The Cliff ClimbersA Sequel to "The Plant Hunters"

By Captain Mayne Reid________________________________________________________________________The book begins with two young brothers and an Indian guide, in a valleyin the Himalayas, into which they had ascended with some difficulty inthe preceding book - "The Plant Hunters". 

Unfortunately they find they cannot get out at the top of the valley, and they cannot go back the way they came. So they are stuck. 

They try various ingenious ideas for getting out, each of which appearsas though it would work, but in the end does not, usually in a quiteentertaining way. Eventually they do think of a way, which I will notdivulge here, and they get out, but it had been a long nerve-rackingperiod before their final release. 

The copy of the book I worked from looked at first sight as though ithad been beautifully printed. But this turned out to be a delusion, forthe type-setting had been truly awful. It does seem sad that an author, a well-known one at the time, could take the trouble to write a goodbook, that he should use a good publisher, and a good illustrator, agood book-binder, only to have the whole thing let down by very poortype-setting. And that goes on down to proof-reading, too, for thepublisher should have checked all this as well. NH________________________________________________________________________

THE CLIFF CLIMBERSA SEQUEL TO "THE PLANT HUNTERS"

BY CAPTAIN MAYNE REID

CHAPTER ONE. 

THE HIMALAYAS. 

Who has not heard of the Himalayas--those Titanic masses of mountainsthat interpose themselves between the hot plains of India and the coldtable-lands of Thibet--a worthy barrier between the two greatest empiresin the world, the Mogul and the Celestial? The veriest tyro ingeography can tell you that they are the tallest mountains on thesurface of the earth; that their summits--a half-dozen of them atleast--surmount the sea-level by more than five miles of perpendicularheight; that more than thirty of them rise above twenty thousand feet, and carry upon their tops the eternal snow!

The more skilled geographer, or _geognosist_, could communicate hundredsof other interesting facts in relation to these majestic mountains; vastvolumes might be filled with most attractive details of them--their_fauna_, their _sylva_, and their _flora_. But here, my reader, we haveonly space to speak of a few of the more salient points, that may enableyou to form some idea of the Titanic grandeur of these mighty masses ofsnow-crowned rock, which, towering aloft, frown or smile, as the casemay be, on our grand empire of Ind. 

It is the language of writers to call the Himalayas a "chain ofmountains. " Spanish geographers would call them a "sierra" (saw)--aphrase which they have applied to the Andes of America. Either term isinappropriate, when speaking of the Himalayas: for the vast tractoccupied by these mountains--over 200, 000 square miles, or three timesthe size of Great Britain--in shape bears no resemblance to a chain. Its length is only six or seven times greater than its breadth--theformer being about a thousand miles, while the latter in many placesextends through two degrees of the earth's latitude. 

Moreover, from the western termination of the Himalayas, in the countryof Cabul, to their eastern declension near the banks of theBurrampooter, there is no continuity that would entitle them to theappellation of a "chain of mountains. " Between these two points theyare cut transversely--and in many places--by stupendous valleys, thatform the channels of great rivers, which, instead of running east andwest, as the mountains themselves were supposed to trend, have theircourses in the transverse direction--often flowing due north or south. 

It is true that, to a traveller approaching the Himalayas from any partof the great plain of India, these mountains present the appearance of asingle range, stretching continuously along the horizon from east towest. This, however, is a mere optical illusion; and, instead of onerange, the Himalayas may be regarded as a _congeries_ of mountainridges, covering a superficies of 200, 000 square miles, and running inas many different directions as there are points in the compass. 

Within the circumference of this vast mountain tract there is greatvariety of climate, soil, and productions. Among the lower hills--thosecontiguous to the plains of India--as well as in some of the moreprofound valleys of the interior--the flora is of a tropical orsubtropical character. The palm, the tree fern, and bamboo hereflourish in free luxuriance. Higher up appears the vegetation of thetemperate zone, represented by forests of gigantic oaks of variousspecies, by sycamores, pines, walnut, and chestnut trees. Still higherare the rhododendrons, the birches, and heaths; succeeded by a region ofherbaceous vegetation--by slopes, and even table-plains, covered withrich grasses. Stretching onward and upward to the line of the eternalsnow, there are encountered the _Cryptogamia_--the lichens and mosses ofAlpine growth--just as they are found within the limits of the polarcircle; so that the traveller, who passes from the plains of Indiatowards the high ridges of the Himalayas, or who climbs out of one ofthe deeper valleys up to some snow-clad summit that surmounts it, mayexperience within a journey of a few hours' duration every degree ofclimate, and observe a representative of every species of vegetationknown upon the face of the earth!

The Himalayas are not uninhabited. On the contrary, one considerablekingdom (Nepaul), with many petty states and communities (as Bhotan, Sikhim, Gurwhal, Kumaon, and the famed Cashmere), are found within theirboundaries--some enjoying a sort of political independence, but most ofthem living under the protection either of the Anglo-Indian empire, onthe one side, or that of China upon the other. The inhabitants of theseseveral states are of mixed races, and very different from the people ofHindostan. Towards the east--in Bhotan and Sikhim--they are chiefly ofthe Mongolian stock, in customs and manners resembling the people ofThibet, and, like them, practising the religion of the Lamas. In thewestern Himalayas there is an admixture of Ghoorka mountaineers, Hindoosfrom the south, Sikhs from Lahore, and Mahometans from the old empire ofthe Moguls; and here, also, are to be found, in full profession, thethree great representative religions of Asia--Mahometan, Buddhist, andBrahmin. 

The population, however, is exceedingly small compared with the surfaceover which it is distributed; and there are many tracts in the Himalayanhills, thousands of square miles in extent, where no human beingdwells--where no chimney sends up its smoke. Indeed, there are vasttracts, especially among the high snow-covered summits, that have eithernever been explored, or only very rarely, by the adventurous hunter. Others there are quite inaccessible; and it is needless to say, that thehighest peaks--such as Chumulari, Kinchinjunga, Donkia, Dawalghisi, andthe like--are far beyond the reach of even the most daring climber. Perhaps no one has ever ascended to the height of five miles above thelevel of the sea; and it is a question whether at that elevation a humanbeing could exist. At such a height it is probable that animal lifewould become extinct, by reason either of the extreme cold or the rarityof the atmosphere. 

Though the Himalaya mountains have been known from the earliest historictimes--for they are the _Imaus_ and _Emodus_ of the ancient writers--itis only within the present century that we in Europe have obtained anydefinite knowledge of them. The Portuguese and Dutch--the firstEuropean colonists of India--have told us very little about them; andeven our own Anglo-Indian writers were long silent upon this interestingtheme. Exaggerated accounts of the hostility and cruelty of theHimalayan highlanders--more especially the Ghoorkas--prevented privateexplorations; and with the exception of some half-dozen books, most ofthem referring to the western section of the Himalayas, andcomparatively valueless, from the want of scientific knowledge on thepart of their authors, this vast tract has remained almost a _terraincognita_ up to the present time. 

Of late, however, we have obtained a better acquaintance with thisinteresting portion of the earth's surface. The botanist, lured thitherby its magnificent _flora_, has opened to us a new world of vegetation. Royle and Hooker have ably achieved this task. The zoologist, equallyattracted by its varied _fauna_, has made us acquainted with new formsof animal life. Hodgson and Wallich are the historians in thisdepartment. Scarcely less are we indebted to the sportsman and hunter--to Markham, Dunlop, and Wilson the "mountaineer. "

But in addition to these names, that have become famous through thepublished reports of their explorations, there are others that stillremain unrecorded. The _plant-hunter_--the humble but usefulcommissioner of the enterprising nurseryman--has found his way into theHimalayas; has penetrated their most remote gorges; has climbed theirsteepest declivities; and wandered along the limit of their eternalsnow. In search of new forms of leaf and flower, he has forded theturbid stream, braved the roaring torrent, dared the dangerousavalanche, and crossed the dread crevasse of the glistening glacier; andthough no printed book may record his adventurous experience, not theless has he contributed to our knowledge of this great mountain world. His lessons may be read on the parterre, in the flowers of the purplemagnolia, the deodar, the rhododendron. They may be found in thegreenhouse, in the eccentric blossoms of the orchis, and curious form ofthe screw-pine--in the garden, in many a valuable root and fruit, destined ere long to become favourites of the dessert-table. It is oursto chronicle the story of an humble expedition of this kind--theadventures of a young plant-hunter, the _employe_ of an enterprising"seedsman" well-known in the world's metropolis. 

CHAPTER TWO. 

A VIEW FROM CHUMULARI. 

Our scene lies in the very heart of the Himalayas--in that district ofthem least explored by English travellers, though not the most distantfrom the Anglo-Indian capital, Calcutta. Almost due north of this city, and in that portion of the Himalayan ranges embraced by the great bendof the Burrampooter, may be found the spot upon which our interest is tobe fixed. Literally may it be termed a spot, when compared insuperficies with the vast extent of wilderness that surrounds it--awilderness of bleak, barren ridges, of glistening glaciers, of snow-cladsummits, soaring one above another, or piled incongruously together likecumuli in the sky. 

In the midst of this chaos of rock, ice, and snow, Chumulari raises hismajestic summit, crowned and robed in white, as becomes his sacredcharacter. Around are other forms, his acolytes and attendants, less instature, but mighty mountains nevertheless, and, like him, wearing thevestment of everlasting purity. 

Could you stand upon the top of Chumulari, you would have under youreye, and thousands of feet below your feet, the scene of our narrative--the arena in which its various incidents were enacted. Not so unlike anamphitheatre would that scene appear--only differing from one, in thesmall number of the _dramatis persona_, and the entire absence ofspectators. 

From the top of Chumulari, looking down among the foot hills of thismajestic mountain, you might behold a valley of a singular character--sosingular as at once to fix your attention. You would note that it is ofa regular oval shape; and that instead of being bounded by slopingdeclivities, it is girt by an almost vertical cliff that appears to becontinuous all around it. This cliff of dark granitic rock you mightguess with your eye to rise several hundred feet sheer from the bottomof the valley. If it were in the season of summer, you might furtherobserve, that receding from its brow a dark-coloured declivity of themountain rises still higher, terminating all around in peaks andridges--which, being above the snow-line are continually covered withthe pale white mantle that has fallen upon them from the heavens. 

These details would be taken in at the first glance; and then your eyewould wander into the valley below, and rest there--fixed by thesingularity of the scene, and charmed by its soft loveliness--sostrongly contrasting with the rude surroundings on which you had beenhitherto gazing. 

The form of the valley would suggest the existence of the grandelliptical crater of some extinct volcano. But instead of the blacksulphuric _scoria_, that you might expect to see strewed over its base, you behold a verdant landscape of smiling loveliness, park-like plainsinterposed with groves and copses, here and there a mound of rock-work, as if piled artificially and for ornament. Around the cliffs appears abelt of forest of darker green; and occupying the centre a limpid lake, on whose silver surface at a certain hour of the day you might seereflected part of the snow-crowned summit on which you are standing--thecone of Chumulari itself. 

With a good glass you might distinguish quadrupeds of several _species_straying over the verdant pastures; birds of many kinds upon the wing, and others disporting themselves upon the surface of the lake. 

You would be tempted to look for a grand mansion. You would send yourglance in every direction, expecting to see chimneys and turretsovertopping the trees; but in this you would be disappointed. 

On one side of the valley, near to the base of its bounding cliff, youmight see a white vapour ascending from the surface of the earth. Itwould be an error to believe it smoke. It is not that--only the _rime_rising over a hot-spring bubbling out from the rocks and forming thelittle rivulet, that, like a silver string, connects it with the lake. 

Charmed with the view of this lovely valley, you would desire to visitit. You would descend the long slope of Chumulari, and stragglingthrough the labyrinth of rugged foot hills that surround it, you wouldreach the brow of the bounding precipice; but there you must come to ahalt. No path leads downward; and if you are still determined to setfoot on the shores of that smiling lake, you will have to make thedescent of the cliffs by means of a rope or rope-ladder several hundredfeet in length. 

With comrades to help you, you may accomplish this; but once in thevalley, you can only get out of it by remounting your rope-ladder: foryou will find no other means of exit. 

At one end of the valley you may perceive a gap in the cliffs; and fancythat through this you may make your way out to the side of the mountain. The gap may be easily reached, by going up a gentle acclivity; buthaving passed through it, you will discover that it only guides you intoa gorge, like the valley itself, bounded on both sides by precipitouscliff's. This gorge is half filled by a glacier; on the surface ofwhich you may pass for a certain distance downward. At the end of thatdescent you will find the glacier cut by a deep crevasse, a hundred feetin depth and a hundred in width. Without bridging the crevasse, you cango no further; and if you did succeed in bridging it, further down youwould find others deeper and wider, over which it would be impossiblefor you to pass. 

Return then, and examine the singular valley into which you have madeyour way. You will find there trees of many kinds, quadrupeds of manykinds, birds of many kinds, and insects of many kinds--you will findevery form of animal life, except that of the human being. If you findnot man, however, you may discover traces of him. Close to thehot-spring, and forming a sort of "lean-to" against the cliff, you mayobserve a rude hut built with blocks of stone, and plastered with mudfrom the bed of the rivulet. Enter it. You will find it empty, cold, untenanted by living thing. No furniture. Stone couches covered withsedge and grass, upon which men may have slept or lain; and two or threeblocks of granite upon which they may have sat. That is all. Somepieces of skin hanging around the walls, and the bones of animalsstrewed over the ground outside, give a clue to the kind of food uponwhich the inhabitants of the hut may have subsisted. Hunters they musthave been. That will be your natural conjecture. 

But how did they get into this valley, and how got they out of it? Ofcourse, like yourself, they descended into it, and then ascended outagain, by means of a rope-ladder. 

That would be the explanation at which you would arrive; and it would bea satisfactory one, but for a circumstance that just now comes underyour observation. 

Scanning the _facade_ of the cliff, your eye is arrested by a singularappearance. You perceive a serried line, or rather a series of serriedlines, running from the base in a vertical direction. On drawing nearerto these curious objects, you discover them to be ladders--the lowestset upon the earth, and reaching to a ledge, upon which the second isrested; this one extending to a second ledge, on which the third ladderfinds support; and so on throughout a whole series of six. 

At first sight, it would appear to you as if the _ci-devant_ denizens ofthe hut had made their exodus from the valley by means of these ladders;and such would be the natural conviction, but for a circumstance thatforbids belief in this mode of exit: _the ladders do not continue to thetop of the cliff_! A long space, which would require two or three moresuch ladders to span it, still intervenes between the top of the highestand the brow of the precipice; and this could not have been scaledwithout additional ladders. Where are they? It is scarcely probablethey had been drawn up; and had they fallen back into the valley, theywould still be there. There are none upon the ground. 

But these conjectures do not require to be continued. A shortexamination of the cliff suffices to convince you that the design ofscaling it by ladders could not have succeeded. The ledge against whichrests the top of the highest must have been found too narrow to supportanother; or rather, the rocks above and projecting over would render itimpossible to place a ladder upon this ledge. It is evident that thescheme had been tried and abandoned. 

The very character of the attempt proves that they who had made it musthave been placed in a desperate situation--imprisoned within thatcliff-girt valley, with no means of escaping from it, except such asthey themselves might devise. 

Moreover, after a complete exploration of the place, you can find noevidence that they ever did escape from their strange prison; and yourthoughts can only shape themselves into conjectures, as to who they werethat had wandered into this out-of-the-way corner of the world; how theygot into, and how out of it; and, finally, whether they ever succeededin getting out at all. Your conjectures will come to an end, when youhave read the history of the _Cliff-climbers_. 

CHAPTER THREE. 

THE PLANT-HUNTER AND HIS COMPANIONS. 

Karl Linden, a young German student, who had taken part in therevolutionary struggles of 1848, had by the act of banishment sought anasylum in London. Like most refugees, he was without means; but, instead of giving himself up to idle habits, he had sought and obtainedemployment in one of those magnificent "nurseries" which are to be metwith in the suburbs of the world's metropolis. His botanical knowledgesoon attracted the attention of his employer, the proprietor of thenursery--one of those enterprising and spirited men who, instead ofcontenting themselves with merely cultivating the trees andflowering-plants already introduced into our gardens and greenhouses, expend large sums of money in sending emissaries to all parts of theearth, to discover and bring home other rare and beautiful kinds. 

These emissaries--botanical collectors, or "plant-hunters, " as they maybe called--in the pursuit of their calling, have explored, and are stillengaged in exploring, the wildest and most remote countries of theglobe--such as the deep, dark forests upon the Amazon, the Orinoco, andthe Oregon in America; the hot equatorial regions of Africa; thetropical jungles of India; the rich woods of the Oriental islands; and, in short, wherever there is a prospect of discovering and obtaining newfloral or sylvan beauties. 

The exploration of the Sikhim Himalaya by the accomplished botanist, Hooker--recorded in a book of travels not inferior to that of the greatHumboldt--had drawn attention to the rich and varied _flora_ of thesemountains; and in consequence of this, the enterprising "seedsman" whohad given Karl Linden temporary employment in his garden, promoted himto a higher and more agreeable field of labour, by sending him as a"plant-hunter" to the Thibetan Himalayas. 

Accompanied by his brother, Caspar, the young botanist proceeded toCalcutta; and, after a short residence there, he set out for theHimalayas--taking a direction almost due north from the city of theGanges. 

He had provided himself with a guide, in the person of a celebratedHindoo hunter or "shikaree, " called Ossaroo; and this individual was thesole attendant and companion of the two brothers--with the exception ofa large dog, of the boar-hound species, which had been brought with themfrom Europe, and that answered to the name of Fritz. 

The young botanist had come to India furnished with a letter ofintroduction to the manager of the Botanical Garden of Calcutta--anestablishment of world-wide renown. There he had been hospitablyreceived on his arrival in the Oriental city; and during his sojourn hehad spent much of his time within its boundaries. Moreover, theauthorities of the place, interested in his expedition, had given himall the information in their power as to the route he intendedpursuing--though that was not much: for the portion of the Himalayas hewas about to explore was at that time a _terra incognita_ toEnglishmen--even in the city of Calcutta!

It is not necessary here to detail the many adventures that befel ourplant-hunter and his party, during the progress of their journey towardsthe Himalayas, and after they had entered within the grand gorges ofthese mountains. Suffice it to say, that in pursuit of a beautifullittle animal--a "musk-deer"--they had gone up a gully filled by one ofthose grand glaciers so common in the higher Himalayas; that the pursuithad led them far up the ravine, and afterwards conducted them into asingular crater-like valley--the one already described; that once inthis valley, they could find no way out of it, but by the ravine throughwhich they had entered; and that on returning to make their exit, theydiscovered to their great consternation that a crevasse in the glacier, over which they had passed, had opened during their absence, and to suchan extent as to render their exit impossible!

They had endeavoured to span this crevasse; and had spent much time inmaking a bridge of pine-trees for the purpose. They had succeeded atlength in getting across the chasm--but only to find others in theglacier below, which no ingenuity could enable them to get over. 

They were compelled to abandon the idea, and return again to the valley;which, though lovely to the eye, had now become hateful to theirthoughts: since they knew it to be their _prison_. 

