"We can't, Ned," said Jack dismally; "there is no best to it. I only wish I knew what they were going to do with us. Only fancy, after us taking all that trouble to get away!"
The bewailings were brought to an end by a stalwart black clapping him on the shoulder and saying something as he pointed over the ridge.
"Ugh! you ugly, mop-headed Day and Martin dummy," cried Ned. "If I hadn't a better language than that I'd hold my tongue. No use to kick, Mr Jack; suppose we must go on."
Jack was already stepping forward, urged by another powerfully-built fellow, who showed his teeth and pricked him forward with the point of the spear he carried.
It was a blunt, clumsy weapon, the point being merely the wood of which it was formed, hardened by thrusting in the fire, but the hand which held it was powerful, and the prod received severe, though the skin was not pierced. Jack uttered no cry, neither did he shrink, but turned round so fiercely upon the black that the fellow started back.
"Well done, Mr Jack, sir," cried Ned excitedly; "that did me good. I like that, sir. Let 'em see that you're Briton to the backbone, and though they've tied me up again with these bits of cane, Britons never shall be slaves. Here, ugly: come and stand in front and I'll kick you."
It was waste of words, but the blacks understood that it was meant defiantly, and they lowered their spears and signed to their prisoners to go on.
"Oh yes," cried Ned proudly, "we'll go on. Can't help ourselves, can we, Mr Jack? But don't be down-hearted, sir. They haven't killed us, and perhaps after all they may take us where we want to go down to the shore."
But as they tramped on, with one of their captors leading the way, and the rest behind, keeping an eye upon the cane bonds which now held both prisoners' wrists behind, their way proved to be diagonally up the slope of the volcano, and the tramp was kept up for hours beneath the broiling heat of the sun, while it seemed to Jack that every now and then hot sulphurous puffs of wind escaped from the stony ground over which they passed. The trees grew rapidly fewer and less in size, till there were only scattered bushes, and higher still these were dwarfed into wiry grasses and tufts of a heather-like growth, with lichens and dried-up mosses.
"Try and hold up, Mr Jack sir, they must halt soon to eat and drink.
My word, if we weren't prisoners, I'd say what a view we get from up here. See anything of the yacht?"
"No, Ned; she's inside the reef, and we can't see that."
"No, sir, you're right. 'Britons never shall be slaves,' but all the same I feel just as if I was being driven to market. That's it, they're taking us somewhere to sell us, I know; wonder how many cocoanuts we shall fetch, or p'r'aps it'll be shells. Thirsty, sir?"
"I don't know, Ned, I haven't thought about it. I suppose I am, and hungry and very tired; but I've been thinking about whether we shall ever see the yacht again."
"Oh yes, sir. Never say die. Life's all ups and downs. Sir John ain't forsaking us, you may be sure, and any moment we may see him and a lot of our jolly Jack Tars coming round the corner, and the doctor with 'em, ready to give these black brutes a dose of leaden pills. Ah! and they'll have to take 'em too, whether they like 'em or no. Don't you be down."
"I'm not, Ned. I keep trying to think that it's all adventure and experience."
"That's it, sir. Do to talk about when we get back to old England."
Twice over, as the diagonal ascent grew steeper, the blacks halted for about half-an-hour, and the prisoners were glad to lie down in the shelter of one of the lava blocks with which the slope was strewn, the cool air which came from the sea being fresh and invigorating; and the second time Ned suddenly exclaimed--
"Not going to take us up to the top, are they, and pitch us into the fire?"
"Not likely, Ned," replied Jack; "but we little expected to make the ascent like this."
"With our hands tied behind us, sir."
"I believe they are going this way so as to avoid the forest, and as soon as we get a little farther round they will begin to descend on the other side."
Jack's idea proved to be correct, for upon reaching a spot where nothing but a friable slope of fine ashes kept them from the summit, the leader suddenly leaped down into a hollow which was scored into the mountain side, and began to descend, followed by the rest.
"Due west," said Jack thoughtfully. "Why, Ned, we shall reach the shore far from where we left the yacht."
"If it goes straight down, sir; but is it west?"
"Yes, we are going straight for the sun now, and this gash in the mountain grows deeper. Look."
"Yes, that's right, sir; but I do wish we could get to some water now.
It's a dry journey from here to the shore, and you're beginning to be done up."
"Yes, Ned," said Jack wearily; "I am beginning to be done up now."
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.
RUNNING THE REEF.
The whole of that journey down the rugged gash in the mountain side was a prolonged agony to Jack, but he fought like a hero to keep his feet, and at last, satisfied that he could not escape, the man who had surprised him and treated him as his own prize caught him by the shoulder as he was tottering down the descent, with the stones every here and there giving way beneath his feet, and about to fall heavily.
The next minute his numbed and swollen hands were set at liberty, so that he could better preserve his balance, and the first use he made of them was to point to Ned's bonds, with the result that the man's captor entered into a short colloquy with Jack's; and the savage fitted an arrow to his bow and took aim, half drawing the arrow to the head, while he jabbered away and scowled menacingly, showing his white teeth the while.
"What does he mean by that, Mr Jack? going to shoot me--a coward?"
"No, no; he means he will untie your hands, but that if you attempt to escape an arrow will go faster than you can run, and he will bring you down."
"And very kind of him too, sir. But I shan't run away without you, sir.
Here, undo 'em then, blackie."
He bent forward so as to raise his tied hands, and the black began to unfasten the cane.
"I always knew you were a big scholar, Mr Jack, sir," continued Ned, "but I didn't think you were up to this jibber-jabber.--Thankye, old chap. Nice state you've got my hands in though. Why, I don't believe the size gloves I should want are made. Look, Mr Jack, about four-and-twenty they'd take, wouldn't they? How's yours?"
"They ache horribly, Ned."
"Oh, mine don't. I shouldn't know I'd got any if I couldn't see 'em.
Plain enough though, ain't they?"
Ned had no time to say more, for his captor urged him on.
"Just like driving a donkey, sir, ain't it?--All right, blackie, I'll go."
The party descended as rapidly as they could till just after the great orange sun had descended over the rim of the sea, and then, as if perfectly familiar with the place, they turned suddenly off to the left, down a second ravine much steeper than the larger one they had left, and after going down about a quarter of a mile to where dwarf trees were beginning to grow thickly again, they stopped short in a natural shelter close by a rock pool, into which a clear thread of water trickled.
Jack's captor pointed to the pool, and the lad lay down and drank deeply, Ned following his example without orders, and upon being satisfied they rose, to find the men busily preparing a fire.--Then one of the party rubbed a couple of pieces of wood together till the friction produced sparks, which began to glow in the wood dust fanned by the fire-maker's breath, and soon after the fire was burning merrily.
Jack did not see it dug out, but a quantity of closely-packed green leaves were lying about, and a rough hollow was close at hand where it had evidently been buried--_it_ proving to be the hind-quarters of a small pig, which as the fire burned up well was put to roast, and soon began to send out a pleasant odour.
The prisoners had taken the place pointed out to them, and found that they were well guarded, Ned drawing Jack's attention to this fact.
"And that means, sir," he said, "that it's of no use to try and run unless they go sound off to sleep again as soon as they've had a feast.
We might perhaps steal off then, but not if we're watched. I don't want any more arrows in me, and I'm sure you feel the same. I say, sir, I hope they mean to ask us to dinner. Only fancy niggers dining at quality hours in black soots!"
"Don't talk about eating, Ned; the idea makes me feel sick."
"Fight it down then, sir. You must eat, or you can't try to get away, and if you can't try to get away, I can't."