So Suarez spoiled a pretty bit of romance by his ruffling agitation

over some bawl of savage frenzy, for Courtenay, of course, would have

laughed away the girl's protests that she was usurping another woman's

place. It was really a pity that the man from Argentina had not found

something else to occupy his mind at that precise juncture in the

affairs of two young people who were obviously mated by the

discriminating gods. A good deal of suffering and heartburning would

then have been avoided; but perhaps it was just the whim of fate that

the captain's love affair should follow the irregular course mapped out

for his ship, and the Kansas was not yet re-launched on the ocean

high-road to London, no, not by any manner of means.

In fact, if the confident demeanor of the paddling warriors in the

canoes were destined to be justified, the big steamer was in parlous

state. Her vast bulk and sheer walls of steel did not daunt them.

They came on steadily against the rapid current, and spread out into a

crescent when within a few hundred yards of the ship. Then three men,

crouching in the bows of different canoes, produced rifles hitherto

invisible and began to shoot. The bullets ricochetted across the

ripples, and Courtenay saw that the savages did not understand the

sighting appliances. They were aiming point-blank at the vessel, in so

far as they could be said to aim at anything, and the low trajectory

caused the first straight shot to rebound from the surface of the water

and strike a plate amidships. The loud clang of the metal was hailed

by the Alaculofs with shouts of delight. Probably they had no fixed

idea of the distance the tiny projectiles would carry. Joey began to

bark furiously, and the Indians imitated him. The hammer-like blow of

the bullet, the defiance of the dog, and the curiously accurate yelping

of the men in the canoes, mixed in wild medley with the volleyed echoes

of the firing now rolled back from the opposing cliffs. In such wise

did the battle open. Courtenay, more amused than anxious, did not

silence the terrier, and Joey's barking speedily rose to a shrill and

breathless hysteria. Some savage, more skilled than his fellows,

reproduced this falsetto with marvelous exactness. There never was a

death struggle heralded by such grotesque humor; it might have been a

tragedy of marionettes, a Dutch concert on the verge of the pit.

The long-range firing was kept up for several minutes, much to

Courtenay's relief, as Suarez was certain that the Indians' stock of

cartridges did not amount to more than four hundred at the utmost. The

canoes crept gradually nearer, and bullets began to strike the ship

frequently. One glanced off a davit and shattered a couple of windows

in the chart-house. This incident aroused even greater enthusiasm than

the first blow of the attack. There was renewed activity among the

paddle wielders. Two canoes were not fifty yards from the most

southerly floating mine. Courtenay commenced to haul in the slack of

one among the half-dozen thin cords: he turned to tell Suarez to be

ready for the duty which had been entrusted to him, when his glance

happened to travel towards the mouth of the bay.




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024