During their residence in the place, many adventures befel them withwild animals of various kinds. There chanced to be a small herd of"yaks, " or grunting oxen, in the valley; and these formed for a time thestaple article of their food. Caspar, who, though younger than Karl, was the more skilled hunter of the two, had a very narrow escape fromthe old yak bull; though he succeeded at length in killing the dangerousanimal. Ossaroo was very near being eaten up by a pack of wild dogs--every one of which he afterwards succeeded in killing; and Ossaroo wasalso in danger of being swallowed up by an enemy of a very differentkind--that is by a _quicksand_, into which he had got his legs whileengaged in taking fish out of a net!

Karl was not without _his_ hair-breadth "'scape"--having been chased bya bear along a ledge of the cliff, from which he was compelled to make amost perilous descent. The bear itself took refuge in a cave, where itwas afterwards pursued and killed, by all three acting in concert, materially assisted by the dog Fritz. They had incurred great risk inthis chase of the bear: for although they had succeeded in destroyingthe formidable animal they lost themselves in the great labyrinthinecavern, and were only able to find their way out by making a fire withthe stocks of their guns, and rendering the bear's-grease available forcandles--which fortunately enabled them to extricate themselves. 

During the pursuit of the bear, and their subsequent endeavours to findtheir way out, our adventurers had been struck by the enormousdimensions of the cavern in which the animal had taken refuge; and inthe hope that some of its great galleries might lead out through themountain, and offer them a way of escape from the valley, they had madetorches, and explored it from end to end. It was all to no purpose; andbecoming satisfied that there was no exit by way of the cavern, they hadat length desisted from the search. 

From this point shall we continue, in more circumstantial detail, thehistory of their attempts to escape from their mountain prison; whichthey were now convinced could only be done by _climbing the cliff_ thatencircled it. 

The Cliff Climbers--by Captain Mayne Reid

CHAPTER FOUR. 

HOME TO THE HUT. 

Emerging from the cave after their fruitless exploration, all three--Karl, Caspar, and Ossaroo--sat down upon the rocks in front of thecliff, and for some time remained silent. The looks of all betokened adeep and hopeless despair. The same thought was passing in their minds. A painful thought it was--that they were completely cut off from allcommunication with the world, and might never again look on human faces, save their own!

Caspar was the first to give expression to this gloomy foreboding. 

"Oh, brother!" groaned he, addressing himself to Karl, who sat nearestto him, "oh! it is an awful fate! Here must we live, here must we die, far away from home, far away from the world--alone--alone!"

"No, " replied Karl, deeply moved by the distress of his brother, "no, Caspar, not alone--God is with us. Let Him be our world. "

However Caspar in his conscience might have acknowledged the justice ofthe admonition, it failed to cheer him. Indeed, he could not helpperceiving, that Karl had uttered the speech half doubtingly, and withthe design of affording consolation. Moreover, the effort which Karlwas making to look hopeful and cheerful was evidently constrained; andonly the more convinced his companions that neither hope nor joy was inhis breast. 

To Karl's consolatory words his brother made no rejoinder. Ossaroo, however, gave vent to his thoughts by an ambiguous shake of the head, and a brief speech characteristic of that belief in fatalism peculiar tohis race. 

"Ah, sahibs, " said he, addressing himself to both, "if the Great Sahibin the sky will we go out from here, we go--if He no will, we no go--nivvamore. "

Ossaroo's speech, however compatible with a true faith, did notcontribute much towards cheering the spirits of the party; and foranother long interval all remained silent. 

Caspar and Ossaroo appeared completely prostrated by the newdisappointment. Karl, on the other hand, seemed less disposed to viewthings despairingly; and as he sate, was evidently engaged in activethought. 

After awhile his companions observed this; though neither made anyattempt to rouse him from his reverie. They guessed, that, whatever waspassing in his mind would soon be communicated to them. 

They were right in this conjecture: for in a few minutes Karl terminatedthe silence by addressing them. 

"Come!" said he, speaking in a tone of encouragement, "we are wrong inso soon yielding to despair. Let us not give up, till we are beaten atall points. I have told you what my object was, when I first mountedupon that ledge, and discovered the cave and its surly occupant, thebear. I thought then, that, if we could find a series of ledges oneabove another, and sufficiently near each other, we might plant laddersupon them, and so reach the top. You see that there is such asuccession of ledges--just before your faces there. Unfortunately thereis one of the spaces high up yonder--where the cliff is darkest--thatcannot be less than sixty or seventy feet in width. I have ascertainedthat by comparing it with the height from the ground to the cave--whichI had just finished measuring when I met the bear. It would beimpossible for us to make a ladder that length--or even to hoist it upthere if made--so that all thought of scaling the cliff at this pointmust be given up. "

"Perhaps, " interposed Caspar, catching at Karl's idea, "there may besome other part of the precipice where the ledges are nearer to eachother? Did you examine it all around?"

"No. I had got no further than this place, when I met Master Bruin;and, as you know, our adventures with him and our exploration of thecave have taken up our time ever since, and, indeed, driven the designof the ladders quite out of my head. Now, however, we may return to it;and our next move will be to go all round, and see whether a betterplace may not be discovered. To-night it is too late. It alreadybegins to darken; and we must have clear daylight for such a purpose. Let us home to our hut, and have some supper and then go to rest--havingfirst prayed to Him for success. We may rise in better spirits, andcontinue our examination in the morning. "

To this proposal there was no objection on the part of either Caspar orOssaroo. On the contrary, the mention of supper--both being veryhungry--had caused them to start to their feet with remarkable alacrity;and Karl, taking the lead, they followed him, Fritz in turn followingthem. 

On arriving at their hut, supper was cooked and eaten, with that zestwhich hunger always gives, even to the coarsest viands; and, havingcarried out the remaining part of the programme which Karl hadsuggested--that is, the offering up a prayer for success on the morrow--the trio sought their grass-covered couches with a feeling of renewedhopefulness. 

CHAPTER FIVE. 

A MIDNIGHT INTRUDER. 

They had been asleep several hours, when all three were suddenlyawakened by the barking of Fritz. During night hours the faithfulcreature stayed habitually within the hut--where he also had his bed ofdry grass. On hearing any unusual noise without, he would rush forthand prowl about for awhile; and, after satisfying himself that there wasno enemy in the neighbourhood, would return quietly to his lair. 

Fritz was far from being a noisy dog. He had seen too much service, andgathered too much wisdom, to waste his breath in idle barking; and itwas only upon grand and important occasions that he condescended to givetongue. Then, however, his bark--or bay, it should rather be termed--was terrific. 

On the occasion in question--which happened just about the hour ofmidnight--the three sleepers were suddenly awakened by his expansive"yowl, " that filled the whole valley, and reverberating from the cliffs, appeared continuous. The dog, after uttering this warning note, hadrushed out of the hut--which had no door to it--and it was from someplace down near the lake that his barking appeared to proceed. 

"What can it be?" was the prompt and _very_ natural inquiry of the threeindividuals, whom Fritz had so abruptly awakened from their slumbers. 

"Something Fritz is frightened at, " said Caspar, who knew the dog'snature better than either of the others. "He don't bark that way at anysort of game that he knows he can conquer. It's some animal that's amatch for him, I warrant. If the old yak bull were still alive, Ishould say it was he. "

"There may be tigers in this valley; I never thought of that, " rejoinedKarl. "Now that I do think of it, " continued he, drawing upon thereminiscences of his zoological reading, "it is quite probable. Peoplebelieve the tiger to be exclusively an inhabitant of tropical orsubtropical regions. That is an error. On this continent (the speakerwas in Asia) the royal Bengal tiger ranges at least as far north as thelatitude of London. I know he is found on the Amoor as high as thefiftieth degree. "

"Mercy on us!" broke in Caspar; "it may be a tiger, and we have neverthought of having a door to our hut! If it should be one--"

Here the hypothetic speech of Caspar was abruptly brought to aconclusion, by a singular noise from without--which was heard minglingin chorus with the baying of Fritz. 

The noise in question bore some resemblance to the sound of a trumpet, only sharper and more treble in its character. It was in effect morelike the squeak of a _penny trumpet_ than the real article; and yet, withal, there was something terrifying in the sound. 

It must have terrified Fritz: for the moment after it was heard, the dogcame rushing back into the hut, as if pursued by a legion of hornedbulls; and, though he kept up his angry baying, he appeared altogetherdisinclined to venture out again. 

Just then, the singular noise was heard outside the door--somethingbetween a shriek and a whistle--and this time with a far more terrifyingeffect: since, whatever produced it--bird, beast, or man--was evidentlynear, and still approaching nearer. 

Of the three individuals within the hut, only one had ever before hearda sound exactly similar to that. Ossaroo was the one. The old shikareerecognised the noise the moment it reached his ears, and knew perfectlywell the sort of instrument that must have been producing it; but he washindered for a time from proclaiming his knowledge, by surprise, as wellas a strong feeling of terror at hearing such a sound in such a place. 

"By de wheels ob Juggernaut car!" he gasped out. "Can't be--can't be;no possible him be here. "

"Who? What?" demanded Karl and Caspar, in a breath. 

"See, sahibs! it him--it him!" hurriedly rejoined the Hindoo, in a sortof shrieking whisper. "We all perish--it him--it him--de god--demighty--de terrible--"

There was no light within the hovel, except a faint glimmer from themoon shining brightly enough outside; but it did not require any lightto tell that the shikaree was frightened pretty nearly out of hissenses. His companions could discover by his voice that he had suddenlychanged position, and was retreating backward to that corner of the hutfurthest from the doorway. At the same time his words reached them inwhispers, cautioning them to lie close and keep silent. 

Both, without knowing what the danger was, of course obeyed injunctionsthus emphatically delivered; and remained sitting up on their coucheswithout uttering a word. Ossaroo, after having delivered his cautioningspeeches, kept equally silent. 

Once more the strange sound fell upon their ears--this time as if theinstrument that produced it had been thrust into the doorway of thehovel. At the same instant the turf outside, hitherto glistening undera bright moonlight, became darkened by the shadow of an enormouscreature--as if the queen of night had suddenly disappeared behind theblackest of clouds! Still the light could be seen beyond, and the moonwas shining. It was no cloud that had obscured her; but some vast bodymoving over the earth, and which, having come up to the front of thehovel, was there halting. 

Karl and Caspar fancied they could see a gigantic living form, with hugethick limbs, standing outside; but, indeed, both were as much terrifiedby the apparition as Ossaroo himself, though perhaps for a differentreason. 

Fritz must have been as much frightened as any of the four; and fear hadproduced upon him an effect exactly similar to that it had produced uponOssaroo. It kept him silent. Cowering in a corner, Fritz was now asquiet as if he had been born a voiceless _dingo_. 

This speechless trance seemed to have its influence upon theawe-inspiring shadow outside the door: for, after giving utterance toanother specimen of shrill piping, it withdrew with as much silence asif it had been but the shadow it appeared!

Caspar's curiosity had become too strong to be kept any longer under thecontrol of his fears. As soon as the strange intruder was seen movingaway from the hut, he stole forward to the entrance, and looked out. Karl was not slow in following him; and Ossaroo also ventured from hishiding-place. 

A dark mass--in form like a quadruped, but one of gigantic size--couldbe seen going off in the direction of the lake. It moved in majesticsilence; but it could have been no shadow, for on crossing the stream--near the point where the latter debouched into the lake--the plashing ofits feet could be heard as it waded through the water, and eddies couldbe seen upon the calm surface. A simple shadow would not have made sucha commotion as that?

"Sahibs!" said Ossaroo, in a tone of mysterious gravity, "he be one obtwo ting. He eider be de god Brahma, or--"

"Or what?" demanded Caspar. 

"An ole rogue. "

CHAPTER SIX. 

A TALK ABOUT ELEPHANTS. 

"An old rogue?" said Caspar, repeating the words of the shikaree. "Whatdo you mean by that, Ossy?"

"What you Feringhee, sahib, call _rogue_ elephant. "

"Oh! an elephant!" echoed Karl and Caspar--both considerably relieved atthis natural explanation of what had appeared so like a supernaturalapparition. 

"Certainly the thing looked like one, " continued Caspar. 

"But how could an elephant enter this valley?"

Ossaroo could not answer this question. He was himself equally puzzledby the appearance of the huge quadruped; and still rather inclined tothe belief that it was some of his trinity of Brahminee gods, that hadfor the nonce assumed the elephantine form. For that reason he made noattempt to explain the presence of such an animal in the valley. 

"It is possible for one to have come up here from the lower country, "remarked Karl, reflectively. 

"But how could he get into the valley?" again inquired Caspar. 

"In the same way as we got in ourselves, " was Karl's reply; "up theglacier and through the gorge. "

"But the crevasse that hinders us from getting out? You forget that, brother? An elephant could no more cross it than he could fly; surelynot?"

"Surely not, " rejoined Karl. "I did not say that he could have crossedthe crevasse. "

"Oh! you mean that he may have come up here before we did?"

"Exactly so. If it be an elephant we have seen--and what else can itbe?" pursued Karl, no longer yielding to a belief in the supernaturalcharacter of their nocturnal visitant--"it must of course have got intothe valley before us. The wonder is our having seen no signs of such ananimal before. You, Caspar, have been about more than any of us. Didyou never, in your rambles, observe anything like an elephant's track?"

"Never. It never occurred to me to look for such a thing. Who wouldhave thought of a great elephant having climbed up here? One wouldfancy such unwieldy creatures quite incapable of ascending a mountain. "

"Ah! there you would be in error: for, singular as it may appear, theelephant is a wonderful climber, and can make his way almost anywherethat a man can go. It is a fact, that in the island of Ceylon the wildelephants are often found upon the top of Adam's Peak--to scale which istrying to the nerves of the stoutest travellers. It would not besurprising to find one here. Rather, I may say, it _is_ not: for now Ifeel certain what we have just seen is an elephant, since it can benothing else. He may have entered this valley before us--by straying upthe glacier as we did, and crossing the chasm by the rock bridge--whichI know he could have done as well as we. Or else, " continued Karl, inhis endeavour to account for the presence of the huge creature, "he mayhave come here long ago, even before there was any crevasse. What isthere improbable in his having been here many years--perhaps all hislife, and that may be a hundred years or more?"

"I thought, " said Caspar, "that elephants were only found on the plains, where the vegetation is tropical and luxuriant. "

"That is another popular error, " replied Karl. "So far from affectingtropical plains, the elephant prefers to dwell high up on the mountains;and whenever he has the opportunity, he climbs thither. He likes amoderately cool atmosphere--where he may be less persecuted by flies andother troublesome insects: since, notwithstanding his great strength andthe thickness of his hide, so small a creature as a fly can give him thegreatest annoyance. Like the tiger, he is by no means exclusively atropical animal; but can live, and thrive too, in a cool, elevatedregion, or in a high latitude of the temperate zone. "

Karl again expressed surprise that none of them had before that timeobserved any traces of this gigantic quadruped, that must have beentheir neighbour ever since the commencement of their involuntaryresidence in the valley. Of course this surprise was fully shared byCaspar. Ossaroo participated in it, but only to a very slight degree. The shikaree was still inclined towards indulging in his superstitiousbelief that the creature they had seen was not of the earth, but someapparition of Brahma or Vishnu. 

Without attempting to combat this absurd fancy, his companions continuedto search for an explanation of the strange circumstance of their nothaving sooner encountered the elephant. 

"After all, " suggested Caspar, "there is nothing so strange about it. There are many large tracts of the valley we have not explored; forinstance, that wide stretch of black forest that lies at its upper end. Neither of us has ever been through there since the first two days, whenwe followed the deer all round, and went afterwards to examine thecliff. For myself, I never strayed that way while hunting--because Ialways found the game in the open grounds near the lake. Now theelephant may have his lair in that piece of forest, and only come out atnight. As for tracks, no doubt there are plenty, but I never thought oflooking for them. You know, brother, we have been too busy in makingour tree-bridge, and afterwards exploring the cavern, to think of muchelse. "

Karl admitted the truth of these observations; for it was as Caspar hadalleged. During the whole time of their residence in the valley, theminds of all three, filled with anxiety about the future, had beenkeenly bent upon devising some means of escape; and on this account theyhad given very little attention to anything that did not in some waycontribute to that end. Even Caspar, in his hunting excursions, had notgone over one-half of the valley; nor had these excursions been verynumerous. In three or four days he had procured as much _meat_ as wasnecessary. This had been carefully cured by Ossaroo, and formed thestaple of their daily food. Only upon rare occasions were the gunsafterwards used to procure a little fresh provision--such as a brace ofwild duets from the lake, or one of the smaller game animals which couldbe found almost any morning within gunshot distance of the hut. Forthese reasons many parts of the valley had been left unvisited; and itwas deemed possible enough for even a great elephant to have been allthe time dwelling within its boundaries, unseen by any of the party. Indulging in these conjectures, all three remained awake for more thanan hour; but as the subject of their speculations appeared to have gonealtogether away, they gradually came to the conclusion that he was notgoing to return at least for that night--and their confidence being thusrestored, they once more betook themselves to sleep--resolved in futureto keep a sharp lookout for the dangerous neighbour that had sounexpectedly presented himself to their view. 

CHAPTER SEVEN. 

RE-STOCKING THE GUNS. 

Next morning all three were astir betimes, and out of the hut by theearliest light of day. Karl and Caspar were anxious to obtain moredefinite information about the elephant, whose existence Ossaroo wasstill inclined to doubt. Indeed, with the exception of the three orfour shrieking whistles to which the animal had given utterance, sosilently and mysteriously had he come and departed, that they mightalmost have fancied the whole thing a dream. 

But such an immense creature could not move about, without leaving sometraces of his presence; and as he had crossed the stream, or rather alittle embayment of the lake into which the stream emptied itself, nodoubt his tracks would be found on the sandy shore. 

As soon, therefore, as the day broke, all three started for the spotwhere the creature had been seen to cross. 

On reaching it, they could no longer doubt that an elephant had paidthem a visit. Huge footprints--nearly as big as the bottom of a bushelmeasure--were deeply indented in the soft sand; and looking across the"straits" (for so they were in the habit of calling the narrow mouth ofthe bay), they could see other similar tracks on the opposite shore, where the animal had waded out. 

Ossaroo was no longer doubtful as to the character of the creature thathad made those tracks. He had hunted elephants in the jungles ofBengal, and knew all the peculiarities of the grand quadruped. Suchfootmarks as were now under his eyes could not have been made by a merevisionary animal, but only by a real elephant in the flesh. 

"And one of the biggest kind, " asserted the shikaree, now speaking infull confidence, and declaring, at the same time, that he could tell itsheight to an inch. 

"How can you do that?" asked Caspar, in some surprise. 

"Me berra easy tell, young sahib, " replied Ossaroo; "only need takeesize ob de rogue's foot. Dis way, sahibs. "

Saying this, the shikaree drew forth from one of his pockets a piece ofstring; and, choosing one of the tracks which had made the clearestimpression, he carefully applied the string around its outer edge. Inthis way the circumference of the elephant's foot was obtained. 

"Now, sahibs, " said Ossaroo, holding the string between his fingers--that portion of it which had been applied around the footprint--"_twice_the length of dis reachee to the top of he shoulder; that how Ossarooknow he biggee elephant. "

The circumference of the foot thus measured being nearly six feet, itwould follow, from the rule laid down by the shikaree, that the elephantin question was nearly twelve feet high; and this Karl knew to be one ofthe largest. Nor did Karl question the correctness of the deduction:for he had often heard, from hunters whose word was not to be doubted, that the height of an elephant is exactly twice the circumference of hisfoot. 

