"a close shave, indeed," ned said, raising himself with difficulty from the ground. "another moment, and i think my ribs would have given in. it seemed as if all the blood in my body had rushed to my head."
"do you feel badly hurt?" tom asked, anxiously.
"no," ned said, feeling himself all over. "horribly bruised, but nothing broken. to think of our not seeing that monstrous boa!
"i don't think," he continued, "that i can walk any farther today. i feel shaken all over."
"then we will camp where we are," tom said cheerfully. "we have got a stag, and he will last us for some days, if necessary. there is plenty of fruit to be picked in the forest, and on this mountain side we are sure to be able to find water, within a short distance."
lighting a fire, the deer was soon cut up, and the lads prepared to spend a quiet day; which was all the more welcome inasmuch as, for the last three weeks, they had traveled without intermission. the next day ned declared himself well enough to proceed on his journey; but his friend persuaded him to stop for another day.
late in the evening ned exclaimed, "what is that, tom, behind that tree?"
tom seized his bow, and leaped to his feet.
"i see nothing," he said.
"it was either a native, or a gigantic monkey. i saw him, quite plainly, glide along behind the tree."
tom advanced cautiously, but on reaching the tree he found nothing.
"you are sure you were not mistaken?" he asked.
"quite certain," ned said. "we have seen enough of indians, by this time, to know them. we must be on the lookout, tonight. the natives on this side are not like those beyond the mountains. they have been so horribly ill treated, by the spaniards, that they must hate any white face; and would kill us without hesitation, if they got a chance. we shall have difficulty with the spaniards, when we fall into their hands; but they will at least be more reasonable than these savages."
all night they kept up their fire, and sat up by turns, on watch. several times they thought that they heard slight movements, among the fallen leaves and twigs; but these might have been caused by any prowling beast. once or twice they fancied that they detected forms, moving cautiously just beyond the range of the firelight; but they could not be certain that it was so.
just as morning was breaking, ned sprang to his feet.
"wake up, tom!" he exclaimed; "we are attacked;" and as he spoke, an arrow quivered in the tree just over his head.
they had already discussed whether it would be better to remain, if attacked, in the light of the fire, or to retreat into the shadow; and concluding that the eyes of the natives would be more accustomed to see in darkness than their own, they had determined to stay by the fire, throwing themselves down on their faces; and to keep the natives at bay beyond the circle of the light of the flames, till daylight. they had, in readiness, heaped a great pile of brushwood; and this they now threw upon the fire, making a huge pyramid of flame, which lit the wood around for a circle of sixty yards. as the light leaped up, ned discharged an arrow at a native, whom he saw within the circle of light; and a shrill cry proclaimed that it had reached its mark.
there was silence for a while in the dark forest and, each moment that passed, the daylight became stronger and stronger.
"in ten minutes we shall be able to move on," ned said; "and in the daylight, i think that the longer range of our bows will enable us to keep them off. the question is, how many of them are there?"
a very short time sufficed to show that the number of the savages was large; for shrill cries were heard, answering each other, in the circle around them; and numbers of black figures could be seen, hanging about the trees in the distance.
"i don't like the look of things, ned," tom said. "it is all very well. we may shoot a good many before they reach us, and in the open no doubt we might keep them off. but by taking advantage of the trees, they will be able to get within range of their weapons; and at short distances, they are just as effective as are our bows."
as soon as it was broad daylight, the lads started through the forest, keeping up a running fight with the natives.
"it is clear," tom said, "we cannot stand this much longer. we must take to a tree."
they were on the point of climbing, when ned exclaimed:
"listen! i can hear the sound of bells."
listening intently, they could make out the sound of little bells, such as are carried by horses or mules.
"it must be a train to one of the mines. if we can reach that, we shall be safe."
laying aside all further thought of fighting, the boys now ran, at headlong pace, in the direction of the sounds. the natives, who were far fleeter of foot, gained fast upon them; and the arrows were flying round them, and several had inflicted slight wounds, when they heard ahead of them the cry of:
"soldiers on guard. the natives are at hand. fire in the bushes."
the boys threw themselves upon their faces as, from the thickets ahead, a volley of musketry was heard.
