask. After pouring the +powder into his bullet-pouch, he permitted the flask to drop down till +it became immersed under the current. Allowing it to remain there, till +it had become filled with water, he drew it up again; and with a +congratulatory exclamation presented it to Karl, telling him to drink to +his heart's content. This injunction Karl obeyed without the slightest +reluctance. + +The flask was soon emptied; and once more let down and re-filled, and +again emptied; and this series of operations was continued, until all +were satisfied, and there was no longer a thirsty individual in the top +of that tree. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. + +A GIGANTIC SYRINGE. + +Having by Caspar's ingenious artifice obtained as much water as they +wanted, the besieged felt better able to endure their irksome situation. +They were resigning themselves with as much philosophy as they could +command to bear it a little longer, when to their great astonishment +they were treated to more water than they wanted, and from a source as +curious as was unexpected. + +Whether the elephant had taken a hint from seeing the flask plunged down +into the water, or whether the idea had occurred to it without being +suggested by anything in particular, it would be difficult to say. +Certain it is, that just after the last flask-full had been pulled up, +and before the eddying ripples had subsided from the surface, the rogue +was seen to make a rush into the water, at the same time deeply +submerging his proboscis, as if about to take a drink. + +For some moments he remained in a stationary attitude, apparently +filling his capacious stomach with the fluid. + +There was no reason why he should not be as thirsty as themselves; and +the spectators in the tree had no other thought, than that the great +quadruped had waded into the pool simply for the purpose of quenching +his thirst. + +There was something about his movements, however, and the style in which +he had set about sucking up the water, which betrayed a different +determination; and it was not long before this was evinced by a +performance which, under other circumstances, might have evoked laughter +from those who witnessed it. In this instance, however, the spectators +were themselves the victims of the joke--if joke it might be termed--and +during its continuance, not one of the three felt the slightest +inclination to indulge in mirth. It was thus that the elephant acted:-- + +Having filled its trunk with the water of the stream, it raised it +aloft. Then pointing it towards the tree, and even directing it with as +much coolness and precision as an astronomer would have used in +adjusting his telescope, it sent the fluid in a drenching stream into +the faces of the three individuals whom it was holding in siege. All +three, who chanced to be sitting close together, were at the same +instant, and alike, the victims of this unexpected deluge; and before +any of them could have counted half a score, they were wet from head to +foot, every rag upon their backs, and fronts too, becoming as thoroughly +saturated as if they had been exposed for hours to a drenching rain +storm! + +But the elephant was not satisfied with giving them a single +shower-bath. As soon as its first supply was exhausted, it once more +immersed its pliant sucker, re-filled the reservoir, took a good aim, +and ejected the fluid into their faces. + +In this way the creature continued drawing up the water from the stream, +and squirting it from its vast muscular syringe, until it had douched +them nearly a dozen times. + +Their situation was anything but enviable; for the watery stream, +propelled against them with as much force as from the hose-pipe of a +fire-engine, almost washed them from their unstable seats; to say +nothing of the great discomfort which the douche occasioned them. + +It would be difficult to guess what could be the object of the elephant +in this curious performance. Perhaps it may have conceived a hope +either of driving them out of the tree, or forcibly washing them from +the branches; or perhaps it merely designed to make their situation as +uncomfortable as possible, and thus to some extent satisfy its spite. + +It would be equally difficult to tell how long the performance might +have lasted. Perhaps for hours longer--since the supply of water was +inexhaustible; but it was brought to a conclusion which neither the +great pachyderm himself foresaw, nor they who were the subjects of his +aqueous dispensation. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. + +SWALLOWED WHOLESALE. + +Just while it was in the midst of its performance, keeping its +_water-battery_ in full play, and apparently with malicious enjoyment, +it was seen all at once to desist; and then its huge body commenced +rocking from side to side, one shoulder now upheaving, then the other, +while the long trunk was swept in circles through the air, at the same +time emitting, instead of water, shrill sounds that proclaimed either +pain or terror. + +What could it mean? The quadruped was evidently smitten with some +sudden fear; but who and what was the enemy it dreaded? So mentally +inquired Karl and Caspar; but before either had time to shape his +thought into an interrogative speech, the shikaree had answered it. + +"He-ho!" he exclaimed. "Goot! vair goot!--praise to the God of the +Great Gangee! See, sahibs, the rogue he go down, down--he sinkee in de +quicksand that near swalley Ossaroo; he-ho; sinkee! he sinkee!" + +Karl and Caspar easily comprehended the meaning of Ossaroo's broken but +exultant speeches. Bending their eyes on the brute below, and watching +its movements, they at once perceived that the shikaree had spoken the +truth. The elephant was evidently sinking in the quicksand! + +They had noticed that when it first entered the bed of the stream, the +water had not reached far above its knees. Now it was up to its sides, +and slowly but gradually rising higher. Its violent struggles, +moreover--the partial and alternate raising of its shoulders, its +excited shrieks--and the proboscis, rapidly extended now to this side, +now to that, as if searching to grasp some support--all proved the truth +of Ossaroo's assertion--the rogue was sinking in the quicksand. And +rapidly was the creature going down. Before the spectators had been +watching it five minutes, the water lapped up nearly to the level of its +back, and then inch by inch, and foot by foot, it rose higher, until the +round shoulders were submerged, and only the head and its long +trumpet-like extension appeared above the surface. + +Soon the shoulders ceased to play; and the vast body exhibited no other +motion, save that gentle descent by which it was being drawn down into +the bowels of the earth! + +The trunk still kept up its vibratory movement, now violently beating +the water into foam, and now feebly oscillating, all the while breathing +forth its accents of agony. + +At length the upturned head and smooth protuberant jaws sank beneath the +surface; and only the proboscis appeared, standing erect out of the +water like a gigantic Bologna sausage. It had ceased to give out the +shrill trumpet scream; but a loud breathing could still be heard, +interrupted at intervals by a gurgling sound. + +Karl and Caspar kept their seats upon the tree, looking down upon the +strange scene with feelings of awe depicted in their faces. Not so the +shikaree, who was no longer aloft. As soon as he had seen the elephant +fairly locked in the deadly embrace of that quicksand that had so nearly +engulfed his own precious person, he lowered himself nimbly down from +the branches. + +For some moments he stood upon the bank, watching the futile efforts +which the animal was making to free itself, all the while talking to it, +and taunting it with spiteful speeches--for Ossaroo had been +particularly indignant at the loss of his skirt. When at length the +last twelve inches of the elephant's trunk was all that remained above +the surface, the shikaree could hold back no longer. Drawing his long +knife, he rushed out into the water; and, with one clean cut, severed +the muscular mass from its supporting stem, as a sickle would have +levelled some soft succulent weed. + +The parted tube sank instantly to the bottom; a few red bubbles rose to +the surface; and these were the last tokens that proclaimed the exit of +that great elephant from the surface of the earth. It had gone down +into the deep sands, there to become fossilised--perhaps after the lapse +of many ages to be turned up again by the spade and pick-axe of some +wondering quarry-man. + +Thus by a singular accident were our adventurers disembarrassed of a +disagreeable neighbour--or rather, a dangerous enemy--so dangerous, +indeed, that had not some chance of the kind turned up in their favour, +it is difficult to conjecture how they would have got rid of it. It was +no longer a question of pouring bullets into its body, and killing it in +that way. The spilling of their powder had spoiled that project; and +the three charges that still remained to them might not have been +sufficient with guns of so small a calibre as theirs. + +No doubt in time such gallant hunters as Caspar and Ossaroo, and so +ingenious a contriver as Karl, would have devised some way to circumvent +the rogue, and make an end of him; but for all that they were very well +pleased at the strange circumstance that had relieved them of the +necessity, and they congratulated themselves on such a fortunate result. + +On hearing them talking together, and perceiving that they were no +longer in the tree, Fritz, who had all this while been skulking only a +few paces from the spot, now emerged from his hiding-place, and came +running up. Little did Fritz suspect, while swimming across the straits +to rejoin his masters, that the huge quadruped which had so frequently +given him chase was at that moment so very near him; and that his own +claws, while cutting the water, came within an inch of scratching that +terrible trunk, now _truncated_ to a _frustrum_ of its former self! + +But although Fritz had no knowledge of strange incident that had +occurred during his absence--and may have been wondering in what +direction the enemy had gone off--while swimming across the straits, the +red colour of the water at a particular place, or more likely the scent +of blood upon it, admonished him that some sanguinary scene had +transpired; and drew from him a series of excited yelps as he buoyantly +breasted the wave. + +Fritz came in for a share of the congratulations. Although the faithful +creature had retreated on each occasion of his being attacked, no one +thought of casting a slur upon his canine courage. He had only +exhibited a wise discretion: for what chance would he have stood against +such a formidable adversary? He had done better, therefore, by taking +to his heels; for had he foolishly stood his ground, and got killed in +the first encounter by the obelisk, the elephant might still have been +alive, and besieging them in the tree. Besides, it was Fritz who had +sounded the first note of warning, and thus given time to prepare for +the reception of the assailant. + +All of the party regarded Fritz as worthy of reward; and Ossaroo had +made up his mind that he should have it, in the shape of a dinner upon +elephant's trunk. But in wading back into the stream, the shikaree +perceived to his chagrin that the brave dog must be disappointed: since +the piece which he had so skilfully lopped off, had followed the +fortunes of the part from which it had been severed, and was now far +below the surface of the sand! + +Ossaroo made no attempt to dig it up again. He had a wholesome dread of +that treacherous footing; and treading it gingerly, he lost no time in +returning to the bank, and following the sahibs--who had already taken +their departure from the water's edge, and were proceeding in the +direction of the ruined hut. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. + +THE DEODAR. + +The idea that had occurred to them--of making the cave their home--was +no longer deemed worthy of being entertained. The dangerous proximity +of the elephant had alone suggested it; and this no longer existed. It +was not likely that there was another _rogue_ in the valley. Indeed, +Ossaroo was able to set their minds at rest on this point--assuring them +that two animals of the kind are never found occupying the same +district: since two creatures of such malignant dispositions would +certainly enact the tragedy of the Kilkenny cats--though Ossaroo did not +illustrate his meaning by quoting this celebrated expression. + +Possibly there might be other animals in the neighbourhood as much to be +dreaded as the elephant had been. There might be panthers, or leopards, +or tigers, or even another bear; but against any of these the cave would +be no safe asylum--not safer than their old hut. They could reconstruct +it more strongly than ever; and put a stout door upon it to keep out any +midnight intruder; and to this work did they apply themselves as soon as +they had eaten dinner, and dried their garments--so thoroughly saturated +by the colossal syringe of the defunct elephant. + +Several days were spent in restoring the hovel--this time with +considerable improvements. The winter weather had now fairly set in; +and household warmth had become an important object: so that not only +did they fill up the chinks with a thick coating of clay, but a +fireplace and chimney were constructed, and a strong door was added. + +They knew that it would take them a long time to make the ladders--more +than a dozen long ladders--each of which must be light as a reed and +straight as an arrow. + +During the milder days of winter they might work in the open air; +indeed, the greater part of their work they must needs do outside the +hut. Still it would be necessary to have shelter not only during the +nights, but in times of storm and severe weather. + +Prudence therefore counselled them to providence; and before proceeding +farther with their design of scaling the cliff, they made all snug +within doors. + +They had no fear of suffering from the winter's cold--either for want of +clothing by day, or covering by night. Some of the yak-skins were still +in good preservation--with the pelts of several other animals that had +fallen before the double-barrel of Caspar--and these would suffice for +warm clothing by day and bed-covering by night. + +About their winter's food they were a little more anxious. The elephant +had succeeded not only in destroying their means of obtaining +provisions, but had also damaged the stock which was on hand, by +trampling it in the mud. Those portions of the dried venison and +yak-beef that the brute had not succeeded in completely spoiling, were +once more collected, and stored in a safe place; while it was resolved, +in the event of their not being able to procure more, that they should +go on rations proportioned to the time which they might have to continue +in their rock-bound prison. Of course, though their ammunition was +exhausted, they were not without hopes of being able to add to their +store of provisions. The arrows of Ossaroo still existed, independent +of either powder or lead. Snares and traps would enable them to capture +many of the wild creatures that, like themselves, appeared to have found +a prison in that secluded and singular valley. + +When all the arrangements regarding their winter residence were +completed, they returned once more to the survey of the cliffs, which +had been interrupted by the elephant. + +After a prolonged examination of the ledges, that had been discovered on +that eventful day, they continued on until they had made the circuit of +the valley. Not a foot of the precipice was passed without the most +elaborate inspection being bestowed upon it; and of course the twin +cliffs which hemmed in the gorge of the glacier were examined with the +rest. + +There proved to be no place offering such advantages for an ascent by +ladders as that already discovered; and although there was no positive +certainty that they might be able to accomplish their formidable task, +they determined to make a trial, and without further delay set about +preparing the ladders. + +The preliminary step was to select and cut down a sufficient quantity of +timber of the right length. They were about to have recourse to the +beautiful Thibet pine--the sort which had served them for bridging the +crevasse--when a new tree was discovered by them, equally beautiful, and +more suitable for their purpose. It was the cedar (_Pinus deodara_). +Ossaroo once more lamented the absence of his beloved bamboos--alleging +that with a sufficient number of these he could have made ladders enough +for scaling the cliff, in less than a quarter of the time it would take +to construct them out of the pines. This was no exaggeration: for the +culm of the great bamboo, just as it is cut out of the brake, serves for +the side of a ladder, without any pains taken with it, further than to +notch out the holes in which to insert the rounds. Moreover, the bamboo +being light, would have served better than any other timber for such +ladders as they required--enabling them with less trouble to get them +hoisted up to the ledges--an operation in which they apprehended no +little difficulty. But although there was a species of cane growing in +the valley--that known to the hill people as the "ringall"--its culms +were neither of sufficient length nor thickness for their purpose. It +was the great bamboo of the tropical jungles that Ossaroo sighed for; +and which on their way up through the lower ranges of the Himalayas they +had seen growing in vast brakes, its tall stems often rising to the +height of a hundred feet. + +The deodar, under favourable circumstances, attains to vast dimensions, +trunks being often met with in the mountains upwards of ten feet in +diameter, and rising to the height of one hundred feet. A few sticks of +this description would have made their labour both short and easy. + +Failing the bamboo, therefore, they selected the second best material +which the forest afforded them--the tall "deodar." This tree, which is +known to the Anglo-Indian residents of the Himalayan countries as the +"cedar," has long since been introduced into English parks and +arboretums, under the name of _deodara_--its specific botanical +appellation. It is a true pine and is found in most of the hills and +valleys of the Himalayan chain, growing at almost any elevation and on +any kind of ground--in the low warm valleys, as well as near the line of +everlasting snow. Its favourite habitat, however, is on the lower +hills, and though by no means a beautiful tree, it is valuable on +account of the great quantity of tar which can be extracted from its +sap. + +Where many deodar trees are growing together, they shoot up in long +tapering shafts, with short branches, and present the acute conical form +characteristic of the pines. When individual trees stand singly, or at +some considerable distance apart, their habit is different. They then +stretch out long massive arms in a horizontal direction; and as the +separate twigs and leaves also extend horizontally, each branch thus +presents a surface as level as a table. The deodar often reaches the +height of one hundred feet. + +The wood of the deodar is everywhere esteemed throughout the countries +where it is found. It is excellent for building purposes, easily +worked, almost imperishable, and can be readily split into planks--an +indispensable requisite in a country where saws are almost unknown. In +Cashmere, bridges are built of it: and the long time that some of these +have been standing, affords a proof of its great durability. A portion +of these bridges are under water for more than half the year; and +although there are some of them nearly a hundred years old, they are +still in good preservation, and safe enough to be crossed. + +When the deodar is subjected to the process by which tar is extracted +from other pines, it yields a much thinner liquid than tar--of a dark +red colour, and very pungent smell. This liquid is known as "cedar +oil;" and is used by the hill people as a remedy for skin diseases--as +also for all scrofulous complaints in cattle. + +The deodar is of very slow growth; and this unfits it for being +introduced into European countries--except as an ornamental timber for +parks and pleasure grounds. + +It was chiefly on account of its property of being easily split into +planks, or pieces of light scantling, that the deodar was selected for +making the sides of the ladders. To have cut down the trunks of heavy +trees to the proper thickness for light ladders--with such imperfect +implements as they were possessed of--would have been an interminable +work for our inexperienced carpenters. The little axe of Ossaroo and +the knives were the only tools they possessed available for the work. +As the deodar could be split with wedges, it was just the timber wanted +under these circumstances. + +While engaged in "prospecting" among the deodar trees, a pine of another +species came under the observation of our adventurers. It was that +known as the "cheel." + +It might have been seen by them without attracting any particular +notice, but for Karl; who, upon examining its leaves, and submitting +them to a botanical test, discovered that within the body of the "cheel" +there existed qualities that, in the circumstances in which they were +placed, would be of great value to them. Karl knew that the "cheel" was +one of those pines, the wood of which, being full of turpentine, make +most excellent torches; and he had read, that for this very purpose it +is used by all classes of people who dwell among the Himalaya mountains, +and who find in these torches a very capital substitute for candles or +lamps. Karl could also have told his companions, that the turpentine +itself--which oozes out of the living tree--is used by the people as an +ointment for sores--and that for chapped hands it is a speedy and +effectual cure. The "cheel" pine is nearly always found side by side +with the deodar--especially where the latter forms the chief growth of +the forest. + +Karl could also have informed them that the deodar and the cheel are +not, the only pines indigenous to the Himalayas. He could have +mentioned several other species, as the "morenda," a large and handsome +tree, with very dark foliage, and one of the tallest of the +_coniferae_--often rising to the stupendous height of two hundred feet; +the "rye" pine, of almost equal height with the morenda, and perhaps +even more ornamental; and the "Kolin," or common pine, which forms +extensive forests, upon the ridges that rise from six to nine thousand +feet above sea-level. The last thrives best in a dry, rocky soil and it +is surprising in what places it will take root and grow. In the +perpendicular face of a smooth granite rock, large trees of this species +may be seen. In the rock there exists a little crevice. Into this a +seed in some manner finds its way, vegetates, and in time becomes a +great tree--flourishing perhaps for centuries, where, to all appearance, +there is not a particle of soil to nourish it, and probably deriving +sustenance from the rock itself! + +It was with no slight gratification that Karl beheld the "cheel" growing +so near. He knew that from it they would obtain brilliant torches--as +many as they might stand in need of; so that during the dark nights, +instead of sitting idle for the want of light, they could occupy +themselves till a late hour within the hovel, in making the "rounds" of +the ladders, and doing such other little "chores" as the occasion might +require. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. + +THE SCALING LADDERS. + +The cutting down of the trees did not occupy them a very long time. +They chose only those of slender girth--the more slender the better, so +long as they answered the requirements as to length. Trees of about +fifty feet in total height were the best: as these, when the weaker part +of the tops was cut off, yielded lengths of thirty or more feet. Where +they were only a few inches in diameter, there was very little trouble +in reducing them to the proper size for the sides of the ladders--only +to strip off the bark and split them in twain. + +Making the rounds was also an easy operation--except that it required +considerable time, as there were so many of them. + +The most difficult part of the work--and this they had foreseen--would +be the drilling of the holes to receive the rounds; and it was the task +which proved the most dilatory--taking up more time in its +accomplishment than both the cutting of the timber, and reducing it to +its proper shapes and dimensions. + +Had they owned an auger or a mortising chisel, or even a good gimlet, +the thing would have been easy enough. Easier still had they possessed +a "breast bit." But of course not any of these tools could be obtained; +nor any other by which a hole might be bored big enough to have admitted +the points of their little fingers. Hundreds of holes would be needed; +and how were they to be made? With the blades of their small knives it +would have been possible to scoop out a cavity--that is, with much +trouble and waste of time; but vast time and trouble would it take to +scoop out four hundred; and at least that number would be needed. It +would be a tedious task and almost interminable, even supposing that it +could be accomplished; but this was doubtful enough. The blades of the +knives might be worn or broken, long before the necessary number of +holes could be made. + +Of course, had they been possessed of a sufficient number of nails, they +might have done without holes. The steps of the ladders could have been +nailed upon the sides, instead of being mortised into them. But nails +were a commodity quite as scarce with them as tools. With the exception +of those in the soles of their shoes, or the stocks of their guns, there +was not a nail in the valley. + +It is not to be denied that they were in a dilemma. But Karl had +foreseen this difficulty, and provided against it before a stick of +timber had been cut. Indeed, close following on the first conception of +the scaling ladders, this matter had passed through his mind, and had +been settled to his satisfaction. Only theoretically, it is true; but +his theory was afterwards reduced to practice; and, unlike many other +theories, the practice proved in correspondence with it. + +Karl's theory was to make the holes by fire--in other words, to bore +them with a red-hot iron. + +Where was this iron to be obtained? That appeared to offer a +difficulty, as great as the absence of an auger or a mortise-chisel. +But by Karl's ingenuity it was also got over. He chanced to have a +small pocket pistol: it was single-barrelled, the barrel being about six +inches in length, without any thimbles, beading, or ramrod attached to +it. What Karl intended to do, then, was to heat this barrel red-hot, +and make a boring-iron of it. And this was exactly what he _did_ do; +and after heating it some hundreds of times, and applying it as often to +the sides of the different ladders, he at last succeeded in burning out +as many holes as there were rounds to go into them, multiplied exactly +by two. + +It is needless to say that this wonderful boring operation was not +accomplished at a single "spell," nor yet in a single day. On the +contrary, it took Karl many an hour and many a day, and cost him many a +wet skin--by perspiration, I mean--before he had completed the boring of +those four hundred holes. Numerous were the tears drawn from the eyes +of the plant-hunter--not by grief, but by the smoke of the seething +cedar wood. + +When Karl had finished the peculiar task he had thus assigned to +himself, but little more remained to be done--only to set each pair of +sides together, stick in the rounds, bind fast at each end, and there +was a ladder finished and ready to be scaled. + +One by one they were thus turned off; and one by one earned to the foot +of the cliff, up which the ascent was to be _attempted_. + +Sad are we to say that it was still only an attempt; and sadder yet that +that attempt proved a failure. + +One by one were the ladders raised to their respective ledges--until +three-fourths of the cliff had been successfully scaled. Here, alas! +was their climbing brought to a conclusion, by a circumstance up to this +time unforeseen. On reaching one of the ledges--the fourth from the top +of the cliff--they found, to their chagrin, that the rock above it, +instead of receding a little, as with all the others, _hung over_-- +projecting several inches beyond the outer line of the ledge. Against +that rock no ladder could have been set; none would have rested there-- +since it could not be placed even perpendicularly. There was no attempt +made to take one up. Though the projection could not be discerned from +below, Karl, standing on the topmost round of the last ladder that had +been planted, saw at once, with the eye of an engineer, that the +difficulty was insurmountable. It would be as easy for them to fly, is +to stand a ladder upon that ill-starred ledge; and with this conviction +fully impressed upon his mind, the young plant-hunter returned slowly +and sorrowfully to the ground to communicate the disagreeable +intelligence to his companions. + +It was no use for either Caspar or Ossaroo to go up again. They had +been on the ledge already; and had arrived at the same conviction. +Karl's report was final and conclusive. + +All their ingenuity defeated--all their toil gone for nothing--their +time wasted--their hopes blighted--the bright sky of their future once +more obscured with darkest clouds--all through that unforeseen +circumstance. + +Just as when they returned out of the cavern--after that patient but +fruitless search--just as then, sate they down upon the rocks--each +staggering to that which was nearest him--sad, dispirited, forlorn. + +There sate they, with eyes now fixed upon the ground, now turning +towards the cliff and gazing mechanically upon that serried line, like +the stairway of some gigantic spider--those long ladders, planted with +so much pains, climbed only once, and never to be climbed again! + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. + +AN EMPTY LARDER. + +Long sat they in this attitude, all three, observing a profound silence. +The air was keenly cold, for it was now mid-winter, but none of them +seemed to feel the cold. The deep disappointment, the bitter chagrin +that filled their minds, hindered them from perceiving bodily pain; and +at that moment had an avalanche threatened to slide down upon them from +the snowy summit above, not one of the three would have much cared to +escape out of its way. + +So tired had they become of their aerial prison--so terrified by the +prospect of its continuing for ever--or at least as long as they might +live--they could have contemplated even death without additional terror. + +The straw, to which they had so long and so fondly clung, was snatched +from their grasp. Again were they drowning. + +For nearly an hour sat they thus, moody and desponding. The +purple-coloured tints, that began to play over the surface of the +eternal snows above, admonished them that the sun was far down in the +heavens, and that night was approaching. + +Karl was the first to become conscious of this--the first to break +silence. + +"Oh, brothers!" said he, under the impress of their common misfortune +including Ossaroo in the fraternal appellation. "Come away! It is +useless to stay longer here. Let us go home!" + +"Home!" repeated Caspar, with a melancholy smile. "Ah! Karl, I wish +you had not spoken the word. So sweet at other times, it now rings in +my ears like some unearthly echo. Home, indeed! Alas, dear brother! we +shall ne'er go home." + +To this pathetic speech Karl made no reply. He could offer no word of +hope or consolation; and therefore remained silent. He had already +risen to his feet--the others following his example--and all three +walked moodily away from the spot, taking the most direct route towards +their rude dwelling, which now more than ever they had reason to regard +as their _home_. + +On reaching the hut they found still another cause of inquietude. Their +stock of provisions, which had survived the destructive onset of the +elephant, had been economised with great care. But as they had been too +busy in making the ladders to waste time on any other species of +industry, nothing had been added to the larder--neither fish, flesh, nor +fowl. On the contrary, it had dwindled down, until upon that clay when +they issued forth to try their ladders against the cliff, they had left +behind them only a single piece of dried yak-beef--about enough to have +furnished them with a single meal. + +Hungry after the day's fruitless exertion, they were contemplating a +supper upon it, and not without some degree of pleasant anticipation: +for nature under all circumstances will assert her rights, and the +cravings of appetite are not to be stifled even by the most anguished +suffering of the spirit. + +As they drew nearer to the hut, but more especially when they came in +sight of it, and perceived its rude but hospitable doorway open to +receive them--as from the chill atmosphere through which they were +passing they beheld its sheltering roof of thatch, and thought of its +snug, cosy interior--as, keenly experiencing the pangs both of cold and +hunger, they beheld in fancy a bright faggot fire crackling upon the +hearth, and heard the yak-beef hissing and sputtering in the blaze, +their spirits began to return to their natural condition, and if not +actual joy, something that very much resembled cheerfulness might have +been observed in the demeanour of all. + +It is ever thus with the mind of man, and perhaps fortunate that it is +so. The human soul finds its type in the sky--cloud and sunshine, +sunshine and cloud. + +With our adventurers the dark cloud had for the moment passed; and a +gleam of light was once more shining upon their hearts. + +It was not destined to shine long. A light had been struck, and a fire +kindled that soon blazed brightly. So far one desire had been +satisfied. They could warm themselves. But when they came to think of +gratifying an appetite of a far more craving character--when they +essayed to search for that piece of yak flesh that was to furnish forth +their supper--they found it not! + +During their absence, the burglar had also been abroad. Their larder +had been assailed. The _hung_ beef was hanging there no longer. + +Some wild animal--wolf, panther, or other predatory creature--had +entered by the open doorway,--left open in the excitement of that +hopeful departure--found open upon their return--but, like the door of +that oft-quoted stable, not worth shutting, since the steed had been +stolen. + +Not a morsel, not a mouthful remained--either of yak-beef or food of any +other kind--and all three, Fritz making the fourth, had to go supperless +to sleep. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. + +GOING ABROAD FOR BREAKFAST. + +The exertions which they had made in carrying and erecting the ladders +had so wearied them, that, despite their empty stomachs, all three were +able to sleep. Their slumber, however, was neither profound nor +prolonged; and one and another of them awoke at intervals during the +night and lay awake, reflecting upon the miserable fate that had +befallen them, and the poor prospects now before them. + +They were even without the ordinary consolation of knowing that they +might find something to eat in the morning. Before they could have any +breakfast, they knew they would first have to find it in the forest. +They would have to search, find, and kill, before they could eat. + +But they had reason now not only to be in doubt about procuring their +breakfast, but their dinner and supper--in short, their whole future +subsistence. Circumstances had become changed. The larder, hitherto +amply provided by Caspar's hunting skill, was now quite empty; and +although he could soon have replenished it had their ammunition not been +destroyed, it was now quite a different thing. Caspar's power was gone +along with his powder; and the deer and other quadrupeds, which were +known to be yet numerous in the valley--to say nothing of the winged +creatures that frequented it, could now smile at any attempt on the part +of Caspar to trouble them any longer with his double-barrelled +detonator. The gun would hereafter be as useless as a bar of iron. + +Only one charge of powder for each barrel remained, and one more for +Karl's rifle. When these three should be fired off, not another shot +might ever again be heard ringing through that silent valley, and waking +the echoes of the surrounding cliffs. + +But it had not yet entered their minds that they might be unable to kill +any of the wild animals with which the place abounded. Had they thought +so, they would have been unhappy indeed--perhaps so anxious as not to +have slept another wink for that night. But they did not yet +contemplate the future so despondingly. They hoped that, even without +their guns, they would still be enabled to procure sufficient game for +their support; and as they all lay awake, just before the breaking of +the day, this became the subject of their conversation. + +Ossaroo still felt full confidence in his bow and arrows; and should +these fail, there was his fishing-net; and if that also were to draw +blank, the experienced shikaree knew a score of other schemes for +circumventing the beasts of the earth, the birds of the air, and the +finny denizens of the water. Karl expressed his determination, as soon +as spring should return, to commence cultivating certain edible roots +and plants, which grew rather sparsely around, but, by the careful +propagation of which, a crop might be procured of sufficient abundance. +Moreover, they resolved that in the following year they should store up +such wild fruits and berries as were fit for food; and thus insure +themselves against any chance of famine for months to come. The failure +of their late attempt with the ladders had reproduced within them the +firm though fearful conviction, that for the rest of their lives they +were destined to dwell within the mountain valley--never more to go +beyond the bounds of that stupendous prison-like wall that encircled +them. + +With this impression now freshly stamped upon their minds, they returned +to speculate on the means of present existence, as also on that of their +more immediate future; and in this way did they pass the last hour of +the night--that which was succeeded by the daybreak. + +As the first streaks of dawning day appeared upon the snowy summits-- +several of which were visible from the door of the hut--all three might +have been seen outside preparing themselves for the execution of some +important design. Their purpose might easily be told from the character +of their preparations. Caspar was charging his double-barrelled gun; +and carefully too--for it was the "last shot in his locker." + +Karl was similarly employed with his rifle, while Ossaroo was arming +himself in his peculiar fashion, looking to the string of his bow, and +filling the little wicker bag, that constituted his quiver, with +sharp-pointed arrows. + +From this it was evident that the chase was the occupation immediately +intended, and that all three were about to engage in it. In truth, they +were going out in search of something for their breakfast; and if a keen +appetite could ensure success, they could scarce fail in procuring it: +for they were all three as hungry as wolves. + +Fritz, too, was as hungry as any of them; and looked as if he meant to +do his best in helping them to procure the material for a meal. Any +creature, beast or bird, that should be so unfortunate as to come within +clutching distance of his gaunt jaws, would have but little chance on +that particular morning of escaping from them. + +It had been resolved upon that they should go in different directions: +as by that means there would be three chances of finding game instead of +one; and as something was wanted for breakfast, the sooner it could be +procured the better. If Ossaroo should succeed in killing anything with +his arrows, he was to give a shrill whistle to call the others back to +the hut; while if either of them should fire, of course the shot would +be heard, and that would be the signal for all to return. + +With this understanding, and after some little badinage about who would +be the successful caterer, they all set forth, Caspar going to the +right, Ossaroo to the left, and Karl, followed by Fritz, taking the +centre. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY NINE. + +CASPAR ON A STALK. + +In a few minutes the three hunters had lost sight of one another, Karl +and Caspar proceeding round the lake by opposite sides, but both keeping +under cover of the bushes; while Ossaroo wended his way along the bottom +of the cliff--thinking he might have a better chance in that direction. + +The game which Caspar expected first might fall in his way was the +"kakur," or barking-deer. These little animals appeared to be more +numerous in the valley than any other creatures. Caspar had scarcely +ever been abroad upon a shooting excursion without seeing one; and on +several occasions a kakur had constituted his whole "bag." He had +learnt an ingenious way of bringing them within range of his gun--simply +by placing himself in ambush and imitating their call; which, as may be +deduced from one of their common names, is a sort of bark. It is a +sound very much resembling the bark of a fox, only that it is much +louder. This the kakur sends forth, whenever it suspects the presence +of an enemy in its neighbourhood; and keeps repeating it at short +intervals, until it believes either that the danger has been withdrawn, +or withdraws itself from the danger. + +The simple little ruminant does not seem to be aware that this sound-- +perhaps intended as a note of warning to its companions--too often +becomes its own death-signal, by betraying its whereabouts to the +sportsman or other deadly enemy. Not only the hunter, man, but the +tiger, the leopard, the cheetah, and other predatory creatures, take +advantage of this foolish habit of the barking-deer; and stealing upon +it unawares, make it their victim. + +The bark is very easily imitated by the human voice; and after a single +lesson, with Ossaroo as instructor, not only could Caspar do the decoy +to a nicety, but even Karl, who only overheard the shikaree instructing +his pupil, was able to produce a sound precisely similar. + +Present hunger prompted Caspar to go in search of the kakur, as that +would be the game most likely to turn up first. There were other +quadrupeds, and some birds too, whose flesh would have served better, as +being of superior delicacy: for the venison of the barking-deer is none +of the sweetest. In the autumn it is not bad--nor up to a late period +in the winter--though it is never very delicious at any season. + +On that morning, however, Caspar was not at all fastidious; and he knew +that neither were the others--hunger having robbed them of all delicacy +of appetite. Even kakur venison would be palatable enough, could he +procure it; and for this purpose was he going in a particular direction, +and not wandering hither and thither, as sportsmen usually do when in +search of game. + +He knew of a spot where kakur were almost sure of being found. It was a +pretty glade, surrounded by thick evergreen shrubbery--not far from the +edge of the lake, and on the side opposite to that where the hut was +built. + +Caspar had never entered this glade--and he had gone through it several +times--without seeing kakur browsing upon the grassy turf, or lying in +the shade of the bushes that grew around its edge. It was but fair to +presume, therefore, that on that morning, as upon others, the glade +would furnish him with this species of game. + +Without making stop anywhere else, he walked on till he had got within a +few rods of the spot where he expected to procure the materials of the +breakfast; and then, entering among the underwood, he advanced more +slowly and with greater caution. To ensure success, he even dropped +upon his knees, and crawled cat-like, using his arms as forelegs and his +hands as paws! After this fashion he worked his way forward to the edge +of the opening--all the while keeping a thick leafy bush before his body +to screen himself from the eyes of any creature--kakur or other animal-- +that might be within the glade. + +On getting close up behind the bush, he came to a halt; and then, +cautiously raising his shoulders, he peeped through between the leafy +branches. + +It took him some seconds of time to survey the whole surface of the +glade; but when he had finished his scrutiny, a shadow of disappointment +might have been seen passing over his countenance. There was no game +there--neither kakur nor animals of any other kind. + +Not without a certain feeling of chagrin did the young hunter perceive +that the opening was empty: for, to say nothing of the annoyance he felt +on not being able to procure a joint of venison for breakfast, he had +been flattering himself that, from his superior knowledge of the ground, +he would be the first to find the material for their matutinal meal-- +about which he had some little feeling of hunter-pride and rivalry. + +He did not permit this preliminary disappointment to rob him of all +hope. If there were no kakur within the glade, there might be some in +the bushes near its edge; and perhaps, by adopting the decoy he had +several times already practised--that of imitating their call--he might +entice one out into the open ground. + +Acting upon this idea, he squatted close behind the bush, and commenced +barking, as near as he could, _a la kakur_. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY. + +THE DOUBLE DECOY. + +It was some considerable time before he heard any response to cheer him, +or observed any sign that indicated the presence or proximity of an +animal. + +He repeated his bark many times, with intervals of silence between--and +was about yielding to the conviction, that not only the open ground, but +the bushes around it, were going to draw blank. + +He had uttered his last bark, with all the alluring intonation that he +could throw into the sound; and was about starting to his feet to +proceed elsewhere, when just then the real cry of the kakur responded to +his feigned one--apparently coming from out the thicket on the opposite +side of the glade. + +The sound was heard only faintly, as if the animal was at a great +distance off; but Caspar knew that if it was a response to his call-- +which he believed it to be--it would soon draw nearer. He lost no time, +therefore, in giving utterance to a fresh series of barks of the most +seductive character; and then once more strained his ears to listen for +the reply. + +Again the barks of the kakur came back upon the breeze--repeated +serially, and so resembling his own, that had Caspar not known that they +proceeded from the throat of a deer, he might have fancied them to be +echoes. He did not allow many seconds to elapse before barking again, +and again, with an equal straining at allurement. + +This time, to the surprise of the young hunter, there was no response. +He listened, but not a sound came back--not even an echo. + +He barked again, and again listened. As before, silence profound, +unbroken. + +No--it was not unbroken. Although it was not the call of the kakur, +another sound interrupted the stillness--a sound equally welcome to the +ear of the young hunter. It was a rustling among the leaves on the +opposite side of the glade; just such as might indicate the passage of +an animal through the bushes. + +Directing his eye towards the spot where the sound appeared to proceed, +Caspar saw, or fancied he saw, some twigs in motion. But it was no +fancy: for the moment after he not only saw the twigs move, but behind +the bush to which they belonged he could just make out a +darkish-coloured object. It could be nothing else than the body of the +kakur. Although it was very near--for the glade was scarce twenty yards +across, and the deer was directly behind the line of low shrubs which +formed a sort of selvedge around it--Caspar could not get a good view of +the animal. It was well screened by the foliage, and better perhaps by +the absence of a bright light: for it was yet only the grey twilight of +morning. There was light enough, however, to take aim; and as the +intervening branches were only tiny twigs, Caspar had no fear that they +would interfere with the direction of his ballet. There was no reason, +therefore, why he should delay longer. He might not get a better +chance; and if he waited longer, or barked again, the kakur might +discover the decoy, and run back into the bushes. + +"Here goes, then!" muttered Caspar to himself; at the same time placing +himself firmly on one knee, raising his gun and cocking it. + +It was a splendid lock--that upon the right-hand barrel of Caspar's +gun--one in which the cock, on being drawn to the full, gives tongue to +tell that the spring is in perfect order. + +In the profound stillness of the morning-air the "click" sounded clear +enough to have been heard across the glade, and much further. Caspar +even feared that it might be loud enough to affright the deer; and kept +his eye fixed upon the latter as he drew back the cock. The animal +stirred not; but instead--almost simultaneous with the click of his gun, +and as if it had been its echo--another click fell upon the hunter's +ear, apparently coming from the spot on which the kakur was standing! + +Fortunate was it for Caspar that his own spring had clicked so clear-- +and fortunate also he had heard that apparent echo--else he might either +have shot his brother, or his brother him, or each might have shot the +other! + +As it was, the second click caused Caspar to start to his feet. Karl at +the same instant was seen hurriedly rising erect upon the opposite side +of the glade, while both with cocked guns in their hands stood eyeing +each other, like two individuals about to engage in a deadly duel of +rifles! + +Had any one seen them at that moment, and in that attitude, their wild +looks would have given colour to the supposition that such was in +reality their intent; and some time would have elapsed before any action +on the part of either would have contradicted this fearful belief: for +it was several seconds before either could find speech to express their +mutual surprise. + +It was something more than surprise--it was awe--a deep tragical emotion +of indefinable terror, gradually giving way to a feeling of heartfelt +thankfulness, at the fortunate chance that had made them aware of each +other's presence, and saved them from a mutual fratricide. + +For some seconds I have said not a word was spoken; and then only short +exclamations of similar import came trembling from the lips of both. +Both, as if acting under a common impulse, flung their guns to the +ground. Then, rushing across the glade, they threw their arms around +each other; and remained for some moments locked in a brotherly embrace. + +No explanation was needed by either. Karl, after passing round the lake +by the other side, had strayed by chance in the direction of the glade. +On nearing it, he had heard the barking of a kakur--not dreaming that it +was Caspar acting as a decoy. He had answered the signal; and finding +that the kakur still kept its place, he had advanced toward the opening +with the intention of stalking it. On getting nearer he had ceased to +utter the call, under the belief that he should find the deer out in the +open ground. Just as he arrived by its edge, Caspar was mimicking the +kakur in such an admirable manner, and so energetically, that Karl could +neither fail to be deceived as to the character of the animal, nor +remain ignorant of its position. The darkish disc visible behind the +evergreen leaves could be no other than the body of the deer; and Karl +was just about cocking his rifle, to bore it with a bullet, when the +click of Caspar's double-barrel sounding ominously in his ear, +fortunately conducted to a far different _denouement_ than that fatal +_finale_ which was so near having occurred. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. + +The signal of the Shikaree. + +As if sent to cheer and distract their minds from the feeling of dread +awe which still held possession of them, just then the shrill whistle of +Ossaroo came pealing across the lake, reverberating in echoes from the +cliff toward which he had gone. Shortly after the signal sounded again +in a slightly different direction--showing that the shikaree had +succeeded in bagging his game, and was returning towards the hut. + +On hearing the signal, Karl and Caspar regarded each other with glances +of peculiar significance. + +"So, brother," said Caspar, smiling oddly as he spoke, "you see Ossaroo +with his despised bow and arrows has beaten us both. What, if either of +us had beaten him?" + +"Or," replied Karl, "what if we had both beaten him? Ah! brother +Caspar," added he, shuddering as he spoke, "how near we were to making +an end of each other! It's fearful to think of it!" + +"Let us think no more of it then," rejoined Caspar; "but go home at once +and see what sort of a breakfast Ossy has procured for us. I wonder +whether it be flesh or fowl." + +"One or the other, no doubt," he continued, after a short pause. "Fowl, +I fancy: for as I came round the lake I heard some oddish screaming in +the direction of the cliff yonder, which was that taken by Ossaroo. It +appeared to proceed from the throat of some bird; yet such I think I +have never heard before." + +"But I have," replied Karl; "I heard it also. I fancy I know the bird +that made those wild notes: and if it be one of them the shikaree has +shot, we shall have a breakfast fit for a prince, and of a kind Lucullus +delighted to indulge in. But let us obey the signal of our shikaree, +and see whether we're in such good luck." + +They had already regained possession of their guns. Shouldering them, +they started forth from the glade--so near being the scene of a tragical +event--and, turning the end of the lake, walked briskly back in the +direction of the hut. + +On coming within view of it, they descried the shikaree sitting upon a +stone, just by the doorway; and lying across his knee, a most beautiful +bird--by far the most beautiful that either flies in the air, swims in +the water, or walks upon the earth--the peacock. Not the half +turkey-shaped creature that struts around the farmyard--though _he_ is +even more beautiful than any other bird--but the wild peacock of the +Ind--of shape slender and elegant--of plumage resplendent as the most +priceless of gems--and, what was then of more consequence to our +adventurers, of flesh delicate and savoury as the choicest of game. +This last was evidently the quality of the peacock most admired by +Ossaroo. The elegant shape he had already destroyed; the resplendent +plumes he was plucking out and casting to the winds, as though they had +been common feathers; and his whole action betokened that he had no more +regard for those grand tail feathers and that gorgeous purple corselet, +than if it had been a goose, or an old turkey-cock that lay stretched +across his knee. + +Without saying a word, when the others came up, there was that in +Ossaroo's look--as he glanced furtively towards the young sahibs, and +saw that both were empty-handed--that betrayed a certain degree of +pride--just enough to show that he was enjoying a triumph. To know that +he was the only one who had made a _coup_, it was not necessary for him +to look up. Had either succeeded in killing game, or even in finding +it, he must have heard the report of a gun, and none such on that +morning had awakened the echoes of the valley. Ossaroo, therefore, knew +that a brace of empty game-bags were all that were brought back. + +Unlike the young sahibs, he had no particular adventure to relate. His +"stalk" had been a very quiet one--ending, as most quiet stalks do, in +the death of the animal stalked. He had heard the old peacock +screeching on the top of a tall tree; he had stolen up within bow range, +sent an arrow through his glittering gorget, and brought him tumbling to +the ground. He had then laid his vulgar hands upon the beautiful bird, +grasping it by the legs, and carrying it with draggling wings--just as +if it had been a common dunghill fowl he was taking to the market of +Calcutta. + +Karl and Caspar did not choose to waste time in telling the shikaree how +near they had been to leaving him the sole and undisputed possessor of +that detached dwelling and the grounds belonging to it. Hunger prompted +them to defer the relation to a future time; and also to lend a hand in +the culinary operations already initiated by Ossaroo. By their aid, +therefore, a fire was set ablaze; and the peacock, not very cleanly +plucked, was soon roasting in the flames--Fritz having already made +short work with the giblets. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY TWO. + +THE IBEX. + +Big as was the body of the peacock, there was not much of it left after +that _dejeuner aux doigts_! Only the bones; and so clean picked were +they, that had Fritz not already been made welcome to the giblets, he +would have had but a scanty meal of it. + +The savoury roast did a good deal towards restoring the spirits of the +party; but they could not help dwelling upon the indifferent prospect +they now had of procuring a fresh stock of provisions--so much changed +were circumstances by their powder having been destroyed. + +The bow and arrows of Ossaroo were still left, and other bows could be +made, if that one was to get broken. Indeed, Caspar now determined on +having one of his own; and practising archery under the tutelage of the +shikaree, until he should be able to use that old-fashioned and +universal weapon with deadly effect. + +Old-fashioned we may well term it: since its existence dates far beyond +the earliest times of historical record; and universal: for go where you +will into the most remote corners of the earth, the bow is found in the +hands of the savage, copied from no model, introduced from no external +source, but evidently native to the country and the tribe, as if when +man was first created the weapon had been put into his hands by the +Creator himself! + +Indeed, the occurrence of the bow--with its necessary adjunct, the +arrow--among tribes of savages living widely apart, and who, to all +appearance, could never have communicated the idea to one another--is +one of the most curious circumstances in the history of mankind; and +there is no other way of explaining it, than by the supposition that the +propelling power which exists in the recoil of a tightly-stretched +string must be one of the earliest phenomena that presents itself to the +human mind; and that, therefore, in many parts of the world this idea +has been an indigenous and original conception. + +The bow and arrow is certainly one of the oldest weapons on the earth-- +as well as one of the most universally distributed. It is a subject +that, in the hands of the skilled ethnologist, might become one of the +most interesting chapters in the history of the human race. + +I have said that after eating the peacock our adventurers were in better +spirits; but for all that, they could not help feeling some little +apprehension as to how their food was to be obtained for the future. +Ossaroo's skill had provided their breakfast; but how about their +dinner? And after that their supper? Even should something turn up for +the next meal, they might not be so fortunate in obtaining the next +after that; and this precarious way of subsistence--living, as it were, +from hand to mouth--would be a constant exposure of their lives to the +chances of starvation. + +As soon, therefore, as they had finished with the flesh of the peacock-- +and while Ossaroo, who continued eating longer than any of them, was +still engaged in polishing off the "drumsticks"--the point of +replenishing the larder became the subject of their conversation; and +all agreed that to get up a stock of provisions had now become a matter +of primary importance. They resolved, therefore, to devote themselves +entirely to this business--using such means as were in their power for +capturing game, and devising other means should these prove +insufficient. + +First and foremost, then, what were they to have for dinner? Was it to +be fish, flesh, or fowl? They did not think of having all three: for in +their situation they had no desire for a fashionable dinner. One course +would be sufficient for them; and they would only be too thankful to +have one course assured to them. + +Whether they would choose to go fishing with Ossaroo's net, and have +fish for their dinner, or whether they would try for another peacock, or +an argus pheasant, or a brace of Brahminy geese; or whether they would +take to the woods and search for grander game, had not become a decided +point; when an incident occurred that settled the question, as to what +they were to have for dinner. Without any exertion on their part-- +without the wasting of a single shot, or the spending of an arrow, they +were provided with meat; and in quantity sufficient, not only for that +day's dinner, but to ration them for a whole week, with odds and ends +falling to the share of Fritz. + +They had gone out of the hut again; and were seated, as oft before, on +some large stones that lay upon the ground in front. It was a fine +bright morning; and, although cold in the shade, the sun shining down +upon them, reflected from the white snow on the mountains above, made it +warm enough to be pleasant. For that reason, and because there was some +smoke inside the hut, where they had cooked their breakfast, they had +preferred eating it in the open air; and here also they were holding +council as to their future proceedings. + +While thus engaged, a sound fell upon their ears that bore some +resemblance to the bleating of a goat. It appeared to come down from +the sky above them; but they knew that it must be caused by some animal +on the cliffs overhead. + +On looking upwards, they beheld the animal; and if its voice had already +appeared to them to be like that of a goat, the creature itself in its +_personal_ appearance, to a very great extent, carried out the +resemblance. + +To speak the truth, it _was_ a goat; though not one of the common kind. +It was an _ibex_. + +Once more Karl had the advantage of his companions. His knowledge of +natural history enabled him to identify the animal. At the first glance +he pronounced it an ibex; although he had never seen a living ibex +before. But the goat-like shape of the animal, its shaggy coat, and +above all, the immense ringed horns curving regularly backward over its +shoulders, were all characteristic points, which Karl was able to +identify by a comparison with pictures he had seen in books, and stuffed +skins he had examined in a museum. + +Ossaroo said it was a goat--some kind of a wild goat, he supposed; but +as Ossaroo had never before been so high up the mountains, and therefore +never in the regions frequented by the ibex, he knew it not. His +conjecture that it was a goat was founded on the general resemblance +which it bore to a goat; and this Caspar had observed as well as +Ossaroo. + +They could see the creature from head to foot, standing in a majestic +attitude on a prominent point of the cliff; but although it was in +reality much larger than the common domestic goat, it was so distant +from them as not to appear bigger than a kid. It was _en profile_, +however, to their eyes; and against the blue sky they could trace the +outlines of the animal with perfect distinctness, and note the grand +sweeping curvature of its horns. + +The first thought of Caspar was to lay hold of his gun with the idea of +taking a shot at it; but both the others interposed to prevent this-- +pointing out the impossibility of hitting at such a distance. Although +seemingly much nearer, the ibex was considerably more than a hundred +yards from where they were seated: for the point of the precipice upon +which it stood was quite four hundred feet above the level. + +Caspar, reflecting upon this, was easily dissuaded from his design; and +the next moment was wondering why he had been so near playing the fool +as to throw away a shot--his penultimate one, too--at an animal placed +full fifty yards beyond the carry of his gun! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. + +GOATS AND SHEEP. + +As the ibex kept its ground, without showing any signs of retreating, or +even moving a muscle of its body, they remained watching it. Not, +however, in silence: for as the animal was standing as if to have its +portrait painted, Karl, in words addressed to his two companions, but +chiefly intended for the instruction of Caspar, proceeded to execute +that very task. + +"The ibex," said he, "is an animal whose name has been long famous, and +about which the closet naturalists have written a great deal of +nonsense--as they have about almost every other animal on the earth. +After all that has been said about it, it is simply a goat--a wild goat, +it is true, but still only a goat--having all the habits, and very much +of the appearance characteristic of the domestic animal of this name. + +"Every one knows that the common goat exists in as many varieties as the +countries it inhabits. Indeed, there are more kinds of goats than +countries: for it is not uncommon to meet with three or four sorts +within the boundaries of a single kingdom--as in Great Britain itself. +These varieties differ almost as much from each other as the `breeds' of +dogs; and hence there has been much speculation among zoologists, as to +what species of wild goat they have all originally sprung from. + +"Now, it is my opinion," continued the plant-hunter, "that the tame +goats found among different nations of the earth have not all descended +from the same stock; but are the progeny of more than one wild species-- +just as the domesticated breeds of sheep have sprung from several +species of wild sheep; though many zoologists deny this very plain +fact." + +"There are different species of wild goats, then?" said Caspar, +interrogatively. + +"There are," replied the plant-hunter, "though they are not very +numerous--perhaps in all there may be about a dozen. As yet there are +not so many known to zoologists--that is, not a dozen that have been +identified and described as distinct species; but no doubt when the +central countries, both of Asia and Africa--with their grand chains of +mountains--have been explored by scientific naturalists, at least that +number will be found to exist. + +"The speculating systematists--who decide about genera and species, by +some slight protuberance upon a tooth--have already created a wonderful +confusion in the family of the goats. Not contented with viewing them +all as belonging to a single genus, they have divided them into five +genera--though to most of the five they ascribe only _one species_!