Ossaroo, having now yielded up his belief--that the elephant was one ofhis gods in disguise--declared with full confidence that the animal wasa _rogue_. Karl needed no explanation of what was meant by this. Heknew that the rogue elephant is an old male, who, for some reason orother--perhaps for bad behaviour--has had the cold shoulder given him bythe rest of the herd, and from whose association he has been drivenaway. Thus _cut_ by his former acquaintances, he is compelled to lead asolitary life--the consequence of which is, that he becomes exceedinglyspiteful and morose in his disposition, and will not only attack anyother animal that may chance to cross his path, but will even seek themout, as if for the mere purpose of indulging in a spirit of revenge!There are many such in the jungles of India, as well as in Africa; and, since man himself is not excepted from this universal hostility, a rogueelephant is regarded as an exceedingly dangerous creature in theneighbourhood where he takes up his abode. There are many instancesrecorded--and well authenticated too--where human beings have beensacrificed to the fury of these gigantic monsters: and cases are knownwhere a rogue elephant has purposely placed himself in waiting by theside of a frequented path, with the object of destroying the unwarytraveller! In the valley of the Dheira Doon an elephant of this class--one, too, that had once been tamed, but had escaped from his servitude--is known to have taken the lives of nearly twenty unfortunate peoplebefore his destruction could be effected. 

Well knowing these proclivities on the part of the _rogue_, Ossaroo atonce counselled caution in the future movements of all--a counsel whichKarl was too prudent to reject; and even the bold, rash Caspar did notthink it proper to dissent from. 

It was resolved, therefore, before continuing their projectedexploration of the cliffs, to set their weapons once more in properorder--against any chance of an encounter with the elephant. 

Their guns had to be re-stocked, and a new handle put into the axe--aswell as a shaft into the boar-spear of Ossaroo--for all the woodwork ofthese weapons had been broken up and burnt into ashes in the manufactureof the candles of bear's-grease that had lighted them out of the cave. 

The search after the ledges must necessarily be postponed; until theycould go upon that errand properly armed and equipped, against any enemythat might oppose their progress. 

Having come to this wise determination, they returned to their hut;kindled a fire; cooked breakfast; and having despatched the meal, atonce set about selecting pieces of wood for the various purposes forwhich they were required. 

They had no difficulty in procuring just what was wanted: for the valleycontained many valuable sorts of timber; and several kinds that had beenalready cut for other purposes, now well seasoned and ready to hand, were found lying about the hut. 

Setting about their work in earnest, and labouring diligently frommorning to night--and even into the night hours--they knew they wouldnot be long in accomplishing a task so trifling as the stocking of agun, or putting the handle to a boar-spear. 

CHAPTER EIGHT. 

INSPECTING THE CLIFFS. 

Working diligently with their knives two days sufficed to make guns, axe, and spear as good as ever. Ossaroo also made himself a new bow anda full quiver of arrows. 

On the third morning, after breakfasting, all three set out with thedetermination not to leave any portion of the cliff unexamined. 

The part which lay between their hut and the cave, Karl had alreadyscrutinised with great care; so they went direct to the point where hehad left off, and there commenced their new survey. 

It is true they had already examined the cliffs all around; but this wasjust after they arrived in the valley, and the purpose of thatexploration was very different from that of the present one. 

Then they were only looking for a place by which they might climb out;and the idea of making ladders had not occurred to them. 

Now that this scheme had suggested itself, they entered upon theirsecond survey with the view of ascertaining whether it was practicableor possible. Consequently, they went in search of facts of a differentnature--viz. , to see if there existed a series of ledges, one aboveanother, that could be spanned by an equal number of such ladders asthey might be able to construct. 

That they could make ladders of a prodigious length--allowing sufficienttime for the execution of the work--all felt confident. They knew thatthe Thibet pine-trees--the same sort as they had used in making thebridge for the glacier crevasse--grew in great numbers not far fromtheir hut; and by selecting some of the slenderest trunks of these, theywould have the sides of as many ladders as they might want, almost readymade, and each forty or fifty feet in length. 

If there should only be discovered a series of ledges, with not morethan forty feet space between each two, there would be a fair hope oftheir being able to escalade the cliff, and escape from a place which, although one of the pleasantest-looking spots in the world, had nowbecome to them loathsome as the interior of a dungeon. 

Sure enough, and to the great joy of all, such a set of shelves was soonafter presented to their eyes--having, at least in appearance, all therequirements of which they were in search. The spaces between no two ofthem appeared to be greater than thirty feet, some were much nearer toeach other. 

The part of the cliff where these terraces were found was not quite solow, as that where Karl had made his measurement. It did not appear, however, to be more than three hundred and fifty feet--a fearful height, it is true--but nothing when compared with other sections of the sameprecipice. To reach to its top, more than a dozen ladders would berequired--each between twenty and thirty feet in length. The labour ofmaking these ladders, with such tools as they had, might be looked uponas something stupendous--sufficient, you might suppose, to deter themfrom the task. But you must endeavour to realise the situation in whichthey were placed--with no other hope of being delivered from theirmountain prison--and with this idea in your mind, you will comprehendwhy they should have been willing to undertake even a far greaterlabour. Of course, they did not expect to complete it in a day, neitherin a week, nor in a month: for they well knew that it would take severalmonths to make the number of ladders that would be required. And thenthere would be the additional labour of getting each into its place: asall, after the first one, would have to be carried up the cliff to theledge for which it should be constructed. Indeed, to raise ladders ofthirty feet in the manner contemplated, would seem an impossibility--that is, for such strength or mechanism as they could command. 

And so it might have proved, had they intended to make these ladders ofthe ordinary weight. But they foresaw this difficulty, and hoped to getover it by making them of the very lightest kind--something that wouldjust carry the weight of a man. 

Becoming more than half satisfied that at this point the precipice mightbe scaled in the manner contemplated, they remained upon the ground inorder to give it a thorough examination. That done, they intended tomake the complete circuit of the valley, and ascertain whether theremight not be some other place still easier of ascent. 

The point where they had halted was behind the tract of heavily-timberedforest--of which Caspar had spoken, and which up to this time none ofthem had entered. Between the trees and the cliff they were nowcontemplating, there was a narrow strip of ground destitute of timber;and covered with a shingle of loose stones which had fallen from themountain above. Several boulders of large dimensions rested upon theground, at short distances apart; and there was one of a pillar-shapethat stood some twenty-feet high, while it was only about five or six indiameter. It bore a sort of rude resemblance to an obelisk; and onemight easily have fancied that the hand of man had accomplished itserection. For all that, it was a mere freak of Nature, and had probablybeen set up by ancient glacier ice. Up one of its sides there was aseries of projections, by which an active man might climb to the top;and Ossaroo _did_ climb it, partly out of playfulness, and partly, as hesaid, to get a better view of the cliff. The shikaree stayed only a fewminutes on its top; and his curiosity having been satisfied, he had lethimself down again. 

CHAPTER NINE. 

A RECONNOISSANCE INTERRUPTED. 

Though the three had set out that morning with a wholesome dread of theelephant, and a determination to go about their reconnoissance withcaution, their joy at the discovery of the ledges, and the eagernesswith which they were scanning them, had for the moment banished fromtheir minds all thoughts of the great quadruped. They were thinkingonly of ledges and ladders, and talking loudly of how the latter mightbest be made and placed upon the former. 

Just then, and just at the moment Ossaroo descended from the obeliskrock, Fritz, who had been prowling about among the trees, set up afearful baying--such another as that to which he had given utterance onthe night when the elephant had paid its visit to the hut. 

There was a certain intonation of terror in the dog's voice--as ifwhatever called it forth was something that inspired him with fear. Theapprehension that it was the elephant occurred to all three at once; andwith a simultaneous impulse they faced towards the spot whence thebaying of the dog appeared to proceed. Simultaneously, too, theyclutched more firmly their respective weapons--Karl his rifle, Casparhis double-barrel, and Ossaroo his bow, with an arrow at the string. 

It is superfluous to say, that there was a certain amount ofconsternation visible in the countenances of all three; which was ratherincreased than diminished by the sight of Fritz dashing suddenly out ofthe underwood, and running towards them at full speed, with his tailconsiderably below the horizontal. Fritz, moreover, was givingutterance to something that very closely resembled a howl. The dog hadevidently been attacked by some animal that had put him to flight; andhis masters knew that it must be a formidable creature that was causingthe variant Fritz to behave in such an ignominious manner. 

They were not kept long in doubt as to the character of Fritz'sconqueror and pursuer: for close behind his hips, almost touching them, appeared a long, cylindrical, or trumpet-shaped object, of a bluish-greycolour, protruding between two yellowish crescents, like a pair of hugeivory horns. Behind those appeared a pair of large ears, like flaps ofsole leather; and in the rear of these last appendages came the round, massive form of an enormous elephant!

Crashing through the underwood, the monstrous creature soon cleared hisbody from the timber, and rushed straight across the open ground--winding his terrible trumpet as he went. He was following Fritz asstraight as he could go, and evidently enraged at the dog. 

The latter, on escaping from the tangle of the thicket, made direct forthe spot occupied by his masters--thus directing the elephant upon them. 

It was no longer a question of protecting Fritz from his formidablepursuer; for the elephant, on seeing three adversaries more worthy ofhis tusks, seemed to forget all about the puny four-footed creature whohad provoked him; and at once directed his attack upon the uprightbipeds--as if resolved to punish them for the misbehaviour of theirsubordinate. 

The three, standing close together, saw at a glance that Fritz was nolonger the object of the elephant's animosity: for the massive monsterwas now charging directly down upon them. 

There was no time for concerted counsel--neither to take nor to give it. Each had to act upon his own instinct; and following this each acted. Karl sent the bullet from his rifle right between the tusks of theadvancing foe; while Caspar fired both barrels of his piece "bang" intothe forehead of the monster. Ossaroo's arrow was seen sticking throughthe elephant's trunk; and the moment after Ossaroo's heels werepresented to the enemy. 

Karl and Caspar also ran: for it would have been sheer madness to haveremained a moment longer in that perilous proximity. Indeed, it is butjustice to the shikaree to say, that Karl and Caspar ran first: for theyhad been the first to deliver their fire; and as soon as they had doneso, each scampered as he best could. They ran together; and fortunatelyfor both a large tree was near, with low horizontal limbs, whichfavoured a rapid ascent towards its top. 

There was only a second of time between the commencement of their flightand that of Ossaroo; but short as it was, it decided the preference ofthe pursuer, and Ossaroo became the sole object of pursuit. 

The shikaree would fain have made for the tree, to which the others wereretreating; but the proboscis of the elephant was already so faradvanced in that direction, that there was every probability it mightget lapped upon him before he could climb beyond reach. For a moment hewas in a dilemma, and his customary coolness seemed to have forsakenhim. 

The elephant was advancing upon him, its little switch of a tailoscillating rapidly in the air, and its trunk stretched horizontallytowards him, with Ossaroo's own arrow still sticking in it. It seemedto know that it was he who had sent that skewer through its gristlysnout--perhaps giving it far more pain than the leaden missiles that hadflattened against its thick skull; and for this reason it had chosen himas the first victim of its vengeance. 

In truth, Ossaroo's position was one of extreme peril--so much so thatKarl and Caspar--now perceiving themselves comparatively safe from thepursuit--uttered a simultaneous cry: both believing that their faithfulguide and follower was on the point of "coming to grief. "

Ossaroo seemed bewildered at the very imminence of the danger. But itwas only for a moment--only while he hesitated as to whether he shouldtry to reach the tree. On perceiving that he could not do this with afair chance of safety, he turned and ran in an opposite direction. 

Whither? To the obelisk. Yes, by good fortune, the pillar from whichhe had just descended was only ten paces distant; and Ossaroo, inreturning towards it, measured the ground with less than five. Flingingaway his now useless weapons, he clutched hold of the prominent pointsof the rock, and "swarmed" up it like a squirrel. 

He had good occasion to employ all his powers of agility. A second--half a second more--and he would have been too late: for ere he hadreached the summit of the pillar, the digit point of the elephant'strunk was inserted under the skirt of his tunic; and had the garmentbeen of tougher material; Ossaroo would have been jerked back to theground more rapidly than he had ascended. 

As it was, the cotton fabric--frail from long wear and exposure--gaveway with a loud "screed;" and although the shikaree was stripped of hiscoat-tail, and suffered a rather ignominious exposure, still he had thesatisfaction of knowing that to this circumstance he was indebted forthe safety of his skin. 

CHAPTER TEN. 

OSSAROO ON THE OBELISK. 

The moment after, Ossaroo stood upon the summit of the obelisk. Buteven there he was far from being confident of security: for the pursuerhad not abandoned the hope of being able to reach him. On the contrary, the infuriated animal, on finding itself baulked by the worthlessness ofthe fabric composing the skirt of the shikaree, spitefully tossed thepiece of cloth from its trunk; and, rearing itself on its hind-legs, threw its body into an erect attitude, with its fore-feet resting highup against the rock. 

One might have fancied that it was about to climb the obelisk; and thisit would certainly have done had the thing been possible. As it was, however, Ossaroo was not out of danger: for as the elephant stood on itshind-legs, with its prehensile proboscis extended to the full length, the tip of the latter was not more than six inches from the soles of hisfeet. 

The shikaree stood upright like a statue on its pedestal--though unliketo a statue in his features, which were anything but unmoved. On thecontrary, his countenance exhibited the utmost consternation. And nowonder: for he could plainly perceive that should the elephant succeedin lengthening its carcase only another twelve inches, he himself wouldbe brushed from the summit like a fly. 

In fearful suspense, therefore, did he stand, contemplating the monsterwhich was making every effort to reach him. 

These efforts were made with as much sagacity as energy. Not only didthe quadruped erect itself to its greatest height--standing, as onemight say, upon its toes--but on finding that it was not tall enough, itfell back upon all fours, and then reared up afresh in an endeavour tostretch still higher. 

Several times did it repeat the attempt--on each occasion trying adifferent side of the rock--as if in hopes that a greater elevation ofthe ground around the base might give it that advantage of twelve incheswhich it required for seizing its victim. 

Fortunately for Ossaroo, the elephant had reached its very highest onfirst rearing up; and though it kept going round and round the rock, from no side could it do more than just touch with the top of its trunkthe edge of the little flat space, upon which the feet of the shikareewere resting. 

Ossaroo was beginning to be satisfied with this fact; and probably mighthave come to believe himself secure in his position, but for acircumstance that was making him uneasy. It was, that, standing uponsuch a limited surface--a pedestal whose diameter was but little overthe length of his own feet--he found it exceedingly difficult to keephis balance. Had he been on the ground, there would have been nodifficulty about it; but, perched as he was full twenty-feet aloft, thething was quite different; and, with nerves unstrung by the fearfuldanger that threatened him below, it was just as much as he could do tokeep his equilibrium. 

Though only a "mild Hindoo, " Ossaroo was possessed of a high degree ofcourage; and, most of his life having been spent as a shikaree, he hadbecome well inured to the risk of losing it. Had he been a coward, orunused to such perils as at that moment surrounded him, he would in alllikelihood have succumbed through fear; and toppled helplessly over uponthe shoulders of the merciless monster that was threatening to destroyhim. With all his bravery, however, it was just as much as he could doto keep his balance. Unfortunately, in climbing up the rock, he hadbeen compelled to abandon his boar-spear: else with that he might havesupported himself. His long knife was still in his belt; and this hedrew forth--not with the design of using it upon his antagonist, butonly the better to balance himself. It is true he would have been fainto take a chop or two at the gristly proboscis of the elephant; but hedared not bend his body into a stooping attitude, lest his centre ofgravity might get beyond the supporting base, and thus bring about theresult he dreaded. 

No other course remained for him, than to preserve his body in anupright attitude; and, conscious of this fact, he braced his nerves tothe utmost, and maintained himself erect and rigid as a statue ofbronze. 

CHAPTER ELEVEN. 

A WHOLESALE TUMBLE. 

In this attitude he remained for several minutes--the elephant all thewhile continuing its efforts to reach him Karl and Caspar, seated uponthe branches of the tree, to which they had retreated, were witnesses ofthe whole scene from beginning to end. The situation of Ossaroo wouldhave bean sufficiently ludicrous for Caspar to have laughed at it, butfor the danger in which the shikaree was placed. This was so evident, that instead of indulging in anything akin to levity, Caspar looked onwith feelings of deep anxiety, Karl being equally apprehensive about theresult. Neither could do anything to aid or rescue him, as they wereunarmed--both having dropped their pieces when ascending the tree. 

I have said that Karl was as uneasy about the result as his brother. Hewas even more so. It was not that he liked Ossaroo better, or wouldhave more bitterly lamented his fate, had the latter perished by theproboscis of the elephant. No, that was not the reason; but simply thatKarl more clearly comprehended the danger in which the shikaree wasplaced. 

After watching the efforts of the elephant for a short time, Caspar hadbecome convinced that the animal could not reach Ossaroo--so long as thelatter preserved his balance upon the summit of the rock. Karl wasequally satisfied of this; and both by their shouts kept encouraging theshikaree to stand firm. But Karl soon noted another circumstance, whichwas as yet unperceived by Caspar, and it was this that was inspiring himwith keener apprehension than that felt by his brother. He had noticedthat, each time as the elephant erected himself against the obelisk, therock seemed slightly to shake. Ossaroo was himself well aware of thecircumstance--and more troubled at it than any of them--for it renderedit more difficult for him to preserve his equilibrium. Caspar at lengthalso observed the trembling of the rock, but it gave him no particularuneasiness: as, after what had passed, he felt confident that Ossaroowould be able to keep his place. Nor was it the fear of his falling inthat way that was distressing the young botanist; but rather a deductionwhich he drew from the circumstance, not apparent to the lessphilosophic mind of his brother. 

The shaking of the rock had suggested to Karl a dangerous contingency. What was it? The speech addressed by him at that moment to Caspar willexplain. 

"Oh, brother!" he exclaimed, on perceiving the danger, "if the rockshould fall--"

"No danger of that, " said Caspar, interrupting him; "it stands firmenough. True, I see it shake a little, but only a very little; and thatonly when the brute springs up against it. No danger, I should think!"

"But I fear there is clanger, " rejoined Karl, in a tone of undiminishedanxiety. "Not, " added he, "so long as the elephant acts as he is doing;but he may not continue thus. These creatures are wonderfullysagacious; and if he only perceives that the pillar moves under hisweight, a new idea may get into his brain, and then it will be all upwith Ossaroo. "

"Ha! I begin to comprehend you, " said Caspar, beginning to share thealarm of his brother. "There is danger in that. What is to be done?If we only had our guns up here, we might open fire on the brute. Whether we succeeded in killing him or not, we might at all eventsdivert his attention from Ossaroo, and perhaps hinder him from thinkingof the plan you speak of. We might go down and get our guns. What isto hinder us?--the elephant is too busy to notice us. "

"True--an excellent idea of yours, brother Caspar. "

"Well, then, to put it in execution. I shall slip down to the ground;you follow to the lowest branch, and I can hand the guns up to you. Keep steady, and don't you fear, Ossy!" added the young hunter in alouder voice, addressing himself to the shikaree. "We'll fetch him awayfrom you directly--we'll tickle him with an ounce or two of lead throughthat thick hide of his. "

So saying, Caspar commenced letting himself rapidly down from branch tobranch, Karl following more leisurely. 