"load again," was the order, in spanish. "these black rascals must be strong, indeed, to advance to attack us with so much noise."
crawling forward cautiously, ned exclaimed, in spanish:
"do not fire, senors. we are two spaniards who have been carried away from the settlements, and have for long been prisoners among the natives."
a cry of surprise was heard, and then the spaniard in command called them to advance, fearlessly. this they did. fortunately they had, long before, settled upon the story that they would tell, when they arrived among the spaniards. to have owned themselves englishmen, and as belonging to the dreaded buccaneers, would have been to ensure their imprisonment, if not execution. the imperfection of ned's spanish, and the fact that tom was quite ignorant of the language, rendered it difficult for them to pass as spaniards. but they thought that, by giving out that they had been carried away in childhood--tom at an earlier age than ned--their ignorance of the language would be accounted for.
it had been a struggle, with both of them, to decide upon telling an untruth. this is a point upon which differences of opinion must always arise. some will assert that under no circumstances can a falsehood be justified. others will say that to deceive an enemy in war, or to save life, deceit is justifiable, especially when that deceit injures no one. it was only after very great hesitation that the boys had overcome their natural instincts and teaching, and agreed to conceal their nationality under false colors ned, indeed, held out for a long time; but tom had cited many examples, from ancient and modern history, showing that people of all nations had, to deceive an enemy, adopted such a course; and that to throw away their lives, rather than tell a falsehood which could hurt no one, would be an act of folly. both, however, determined that, should it become necessary to keep up their character as spaniards by pretending to be true catholics, they would disclose the truth.
the first sight of the young men struck the captain of the spanish escort with astonishment. bronzed to the darkest brown by the sun of the plains and by the hardships they had undergone, dressed in the skins of animals, and carrying weapons altogether uncouth and savage to the spanish eye, he found it difficult to believe that these figures were those of his countrymen.
his first question, however, concerned the savages who had, as he supposed, attacked his escort. a few words from ned, however, explained the circumstances; and that the yells he had heard had been uttered by the indians pursuing them, and had no reference, whatever, to the convoy. this consisted of some two hundred mules, laden with provisions and implements on its way to the mines. guarded by a hundred soldiers were a large number of natives; who, fastened together as slaves, were on their way up to work for their cruel taskmasters.
when the curiosity of the captain concerning the natives was allayed, he asked ned where he and his comrade had sprung from. ned assured him that the story was a very long one; and that, at a convenient opportunity, he would enter into all details. in the first place he asked that civilized clothes might be given to them; for, as he said, they looked and felt, at present, rather as wild men of the woods than as subjects of the king of spain.
"you speak a very strange spanish," the captain said.
"i only wonder," ned replied, "that i speak in spanish at all. i was but a child, when i was carried away; and since that time i have scarcely spoken a word of my native tongue. when i reached the village to which my captors conveyed me, i found my companion here; who was, as i could see, a spaniard, but who must have been carried off as an infant, as he even then could speak no spanish, whatever. he has learned now from me a few words; but beyond that, is wholly ignorant."
"this is a strange story, indeed," the captain said. "where was it that your parents lived?"
"i know not the place," ned said. "but it was far to the rising sun, across on the other ocean."
as it seemed perfectly possible that the boys might have been carried away, as children, from the settlements near vera cruz, the captain accepted the story without the slightest doubt, and at once gave a warm welcome to the lads; who had, as he supposed, escaped after so many weary years of captivity.
"i am going up now," he said, "to the mines, and there must remain on duty for a fortnight, when i shall return in charge of treasure. it will be dangerous, indeed, for you to attempt to find your way to the coast without escort. therefore you had better come on with me, and return under my protection to the coast."
"we should be glad of a stay with you in the mountains," ned said. "we feel so ignorant of everything european that we should be glad to learn, from you, a little of the ways of our countrymen before we venture down among them. what is the nearest town on the coast?"