-- +thus uselessly multiplying names, and rendering the study of the subject +more complicated and difficult. + +"There can be no doubt that the goats, both wild and tame--including the +ibex, which is a true wild goat--form of themselves a separate family in +the animal kingdom, easily distinguishable from sheep, deer, antelopes, +or oxen. The wild goats often bear a very close resemblance to certain +species of wild sheep; and the two are not to be distinguished from each +other, by the goats being covered with hair and the sheep with wool--as +is generally the case with tame breeds. On the contrary, both sheep and +goats in a wild state have _hairy_ coats--the sheep as much as the +goats; and in many instances the hair of both is quite as short as that +of antelopes or deer. Even where there are almost no external marks to +distinguish wild goats from certain kinds of wild sheep, there are found +_moral_ characteristics which serve as guides to the genus. The goat is +bolder, and of a fiercer nature; and its other habits, even in the wild +state, differ essentially from those of the wild sheep. + +"The ibex which we see above us," continued Karl, looking up to the +quadruped upon the cliff, "is neither more nor less than a wild goat. +It is not the only species of wild goat inhabiting the Himalayas; for +there is the `tahir,' a stronger and larger animal than it; and it is +believed that when these great mountains have been thoroughly +_ransacked_ [Karl here smiled at the very unscientific word he had made +use of], there will turn up one or two additional species. + +"It is not the only species of ibex neither," continued he, "for there +is one found in the European Alps, known by the name of `steinboc;' +another, in the Pyrenees, called the `tur;' a third, in the Caucasus, +the `zac;' and one or two others in the mountains of Africa. + +"With regard to the animal now before, or rather above us," continued +Karl, "it differs very little from others of the same family; and as +both its appearance and habits have been very ably described by a noted +sportsman, who was also an accomplished naturalist, I cannot do better +than quote his description: since it gives almost every detail that is +yet authentically known of the Himalayan ibex. + +"`The male,' writes this gentleman author, `is about the size of the +_tahir_ [here he speaks of the other well-known species of Himalayan +wild goat, and which is itself much larger than any of the domesticated +kinds]. Except just after changing their coats, when they are of a +greyish hue, the general colour of the ibex is a dirty yellowish brown. +I have, however, killed the younger animals, both male and female, with +their coats as red as that of a deer in his red coat; but never saw an +old male of that colour, for the reason, I imagine, that he lives much +higher, and sheds his hair much later in the season. The hair is short, +something in texture like that of the _burrell_ and other wild sheep; +and in the cold weather is mixed with a very soft downy wool, resembling +the shawl-wool of Thibet. This and the old hair is shed in May and +June; and in districts occupied by the flocks at that season the bushes +and sharp corners of rocks are covered with their cast-off winter coats. +The striking appearance of the ibex is chiefly owing to the noble +horns: which nature has bestowed upon it. In full-grown animals the +horns, which curve gracefully over the shoulders, are from three to four +feet in length along the curve, and about eleven inches in circumference +at the base. Very few attain a greater length than four feet; but I +have heard of their being three inches longer. Their beards, six or +eight inches in length, arc of shaggy black hair. The females, light +greyish-brown in colour, are hardly a third the size of the males; and +their horns are round and tapering, from ten inches to a foot in length. +Their appearance upon the whole is clean-made, agile, and graceful. + +"`In the summer they everywhere resort to the highest accessible places +where food can be found--often to a part of the country several marches +distant from their winter haunts. This migration commences as soon as +the snow begins to disappear; and is very gradually performed--the +animals receding from hill to hill, and remaining a few days upon each. + +"`At this season the males keep in large flocks, apart from the females; +and as many as a hundred may occasionally be seen together. During the +heat of the day they rarely move about, but rest and sleep--either on +the beds of snow in the ravines, or on the rocks and shingly slopes of +the barren hill-sides, above the limits of vegetation. Sometimes, but +very rarely, they will lie down on the grassy spots where they have been +feeding. Towards evening they begin to move, and proceed to their +grazing-grounds--which are often miles away. They set out walking +slowly at first; but, if they have any considerable distance before +them, soon break into a trot; and sometimes the whole flock will go as +hard as they can lay legs to the ground. From what we could gather from +the natives, we concluded that they remain in these high regions until +the end of October; when they begin to mix with the females, and +gradually descend to their winter resorts. The females do not wander so +much or so far--many remaining on the same ground throughout the year-- +and those that do visit the distant hills are generally found lower down +than the males, seldom ascending above the limits of vegetation. They +bring forth their young in July, having generally two at a birth; +though, like other gregarious animals, many are frequently found barren. + +"`The ibex are wary animals, gifted with very sharp sight and an acute +sense of smell. They are very easily alarmed, and so wild, that a +single shot fired at a flock is often sufficient to drive them away from +that particular range of hills they may be upon. Even if not fired at, +the appearance of a human being near their haunt is not unfrequently +attended with the same result. Of this we had many instances during our +rambles after them, and the very first flock of old males we found gave +us a proof. They were at the head of the Asrung valley, and we caught +sight of them just as they were coming down the hill to feed--a noble +flock of nearly a hundred old males. It was late in the day, and we had +a long way to return to camp. Prudence whispered, "Let them alone till +to-morrow," but excitement carried the day, and we tried the stalk. +Having but little daylight remaining, we may have hurried, and +consequently approached them with less caution than we should have done +had we had time before us. However it might be, we failed; for long +before we got within range, some of them discovered us, and the whole +flock decamped without giving us the chance of a shot. Not having fired +at, or otherwise disturbed them, more than by approaching the flock, we +were in great hopes of finding them the next day; but that and several +succeeding ones were passed in a fruitless search. They had entirely +forsaken that range of hills. + +"`All readers of natural history are familiar with the wonderful +climbing and saltatory powers of the ibex; and, although they cannot (as +has been described in print) make a spring and hang on by their horns +until they gain footing, yet in reality, for such heavy-looking animals, +they get over the most inaccessible-looking places in an almost +miraculous manner. Nothing seems to stop them, nor to impede in the +least their progress. To see a flock, after being fired at, take a +direct line across country, which they often do, over all sorts of +seemingly impassable ground; now along the naked face of an almost +perpendicular rock, then across a formidable landslip, or an inclined +plane of loose stones or sand, which the slightest touch sets in motion +both above and below; diving into chasms to which there seems no +possible outlet, but instantly reappearing on the opposite side; never +deviating in the slightest from their course; and at the same time +getting over the ground at the rate of something like fifteen miles an +hour, is a sight not easily to be forgotten. There are few animals, if +any, that excel the ibex in endurance and agility.'" + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. + +A BATTLE OF BUCKS. + +Karl had scarcely finished speaking, when, as if to illustrate still +further the habits of the ibex, a curious incident occurred to the +animal upon, which their eyes were fixed. + +It ceased to be a solitary individual: for while they were gazing at it +another ibex made its appearance upon the cliff, advancing towards the +one first seen. The new comer was also a male, as its huge +scimitar-shaped horns testified; while in size, as in other respects, it +resembled the one already on the rock as much as if they had been +brothers. It was not likely they were so. At all events the behaviour +of the former evinced anything but a fraternal feeling. On the +contrary, it was advancing with a hostile intent, as its attitudes +clearly proved. Its muzzle was turned downward and inward, until the +bearded chin almost touched its chest; while the tips of its horns, +instead of being thrown back upon its shoulders--their usual position +when the animal stands erect--were, elevated high in the air. Moreover, +its short tail, held upright and jerking about with a quick nervous +motion, told that the animal meditated mischief. Even at so great a +distance the spectators could perceive this: for the forms of both the +ibex were so clearly outlined against the sky, that the slightest motion +on the part of either could be perceived with perfect distinctness. + +The new comer, when first observed, appeared to be approaching by +stealth--as if he intended to play the cowardly assassin, and butt the +other over the cliff! Indeed, this was his actual design, as was +discovered in the sequel; and had the other only remained for six +seconds longer in the attitude in which he had been first seen, his +assailant would no doubt have at once succeeded in his treacherous +intent. + +We are sorry to have to say that he _did_ succeed--though not without a +struggle, and the risk of being himself compelled to take that desperate +leap which he had designed for his antagonist. + +It was probably the voice of Caspar that hindered the immediate +execution of this wicked intention; though, alas! it only stayed it for +a short time. Caspar, on seeing the treacherous approach, had +involuntarily uttered a cry of warning. Though it could not have been +understood by the imperilled ibex, it had the effect of startling him +from his dreamy attitude, and causing him to look around. In that look +he perceived his danger, and quick as thought, took measures to avert +it. Suddenly raising himself on his hind-legs, and using them as a +pivot, he wheeled about, and then came to the ground on all fours, face +to face with his adversary. He showed no sign of any desire to retreat, +but seemed to accept the challenge as a matter of course. Indeed, from +his position, it would have been impossible for him to have retreated +with any chance of safety. The cliff upon which he had been standing, +was a sort of promontory projecting beyond the general line of the +precipice; and towards the mountain slope above his escape had been +already cut off by his challenger. On all other sides of him was the +beetling cliff. He had no alternative but fight, or be "knocked over." +It was less a matter of choice than necessity that determined him upon +standing his ground. + +This determination he had just time to take, and just time to put +himself in an attitude of defence, when his antagonist charged towards +him. Both animals, at the same instant, uttered a fierce, snorting +sound, and rising upon their hind-legs, stood fronting each other like a +brace of bipeds. In this movement the spectators recognised the exact +mode of combat practised by common goats; for just in the same fashion +does the ibex exhibit his prowess. Instead of rushing _horizontally_, +head to head, and pressing each other backwards, as rams do in their +contests, the ibex after rearing aloft, come down again, horns foremost, +using the weight of their bodies as the propelling power, each +endeavouring to crush the other between his massive crest and the earth. +Several times in succession did the two combatants repeat their +rearings aloft, and the downward strokes of their horns; but it soon +became evident, that the one who had been the assailant was also to be +the conqueror. He had an advantage in the ground: for the platform +which his adversary occupied, and from which he could not escape, was +not wide enough to afford room for any violent movements; and the +imminent danger of getting a hoof over the cliff, evidently inspired him +with fear and constraint. The assailant having plenty of space to move +in, was able to "back and fill" at pleasure, now receding foot by foot, +then rushing forward, rising erect, and striking down again. Each time +he made his onslaught with renewed impetus, derived from the advantage +of the ground, as well as the knowledge that if his blow failed, he +should only have to repeat it; whereas, on the part of his opponent, the +failure of a single stroke, or even of a guard, would almost to a +certainty be the prelude to his destruction. + +Whether it was that the ibex attacked was the weaker animal of the two, +or whether the disadvantage of the ground was against him, it soon +became evident that he was no match for his assailant. From the very +first, he appeared to act only on the defensive; and in all likelihood, +had the road been open to him, he would have turned tail at once, and +taken to his heels. + +But no opportunity for flight was permitted him at any moment from the +beginning of the contest; and none was likely to be given him until it +should end. The only chance of escape that appeared, even to him, was +to make a grand leap, and clear his adversary, horns and all. + +This idea seemed at length to take possession of his brain: for all on a +sudden he was keen to forsake his attitude of defence, and bound high +into the air--as if to get over his adversary's horns, and hide himself +among the safer snowdrifts of the mountains. + +If such was his intent it proved a sad failure. While soaring in the +air--all his four feet raised high off the ground--the huge horns of his +adversary were impelled with fearful force against his ribs, the stroke +tossing him like a shuttlecock clear over the edge of the cliff! + +The blow had been delivered so as to project his body with a revolving +impetus into the air; and turning round and round, it fell with a heavy +concussion into the bottom of the valley; where, after rebounding full +six feet from the ground, it fell back again dead as a stone. + +It was some seconds before the spectators could recover from surprise at +an incident so curious, though it was one that may often be witnessed by +those who wander among the wild crags of the Himalayas--where combats +between the males of the ibex, the tahir, the burrell or Himalayan wild +sheep, and also the rams of the gigantic _Ovis ammon_, are of common +occurrence. + +These battles are often fought upon the edge of a beetling precipice-- +for it is in such places that these four species of animals delight to +dwell--and not unfrequently the issue of the contest is such as that +witnessed by our adventurers--one of the combatants being "butted" or +pushed right over the cliff. + +It does not follow that the animal thus put _hors de combat_ is always +killed. On the contrary, unless the precipice be one of stupendous +height, an ibex, or tahir, or burrell, will get up again after one of +those fearful falls; and either run or limp away from the spot--perhaps +to recover, and try his luck and strength in some future encounter with +the same adversary. One of the most remarkable instances of this kind +is related by the intelligent sportsman, Colonel Markham, and by him +vouched for as a fact that came under his own observation. We copy his +account verbatim:-- + +"I witnessed one of the most extraordinary feats performed by an old +tahir, that I, or any other man, ever beheld. I shot him when about +eighty yards overhead upon a ledge of rocks. He fell perpendicularly +that distance, and, without touching the ground or the sides of the +precipice, rebounded, and fell again about fifteen yards further down. +I thought he was knocked to atoms, but he got up and went off; and +although we tracked him by his blood to a considerable distance, we were +after all unable to find him!" + +My young readers may remember that many similar feats have been +witnessed in the Rocky Mountains of America, performed by the +"bighorn"--a wild sheep that inhabits these mountains, so closely +resembling the _Ovis ammon_ of the Himalayas, as to be regarded by some +naturalists as belonging to the same species. The hunters of the +American wilderness positively assert that the bighorn fearlessly flings +himself from high cliffs, alighting on his horns; and, then rebounding +into the air like an elastic ball, recovers his feet unhurt, and even +unstunned by the tremendous "header!" + +No doubt there is a good deal of exaggeration in these "hunter stories;" +but it is nevertheless true that most species of wild goats and sheep, +as well as several of the rock-loving antelopes--the chamois and +klipspringer, for instance--can do some prodigious feats in the leaping +line, and such as it is difficult to believe in by any one not +accustomed to the habits of these animals. It is not easy to comprehend +how Colonel Markham's tahir could have fallen eighty yards--that is, 240 +feet--to say nothing of the supplementary descent of forty-five feet +further--without being smashed to "smithereens." But although we may +hesitate to give credence to such an extraordinary statement, it would +not be a proper thing to give it a flat contradiction. Who knows +whether there may not be in the bones of these animals some elastic +principle or quality enabling them to counteract the effects of such +great falls? There are many mechanical contrivances of animal life as +yet but very imperfectly understood; and it is well-known that Nature +has wonderfully adapted her creatures to the haunts and habits for which +she has designed them. It may be, then, that these wild goats and +sheep--the Blondins and Leotards of the quadruped world--are gifted with +certain saltatory powers, and furnished with structural contrivances +which are altogether wanting to other animals not requiring them. It +would not be right, therefore, without a better knowledge of the +principles of animal mechanism, to contradict the statement of such a +respectable authority as Colonel Markham--especially since it appears to +be made in good faith, and without any motive for exaggeration. + +Our adventurers had entered into no discussion of this subject on +observing the descent of the ibex. Indeed, there was nothing to suggest +such speculations; for the creature had fallen from such an immense +height, and come down with "such a thump" upon the hard turf, that it +never occurred to any of them to fancy that there was a single gasp of +breath left in its body. Nor was there; for on reaching the ground +after its rebound, the animal lay with limbs loose and limp, and without +sign of motion--evidently a carcass. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE. + +THE BEARCOOTS. + +Our adventurers were congratulating themselves on this unexpected +accession to their larder; which, like the manna of old, had, as it +were, rained down from the sky. + +"Our dinner!" shouted Caspar, gleefully, as the "thump" of the falling +ibex sounded in their ears. "Our supper, too," he added. "Ay, more! +In such a large carcass there must be provision to last us for a week!" + +All three rose to their feet, and were about starting forward to secure +the prize; when a shrill scream twice repeated fell upon their ears-- +coming down apparently from the top of the cliffs, or rather from the +mountain that trended still higher above them. + +Could it be the cry of the conquering ibex--his slogan of triumph? No; +it was not his voice, nor that of a quadruped of any kind. Neither did +the spectators for an instant believe it to be so. On turning their +eyes upward, they saw the creature, or the creatures--for there were two +of them--from whose throats those screams had proceeded. + +The victorious ibex was still standing conspicuously upon the cliff. +During the few seconds that the attention of the spectators had been +occupied elsewhere, he appeared to have been contemplating the dire deed +of destruction he had just accomplished, and perhaps indulging in the +triumph he had obtained over his unfortunate rival. At all events he +had stepped forward upon the projecting point of the rock--to the very +spot so lately occupied by his adversary. + +The cry, however, which had been heard in the valley below had reached +his ears at the same time, and perhaps a little sooner: for as the +spectators looked up, they saw that he had been startled by it, and was +looking around him with evident alarm. In the air above and not many +yards distant from him, were two dark objects, easily recognisable as +birds upon the wing. They were of large size, nearly black in colour, +and with that peculiar sharpness of outline and sweep of wing that +distinguish the true birds of prey. There was no mistaking their kind-- +they were eagles--of a species known in the Himalayas and the steppes of +Thibet as the "bearcoot." + +They were swooping in short, abrupt curves, at intervals repeating their +shrill screams, both crying out together, and from their excited mien, +and the character of their movements, no doubt could be entertained as +to the object of their noisy demonstrations. They were about to assault +an enemy, and that enemy was no other than the ibex. + +The animal appeared to be fully aware of their intent; and seemed for a +moment to be irresolute as to how it should act. Instead of placing +itself in a bold, defiant attitude--such as it had lately assumed +towards an antagonist of its own kind--it stood cowering, and apparently +paralysed with fear. It was this very effect which the eagles, by their +screaming, had designed to produce; and certainly the fierce birds were +succeeding to the utmost of their expectations. + +The spectators kept their eyes fixed upon the actors of this new drama-- +watching every movement, both of the birds and the beast, with intense +interest. All were desirous of seeing the latter punished for the cruel +act he had just committed, and which they regarded as savouring very +strongly of fratricide. + +It was written in the book of fate that their desire should be +gratified, and that the destroyer should himself be destroyed. They +were expecting to witness a somewhat prolonged combat; but in this +expectation they were disappointed. The duration of the conflict was as +brief as the preliminaries that led to it; and these were of the +shortest kind: for scarce ten seconds had elapsed, after they had +uttered their first scream, before the bearcoots swooped down to the +level of the cliff, and commenced a joint attack upon the ibex, striking +at him alternately with beak and claws. + +For a short time the quadruped was shrouded--almost hidden--under the +broad, shadowy wings of the birds; but even when its figure could be +traced, it appeared to be making no very energetic efforts at defending +itself. The sudden attack made by such strange enemies seemed to have +completely disconcerted the ibex; and it remained as if still under the +paralysis of fear. + +After a moment or two had passed, the ibex appeared to recover +self-possession; and then he, rearing up, struck out with his horns. +But the bearcoots were on the alert; and each time that the animal +attempted a forward movement, they easily avoided the blow by shying to +one side or the other; and then quickly wheeling, they would swoop back +upon it from behind. + +In this way was the conflict progressing, the ibex holding the ground +upon which he had been first attacked, turning round and round, with his +two fore hoofs held close together, or else rearing aloft on his +hind-legs, and using them as a pivot. + +It would have been better for the ibex had he kept to his fore-feet +altogether; as in that attitude he might have held his ground a little +longer--perhaps until he had either beaten off his winged assailants, or +wearied them out by a prolonged defence. + +But to fight on "all fours" did not chance to be his fashion. It was +contrary to the traditions of his family and race--all of whose members, +from time immemorial, had been accustomed, when battling with an enemy, +to stand erect upon their hind-legs. + +Following this fashion, he had raised himself to his full perpendicular, +and was about aiming a "butt" against the breast of one of the bearcoots +that was tantalising him in front, when the other, that had made a short +retrocession in order to gain impetus, came swooping back with the +velocity of an arrow, and seizing the ibex under the chin, by a quick, +strong jerk of its talons, it struck the head of the animal so far +backward that it lost its balance, and went toppling over the cliff. In +another instant the ibex was in mid-air--falling--falling--through that +same fearful space that had just been traversed by his own victim. + +The spectators looked to see him strike the ground without receiving +further molestation from his winged assailants. Not so, however, did it +result. Just as the ibex had got about half-way down the face of the +precipice, the second eagle was seen shooting after him with the +velocity of a flash of lightning; and before he could reach the ground, +the bearcoot was seen striking him once more, and causing him to diverge +from his vertical descent. The body came to the ground at length--but +at a considerable distance from where the other was lying--the eagle +descending with it to the earth, and even remaining over it with wings +and limbs extended, as if still clutching it in his talons! + +Why the bearcoot was thus retaining the ibex in his clutch was not quite +so clear: for the animal was evidently dead; and apparently had been so +long before reaching the earth. There was something strange about this +proceeding on the part of the bird--as there had also been in its mode +of descent through the last forty or fifty yards of space. From the +manner in which it had extended its wings after striking its prey, and +from the way in which it still kept exercising them, the spectators +began to think that its singular descent, and its remaining over the +carcass in that cowering attitude, were neither of them voluntary acts +on its part. + +The truth was soon made clear--proving the contrary to be the case: for +as the bearcoot continued to flap its wings, or rather, flutter them in +a violent irregular motion, it became evident that instead of desiring +to remain by the fallen body of its victim, it was doing its very best +to get away from it! This was all the more easily believed, when it +commenced uttering a series of wild screams; not as before indicating +rage or menace, but in tones expressive of the greatest terror! + +The spectators, who had already risen from their seats, ran towards the +spot--surmising that there was something amiss. + +On getting close up to the still screaming and fluttering bird, they +were able to understand what had appeared so incomprehensible. + +They saw that the bearcoot was in a dilemma; that its talons were buried +in the body of the ibex, and so firmly fixed, that with all the strength +of its sinewy legs, backed by the power of its elastic pinions, it was +unable to free itself! + +In striking the ibex in his descent, the bird had buried its crooked +claws deeply into the soft abdomen of the animal, but in attempting to +draw them out again, had found--no doubt to its great chagrin--that the +thick coating of "poshm" which covered the skin of the ibex, had become +entangled round its shanks; and the more it fluttered to free itself, +turning round and round in the effort, the stronger and tighter became +the rope which it was twisting out of that celebrated staple--the +shawl-wool of Cashmere! + +Beyond a doubt the bearcoot was in a bad fix; and, although it was soon +relieved from its tether of _poshm_, it was only to find itself more +securely tied by a stronger string taken out of the pocket of Ossaroo. + +The other bearcoot having followed close after, seemed determined upon +rescuing its mate out of the hands of its captors; and uttering loud +screams, it flew, first at one, then at another of them--with its long +pointed talons menacing each of them in turn. + +As all of them had weapons in their hands, they succeeded in keeping the +angry bird at bay, but it might not have fared so well with Fritz--who +in turn became the object of its furious attack, and who had no weapon +but his teeth. + +These would scarce have been sufficient protection against the talons of +an eagle; and Fritz would very likely have lost one of his eyes, or +perhaps both of them, had it not been for an arrow springing from the +bow of the shikaree; which, transfixing the great bird right through the +gizzard, brought it down with a "flop" upon the surface of the earth. + +It was not killed outright by the arrow; and the dog, on seeing it bite +the dust, would fain have "jumped" it. But perceiving the strong +curving beak and the sharp talons extended towards him, Fritz was easily +persuaded to remain at a prudent distance, and leave the shikaree to +make a finish of the bearcoot with his long boar-spear. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY SIX. + +A HOPE BUILT UPON THE BEARCOOT. + +In this unexpected supply of food--which might be said almost literally +to have descended from heaven--Karl could not help recognising the hand +of Providence, and pointing it out to his companions. Even the less +reflecting mind of Caspar, and the half-heathen heart of the Hindoo, +were impressed with a belief that some other agency than mere chance had +befriended them; and they were only too willing to join with Karl in a +prayerful expression of their gratitude to that Being who, although +unseen, was with them even in that lone valley. + +For a time they stood contemplating with curiosity, not only the two +ibex, but also the eagles--interesting on account of the knowledge that +all four animals had but lately been roaming freely beyond the +boundaries of that mountain prison--and had just arrived, as it were, +from the outside world, with which they themselves so eagerly longed to +hold communication. What would they not have given to have been each +provided with a pair of wings like that bearcoot--the one that still +lived? Furnished in that fashion, they would soon have sought escape +from the valley--to them a valley of tears--and from the snowy mountains +that surrounded it. + +While reflecting thus, a thought shaped itself in the mind of the +philosophic Karl, which caused his face to brighten up a little. Only a +little: for the idea which had occurred to him was not one of the +brightest. There was something in it, however; and, as the drowning man +will clutch even at straws, Karl caught at a singular conception, and +after examining it a while, communicated it to the others. + +It was the bearcoot that had brought forth this conception. The bird +was a true eagle, strong of wing and muscle like all of his tribe, and +one of the strongest of the genus. Like an arrow, he could fly straight +up towards the sky. In a few minutes--ay, in a few seconds--he could +easily shoot up to the summits of the snowy mountains that towered above +them. + +"What is to hinder him?" asked Karl, pointing to the bird, "to carry--" + +"To carry what?" said Caspar, interrupting the interrogation of his +brother, who spoke in a hesitating and doubtful manner. "Not us, Karl?" +continued he, with a slight touch of jocularity in his manner--"you +don't mean that, I suppose?" + +"Not us," gravely repeated Karl, "but _a rope_ that may carry _us_." + +"Ha!" exclaimed Caspar, a gleam of joy overspreading his face as he +spoke. "There's something in that." + +Ossaroo, equally interested in the dialogue, at the same moment gave +utterance to a joyous ejaculation. + +"What do _you_ think of it, shikaree?" inquired Karl, speaking in a +serious tone. + +The reply of Ossaroo did not bespeak any very sanguine hope on his part. +Still he was ready to counsel a trial of the scheme. They could try it +without any great trouble. It would only need to spin some more rope +from the hemp--of which they had plenty--attach it to the leg of the +bearcoot, and give the bird its freedom. There was no question as to +the direction the eagle would take. He had already had enough of the +valley; and would no doubt make to get out of it at the very first +flight he should be permitted to make. + +The scheme superficially considered appeared plausible enough; but as +its details were subjected to a more rigorous examination, two grand +difficulties presented themselves--so grand that they almost obliterated +the hope, so suddenly, and with too much facility, conceived. + +The first of these difficulties was, that the bearcoot, notwithstanding +his great strength of wing, might not be able to carry up a rope, which +would be strong enough to carry one of themselves. A cord he might +easily take to the top of the cliff, or even far beyond; but a mere +cord, or even a very slender rope, would be of no use. It would need +one strong enough to support the body of a man--and that, too, while +engaged in the violent exertion of climbing. The rope would require to +be of great length--two hundred yards or more; and every yard would add +to the weight the eagle would be required to carry up. + +It is not to be supposed that they intended to "swarm" up this rope hand +by hand. For the height of a dozen yards or so, any of them could have +accomplished that. But there would be a hundred and fifty yards of +"swarming" to be done before they could set foot upon the top of the +cliff; and the smartest sailor that ever crawled up a main-stay--even +Sinbad himself--could not have done half the distance. They had +foreseen this difficulty from the very first; and the ingenuity of Karl +had at once provided a remedy for it--as will be seen in the sequel. + +The second question that presented itself was:--admitting that the +bearcoot might bear up a rope stout enough for the purpose, whether +there would be any possibility of getting this rope stayed at the top? + +Of course, they could do nothing of themselves; and that point would be +a matter of mere chance. There was a chance--all acknowledged that. +The bird, in fluttering over the mountain to make its escape, might +entangle the rope around a rock, or some sharp angle of the frozen snow. +There was a chance, which could be determined by trying, and only by +trying; and there were certain probabilities in favour of success. + +The first difficulty--that relating to the strength and weight of the +rope--admitted of rational discussion and calculation. There were +_data_ to go upon, and others that might be decided conjecturally, yet +sufficiently near the truth for all preliminary purposes. They could +tell pretty nearly what stoutness of rope it would take to _hang_ any +one of them; and this would be strong enough to carry them up the cliff. +The strength of the eagle might also be presumed pretty nearly; and +there was no doubt but that the bearcoot would do his very best to get +out of the valley. After the rough handling he had already experienced, +he would not require any further stimulus to call forth his very utmost +exertions. + +On discussing the subject in its different bearings, it soon became +evident to all, that the matter of supreme importance would be the +making of the rope. Could this be manufactured of sufficient fineness +not to overburden the bearcoot, and yet be strong enough to sustain the +weight of a man, the first difficulty would be got over. The rope +therefore should be made with the greatest care. Every fibre of it +should be of the best quality of hemp--every strand twisted with a +perfect uniformity of thickness--every plait manipulated with an exact +accuracy. + +Ossaroo was the man to make such a cord. He could spin it with as much +evenness as a Manchester mill. There would be no danger that in a rope +of Ossaroo's making the most critical eye could detect either fault or +flaw. + +It was finally determined on that the rope should be spun--Ossaroo +acting as director, the others becoming his attendants rather than his +assistants. + +Before proceeding to work, however, it was deemed prudent to secure +against a hungry day by curing the flesh of the brace of ibex. The dead +bearcoot was to be eaten while fresh, and needed no curing. + +And so indeed it was eaten--the bird of Jove furnishing them with a +dinner, as that of Juno had given them a breakfast! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN. + +THE LOG ON THE LEG. + +As soon as they had hung the ibex-meat upon the curing strings, and +pegged out the two skins for drying, they turned their attention to the +making of the rope by which they were to be pulled out of their prison. +By good fortune they had a large stock of hemp on hand all ready for +twisting. It was a store that had been saved up by Ossaroo--at the time +when he had fabricated his fish-net; and as it had been kept in a little +dry grotto of the cliff, it was still in excellent preservation. They +had also on hand a very long rope, though, unfortunately, not long +enough for their present purpose. It was the same which they had used +in projecting their tree-bridge across the crevasse; and which they had +long ago unrove from its pulleys, and brought home to the hut. This +rope was the exact thickness they would require: for anything of a more +slender gauge would scarcely be sufficient to support the weight of a +man's body; and considering the fearful risk they would have to run, +while hanging by it against the face of such a cliff, it was necessary +to keep on the safe side as regarded the strength of the rope. They +could have made it of ample thickness and strength, so as to secure +against the accident of its breaking. But then, on the opposite hand, +arose the difficulty as to the strength of the eagle's wing. Should the +rope prove too heavy for the bearcoot to carry over the top of the +cliff, then all their labour would be in vain. + +"Why not ascertain this fact before making the rope?" + +This was a suggestion of Karl himself. + +"But how are we to do it?" was the rejoinder of Caspar. + +"I think we can manage the matter," said the botanist, apparently +busying his brain with some profound calculation. + +"I can't think of a way myself," replied Caspar, looking inquiringly at +his brother. + +"I fancy I can," said Karl. "What is to hinder us to ascertain the +weight of the rope before making it, and also decide as to whether the +bird can carry so much?" + +"But how are you to weigh the rope until it is made? You know it's the +trouble of making it we wish to avoid--that is, should it prove useless +afterwards." + +"Oh! as for that," rejoined Karl, "it is not necessary to have it +finished to find out what weight it would be. We know pretty near the +length that will be needed, and by weighing a piece of that already in +our hands, we can calculate for any given length." + +"You forget, brother Karl, that we have no means of weighing, even the +smallest piece. We have neither beam, scales, nor weights." + +"Pooh!" replied Karl, with that tone of confidence imparted by superior +knowledge. "There's no difficulty in obtaining all these. Any piece of +straight stick becomes a beam, when properly balanced; and as for +scales, they can be had as readily as a beam." + +"But the weights?" interrupted Caspar. "What about them? Your beam and +scales would be useless, I apprehend, without proper weights? I think +we should be `stumped' for the want of the pounds and ounces." + +"I am surprised, Caspar, you should be so unreflecting, and allow your +ingenuity to be so easily discouraged and thwarted. I believe I could +make a set of weights under any circumstances in which you might place +me--giving me only the raw material, such as a piece of timber and +plenty of stones." + +"But how, brother? Pray, tell us!" + +"Why, in the first place, I know the weight of my own body." + +"Granted. But that is only one weight; how are you to get the +denominations--the pounds and ounces?" + +"On the beam I should construct I would balance my body against a lot of +stones. I should then divide the stones into two lots, and balance +these against one another. I should thus get the half weight of my +body--a known quantity, you will recollect. By again equally dividing +one of the lots I should find a standard of smaller dimensions; and so +on, till I had got a weight as small as might be needed. By this +process I can find a pound, an ounce, or any amount required." + +"Very true, brother," replied Caspar, "and very ingenious of you. No +doubt your plan would do--but for one little circumstance, which you +seem to have overlooked." + +"What is that?" + +"Are your data quite correct?" naively inquired Caspar. + +"My data!" + +"Yes--the original standard from which you propose to start, and on +which you would base your calculations. I mean the _weight of your +body_. Do you know that?" + +"Certainly," said Karl; "I am just 140 pounds weight--to an ounce." + +"Ah, brother," replied Caspar, with a shake of the head, expressive of +doubt, "you _were_ 140 pounds in London--I know that myself--and so was +I nearly as much; but you forget that the fret and worry of this +miserable existence has reduced both of us. Indeed, dear brother, I can +see that you are much thinner since we set out from Calcutta; and no +doubt you can perceive the like change in me. Is it not so?" + +Karl was forced to give an affirmative reply to the question, at the +same time that he acknowledged the truth of his brother's statement. +His data were not correct. The weight of his body--which, not being a +constant quantity, is at all times an unsafe standard--would not serve +in the present instance. The calculation they desired to make was of +too important a character to be based upon such an untrustworthy +foundation. Karl perceived this plainly enough; but it did not +discourage him from prosecuting his purpose to make the attempt he had +proposed. + +"Well, brother!" said he, looking smilingly towards the latter, and +apparently rather pleased at Caspar's acuteness; "I acknowledge you have +had the better of the argument this time; but that's no reason why I +should give up my plan. There are many other ways of ascertaining the +weight of an object; and no doubt if I were to reflect a little I could +hit upon one; but as luck has it, we need not trouble ourselves further +about that matter. If I mistake not, we have a standard of weight in +our possession, that is just the thing itself." + +"What standard?" demanded Caspar. + +"One of the leaden bullets of your own gun. They are ounce bullets, +I've heard you say?" + +"They are exactly sixteen to the pound, and therefore each of them an +ounce. You are right, Karl, that is a standard. Certainly it will do." + +The subject required no further sifting; and without delay they +proceeded to ascertain the weight of two hundred yards of rope. A +balance was soon constructed and adjusted, as nicely as if they had +meant to put gold in the scale. Twenty yards of the rope already in +hand was set against stones--whose weight they had already determined by +reduplicating a number of bullets--and its quantity ascertained in +pounds and ounces. Eight times that gave one hundred and sixty yards-- +the probable amount of cord they should require. + +This being determined upon, the next thing was to find out whether the +eagle could carry such a burden into the sky. Of course, the bird would +not have the whole of it to carry at first, as part would rest upon the +ground; but should it succeed in reaching the top of the cliff--even at +the lowest part--there would then be the weight of at least one hundred +yards upon its leg; and if it ascended still higher, a greater amount in +proportion. + +It was natural to suppose that the bearcoot in going out would choose +the lowest part of the precipice--especially when feeling his flight +impeded by the strange attachment upon his leg; and if this conjecture +should prove correct, there would be all the less weight to be +sustained. But, indeed, by the cord itself they could guide the +bearcoot to the lowest part--since by holding it in their hands, they +could hinder him taking flight in any other direction. + +Considering all these circumstances, and rather cheered by the many +points that appeared to be in their favour, they proceeded to make trial +of the eagle's strength. + +It would not take long to decide; but conscious of the great importance +of the result, they set about it with due deliberation. + +A log of wood was procured, and chopped down, till it was exactly the +weight of the rope to be used. To this the piece of twenty yards-- +already employed for a different purpose--was attached at one end--the +other being tightly knotted around the shank of the eagle. + +When all was ready, the bird was stripped of his other fastenings; and +then all retired to a distance to give him space for the free use of his +wings. + +Fancying himself no longer under restraint, the bearcoot sprang up from +the rock on which he had been placed; and, spreading his broad wings, +rose almost vertically into the air. + +For the first twenty yards he mounted with a vigorous velocity; and the +hopes of the spectators found utterance in joyful ejaculations. + +Alas! these hopes were short-lived, ending almost on the instant of +their conception. The rope, carried to its full length, became suddenly +taut--jerking the eagle several feet back towards the earth. At the +same time the log was lifted only a few inches from the ground. The +bird fluttered a moment, taken aback by this unexpected interruption; +and, after recovering its equilibrium, again essayed a second flight +towards the sky. + +Once more the rope tightened--as before raising the log but very little +from the ground--while the eagle, as if this time expecting the pluck, +suffered less derangement of its flight than on the former occasion. +For all that, it was borne back, until its anchor "touched bottom." +Then after making another upward effort, with the like result, it +appeared to become convinced of its inability to rise vertically, and +directed its flight in a horizontal line along the cliffs. The log was +jerked over the ground, bounding from point to point, occasionally +swinging in the air, but only for a few seconds at a time. + +At length the conviction forced itself upon the minds of the +spectators--as it seemed also to have done upon that of the performer-- +that to reach the top of the cliff--with a cord upon its leg, equal in +weight to that log--was more than a bearcoot could accomplish. + +In short, the plan had proved a failure; and, no longer hoping for +success, our adventurers turned their disappointed looks upon each +other--leaving the eagle free to drag his wooden anchor whithersoever he +might wish. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT. + +FURTHER EXPERIMENTS. + +The usual silence which succeeds a disappointment was for some time +preserved by the three individuals who had been spectators of the +unsuccessful attempt of the eagle. Caspar seemed less cast down than +the others; but why it was so, neither of them thought of asking him. + +It was not a silence of very long duration, nor was the chagrin that had +caused it of much longer continuance. Both were evanescent as the +summer cloud that for a moment darkens the sky, and then glides off-- +leaving it bright and serene as ever. + +It was to Caspar the party was indebted for this happy change of +feeling. An idea had occurred to the young hunter--or rather a new +scheme--which was at once communicated to his companions. + +Strictly speaking, Caspar's scheme could not be termed a _new_ one. It +was only supplementary to that already set before them by Karl; and the +bearcoot, as before, was to be the chief actor in it. + +While calculating the length of rope it would take to reach to the top +of the cliff, Caspar had already bethought him of a way by which it +might be shortened--in other words, how it might be arranged, that a +shorter rope would suffice. He had for some time carried this idea in +his mind; but had declined communicating it, to the others, until after +witnessing the test of the eagle's strength. Now that the bearcoot had +been "weighed and found wanting," you might suppose that the creature +would be no longer cared for--excepting to furnish them with a meal. +This was the reflection of Karl and Ossaroo; but Caspar thought +differently. He was impressed with a belief, that the bird might still +do them a service--the very one which he had undertaken so +unsuccessfully. + +Caspar reflected, and very correctly: that it was the extra weight that +had hindered the eagle from ascending. It was not so much beyond his +strength neither. Perhaps had it been only half as heavy, or even a +little more, he might have succeeded in carrying it over the cliff. + +What if the weight should be reduced? + +To make the rope more slender did not enter into Caspar's calculations. +He knew this could not be done: since it was a point already discussed +and decided upon. + +But how if the rope were to be _shorter_, than that which had been +theoretically considered? How if it were to be only fifty yards, +instead of one hundred and fifty? Of course, then the eagle might fly +with it, to whatever height its length would allow. + +Caspar felt satisfied of this fact; nor did either of the others +question its truth--but what then? + +"What," inquired Karl, "would be the use of a rope of fifty yards, +though the eagle might carry it up to the moon? Even at the lowest part +of the cliffs--should the bearcoot take one end over, the other would be +fifty yards above our heads?" + +"Not a yard, brother--not a foot. The other end would be in our hands-- +in our hands, I tell you." + +"Well, Caspar," calmly rejoined the philosopher, "you appear to be +confident enough; though I can't guess what you are driving at. You +know this hideous precipice is at no point less than a hundred yards in +sheer height?" + +"I do," replied Caspar, still speaking in the same tone of confidence; +"but a rope of only fifty--ay, of not more than half that length--may be +held in our hands, while the other end is over the top of the cliff." + +Karl looked perplexed; but the shikaree, on this occasion quicker of +perception than the philosopher, catching at Caspar's meaning, cried +out:-- + +"Ha, ha! young sahib meanee from top ob da ladder! Dat meanee he." + +"Exactly so," said Caspar; "you've guessed right, Ossy. I mean just +that very thing." + +"Oh! then, indeed," said Karl, in a drawling tone, at the same time +lapsing into a reflective silence. + +"Perhaps you are right, brother," he added, after a pause. "At all +events, it will be easy to try. If your scheme succeed, we shall not +require to make any more cord. What we have will be sufficient. Let us +make trial at once!" + +"Where is the bearcoot?" asked Caspar, looking around to discover the +bird. + +"Yonner be he, young sahib," answered Ossaroo, pointing towards the +precipice; "yonner sitee he--ober da rock." + +The eagle was perceived, perched, or rather crouching, on a low ledge of +the cliff,--upon which it had dropped down after its unsuccessful +attempt at flight. It looked crestfallen, and as if it would suffer +itself to be caught by the hand. But as Ossaroo approached it with this +intention, the bird seemed to fancy itself free, and once more rose, +with a bold swoop, into the air. + +It was only to feel the check-string tighten afresh upon his leg. It +came fluttering down again, first drawn back by the weight of the log, +and afterwards by the strong arm of the shikaree. + +The log was now removed; and the whole rope they had on hand--a length +of rather more than fifty yards--was knotted in its place. + +The bearcoot was again set free--Ossaroo taking care to keep the leash +well in hand; and now the beautiful bird of Jove rose into the air, as +if not the summit of the cliff, but the proud peak of Chumulari, was to +be the limit of its flight. + +At the height of fifty yards its soaring ambition was suddenly curbed, +by the check-string of Ossaroo, reminding it that it was still a +captive. + +The experiment had proved successful. Caspar's plan promised well; and +they at once proceeded to take the necessary steps for carrying it into +practical effect. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY NINE. + +THE EAGLE'S ESCAPE. + +The first thing to be done, was to look to the quality of the rope, and +test its strength. The ladders were already in place, just as they had +been left. The rope once _proved_, there would be nothing further to +do, but make it secure to the shank of the bearcoot; ascend the cliff to +the highest ledge, reached by the ladders; and then fly the bird. + +Should they succeed in getting the creature to go over the cliff--and by +some means entangle the cord at the top--they might consider themselves +free. The very thought of such a result--now apparently certain--once +more raised their spirits to the highest pitch. + +They did not count on being able to "swarm" up a piece of slender cord +of nearly fifty yards in length--a feat that would have baffled the most +agile tar that ever "slung the monkey" from a topgallant stay. They had +no thoughts of climbing the rope in that way; but in another, long +before conceived and discussed. They intended--once they should be +assured that the cord was secure above--to make steps upon it, by +inserting little pieces of wood between the "strands;" and these, which +they could fix at long distances, one after the other, would form +supports, upon which they might rest their feet in the ascent. + +As we have said, all this had been settled beforehand; and no longer +occupied their attention--now wholly absorbed in contriving some way to +prove the reliability of the rope, upon which their lives were about to +be imperilled. + +It was not deemed sufficient to tie the rope to a tree, and pull upon it +with all their united strength. Karl and Caspar thought this would be a +sufficient test; but Ossaroo was of a different opinion. A better +plan--according to the shikaree's way of thinking--was one which had +generated in his oriental brain; and which, without heeding the +remonstrances of the others, he proceeded to make trial of. Taking one +end of the rope with him, he climbed into a tall tree; and, after +getting some way out on a horizontal branch--full fifty feet from the +ground--he there fastened the cord securely. By his directions the +young sahibs laid hold below; and, both together, raising their feet +from the ground, remained for some seconds suspended in the air. + +As the rope showed no symptoms either of stretching or breaking under +the weight of both, it was evident that it might, under any +circumstances, be trusted to carry the weight of one; and in this +confidence, the shikaree descended from the tree. + +With the eagle carried under his right arm, and the coil of rope +swinging over his left, Ossaroo now proceeded towards the place where +the ladders rested against the cliff. Karl and Caspar walked close +after, with Fritz following in the rear--all four moving in silence, and +with a certain solemnity of look and gesture--as befitted the important +business upon which they were bent. + +The new experiment, like the trial of the eagle's strength, did not +occupy any great length of time. Had it proved successful, our +adventurers would have been longer occupied, and in the end would have +been seen triumphantly standing upon the summit of the cliff--with Fritz +frisking up the snowy slope beyond, as if he intended to chase the great +_ovis ammon_ upon the heaven-kissing crest of Chumulari. + +Ah! how different was the spectacle presented on the evening of that +eventful day! A little before sunset the three adventurers were seen +slowly and sadly returning to their hut--that despised hovel, under +whose homely roof they had hoped never to seek shelter again! + +Alas! in the now lengthened list of their unsuccessful struggles, they +had once more to record a failure! + +Ossaroo, bearing the bearcoot under his arm, had climbed the ladders up +to the highest ledge that could be attained. From it he had "flown" the +eagle--freely dealing out all the cord in his possession. That was a +perilous experiment for the shikaree to make; and came very near proving +the last act in the drama of his life. + +Thinking that the bearcoot would rise upward into the air, he had not +thought of anything else; and as he stood balancing himself on that +narrow shelf, he was but ill prepared for what actually came to pass. +Instead of soaring upwards, the eagle struck out in a horizontal +direction, not changing its course till it had reached the end of its +tether; and then not changing it, nor even pausing in its flight, but +with the fifty yards of rope trailing behind it--which, fortunately for +Ossaroo, he was himself no longer at the end of--it continued on across +the valley towards the cliffs on the opposite side--the summit of which +it would have no difficulty in attaining by following the diagonal line +in which it was making that unexpected escape from the clutches of the +shikaree. + +Not without chagrin did Karl and Caspar behold the spectacle of the +bearcoot's departure; and for a while they were under the impression +that Ossaroo had bungled the business with which he had been entrusted. + +Ossaroo's explanations, however, were soon after received; and proved +satisfactory. It was evident from these, that had he not let go in the +right time, he would have been compelled to make a leap, that would have +left him no opportunity for explaining the nature of the eagle's escape. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY. + +FRITZ AND THE FALCONS. + +With feelings of sad and bitter disappointment did our adventurers turn +their backs upon these ladders--that had once more deluded them--and +make their way towards the hut. + +As upon the former occasion, they walked with slow steps and downcast +mien. Fritz, by his slouching gait and drooped tail, showed that he +shared the general despondency. + +They had arrived nearly at the hut, before any of the three thought of +speaking; when the sight of that rude homestead, to which they had so +often fancied themselves on the eve of bidding farewell--and to which as +often had they been compelled to return--suggested a theme to Karl: +causing him to break silence as they advanced towards the doorway. + +"Our true friend," said he, pointing to the hovel, "a friend, when all +else fails us. Rough it is--like many a friend that is nevertheless +worthy. I begin to like its honest look, and feel regard for it as one +should for a home." + +Caspar said nothing in reply. He only sighed. The young chamois-hunter +of the Bavarian Alps thought of another home--far away towards the +setting sun; and, so long as that thought was in his mind, he could +never reconcile himself to a forced residence in the Himalayas. + +The thoughts of Ossaroo were equally absent from that spot. He was +thinking of a bamboo hut by the borders of some crystal stream, +overshadowed by palms and other tropical trees. He was thinking still +more of rice curry and chutnee; but above all, of his beloved "betel," +for which the "bang" of the _cannabis sativa_ was but a poor substitute. + +But Caspar had another thought in his mind; one which proved that he had +not yet abandoned all hope of returning to the home of his nativity; +and, after they had finished eating their supper of broiled venison, he +gave utterance to it. + +He had not volunteered to break the silence. It was done in obedience +to a request of Karl who, having noticed the abstracted air of his +brother, had asked for an explanation. + +"I've been thinking," said Caspar, "ever since the eagle has escaped us, +of another bird I know something about--one that might perform the +service we want quite as well, if not better, than a bearcoot." + +"Another bird!" inquired Karl; "of what bird are you speaking? Do you +mean one of those Brahminy geese upon the lake? We might catch one +alive, it is true; but let me tell you, brother, that their wings are +constructed just strong enough to carry their own ponderous bodies; and +if you added another pound or two, by tying a cord to their legs, they +could no more mount out of this valley than we can. No--no. I fancy we +may as well give up that idea. There's no bird but an eagle with wing +strong enough to do what you wish." + +"The bird I was thinking of," rejoined Caspar, "is of the same _genus_ +as the eagle. I believe that's correctly scientific language. Isn't +it, my Buffon of a brother? Ha! ha! Well, shall I name it? Surely, +you have already divined the sort of bird to which I allude?" + +"No, indeed," replied Karl. "There are no other birds in this valley of +the same genus as the eagle--except hawks; and according to the closet +naturalists, they are not of the same genus--only of the same _family_. +If you mean a hawk, there are several species in this place; but the +largest of them could not carry anything over the cliff heavier than a +string of twine. See, there's a brace of them now!" continued Karl, +pointing to two birds that were circling in the air, some twenty yards +overhead. "`Churk' falcons they are called. They are the largest of +the Himalayan hawks. Are these your birds, brother?" + +"A couple of kites, are they not?" interrogated Caspar, turning his eyes +upward, and regarding the two winged creatures circling above, and +quartering the air as if in search of prey. + +"Yes," answered the naturalist, "they are of that species; and, +correctly described, of the same genus as the eagles. You don't mean +them, I suppose?" + +"No--not exactly," replied Caspar, in a drawling tone, and smiling +significantly as he spoke; "but if they be _kites_--Ho! what now?" +exclaimed the speaker, his train of thought, as well as speech, suddenly +interrupted by a movement on the part of the falcons. "What the +mischief are the birds about? As I live, they seem to be making an +attack upon Fritz! Surely they don't suppose they have the strength to +do any damage to our brave old dog?" + +As Caspar spoke, the two falcons were seen suddenly to descend--from the +elevation at which they had been soaring--and then sweep in quick short +circles around the head of the Bavarian boar-hound--where he squatted on +the ground, near a little copse, some twenty yards from the hut. + +"Perhaps their nest is there--in the copse?" suggested Karl; "That's why +they are angry with the dog: for angry they certainly appear to be." + +So any one might have reasoned, from the behaviour of the birds, as they +continued their attack upon the dog--now rising some feet above him, and +then darting downward in a sort of parabolic curve--at each swoop +drawing nearer and nearer, until the tips of their wings were almost +flapped in his face. These movements were not made in silence: for the +falcons, as they flew, kept uttering their shrill cries--that sounded +like the voice of a pair of angry vixens. + +"Their young must be near?" suggested Karl. + +"No, sahib," said Ossaroo, "no nest--no chickee. Fritz he hab suppa--de +piece ob meat ob da ibex. Churk wantee take de dog suppa away." + +"Oh! Fritz is eating something, is he?" said Caspar. "That explains it +then. How very stupid of these birds, to fancy they could steal his +supper from our valiant Fritz: more especially since he seems to relish +it so much himself! Why he takes no notice of them!" + +It was quite true that Fritz, up to this time, had scarcely noticed the +brace of winged assailants; and their hostile demonstrations had only +drawn from him an occasional "yir." As they swooped nearer, however, +and the tips of their wings were "wopped" into his very eyes, the thing +was growing unbearable; and Fritz began to lose temper. His "yirs" +became more frequent; and once or twice he rose from his squatting +attitude, and made a snap at the feathers that were nearest. + +For more than five minutes this curious play was kept up between the +boar-hound and the birds; and then the episode was brought to a somewhat +singular--and in Fritz's estimation, no doubt--a very unpleasant +termination. + +From the first commencement of their attack, the two falcons had +followed a separate course of action. One appeared to make all its +approaches from the front; while the other confined its attacks +exclusively to Fritz's rear. In consequence of these tactics on the +part of his assailants, the dog was compelled to defend himself both +before and behind: and to do this, it became necessary for him to look +"two ways at once." Now, he would snarl and snap at the assailant in +front--anon, he must sieve himself round, and in like manner menace the +more cowardly "churk" that was attacking him in the rear. Of the two, +however, the latter was the more demonstrative and noisy; and at length, +not content with giving Fritz an occasional "wop" with its wing, it had +the daring audacity to strike its sharp talons into a part of his +posteriors approximate to the seat of honour. + +This was something more than canine flesh and blood could bear; and +Fritz determined not to submit to it any longer. Dropping the "quid" he +had been chewing, he started up on all fours; wheeled suddenly towards +the kite that had clawed him; and bounded aloft into the air with the +design of clutching it. + +But the wary bird had foreseen this action on the part of the quadruped; +and, ere the latter could lay a fang upon it, had soared off--far beyond +the highest leap that any four-footed creature might accomplish. + +Fritz, with a disappointed growl, turned round again to betake himself +to his piece of meat; but still more disappointed was his look, when he +perceived that the latter was no longer within reach! Churk falcon +number one had clawed him over the croup, but churk falcon number two +had deprived him of his supper! + +The last look Fritz ever had of that piece of ibex venison, was seeing +it in the beak of the bird, high up in air, growing smaller by degrees +and beautifully less--until it disappeared altogether in the dim +distance. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY ONE. + +FRITZ OFFENDED. + +This odd little episode, between the boar-hound and the churk falcons, +had interrupted the conversation of the two brothers on the subject +which Caspar had introduced. Nor was it resumed immediately, on the +termination of the affair: for the look with which Fritz regarded the +departure of the bird, that had so adroitly bilked him out of his bit of +venison, was so supremely ludicrous, as to elicit long loud peals of +laughter from the spectators. + +Fritz's "countenance" betrayed the presence of rare emotions. Profound +surprise and chagrin--strongly blended with a feeling of concentrated +rage--were visible not only in his eyes, but his attitude, and, for some +time, he stood with head erect and muzzle high in air, his glances +speaking unutterable vows of vengeance, as they followed the flight of +the falcons. + +Never in all his life--not even when the trunk of the elephant was +trumpeting at his tail--had Fritz so sensibly felt the want of wings. +Never had he so regretted the deficiency in his structure that left him +without those useful appendages; and had he been gifted with the "wand +of a fairy," the use to which he would at that moment have applied it +would have been to furnish himself with a pair, not of "beautiful +wings"--for that was a secondary consideration--but of strong and long +ones, such as would have enabled him to overhaul those churk falcons, +and punish them for their unheard-of audacity. + +For more than a minute Fritz preserved the attitude to which we have +alluded: the demeanour of a dog that had been regularly duped and "sold" +by a brace of beings, for whose strength and capacity he had exhibited +supreme contempt; and it was this mingling of surprise and rage that +imparted to him that serio-comic appearance that had set them all +a-laughing. Nor was his countenance less ludicrous under the expression +with which, on turning round, he regarded his trio of human companions. +He saw that they were making merry at his expense; and his look of +half-reproach half-appeal had no other effect than to redouble their +mirth. Glancing from one to the other, he appeared to seek sympathy +from each in turn--from Karl, Caspar, and Ossaroo. + +It was an idle appeal. All three had equally surrendered themselves to +hilarity--unsympathetic, as it was uncontrollable. Fritz had not a +friend on the ground. + +Full ten minutes must have elapsed before any of them could check his +loud cachinnations; but long before that time, the butt of their +ridicule had betaken himself out of sight--having moved away from the +spot, where he had been robbed of his supper, and retired, with an +offended and sneaking air, to the more friendly concealment of the +hovel. + +It was some time before our adventurers could recover their serious +mood; but the subject of their mirth being now out of their sight, went +gradually also out of their minds. + +It might be wondered that, circumstanced as they were, they had thus +given way to a fit of jollity. But, indeed, there was nothing wonderful +about it. On the contrary, it was perfectly natural--perfectly true to +the instincts of the human soul--to be thus stirred: joy and sorrow +following each other in periodic succession--as certainly as day follows +night, or fair weather succeeds to the storm. + +Though we know not the why and the wherefore of this, we can easily +believe that a wise Providence has ordered it so. A poet who has sung +sweetly says, that:-- + + "Spring would be but gloomy weather, + If we had nothing else but Spring;" + +and our own experience proclaims the truth conveyed in the distich. + +He who has lived in the tropical lands of ever-spring--where the leaves +never fall, and the flowers never fade--can well confirm the fact: that +even spring itself may in time become tiresome! We long for the +winter--its frost and snow, and cold bitter winds. Though ever so +enamoured of the gay green forest, we like at intervals to behold it in +its russet garb, with the sky in its coat of grey, sombre but +picturesque. Strange as it may appear, it is true: the moral, like the +natural atmosphere, stands in need of the storm. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY TWO. + +A KITE! + +As soon as their mirth had fairly subsided, Karl and Caspar resumed the +conversation, which had been broken off so abruptly. + +"And so, brother," said Karl, who was the first to return to the +subject, "you say there is a bird of the eagle genus, that might carry a +rope over the cliff for us. Of what bird are you speaking?" + +"Why, Karl, you are dull of comprehension this morning. Surely the +presence of the two _kites_ should have suggested what I mean." + +"Ha! you mean a kite, then?" + +"Yes, one with a very broad breast, a very thin body, and a very long +tail: such as you and I used to make not so many years ago." + +"A _paper kite_," said Karl, repeating the phrase mechanically, at the +same time settling down, into a reflecting attitude. "True, brother," +he added, after a pause; "there might be something in what you have +suggested. If we had a paper kite--that is, a very large one--it is +possible it would carry a rope over the summit of the cliff; but, +alas!--" + +"You need not proceed further, Karl," said Caspar, interrupting him. "I +know what you are going to say: that we have no paper out of which to +make the kite; and that, of course, puts an end to the matter. It's no +use our thinking any more about it: since we have not got the materials. +The body and bones we could easily construct; and the tail too. But +then the wings--ah, the wings. I only wish we had a file of old +newspapers. But what's the use of wishing? We haven't." + +Karl, though silent, did not seem to hear, or at all events heed, what +Caspar had been just saying. He appeared to be buried either in a +reverie, or in some profound speculation. + +It was the latter: as was very soon after made manifest by his speech. + +"Perhaps," said he, with a hopeful glance towards the wood, "we may not +be so deficient in the material of which you have spoken." + +"Of paper, do you mean?" + +"We are in the very region of the world where it grows," continued Karl, +without heeding the interrogation. + +"What! where paper _grows_?" + +"No," replied Karl, "I do not mean that the paper itself grows here; but +a `fabric' out of which that useful article may be made." + +"What is that, brother?" + +"It is a tree, or rather a shrub, belonging to the order of the +_Thymelaceae_, or `Daphnads.' The plants of this order are found in +many countries; but chiefly in the cooler regions of India and South +America. There are even representatives of the order in England: for +the beautiful `spurge laurel' of the woods and hedges--known as a remedy +for the toothache--is a true daphnad. Perhaps the most curious of all +the Thymelaceae is the celebrated Lagetta, or lace-bark tree of Jamaica; +out of which the ladies of that island know how to manufacture cuffs, +collars, and berthas, that, when cut into the proper shapes, and +bleached to a perfect whiteness, have all the appearance of real lace! +The Maroons, and other runaway negroes of Jamaica, before the abolition +of slavery, used to make clothing out of the lagetta; which they found +growing in plenty in the mountain forests of the island. Previous also +to the same abolition of slavery, there was another, and less gentle, +use made of the lace-bark, by the masters of these same negroes. The +cruel tyrants used to spin its tough fibres into thongs for their +slave-whips." + +"And you think that paper can be made out of these trees?" asked Caspar, +impatient to know whether there might be any chance of procuring some +for the covering of a kite. + +"There are several species of daphnads," replied the botanist, "whose +bark can be converted into paper. Some are found at the Cape of Good +Hope, and others in the island of Madagascar; but the best kinds for the +purpose grow in these very mountains, and in China. There is the +`Daphne Bholua,' in Nepaul; from which the Nepaulese make a strong, +tough, packing-paper; and I have reason to believe that it also grows in +the Bhotan Himalayas--at no very great distance from our position here. +Besides, in China and Japan, on the other side of these mountains, there +are two or three distinct kinds of the same plant--out of which the +Chinese make the yellowish-coloured paper, you may have seen in their +books, and pasted upon their tea-chests. So then," added the botanist, +looking wistfully towards the woods, "since the paper-yielding daphne +grows in China, to the east of us, and in Nepaul and Bhotan to the west, +it is but reasonable to conclude that some species of it may be found in +this valley--where the climate is just that which it affects. Its seed +may have been transported hither by birds: since many species of birds +are fond of its berries, and eat them without receiving any injury; +though, strange to say, they are poisonous to all kinds of quadrupeds!" + +"Do you think you would know the shrub, if you saw it, brother?" + +"Well, to say the truth, I do not think I could recognise it by its +general appearance; but if I had a flower of the _daphne_, I could no +doubt tell it by its botanical characteristics. The leaves of the +paper-yielding species are of a lanceolate form and purplish hue, +glabrous and shining, like the leaves of laurels--to which genus the +_daphne_ is closely allied. Unfortunately, the shrub would not be in +flower at this season; but if we can find one of the berries, and a leaf +or two, I fancy I shall be able to identify it. Besides, the bark, +which is very tough, would help to guide us. Indeed, I have some reason +to think that we shall find it not far off; and that is why I speak with +such confidence, in saying, that we might not be so deficient in the +materials for paper-making." + +"What reason, brother Karl? Perhaps you have seen something like it?" + +"I have. Some time ago, when I was strolling about, I passed through a +thicket of low shrubs--the tops of which reached up to my breast. They +were then in flower--the flowers being of a lilac colour, and growing at +the tops of the branches in little cymes. They had no corolla--only a +coloured calyx. Now these characters correspond with those of the +daphne. Besides, the leaves were lanceolate, velvety on the surface, +and of purplish colour; and the flowers were of an exceedingly sweet +scent--as is the case with all the daphnads. I did not think of +examining them at the time; but, now that I recall these +characteristics, I feel almost certain that the shrubs were of this +genus." + +"Do you think you can find the thicket again?" + +"Oh! yes, easily enough. It is not very distant from the place, where +we were so near fighting that fearful duel." + +"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Caspar, in reply to the significant remark of the +botanist. "But, brother!" continued he, "suppose it should prove to be +the shrub you speak of, what good would there be in our finding it, so +long as we don't understand the process of manufacturing it into paper?" + +"How do you know that we don't?" said Karl, challenging the too positive +declaration of Caspar. "I am not so sure that we don't. I have read +the whole account of the process, as given by one of the old writers +upon China. It is very simple; and I think I remember enough to be able +to follow it. Perhaps not to make fine paper, that one might write +upon; but something that would serve our purpose just as well. We don't +want the best `cream-laid.' Unfortunately, we have no post-office here. +I wish we had. If we can fabricate anything as fine as the coarsest +packing-paper, it will do well enough for a kite, I fancy." + +"True," replied Caspar. "It would be all the better to be coarse and +strong. But, dear Karl, suppose we go at once, and see if we can +discover the trees." + +"That is just what we shall do," replied Karl, rising as he spoke, and +preparing to set out in search of the daphne. + +All, of course, went together: for Ossaroo was as much interested in the +result of the exploration as any of them; and Fritz, from within the +hut, perceiving that they were about to depart upon some new expedition, +managed partially to coax himself out of his ill-humour; and, sallying +forth from his hiding-place, trotted silently after them. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY THREE. + +THE PAPER-TREE. + +To the great delight of the party, it turned out just as Karl had +conjectured. The thicket that he had spoken of was composed chiefly of +daphne shrubs--judging by the appearance of the fallen leaves, and some +berries that still remained on the branches, Karl believed them to be of +this species. But the bark was also a characteristic: being exceedingly +tenacious, and moreover of a strongly acrid taste--so much so as to +cauterise he skin of Ossaroo's mouth, who had been foolish enough to +chew it too freely. + +After duly examining the leaves, berries, and bark, the botanist came to +the conclusion that the shrub must be a true daphne; and so in reality +it was--that species known in Nepaul as the _Daphne Bholua_--from which, +as already stated, the Nepaulese manufacture a coarse, but soft paper. + +As soon as this point was determined to their satisfaction, they +resolved upon carrying Caspar's hint into execution--by trying the +experiment of a paper kite. + +But for Karl's practical education--which had made him acquainted not +only with the botanical characters of plants and trees, but also with +their uses--and in some cases with the mode of using them--the mere +discovery of the daphne would have availed them nothing. As it stood in +the thicket, it was no more like paper than any of the trees that grew +around it. Indeed, there were many others that would have yielded bark +in broader flakes than it, and much more resembling paper: for that of +the daphne, stripping off as it did in narrow pieces, looked like the +last thing in the world of which to make a kite out of. But Karl knew +the process by which it could be metamorphosed into paper; and without +further delay, he entered upon the performance--the others placing their +services at his disposal, and acting in obedience to his orders. + +The knife-blades of all three were called into requisition; and in an +incredibly short space of time, some scores of the little trees were +stripped of their bark--from their roots up to the lower branches. The +trees themselves were not cut down; as that was not necessary. They +could be peeled more readily, as they stood; and for this reason they +were left standing. + +Up to the hour of sunset did these "cascarilleros" work--with only a few +minutes of interruption, while they went back to the hut, and ate a +hurried luncheon of ibex-meat--and just as the sun was sinking behind +the summit of the great Chumulari, they might have been seen trudging +homeward--each bearing a heavy bundle of bark, with Fritz following +gleefully at their heels. + +The thicket from which they had taken their departure, gave evidence of +the industry with which they had been working all day long. Over a +space, of nearly half an acre in extent, the trees were seen standing, +each with its tiny trunk completely divested of bark: as if a whole gang +of goats had been browsing upon them! + +On reaching the hovel, our bark-gatherers did not desist from their +labour. They only entered upon a new branch of industry: by becoming +_paper manufacturers_. + +It was after night; and they had to work by the light of their torches +of cheel-pine, already prepared. But as these burnt with a clear steady +flame, they served quite as well as candles would have done. + +The first process in the paper-making did not require much nicety in its +execution; and, moreover, it could be performed as well inside the hut +as in the largest room of a paper-mill. All they had to do was to pick +the bark to shreds. This occupied them the whole evening--during which +there was much conversation of a cheerful kind, with a joke or two about +oakum-picking in a prison; and of this, not only the task in which they +were engaged, but the situation in which they were executing it, did not +fail to remind them. + +When they had finished, they ate their frugal supper and retired to +rest--full of the idea of continuing the paper manufacture in the +morning. + +When morning came, they had not much to do: for the next process was one +which required the exercise of patience rather than of labour. + +When the bark of the daphne has been thoroughly picked to pieces, it is +put into a large pot or cauldron filled with water. A lixivium of +wood-ashes is then thrown in along with it; and it is suffered to boil +for several hours. + +As our manufacturers were without pot or cauldron of any kind, there +would have been here an interruption of an insurmountable kind: had it +not been that they had plenty of water already on the boil, and +perpetually boiling--in the hot-spring near the hut. + +Apparently all they should have to do would be, to immerse the prepared +bark in the spring, and there leave it for a proper length of time. But +then the water, where it was hottest, was constantly in motion--bubbling +up and running off; so that not only would the strings of bark be +carried away, but the ashes would be separated from the mass, and +consequently of no service in aiding to macerate it. + +How was this difficulty to be got over? Easily enough. They had not +proceeded thus far without thinking of a plan; and this plan was, to +place the bark along with the ashes in one of the large yak-skins still +in good preservation, and after making it up into a sort of bundle--like +clothes intended for the laundry--to plunge the skin and its contents +into the spring, and there leave them--until the boiling water should +perform its part. By this ingenious contrivance, did they get over the +difficulty, of not being provided with a not. + +When Karl thought that the bark was sufficiently boiled, it was taken +out of the water, and also out of its yak-skin wrapper. It was then +placed, in mass, upon a flat rock near by--where it was left to drip and +get dry. + +During the time that it was in the water--and also while it was dripping +and drying on the rock--none of them were idle. Caspar was engaged in +fashioning a stout wooden mallet--a tool which would be needed in some +after operations--while Ossaroo was equally busy upon an article of a +very different kind. This was a sort of sieve made of thin splints of +cane, set in a frame of thicker pieces of the same cane--ringall bamboo. + +Ossaroo had undertaken this special task: as none of the others knew so +well, how to fashion the bamboo into any required utensil; and although +he was now making something altogether new to him, yet, working under +the direction of Karl, he succeeded in making a sieve that was likely to +serve the purpose for which plant-hunter designed it. That purpose will +presently be spoken of. + +As soon as the fibre was nearly dry, the mallet was brought into +requisition; and with this the mass was pounded upon the flat surface of +the rock--until it became reduced to a complete state of "pulp." + +This pulp was once more put into the yak-skin--which had been gathered +up around the edges so as to form a sort of concavity or rude vat--and +again immersed under water--not of the boiling spring, but the cool +water of the lake--until the bag became full. The pulp was next stirred +with a stick--which brought the coarse dirty parts to the surface. +These were skimmed off, and thrown away as refuse; and the process was +repeated with fresh water--until the whole substance, which was of a +mucilaginous character, was rendered pure, and soft to the touch. The +next and last operation was in fact the making of the paper; and was +performed by Karl himself. It was simple enough, though requiring a +certain dexterity, or sleight of hand, to do it well. It consisted in +placing a quantity of the pulp upon the sieve before mentioned; and +cradling the frame about--all the time held under water--until the +substance became equally and uniformly spread over the whole surface. +The sieve was then taken out of the water--being raised gently and kept +in a horizontal position--so as not to derange the even stratum of pulp +that severed it. This done, nothing more remained but to place the +frame across a pair of bars, and leave the pulp to get drained and +eventually become dry. When dry, it would be _paper_! + +Of course, with one sieve, the whole quantity required could not be made +at a single cast; but, as soon as one sheet became sufficiently dry to +be taken off the frame, the sieve was again repulped; and so on, till +the whole of the boiled bark was converted into paper; and they found +themselves in possession of a sufficient number of broad sheets to make +a kite as big as a coach-house-door. + +In consequence of their having to wait for the drying of each sheet, the +process occupied them for several days; but during this time they had +not been either idle or inactive. Karl and Caspar had been hard at +work, in getting up the "bones" of the kite; while Ossaroo had +undertaken to fabricate the tail. + +The rope with which it was to be "flyed," occupied more time, and +required more care, than any other portion of their work. Every strand +had to be twisted with the greatest exactness; and almost every fibre +tested, as to its strength and fitness. Could they have used a rope of +stouter build, it would not have been necessary to be so particular; but +a thick rope would have been too heavy for the kite to carry--just as it +had been too heavy for the strength of the eagle. A slender cord, +therefore, like that they were obliged to make, required to be +faultless--else the life of some one of them might be sacrificed while +attempting the ascent. + +With a foreknowledge of this, it is hardly necessary to say that Ossaroo +did his best in the manufacture of that rope--every strand of it being +twisted between his index finger and his thumb, as smoothly and evenly +as if he had been spinning it for a fishing-line. + +The framework of the kite was made out of split culms of the ringall +bamboo; which, on account of its strength, elasticity, and lightness, +was far superior for the purpose to any species of exogenous wood; while +the glue for laying on the paper was procured from the root of an arum-- +grated, and then boiled into a glutinous starch. + +In about a week after the notion of a kite had been "hatched" in the +brain of Caspar, the bird itself might have been seen outside the door +of the hut--full-fledged and ready for flight! + + + +CHAPTER FORTY FOUR. + +FLYING THE KITE. + +The kite having been thus prepared, they only waited for an opportunity +of flying it--for a day when the wind should be sufficiently strong, and +blowing from the right quarter--that is, towards that portion of the +precipice over which it appeared best that the paper-bird should be +dispatched. This was the same place, where the ladders had been set, +and where they had unsuccessfully endeavoured to send up the bearcoot. + +They had already ascended one of the isolated cairns of rock, that stood +within the valley nearly opposite this part of the cliff; and from its +top they had been able to get a view--though not a very good one--of a +portion of the sloping declivity of the mountain above. It appeared to +be covered with snow--here and there supporting huge masses of +something, either boulders of rock, or dark-coloured lumps of ice. The +eyes of our adventurers rested on these with the greatest interest: as +they had done upon a former occasion, when about to send the bearcoot +among them. Now they had conceived higher hopes than ever--founded upon +the presence of these masses. If they should succeed in flying the kite +into their midst, and there dropping it, it was not only possible, but +highly probable, that it might either get the rope warped around one of +them, or itself become caught between two, so as to hold fast. To +render this the more practicable, they had furnished its wings with +spurs--in other words, they had left the cross-piece of bamboo to extend +on each side about a foot beyond the edge of the paper; and near the end +of each extension, they had placed other pieces transversely, and lashed +them firmly--so that they might act as the flukes of an anchor. + +They had spared neither pains nor ingenuity to ensure success. They had +done all, that man could do, to deserve it. + +Fortune was so far favourable, as not to keep them long in suspense. +Only two or three days had passed, when one came, on which the wind blew +in their favour--exactly as they wanted it. It was a stiff breeze, +steady in the right direction, and strong enough to carry up the largest +of paper kites. + +Proceeding to the place, where the ladders were set, with the huge bird +carried in the arms of Ossaroo, they made ready for its flight. Karl +was to start the kite, and guide its ascent from the ground; while +Caspar and the shikaree were to run out with the rope: as it would +require the united strength of both to hold such a broad-breasted bird +against the wind. They had taken the precaution to cut away the bushes +to a long distance backwards from the cliff, and so clear the track: +there was therefore nothing to impede them while paying out the string. + +It was arranged that Karl should have direction of the movement, and +give out the signal for them to start. + +It was a moment of vivid emotion, as each of he three placed himself in +the position assigned to him--Karl by the kite, with its backbone in one +hand, and its tail in the other--Ossaroo clutching the rope--and Caspar +by his side, holding the great coil in readiness for delivery. + +Karl poised the creature upon the stump of its tail; and then, lifting +with all his strength--so as to raise it several feet from the ground-- +he gave forth the signal at the highest pitch of his voice. + +At the same instant, Caspar and the shikaree ran backward--tightening +the rope as they went; and like a vast vulture with outspread wings, the +bird soared silently upward into the air. + +It rose with a regular majestic motion, soon overtopping the trees that +grew near, and still mounting on towards the summit of the cliff. + +Karl cheered as he saw it ascend. The others were too busy in the +performance of their parts to find time for this expression of triumph; +and not until the kite had soared high into the heavens, and appeared +many yards above the brow of the beetling precipice, did Caspar and +Ossaroo respond to the cheering of Karl. Then both together gave vent +to their excited feelings in a long-continued hurrah! + +"Let go now, Ossaroo!" cried Karl, shouting so as to be heard above the +wind. "You, Caspar, keep hold of the end of the cord." + +Ossaroo, obedient to the order, suddenly slackened his hold--at the same +time springing towards Caspar, and prudently seizing the end along with +him. + +The kite, thus released, like some huge bird that had received its +death-wound, turned head downwards towards the earth; and, after making +various sinuous evolutions through the air, flouting its long tail first +in one direction then in another--it was seen darting down towards the +acclivity of the mountain. At length, passing behind the summit of the +cliffs, it was no longer visible to the eyes of those who had aided it +in its lofty flight, and then left it helplessly to fall. + +So far they had succeeded to the utmost of their expectations. The kite +had alighted, just where they wanted it. + +But now arose the question--would it stay there? In other words, would +it be caught among the rocks, and hold fast? + +If not, they would have to fly it again and again, until it should get +fastened above, or until the experiment should prove a failure. + +Karl stepped forward to decide the point--the others looking on with an +eagerness of glance, that betrayed how deep was their interest in the +result. + +Karl's hand trembled as he laid hold of the cord. At first he pulled +upon it in a gentle way--hand over hand--so as merely to take in the +slack. + +At length it began to tighten, requiring greater strength to take it in: +as if the kite was still free, and dragging over the snow. + +This produced anything but a pleasant anticipation; and as the rope came +to hand, foot after foot, and yard after yard, a shadow, that had stolen +over the countenances of all three, became sensibly darker. + +Only for a short while did this shadow remain. It vanished, more +suddenly than it had arisen: when they saw the running cord become +abruptly checked, and then tighten as Karl continued to draw it in. He +pulled upon it, at first exerting only a part of his strength, as if +afraid that it might again come loose. After awhile, gaining +confidence, he pulled with all his power. It still held fast! + +Ossaroo and Caspar now joined their strength to his; and all three +pulled together. + +Hurrah! the kite would not come! The cord kept its place, stretching to +the bottom of the cliff, as taut as the main-stay of a ship! + +Ejaculations of joy escaped from all three at the same instant of time: +and for some moments they stood, tightly clutching the rope, and holding +it firmly: as if in dread of its being dragged out of their grasp by +some hostile and invisible hand. + +At length Karl suggested the propriety of making the cord secure, by +fastening it to some object. A large upright stone, close by the bottom +of the cliff, appeared to be the most proper thing; and to this they +determined upon tying it. + +Still keeping it taut--lest by slackening it they might disturb the +anchor aloft--they moved hand over hand along the rope, until they had +got close to the bottom of the precipice. Then, while Karl and Caspar +still held on, Ossaroo gathered up the slack; and, turning it several +times round the stone, securely _belayed_ it. + +Nothing more remained but to make the steps--which had been already +designed--adjust them in their places--climb up to the top of the +cliff--and be free as the mountain breeze, which would there be blowing +around them! + +The thought of such a lucky deliverance filled them once more with +joyous imaginings; and they stood around the stone, to which the rope +had been attached--congratulating themselves, as if they had already +escaped. + +They knew there would still be some time required to make the steps, and +fix them in their places; but, since they no longer doubted their +ability to accomplish the ascent, the interval of time might be passed +cheerfully enough; and, with this pleasant anticipation, they went back +to their workshop in the best of spirits, and cooked themselves a more +careful dinner than they had eaten since the discovery of the daphne +trees. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY FIVE. + +THE ROPE-LADDER. + +It took them another day--with their blades all busy from morning till +night--to prepare the pegs which were to constitute the "rounds" of +their rope-ladder. More than a hundred were required: as the cliff +where the rope passed up was over a hundred yards in height; and the +steps were intended to be placed at equal distances of about two feet +apart. + +It had been their design at first to insert the steps in the rope-- +between the strands of which it was composed; but, on reflection, a +better plan suggested itself. By opening the strands to let in the +pieces of wood, the rope might be weakened, so much as to endanger its +breaking; and this alone, above all things, was to be avoided. It was +deemed more prudent to leave the cord untouched, and place the sticks +crosswise outside of it. Whipped round with strong pieces of other +cord, they could easily be made to keep their places--more especially +as, with the hands of the climber grasping the rope above, no one stick +would have to carry the full weight of his body; and, even should one of +them slip a little out of place, there would be no great danger of an +accident arising out of the circumstance. + +It occupied them a second day in twining the pieces of string, required +for tying the sticks in their places; and, upon the morning of the +third, they returned to the cliff, with the intention of transforming +the cord, that the kite had carried up, into a rope-ladder. + +The mode by which they intended to effect this purpose will be easily +understood--after what has been already said respecting it. The little +sticks were to be laid transversely against the rope, and then so +tightly tied in their places, as to prevent them from slipping down. +The first was to be attached about the height of a man's waist from the +ground; and the second on a level with his chin. Then with the feet +resting upon the first, and the left hand grasping the rope above, it +would be possible to fix another at the height of the chin, as it would +then be. By climbing up to the second, a fourth could be placed at a +little distance above; and thus in succession, till the top of the cliff +should be attained. + +It was not supposed, that any one could continue the process of +attaching the steps, till all were set in their places; nor did they +contemplate being able to complete the work in a little time. On the +contrary, they expected it to occupy them for days; and they knew, +moreover, that long intervals of rest would be required by any one who +should have to execute it. Standing upon such unstable footing, for any +considerable length of time, would be both irksome and fatiguing; and +they were about to enter upon the task with a full knowledge of its +difficulties. + +On reaching the cord they at once set to work upon it. Rather should it +be said, that one of them did so: for only one could work at a time in +this, the last labour, as they supposed, they would have to perform in +that lone valley. + +In attaching the steps to the rope, Ossaroo was allowed to act as sole +operator: since neither of the others understood the handling of cordage +so well as he. They could but act as spectators and the only purpose +which their presence could serve, was to cheer the shikaree by their +company and conversation. + +By good fortune it was not necessary for Ossaroo to fix any steps to the +first thirty feet of the kite cord. One of the long ladders which they +had made enabled him to ascend that far without using the sticks; and, +indeed, all of the ladders might have served in this way, had the kite +carried its cord up the cliff within reach of them. Unfortunately, this +did not happen to be the case; and only the first ladder could be made +available. + +Placing it nearly parallel with the rope, Ossaroo mounted up; and, when +near its top, commenced attaching the steps. He had carried up along +with him about a dozen of the little sticks, with cords to correspond-- +in a sort of pouch, which he had formed with the skirts of his cotton +tunic. + +Karl and Caspar below, seated upon stones, and Fritz squatted on the +ground, watched the movements of the shikaree with deep and speechless +interest. + +It was not a very long time, before he had adjusted the first two pegs +in their proper places; and, then letting himself off the ladder, and +placing both his feet upon the first cross-piece, in a way that they +balanced one another and kept the stick in a horizontal position--he +proceeded to attach the third about the height of his chin. + +To do this required, a good deal of adroitness; but Ossaroo was gifted +with this quality to a high degree; and, so far as his footing was +concerned, the Hindoo was as much at home upon a rope, as would have +been one of those monkeys sacred to the believers in his Brahministic +creed. + +Any other feet would soon have become tired--resting upon such a slender +support; but Ossaroo had been accustomed to climbing the tall lofty +palms, until his toes had acquired a certain degree of prehensile power; +and the smallest branch or protuberance on the trunk of a tree, or even +a knot on a rope, was footing enough to enable him to hold on for many +minutes at a time. He had no difficulty, therefore, in balancing +himself upon the sticks, which he had already attached; nor ascending +from one to the other, as each was got into its place. In this way he +proceeded, until the stock which he had taken up with him was exhausted, +and his apron hung empty. Then, letting himself down from step to step, +and cautiously returning to the wooden ladder, he descended to the +bottom of the cliff. + +Karl or Caspar might have rendered his coming down unnecessary, as +either could have carried so light a "hod" up the ladder; but there was +good reason why Ossaroo should make the descent--that was, to rest and +refresh himself. + +He did not remain very long below--just long enough to let the blood +circulate along the soles of his naked feet--and then, with his apron +distended--being once more full of sticks--he reclimbed the ladder, +swung himself out upon the cord, and clambered up the steps he had +already fixed in their places. + +His second stock of sticks becoming exhausted as the first, he again +revisited the earth; again allowed himself an interval of rest; and then +ascended as before. + +With Ossaroo proceeding in this fashion, the remainder of the day was +spent--a long interval being allowed for dinner; which Karl and Caspar, +having nothing else to do, had cooked with extra care. They did not go +home to the hut to perform their culinary operations. There would have +been no advantage in doing so: since the kitchen accommodation there was +not a whit better than where they were at work; and the larder contained +nothing more than what they had brought along with them--some dried +ibex-meat. But Karl had not been idle for a portion of the time; and +had collected various roots and fruits that, when roasted, not only +helped out the meal, but rendered it sufficiently luxurious for stomachs +like theirs, no longer fastidious. + +After dinner, Ossaroo indulged in a long smoke of his favourite "bang;" +and, stimulated by this, returned to his task with renewed energy. + +So successful was he in its accomplishment, that, before sunset he had +full fifty steps in place; which, along with the wooden ladder, enabled +him to climb nearly a third of the way up the cliff. + +Of course darkness put an end to his operations for that day; and with +the intention of continuing them on the morrow, both the operator and +spectators wended their way back to the hut--Karl and Caspar showing as +much respect to Ossaroo, as if he had been the master architect, and +they only his assistants or labourers. Even Fritz appeared to be +impressed with the belief that the shikaree was the most important +personage in the party: for every time that the latter descended from +the cliff the dog had paid his "devoirs" to him, frisking around, +leaping up, and looking steadfastly in his face, as if congratulating +him on being their deliverer! + +On the road home Fritz continued these demonstrations--springing against +the legs of the shikaree so as occasionally to impede his progress, +evidently convinced--either from his own observation or from the respect +which he saw the others were paying him--that the Hindoo was the hero of +the day! + + + +CHAPTER FORTY SIX. + +OSSAROO MAKES A QUICK DESCENT. + +Next morning, as soon as they had despatched an early meal, they +returned to their work--that is, Ossaroo to work, the others to watch. + +Unfortunately on this day the weather was unfavourable for operations. +There was a high wind, not continuous, but blowing in short, quick +puffs--gusty and violent. + +As Ossaroo hung upon the rope half-way up the precipice, the wind acting +upon his body, carried him at times several feet out from the face of +the cliff--causing him also to oscillate violently from side to side, +notwithstanding that the rope was fast at both ends. + +It was fearful to look at him thus suspended, and swinging in mid-air. +At times the hearts of the spectators were filled with consternation, +lest the brave shikaree should either have his brains dashed out against +the beetling cliff; or, being forced to let go his hold, be flung far +out, and falling upon the rocks below, get crushed to atoms. + +Often during the earlier part of the day were the alarms of Karl and +Caspar raised to such a height, that they shouted to Ossaroo to come +down; and when down, entreated him not to go up again until, by the +lulling of the wind, the danger should become diminished. + +Their entreaties, however, were of no avail. The shikaree, accustomed +all his life to braving the elements, felt no fear of them; but on the +contrary, seemed to feel a pride, if not an actual pleasure, in thus +daring danger. + +Even while swinging out from the cliff, and oscillating along its +_facade_--like the pendulum of some gigantic clock--he was seen tying +the strings and adjusting the pieces of stick, as coolly, as if he had +been standing upon _terra firma_ at the bottom! + +Thus, nearly to the hour of noon, did Ossaroo continue his arduous +undertaking--of course with the usual intervals of rest, during each of +which Karl and Caspar reiterated their entreaties for him to desist and +leave the work to be executed at a more favourable opportunity. Fritz, +too, while lavishing his caresses on the daring climber, seemed to look +persuadingly into his face--as if he knew there was danger in what the +Hindoo was doing. + +It was all in vain. The shikaree, while resisting all their efforts to +restrain him, seemed to scorn the danger which they dreaded; and, +without hesitation, returned to his perilous task. + +And no doubt he would have succeeded in accomplishing it, allowing due +time for its completion. It was not the wind that would have shaken him +from that rope, to which he clung with the tenacity of a spider. Had +the support proved true, he could have held on, even though it had been +blowing a hurricane! + +It was not in this that his chief danger lay; nor from such source was +it to come; but from one altogether unexpected and unthought-of. + +It was near the hour of noon, and Ossaroo had already succeeded in +setting the steps up to about half the height of the cliff. He had +descended for a fresh supply of sticks; and, having gone up the +tree-ladder, and swung himself back upon the kite cord, was just +commencing to clamber up it--as he had already done nearly a score of +times. + +The eyes of Karl and Caspar were upon him, following his movements, as +they had been doing all along; for, despite his frequent repetition of +the ascent, it was always a perilous performance, and interesting to +behold. + +Just as he had got free from the ladder, and fairly out upon the rope, a +cry came from his lips that thrilled the hearts of the spectators with +alarm: for they knew that the utterance was one of terror. They needed +no explanation of that cry; for at the same moment that it reached their +ears, they perceived the danger that had caused Ossaroo to utter it. He +was descending along the facade of the cliff--not gliding down the rope +of his own free will, but as if the kite had got loose at the top, and, +yielding to the weight of his body, was being dragged over the surface +of the snow! + +At first, he appeared to be descending only very slowly; and, but for +the cries he was putting forth, and the slackening of the rope below, +they upon the ground might not have been aware of what was going on. +But they had not regarded his movements for many seconds, before +perceiving the true state of the case, and the fearful peril in which +their faithful shikaree was now placed. + +Beyond doubt the kite had become detached above; and, yielding to the +strain upon the rope, caused by Ossaroo's weighty was being pulled +towards the edge of the precipice! + +Would the resistance be equal to the weight of the man's body? Would it +let him down easily? Or would the dragging anchor arrive at a place +where the surface was smooth, and then gliding rapidly over it, increase +the velocity of the descent? In other words, was the shikaree about to +be projected through a fall of thirty feet to the bottom of the cliff? + +The spectators were left but little time to speculate on probabilities. +Not a moment was allowed them to take measures for securing the safety +of their companion. Before they could recover from the surprise, with +which his first shout had inspired them, they saw that his descent was +every moment becoming more accelerated: now in gradual declination, then +in quick, short jerks--until he had got within about twenty-feet of the +ground. They were in hopes that he might continue to descend in this +fashion for a few yards further, and then the danger would be over; but, +just at that moment, the broad breast of the kite was seen poising +itself over the top of the cliff; and like a great living bird, it +sprang off from the rocks, and soared out over the valley! + +Ossaroo, still clinging to the cord, was carried some distance from the +cliff; but, fortunately for him, the weight of his body overbalanced the +resistance which the atmosphere offered to the broad surface of the +kite; else he might have been carried much higher into the air. Equally +fortunate was it, that the amount of overbalance was exceedingly +slight--otherwise he might have been dashed with violence to the earth! + +As it was, he came down as gently as a dove, alighting upon his legs, +and remaining erect upon them, like Mercury upon the top of his +"sky-kissing mountain." + +The moment that the shikaree felt his feet touching _terra firma_, he +sprang nimbly to one side, at the same instant letting go the rope, as +if it had been a rod of red-hot iron! + +The great kite, no longer held in poise against the wind, commenced +darting hither and thither; at each turn descending lower and lower-- +until by one last swoop, in which it seemed to concentrate all its +failing strength, it came down towards Ossaroo like a gigantic bird of +prey descending upon its victim! + +It was just as much as the shikaree could do to get out of the way; and, +had he not ducked his head in the very nick of time, he would certainly +have received a blow upon his skull, that would have endangered its +entirety. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN. + +THE ESCAPE OF THE KITE. + +The joy, which all felt at the miraculous escape of Ossaroo, more than +compensated for their chagrin at the circumstance of the kite having +returned to them: more especially, as they believed that the accident +was not without remedy. It might be attributed to the wind: which no +doubt had lifted the kite from where it lay, detaching it from the rock, +or whatever other object that had for the time entangled it. + +They doubted not, but that they might again succeed in sending it up, +and getting it fast as before; and this confidence hindered them from +grieving over the unfortunate occurrence, as they might otherwise have +done. + +As the wind on that day was in the wrong quarter for flying a kite +towards the cliff, they determined to postpone the attempt, till a more +favourable opportunity; and, in order that their kite should not be in +danger of getting spoiled by the rain, they once more shouldered, and +carried it back, rope and all, to the shelter of the hut. + +Nearly a week elapsed, before there was a breeze that blew in their +favour; but during this interval, they had not been altogether +unemployed. Still uncertain of the length of time they might be +detained in the valley, they had passed almost every hour of the +daylight in increasing their stock of provisions--so as not to encroach +upon the cured venison of the ibex, of which a considerable quantity was +still to the good. + +Their guns were no longer used for procuring food. The last loads still +remained in the barrels; and were not to be fired off--until every other +means of capturing game should fail them. + +Indeed, they were now so confident of being able to get out of their +prison, that at times they almost fancied themselves already on their +way down the mountains; and talked of keeping their guns loaded, against +any danger from large animals they might encounter on their homeward +journey. For procuring food they knew that firearms were not necessary. +Ossaroo's bow was sufficient weapon for that. Often might it be heard +twanging among the trees; and as often did the shikaree's arrow pierce +the breast of some fine bird--a peacock, or argus pheasant, or one of +the beautiful Brahminy geese that frequented the waters of the lake. + +Ossaroo's nets and lines, too, were not without their use. Fish were +caught of various kinds, and excellent quality; and there was one sort +in particular, should all else fail, that promised to furnish them with +an inexhaustible supply. This was a large species of eel, in which the +lake abounded, to such an extent, that it was only necessary to cast in +a hook, with a worm upon it, and an eel of nearly six feet in length +would be instantly landed. + +As they did not always relish to dine upon eels, but little of their +time was spent in procuring them. For all that, they were gratified on +discovering the abundance of these slippery creatures--knowing that, +should other resources fail, they would find in them a staple article of +wholesome food, that could never become scarce, no matter how much they +should eat of it. + +A favourable wind at length came on to blow; and the kite was once more +shouldered, and carried to the same place as before. Just in the same +way did they proceed to fly it; and in the same style it again rose +soaring above the cliff; and--the cord having been suddenly slacked-- +sank to rest upon the slope of the mountain. + +So far were they once more successful; but alas! it proved to be just so +far and no farther. + +Pulling upon the rope, to ascertain whether their anchor had "bit," they +were chagrined to receive an answer in the negative. The cord came back +to them with scarce any resistance; or only such, as was caused by +friction over the edge of the cliff, and by the drag of the kite itself +along the snowy surface. + +Hand over hand, they drew it back: foot by foot, and yard by yard, it +came yieldingly towards them--until they saw the broad curving breast of +the pseudo-bird projecting over the parapet edge of the precipice! + +Once more was it launched out into the air; once more was rope given it, +till it had ascended to the full length of its tether; and once more was +it allowed to alight. + +Again the pull downward and inward--again the cord came freely to hand-- +and again was the rounded bow seen upon the brow of the precipice, and +outlined against the blue sky above; not like the beautiful bow of the +iris--a thing of promise--but one of disappointment and chagrin. + +Again the flight--again the failure--again and again; until the patience +of the operators--to say nothing of their strength--was well nigh +exhausted. + +But it was no mere play for the sake of pastime. They were not flying +that kite for their amusement; nor yet for the purpose of making some +scientific experiment. They were flying it as a means of obtaining +their personal liberty; and they were all of them interested in the +success or failure of the attempt--almost as much as if their lives +rested on the issue. + +However tried their strength, or worn out their patience, it would not +do to give up; and therefore--although at each unsuccessful effort, with +hopes constantly becoming diminished--they continued their exertions. + +For more than a score of times they had sent up the kite, and as often +dragged it back to the brow of the cliff; not always at the same point: +for they had themselves changed their ground, and tried the flight in +different places. + +In all cases, the result was the same. The bird refused to take hold +with its claws--either on rocks, or blocks of ice, or banks of frozen +snow--all of which lay scatter over the slope of the mountain. + +Considering that it had caught hold on the very first trial, so many +failures were regarded by our adventurers with some surprise. Had it +never held, there would have been no cause for this; and after so many +attempts, they would have been the more inclined to yield up their plan, +deeming it impracticable. But the fact of their first success sustained +them in the hope that success might again be obtained; and, in this +belief, they were encouraged to "keep on trying." + +Half a dozen additional flights were made, but fortune still declining +to favour them, they desisted from their efforts, leaving the paper-bird +with its breast protruding over the cliff: as if perched there in +preparation for a further flight. + +By this time the kite had become sadly damaged--its _plumage_ having +received rough usage by constant trailing over the rocks and sharp +angles of ice. While up in the air, daylight could be seen shining +through it in several places; and it no longer exhibited that majesty of +flight that had originally characterised it. It was evident that +repairs would soon be needed; and to discuss this question, as also to +consider the propriety of proceeding to make trial at some other place, +our adventurers, for a time, discontinued their efforts. + +All three were standing together, but at several paces distant from the +end of the rope; which they had for the moment abandoned, and which lay +negligently along the ground. + +They had not taken the slightest precaution to secure it: for it had not +occurred to them that there was any risk in leaving it loose. + +It was only when too late, that they perceived the mistake they had +committed--only when they saw the cord suddenly jerked up from the +ground, as if some invisible hand was lifting it aloft into the sky! + +All three rushed towards it at the same instant. They were too late. +Already the end of the rope was dangling at such a height above their +heads, that even the tallest of them could not touch it with the tips of +his fingers. + +Ossaroo leaped high into the air in an endeavour to clutch the string. +Caspar ran to procure a pole which lay near, in hopes of retaining it in +that way: while Karl ran up the ladder that was resting against the +cliff, near which the rope was yet trailing. + +The efforts of all three were alike vain. For a second or two, the end +of the cord hung oscillating above their heads--just sufficiently out of +reach to tantalise them; and then, as if the invisible hand above had +given it another gigantic jerk, it was drawn rapidly and vertically +upward, till it finally disappeared over the crest of the cliff! + + + +CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT. + +NO MORE PAPER-TREES! + +There was nothing mysterious in the disappearance of the cord. The kite +was no longer visible on the summit of the cliff. The wind had carried +it away; and, of course, its rope along with it. + +When the first moment of surprise had passed, our adventurers turned +towards each other with glances that spoke something more than +disappointment. Notwithstanding the number of times that the kite had +failed to fix itself, still it had once taken a fast hold, and it was +but reasonable to suppose it would have done so again. Besides, there +were other places where the precipice was as low, and even lower, than +where they had made the trials; and at some of these they might have +been more successful. Indeed, there was every probability that, had +they not lost that kite, they would have been able in due time to have +climbed out of their rock-bound prison by a ladder of rope; but now all +chance of doing so was gone for ever--swept off by a single puff of +wind. + +You may be fancying, that the misfortune was not irremediable. Another +kite, you will be saying, might be constructed out of similar materials +as those used in making the one carried away. But to say this, would be +to speak without a full knowledge of the circumstances. + +The same thought had already passed through the minds of our +adventurers, when they perceived that the kite they were flying was +getting torn and otherwise damaged. + +"We can easily make another," suggested Caspar at that crisis. + +"No, brother," was the answer of Karl; "never another, I fear. We have +paper enough left to patch this one; but not enough to make another." + +"But we can make more paper, can we not?" urged Caspar, interrogatively. + +"Ah!" again replied Karl, with a negative shake of the head, "no more-- +not another sheet!" + +"But why? Do you think there are no more daphne trees?" + +"I think there are not. You remember we stripped all there were in the +thicket; and since then, thinking we might need more bark, I have gone +all through the valley, and explored it in every direction, without +meeting with a single shrub of the daphne. I am almost certain there +are none." + +This conversation between the brothers had occurred, long before the +losing of the kite. When that event came to pass, it was not necessary +for them to repeat it; and, both being thus acquainted with the fact +that it was impossible for them to construct another, they felt that +they had sustained an irreparable loss. + +In what direction had the kite been carried off? Might it not be blown +along the line of cliffs, and tossed back again into the valley? + +As there appeared some probability that such a chance might arise, all +three ran outward from the rocks--in order to command a better view of +the precipice, on each side. + +For a long time they stood watching--in hopes that they might see the +great paper-bird returning to the scene of its nativity. But it never +came back; and they became at length convinced, that it never would. +Indeed, the direction of the wind--when they paused to consider it-- +rendered the thing not only improbable, but impossible. It was blowing +_from_ the cliffs, and _towards_ the snowy ridge. No doubt the kite had +been carried up the sloping acclivity; and had either passed clear over +the mountains, or become lodged in some deep defile, where the wind +could no longer reach it. At all events, it was certain, that both kite +and cord were lost to them for ever. + +"Ach! how very unfortunate!" exclaimed Caspar, in a vexed tone, when +they had finally arrived at this conviction. "What ill-starred luck we +have, to be sure!" + +"Nay! brother," remarked Karl, in a tone of reproval; "do not chide +Fortune for what has happened just now. I acknowledge it is a great +misfortune; but it is one for which we may justly blame ourselves, and +only ourselves. By sheer negligence we have lost the kite, and along +with it, perhaps, the last chance of regaining our liberty." + +"Yes, you speak truly," rejoined Caspar, in a tone of mingled regret and +resignation. "It _was_ our fault, and we must suffer for it." + +"But are you quite sure, brother Karl," resumed he, after a pause, and +referring to the conversation that had already passed between them--"are +you quite sure there are no more of these paper-bearing trees?" + +"Of course," replied the plant-hunter, "I am not positive--though I fear +it is as I have said--that there are no more. It will be easy for us to +determine the point, by making a complete exploration of the valley. It +may be that something else might turn up which would answer the purpose +equally as well. There is a birch-tree indigenous to the Himalaya +mountains, found both in Nepaul and Thibet. Its bark can be stripped +off in broad flakes and layers, to the number of eight or ten--each +almost as thin as common paper, and suitable for many purposes to which +paper is usually applied." + +"Do you think it would do for a kite?" inquired Caspar, without waiting +for Karl to finish his explanation. + +"I am sure of it," replied the botanist. "It would serve even better +than the daphne paper; and had I believed there was a chance of finding +it here, I should have preferred it to that. But I do not think we +shall find it. I have observed no species of birch; and I know that +this one, like most of the _Betulaceae_, affects a much colder climate +than there is in this valley. Likely enough, it grows on the mountains +above; but there it is out of our reach. Could we reach it there, we +should not need to be robbing it of its manifold envelope. But let us +not despair," added Karl, endeavouring to appear cheerful; "perhaps it +may be found growing down here; or, if not, we may still find another +grove of the daphne trees. Let us proceed on and search!" + +Karl was far from being sanguine in either conjecture; and it was as +well for him that he was not: for after a minute and careful exploration +of the valley--which occupied nearly three whole days--neither the +wished-for birch, nor the desired daphne trees--nor any other material +out of which a kite might be manufactured--rewarded their search. + +It was of no use, therefore, to think any longer of a kite; and the +subject was at length dismissed from their minds. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY NINE. + +AEROSTATICS. + +It is scarce possible to talk of a paper kite, without thinking of that +other and greater aerostatic contrivance--a balloon. + +Karl had thought of it, long before this time; and so had Caspar, just +as long: for the kite had suggested it simultaneously to the minds of +both. + +It may be asked why they had not entertained the thought, and +endeavoured to carry it into practical effect: since a balloon would +have been far more likely to have delivered them out of their "mountain +prison" than a paper kite? + +But they _had_ entertained the thought--at least, Karl had done so--and +examined it in all its bearings. Caspar had permitted it to pass out of +his mind, under the impression that _they could not make a balloon_; and +Karl had arrived at the same conclusion; but only from a belief that +they _had not the materials_ with which to make one. Given the +materials, Karl felt quite equal to the construction of a balloon--a +rude one, it is true; but one which might have served the purpose for +which they required it. + +During the days when they had been occupied in making the paper-bird, he +had given his thoughts a good deal to this subject; for, to say the +truth, he had never been very sanguine about the success of the kite +experiment. He had pondered long and patiently on the subject of +balloons--endeavouring to recall to mind what little he had studied of +aerostatics--and had mentally examined all the material objects within +reach, in the hope of discovering some substance out of which one might +be constructed. + +Unfortunately, he had not been able to think of anything that appeared +to be suitable. The daphne paper--even had it been in abundance--would +not do: for paper of itself, however close in texture, is not strong +enough to withstand the pressure of the outside air--that is, in a +balloon of sufficient size to carry any considerable weight. But it was +of no use to talk of paper: since there was not enough; and Karl had +given over thinking of a balloon: because there was nothing within reach +likely to serve for its construction. + +He knew that that great sphere would require to be air-proof. He had +thought of the skins of animals; but such of these as might have been +obtained in sufficient quantity, were entirely too thick and heavy to +make the covering of a balloon. The hemp, of which there _was_ an +abundance, might be woven into a cloth, and then coated over by gum +obtained from some tree; for in the valley were several species of +gum-exuding trees. But the question was, could they manufacture a cloth +out of hemp that would be light enough when thus coated over? It was +very doubtful whether they could--at all events they would have to +practise the weaving trade for a long time, before they should arrive at +a sufficient expertness to accomplish such a feat. The plan was too +unpromising to be seriously entertained; and Karl had dismissed it, +along with the whole subject of the balloon. + +That had been previous to the experiment of the kite, and its +unfortunate ending. But now that all hope from this quarter had been +brought to an end, the balloon once more began to shape itself in his +mind, as well as in that of Caspar; and for the first time they +proceeded to talk over the subject together. + +"Cords we could have in plenty," remarked Caspar, "but they'd be of no +use, without the stuff to cover the great globe. They make it of silk, +don't they?" + +"Yes," replied Karl, "silk is the best material for the purpose." + +"And why?" inquired Caspar. + +"Because it combines the three properties of lightness, strength, and +closeness of texture, in a greater degree than any other known +substance." + +"Would nothing else do?" + +"Oh, yes; many things would answer to make a balloon, that might carry +up a certain amount of weight. Even a paper balloon can be constructed +to take up a few pounds--a cat, or a small dog; and people in many +countries have been cruel enough to dispatch such creatures into the +air, not caring what became of them." + +"Very cruel indeed!" assented Caspar, who, although a hunter, was far +from having an unfeeling heart. "Such people should be sent up +themselves in paper balloons." + +"Yes, if paper balloons would carry them; which, unfortunately for us, +they wouldn't. Even if we had an unlimited supply of paper, it would be +of no use to us. We require something stronger, and more tenacious." + +"Can we not think of something? Let us try, Karl!" + +"Ah! dear brother, I have been trying for days, and in vain. There is +nothing within this valley at all suitable for the purpose." + +"Would canvas do? Have you thought of that?" + +"I have. It would be too coarse and heavy." + +"But, with great pains, could we not make it light enough? We might +choose the finer fibres of the hemp; and spin and weave it with +scrupulous care. Ossaroo here is a perfect Omphale in his way. I'll +warrant he could beat Hercules with the distaff." + +"Ho! brother!" exclaimed Karl, a little astonished. "You are quite +classical in your speech this morning. Where learnt you the history of +Hercules--you who have never seen the inside of a university?" + +"You forget, brother Karl, that you yourself have been my instructor in +these classical themes, as you call them. Though I must tell you that, +with the exception of their occasionally lending a little ornament to my +speech, I have derived not the slightest advantage from them; nor is it +likely I ever shall." + +"Well, Caspar," answered the botanist, "I am not going to stand up for +the classics, as you are well aware. Although I have taught you a +little of their lore, it was when I had nothing to do, and you were +equally idle; otherwise I should have considered that both of us were +wasting time. You already know my opinions on that subject--which are: +that a knowledge of what is usually termed `the classics' is of about as +much use to a reasoning man as might be an equally profound knowledge of +Chinese _mnemonics_. The time I have spent in the study of the _dead_ +languages has been sheer waste; and all I have learnt wont raise us a +foot higher here. My knowledge of Jupiter and Juno is not likely to +gain us the means of getting out of our difficulty, no more than my +acquaintance with Mercury will help me to a pair of wings. So a truce +to classical ideas, and let us see whether scientific ones may not serve +us better just now. You have a quick invention, brother Caspar; can you +think of anything--I mean anything within our reach--that would make the +air-bag of a balloon?" + +"But could you make the balloon, if you had the stuff?" inquired Caspar, +still in doubt whether any other than an experienced aeronaut could +construct so wonderful a machine. + +"Pooh!" replied the philosopher, "the making of a balloon is almost as +easy as making a soap-bubble. Any air-tight bag, filled with heated +atmosphere, becomes a balloon. The question is, what weight it can be +made to carry--including the materials out of which it may be +constructed." + +"But how are you to get the heated air into it?" + +"Simply by making a fire under an aperture left open below." + +"But would not this air soon become cold again?" + +"Yes; and then the balloon would sink back to the earth from the air +inside getting cooled, and becoming as heavy as that without. Of +course," continued the philosopher, "you are aware that heated air is +much lighter than the ordinary atmosphere; and that is why a balloon +filled with the former, rises, and will continue rising, till it has +reached that elevation, where the rarefied atmosphere is as light as the +heated air. Then it can go no further, and the weight of the balloon +itself will bring it down again. A bladder of ordinary air sunk in +water, or a corked bottle, will illustrate this point to your +comprehension." + +"I comprehend it well enough," rejoined Karl, rather piqued at being +treated too much _a l'enfant_ by his learned brother. "But I thought +that, in a balloon, it was necessary to keep a fire constantly burning-- +a sort of grate or fire-basket suspended below. Now, even if we had the +silk to make the great spherical bag, how could we make a fire-basket +without iron?" + +"We should not need the fire-basket you speak of. That is only +required, when you design to keep your balloon some length of time in +the air. If you only wish to make a short ascent, once filling the bag +with hot air is sufficient; as it would be for us here. Even if we +wanted a suspended grate, surely, brother, you have enough ingenuity to +get over such a trifling difficulty as that?" + +"Well, I'm not so sure that I could. How would you get over it?" + +"Why, by making a common basket, and lining it with clay. That would +carry fire, as well as a vessel of either cast or wrought iron--at least +sufficient to serve for a short excursion such as we should care to +make. Now-a-days, fire is not used for inflating balloons. Inflammable +gas has been found to be far superior for this purpose; but as we have +no such thing in stock, we should have to proceed on the old original +plan--that employed by the brothers Montgolfier--the first inventors of +the balloon." + +"You think, then, that the fire apparatus could be dispensed with, if we +could only discover some material that would make the great globe-shaped +bag to contain the heated air?" + +"Ay," replied Karl; "think of something to do that, and I promise to +make you a balloon." + +Thus challenged, Caspar set his wits to work; and for a long while he +sat in silence, as if buried in some very profound speculation. +Probably, there was no material substance in that valley that did not +pass in review before the retina of his mental vision; and all were +considered in turn. + +"It must be light, air-tight, and strong?" asked he, at length, as if +there was something in his thoughts possessing these three requisites. + +"Light, air-tight, and strong," answered Karl, simply repeating his +words. + +"The two last I am sure of," rejoined Caspar. "Of the first only have I +my doubts." + +"What is it?" asked Karl, in a tone that betrayed his interest in what +Caspar had said. + +"Eel-skins!" was the laconic answer. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY. + +THE SKIN BALLOON. + +"Eel-skins," said Caspar, repeating the phrase, as he saw that Karl +hesitated before pronouncing an opinion. "Don't you think they would +do?" + +Karl had it on the tip of his tongue to cry out--"The very thing!" but +something withheld him from making this unqualified declaration. + +"They might--it is possible they might," said he, apparently debating +the question within himself--"just possible; and yet I fear--" + +"What do you fear?" asked Caspar. + +"Do you think they would not be strong enough?" + +"Strong enough," replied Karl. "That's not what I fear." + +"The air can't pass through an eel-skin?" + +"No--not that." + +"At the seams, perhaps? We can stitch them neatly; and then gum them +over at the joinings. I'll warrant Ossaroo can sew like a shoemaker." + +The shikaree could do all that. Karl knew it. It was not there the +difficulty lay. + +"The weight, then?" pursued Caspar interrogatively. + +"Precisely that," answered Karl; "I fear they will be too heavy. Bring +one, Ossaroo; and let us have a look at it." + +The shikaree rose from his seat; and going into the hovel, returned +presently--bringing back with him a long shrivelled object, which any +one could tell to be a dried eel-skin. + +There were many like it inside: for they had carefully preserved the +skins of the eels they had caught, induced to do so by a sort of +presentiment, that some day they might find a use for them. In this +case their prudent providence was likely to prove of service to them. + +Karl took the skin; and, holding it out on the palm of his hand, +appeared to make an estimate of its weight. Caspar watched his +brother's countenance, and waited to hear what he would say; but Karl +only expressed himself by a doubtful shake of the head, which seemed to +show that his opinion was _against_ the eel-skins. + +"They might be made much lighter, I fancy," suggested Caspar: "scraping +would do a deal for them; and by the way, why would not boiling make +them light enough? It would take all the fatty, oily substance out of +them." + +"There's something in what you say," rejoined Karl, apparently impressed +by the last suggestion. "Boiling might render them a good deal lighter. +We can easily try it." + +As Karl said this, he proceeded to the boiling spring, and plunged the +eel-skin under the water. There it was permitted to remain for about +half an hour, when it was taken out; and, after being scraped with the +blade of a knife, was spread upon a rock, under the sun, where it would +soon get thoroughly dry. + +They all waited patiently for the completion of this process. The +result was of too interesting a character to allow of their occupying +themselves with anything else. + +In due time the eel-skin had become sufficiently dry, to be submitted to +examination; and Karl, once more taking it up, balanced it upon his +palm. + +Tested, even in this inexact fashion, it was evidently much lighter than +before; and, by the gratified look with which the philosopher regarded +it, he appeared to be much better satisfied with its weight. Still, +however, he was not sanguine: as his words testified. They were almost +a repetition of what he had said before. + +"It may do--it is just possible. At all events, there can be no harm in +trying. Let us try it, then." + +To say, "Let us try it," meant the same as to say, "Let us make the +balloon." The others understood that; and of course acquiesced in the +determination. + +As there was nothing to interfere with the immediate commencement of the +work, they resolved to set about it at once; and in fact did set about +it without farther delay. + +The number of eel-skins on hand, though very considerable, would not be +near enough for covering a balloon; and therefore Ossaroo went to work +with his hooks and lines to catch a few hundreds more. Karl was able to +tell how many it would take; or he could at least make an estimate +sufficiently exact for the purpose. He designed a balloon of twelve +feet diameter: for he knew that one of less size would not have power +enough to carry up the weight of a man. Of course, Karl knew how to +calculate the surface of a sphere whose diameter should be twelve feet. +He had only to multiply the diameter on the circumference; or the square +of the diameter on the fixed number 3.1416; or find the convex surface +of the circumscribing cylinder; or else find four times the area of a +great circle of the said sphere. Any one of these methods would give +him the correct result. + +On making the calculation, he found that a sphere of 12 feet diameter +would have a surface of 452 square feet, within a trifling fraction. +Therefore 452 square feet of eel-skins would be required to cover it. +In other words, that quantity would be required to make the balloon. + +As the eels happened to be of large size--most of them being over a yard +in length, and full four inches in average girth--the skin of one when +spread out would yield about a square foot of surface. Taking large and +small together--and allowing for waste, the heads and tails that would +have to be chopped off--Karl calculated that he would get nearly a +square foot each out of the eels; and that about five hundred skins +would make the balloon bag. But as they would have to be cut +occasionally with a slant, in order to get the globe shape, perhaps a +few more would be needed; and therefore Ossaroo was to keep his baits in +the water, until the requisite number of eels should be hooked out of +it. + +Ossaroo had another department assigned to him besides catching the +fish; and one that took up more of his time: since the baiting of the +hooks, and looking after them, required only his occasional attention. +Spinning the thread by which the skins were to be sewed together, was a +much more delicate operation: since in these both strength and fineness +were absolutely necessary. But as Caspar had said, Ossaroo was an adept +with the distaff; and several large skeins of the finest twist were soon +turned off from his nimble fingers. + +When enough thread had been thus produced, Ossaroo proceeded to making +the cords and stronger ropes, that would be needed for attaching the +"boat"--as well as to hold the balloon in its place, while being got +ready for its ascent. + +Caspar's employment was--first, the skinning of the eels; and afterwards +the scraping, boiling, and drying of the skins; while Karl, who acted as +engineer-in-chief, besides giving a general superintendence to the work, +occupied himself in imparting the final dressing to the material, and +cutting it into such shapes, that it could be closely and conveniently +stitched together. + +Karl had also made an excursion into the forest, and brought back with +him large quantities of a gum, which he had extracted from a tree of the +genus _ficus_--a sort of _caoutchouc_--which is yielded by many species +of _ficus_ in the forests of the Lower Himalayas. Karl had gone in +search of this substance, because he knew it would be required for +paying the seams, and rendering them air-tight. + +When they had pursued their various avocations for about a week, it was +thought that material enough of every kind was collected and made ready; +and then Ossaroo was set to stitching. Fortunately, they were provided +with needles: for these had formed a part of the _accoutrement_ of the +plant-hunters--when originally starting upon their expedition. + +As neither Karl nor Caspar had any experience in handling such sharp +tools, the sewing had all to be done by Ossaroo; and it took another +full week to accomplish this Sartorean task. + +At the end of that time, it was fully accomplished and complete; and the +huge bag was ready to receive its coat of gum varnish. A day sufficed +for "paying;" and nothing more remained but to attach the "boat," or +"car," that was to carry them aloft in their daring flight into the +"azure fields of air." + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY ONE. + +MAKING READY FOR THE ASCENT. + +Karl was the only one of the three who knew anything about a balloon, or +the mode of inflating it. Had it been their intention of navigating the +air, an apparatus would have been required to carry up a fire. This +Karl could easily have contrived. A basket of wicker-work, as he had +said, well lined with clay, would have answered the purpose after a +fashion; but as they did not intend to use the balloon for any purpose +beyond making the single ascent to lift them over the cliffs, a +continuous fire would not be required. The first inflation would answer +that end well enough; and therefore a grate or fire-basket was not +thought of. + +The car to carry the passengers--or boat, as it is sometimes styled: +since, for reasons easily understood, it is usually a boat--was quite +another affair; and had it been designed for more than a mere temporary +use, would have taken a considerable time in the making; but for what +they wanted almost anything would serve; and all that they intended +employing was a sort of wicker basket, or deep hamper, suspended by +stout ropes. This had been already prepared; and only needed to be +attached to the bottom of the air-bag. + +In the present case, the "bottom of the bag" is quite a figure of +speech--_lucus a non lucendo_. Strictly speaking, it had no bottom; +but, where this should have been, there was a round aperture, formed by +a stout hoop of ringall bamboo, to which the skin covering was lashed, +and to which, also, the cords intended to sustain the afore-mentioned +basket, as also the stay-ropes, were to be attached. + +The object of this aperture will be easily understood. It was by it +that the hot air was to be admitted inside the balloon, for the purpose +of inflating it. + +And how was this hot air to be obtained? That was a question which Karl +alone could answer. Of course, fire was to be the agent for producing +it: but how was it to be got into the bag? Karl could tell that, and +Karl only; and, now that the time had arrived for trying the experiment, +he condescended to explain to his coadjutors how he meant to proceed. + +The bag was to be propped up between tall stakes set in the ground; its +bottomless bottom turned towards the earth, so that the aperture would +be below. Under this a fire was to be kindled--not, however, until +everything else should be ready; and the hot air rising up into the +aperture would enter the balloon, and cause it to swell out to its full +globular dimensions. More hot air being admitted, the cooler atmosphere +within would be expelled, the balloon would become lighter than the +surrounding air, and by the simple principle of atmospheric pressure it +would ascend into the air. It was expected it would do so--it was hoped +it would. + +To say the truth, the hopes of the engineer were far from being high-- +his expectations anything but sanguine. He had observed all along, +that, notwithstanding the process employed for lightening the eel-skins, +they were still far heavier than silk; and perhaps, after all, the +experiment might not succeed. There was another circumstance that had +as much _weight_ on the mind of Karl as the eel-skins; and that was +quite as likely to have a _bearing_ upon the balloon. He had not +overlooked the fact, that the spot, from which they proposed making the +ascent, was nearly ten thousand feet above the level of the sea. He +knew that the atmosphere in such a situation would be extremely +rarefied, and that a balloon, which might easily ascend many thousand +feet into the air starting from the level of the sea, would not stir +from the ground if carried to the top of a mountain ten thousand feet +high. This was the circumstance which preyed upon the spirit of the +young philosopher, and hindered him from entertaining any very sanguine +hopes of success in the experiment they were making. + +The philosophical truth had been before his mind from the first, and at +times had almost determined him to abandon the project. But as he was +not sufficiently acquainted with the laws of aerostation as to be +certain of failure, he had worked on with the determination to seek +success, though it must be acknowledged with but faint hopes of finding +it. + +Thus stood matters on the morning when it was finally arranged to launch +their great aerial ship, and ascertain whether it would swim. + +All things were made ready at an early hour. The huge bag was set up +between the supporting stakes the _car_ was attached to it, as also +several ropes to keep the balloon from being carried away; and these +were fastened at their other ends to stout pegs, driven firmly into the +ground; while a little furnace of stones was built underneath to hold +the fire, whose ascending caloric was to expand the balloon, and raise +it into the air. + +The fuel out of which this fire was to be made had been already +collected near the spot. It was not wood, nor faggots of any kind; for +although these might have served after a fashion, Karl was acquainted +with a better material. He remembered that the Montgolfiers, and other +early aerostats--previous to the introduction of the inflammable gas-- +had used chopped straw and wool, and regarded these materials to be the +best substances for inflating their balloons. Karl had adopted their +idea; and had provided chopped grass as a substitute for the chopped +straw, and in lieu of sheep's wool he had procured a quantity of the +_poshm_ of the ibex, and other animals, that had been killed--the rich +shawl-wool of Cashmere! + +The car, which has already been described as a sort of deep hamper, was +not over three feet in diameter. It was evidently not equal to the +holding of three persons--to say nothing of a large dog--for it is +hardly necessary to say that Fritz was not going to be left behind. The +faithful creature had too long followed the fortunes of our adventurers +to be abandoned by them now. + +But there was not the slightest danger of that. The dimensions of the +car were large enough for what the "vehicle" was intended to carry, +which was only _one_. + +Karl believed that there would be little chance of the balloon having +sufficient power to take up all three of them, their united weight being +over four hundred pounds. He would be but too contented if one should +be carried aloft; and if that one should succeed in effecting a landing +on the summit of the cliff, it was of no importance what afterwards +became of the aerial ship. Having completed that one voyage, it might +make another on its own account--either south to Calcutta or eastward to +Hong Kong, if it liked China better. + +Of course, if any one of them should succeed in surmounting the cliff, +it would be an easy matter to get over the mountain; and as they had +passed native villages on their way upward, these could be reached in a +day or two, and a party of men, with a proper rope-ladder, brought to +the rescue of the others. + +Even had there been no prospect of assistance from any one outside, it +would not matter very much. If only one of them could get to the top of +the cliffs, they could construct a rope-ladder of themselves--by which +the other two would be able to make the ascent. + +It is hardly necessary to say who was to make the attempt--Ossaroo was +to be the aeronaut. Ossaroo had voluntarily offered himself for this +perilous performance; and his offer had been accepted. + +Not that either of the others were at all afraid to have run the risk. +It was from no desire to shirk the danger that they had appointed +Ossaroo to undertake it; but simply because, once outside, the shikaree +would be far better able to find his way down the mountains: and in his +native language could readily communicate with the villagers, and give a +correct account of their situation. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY TWO. + +INFLATION AND FAILURE. + +At length arrived the hour for making that important experiment--as to +whether their aerial ship would prove herself air-worthy. + +All three stood around the spot where the chopped grass and shawl-wool +were to be set on fire. This fuel itself appeared underneath--in a +little heap lightly laid, and ready for the touch of the tinder. + +Karl had a piece of blazing torch in his hand; Caspar held one of the +stay-ropes, to prevent the balloon from rising too rapidly; while +Ossaroo, equipped as if for a journey, stood by the hamper, in +readiness, when the proper time should arrive, to "pack" himself into +it. + +Alas! for the frailty of all human foresight! The most careful +calculations often prove erroneous--not that in the present instance +there was any unforeseen error: for from the very first, Karl had been +distrustful of his data; and they were now to disappoint, rather than +deceive him. It was not written in the book of destiny that Ossaroo +should ever set foot in that wicker car or ever make an ascent by that +balloon. + +The torch was applied to the chopped grass and shawl-wool. Both blazed +and smoked, and smouldered; and, more being thrown on, the blaze was +kept up continuously. The heated air ascended through the aperture, +causing the great sphere of stitched skins to swell out to its full +dimensions. + +It trembled and rocked from side to side, like some huge monster in +pain. It rose to the height of a few inches from the ground, sank, and +then rose again, sank once more, and so kept on rising and sinking and +bobbing about, but alas! never exhibiting sufficient ascending power, to +raise the hamper even as high as their heads! + +Karl continued to feed the furnace with the chopped grass and poshm, but +all to no purpose. The air within was sufficiently heated to have +raised it for miles--had they only been as low as the sea-level, and the +balloon constructed of lighter materials. + +As it was, all their efforts were in vain. The gigantic globe could not +be raised above six feet from the ground. It had not power enough to +carry up a cat--much less a man. In short, it was a failure--one more +added to the long list of their dark disappointments! + +For more than an hour Karl continued to keep his fire ablaze. He even +tried faggots of the resinous pine: in hopes that by obtaining a greater +strength of caloric he might still succeed in causing the balloon to +soar upward; but there was no perceptible difference in the effect. It +bobbed about as before, but still obstinately refused to ascend. + +At length, with patience exhausted and hopes completely crushed, the +engineer turned away from the machine which he had taken so much pains +in constructing. For a moment he stood irresolute. Then heaving a sigh +at the recollection of his wasted labour, with sad, slow step he +departed from the spot. Caspar soon followed him--fully participating +in the feeling of grievous disappointment. Ossaroo took leave of the +inflated monster in a different fashion. Drawing near to it, he stood +for some seconds contemplating it in silence--as if reflecting on the +vast amount of seam he had stitched to no purpose. Then uttering a +native ejaculation, coupled with a phrase that meant to say, "No good +either for the earth, the water, or the air," he raised his foot, kicked +the balloon in the side--with such violence that the toe of his sandals +burst a hole in the distended eel-skins; and, turning scornfully away, +left the worthless machine to take care of itself. + +This task, however, it proved ill adapted to accomplish: for the +disappointed aeronauts had not been gone many minutes from the ground, +when the heated air inside, which had for some time been gradually +growing cooler, reached at length so low a temperature, that the great +sphere began to collapse and settle down upon the embers of the pine +faggots still glowing red underneath. The consequence was that the +inflammable skins, cords, and woodwork coming in contact with the fire, +began to burn like so much tinder. The flames ran upward, licking the +oily eel-skins like the tongues of fiery serpents; and when the +_ci-devant_ aeronauts looked back from the door of their hut, they +perceived that the balloon was ablaze! + +Had the accident occurred two hours before, they would have looked upon +it as the saddest of calamities. Now, however, they stood regarding the +burning of that abandoned balloon, with as much indifference as is said +to have been exhibited by Nero, while contemplating the conflagration of +the seven-hilled city! + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY THREE. + +ANOTHER SPELL OF DESPAIR. + +Never, during all the days of their sojourn in that "Valley of Despond," +did our adventurers feel more despondence, than on the afternoon that +succeeded the bursting of their great air-bubble--the balloon. They +felt that in this effort, they had exhausted all their ingenuity; and so +firmly were they convinced of its being the last, that no one thought +about making another. The spirits of all three were prostrate in the +dust, and seemed at length to have surrendered to despair. + +Of course, it was not that sort of despair which takes possession of one +conscious of coming and certain death. It was far from being so dire as +this; but for all it was a bitter feeling. They knew they could +continue to live, perhaps as long there, as elsewhere upon the earth; +but what would life be worth to them, cut off from all communication +with the world?--for now, to the fulness of conviction, did they believe +themselves thus isolated. + +In disposition not one of the three had the slightest particle of the +hermit. Not one of them, but would have shuddered at the thought of +becoming a Simon Stylites. You might suppose that, with books and +Nature to study, Karl could have made shift. True, with such companions +he might have lived a less irksome life than either of the others; but +even with these to occupy him, it is doubtful whether Karl could have +passed the time; for it is not very certain, that a man--knowing himself +alone in the world, and for ever to be alone--would care either for the +books of men or the book of Nature. + +As for Caspar, the thought that their lonely existence was to be +perpetual, was enough at times to send the blood rushing coldly through +his veins. + +The Hindoo felt the affliction as much as either of his companions in +misfortune; and sighed as much for his bamboo hut on the hot plains of +Hindostan, as they for their home in the far fatherland of Bavaria. + +It is true their situation was not so bad as if each had been left alone +by himself. Many a poor castaway upon a desert island has been +condemned to a far more unhappy fate. They knew and acknowledged this. +Each had the other two for companions; but as they reflected thus, they +could not hinder their thoughts from casting forward into the future-- +perhaps not distant--when one of them might leave that valley without +the aid of either rope-ladders or balloons; and then another--leaving +the last of the three lonely and forlorn! + +With such sad reflections did they pass the evening of that day, and the +morning and evening of that which followed. They took no heed of time; +and could scarce summon sufficient energy to cook their frugal meals. +The spirit to plan, and the energy to act, seemed both to have departed +from them at once and for ever. + +This state of things could not long continue. As already said, the soul +of man holds within itself a power of resuscitation. So long as it +continues to live, it may hope to recover from the heaviest blow. +Broken hearts are more apparent than real; and even those that are worst +shattered have their intervals in which they are restored to a perfect +soundness. The slave in his chains, the prisoner within his dark +dungeon, the castaway on his desert isle, all have their hours of joy-- +perhaps as vivid and lasting as those of the king upon his throne, or +the conqueror in his car of triumph. + +On earth there is no happiness unmingled with alloy; and, perhaps, there +is no sorrow that may not in time find solace. + +On the second clay succeeding their last great disappointment, the +spirits of all three began to revive; and those natural wants--which, +whether we will or not, force themselves upon our attention--commenced +to claim their consideration. + +Karl was the first to recognise these necessities. If they were to live +there for life, he reasoned,--and this seemed no longer a doubtful +supposition,--it would be of no use, giving way to despondency--moping +out their days like mutes at a funeral. Better far to lead an active +life; and live well too--by providing plenty to eat and plenty to +drink--which with industry they could easily do. All this might not +make them cheerful; but they would certainly be less a prey to +melancholy while engaged in some active industry, than if they remained +brooding over their fate. + +These thoughts, as we have said, arose on the morning of the second day +succeeding that on which the balloon had been abandoned. Karl gave +words to them, in an attempt to cheer his brother Caspar--who had +relapsed into a state of unusual despondency. Ossaroo equally required +cheering; and therefore it devolved on the botanist to attempt +enlivening the spirits of his companions. + +For a time, he met with very slight success; but gradually the necessity +of action forced itself upon the attention of all--if only to provide +the means to keep them from starving; and without further loss of time, +they resumed the various branches of industry, by which they had +hitherto been enabled to supply their larder. + +To Caspar, as before, the chase was entrusted; while Ossaroo attended to +the fishing; as he, better than either of the others, understood the +management of hooks, lines, and nets. + +The botanist busied himself in the old way, exploring the valley, in +search of such seeds, plants, and roots, as might be found wholesome for +food--not neglecting others of a medicinal character, that might serve +in case of sickness. Many such had the young plant-hunter encountered +during his early researches; and had made note of them against the +possibility of their being required. + +Fortunately, up to that time there had been no real need for any of the +party to make trial of the natural _Pharmacopoeia_ which the valley +afforded: and it was to be hoped they should never have occasion to test +the virtues of the specifics which the plant-hunter had discovered. +Karl nevertheless collected several kinds; and, after submitting them to +a process necessary for their preservation, had stored them away within +the hut. + +Of those vegetable products adapted for food, the chief article obtained +was the nutritive seed yielded by the edible pine (_Pinus Gerardiana_). +The cones of this valuable tree were as large as artichokes; each +yielding several seeds of the size and appearance of pistachio nuts. + +The wild cockscomb (_Amaranthus Cruentus_) also furnished a portion of +their supply. Its seeds when parched, and crushed between two stones, +produced a kind of meal, of which cakes of bread were manufactured by +Ossaroo. These, although very far inferior to the real home-bake, or +even to the most ordinary production of the bakehouse, were nevertheless +sufficiently palatable to those who had no other bread. + +The lake, besides yielding fish to the nets of Ossaroo, also afforded a +supply of vegetables. On searching it, the botanist discovered several +edible kinds of plants; among others the curious _Trapa bicornis_, or +horned water-nut--known among the natives of the Himalayan countries by +the name _Singara_, and much used by them as an article of wholesome +food. + +There was also a splendid water-lily--with very broad leaves and large +flowers of pink and white colour--the seeds and the stalks of which Karl +knew to be edible; as he had read of their being used for this purpose +by the poorer people in the country of Cashmeer. The lily in question, +viz. the _Nelumbium speciosum_, grows plentifully in the lakes of the +far-famed valley so named. + +On first observing this beautiful plant growing luxuriantly, as it was, +in their own little valley lake, Karl took occasion to inform his +brother--Ossaroo at the same time listening attentively to his +statement--of the various uses made of it by the inhabitants of +Cashmeer. How the boys sailing about in their boats when the day +chances to be very hot, are in the habit of plucking one of its large +shining leaves out of the water, and spreading it over their crowns, to +protect them from the fervid rays of the sun; and how the petiole of the +leaf, being hollow inside, serves them as a tube for drinking out of. +Many such interesting particulars, in regard to the economy of this fine +aquatic plant, did the young botanist communicate to his companions; but +none more interesting than the fact that both its seeds and stalks are +edible: since this promised them additional security against the danger +of running short in their supply of vegetable food. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR. + +THE BEAN OF PYTHAGORAS. + +The discovery of the water-lily was not a thing of recent occurrence. +They had known of its existence before; and more than once had visited +the little embayment in the lake, where it chiefly grew. In fact, it +had attracted their attention a few days after their first arrival in +the valley--not by its own conspicuousness, for its broad round leaves, +spread horizontally upon the surface, could scarce be seen from the +shore. Only when its beautiful pink-white flowers were in bloom, could +it be observed at any great distance. + +That which had first led them to approach the place where it grew, and +examine the plant, was their having noticed a singular phenomenon +connected with it; and which for awhile had puzzled all three of them to +explain. + +The _bed_ of lilies, at that time in full bloom, was visible from the +place where they had originally made their encampment; and every +morning, just after daybreak, and sometimes also during the day, they +were in the habit of seeing some birds disporting themselves near that +place in a singular manner--very singular indeed: since these birds +appeared to _walk upon the water_! + +They were tall, long-legged, slender-bodied creatures, and easily +distinguished by both Karl and Caspar, as belonging to the family of +_rallidae_ or water-hens. + +There could be no doubt that they were walking on the water--sometimes +slowly, at other times in a quick run--and, what was even more +unaccountable than this, they were seen at times to _stand still upon +the water_! Ay, and, what might be considered more surprising still, +they performed this aquatic feat _upon only one leg_! + +The thing might have been more mysterious, had not Karl from the first +suspected the reason why the laws of specific gravity appeared to be +thus contradicted. He suspected the existence of some plant, whose +leaves, lying spread on the surface, perhaps offered a footing for the +birds, sufficiently firm to support the weight of their bodies. + +The botanist was only reasoning from remembrance. He had lately read +the account published but a few years before of the discovery of the +gigantic water-lily of tropical America--the _Victoria Regia_--and +remembered how its discoverers had spoken of large birds of the crane +family making their perch upon its huge leaves, and thus supported, +playing about over the surface of the water, as if the firm earth had +been under their feet. + +With these facts fresh in his memory, Karl conjectured that the +water-hens seen by him and his companions were supported on a similar +pedestal, and playing themselves on a like platform. His conjecture +proved correct: for on visiting the place shortly after, the broad +orbicular leaves of the _Nelumbium speciosum_ were perceived--almost as +large as those of their South American congener. + +Other interesting points relating to the great lily growing in the +Himalayan lake, Karl had mentioned from time to time to his companions: +for he knew that the _Nelumbium speciosum_ was the celebrated +Pythagorean bean mentioned in the writings of the Greeks--more +especially by Herodotus and Theophrastes. + +It is described by these writers as growing plentifully in Egypt; and no +doubt was cultivated in that country in their day; though it is not +known there at the present time. It is found represented on the +Egyptian sculptures, and so accurately has it been described by the +Greek writers, as to leave no doubt as to the identification of the +species. + +It is one of the plants supposed to be the celebrated "lotus" of +antiquity; and this supposition is probable enough: since not only its +succulent stalk, but its seeds or "beans," have been eaten in all times +by the people in whose country it grows. It is a food that produces a +strengthening effect upon the system; and is also very refreshing in +cases of thirst. The Chinese call it "Lienwha," and its seeds with thin +slices of its root, mixed with the kernels of apricots and walnuts, and +placed between alternate layers of ice, constituted one of the select +dishes offered by the great mandarins to the British ambassadors on the +visit of the latter to the Celestial Empire. + +These people store up the roots of the lienwha for winter use-- +preserving them in a pickle of salt and vinegar. The Japanese also make +use of the plant as an esculent; and it is, moreover, regarded by them +as sacred to their divinities--the images of which are often represented +seated upon its large leaves. + +The flowers of the _Nelumbium speciosum_ when in full bloom, give out a +most fragrant odour--somewhat resembling that of anise; while the seeds, +shaped like acorns, have a flavour equal in richness and delicacy to +that of the finest almonds. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE. + +AN AQUATIC HARVEST. + +It was not upon that occasion that Karl communicated to his companions +all these interesting facts in relation to the great lily. Many of them +he had made known long before--especially that the seeds of the plant +were eatable; and both Caspar and Ossaroo had often proved to their own +satisfaction that they were something more than eatable--in short, a +great delicacy. + +It was from a knowledge of this fact that the thoughts of all three were +now turned upon the lilies--whose huge roseate corollas, no longer seen +glistening above the surface of the water, proclaimed that the "beans" +were ripe, and ready for "shelling." + +The three were about starting from the hut to reap this aquatic +harvest--which, judging from the quantity of seed-pods that appeared +above the surface, promised to be abundant. + +Each had provided himself with a rush basket--which the shikaree had +woven, during the long winter nights, for other purposes; but as they +were of just the size and shape to hold the Pythagorean beans they were +now to be employed in that capacity. + +Both Karl and Caspar had rolled up their trowsers to mid-thigh; so as +not to wet them while wading among the lilies; but Ossaroo, not being +provided with any nether garment entitled to the name of trowsers, had +simply tucked up the skirt of his cotton tunic, making it fast under his +girdle. + +In this guise all three proceeded round the shore of the lake, to that +side where they would be nearest the bed of lilies. The water-hens, +seeing them make their approach, rose from their perch upon the leaves, +and fluttered off to seek a more secure shelter among the sedge. + +The aquatic gleaners at once waded in; and commenced picking off the +pods, and shelling them into their rush baskets. They had been there +before, and knew there was no danger in the depth of the water. + +They had nearly filled their respective sacks with the Pythagorean +beans, and were meditating a return to dry land, when a dark shadow +passing over the tranquil surface of the lake--closely followed by +another of similar size and shape--attracted their attention. + +All three saw the shadows at the same instant of time; and all +simultaneously looked up to ascertain what sort of creatures were +casting them. In the sky above they beheld a spectacle, calculated to +inspire them with feelings of a strange interest. + +Right above the lake, and also over their heads, a brace of large birds +was circling in the air. Each was borne up by a pair of huge wings full +five yards from tip to tip; while from the body, between, a neck of +enormous length was extended horizontally--prolonged into a +tapering-pointed beak, in shape like the seed-pistil of a pelargonium. + +Their beaks might well have been compared to the pistil of a +pelargonium; or rather the latter should be assimilated to them; since +it is from this species of birds, the flower has derived its botanical +cognomen. + +The birds were _storks_. Not the ordinary _Ciconia_, that makes its +home among the Hollanders--or finds a still more welcome hospitality on +the roof-tree of the Hungarian by the plains of the _Puszta_--but a +stork of far grander dimensions; in short, a stork that is the _tallest_ +of his tribe--the _Adjutant_. + +On looking up, Karl recognised the species; so did Caspar, and at a +glance. It required no lengthened scrutiny--no profound knowledge of +natural history, to identify the noted _adjutant_. It only needed to +have seen him before either in _propria persona_, or in a picture; but +both brothers had seen specimens of the bird, in full flesh and feather, +on the plains of India--in the environs of Calcutta itself. + +As to the shikaree, was it likely he should be mistaken about the +character of those winged giants--those tall scavengers he had seen +thousands of times stalking pompously along the sandy shores of the +sacred Ganges? It was not possible for him, to have a doubt about the +identity of the birds, who were now throwing their shadows over that +lone lake of the Himalayas. He had no doubt. The very certainty that +the birds above him were the gigantic cranes of the Ganges--the sacred +birds of Brahma--caused him to utter a sort of frenzied shout, and at +the same time, dropping his "sack of beans" into the water! + +He needed not to look at the colour of the birds, to note that they were +brown black above, and white underneath. The naked vulture neck with +its pouch-like appendage of brick-red hue; the silken feathers of bluish +white under the tail--those precious plumes well-known and worn by the +ladies of many lands under the appellation of _marabout feathers_--all +were recognised at a glance. + +Even quicker than either of his youthful comrades had the Hindoo +identified the birds. A single glance sufficed, and simultaneously with +that glance had the cry fallen from his lips, and the sack of +Pythagorean beans from his grasp. + +The birds were flying slowly, and to all appearance _laboriously_: as if +wearied of wing. They appeared to be in search of some roost on which +to repose themselves. + +That they had entered the valley with this intention was made evident a +few moments after: for having made a circuit round the little lake, both +at the same instant ceased to ply their long pinions, and drawing their +wings suddenly in to their bodies, they settled down upon the shore. + +The spot upon which they had chosen to alight was the prominence +terminating a little peninsula that protruded out almost to the bed of +lilies, and from which the three waders had themselves descended into +the water. As the latter now stood knee-deep among the aquatic plants, +they were distant not more than twenty paces from the point of this +peninsula. + +The storks, after alighting, stood upon the shore in erect attitudes-- +apparently as unconcerned about the presence of our three adventurers, +as if the latter were only overgrown stalks of the Pythagorean bean-- +utterly incapable of doing them an injury. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY SIX. + +THE ADJUTANTS. + +The brace of gigantic birds, that had thus alighted by the shore of the +little lake, were, to say the least, uncouth creatures; for the whole +ornithological world might be ransacked without finding a greater oddity +than the _adjutant_. + +In the first place, it stands six feet upon its long, straight shanks; +though its actual length, measuring from the tip of its bill to the +termination of its claws, is full seven and a half. The beak, of +itself, is over a foot in length, several inches in thickness, with a +gibbous enlargement near the middle, and having both mandibles slightly +curved downwards. + +The spread of a full-grown adjutant's wing is fifteen feet, or five +yards, from tip to tip--quite equalling in extent either that of the +Chilian condor or the "wandering" albatross. + +In colour the adjutant may be described as black above and white +underneath, neither [that] being very pure. The upper plumage is a +dirty brownish black; while the belly and under parts present a dull +white appearance,--partly from an admixture of greyish feathers, but +also from the circumstance that the bird is usually bedaubed with dirt-- +as mud from the marshes, where it feeds, and other filth, in which it +seems to take delight. But for this foulness, the legs of the adjutant +would be of a dark colour; but in the living bird they are never seen of +the natural hue--being always whitened by the dust shaken out of its +plumage, and other excrement that attaches itself to the skin. + +The tail is black above and white underneath--more especially the under +coverts, which are of a pure white. These last are the plumes so highly +prized under the name of "marabout feathers," an erroneous title, +arising through a mistake--made by the naturalist Temminck in comparing +the Indian adjutant with another and very different species of the same +genus--the marabout stork of Africa. + +One of the distinctive characteristics of the adjutant, or "argala," as +it is better known to the Indians,--and one, too, of its ugliest +"features,"--is a naked neck of a flesh-red colour the skin shrivelled, +corrugated, and covered with brownish hairs. These "bristles" are more +thickly set in young birds, but become thinner with age, until they +almost totally disappear--leaving both head and neck quite naked. + +This peculiarity causes a resemblance between the adjutant bird and the +vultures; but indeed there are many other points of similarity; and the +stork may in all respects be regarded as a vulture--the vulture of the +_grallatores_, or waders. + +In addition to the naked neck, the adjutant is furnished with an immense +dew-lap, or pouch which hangs down upon its breast--often more than a +foot in length, and changing from pale flesh colour to bright red, along +with the skin of the throat. At the back of the neck is found still +another singular apparatus--the use of which has not been determined by +the naturalist. It is a sort of vesicular appendage, capable of being +inflated with air; and supposed to serve as an atmospheric buoy to +assist in sustaining the bird in its flight. The inflation has been +observed to take place under exposure to a hot sun; and, therefore, it +is natural to infer, that the rarefaction of the air has something to do +in causing [the bird to use this organ]. As the adjutant often flies to +a great height, it is possible that this balloon-like apparatus is +necessary to sustaining it in the rarefied atmosphere found at such an +elevation. The annual migration of the bird over the lofty chain of the +Himalayas might not be possible, or if possible, more difficult, without +this power of decreasing the specific gravity of its body. + +It is scarce necessary to say that the adjutant--like all birds of the +family to which it belongs--is a filthy and voracious feeder; +carnivorous in the highest degree; and preferring carrion and garbage to +any other sort of food. It will kill and swallow live kind--such as +frogs, snakes, small quadrupeds, and birds--the latter not so very small +either: since it has been known to bolt a whole fowl at a single +"swallow." Even a cat or a hare can be accommodated with a passage down +its capacious gullet; but it will not attempt to kill either one or the +other: since, notwithstanding its gigantic size, it is one of the +veriest cowards in creation. A child, with a bit of a switch, can at +any time chase the adjutant away; and an enraged hen will put it to +flight whenever it strays into the neighbourhood of her young brood. It +does not retreat, without first making a show of defiance--by placing +itself in a threatening attitude--with reddened throat, and beak wide +agape, from which latter proceeds a loud roaring, like that of a bear or +tiger. All this, however, is mere braggadocio; for, on the enemy +continuing the attack, it immediately cools down, and betakes itself to +ignominious flight. + +Such are a few peculiarities of the gigantic stork, known as the +_adjutant_ or _argala_. It only remains to be added, that there are at +least two, perhaps three, other species of storks of very large +dimensions--though not so large as this one--that for a long time have +been confounded with it. One of these is the _marabou_; which inhabits +the tropical regions of Africa, and which also produces the plumes so +much prized in the world of fashion. The feathers of the African +species, however, are far less beautiful and valuable than those from +the tail of the adjutant; and it is these last that are really best +known as _marabout feathers_, in consequence of the mistake made by +Temminck, and propagated by the anatomist Cuvier. + +Another great stork--differing both from the _argala_ of Asia and the +_marabou_ of Africa--inhabits the Island of Sumatra. It is known to the +natives as the "Boorong Cambay;" while in the neighbouring Island of +Java is found either a fourth species of these gigantic birds, or the +same that belongs to Sumatra. + +It is somewhat singular that such creatures should have remained so long +unknown to the scientific world. It is not much more than half a +century since travellers began to describe them with any degree of +exactness; and even at the present time their history and habits have +received but very slight elucidation. This is the more surprising when +we consider that on the banks of the Ganges--even in Calcutta itself-- +the adjutant is one of the most common birds--constantly stalking about +the houses, and entering the enclosures with as much familiarity, as if +it was one of the regular _domestics_ of the establishment! + +Its services as a "scavenger" procure for it an immunity from +persecution; and it is not only tolerated by the people, but encouraged, +in its advances towards fellowship with them; notwithstanding that at +times it becomes rather troublesome in its attentions to the young +ducklings, chicklings, and other denizens of the farmyard. + +Sometimes they are not even contented with such fare as may be found +outside; but have been known to enter the bungalow; snatch a smoking +joint from the table; and swallow it, before either master or servant +could rescue the dainty morsel from between their long and tenacious +mandibles! + +When seen in flocks, wading through the water,--with wings outstretched, +as is their custom,--they may be taken for a fleet of small boats. At +other times, when stalking about over the sandy shores; and picking up +the _debris_ strewed along the banks of the sacred river; they resemble +a crowd of native women engaged in the like occupation. + +Ofttimes may they be seen feeding voraciously upon the filthiest carrion +of animals; and not unfrequently upon a human body in a state of +putrefaction--the corpse of some deluded victim to the superstition of +Juggernaut--which has been thrown into the so-styled _sacred_ river, to +be washed back on the beach, an object of contention between _pariah_ +dogs, vultures, and these gigantic cranes of the Ganges! + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN. + +The standing sleepers. + +The advent of the adjutants produced a vivid impression on the minds of +all three of our adventurers--more vivid, perhaps, upon Ossaroo than +either of the others. To him they seemed like old friends who had come +to visit him in his prison; and though it never occurred to the +shikaree, that they could be in any way instrumental in obtaining his +release, still the impression produced was one of a pleasant nature. He +saw before him two creatures whose forms, however uncouth, were +associated with the scenes of his earliest childhood; and he could not +help a passing fancy, that the pair, that had thus unexpectedly made +their appearance, might be the same old cock and hen he had so often +seen roosted on the branches of a huge banyan tree, that overshadowed +the bungalow in which he was born. + +Of course this could be only fancy on the part of Ossaroo. Out of the +thousands of storks, that annually make their migration from the plains +of Hindostan to the northward of the Himalaya Mountains, it would have +been a rare coincidence if the two that for years had performed the +office of scavengers in the shikaree's native village, should be +identical with those now hovering above his head--for it was while they +were yet upon the wing that Ossaroo had indulged in this pleasant +speculation. Though scarce serious in his thought--and only +entertaining it for an instant--he was nevertheless gratified by the +sight of the two storks, for he knew they must have come from his native +plains--from the banks of that glorious river in whose waters he longed +once more to wet his feet. + +The sight of the huge birds suggested to Caspar a different train of +thought. As he beheld their immense wings, extended in slow but easy +flight, it occurred to him that one or other of the great creatures +might have the power to perform that task which had proved too much for +the bearcoot; and for which the "kite" had been "flyed" in vain. + +"Oh!" exclaimed he, as the idea came across his mind, "don't you think, +Karl, that either of those great creatures would be strong enough to +carry the line aloft? They look as if they could lift even one of +ourselves to the top of the cliff." + +Karl made no reply; though his silence was only caused by Caspar's +suggestion--which he was proceeding to ponder upon. + +The young hunter continued: "If we could only catch one of them alive! +Do you suppose they are going to alight? They look as if they would. +What do _you_ say, Ossaroo? You know more of these birds than we do." + +"Yees, youngee Sahib; ee speakee de true. Dey go for come down. You +savey dey make long fly. Dey both weary on de wing--no able fly furder. +'Sides, ee see, here am de lake--water--dey want drinkee--want eat too. +Dey sure come down." + +Ossaroo's prediction was fulfilled, almost as soon as it was uttered. +The birds, first one and then the other, jerked in their spread wings; +and dropped down upon the shore of the lake--as already stated, not over +twenty paces from the spot where the three waders were occupied among +the leaves of the lilies. + +The eyes of all three were now directed with a fixed gaze upon the +new-comers,--in whose behaviour they observed something irresistibly +ludicrous. + +Almost on the instant of their feet touching _terra firma_, instead of +moving about over the ground in search of food, or striding down towards +the water to drink--as the spectators were expecting them to do--the two +long-legged bipeds acted in an entirely different manner. Neither of +them seemed to care either for food or drink. If they did, both these +appetites must have been secondary with them to the desire for rest; for +scarce ten seconds had elapsed after their alighting, when each drew in +its long neck, burying it between the shoulders as in a case, leaving +visible only the upper half of the head, with its huge scythe-shaped +beak--the mandibles resting against the prominence of the breast bone, +and pointing diagonally downwards. + +Simultaneous with this movement, the spectators perceived another-- +equally indicative of a desire on the part of the birds to betake +themselves to repose. This was the drawing up of one of their long +fleshless legs, until it was entirely concealed under the loose feathers +of the belly--a movement made by both so exactly at the same instant, as +to lead to the belief that they were actuated by like impulses, by some +spiritual union that existed between them! + +In ten seconds more both birds appeared to be asleep. At all events, +their eyes were closed; and not a movement could be detected in the +limbs, wings, bodies, or beaks of either! + +It was certainly a ludicrous sight to see these huge creatures--each +supporting itself on a single stalk, so straight and slender that +nothing but the nicest balance could have ensured their equilibrium; and +this, too, while neither seemed conscious of any danger of toppling +over--of which, indeed, there was not the slightest reason to be afraid. + +The Hindoo had been too long accustomed to this sort of spectacle, to +see anything in it worthy of being laughed at. Not so Caspar--whose +mirth was at once excited to the point of risibility. The unconcerned +manner in which the storks had come to a stand--along with the +picturesque _pose_ in which they had composed themselves to sleep--was +even too much for the stoical Karl; who at once echoed the laughter +which his brother had inaugurated. + +Their united cachinnations rang loudly over the lake--reverberating in +repeated peals from the adjacent cliffs. + +It might be supposed that the _fracas_ thus created would have alarmed +the new arrivals: and caused them once more to make an appeal to their +wings. + +Nothing of the sort. The only effect perceptible on either, was the +opening of their eyes, a slight protrusion of the neck, a shake of the +head, an upraising of the long beak, with a quick clattering of its +mandibles--which soon becoming closed again, were permitted to drop into +their original position of repose. + +This cool behaviour of the birds only increased the hilarity of the +boys; and for several minutes they remained in their places, giving way +to loud and uncontrollable laughter. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT. + +FRITZ AMONG THE FEATHERS. + +Their hilarity could not be continued for ever. Even that of Caspar +came to a termination; though not until his ribs ached with the +agreeable exercise. + +As their bean-sacks had been already filled, it was determined that they +should first take them to the hut, and then return to the storks with +the design of capturing them. Ossaroo was of the opinion, that they +would have no difficulty in effecting this; declaring the birds to be so +tame, that he might walk straight up to them, and throw a noose over +their necks. This, in all probability, he might have done, had he been +provided with a piece of cord proper for the making of such a noose. +But there was no cord at hand--not even a bit of string--nothing but the +rush baskets filled with the lotus beans. To obtain a snare, it would +be necessary to make a journey to the hut. + +In the minds of our adventurers there was no very clear conception of +the object of capturing the storks: unless it might have been that the +thought, to which Caspar had given speech, was still entertained by +himself and his brother. That indeed would have justified them in their +attempt to take the birds. + +Another idea may have suggested itself--more especially to Ossaroo. If +nothing else should come of it, there would be some pleasure in holding +the birds in captivity--as pets and companions. Ossaroo had been +involuntarily contemplating the prospect of a long lonely life in the +solitude of that mountain valley. With such a prospect even the solemn +stork might be regarded as a cheerful companion. + +Stimulated by these thoughts--and some others of a more indefinite +kind--our adventurers came to the determination to ensnare the +_adjutants_! + +All three commenced wading out of the lake--in a direction so as not to +disturb the sleepers. Karl and Caspar--now that they had become +inspired with a design--lifted their feet out of the water, and set them +down again, as though they ere treading upon egg. Ossaroo sneered at +their over-caution--telling them, that there was not the slightest fear +of frightening the storks; and indeed there was truth in what he +affirmed. + +In most countries bordering upon the banks of the Ganges, these birds, +protected alike by superstitious fears and edicts of law, have become so +used to the proximity of man, that they will scarce stir out of their +way to avoid him. It was possible that the brace in question might have +belonged to some of the wilder flocks--inhabiting the swamps of the +Sunderbunds--and therefore less accustomed to human society. In that +case there might be some difficulty in approaching them; and it was for +this reason that Ossaroo had consented to adopt the precautions for +their capture which Karl had insisted should be taken. + +The truth is, that Karl had conceived a deeper design than either of his +companions. It had occurred to him--while engaged with his brother in +that laughing duetto--and somewhat to the surprise of Caspar, it had +caused a sudden cessation of his mirth, or at least the noisy ebullition +of it. + +The philosopher had become silent and serious; as if the thought had +suddenly arisen, that hilarity under the circumstances was indecorous +and out of place. From that moment Karl had preserved a mysterious +silence--even refusing to explain it when interrogated by Caspar. He +was only silent on this one theme. Otherwise his speech flowed freely +enough--in counsel to his companions--charging both to adopt every +precaution for ensuring the capture of the storks--and with an +eagerness, which puzzled them to comprehend. + +A few minutes' walk brought them back to the hut. It was rather a run +than a walk--Karl going in the lead, and arriving before either of the +others. The bean-sacks were flung upon the floor--as if they had been +empty and of no value--and then the strings and lines that had been spun +by Ossaroo were pulled out of their hidden places, and submitted to +inspection. + +It did not take long to make a running noose, which was accomplished by +the nimble fingers of the shikaree. Easily also was it attached to the +end of a long stem of the ringall bamboo; and thus provided, our +adventurers once more sallied forth from the hut; and made their way +towards the sleeping storks. + +As they drew near, they were gratified at perceiving the birds still in +the enjoyment of their meridian slumber. No doubt they had made a long +journey, and needed rest. Their wings hung drooping by their sides, +proclaiming weariness. Perhaps they were dreaming--dreaming of a roost +on some tall fig-tree, or the tower of an antique temple sacred to the +worship of Buddha, Vishna, or Deva--dreaming of the great Ganges, and +its odorous waifs--those savoury morsels of putrefying flesh, in which +they delighted to dig their huge mattocks of mandibles. + +Ossaroo being entrusted with the noose, did not pause to think, about +what they might be dreaming; or whether they were dreaming at all. +Enough for him to perceive that they were sleeping; and, gliding forward +in a bent attitude, silent as a tiger threading his native jungle, the +shikaree succeeded in making approach--until he had got almost within +_snaring distance_ of the unconscious adjutants. + +There is many a slip between the cup and the lip. The old saw was +illustrated in the case of the shikaree while endeavouring to ensnare +the storks; though it was not the snare, but the birds that now +illustrated the adage. + +After the attempt had been made, the snare could be still seen in its +place, stiffly projecting from the point of the long bamboo rod; while +the adjutants were soaring in the air, mounting still higher upward, +their slender necks outstretched, their beaks cracking like castanets, +and their throats emitting an angry sound like the roaring of a brace of +lions. + +The failure was not to be attributed to Ossaroo; but to the imprudence +of one of his companions--an individual of the party close treading upon +his heels. That individual was _Fritz_! + +Just as Ossaroo was about casting his loop over the shoulders of a +sleeping adjutant, Fritz--who had followed the party from the hut--now +for the first time perceiving the birds, rushed forward and seized the +tail of one of them between his teeth. Then, as if determined on +securing the beautiful _marabout feathers_, he pulled a large mouthful +of them clean out by the roots. + +This was not exactly the motive that impelled Fritz to make such an +unexpected attack--unexpected, because the well-trained animal would +have known better than to fright the game which his masters were in the +act of stalking; and such imprudence had never before been displayed by +him. It was the particular kind of game that had provoked Fritz to act +contrary to his usual habit of caution; for of all the creatures which +he had encountered, since his arrival in the counted there, was none +that had inspired him with a more profound feeling of hostility than +these same adjutants. During Fritz's sojourn in the Botanic Gardens of +Calcutta--where his masters, it will be remembered, were for some time +entertained as guests--Fritz had often come in contact with a brace of +these gigantic birds, that were also guests of that justly celebrated +establishment: they habitually made their stay within the enclosure, +where they were permitted to stalk about unmolested, and pick up such +stray scraps as were cast out by the domestics of the _curator's_ +mansion. + +These birds had grown so tame, as to take food freely out of the hand of +anyone who offered it to them; and with like freedom, to take it where +it was not offered, but found within reach of their long prehensile +beaks. Often had they pilfered provisions to which they were anything +but welcome; and, among other acts of their rapacity, there was one of +which Fritz had been an interested spectator, and for which he was not +likely ever to forgive them. That was, their robbing him of a dainty +piece of meat, which one of the cooks had presented to Fritz himself; +and upon which he had been going to make his dinner. One of the birds +had the audacity to seize the meat in its mandibles, jerk it out of the +dog's very teeth, and swallow it, before the latter had time to offer +either interruption or remonstrance. + +The consequence was, that, from that time, Fritz had conceived a most +rancorous antipathy towards all birds of the genus _Ciconia_--and the +species _Argala_ in particular; and this it was that impelled him, on +first perceiving the adjutant--for being by the hut on their arrival he +had not seen them before,--to rush open-mouthed towards them, and seize +the tail of one of them between his teeth. + +It is not necessary to add that the bird, thus indecorously assailed, +took to instant flight, followed by its more fortunate though not less +frightened mate--leaving Fritz in a temper to treat Marabout feathers as +they had never been treated before--even when by the hands of some +scorned and jealous vixen they may have been torn from the turban of +some hated rival! + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY NINE. + +CAPTURING THE STORKS. + +Our adventurers witnessed the uprising of the birds with looks that +betokened disappointment and displeasure; and Fritz was in danger of +getting severely castigated. He merited chastisement; and would have +received it on the instant--for Caspar already stood over him with an +upraised rod--when an exclamation from Karl caused the young hunter to +hold his hand, and saved Fritz from the "hiding" with which he was being +threatened. + +It was not for this that Karl had called out. The exclamation that +escaped him was of a different import--so peculiarly intoned as at once +to draw Caspar's attention from the culprit, and fix it on his brother. + +Karl was standing with eyes upraised and gazing fixedly upon the +retreating stork--that one with whose tail Fritz had taken such an +unwarrantable liberty. + +It was not the ragged Marabout feathers, hanging half plucked from the +posterior of the stork, upon which Karl was gazing; but its long legs, +that, as the bird rose in its hurried flight, hung, slantingly downward, +extending far beyond the tip of its tail. Not exactly these either was +it that had called forth that strange cry; but something attached to +them--or one of them at least--which, as it came under the shining rays +of the sun, gleamed in the eyes of Karl with a metallic lustre. + +It had a yellowish sheen--like gold or burnished brass--but the +scintillation of the sun's rays, as they glanced from its surface, +hindered the spectators from making out its shape, or being able to say +exactly what it was. + +It was only Caspar and Ossaroo who were thus perplexed. Karl knew that +glittering meteor, that for a moment had flashed before his eyes like a +beam of hope--now slowly but surely departing from him, and plunging him +back into the old misery. + +"Oh! brother!" he exclaimed, as the stork flew upward, "what a +misfortune has happened!" + +"Misfortune! what mean you, Karl?" + +"Ah! you know not how near we were to a chance of being delivered. +Alas! alas! it is going to escape us!" + +"The birds have escaped us, you mean?" inquired Caspar. "What of that? +I don't believe they could have carried up the rope anyhow; and what +good would it be to catch them? They're not eatable; and we don't want +their feathers valuable as they may be." + +"No, no!" hurriedly rejoined Karl; "it is not that--not that." + +"What then, brother?" inquired Caspar, somewhat astonished at the +incoherent speeches of the plant-hunter. "What are you thinking of?" + +"Look yonder!" said Karl, now for the first time pointing up to the +soaring storks. "You see something that shines?" + +"Ha! on the leg of one of the birds? Yes; I do see something--like a +piece of yellow metal--what can it be?" + +"I know what it is!" rejoined Karl, in a regretful tone; "right well do +I know. Ah! if we could only have caught that bird, there would have +been a hope for us. It's no use grieving after it now. It's gone-- +alas! it's gone; and you, Fritz, have this day done a thing that will +cause us all regret--perhaps for the rest of our lives." + +"I don't comprehend you, brother!" said Caspar; "but if it's the escape +of the storks that's to be so much regretted, perhaps it will never take +place. They don't appear to be in such a hurry to leave us-- +notwithstanding the inhospitable reception Fritz has given them. See! +they are circling about, as if they intended to come down again. And +see also Ossaroo--he's holding out a lure for them. I warrant the old +shikaree will succeed in coaxing them back. He knows their habits +perfectly." + +"Merciful Father!" exclaimed Karl, as he looked first at the flying +storks and then at Ossaroo; "be it permitted that he succeed! You, +Caspar, lay hold upon Fritz, and give Ossaroo every chance! For your +life don't let the dog get away from you; for your life--for the lives +of all of us!" + +Caspar, though still under surprise at the excited bearing of his +brother, did not allow that to hinder him from obeying his command, and +rushing upon Fritz, he caught hold of the dog. Then placing the hound +between his legs, he held him with both hands and knees as tightly as if +Fritz had been screwed in a vice. + +The eyes of all--the dog included--were now turned upon Ossaroo. Caspar +contemplated his movements with an undefined interest; while Karl +watched them with feelings of the keenest anxiety. + +The cunning shikaree had not come to the spot unprepared. Having +anticipated some difficulty in getting hold of the storks, he had +providentially provided a lure, which, in the event of their proving +shy, might attract them within reach of his _ringall_. This lure was a +large fish--which he had taken out of the larder before leaving the hut, +and which he was now holding out--as conspicuously as possible, to +attract their attention. He had gone some distance apart from the +others, and especially from Fritz, whom he had scolded away from his +side; and, having stationed himself on a slight eminence near the edge +of the lake, he was using all his wiles to coax back the birds that had +been so unwittingly compelled to take wing. + +It was evident to Ossaroo--as well as to the others--that the flight of +the storks had been against their will; and that they had reluctantly +ascended into the air. They were no doubt wearied, and wanted rest. + +Whether this desire would have brought them to the earth again, Ossaroo +did not stay to determine. As soon as by their actions he became +convinced that they saw the fish held out in his hand, he flung the +tempting morsel to some distance from him, and then stood awaiting the +result. + +It proved a success--and almost instantaneously. + +There was nothing in the appearance or attitude of Ossaroo to excite the +suspicion of the adjutants. His dark skin and Hindoo costume were both +well-known to them; and though now observed in an odd, out-of-the-way +corner of the world, that was no reason for regarding him as an enemy. + +Fritz was alone the object of their fear, but Fritz was a good way off, +and there appeared no longer any reason for dreading him. + +Reasoning thus--and perhaps with empty stomachs to guide them to a +conclusion--the sight of the fish--lying unguarded upon the grass--put +an end to their fears; and, without further hesitation, both dropped +down beside it. + +Both at the same instant clutched at the coveted prize--each +endeavouring to be the first in securing it. + +As one of the birds had got hold of the fish by the head and the other +by its tail, a struggle now arose as to which should be the first to +swallow its body. Each soon passed a portion of it down its capacious +throat, until its mandibles met in the middle, and cracked against each +other. + +As neither would yield to the other, so neither would consent to +disgorge, and let go; and for some seconds this curious contention was +kept up. + +How long it might have continued was not left to the determination of +the parties themselves; but to Ossaroo, who, while they were thus +occupied, rushed upon the spot; and, flinging wide his arms, enfolded +both the birds in an embrace, from which they vainly struggled to get +free. + +With the assistance of Karl and Caspar--who had in the meantime tied +Fritz to a tree--the huge creatures were soon overpowered, and pinioned +beyond the possibility of escaping. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY. + +A LABELLED LEG. + +"It is! it is!" cried Karl, stooping suddenly down, and grasping the +shank of one of the birds. + +"What?" inquired Caspar. + +"Look, brother! See what is there, round the stork's leg! Do you not +remember having seen that bit of jewellery before?" + +"A brass ring! Oh yes!" replied Caspar; "now I do remember. In the +Botanic Gardens there was an adjutant with a ring round its ankle; a +brass ring, too--just like this one. How very odd!" + +"Like!" echoed Karl. "Not only like, but the very _same_! Stoop down, +and examine it more closely. You see those letters?" + +"_R.B.G., Calcutta_," slowly pronounced Caspar, as he read the +inscription graven upon the ring. "`_R.B.G_.' What do these initials +stand for, I wonder?" + +"It is not difficult to tell that," knowingly answered Karl. "_Royal +Botanical Garden_! What else could it be?" + +"Nothing else. For certain, these two birds must be the same we used to +see there, and with which we so often amused ourselves!" + +"The same," asserted Karl. "No doubt of it." + +"And Fritz must have recognised them too--when he made that unprovoked +attack upon them! You remember how he used to quarrel with them?" + +"I do. He must not be permitted to assail them any more. I have a use +for them." + +"A use?" + +"Ah, a most important one; so important that these birds, ugly and +unamiable as they are, must be cared for, as if they were the prettiest +and most prized of pets. We must provide them with food and water; we +must tend them by day, and watch over them by night--as though they were +some sacred fire, which it was our duty to keep constantly burning." + +"All that, indeed!" + +"Verily, brother! The possession of these storks is not only +important--it is essential to our safety. If they should die in our +hands, or escape out of them--even if one of them should die or get +away--we are lost. Our last hope lies in them. I am sure it is our +last." + +"But what hope have you found in them?" interrogated Caspar--puzzled to +make out the meaning of his brother's words, and not without wonder at +their apparent wildness. + +"Hope? Every hope. Ay, something more than hope: for in this singular +incident I cannot fail to recognise the finger of a merciful God. +Surely He hath at length taken compassion upon us! Surely it is He who +has sent these birds! They are messengers from Heaven!" + +Caspar remained silent, gazing earnestly in the eyes of his brother, +that were now sparkling with mingled gratitude and joy. But although +Caspar could perceive this expression, he was utterly unable to +interpret it. + +Ossaroo was alike puzzled by the strange looks and speeches of the Sahib +Karl; but the Hindoo gave less heed to them--his attention being almost +wholly taken up by the adjutants, which he fondled in turns--talking to +them and embracing them, as if they had been his brothers! + +As soon as the cord had been looped round their ankles, and there was no +longer any danger of their getting away, Ossaroo cut up the fish into +slices convenient for their gullets; and proceeded to feed them with as +much fondness as he could have shown to a brace of human beings, who had +arrived from a long journey in a state of starvation. + +The storks exhibited no signs of shyness--not the slightest. It was not +in their nature to do so. They gobbled up the morsels flung before +them, with as much avidity and unconcern, as if they were being fed by +the side of the great tank in the Garden at Calcutta. + +The sight of Fritz alone had a disturbing influence upon them; but, by +the command of Karl, the dog was kept out of view, until they had +finished the meal with which Ossaroo had provided them. + +Caspar, still in a cloud, once more interrogated the plant-hunter as to +his purpose. + +"Ho, brother!" answered Karl, "you are not wont to be so dull of +comprehension. Can you not guess why I am so joyed by the presence of +these birds?" + +"Indeed I cannot--unless--" + +"Unless what?" + +"You expect them to carry a rope up the cliff." + +"Carry a rope up the cliff! Nothing of the sort. Yes; perhaps it is +something of the sort. But since you have made such a poor guess, I +shall keep you in suspense a little longer." + +"O, brother!--" + +"Nay, I shall not tell you. It is news worth guessing at; and you and +Ossaroo must make it out between you." + +The two hunters, thus challenged, were about entering upon a series of +conjectures, when they were interrupted by Karl. + +"Come!" said he, "there is no time now. You can exercise your ingenuity +after we have got home to the hut. We must make sure of the storks, +before anything else be attended to. This cord is too slight. They may +file it in two with their bills, and get free. The very strongest rope +we have got will not be more than sufficient. Come, Ossaroo, you take +one. Lift it up in your arms. I shall carry the other myself; while +you, Caspar, see to Fritz. Lead the dog in a leash. From this time +forward he must be kept tied up--lest any misfortune should happen to +spoil the best plan that has yet offered for our deliverance." + +So saying, Karl flung his arms around one of the adjutants. Ossaroo at +the same instant embraced the other; and, despite the roaring that +proceeded from their throats, and the clattering made by their +mandibles, the huge birds were borne home to the hut. + +On arriving there, they were carried inside, and fastened with strong +ropes--carefully attached to their legs, and tied to the heavy beams +forming the rafters of the roof. The door was to be kept shut upon them +at all times when the eyes of the captors were not watching them: for +Karl, knowing the importance of having such guests, was determined to +make sure of his "game." + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY ONE. + +MAIL-CARRIERS ON WINGS. + +It was only after they had gone back for their baskets of beans, and +once more returned to the hut, that Caspar and Ossaroo found time to +indulge in their conjectures. Then both of them set to work in +earnest--seated upon the great stones outside the door, where often +before they had conjured up schemes for their deliverance. Neither +communicated his thoughts to the other; each silently followed the +thread of his own reflections--as if there was a rivalry between them, +as to who should be the first to proclaim the design already conceived +by Karl. + +Karl was standing close by, apparently as reflective as either of his +companions. But his thoughts were only occupied in bringing to +perfection the plan, which to them was still undiscovered. + +The storks had been brought out of the hut, and tied to a heavy log that +lay near. This had been done, partly to accustom them to the sight of +the place, and partly that they might be once more fed--the single fish +they had swallowed between them not being deemed sufficient to satisfy +their hunger. + +Caspar's eyes wandered to that one that had the ring upon its leg; and +then to the ring itself--_R.B.G., Calcutta_. + +The inscription at length proved suggestive to Caspar, as the ring +itself, on first seeing it, had to his brother. On that bit of brass +there was information. It had been conveyed all the way from Calcutta +by the bird that bore the shining circlet upon its shank. By the same +means why might not information be carried back? Why-- + +"I have it! I have it!" shouted Caspar, without waiting to pursue the +thread of conjecture that had occurred to him. "Yes, dear Karl, I know +your scheme--I know it; and by Jupiter Olympus, it's a capital one!" + +"So you have guessed it at last," rejoined Karl, rather sarcastically. +"Well, it is high time, I think! The sight of that brass ring, with its +engraved letters, should have led you to it long ago. But come! let us +hear what you have got to say, and judge whether you have guessed +correctly." + +"Oh, certainly!" assented Caspar, taking up the tone of jocular badinage +in which his brother had been addressing him. "You intend making a +change in the character--or rather the calling--of these lately arrived +guests of ours." Caspar pointed to the storks. "That is your +intention, is it not?" + +"Well?" + +"They are now soldiers--_officers_, as their title imports--adjutants!" + +"Well?" + +"They will have no reason to thank you for your kind intentions. The +appointment you are about to bestow on them can scarce be called a +promotion. I don't know how it may be with birds, but I do know that +there are not many men ambitious of exchanging from the military to the +civil service." + +"What appointment, Caspar?" + +"If I'm not mistaken, you mean to make _mail-carriers_ of +them--_postmen_, if you prefer the phrase." + +"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Karl, in a tone expressive of gratification at the +clever manner in which Caspar had declared himself. "Right, brother! +you've guessed my scheme to the very _letter_. That is exactly what I +intend doing." + +"By de wheeles ob Juggannaut coachee," cried the shikaree, who had been +listening, and understood the figurative dialogue; "dat be da goodee +plan. Dese stork go back Calcutt--surely dey go back. Dey carry letter +to Feringhee Sahibs--Sahibs dey know we here in prison--dey come d'liva +we vey dey affer get de letter--ha! ha! ha!" Then _delivering_ himself +of a series of shrill ejaculations, the Hindoo sprang up from the stone +upon which he had been sitting, and danced around the hut, as if he had +suddenly taken leave of his senses! + +However imperfectly spoken, the words of Ossaroo had disclosed the whole +plan, as conceived by the plant-hunter himself. + +It had vaguely defined itself in Karl's mind, on first seeing the storks +above him in the air; but when the lustre of metal flashed before his +eyes, and he perceived that yellow band encircling the shank of the +bird, the scheme became more definite and plausible. + +When at length the storks were taken captive, and Karl deciphered the +inscription--by which they were identified as old acquaintances of the +R.B.G.--he no longer doubted that Providence was in the plot; and that +these winged messengers had been sent, as it were, from Heaven itself, +to deliver him and his companions from that prison in which they had so +long been pining. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY TWO. + +CONCLUSION. + +The deliverance came at length; though it was not immediate. Several +months more, of that lonely and monotonous life, were our adventurers +called upon to endure. + +They had to wait for the return of the rainy season; when the rivers +that traverse the great plains of Hindostan became brimful of flood-- +bearing upon their turbid bosoms that luxuriance, not of life, but of +death, which attracts the crane and the stork once more to seek +subsistence upon their banks. Then the great adjutant returns from his +summer tour to the north--winging his way southward over the lofty +summits of Imaus. Then, too, did Karl and his comrades believe that +_their adjutants_ would be guided by a like instinct, and go back to the +R.B.G.--the Royal Botanic Garden of Calcutta. + +Karl felt confident of their doing so, as certain almost as if he had +stood on the banks of the sacred stream in the R.B.G. itself, and saw +them descending from their aerial flight and alighting within the +enclosure. This confidence arose from the remembrance of his having +heard--while sojourning with the Curator--that such had been their habit +for many years; and that the time, both of their departure and arrival, +was so periodically regular, that there was not an employe of the place +who could not tell it to a day! + +Fortunately, Karl remembered the time, though not the exact day. He +knew the week, however, in which his guests might be expected to take +their departure; and this was enough for his purpose. + +During their stay in the valley the birds had been cared for, as if they +had been sacred to some deity, adored by those who held them in charge. + +Fish and flesh had they a plenty--with Ossaroo as their provider. Food +and drink, whenever they stood in need of either; freedom from +annoyance, and protection from enemies of every kind--even from Fritz, +who had long since ceased to be their enemy. Nothing had been wanting +to their comfort; everything had been granted--everything but their +liberty. + +This, too, was at length restored to them. + +On a fair morning--such as a bird might have chosen for its highest +flight--both were set free to go whithersoever they listed. + +The only obstruction to their flight was a pair of small skin sacks, one +attached to the neck of each, and prudently placed beyond the reach of +its mandibles. Both were furnished with this curiously-contrived bag; +for Karl--as the spare leaves of his memorandum-book enabled him to do-- +had determined that each should be entrusted with a letter and lest one +should go astray, he had sent his _despatch in duplicate_. + +For a time the birds seemed reluctant to leave those kind companions-- +who had so long fed and cherished them; but the instinct that urged them +to seek the sunny plains of the South at length prevailed; and, giving a +_scream_ of adieu--reciprocated by the encouraging shouts of those they +were leaving behind, and a prolonged baying from the throat of the +boar-hound Fritz--they soared aloft into the air; and in slow, solemn +flight ascended the cliff--soon to disappear behind the crest of the +encircling ridge. + +Ten days after, on that same cliff stood a score of men--a glad sight to +Karl, Caspar, and Ossaroo. Even Fritz barked with joy as he beheld +them! + +Against the blue background of the sky, it could be perceived that these +men carried coils of rope, pieces of wood, and other implements that +might be required for scaling a cliff. + +Our adventurers now knew, that, one or other, or both copies of their +duplicate despatch, must have reached the destination for which they had +designed it. + +And the same destination was soon after reached by themselves. By the +help of their rescuers, and the long rope-ladders which they let down, +all three succeeded in _climbing the cliff_--Fritz making the ascent +upon the shoulders of the shikaree! + +All three, amidst a company of delighted deliverers--with Fritz +following at their heels--once more descended the southern slope of the +Himalayas; once more stood upon the banks of the sacred Ganges; once +more entered within the hospitable gates of the R.B.G.--there to renew +their acquaintance, not only with hospitable friends, but with those +winged messengers, by whose instrumentality they had been delivered from +their living tomb, and once more restored to society and the world! + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Cliff Climbers, by Captain Mayne Reid + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CLIFF CLIMBERS *** + +***** This file should be named 21239.txt or 21239.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/1/2/3/21239/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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