Caspar had got upon the lowest limb of the tree, and Karl on thatimmediately above it, when a loud crash, accompanied by a piercingshriek, arrested the progress of both, causing them suddenly to turntheir faces towards the obelisk. During the short time that their eyeshad been averted from it, a complete change had taken place in thatcurious tableau. Instead of a tall column of stone, standingtwenty-feet perpendicular, the same column was now seen lying along theearth in a nearly horizontal position, with a huge mass of broken boughsand branches of trees crushed under its top. Near its base, nowupturned and standing almost vertically, was the elephant, no longer onits hind feet, nor yet on all fours, but down upon its back, kicking itshuge hoofs in the air, and making the most stupendous efforts to recoverits legs. Ossaroo was nowhere to be seen!

The contingency dreaded by Karl had come to pass. The elephant, findingit impossible to reach the shikaree with its trunk--and no doubt judgingby the "feel" that the rock was not immobile--had at length dropped downon all fours and, placing its broad shoulder against it, backed by theenormous weight of its bulky body, had sent the column crashing amongthe tops of a chestnut tree growing near--the trunk of which, yieldingto the weight, gave way with a crash, and trunk, limbs, and brancheswere all borne downward to the earth!

The elephant itself, not calculating that it should find the task soeasy of performance, had fallen at the same time--its cumbrous bodylosing balance by the impetus which it had thrown into the effort. Inshort, of the four objects that formed the tableau--rock and tree, quadruped and man--not one was standing any longer in its place--for itis superfluous to say that Ossaroo had gone down with the obelisk. 

But where was Ossaroo? That was the question that occurred to both Karland Caspar. 

"Oh! brother!" groaned Caspar, "I fear he is killed!"

Karl made no reply; but for all that, Caspar's reflection, delivered ina loud tone, was not left without rejoinder. Directly after the phrasehad issued from his lips, an answer was heard proceeding from among thebranches of the fallen chestnut tree, in a voice and with words thatcaused the hearts of the brothers to beat with joy. 

"No, young sahibs, " replied the unseen Ossaroo; "me no killee, me no bitdamage. If I only can get pass de old rogue, I safe and sound as ibber. Here go for run!"

At the same moment the shikaree was seen shooting out from among thebranches under which he had been for the time buried; and, then runningwith all his might towards the tree upon which the brothers had foundrefuge. 

Long before the elephant could regain its feet, Ossaroo had reached aposition of perfect security among the upper branches of the great tree;which Karl and Caspar, no longer thinking of their guns, had alsore-ascended. 

CHAPTER TWELVE. 

A RING PERFORMANCE. 

As the tree into which they had retreated was a very large one, therewas no longer any present fear of danger from the elephant, howeverfurious the latter might be; and they could look down upon it and watchits movements with a feeling of perfect security. The only one of theparty that was in dangerous proximity to that dreaded proboscis wasFritz; but Fritz had already been well warned of the wicked designs ofthe great brute, and was sufficiently swift-footed and sage enough togive the animal a wide berth. 

As for the elephant itself, having recovered its feet, it stood for someseconds flapping its huge ears, and apparently in a kind of quandary--asif taken aback by the unexpected accident that had befallen it. Not forlong, however, did it continue in this tranquil attitude. The arrowstill sticking in its trunk reminded it of its purposes of vengeance. Once more angrily elevating its tail, and sounding its shrill trumpet, it rushed towards the fallen tree, and buried its long proboscis amongthe branches. One by one it turned them over, as if in search of someobject. It was searching for the shikaree. 

After a time it desisted from this manoeuvre, and looked around--evidently with a puzzled air, and wondering what had become of the man. It had not seen him as he rushed towards the great tree: for his retreathad been made while the creature was sprawling upon its back. Just thenFritz chanced to show himself--crouching under the branches upon whichhis masters had taken refuge, and evidently envying them their securesituation. 

The sight of Fritz was enough. It was he who had first challenged theelephant on its approach through the woods, and had conducted it underthat terrible battery of bullets and arrows. As soon, therefore, as thelatter set eyes upon the dog, its fury not only became rekindled, butapparently redoubled; and, hoisting its tail on high, it charged fulltilt upon its original adversary. 

Had the assailant been a boar, or even a bull, no doubt Fritz would havestood his ground, or only swerved to one side, the better to elude theonset, and make an attack in turn. But with a quadruped as big as ahouse--and of which Fritz, not being of Oriental origin, knew so little;and of that little nothing that was good--one, too, evidently providedwith most formidable weapons, a tongue several feet long, and tusks inproportion--it is not to be wondered at, nor is it any great blot uponhis escutcheon, that Fritz turned tail and fled. So fast fled he, thatin less than a score of seconds he was out of sight--not only of hismasters in the tree, but of his pursuer, the elephant. The latter onlyfollowed him for some half-dozen lengths of its own carcase; and seeingthat the pursuit was likely to be a wild-goose chase, declined followingFritz any farther. 

They in the tree, as the elephant started after the dog, were in hopesthat the pursuit might carry the dangerous animal to some distance, andthus give them time to get back to the ground, and make their escapefrom the spot. 

In this, however, they were doomed to disappointment; for havingdesisted from the chase of the dog, the great pachyderm returned to thepoint from whence it had started; and, after once more tossing thebroken branches of the fallen chestnut tree upon the point of itsproboscis, it commenced pacing round and round the fallen obelisk, keeping in regular circles, as if it were training itself for someperformance in an amphitheatre. 

For more than an hour did the brute continue this circular promenade, atintervals stopping to give utterance to its shrieking note; but most ofthe time moving on in sullen silence. Now and then it directed itseyes, and once or twice its trunk, towards the branches of the prostratetree as if it had still some suspicion that he who sent that stingingarrow was there concealed. Indeed, it appeared by its movements to bekeeping guard over that particular spot, lest its enemy should escape. It had long since extracted the arrow, by placing its great foot uponthe shaft, and drawing it forth. 

Fritz had stolen back to the edge of the thicket, but kept cowering soclose that the elephant could not see him. 

The parties perched above were more than annoyed by their imprisonmentthus procrastinated, and began to think of how they might set themselvesfree. They talked of making a rush to possess themselves of their guns;but to Karl this appeared too perilous to be attempted. It was nottwenty yards from the tree to the spot where rested the dismountedmonolith; and the elephant, whose eye was in a state of continualactivity, could not fail to see them descending from the branches. Themassive creature, though it moved about with apparently a gentle gridingstep, could go almost as fast as a galloping horse; and should it espythem in time, there would be but slight chance of eluding its prehensiletrunk. 

Moreover, the sight of them--even should they succeed in regaining thetree--would rekindle its rage, and cause it to prolong its stay upon theground. 

There was yet another consideration that influenced them to remainpatiently on their perch. They knew that they had provided themselveswith only a very limited quantity of ammunition. That article hadbecome scarce with them; and they had prudently determined to economiseit. Karl had only two bullets left, with just powder enough to make twocharges; while Caspar's horn and pouch were not better filled. Theymight fire their whole stock of lead into the elephant, and still notsucceed in killing a creature that sometimes walks off triumphantly witha score of bullets "under his belt. " These shots might only have theeffect of incensing it still more, and causing it to stay upon theground to an indefinite period. 

It was a true _rogue_--Ossaroo had long since pronounced it one--and an"old tusker" at that. It was therefore a most dangerous creature; andthough they knew they would never be safe in that valley until it shouldbe destroyed, it was agreed by all that it would be more prudent toleave it undisturbed until some more favourable opportunity occurred foreffecting its destruction. 

For these various reasons they resolved to remain quiet in the tree, andpatiently await the termination of that curious "ring performance, "which the old tusker still continued to keep up. 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN. 

AN ODD APPEARANCE. 

For the full length of another hour did the trio in the tree have theirpatience tested. During all that time the "rogue" remained upon theground, continuing his perambulations around the rock--until he hadtrodden out a path that resembled the arena of a circus at the close ofa night's performance. 

It is not necessary to say that the time hung heavily upon the hands ofthe spectators--to say nothing of Fritz, who would no doubt have beensatisfied with a much shorter programme. 

As regards the former, the hour might have been spent less pleasantlythan it was; for it so chanced that an _interlude_ was introduced, of sointeresting a character to all, but more especially to the naturalistKarl, that for a while the proximity of their savage besieger wasforgotten, and they scarcely remembered that they were besieged. 

Favoured by the accident of their situation, they became spectators of ascene--one of those scenes only to be viewed amid the wild solitudes ofNature. 

Not far from the tree on which they had found shelter, stood another ofequal dimensions, but of an entirely different species. It was asycamore, as even Caspar, without any botanical skill, could testify. Its smooth bark, piebald with white and green spots, itswidely-straggling limbs and leaves, left no doubt about its being one. It was the sycamore, identical with its European congener, the _Platanusorientalis_. 

It is the habit of this fine tree to become hollow. Not only does thelower part of its trunk exhibit the phenomenon of great cavities, butholes are found high up in its main shaft or in the larger limbs. 

The tree in question stood within a few yards of that on which Karl, Caspar, and Ossaroo were perched. It was just before their eyes, whenever they looked in a horizontal direction; and occasionally, whentired with watching the monotonous movements of the elephant, one orother of them _did_ look horizontally. The scanty foliage upon thesycamore enabled them to see its trunk and most of its larger limbs, without any obstruction of leaves or branches. 

Caspar had not cast his eyes more than twice in the direction of thistree, when he saw there was something peculiar about it. Caspar was ayouth of quick sight and equally quick perception. In the main stem ofthe tree, and about six feet above its first forking, he perceived anobject that at once fixed his attention. It looked like a goat's horn, only that it was more like the curving tusk of a rhinoceros or a veryyoung elephant. It was sticking out from the tree, with the curvedirected downwards. Altogether, it looked quite different from a branchof the sycamore, or anything belonging to the tree. 

Once or twice, while Caspar had his eyes upon it, he thought or fanciedthat it moved; but not being sure of this, he said nothing, lest theothers might laugh at him. It would not have been the first time thatKarl, from his superior knowledge, had indulged in a laugh at hisbrother's expense. 

Caspar's attention being now engrossed by the peculiar appearance he hadnoted, he continued to scrutinise it; and soon perceived that around thecurved excrescence there was a circular disc some eight or ten inches indiameter, and differing in colour from the bark of the sycamore--bybeing many shades darker. This disc appeared composed of some substancethat was not ligneous: for it no more resembled wood than the curvedivory-like object that protruded from its centre. Had Caspar been askedwhat it did look like, he would have answered that it resembled theagglutinated mud used by swallows in building their nests--so like it, that it might have been the same substance. 

Caspar continued to scrutinise these two curious objects--the tusk-likeexcrescence, and the dark disc from which it protruded; and not until hebecame fully aware that the former had life in it, did he communicatehis discovery to his companions. Of this fact he was convinced byseeing the crescent suddenly disappear--as if drawn within the tree, while in its place a dark round hole was alone visible. Presently theyellowish horn reappeared through the hole, and protruded outside, filling it up as before!

Caspar was too much astonished by this exhibition to remain any longerthe sole proprietor of such a mysterious secret, and without more delayhe communicated his discovery to Karl, and indirectly to Ossaroo. 

Both at the same time turned their eyes towards the tree, and bent themupon the indicated spot. Karl was as much mystified by the strangeappearance as had been Caspar himself. 

Not so Ossaroo. The moment he saw the carving ivory and thedark-coloured disc, he pronounced, in a tone of careless indifference, the simple phrase, --

"_Hornbill_--_de bird on him nest_. "

CHAPTER FOURTEEN. 

A CURIOUS NEST. 

Just then the curved projection was observed to recede within the tree;and in its place appeared a small dark hole, apparently the entrance toa larger cavity. Karl, as Caspar had done the moment before, saw thiswith surprise. 

"Nest?" repeated Caspar, astonished at the shikaree's statement. "Abird's nest? Is that what you mean, Ossy?"

"That just it, sahib. Nest of great biggee bird. Feringhees him call_horneebill_. "

"Well, " rejoined Caspar, not greatly enlightened by Ossaroo'sexplanation, "that's very curious. We have seen something like a hornsticking out of the tree, though it looks more like ivory than horn. Itmay be the bill of a bird; but as to a bird itself, or the nest of one, where is that, pray?"

Ossaroo intimated that the nest was inside the tree; and that the birdwas on the nest just behind its beak, where it ought to be. 

"What! the bird is in that hole where we saw the white thing stickingout? Why, it quite filled the hole, and if there's a bird there, andwhat we saw be its bill, I have only to say that its bill must be as bigas its body--else how can it get out and in through so small anaperture? Certainly I see no hole but the one. Oh! perhaps the bird isa _toucan_. I have heard there are some of that sort that can gothrough any place where they can pass their beaks. Is it a toucan, Ossaroo?"

Ossaroo could not tell what a toucan was, never having heard of such abird. His ornithological knowledge went no further than to the birds ofBengal; and the toucan is found only in America. He stated that thebird in the tree was called by the Feringhees a "hornbill, " but it wasalso known to some as the "rhinoceros bird. " Ossaroo added that it wasas large as a goose; and that its body was many times thicker than itsbill, thick as the latter appeared to be. 

"And you say it has its nest inside that hole?" interrogated Caspar, pointing to the little round aperture, which did not appear to be overthree inches in diameter. 

"Sure of it, young sahib, " was Ossaroo's reply. 

"Well, certainly there is some living creature in there, since we haveseen it move; and if it be a bird as large as a goose, will you explainto me how it got in, and how it means to get out? There must be alarger entrance on the other side of the tree. "

"No, sahib, " confidently asserted Ossaroo; "that you see before youreye--that the only way to de horneebill nest. "

"Hurrah for you, Ossy! So you mean to say that a bird as large as agoose can go in and out by that hole? Why, a sparrow could scarcelysqueeze itself through there!"

"Horneebill he no goee in, he no goee out. He stay inside till himlittle chickees ready for leavee nest. "

"Come, Ossy!" said Caspar, in a bantering way; "that story is too goodto be true. You don't expect us to believe all that? What, stay in thenest till the young are ready to leave it! And how then? How will theyoung ones help their mother out of the scrape? How will they get outthemselves: for I suppose they don't leave the nest till they are prettywell grown? Come! good shikaree; let us have no more circumlocutionabout the matter, but explain all these apparently inexplicablecircumstances. "

The shikaree, thus appealed to, proceeded to give the explanationdemanded. 

The hornbill, he said, when about to bring forth its young, selects ahollow in some tree, just large enough conveniently to hold the nestwhich it builds, and also its own body. As soon as the nest isconstructed and the eggs all laid, the female bird takes her seat uponthem, and there remains; not only until the eggs are hatched, but for along time afterwards--in fact, until the young are nearly fledged andable to take care of themselves. In order that she may be protectedduring the period of her incubation against weasels, polecats, ichneumons, and all such vermin, a design exhibiting either wonderfulinstinct or sagacity, is carried into execution by the male. As soon ashis mate has squatted upon her eggs, he goes to work at the masonic art;and using his great horned mandibles, first as a hod, and afterwards asa trowel, he walls up the entrance to the nest--leaving an aperture justlarge enough to be filled up by the beak of the female. The materialemployed by him for this purpose is a kind of agglutinated mud, which heprocures from the neighbouring watercourse or quagmire, and somewhatsimilar to that used by the common house-swallow for constructing _its_peculiar nest. When dried, this mud becomes exceedingly hard--biddingdefiance to the teeth and claws of all would-be intruders, whether birdor quadruped; and with the horny beak of the old hen projected outward, and quite filling up the aperture, even the slippery tree-snake cannotfind room enough to squeeze his body through. The female, thus freefrom all fear of being molested, quietly continues her incubation!

When Ossaroo had got thus far with his explanation, Caspar interruptedhim with a query. 

"What!" said he, "sit all the time--for weeks, I suppose--without evercoming out--without taking an airing? And how does she get her food?"

As Caspar put this question, and before Ossaroo had time to answer, anoise reached their ears which appeared to proceed from the sky abovethem. It was a noise well calculated to inspire terror in those who hadnever before heard it, or did not know what was causing it. It was asort of fluttering, clattering sound, or rather a series of sounds, resembling the quickly repeated gusts of a violent storm. 

The moment Ossaroo heard it, he knew what it was; and instead of givinga direct answer to Caspar's question, he simply said--

"Wait a bit, sahib. Here come old cockee horneebill; he show you how dehen getee her food. "

The words had scarcely passed from the lips of the shikaree, when thecause of that singular noise became known to his companions. The makerof it appeared before them in the form of a great bird, that with astrong flapping of its wings flew past the tree in which they wereseated, towards that which contained the nest. 

In an instant afterwards, it was seen resting on a spur-like projectionof the trunk, just below the aperture; and it needed not Ossaroo to tellthem that it was the cock hornbill that had there alighted. The largebeak--the tip of it resembling that which they had already seen stickingout of the hole, and which was once more visible and in motion--surmounted by an immense helmet-like protuberance, rising upon thecrown, and running several inches along the top of the upper mandible, which might have been taken for a second beak--this singular appendagecould belong to no other bird than the _hornbill_. 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN. 

THE HORNBILL. 

Karl, although he had never seen one of these birds alive, had yetexamined stuffed specimens of them in museums, and he had no difficultyin recognising the bird. He was able even to identify the species, forthere are many species of hornbill, known under the generic name, _Bucerus_. That before their eyes was the _Bucerus rhinoceros_, or"rhinoceros hornbill, " called also the "topau, " and sometimes the"horned Indian raven, " from a sort of resemblance which it bears both inshape and habits to the well-known bird of this name. 

Ossaroo had not exaggerated the size of these birds when he compared itto that of a goose. On the contrary, he had rather moderated thedimensions: for the one in question looked much larger than either gooseor gander. It was rather more than three feet in length--reckoning fromthe tip of its tail to the point of its curving beak, which of itselfwas nearly a foot long! Its colour was black above, and yellowish-whiteunderneath, the tail feathers being a clear white, with a broad blackband crossing them near the middle. Its bill, like that of its matealready observed, was of a yellowish-white, the upper mandible beingreddish around the base, while the casque-like protuberance exhibited amottled surface of white and black. 

Ossaroo had to tell them pretty nearly all he knew in relation to thiscurious bird; for although there are several species of hornbillsnatives of India, it is by no means a common creature, even at home inits own country. 

Karl could have told them much more about its species and habits, and nodoubt he would have done so had they been otherwise engaged. Butsituated as they were, with an angry elephant besieging them in thetree, and now for a while interested in observing the movements of thebird itself, Karl was in no humour to deliver an ornithological lecture. He might have told them that ornithologists have differed much aboutthe classification of the hornbill--some of them placing it among thetoucans, while others assert that it belongs to the crow family. Itsimmense beak--out of all proportion to its body--is not the only pointof resemblance it bears to the toucans. Like them, it flings its foodinto the air, catching and swallowing it as it comes down. Unlike thetoucans, however, it cannot climb trees, and is therefore not of theScansorial order. It is said to be omnivorous in its food; and in thisit resembles the crows and ravens: but, indeed, as already stated, thereare many species of hornbills, and the habits of the different kinds, byno means uniform or alike, have been confounded by most writers. Thereare species in Africa, others in India and the Indian islands, and NewGuinea is known to have one or two distinct species of its own. Allthese differ not only in size, colour, shape of their beak, and theprotuberance that surmounts it; but also in the kind of food which theylive upon. For instance, the African hornbills, and one or more of theAsiatic species, are carnivorous, and some even carrion-eaters. Theseare filthy birds, their flesh and feathers smelling rank as those ofvultures. On the other hand, there is a species in the Indian islands--the Moluccas more particularly--whose sole food is the nutmeg, whichgives to its flesh an exquisite aromatic flavour, causing it to be muchrelished at the tables of Oriental epicures. The bill of this speciesafter a certain time appears with a number of grooves or furrows in it. As these furrows are observed only on the beaks of the old birds, theDutch colonists established in the Moluccas believe them to indicatetheir age, each wrinkle standing for a year. Hence the hornbill hasobtained among the colonists the name of _Yerrvogel_ (year bird). 