"arica," the captain said, "is the port from which we have come. it is distant a hundred and thirty miles from here, and we have had ten days' hard journeying through the forest."
for the next fortnight, the lads remained at the mines. these were worked by the spaniards entirely by slave labor nominal wages were, indeed, given to the unfortunates who labored there. but they were as much slaves as if they had been sold. the spaniards, indeed, treated the whole of the natives in the provinces occupied by them as creatures to be used mercilessly for labor, and as having no more feeling than the lower animals. the number of these unfortunates who perished in the mines, from hard work and cruel treatment, is beyond all calculation. but it may be said that, of the enormous treasures drawn by spain from her south american possessions, during the early days of her occupation, every doubloon was watered with blood.
the boys, who had for nearly six months lived among the indians, and had seen their many fine qualities, were horrified at the sights which they witnessed; and, several times, had the greatest difficulty to restrain their feelings of indignation and horror. they agreed, however, that it would be worse than useless to give vent to such opinions. it would only draw upon them the suspicion of the spaniards, and would set the authorities at the mine and the captain of the escort against them, and might prejudice the first report that would be sent down to arica, concerning them.
during the first few days of their stay, the boys acted their parts with much internal amusement. they pretended to be absolutely ignorant of civilized feeding, seized the meat raw and tore it with their fingers, sat upon the ground in preference to chairs, and in every way behaved as persons altogether ignorant of civilization. gradually, however, they permitted themselves to be taught, and delighted their entertainers by their docility and willingness. the spaniards were, indeed, somewhat surprised by the whiteness of their skin, where sheltered from the sun; and by the lightness of their hair and eyes. the boys could hear many comments upon them, and wondering remarks why they should be so much fairer than their countrymen in general. as, however, it was clearly useless to ask them, none of the spaniards thought of doing so.
the end of the fortnight arrived and, under the charge of the escort, the lads set out, together with twenty mules laden with silver, for the coast. they had no longer any fear of the attacks of the natives, or any trouble connected with their food supply; an ample stock of provisions being carried upon spare mules. they themselves were mounted, and greatly enjoyed the journey through the magnificent forests.
they were, indeed, a little uneasy as to the examination which they were sure to have to undergo at arica, and which was likely to be very much more severe and searching than that to which the good-natured captain had subjected them. they longed to ask him whether any news had been heard of the arrival of an english squadron upon the western coast. but it was impossible to do this, without giving rise to suspicion; and they had the consolation, at least, of having heard no single word concerning their countrymen uttered in the conversations at the mine. had captain francis drake and his companions arrived upon the coast, it was almost certain that their presence there would be the all-absorbing topic among the spanish colonists.
upon their arrival at arica, the boys were conducted at once to the governor--a stern and haughty-looking spaniard, who received the account given by the captain with an air of incredulity.
"this is a strange tale, indeed," he said, "and passes all probability. why should these children have been kidnapped on the eastern coast, and brought across the continent? it is more likely that they belong to this side. however, they could not be malefactors who have escaped into the forest, for their age forbids any idea of that kind. they must have been stolen. but i do not recall any such event as the carrying off of the sons of spaniards, here, for many years back.
"however, this can be inquired into when they learn to speak our language well. in the meantime, they had better be assigned quarters in the barracks. let them be instructed in military exercises, and in our language."
"and," said an ecclesiastic who was sitting at the table, "in our holy religion; for methinks, stolen away as they were in their youth, they can be no better than pagans."
tom had difficulty in repressing a desire to glance at ned, as these words were spoken. but the eyes of the governor were fixed so intently upon them, that he feared to exhibit any emotion, whatever. he resolved mentally, however, that his progress in spanish should be exceedingly small; and that many months should elapse, before he could possibly receive even rudimentary instruction in religious matters.
the life in the barracks at arica resembled, pretty closely, that which they had led so long on board ship. the soldiers received them with good feeling and camaraderie, and they were soon completely at home with them. they practiced drill, the use of the pike and rapier; taking very great care, in all these exercises, to betray exceeding clumsiness. with the bow, alone, they were able to show how expert they were.
indeed, the spaniards were, in no slight degree, astonished by the extraordinary power and accuracy of their shooting. this ned accounted for, to them, by the long practice that he had had among the indians; declaring that, among the tribes beyond the mountains, he was by no means an exceptionally good shot--which, indeed, was true enough at short distances, for at these the indians could shoot with marvellous dexterity.
