Then in a fit of determination he flung up his arms, and in regular boyish fashion shouted--
"Clear the way, there. Here comes my ship full sail."
He cleared the gulf with a good foot to spare, and felt triumphant.
Each took his gun or rifle directly without a word of allusion to Jack's narrow escape, and with the doctor leading the way they began to climb the steep ascent in silence.
"I hope that fellow's shouting has not scared our birds," said the doctor after a time. "Quiet as you can, below there."
"They were so far off I don't think the birds could have heard him,"
replied Jack. "Perhaps the noise would not have gone out of the gully."
"Perhaps not," said the doctor. Then laconically: "Hurt?"
"Oh, not much," said Jack, smiling. "He did hit me a good bang though."
"Never mind, my lad; I like to see you bear it stoically. Shows me you're recovering tone. Phew! this is warm work. How much more of it is there?"
"Not half-way up yet," panted Jack.
"Take it coolly, men, or our hands will be all of a tremble, so that we can't shoot straight."
There was no need to advise an impossibility, for no one could have taken it coolly. The blocks of stone, the tangled creepers, and higher up the dense undergrowth, made it a slow, laborious task; but at last the huge trees of the upper slope were reached, and the work promised to be lighter.
The doctor made a sign, and they both sat down to rest for a few minutes, the men who came on smilingly following suit; but all at once a peculiarly hoarse cooing sound arose from not far away among the trees, and all the fatigue passed away as if by magic.
"Pigeons!" whispered the doctor excitedly. "Hark! more of them! They must be the big fruit birds, Jack, and we must have a pair or two of these. When you're ready we'll go on."
"I'm ready," whispered Jack.
"Then we'll go abreast. Don't you study me. Keep your eyes open, and the first moment you have a good chance you fire. Get one with each barrel if you can."
Jack nodded, and directly after they advanced among the trees, with Ned about a couple of yards behind, carrying a second gun for whichever needed it.
These were exciting moments, more exciting than they knew of, as they crept forward among the huge trunks, and gazing upward among the branches, expecting moment by moment to catch sight of the flock of great fruit-pigeons, whose cooing kept stopping and commencing again.
It had sounded to be so close that they felt puzzled, and wondered whether they had passed them, for the doctor argued that if they had taken fright the rustle of their wings would have been heard among the branches.
All at once Jack, who walked on the doctor's left, held his gun in his left hand only, and made a sign with his right.
His companion crept close to him, and the next moment a flock of enormous pigeons, which had been feeding on the fallen nuts of one of the biggest trees, rose with a tremendous rushing of wings, and four barrels were fired into them, with the result that three birds fell.
"Our dinner, Jack, and the men's too," cried the doctor; and the boy felt a chill of horror run through him, as from close behind there was a wild cry from Ned, followed by a shouting amongst the men a dozen yards below. Then _shot_--_shot_--_shot_ followed one another quickly, and Lenny cried--
"Down, gentlemen, down!"
The doctor dropped instinctively, and began to creep to Ned, who had fallen heavily, when he heard Lenny cry--
"Down, Mr Jack--down!" and he saw the lad standing motionless, staring with horror at the ground.
The next instant something whizzed by his ear and struck quivering in the tree-trunk behind. Then he dropped into shelter, and began rapidly to reload.
"Fall back on us, my lads," said the doctor sharply, "and don't fire unless you have a good chance. Keep well under cover."
"The blacks?" panted Jack.
The doctor nodded. "Is Ned--hurt much?"
"Can't tell yet, my lad. How are you, Ned--much hurt?"
"Oh, it hurts, sir, horrid," said the man faintly; "but I shouldn't mind that. It's feeling so sea-sick and swimming I mind. Let's go back to the yacht."
"Yes, of course; but you can't walk."
"But I will walk, sir; must walk. 'Tain't my leg, it's my arm," cried the man, who was sick with agony, but full of spirit. "Who's going to carry a fellow in a place like this?"
"Much hurt, mate?" said Lenny, who now crept to them on all fours.
"What's the good o' asking stupid questions, old 'un?" cried Ned petulantly. "Course I'm much hurt. Can't you see it's gone right into my arm? Why look at this--gone right through. Going to cut the arrow-head out, sir?"
"No," replied the doctor sharply. "Kneel, and be a man. I won't hurt you more than I can help."
"All right, sir. No use hollering," cried Ned cheerily.
"Look out there!" cried one of the sailors from below. "They're going to rush us!"
"Never mind me, sir," said Ned, letting himself sink back. "You three has to fight. Nasty cowardly beggars--shooting a man behind his back!
Let 'em have it, I say."
He had hardly spoken when the men below fired a little volley across the gully, and then there was a cheer.
"That's scut 'em to the right-about, sir. We've dropped two," cried one of the men, and they crept back under the dense cover to where Ned lay.
The doctor had seized his gun, but he laid it down again, and took out a keen-bladed knife.
"Thought you wasn't going to cut out the head, sir?" said Ned faintly.
"I am not," replied the doctor.
"Oh, don't you mind me, sir. I tell you I won't shout. You do what's right. I know it must come out; but I'd take it kindly, Mr Jack, sir, if you'd lay hold of my hand. Cheer a fellow up a bit. Go on, doctor; I'm game."
"That you are, my lad," said the doctor, and kneeling behind the sufferer he took hold of the long arrow, which had completely transfixed the fleshy part of the arm, and snapped it sharply in two on the side where it had entered, then in an instant he had drawn the head portion right out of the wound in the same way in which it was driven.
"That's the way, sir. Don't you be afraid to cut," said Ned sturdily, but with his eyes shut. "I'll bear it; but I didn't know you'd got a red-hot poker up here to dress the wound with.--What! have you got it out?"
"Yes. Take hold of these pieces, Lenny."
"Well, you have been quick, sir. My word, it was a stinger--just like as if twenty thousand wasps was at you. Eh! going to bind it up?"