Karl, as I have said, was acquainted with all these facts in the naturalhistory of the hornbill; but just then he did not think of making themknown to his companions--all three being too much occupied in watchingthe movements of the male bird. It was evident that he was not one ofthe vegetable feeders: for on his alighting they could see hanging fromhis beak a long cylindrical object, which they were able to identify asa portion--the head and part of the body--of a dead snake. It wasequally evident that his mate was not accustomed to a vegetable diet:for from the way in which he was manoeuvring, the spectators saw thatthe mutilated reptile was intended for her. No doubt it was her dinner, for it had now got to that hour of the day. 

She was not to be kept waiting any longer. Almost on the instant herprovider alighted on the projecting spur, with a toss of his head hejerked the piece of snake up into the air, and then caught it as it camedown again--not with the intention to swallow it, but only to get abetter grip, in order that he might deliver it the more adroitly intothe mandibles of his mate--now protruding through the aperture, andopened to receive it. 

In another instant the savoury morsel was transferred from the beak ofthe male to that of the female; and then the ivory forceps of thelatter, with the snake held tightly between them, disappeared within thecavity. 

The old cock stayed not a moment longer upon the tree. He had servedhis mate with her dinner, and perhaps he had yet to bring on thedessert. Whether or not, he rose immediately afterwards into the air, with the same clangorous clapping of his wings; but this time the noisewas accompanied by the clattering of his horny mandibles, like a pair ofcastanets, causing a sound not only singular, but, if heard bystrangers, calculated to beget within them a considerable feeling ofalarm. 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN. 

A FOUR-FOOTED BURGLAR. 

After the departure of the bird, that had taught our young adventurersso interesting a chapter of natural history, the elephant once moreengrossed their attention. Not that there was anything new in themovements of the latter--for it was acting just as before--but simplybecause they knew that, so long as it remained upon the ground, theywould have to stay in the tree; and they naturally bent their eyes uponit, to see if it was showing any signs of moving off. They couldperceive none. Not the slightest appearance to indicate its intentionof departing from the spot. 

While engaged in regarding the besieger, their eyes were of courseremoved from the sycamore; nor might they have been again turned towardsthat tree--at least, not for a good while--but for a sound that reachedtheir ears, and which appeared to proceed from the direction of thehornbill's nest. It was a soft and rather plaintive sound--unlike anythat had been made by the rhinoceros bird; nor was it at all like thevoice of a bird, of any kind. It was more like the utterance of somefour-footed creature; or it might even have been a human voicepronouncing the syllable "wha, " several times repeated. 

That it was neither bird nor human being, Ossaroo could tell the momenthe heard the first "wha. " Almost as soon were the others convinced thatit was neither: for on turning their eyes to the sycamore, they saw uponthe projecting spur that had been so lately occupied by the hornbill, acreature of a very different kind--in short, a quadruped. 

Had it been in an American forest, they might have taken the creaturefor a racoon though a very large one. On closer scrutiny, many pointsof resemblance, and also of difference, would have become apparent. Like the racoon, it had plantigrade feet, a burly, rounded body, and avery thick hairy tail--ringed also like that of the American animal--butunlike the latter, its muzzle, instead of being long and slender, wasshort, round, and somewhat cat-like; while its hair, or more properlyits fur, formed a thick even coat all over its body, limbs, and tail, and presented a smooth and shining surface. Its general colour was avery dark brown, streaked and mottled with golden yellow; and Casparremarked, upon the moment of seeing it, that it was one of thehandsomest creatures he had ever beheld. 

The naturalist Cuvier had made the same remark long before Caspar'stime. So said Karl, on hearing the observation escape from the lips ofhis brother. 

Ossaroo knew that the animal was the "wha, " a name derived from itsordinary call; and that it was sometimes known as the "chetwa, " and alsothe "panda. "

Karl, on hearing Ossaroo's name for it, and indeed, on hearing itpronounced by the creature itself, was able to identify the animal, andto give it still another name--that which has been bestowed upon it byFrederick Cuvier--_ailurus_. This is the generic name, of which, up tothe present time, it has been left in undisturbed possession. Sinceonly one species has been discovered, it has the name all to itself; andtherefore would not require any specific appellation. But for all that, one has been given to it. On account of its shining coat, it has beencalled the _ailurus fulgens_. 

Though the closet naturalists, in following out their pedanticpropensities, have created a genus expressly for this animal, there isnothing either in its appearance or habits to separate it from thebadgers, the racoons, the coatimondis, and such other predatorycreatures. Like them it preys upon birds and their eggs, as also on thesmaller kinds of quadrupeds, and like the racoon, it is a nimbletree-climber. 

The situation in which the particular panda, of which we are writing, first appeared to the eyes of Karl and Caspar, proved this capacity, andits actions the moment after testified to its fondness for birds'-eggs. It had not been a minute under the eyes of the spectators, when they sawthat it was after the eggs of the hornbill; perhaps, too, it might havehad a design of tasting the flesh of their owner. 

Resting its thick plantigrade hind feet upon the projection of the tree, it erected itself like a little bear; and with its fore-paws commencedscraping at the barrier wall which the male bird had spent so much timeand taken so much pains in building. It is possible that if it had beenleft to itself, it might in time have succeeded in forcing an entranceinto the nest, and highly probable too--or it would scarcely haveentered upon the task. But it was not left to itself. Not that thesitter inside could have done much to hinder it: though it was evidentfrom the way in which her beak was repeatedly projected and drawn backthrough the hole, and also from her angry hissing, that she knew therewas danger without, and that an enemy was assailing her citadel. 

Most likely after a time, and by constant scraping, the clay wall wouldeventually have been pulled down; but before that event came to pass, aloud flapping and fluttering, and cracking and clattering, was heardamong the tops of the trees; and in an instant afterwards the broad, shadowy wings of the old male hornbill were swashing about the ears ofthe four-footed robber, where the long cutlass-like beak, armed at itsedges, at once interrupted the intent. 

The panda, taken by surprise, quailed at this first onset: for like anyother _paterfamilias_ who on returning home finds a burglar breakinginto his house, the cock bird charged in the full tide of impetuousfury. 

The robber, however, evidently used to this sort of thing, soonrecovered his self-possession; and instead of retreating from the tree, he only planted himself more firmly upon the projection; and, facingtowards his feathery assailant, prepared to show fight. 

And fight was instantly shown on both sides--the bird swoopingrepeatedly at its adversary, striking with its strong wings andthrusting with its ensiform beak; while the quadruped played back bothwith teeth and claws--several times plucking a mouthful of feathers fromthe breast of its winged adversary. 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. 

FRITZ INTERFERES. 

How the affair might have ended had the panda and the hornbill been theonly parties to the combat, can but be guessed at. In all likelihoodthe quadruped would have triumphed over the biped: the entrance wouldhave been forced; the old hen dragged off her nest--perhaps killed andeaten--and the eggs after her. 

But it was not written in the book of destiny that this should be the_denouement_ of that little drama: for at that moment an incidentoccurred which changed the whole character of the contest--followed by aseries of other incidents which brought the affair to a terminationunexpected by all parties engaged, as well as by those who witnessed it. 

The first of these incidents--and that which formed the key to thischange in the circumstances of the combat, was one of a very ludicrouscharacter--so much so as to elicit laughter from the spectators in thetree. 

It chanced that the eyes of the panda, as the animal stood erect on itshind quarters, were directly opposite the little aperture thatrepresented the entrance to the nest. Not dreaming of any danger inthat direction, the robber only thought of guarding his "daylights"against the hornbill upon the wing. But the hen bird inside the nest--who could see well enough what was passing outside--had no idea ofremaining a passive spectator; and perceiving her opportunity--for shewas within striking distance--she quietly drew back her long ivory beak, and, throwing all the strength of her neck into the effort--assisted bythe weight of her heavy helmeted head--as if with the blow of apick-axe, she struck the panda right in the eye--the sharp pointpenetrating almost to its skull. 

Terror-stricken, partly by surprise at this unexpected stroke, andpartly by the pain caused by it, the quadruped uttered a shrill cry; andat once scrambling down from the tree, seemed only anxious to make hisescape. In this design he, no doubt, would have succeeded, with onlythe loss of an eye; but the eye of still another enemy had been uponhim--one whom he had yet to encounter. Fritz, from his position nearthe bottom of the tree, attracted by the noise of the strife, had drawnnearer; and looking up, had been watching the combat throughout. It isscarcely probable that the sympathies of honest Fritz could have beenotherwise than in favour of the innocent bird, and against the guiltybeast; but whatever way they may have been inclined, certain it is thatas the panda came to "grass, " the dog "jumped" it upon the instant, andcommenced worrying it, as if the creature had been the oldest andbitterest of his enemies!

Despite the suddenness of this new attack--equally unexpected as thepeck in the eye--the fierce panda showed no signs of yielding without astruggle; and, although far overmatched by its canine antagonist, it waslikely to give the latter a scratch or two, as souvenirs that he wouldcarry to his grave. 

But at this moment a much greater danger was threatening Fritz than anyharm he might suffer from the claws of the panda; and had chance notfavoured him, as he jumped about in the struggle, by turning his eyes ina particular direction, he would have found himself in the clutches ofan antagonist, that would have shown him as little mercy as he washimself extending to the poor panda. 

But he was favoured by chance: for it was nothing more that directed hisglance towards his old pursuer, the elephant; and showed him the latter, at that moment advancing upon him at a charging pace, with eyessparkling in silent vengeance, and trunk extended to seize him. Underthe circumstances, it did not cost Fritz a moment's calculation as towhat course he should pursue. Suddenly dropping the panda--as if he haddiscovered the quadruped to be a lump of poison--he bounded from thespot in a direction the very opposite to that by which the elephant wasapproaching; and in less than a score of seconds the only part of him tobe seen was the tip of his tail just disappearing into the thicket. 

Of all the creatures that had borne part in this curious affray, thepoor panda was perhaps the most to be pitied. At all events he was themost unfortunate: for with the drama ended also his life. In every oneencountered by him he had found an enemy; and in the last he met with adread foe that soon made a finish of him. This last was the elephant. The great animal, rushing forward upon Fritz, seeing that the latter hadescaped, was determined this time not to be baulked of a victim. Instead of carrying out the design it had only partially resolved upon--that of following Fritz into the forest--it suddenly altered its plan, and transferred its hostility to the panda. It saw that the latter waswithin reach: for half blinded by the beak of the bird, and half worriedto death by the dog, the creature did not perceive, as Fritz had done, the approach of the elephant. It is possible it may have seen thedanger, but not until the elephant had got in such dangerous proximityas left it no chance of escape. 

Before the panda could make the slightest effort to get away from theground, the elephant had lapped its prehensile proboscis around it, andlifted it into the air as if its body had been no heavier than afeather. Holding it aloft, the merciless monster took several longstrides in the direction of the fallen obelisk; and then, as if choosinga spot suitable for its design, it placed the still struggling body ofthe panda upon the ground, set its huge fore-feet upon it, and usingthem alternately, continued to trample it until the only vestige left ofthe crushed creature was a shapeless mass of fur and flesh!

It was a painful spectacle to those in the tree; but it was succeeded bya sight that was pleasant to all three--the sight of the elephant's hindquarters as it walked off toward the woods, evidently with the intentionof retiring from the ground. 

Whether its vengeance had been satisfied by the destruction of thepanda, or whether it had gone off in search of Fritz, none of the threecould conjecture; but whatever may have been the motive, certain it isthat it guided the rogue from the spot, and raised a siege that was onthe point of becoming exceedingly irksome. 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. 

"DEATH TO THE ROGUE. "

As soon as the elephant was fairly out of sight, the besieged tookcounsel among themselves about descending to the earth. They weresorely tired of the positions which they had been so long constrained tokeep; for, to tell the truth, sitting astride upon the hard branch of atree, though easy enough for a short spell, becomes in time so painfulas to be almost unendurable. Caspar especially had grown impatient ofthis irksome inaction; and highly exasperated at the _rogue_ who wasforcing it upon them. Several times had he been on the point offorsaking his perch, and stealing down for his gun; but Karl, each timeperceiving his design, very prudently persuaded him to forego it. 

All were anxious enough to get out of the tree; and they would havevacated their sents at once on the disappearance of their dreaded enemy, had they been certain that he was gone for good; but they weresuspicious that it might be only a temporary absence--perhaps some_ruse_ of the rogue to decoy them down: for elephants of this characterhave been known to practise tricks with almost as much cunning as roguesamong men. 

While holding counsel as to how they had best act, Ossaroo cut shorttheir deliberations by volunteering to descend first; and by stealing ashort way along the track which the elephant had taken, ascertainwhether he was really gone from the ground, or only tying in ambush nearthe skirt of the forest. 

As the shikaree could creep through underwood as silently as a snake, there could be no great danger in his doing this, provided he did not gotoo far. He could not fail to see the elephant before approaching toonear to it; and in the event of its turning and pursuing him, he couldonce more flee to their tree-fortress. 

He scarcely waited for the consent of his companions; but, immediatelyafter conceiving the idea, he let himself down among the branches; andonce on the ground, glided hurriedly, but cautiously, off in thedirection taken by the elephant. 

Karl and Caspar stayed some five minutes longer upon their perch; butthe shikaree not returning as soon as they had expected, they becameimpatient, and also dropped down from the tree. 

Their first act was to recover their guns, and reload them; and then, taking stand in a position from which, in case of being suddenlyattacked, they could easily spring back among the branches, they awaitedthe return of Ossaroo. 

A considerable time elapsed, without their either seeing or hearingaught of the shikaree. Indeed they heard nothing: for a completesilence reigned around them, broken only now and then by the flutteringof the wings of the old male hornbill--who was still keeping in theneighbourhood of the nest, apparently puzzled to make out by whatmysterious combination of circumstances he had been so abruptlydisembarrassed of his adversary, the panda. 

The movements of the bird had no longer any interest for Karl andCaspar--who were beginning to grow uneasy at the prolonged absence ofOssaroo. 

Soon after, however, they were relieved from their suspense, by seeingthe shikaree emerging from the underwood, and advancing at a quick paceto the open ground. They had the additional pleasure of beholding Fritzfollowing at his heels. The dog had joined Ossaroo near the edge of thetimber--where he had been quietly secreting himself from the eyes of thedreaded elephant. 

As Ossaroo drew near, both Karl and Caspar noticed an expression uponhis countenance, which, combined with his hurried advance, told that hehad something of an important nature to communicate. 

"Well, Ossy, " asked Caspar, who was the first to speak, "what news?Have you seen anything more of the rogue?"

"Ah, rogue indeed!" replied Ossaroo, in a tone expressive of some secretfear. "You speakee true, sahib; the rogue, if he no worse. "

"Why, what now? Have you seen anything since you left us?"

"Seen, sahibs! Where you tinkee he now gone?"

"Where?"

"Hee go for de hut. "

"For the hut?"

"Straight trackee. Ah, sahibs!" continued the shikaree, speaking in alow voice and with an air of superstitious terror; "dat animal too wisefor dis world; he know too much. I fear him be no elephan' after all, but only de devil, who hab takee elephan' shape. Why he go back there?"

"Ah! why, I wonder, " inquired Caspar. "Do you think, " added he, "it isin the hope of finding us there? If that's his purpose, " he continued, without waiting for a reply, "we shall have no peace so long as heremains alive. We must either kill him, or he will do as much for us. "

"Sahibs, " observed the Hindoo, with a significant shake of the head, "weno able killee him; that elephan' he nebba die. "

"Oh, nonsense, Ossy! If that's what you mean, " rejoined Caspar, disdainfully repudiating the superstitious belief of the shikaree;"there is not much doubt of our being able to kill him, if we once get afair shot; and by my word, the sooner we set about it the better. It'sevident, from his having gone back to our hut, that he has some wickeddesign. Very likely he remembers being first attacked there by Fritz;and as he may be under the belief that the dog has retreated there, heis gone in search of him. Ho, Fritz, old fellow! you needn't be afraid. You can easily get out of his way, whenever you like. Your masters arein more danger than you, my boy. "

"You are sure, Ossaroo, " said Karl, who had stood for some time silentlyreflecting, "you are sure he has gone to the hut?"

In reply to this interrogation, Ossaroo would not state positively thathe had seen the elephant arrive on the very spot where the hovel stood;but he had followed his track through the belt of heavy timber; andthen, having climbed a tree, had descried the great quadruped moving inthe direction of the hut. He had no doubt it was for that point he wasmaking, though with what design Ossaroo could not guess--hissuperstitious dread having hindered him from venturing upon anyconjecture. 

"One thing is clear, " said Karl, after another interval spent inreflection: "it will be no list our attempting to continue the survey wehave commenced, until the elephant be got out of the way. What you say, brother Caspar, is quite true. Now that he has become aware of ourpresence, and has, moreover, been roused to fury by the wounds we havegiven him, it is not likely he will forget what has passed; and we canhope for neither peace nor safety till we have succeeded in destroyinghim. There is no reason why we should not set about it at once, butevery reason why we should. Our very lives depend upon his destruction;and they will not be safe till that has been accomplished. "

"Let us after him at once, then, " cried Caspar; "and be our motto, `_Death to the rogue_'!"

CHAPTER NINETEEN. 

A HOME IN RUINS. 

Without further delay, our adventurers took the back track towards thehut, which was exactly that which the elephant had taken--as they couldtell by traces of the animal all along the route, which the experiencedeye of the shikaree had already discovered, and which he now pointed outto his companions as they passed on. Here and there its greatfootprints were visible in the turf, in places where the ground wassoft; and at other places where no tracks appeared, leaves and twigsfreshly strewn upon the earth, and also branches of considerable sizebroken off from the trees, and borne for some distance before beingdropped, clearly indicated to Ossaroo the route which the rogue hadtaken. 

The shikaree had often followed the spoor of wild elephants through thejungles of Bengal, and knew everything about their way of travelling. He was therefore able to tell the others that the rogue had not beenbrowsing as he went--for the leaves and twigs showed no signs of histeeth--but on the contrary, he had moved forward rapidly, and as if withsome special determination. The broken branches which they saw weremore likely to have been torn off out of spite at the ill-usage he hadreceived, and the disappointment at not having succeeded in his purposesof vengeance. 

It did not need for Ossaroo to caution his companions to circumspection. They knew as well as he that an elephant enraged as this one was, whether a _rogue_ elephant or an _honest_ one, was anything but a safecustomer to come in contact with; and that this particular rogue wasmost particularly angry they had just had both ocular and auricularevidence. 

They went forward, therefore, with unusual caution, taking care to keepboth their eyes and ears on the alert, and at the same time moving inperfect silence, or conversing only in whispers. 

The path upon which they were returning was not that by which they hadgone forth. The reconnoissance of the cliffs had carried them a gooddistance around the edge of the valley; but now they were following thetrack taken by the elephant, which, as already ascertained by Ossaroo, led almost in a direct line to the hut. 