"by san josef!" exclaimed one of the spanish officers, after watching the boys shooting at a target, two hundred yards distant, with their powerful bows; "it reminds me of the way that those accursed english archers draw their bows, and send their arrows singing through the air. in faith, too, these men, with their blue eyes and their light hair, remind one of these heretic dogs."
"who are these english?" ned asked, carelessly. "i have heard of no such tribe. do they live near the seacoast, or among the mountains?"
"they are no tribe, but a white people, like ourselves," the captain said. "of course, you will not have heard of them. and, fortunately, you are not likely ever to see them on this coast; but if you had remained where you were born, on the other side, you would have heard little else talked of than the doings of these pirates and scoundrels; who scour the seas, defy the authority of his sacred majesty, carry off our treasures under our noses, burn our towns, and keep the whole coast in an uproar."
"but," said ned, in assumed astonishment, "how is it that so great a monarch as the king of spain, and emperor of the indies, does not annihilate these ferocious sea robbers? surely so mighty a king could have no difficulty in overcoming them."
"they live in an island," the officer said, "and are half fish, half men."
"what monsters!" ned exclaimed. "half fish and half men! how then do they walk?"
"not really; but in their habits. they are born sailors, and are so ferocious and bloodthirsty that, at sea, they overcome even the soldiers of spain; who are known," he said, drawing himself up, "to be the bravest in the world. on land, however, we should teach them a very different lesson; but on the sea it must be owned that, somehow, we are less valiant than on shore."
every day a priest came down to the barracks, and for an hour endeavored to instill the elements of his religion into the minds of the now civilized wild men. ned, although progressing rapidly in other branches of his spanish education, appeared abnormally dull to the explanations of the good father; while tom's small stock of spanish was quite insufficient to enable him to comprehend more than a word, here and there.
so matters might have remained, for months, had not an event occurred which disclosed the true nationality of the lads. one day the ordinarily placid blue sky was over-clouded. the wind rose rapidly and, in a few hours, a tremendous storm was blowing on the coast. most of the vessels in the harbor succeeded in running into shelter. but, later in the day, a cry arose that a ship had just rounded the point of the bay, and that she would not be able to make the port. the whole population speedily gathered upon the mole, and the vessel, a small one employed in the coasting trade, was seen struggling with the waves, which were rapidly bearing her towards a reef, lying a quarter of a mile from the shore.
the sea was, at this time, running with tremendous force. the wind was howling in a fierce gale, and when the vessel struck upon the rocks, and her masts at once went by the board, all hope of safety for the crew appeared at an end.
"cannot a boat be launched," said ned to the soldiers standing round, "to effect the rescue of these poor fellows in that wreck?"
"impossible!" they all said. "no boat could live in that sea."
after chatting for a time, tom and ned drew a little apart from the rest of the crowd, and watched the ill-fated vessel.
"it is a rough sea, certainly," ned said; "but it is all nonsense to say that a boat could not live. come along, tom. let us push that shallop down. there is a sheltered spot behind that rock where we may launch her, and methinks that our arms can row her out to yonder ship."
throwing off their doublets, the young men put their shoulders to the boat, and soon forced it into the water. then, taking their seats and putting out the oars, they rowed round the corner of the sheltering rock, and breasted the sea which was rolling in. a cry of astonishment broke from the crowd on the mole as the boat made its appearance, and the astonishment was heightened when it was declared, by the soldiers, that the two men on board were the wild men of the wood, as they were familiarly called among themselves.
it was a long struggle before the boys reached the wreck, and it needed all their strength and seamanship to avoid being swamped by the tremendous seas. at last, however, they neared it and, catching a line thrown to them by the sailors, brought the boat up under the lee of the ship; and as the captain, the four men who composed his crew, and a passenger, leaped one by one from the ship into the sea, they dragged them on board the boat, and then turned her head to shore.
