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Chapter XII. An Unexpected Encounter—A Prisoner of War—We Lose a Comrade.

We stayed no time at the hut, but after giving it a parting cheer, continued our journey to the beach. We had reached within a short distance of the camp, when Smart, who was some distance ahead, suddenly came rushing back, exclaiming that there were a lot of savages about the tent and boat; but that he had not seen anything of Swabs and Smith. I ordered the rest of my party to wait where they were while I went forward to reconnoitre. Arrived at the edge of the bush which came close up to the tent, I parted the leaves and looked through. There a sight met my eyes which I will never forget to my dying day.

Scattered about the open space were about forty natives, of whom about half were women an children. Drawn up on the beach were two large canoes, while our boat, containing all the seal-skins, was floating some distance out in the bay, having evidently been launched by the natives and set adrift.

But my attention was next drawn to a group of men who were standing in a circle by themseles. An object in page 72 their midst, of which I could gain but an imperfect view, was, I doubted not, one of our two comrades. Was he alive or dead? and where was his companion?

There was clearly no time to be lost, so hurrying back to my party, I told them what I had seen, adding that if we were to save our comrades we must set about it at once, Luckily Harry and I had each our fowling-pieces, and Hunter was armed with the rifle.

Advancing cautiously to the edge of the bush, we prepared for an onslaught. Smart, Spanish Joe and Moloney were each armed with one of the hatchets or clubs we had brought from the cave.

“Harry and Hunter,” I whispered, “you reserve your fire till close upon them. I will fire now, and it may paralyse them for a time; immediately I have done so, all follow me.”

At this moment the small party of natives in the centre separated, and we saw but too clearly that our worst fears were realized. There lay Smith with his head completely smashed to a pulp; while some of the natives as they passed would deal him a blow with their hatchets; which were the only weapons we could observe in their possession.

Hardly had our eyes rested on our murdered shipmate, than I fired, and with a wild rush we were upon the wretches. They seemed quite stupid for a few moments, and then turned tail and rushed to their canoes. Women and children were forced on board, and in less time than it takes to relate, they were out of our reach—not, however, without leaving three of their companions either dead or nearly so behind them. We fired several parting shots, which took effect more than once; and then turned to the scene immediately around us. Our first consideration was to try and find what had become of Swabs. After a great deal of searching in the bush we page 73 discovered him concealed not far from the camp with a severe cut across the back of his head, and in a condition of insensibility. We carried him to the tent, which had not been disturbed, and proceeded to see if there was any life left in him. After bathing his head with water, and pouring a little down his throat, he began to show faint signs of vitality; after further attention, he at last heaved a deep sign, his eyes partly opened, and he faintly muttered some incoherent sentences.

In the meantime two of our party had carried poor Smith's body into the tent, and wrapped it up in an old sailcloth. On second thoughts we considered it better to remove it outside again, so that it might not catch Swabs' eye and tend to retard his return to full consciousness. When at last he was able to speak, it was only in broken sentences, and we made him lie quiet for the present. We gathered enough from him however to understand how the attack had been made.

From his broken remarks we learned that we had not been very long absent, when, feeling sleepy, he went under the shadow of the bushes to have a nap, leaving Smith sitting by the beach, and soon fell fast asleep. He was awakened by a loud cry, and the first thing he saw was Smith surrounded by natives, who were brandishing their tomahawks over his head. He rose and was hastening to his comrade's assistance, when he was observed by the savages, a number of whom at once rushed at him, where-upon he turned and fled into the bush, intending to try and find us. He had run but a few yards when his foot caught in a “lawyer” and he fell. Before he could rise again a native was upon him, and he remembered nothing further until he found himself lying in the tent. The natives no doubt had left him for dead.

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These were the particulars of the sad affair, which had robbed us of one of our little party, and very nearly of two. Besides which, our boat that had cost us so much trouble and toil, was gone, the natives having picked it up as they paddled out of the bay.

Our attention was next drawn to the three savages whom we had left for dead, one of whom at any rate began to show unmistakeable signs of vitality. He first rolled over and then sat up, looking about him with a vacant stare, as if unable to realize his position. When he had got this far we thought it time to take measures to secure him. On approaching him he plainly expected to be killed outright, for he began to yell and tried to rise and escape; but his leg being evidently broken or seriously hurt, he saw it was no use. We bound his arms behind his back so that he could not use them in any way; and then examined his leg. It had been disabled by a blow above the knee, but no bones were broken. I directed one of the men to bathe it with cold water, a task which went against his grain, for he was not particularly tender in his treatment; and kept shaking his fist at the native whenever he attempted to move.

The other two were quite dead, so we at once dug a hole some little distance in the bush and buried them. Poor Smith's body we reserved for a more christianlike burial.

It being by this time quite dark, we lit a fire and cooked some supper; after which we made Swabs as comfortable as possible for the night; and at the same time brought the wounded native into the tent, where we secured him in a sitting position. We then put out the fire and turned in, leaving one of our party to watch in case the natives should return and try to discover what had become of their companions. Being thoroughly tired out, we soon fell asleep. During the night the guard was relieved several times.

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Next morning the first thing considered was the burial of our murdered comrade. Two of the party proceeded to dig a deep grave behind the tent; while the rest of us wrapped him up as carefully as was possible with the limited means at our command. We then made a rough coffin for him, on the lid of which we cut his name and date of death. In the afternoon we placed him in the coffin and carried him to the grave. I repeated a short prayer over him as he was lowered, which if not eloquent was thoroughly and earnestly sincere; as were the fervent amens which the men uttered when I finished.

Our hearts felt easier and lighter when this sacred duty had been performed. On returning to the tent we found Swabs sitting up, very nearly himself again; with a little assistance he was able to walk about.