As they drew nearer to their rude habitation, they saw indications thatthe enemy was still before them. As they knew that in the immediateneighbourhood of the hot-spring, and consequently of the hut itself, there were no large trees or other place of safety to which they mightretreat in case of being again attacked, they began to advance withincreased caution. From the direction in which they were approaching, the hovel could not be seen until they should get within less than twohundred yards of it. There was a belt of rather tall jungle to bepassed through, and then it would be in sight. 

Through this jungle they commenced advancing; and there, to their noslight uneasiness, they also observed fresh traces of the elephant. They were now certain that he had passed through it before them, stillgoing direct for the hut. 

What on earth can he want there? was the query that once more suggesteditself to the minds of all three. It certainly looked as if he hadproceeded there in search of _them_! As if, missing them from the sceneof the encounter, he believed they had returned home, and was followingup their acquaintance. 

From what they had observed, they could not help attributing to thegreat quadruped the possession of an intelligence something more thannatural; and this, though it may have been only an absurd fancy on theirpart, had the effect of begetting within their minds a very painfulfeeling of apprehension. What they saw on coming out on the other sideof the jungle not only strengthened this feeling of apprehension, butincreased it all at once to a positive terror. 

The hut, which should now have been before their eyes, and at a distanceof not quite two hundred paces, _was no longer there_! The ruins of italone were visible. The large boulders with which its walls had beenbuilt, the beams and thatch that had composed its roof, the grasscouches upon which they had slept, the rude improvised utensils andother articles which had served them for furniture, were all strewed farand wide over the ground; and not the semblance of a house, or evenhovel, remained to show that the spot had been occupied by a humanhabitation!

Yes--in what had been their rude dwelling our adventurers beheld only aruder ruin--scarce one stone standing upon, another!

They beheld all this with feelings of fear--ay, something stronger--withawe. The Pagan worshipper of Brahma or Vishnu was no longer alone inhis superstitious imaginings. His young Christian companions werealmost equally victims to a belief in the supernatural. Theycomprehended well enough what had caused the destruction of the house. Though the author of that mischief was nowhere to be seen, they knew itwas the elephant. There was no alternative but to accept thatexplanation; and it was not the act itself that was awing them, but thecontemplation of the human-like, or rather demon-like, intelligence thathad guided the animal thither, and instructed it to this act ofretribution, perhaps only preliminary to a still greater one. 

Though the work of devastation could not have been completed manyminutes before their arrival, the elephant appeared to have gone awayfrom the ground. At east, it was not to be seen anywhere near the spot;and it is needless to say that it was carefully looked for. Dreadingits dangerous proximity, they had kept under cover of the bushes whilecontemplating the ruin from a distance; and it was not until after aconsiderable interval had elapsed that they ventured forward over theopen space to ascertain the full extent of the damage. 

This they at length did, and found that it was _total_ destruction. Sofar as the hut was concerned, not a vestige of construction remained--walls and roof had been alike levelled with the ground. But what was agreater source of chagrin to the now homeless plant-hunters, was thattheir little store of ammunition--the gunpowder, which during all theperiod of their imprisonment they had been carefully hoarding--wasspilled among the rubbish, and of course irrecoverable. It had beendeposited in a large gourd-shell prepared for the purpose; and this, among other similar chattels, the enraged quadruped had crushed underits feet. Their cured provisions had also been turned out from theirplace of deposit, and trampled into the dust of the earth. But this, though also a chagrin, was one of less bitterness. Other provisionsmight be obtained--not now so easily, since the powder was destroyed--but the latter they could not replace. 

CHAPTER TWENTY. 

UP A TREE AGAIN!

They might have remained longer on the ground lamenting this irreparableloss, but that they were still apprehensive of the return of theelephant. Whither had it gone? That was the question which one wasaddressing to the other, while the eyes of all kept turning in differentdirections, and with glances that betrayed their uneasiness. 

The rogue could not have been off the ground more than a very fewminutes: the grass that he had trampled down was still wet with its ownsap, crushed out by his ponderous weight. And yet he might have beenseen all around for nearly a quarter of a mile's distance. There was notimber within that distance that could have given concealment to ananimal so bulky as an elephant?

So thought Karl and Caspar; but Ossaroo was of a different opinion. Thebit of jungle through which they had passed would suffice to screen therogue, said he: adding at the same time a piece of intelligence derivedfrom his shikaree experience: that an elephant, large as it is, can hidein a slight cover with wonderful cunning; that its sagacity enables itto select the best place for concealment; and that, although it neithercrouches nor squats, it contrives, by keeping perfectly still--added tothe circumstance of its being a shapeless sort of mass--ofttimes toelude the eye of the most vigilant hunter. Though Karl and Caspar couldscarcely credit him, Ossaroo expressed his belief, not only that theelephant might be hid in the scant jungle they were talking about, butthat it actually _was_ there. 

Unfortunately for them, Ossaroo's argument was too soon to be supportedby facts which left no doubt of its accuracy. As they stood scanningthe jungle with keen glances, and with ears acutely bent to catch everysound that might issue from it, a movement was perceptible among thetops of some tall saplings that grew near its centre. In the nextmoment a brace of the beautiful argus pheasants rose on whirring wing, at the same time giving forth their loud note of alarm. 

The birds, forsaking the jungle, in their flight passed over the headsof our adventurers, and by their cries caused such a clangour as to setFritz off into a prolonged fit of baying. 

Whether it was that the enemy had been only lying in ambush, waiting fora good opportunity to charge, or whether the voice of the dog--alreadyknown and hated--had been just then heard by the elephant, stirring himto a fresh thirst for vengeance, certain it is, that before a sentencecould be exchanged among the terrified trio, the long conical trunk andbroad massive shoulders were visible through the scanty jungle; and itwas plain to all that the monster was making towards them with thatdeceptive shamble which, though only a walk, carries the huge quadrupedover the ground almost with the speed of a galloping horse. 

For a moment our adventurers stood their ground--not, however, with anyidea of awaiting the attack or attempting to repel it; but simplybecause they knew not in what direction to retreat. 

So dismayed were they at the sight of the advancing enemy, that it wassome seconds before any of the three could suggest a plan that offered aprospect of escape. Rather mechanically than otherwise did Karl andCaspar bring their pieces to the level, with the intention of firing inthe face of the foe: for they had but little hope that the lead fromtheir guns, both of light calibre, would stop his impetuous charge. Both fired at the same instant; and then Caspar delivered his secondshot; but, just as they had expected, the elephant continued to chargeonward. 

Fortunately for them, the shikaree had not condescended to draw thestring of his bow. Experience had taught him that under suchcircumstances an arrow was an useless weapon. He might as well haveattempted to kick the elephant, or stick a pin into its trunk; either ofwhich proceedings would have damaged the animal nearly as much, andperhaps irritated it a little less, than would one of Ossaroo's arrows. Knowing this, the shikaree, instead of bothering himself with his bow, or wasting time by any thoughts of resistance, had occupied the fewseconds left for consideration in a rapid reconnoissance of theneighbourhood--to see if it offered any chance of escape. 

To tell the truth, the vicinity appeared rather unpromising. The cliffsoffered no ledge upon which they might have climbed out of reach of therogue, the jungle might have afforded them a temporary shelter; butalthough it had concealed the elephant from their eyes, it could notlong conceal them from the eyes of such a sagacious creature as theirantagonist appeared to be. Besides, the elephant was between them andit, and to retreat in that direction would be to run point blank uponits proboscis!

Fortunately in this moment of uncertainty and irresolution a point ofsafety appeared to the eye of the shikaree, in the shape of a tree--theonly one near the spot. It was a tree that had already beeninstrumental in saving his life: for it was the same that stood by thelittle straits where Ossaroo had set his nets, and by means of whichCaspar had been enabled to hoist him up out of the quicksand. 

This tree was a very large one; and standing alone, its branches, freeto extend their growth, had spread far out in every direction, almoststretching across the straits. 

Ossaroo wasted not the precious moments in idle reflection, but shoutingto the young sahibs, and signalling them to follow his example, hestruck off towards the tree with all the speed that lay in his legs; andnot till he had got up to the third or fourth tier of branches did helook behind him, to see whether his advice had been taken. 

The young sahibs had adopted his suggestion with alacrity, withoutstaying a moment to question its propriety; and both were up the treealmost as soon as the shikaree himself. 

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. 

AN IMPLACABLE BESIEGER. 

Fritz had retreated with his masters as far as the bottom of the tree;but possessing only canine claws, he was not a climber; and of coursecould follow them no further. But if he could not ascend the tree, hehad no intention of remaining under it--when he saw no chance ofavoiding the vengeance of the elephant--and, without pausing for amoment, he plunged into the water, and swam across the straits. Thenwading out on the the opposite bank, he scuttled off into a cover ofreeds which grew along the shore of the lake, and there concealedhimself. 

This time the elephant paid no attention to the dog. It was upon thehunters alone that its eyes were fixed; and towards them its vindictivedesigns were now specially directed. It had been close upon theirheels, as they ran over the open ground, and distinctly saw themascending into the tree. Indeed, so near was it, that both Karl andCaspar were once more obliged to let go their guns, in order that theymight have both hands free for climbing. Otherwise they might have beentoo late to get out of reach, and the least delay on their part mighthave been fatal to one or both. 

Karl was the last to climb up; and just as he lifted his feet from abranch to set them on one higher up, the rogue twisted his trunk aroundthe former, and snapped it in two, as if it had been only a slenderreed. 

But Karl, with the others, was now beyond his reach; and all threecongratulated themselves on once more having escaped from a danger thatwas nothing short of death itself. 

If possible, the elephant was now more enraged than ever. It had notonly been a second time baulked in its vengeance, but had received threefresh bullet-wounds; which, though mere scratches upon the skin of itshuge cranium, were sore enough to irritate it to an extreme degree. Uttering its shrill, trumpet-like screech, it flourished its proboscishigh in the air; and seizing the branches that were within its reach, itsnapped them off from the main stem as if they had been tiny twigs. 

In a short time the tree, which had been furnished with low-spreadinglimbs, was completely stripped of these to a height of nearlytwenty-feet from the ground; while the space underneath had becomestrewn with twigs, leaves, and broken branches, crushed into a litterunder the broad, ponderous hooves of the mammoth as he kept movingincessantly over them. 

Not content with stripping the tree of its branches, the old tuskerseized hold of its trunk--lapping his own _trunk_ as far as he couldaround it--and commenced tugging at it, as if he had hopes of being ableto drag it up by the roots. 

Perceiving after trial that this feat was beyond his power, he relaxedhis hold, and then set about another experiment--that of pushing downthe tree with his shoulder. 

Although he succeeded in causing the tree to tremble, he soon becamesatisfied that it stood firm enough to resist all his strength, great asit was: and under this conviction he at length desisted from theattempt. 

He showed no sign, however, of any intention to leave the ground; but, on the contrary, took his stand under the tree: since the very oppositewas the determination which he had formed in his mind. 

Although confident that they were in security, our adventurers wereanything but exultant. They saw that they were only safe for the time;and, that although their dreaded adversary might after a while withdrawand leave them free to descend, still there could be no security for thefuture. They had now less hope of being able to destroy this powerfulenemy: as they had only one charge left for their guns, and that mightnot be sufficient to take away his life. The spilling of their powderby the elephant itself seemed like a piece of strategy on his part, leaving them in a sad dilemma. 

Inside any house they might build, they would be no better protectedagainst him than on the open ground: for the rogue had proved himselfcapable of demolishing the strongest walls they might construct; and tobe out of his reach, they would be obliged to keep eternally among thetops of the trees, and lead the life of monkeys or squirrels--whichwould be a very disagreeable kind of existence. 

Just then an idea occurred to Caspar that offered them an alternative tothis unpleasant prospect of an arboreal life. He bethought him of thecave in which they had killed the bear. It could only be reached by aladder, and would of course be inaccessible to the elephant. Once outof their present dilemma, they might seek refuge there. 

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. 

DRAWING THEIR DRINK. 

The idea about the cave was a good one, and gave them some littlecomfort in the midst of their tribulation. 

Still, it was not much; for although they would be safe enough while inthe cavern, they could not accomplish anything there. The want of lightwould hinder them from working at the ladders; and while cutting thetimber out of which to make them, and every hour that they might beengaged upon them, they would be exposed to the attacks of theirimplacable enemy. 

The prospect was sufficiently discouraging--even with the knowledge thatthe cave would offer them a safe asylum to which they could retreatwhenever pursued. 

As the elephant remained comparatively tranquil for a length of time, these thoughts of future operations had engaged their attention. Confident in their present security, they were not troubled by the fearof any immediate danger. 

Very soon, however, this confidence began to forsake them. How longwere they going to be kept in the tree? That was a question that nowpresented itself; and as the time passed, became a source of uneasiness. 

Though none of them could answer this question, yet all could understandthat the siege promised to be a long one--perhaps much longer than thatwhich had so lately been raised: for the rogue, inspired by a rageprofound and implacable, exhibited in his sullen look a determination tostand his ground for an indefinite period of time. Seeing this, ouradventurers once more became uneasy. Not only was their situationirksome--from the fact of their having to sit astride slender branches--but should the siege be continued, they would be subjected to thatdanger peculiar to all people besieged--the danger of starvation. Evenat the outset all three were as hungry as wolves. They had eaten but avery light breakfast, and nothing since: for they had not found time tocook dinner. It was now late in the afternoon; and should the enemycontinue there all night, they would have to go to bed supperless. Ah!to bed indeed. Perhaps there would be neither bed nor sleep that night:for how could they slumber upon those hard branches? Should they loseconsciousness for a moment, they would drop off, and tumble down upontheir sleepless besieger! Even should they tie themselves in the tree, to go to sleep upon such narrow couches would be out of the question. 

Thus, then, they saw no prospect of either supper or sleep for thatnight. But there was another appetite now annoying them far worse thaneither hunger or longing for sleep. It was the desire to drink. Therough and varied exercise which they had been compelled to take sincestarting in the morning--climbing trees, and skulking through pathlessjungles--combined with the varied emotions which their repeated perilshad called up--all had a tendency to produce thirst; and thirst they nowfelt in an extreme degree. It was not lessened by the sight of thewater shining beneath them. On the contrary, this only increased thecraving to an extent that was almost unendurable. 

For a considerable time they bore the pain, without any hope of beingable to get relieved of it; and with the lake glistening before theireyes under the clear sunlight, and the current gently gliding throughthe straits underneath, they could realise, in something more thanfancy, what must have been the terrible sufferings of poor Tantalus. 

After submitting to this infliction for a considerable length of time, an exclamation escaping from Caspar drew upon him the attention of theothers. 

"Dunder und blitzen!" cried he; "what have we been thinking about allthis time? The three of us sitting here choking with thirst, and ariver of water within our reach!"

"Within our reach? I wish it were, Caspar, " rejoined Karl, in rather adesponding tone. 

"Certainly it is within our reach. Look here!"

As Caspar spoke, he held out his copper powder-flask, now nearly empty. Karl did not yet quite comprehend him. 

"What is to hinder us from letting this down, " he inquired, "and drawingit up again full of water? Nothing. Have you a piece of string aboutyou, Ossy?"

"Yes, sahib, I have, " briskly replied the shikaree, at the same timedrawing a roll of hempen twist out of the breast of his cotton shirt, and holding it out towards the young hunter. 

"Long enough, it is, " said Caspar, taking the cord; which the nextmoment he attached around the neck of the flask. After pouring thepowder into his bullet-pouch, he permitted the flask to drop down tillit became immersed under the current. Allowing it to remain there, tillit had become filled with water, he drew it up again; and with acongratulatory exclamation presented it to Karl, telling him to drink tohis heart's content. This injunction Karl obeyed without the slightestreluctance. 

The flask was soon emptied; and once more let down and re-filled, andagain emptied; and this series of operations was continued, until allwere satisfied, and there was no longer a thirsty individual in the topof that tree. 

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. 

A GIGANTIC SYRINGE. 

Having by Caspar's ingenious artifice obtained as much water as theywanted, the besieged felt better able to endure their irksome situation. They were resigning themselves with as much philosophy as they couldcommand to bear it a little longer, when to their great astonishmentthey were treated to more water than they wanted, and from a source ascurious as was unexpected. 

Whether the elephant had taken a hint from seeing the flask plunged downinto the water, or whether the idea had occurred to it without beingsuggested by anything in particular, it would be difficult to say. Certain it is, that just after the last flask-full had been pulled up, and before the eddying ripples had subsided from the surface, the roguewas seen to make a rush into the water, at the same time deeplysubmerging his proboscis, as if about to take a drink. 

For some moments he remained in a stationary attitude, apparentlyfilling his capacious stomach with the fluid. 

There was no reason why he should not be as thirsty as themselves; andthe spectators in the tree had no other thought, than that the greatquadruped had waded into the pool simply for the purpose of quenchinghis thirst. 

There was something about his movements, however, and the style in whichhe had set about sucking up the water, which betrayed a differentdetermination; and it was not long before this was evinced by aperformance which, under other circumstances, might have evoked laughterfrom those who witnessed it. In this instance, however, the spectatorswere themselves the victims of the joke--if joke it might be termed--andduring its continuance, not one of the three felt the slightestinclination to indulge in mirth. It was thus that the elephant acted:--

Having filled its trunk with the water of the stream, it raised italoft. Then pointing it towards the tree, and even directing it with asmuch coolness and precision as an astronomer would have used inadjusting his telescope, it sent the fluid in a drenching stream intothe faces of the three individuals whom it was holding in siege. Allthree, who chanced to be sitting close together, were at the sameinstant, and alike, the victims of this unexpected deluge; and beforeany of them could have counted half a score, they were wet from head tofoot, every rag upon their backs, and fronts too, becoming as thoroughlysaturated as if they had been exposed for hours to a drenching rainstorm!

But the elephant was not satisfied with giving them a singleshower-bath. As soon as its first supply was exhausted, it once moreimmersed its pliant sucker, re-filled the reservoir, took a good aim, and ejected the fluid into their faces. 

In this way the creature continued drawing up the water from the stream, and squirting it from its vast muscular syringe, until it had douchedthem nearly a dozen times. 

Their situation was anything but enviable; for the watery stream, propelled against them with as much force as from the hose-pipe of afire-engine, almost washed them from their unstable seats; to saynothing of the great discomfort which the douche occasioned them. 

It would be difficult to guess what could be the object of the elephantin this curious performance. Perhaps it may have conceived a hopeeither of driving them out of the tree, or forcibly washing them fromthe branches; or perhaps it merely designed to make their situation asuncomfortable as possible, and thus to some extent satisfy its spite. 

It would be equally difficult to tell how long the performance mighthave lasted. Perhaps for hours longer--since the supply of water wasinexhaustible; but it was brought to a conclusion which neither thegreat pachyderm himself foresaw, nor they who were the subjects of hisaqueous dispensation. 

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. 

SWALLOWED WHOLESALE. 

Just while it was in the midst of its performance, keeping its_water-battery_ in full play, and apparently with malicious enjoyment, it was seen all at once to desist; and then its huge body commencedrocking from side to side, one shoulder now upheaving, then the other, while the long trunk was swept in circles through the air, at the sametime emitting, instead of water, shrill sounds that proclaimed eitherpain or terror. 

What could it mean? The quadruped was evidently smitten with somesudden fear; but who and what was the enemy it dreaded? So mentallyinquired Karl and Caspar; but before either had time to shape histhought into an interrogative speech, the shikaree had answered it. 

"He-ho!" he exclaimed. "Goot! vair goot!--praise to the God of theGreat Gangee! See, sahibs, the rogue he go down, down--he sinkee in dequicksand that near swalley Ossaroo; he-ho; sinkee! he sinkee!"

Karl and Caspar easily comprehended the meaning of Ossaroo's broken butexultant speeches. Bending their eyes on the brute below, and watchingits movements, they at once perceived that the shikaree had spoken thetruth. The elephant was evidently sinking in the quicksand!

They had noticed that when it first entered the bed of the stream, thewater had not reached far above its knees. Now it was up to its sides, and slowly but gradually rising higher. Its violent struggles, moreover--the partial and alternate raising of its shoulders, itsexcited shrieks--and the proboscis, rapidly extended now to this side, now to that, as if searching to grasp some support--all proved the truthof Ossaroo's assertion--the rogue was sinking in the quicksand. Andrapidly was the creature going down. Before the spectators had beenwatching it five minutes, the water lapped up nearly to the level of itsback, and then inch by inch, and foot by foot, it rose higher, until theround shoulders were submerged, and only the head and its longtrumpet-like extension appeared above the surface. 

Soon the shoulders ceased to play; and the vast body exhibited no othermotion, save that gentle descent by which it was being drawn down intothe bowels of the earth!

The trunk still kept up its vibratory movement, now violently beatingthe water into foam, and now feebly oscillating, all the while breathingforth its accents of agony. 

At length the upturned head and smooth protuberant jaws sank beneath thesurface; and only the proboscis appeared, standing erect out of thewater like a gigantic Bologna sausage. It had ceased to give out theshrill trumpet scream; but a loud breathing could still be heard, interrupted at intervals by a gurgling sound. 

Karl and Caspar kept their seats upon the tree, looking down upon thestrange scene with feelings of awe depicted in their faces. Not so theshikaree, who was no longer aloft. As soon as he had seen the elephantfairly locked in the deadly embrace of that quicksand that had so nearlyengulfed his own precious person, he lowered himself nimbly down fromthe branches. 

For some moments he stood upon the bank, watching the futile effortswhich the animal was making to free itself, all the while talking to it, and taunting it with spiteful speeches--for Ossaroo had beenparticularly indignant at the loss of his skirt. When at length thelast twelve inches of the elephant's trunk was all that remained abovethe surface, the shikaree could hold back no longer. Drawing his longknife, he rushed out into the water; and, with one clean cut, severedthe muscular mass from its supporting stem, as a sickle would havelevelled some soft succulent weed. 

The parted tube sank instantly to the bottom; a few red bubbles rose tothe surface; and these were the last tokens that proclaimed the exit ofthat great elephant from the surface of the earth. It had gone downinto the deep sands, there to become fossilised--perhaps after the lapseof many ages to be turned up again by the spade and pick-axe of somewondering quarry-man. 

Thus by a singular accident were our adventurers disembarrassed of adisagreeable neighbour--or rather, a dangerous enemy--so dangerous, indeed, that had not some chance of the kind turned up in their favour, it is difficult to conjecture how they would have got rid of it. It wasno longer a question of pouring bullets into its body, and killing it inthat way. The spilling of their powder had spoiled that project; andthe three charges that still remained to them might not have beensufficient with guns of so small a calibre as theirs. 

No doubt in time such gallant hunters as Caspar and Ossaroo, and soingenious a contriver as Karl, would have devised some way to circumventthe rogue, and make an end of him; but for all that they were very wellpleased at the strange circumstance that had relieved them of thenecessity, and they congratulated themselves on such a fortunate result. 

On hearing them talking together, and perceiving that they were nolonger in the tree, Fritz, who had all this while been skulking only afew paces from the spot, now emerged from his hiding-place, and camerunning up. Little did Fritz suspect, while swimming across the straitsto rejoin his masters, that the huge quadruped which had so frequentlygiven him chase was at that moment so very near him; and that his ownclaws, while cutting the water, came within an inch of scratching thatterrible trunk, now _truncated_ to a _frustrum_ of its former self!

But although Fritz had no knowledge of strange incident that hadoccurred during his absence--and may have been wondering in whatdirection the enemy had gone off--while swimming across the straits, thered colour of the water at a particular place, or more likely the scentof blood upon it, admonished him that some sanguinary scene hadtranspired; and drew from him a series of excited yelps as he buoyantlybreasted the wave. 

Fritz came in for a share of the congratulations. Although the faithfulcreature had retreated on each occasion of his being attacked, no onethought of casting a slur upon his canine courage. He had onlyexhibited a wise discretion: for what chance would he have stood againstsuch a formidable adversary? He had done better, therefore, by takingto his heels; for had he foolishly stood his ground, and got killed inthe first encounter by the obelisk, the elephant might still have beenalive, and besieging them in the tree. Besides, it was Fritz who hadsounded the first note of warning, and thus given time to prepare forthe reception of the assailant. 

All of the party regarded Fritz as worthy of reward; and Ossaroo hadmade up his mind that he should have it, in the shape of a dinner uponelephant's trunk. But in wading back into the stream, the shikareeperceived to his chagrin that the brave dog must be disappointed: sincethe piece which he had so skilfully lopped off, had followed thefortunes of the part from which it had been severed, and was now farbelow the surface of the sand!

Ossaroo made no attempt to dig it up again. He had a wholesome dread ofthat treacherous footing; and treading it gingerly, he lost no time inreturning to the bank, and following the sahibs--who had already takentheir departure from the water's edge, and were proceeding in thedirection of the ruined hut. 

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. 

THE DEODAR. 

The idea that had occurred to them--of making the cave their home--wasno longer deemed worthy of being entertained. The dangerous proximityof the elephant had alone suggested it; and this no longer existed. Itwas not likely that there was another _rogue_ in the valley. Indeed, Ossaroo was able to set their minds at rest on this point--assuring themthat two animals of the kind are never found occupying the samedistrict: since two creatures of such malignant dispositions wouldcertainly enact the tragedy of the Kilkenny cats--though Ossaroo did notillustrate his meaning by quoting this celebrated expression. 

Possibly there might be other animals in the neighbourhood as much to bedreaded as the elephant had been. There might be panthers, or leopards, or tigers, or even another bear; but against any of these the cave wouldbe no safe asylum--not safer than their old hut. They could reconstructit more strongly than ever; and put a stout door upon it to keep out anymidnight intruder; and to this work did they apply themselves as soon asthey had eaten dinner, and dried their garments--so thoroughly saturatedby the colossal syringe of the defunct elephant. 

Several days were spent in restoring the hovel--this time withconsiderable improvements. The winter weather had now fairly set in;and household warmth had become an important object: so that not onlydid they fill up the chinks with a thick coating of clay, but afireplace and chimney were constructed, and a strong door was added. 

They knew that it would take them a long time to make the ladders--morethan a dozen long ladders--each of which must be light as a reed andstraight as an arrow. 

During the milder days of winter they might work in the open air;indeed, the greater part of their work they must needs do outside thehut. Still it would be necessary to have shelter not only during thenights, but in times of storm and severe weather. 

Prudence therefore counselled them to providence; and before proceedingfarther with their design of scaling the cliff, they made all snugwithin doors. 

They had no fear of suffering from the winter's cold--either for want ofclothing by day, or covering by night. Some of the yak-skins were stillin good preservation--with the pelts of several other animals that hadfallen before the double-barrel of Caspar--and these would suffice forwarm clothing by day and bed-covering by night. 

About their winter's food they were a little more anxious. The elephanthad succeeded not only in destroying their means of obtainingprovisions, but had also damaged the stock which was on hand, bytrampling it in the mud. Those portions of the dried venison andyak-beef that the brute had not succeeded in completely spoiling, wereonce more collected, and stored in a safe place; while it was resolved, in the event of their not being able to procure more, that they shouldgo on rations proportioned to the time which they might have to continuein their rock-bound prison. Of course, though their ammunition wasexhausted, they were not without hopes of being able to add to theirstore of provisions. The arrows of Ossaroo still existed, independentof either powder or lead. Snares and traps would enable them to capturemany of the wild creatures that, like themselves, appeared to have founda prison in that secluded and singular valley. 

When all the arrangements regarding their winter residence werecompleted, they returned once more to the survey of the cliffs, whichhad been interrupted by the elephant. 

After a prolonged examination of the ledges, that had been discovered onthat eventful day, they continued on until they had made the circuit ofthe valley. Not a foot of the precipice was passed without the mostelaborate inspection being bestowed upon it; and of course the twincliffs which hemmed in the gorge of the glacier were examined with therest. 

There proved to be no place offering such advantages for an ascent byladders as that already discovered; and although there was no positivecertainty that they might be able to accomplish their formidable task, they determined to make a trial, and without further delay set aboutpreparing the ladders. 

The preliminary step was to select and cut down a sufficient quantity oftimber of the right length. They were about to have recourse to thebeautiful Thibet pine--the sort which had served them for bridging thecrevasse--when a new tree was discovered by them, equally beautiful, andmore suitable for their purpose. It was the cedar (_Pinus deodara_). Ossaroo once more lamented the absence of his beloved bamboos--allegingthat with a sufficient number of these he could have made ladders enoughfor scaling the cliff, in less than a quarter of the time it would taketo construct them out of the pines. This was no exaggeration: for theculm of the great bamboo, just as it is cut out of the brake, serves forthe side of a ladder, without any pains taken with it, further than tonotch out the holes in which to insert the rounds. Moreover, the bamboobeing light, would have served better than any other timber for suchladders as they required--enabling them with less trouble to get themhoisted up to the ledges--an operation in which they apprehended nolittle difficulty. But although there was a species of cane growing inthe valley--that known to the hill people as the "ringall"--its culmswere neither of sufficient length nor thickness for their purpose. Itwas the great bamboo of the tropical jungles that Ossaroo sighed for;and which on their way up through the lower ranges of the Himalayas theyhad seen growing in vast brakes, its tall stems often rising to theheight of a hundred feet. 

The deodar, under favourable circumstances, attains to vast dimensions, trunks being often met with in the mountains upwards of ten feet indiameter, and rising to the height of one hundred feet. A few sticks ofthis description would have made their labour both short and easy. 

Failing the bamboo, therefore, they selected the second best materialwhich the forest afforded them--the tall "deodar. " This tree, which isknown to the Anglo-Indian residents of the Himalayan countries as the"cedar, " has long since been introduced into English parks andarboretums, under the name of _deodara_--its specific botanicalappellation. It is a true pine and is found in most of the hills andvalleys of the Himalayan chain, growing at almost any elevation and onany kind of ground--in the low warm valleys, as well as near the line ofeverlasting snow. Its favourite habitat, however, is on the lowerhills, and though by no means a beautiful tree, it is valuable onaccount of the great quantity of tar which can be extracted from itssap. 

Where many deodar trees are growing together, they shoot up in longtapering shafts, with short branches, and present the acute conical formcharacteristic of the pines. When individual trees stand singly, or atsome considerable distance apart, their habit is different. They thenstretch out long massive arms in a horizontal direction; and as theseparate twigs and leaves also extend horizontally, each branch thuspresents a surface as level as a table. The deodar often reaches theheight of one hundred feet. 

The wood of the deodar is everywhere esteemed throughout the countrieswhere it is found. It is excellent for building purposes, easilyworked, almost imperishable, and can be readily split into planks--anindispensable requisite in a country where saws are almost unknown. InCashmere, bridges are built of it: and the long time that some of thesehave been standing, affords a proof of its great durability. A portionof these bridges are under water for more than half the year; andalthough there are some of them nearly a hundred years old, they arestill in good preservation, and safe enough to be crossed. 

When the deodar is subjected to the process by which tar is extractedfrom other pines, it yields a much thinner liquid than tar--of a darkred colour, and very pungent smell. This liquid is known as "cedaroil;" and is used by the hill people as a remedy for skin diseases--asalso for all scrofulous complaints in cattle. 

The deodar is of very slow growth; and this unfits it for beingintroduced into European countries--except as an ornamental timber forparks and pleasure grounds. 

It was chiefly on account of its property of being easily split intoplanks, or pieces of light scantling, that the deodar was selected formaking the sides of the ladders. To have cut down the trunks of heavytrees to the proper thickness for light ladders--with such imperfectimplements as they were possessed of--would have been an interminablework for our inexperienced carpenters. The little axe of Ossaroo andthe knives were the only tools they possessed available for the work. As the deodar could be split with wedges, it was just the timber wantedunder these circumstances. 

While engaged in "prospecting" among the deodar trees, a pine of anotherspecies came under the observation of our adventurers. It was thatknown as the "cheel. "

It might have been seen by them without attracting any particularnotice, but for Karl; who, upon examining its leaves, and submittingthem to a botanical test, discovered that within the body of the "cheel"there existed qualities that, in the circumstances in which they wereplaced, would be of great value to them. Karl knew that the "cheel" wasone of those pines, the wood of which, being full of turpentine, makemost excellent torches; and he had read, that for this very purpose itis used by all classes of people who dwell among the Himalaya mountains, and who find in these torches a very capital substitute for candles orlamps. Karl could also have told his companions, that the turpentineitself--which oozes out of the living tree--is used by the people as anointment for sores--and that for chapped hands it is a speedy andeffectual cure. The "cheel" pine is nearly always found side by sidewith the deodar--especially where the latter forms the chief growth ofthe forest. 

Karl could also have informed them that the deodar and the cheel arenot, the only pines indigenous to the Himalayas. He could havementioned several other species, as the "morenda, " a large and handsometree, with very dark foliage, and one of the tallest of the_coniferae_--often rising to the stupendous height of two hundred feet;the "rye" pine, of almost equal height with the morenda, and perhapseven more ornamental; and the "Kolin, " or common pine, which formsextensive forests, upon the ridges that rise from six to nine thousandfeet above sea-level. The last thrives best in a dry, rocky soil and itis surprising in what places it will take root and grow. In theperpendicular face of a smooth granite rock, large trees of this speciesmay be seen. In the rock there exists a little crevice. Into this aseed in some manner finds its way, vegetates, and in time becomes agreat tree--flourishing perhaps for centuries, where, to all appearance, there is not a particle of soil to nourish it, and probably derivingsustenance from the rock itself!

It was with no slight gratification that Karl beheld the "cheel" growingso near. He knew that from it they would obtain brilliant torches--asmany as they might stand in need of; so that during the dark nights, instead of sitting idle for the want of light, they could occupythemselves till a late hour within the hovel, in making the "rounds" ofthe ladders, and doing such other little "chores" as the occasion mightrequire. 

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. 

THE SCALING LADDERS. 

The cutting down of the trees did not occupy them a very long time. They chose only those of slender girth--the more slender the better, solong as they answered the requirements as to length. Trees of aboutfifty feet in total height were the best: as these, when the weaker partof the tops was cut off, yielded lengths of thirty or more feet. Wherethey were only a few inches in diameter, there was very little troublein reducing them to the proper size for the sides of the ladders--onlyto strip off the bark and split them in twain. 

Making the rounds was also an easy operation--except that it requiredconsiderable time, as there were so many of them. 

The most difficult part of the work--and this they had foreseen--wouldbe the drilling of the holes to receive the rounds; and it was the taskwhich proved the most dilatory--taking up more time in itsaccomplishment than both the cutting of the timber, and reducing it toits proper shapes and dimensions. 

Had they owned an auger or a mortising chisel, or even a good gimlet, the thing would have been easy enough. Easier still had they possesseda "breast bit. " But of course not any of these tools could be obtained;nor any other by which a hole might be bored big enough to have admittedthe points of their little fingers. Hundreds of holes would be needed;and how were they to be made? With the blades of their small knives itwould have been possible to scoop out a cavity--that is, with muchtrouble and waste of time; but vast time and trouble would it take toscoop out four hundred; and at least that number would be needed. Itwould be a tedious task and almost interminable, even supposing that itcould be accomplished; but this was doubtful enough. The blades of theknives might be worn or broken, long before the necessary number ofholes could be made. 

Of course, had they been possessed of a sufficient number of nails, theymight have done without holes. The steps of the ladders could have beennailed upon the sides, instead of being mortised into them. But nailswere a commodity quite as scarce with them as tools. With the exceptionof those in the soles of their shoes, or the stocks of their guns, therewas not a nail in the valley. 

It is not to be denied that they were in a dilemma. But Karl hadforeseen this difficulty, and provided against it before a stick oftimber had been cut. Indeed, close following on the first conception ofthe scaling ladders, this matter had passed through his mind, and hadbeen settled to his satisfaction. Only theoretically, it is true; buthis theory was afterwards reduced to practice; and, unlike many othertheories, the practice proved in correspondence with it. 

Karl's theory was to make the holes by fire--in other words, to borethem with a red-hot iron. 

Where was this iron to be obtained? That appeared to offer adifficulty, as great as the absence of an auger or a mortise-chisel. But by Karl's ingenuity it was also got over. He chanced to have asmall pocket pistol: it was single-barrelled, the barrel being about sixinches in length, without any thimbles, beading, or ramrod attached toit. What Karl intended to do, then, was to heat this barrel red-hot, and make a boring-iron of it. And this was exactly what he _did_ do;and after heating it some hundreds of times, and applying it as often tothe sides of the different ladders, he at last succeeded in burning outas many holes as there were rounds to go into them, multiplied exactlyby two. 

It is needless to say that this wonderful boring operation was notaccomplished at a single "spell, " nor yet in a single day. On thecontrary, it took Karl many an hour and many a day, and cost him many awet skin--by perspiration, I mean--before he had completed the boring ofthose four hundred holes. Numerous were the tears drawn from the eyesof the plant-hunter--not by grief, but by the smoke of the seethingcedar wood. 

When Karl had finished the peculiar task he had thus assigned tohimself, but little more remained to be done--only to set each pair ofsides together, stick in the rounds, bind fast at each end, and therewas a ladder finished and ready to be scaled. 

One by one they were thus turned off; and one by one earned to the footof the cliff, up which the ascent was to be _attempted_. 

Sad are we to say that it was still only an attempt; and sadder yet thatthat attempt proved a failure. 

One by one were the ladders raised to their respective ledges--untilthree-fourths of the cliff had been successfully scaled. Here, alas!was their climbing brought to a conclusion, by a circumstance up to thistime unforeseen. On reaching one of the ledges--the fourth from the topof the cliff--they found, to their chagrin, that the rock above it, instead of receding a little, as with all the others, _hung over_--projecting several inches beyond the outer line of the ledge. Againstthat rock no ladder could have been set; none would have rested there--since it could not be placed even perpendicularly. There was no attemptmade to take one up. Though the projection could not be discerned frombelow, Karl, standing on the topmost round of the last ladder that hadbeen planted, saw at once, with the eye of an engineer, that thedifficulty was insurmountable. It would be as easy for them to fly, isto stand a ladder upon that ill-starred ledge; and with this convictionfully impressed upon his mind, the young plant-hunter returned slowlyand sorrowfully to the ground to communicate the disagreeableintelligence to his companions. 

It was no use for either Caspar or Ossaroo to go up again. They hadbeen on the ledge already; and had arrived at the same conviction. Karl's report was final and conclusive. 

All their ingenuity defeated--all their toil gone for nothing--theirtime wasted--their hopes blighted--the bright sky of their future oncemore obscured with darkest clouds--all through that unforeseencircumstance. 

Just as when they returned out of the cavern--after that patient butfruitless search--just as then, sate they down upon the rocks--eachstaggering to that which was nearest him--sad, dispirited, forlorn. 

There sate they, with eyes now fixed upon the ground, now turningtowards the cliff and gazing mechanically upon that serried line, likethe stairway of some gigantic spider--those long ladders, planted withso much pains, climbed only once, and never to be climbed again!

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. 

AN EMPTY LARDER. 

Long sat they in this attitude, all three, observing a profound silence. The air was keenly cold, for it was now mid-winter, but none of themseemed to feel the cold. The deep disappointment, the bitter chagrinthat filled their minds, hindered them from perceiving bodily pain; andat that moment had an avalanche threatened to slide down upon them fromthe snowy summit above, not one of the three would have much cared toescape out of its way. 

So tired had they become of their aerial prison--so terrified by theprospect of its continuing for ever--or at least as long as they mightlive--they could have contemplated even death without additional terror. 

The straw, to which they had so long and so fondly clung, was snatchedfrom their grasp. Again were they drowning. 

For nearly an hour sat they thus, moody and desponding. Thepurple-coloured tints, that began to play over the surface of theeternal snows above, admonished them that the sun was far down in theheavens, and that night was approaching. 

Karl was the first to become conscious of this--the first to breaksilence. 

"Oh, brothers!" said he, under the impress of their common misfortuneincluding Ossaroo in the fraternal appellation. "Come away! It isuseless to stay longer here. Let us go home!"

"Home!" repeated Caspar, with a melancholy smile. "Ah! Karl, I wishyou had not spoken the word. So sweet at other times, it now rings inmy ears like some unearthly echo. Home, indeed! Alas, dear brother! weshall ne'er go home. "

To this pathetic speech Karl made no reply. He could offer no word ofhope or consolation; and therefore remained silent. He had alreadyrisen to his feet--the others following his example--and all threewalked moodily away from the spot, taking the most direct route towardstheir rude dwelling, which now more than ever they had reason to regardas their _home_. 

On reaching the hut they found still another cause of inquietude. Theirstock of provisions, which had survived the destructive onset of theelephant, had been economised with great care. But as they had been toobusy in making the ladders to waste time on any other species ofindustry, nothing had been added to the larder--neither fish, flesh, norfowl. On the contrary, it had dwindled down, until upon that clay whenthey issued forth to try their ladders against the cliff, they had leftbehind them only a single piece of dried yak-beef--about enough to havefurnished them with a single meal. 

Hungry after the day's fruitless exertion, they were contemplating asupper upon it, and not without some degree of pleasant anticipation:for nature under all circumstances will assert her rights, and thecravings of appetite are not to be stifled even by the most anguishedsuffering of the spirit. 

As they drew nearer to the hut, but more especially when they came insight of it, and perceived its rude but hospitable doorway open toreceive them--as from the chill atmosphere through which they werepassing they beheld its sheltering roof of thatch, and thought of itssnug, cosy interior--as, keenly experiencing the pangs both of cold andhunger, they beheld in fancy a bright faggot fire crackling upon thehearth, and heard the yak-beef hissing and sputtering in the blaze, their spirits began to return to their natural condition, and if notactual joy, something that very much resembled cheerfulness might havebeen observed in the demeanour of all. 

It is ever thus with the mind of man, and perhaps fortunate that it isso. The human soul finds its type in the sky--cloud and sunshine, sunshine and cloud. 

With our adventurers the dark cloud had for the moment passed; and agleam of light was once more shining upon their hearts. 

It was not destined to shine long. A light had been struck, and a firekindled that soon blazed brightly. So far one desire had beensatisfied. They could warm themselves. But when they came to think ofgratifying an appetite of a far more craving character--when theyessayed to search for that piece of yak flesh that was to furnish forththeir supper--they found it not!

During their absence, the burglar had also been abroad. Their larderhad been assailed. The _hung_ beef was hanging there no longer. 

Some wild animal--wolf, panther, or other predatory creature--hadentered by the open doorway, --left open in the excitement of thathopeful departure--found open upon their return--but, like the door ofthat oft-quoted stable, not worth shutting, since the steed had beenstolen. 

Not a morsel, not a mouthful remained--either of yak-beef or food of anyother kind--and all three, Fritz making the fourth, had to go supperlessto sleep. 

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. 

GOING ABROAD FOR BREAKFAST. 

The exertions which they had made in carrying and erecting the laddershad so wearied them, that, despite their empty stomachs, all three wereable to sleep. Their slumber, however, was neither profound norprolonged; and one and another of them awoke at intervals during thenight and lay awake, reflecting upon the miserable fate that hadbefallen them, and the poor prospects now before them. 

They were even without the ordinary consolation of knowing that theymight find something to eat in the morning. Before they could have anybreakfast, they knew they would first have to find it in the forest. They would have to search, find, and kill, before they could eat. 

But they had reason now not only to be in doubt about procuring theirbreakfast, but their dinner and supper--in short, their whole futuresubsistence. Circumstances had become changed. The larder, hithertoamply provided by Caspar's hunting skill, was now quite empty; andalthough he could soon have replenished it had their ammunition not beendestroyed, it was now quite a different thing. Caspar's power was gonealong with his powder; and the deer and other quadrupeds, which wereknown to be yet numerous in the valley--to say nothing of the wingedcreatures that frequented it, could now smile at any attempt on the partof Caspar to trouble them any longer with his double-barrelleddetonator. The gun would hereafter be as useless as a bar of iron. 

Only one charge of powder for each barrel remained, and one more forKarl's rifle. When these three should be fired off, not another shotmight ever again be heard ringing through that silent valley, and wakingthe echoes of the surrounding cliffs. 

But it had not yet entered their minds that they might be unable to killany of the wild animals with which the place abounded. Had they thoughtso, they would have been unhappy indeed--perhaps so anxious as not tohave slept another wink for that night. But they did not yetcontemplate the future so despondingly. They hoped that, even withouttheir guns, they would still be enabled to procure sufficient game fortheir support; and as they all lay awake, just before the breaking ofthe day, this became the subject of their conversation. 

Ossaroo still felt full confidence in his bow and arrows; and shouldthese fail, there was his fishing-net; and if that also were to drawblank, the experienced shikaree knew a score of other schemes forcircumventing the beasts of the earth, the birds of the air, and thefinny denizens of the water. Karl expressed his determination, as soonas spring should return, to commence cultivating certain edible rootsand plants, which grew rather sparsely around, but, by the carefulpropagation of which, a crop might be procured of sufficient abundance. Moreover, they resolved that in the following year they should store upsuch wild fruits and berries as were fit for food; and thus insurethemselves against any chance of famine for months to come. The failureof their late attempt with the ladders had reproduced within them thefirm though fearful conviction, that for the rest of their lives theywere destined to dwell within the mountain valley--never more to gobeyond the bounds of that stupendous prison-like wall that encircledthem. 

With this impression now freshly stamped upon their minds, they returnedto speculate on the means of present existence, as also on that of theirmore immediate future; and in this way did they pass the last hour ofthe night--that which was succeeded by the daybreak. 

As the first streaks of dawning day appeared upon the snowy summits--several of which were visible from the door of the hut--all three mighthave been seen outside preparing themselves for the execution of someimportant design. Their purpose might easily be told from the characterof their preparations. Caspar was charging his double-barrelled gun;and carefully too--for it was the "last shot in his locker. "

Karl was similarly employed with his rifle, while Ossaroo was arminghimself in his peculiar fashion, looking to the string of his bow, andfilling the little wicker bag, that constituted his quiver, withsharp-pointed arrows. 

From this it was evident that the chase was the occupation immediatelyintended, and that all three were about to engage in it. In truth, theywere going out in search of something for their breakfast; and if a keenappetite could ensure success, they could scarce fail in procuring it:for they were all three as hungry as wolves. 

Fritz, too, was as hungry as any of them; and looked as if he meant todo his best in helping them to procure the material for a meal. Anycreature, beast or bird, that should be so unfortunate as to come withinclutching distance of his gaunt jaws, would have but little chance onthat particular morning of escaping from them. 

It had been resolved upon that they should go in different directions:as by that means there would be three chances of finding game instead ofone; and as something was wanted for breakfast, the sooner it could beprocured the better. If Ossaroo should succeed in killing anything withhis arrows, he was to give a shrill whistle to call the others back tothe hut; while if either of them should fire, of course the shot wouldbe heard, and that would be the signal for all to return. 

With this understanding, and after some little badinage about who wouldbe the successful caterer, they all set forth, Caspar going to theright, Ossaroo to the left, and Karl, followed by Fritz, taking thecentre. 

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE. 

CASPAR ON A STALK. 

In a few minutes the three hunters had lost sight of one another, Karland Caspar proceeding round the lake by opposite sides, but both keepingunder cover of the bushes; while Ossaroo wended his way along the bottomof the cliff--thinking he might have a better chance in that direction. 

The game which Caspar expected first might fall in his way was the"kakur, " or barking-deer. These little animals appeared to be morenumerous in the valley than any other creatures. Caspar had scarcelyever been abroad upon a shooting excursion without seeing one; and onseveral occasions a kakur had constituted his whole "bag. " He hadlearnt an ingenious way of bringing them within range of his gun--simplyby placing himself in ambush and imitating their call; which, as may bededuced from one of their common names, is a sort of bark. It is asound very much resembling the bark of a fox, only that it is muchlouder. This the kakur sends forth, whenever it suspects the presenceof an enemy in its neighbourhood; and keeps repeating it at shortintervals, until it believes either that the danger has been withdrawn, or withdraws itself from the danger. 

The simple little ruminant does not seem to be aware that this sound--perhaps intended as a note of warning to its companions--too oftenbecomes its own death-signal, by betraying its whereabouts to thesportsman or other deadly enemy. Not only the hunter, man, but thetiger, the leopard, the cheetah, and other predatory creatures, takeadvantage of this foolish habit of the barking-deer; and stealing uponit unawares, make it their victim. 

The bark is very easily imitated by the human voice; and after a singlelesson, with Ossaroo as instructor, not only could Caspar do the decoyto a nicety, but even Karl, who only overheard the shikaree instructinghis pupil, was able to produce a sound precisely similar. 

Present hunger prompted Caspar to go in search of the kakur, as thatwould be the game most likely to turn up first. There were otherquadrupeds, and some birds too, whose flesh would have served better, asbeing of superior delicacy: for the venison of the barking-deer is noneof the sweetest. In the autumn it is not bad--nor up to a late periodin the winter--though it is never very delicious at any season. 

On that morning, however, Caspar was not at all fastidious; and he knewthat neither were the others--hunger having robbed them of all delicacyof appetite. Even kakur venison would be palatable enough, could heprocure it; and for this purpose was he going in a particular direction, and not wandering hither and thither, as sportsmen usually do when insearch of game. 

He knew of a spot where kakur were almost sure of being found. It was apretty glade, surrounded by thick evergreen shrubbery--not far from theedge of the lake, and on the side opposite to that where the hut wasbuilt. 

Caspar had never entered this glade--and he had gone through it severaltimes--without seeing kakur browsing upon the grassy turf, or lying inthe shade of the bushes that grew around its edge. It was but fair topresume, therefore, that on that morning, as upon others, the gladewould furnish him with this species of game. 

Without making stop anywhere else, he walked on till he had got within afew rods of the spot where he expected to procure the materials of thebreakfast; and then, entering among the underwood, he advanced moreslowly and with greater caution. To ensure success, he even droppedupon his knees, and crawled cat-like, using his arms as forelegs and hishands as paws! After this fashion he worked his way forward to the edgeof the opening--all the while keeping a thick leafy bush before his bodyto screen himself from the eyes of any creature--kakur or other animal--that might be within the glade. 

On getting close up behind the bush, he came to a halt; and then, cautiously raising his shoulders, he peeped through between the leafybranches. 

It took him some seconds of time to survey the whole surface of theglade; but when he had finished his scrutiny, a shadow of disappointmentmight have been seen passing over his countenance. There was no gamethere--neither kakur nor animals of any other kind. 

Not without a certain feeling of chagrin did the young hunter perceivethat the opening was empty: for, to say nothing of the annoyance he felton not being able to procure a joint of venison for breakfast, he hadbeen flattering himself that, from his superior knowledge of the ground, he would be the first to find the material for their matutinal meal--about which he had some little feeling of hunter-pride and rivalry. 

He did not permit this preliminary disappointment to rob him of allhope. If there were no kakur within the glade, there might be some inthe bushes near its edge; and perhaps, by adopting the decoy he hadseveral times already practised--that of imitating their call--he mightentice one out into the open ground. 

Acting upon this idea, he squatted close behind the bush, and commencedbarking, as near as he could, _a la kakur_. 

CHAPTER THIRTY. 

THE DOUBLE DECOY. 

It was some considerable time before he heard any response to cheer him, or observed any sign that indicated the presence or proximity of ananimal. 

He repeated his bark many times, with intervals of silence between--andwas about yielding to the conviction, that not only the open ground, butthe bushes around it, were going to draw blank. 

He had uttered his last bark, with all the alluring intonation that hecould throw into the sound; and was about starting to his feet toproceed elsewhere, when just then the real cry of the kakur responded tohis feigned one--apparently coming from out the thicket on the oppositeside of the glade. 

The sound was heard only faintly, as if the animal was at a greatdistance off; but Caspar knew that if it was a response to his call--which he believed it to be--it would soon draw nearer. He lost no time, therefore, in giving utterance to a fresh series of barks of the mostseductive character; and then once more strained his ears to listen forthe reply. 

Again the barks of the kakur came back upon the breeze--repeatedserially, and so resembling his own, that had Caspar not known that theyproceeded from the throat of a deer, he might have fancied them to beechoes. He did not allow many seconds to elapse before barking again, and again, with an equal straining at allurement. 

This time, to the surprise of the young hunter, there was no response. He listened, but not a sound came back--not even an echo. 

He barked again, and again listened. As before, silence profound, unbroken. 

No--it was not unbroken. Although it was not the call of the kakur, another sound interrupted the stillness--a sound equally welcome to theear of the young hunter. It was a rustling among the leaves on theopposite side of the glade; just such as might indicate the passage ofan animal through the bushes. 

Directing his eye towards the spot where the sound appeared to proceed, Caspar saw, or fancied he saw, some twigs in motion. But it was nofancy: for the moment after he not only saw the twigs move, but behindthe bush to which they belonged he could just make out adarkish-coloured object. It could be nothing else than the body of thekakur. Although it was very near--for the glade was scarce twenty yardsacross, and the deer was directly behind the line of low shrubs whichformed a sort of selvedge around it--Caspar could not get a good view ofthe animal. It was well screened by the foliage, and better perhaps bythe absence of a bright light: for it was yet only the grey twilight ofmorning. There was light enough, however, to take aim; and as theintervening branches were only tiny twigs, Caspar had no fear that theywould interfere with the direction of his ballet. There was no reason, therefore, why he should delay longer. He might not get a betterchance; and if he waited longer, or barked again, the kakur mightdiscover the decoy, and run back into the bushes. 

"Here goes, then!" muttered Caspar to himself; at the same time placinghimself firmly on one knee, raising his gun and cocking it. 

It was a splendid lock--that upon the right-hand barrel of Caspar'sgun--one in which the cock, on being drawn to the full, gives tongue totell that the spring is in perfect order. 

In the profound stillness of the morning-air the "click" sounded clearenough to have been heard across the glade, and much further. Caspareven feared that it might be loud enough to affright the deer; and kepthis eye fixed upon the latter as he drew back the cock. The animalstirred not; but instead--almost simultaneous with the click of his gun, and as if it had been its echo--another click fell upon the hunter'sear, apparently coming from the spot on which the kakur was standing!

Fortunate was it for Caspar that his own spring had clicked so clear--and fortunate also he had heard that apparent echo--else he might eitherhave shot his brother, or his brother him, or each might have shot theother!

As it was, the second click caused Caspar to start to his feet. Karl atthe same instant was seen hurriedly rising erect upon the opposite sideof the glade, while both with cocked guns in their hands stood eyeingeach other, like two individuals about to engage in a deadly duel ofrifles!

Had any one seen them at that moment, and in that attitude, their wildlooks would have given colour to the supposition that such was inreality their intent; and some time would have elapsed before any actionon the part of either would have contradicted this fearful belief: forit was several seconds before either could find speech to express theirmutual surprise. 

It was something more than surprise--it was awe--a deep tragical emotionof indefinable terror, gradually giving way to a feeling of heartfeltthankfulness, at the fortunate chance that had made them aware of eachother's presence, and saved them from a mutual fratricide. 

For some seconds I have said not a word was spoken; and then only shortexclamations of similar import came trembling from the lips of both. Both, as if acting under a common impulse, flung their guns to theground. Then, rushing across the glade, they threw their arms aroundeach other; and remained for some moments locked in a brotherly embrace. 

No explanation was needed by either. Karl, after passing round the lakeby the other side, had strayed by chance in the direction of the glade. On nearing it, he had heard the barking of a kakur--not dreaming that itwas Caspar acting as a decoy. He had answered the signal; and findingthat the kakur still kept its place, he had advanced toward the openingwith the intention of stalking it. On getting nearer he had ceased toutter the call, under the belief that he should find the deer out in theopen ground. Just as he arrived by its edge, Caspar was mimicking thekakur in such an admirable manner, and so energetically, that Karl couldneither fail to be deceived as to the character of the animal, norremain ignorant of its position. The darkish disc visible behind theevergreen leaves could be no other than the body of the deer; and Karlwas just about cocking his rifle, to bore it with a bullet, when theclick of Caspar's double-barrel sounding ominously in his ear, fortunately conducted to a far different _denouement_ than that fatal_finale_ which was so near having occurred. 

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. 

The signal of the Shikaree. 

As if sent to cheer and distract their minds from the feeling of dreadawe which still held possession of them, just then the shrill whistle ofOssaroo came pealing across the lake, reverberating in echoes from thecliff toward which he had gone. Shortly after the signal sounded againin a slightly different direction--showing that the shikaree hadsucceeded in bagging his game, and was returning towards the hut. 

On hearing the signal, Karl and Caspar regarded each other with glancesof peculiar significance. 

"So, brother, " said Caspar, smiling oddly as he spoke, "you see Ossaroowith his despised bow and arrows has beaten us both. What, if either ofus had beaten him?"

"Or, " replied Karl, "what if we had both beaten him? Ah! brotherCaspar, " added he, shuddering as he spoke, "how near we were to makingan end of each other! It's fearful to think of it!"

"Let us think no more of it then, " rejoined Caspar; "but go home at onceand see what sort of a breakfast Ossy has procured for us. I wonderwhether it be flesh or fowl. "

"One or the other, no doubt, " he continued, after a short pause. "Fowl, I fancy: for as I came round the lake I heard some oddish screaming inthe direction of the cliff yonder, which was that taken by Ossaroo. Itappeared to proceed from the throat of some bird; yet such I think Ihave never heard before. "

"But I have, " replied Karl; "I heard it also. I fancy I know the birdthat made those wild notes: and if it be one of them the shikaree hasshot, we shall have a breakfast fit for a prince, and of a kind Lucullusdelighted to indulge in. But let us obey the signal of our shikaree, and see whether we're in such good luck. "

They had already regained possession of their guns. Shouldering them, they started forth from the glade--so near being the scene of a tragicalevent--and, turning the end of the lake, walked briskly back in thedirection of the hut. 

On coming within view of it, they descried the shikaree sitting upon astone, just by the doorway; and lying across his knee, a most beautifulbird--by far the most beautiful that either flies in the air, swims inthe water, or walks upon the earth--the peacock. Not the halfturkey-shaped creature that struts around the farmyard--though _he_ iseven more beautiful than any other bird--but the wild peacock of theInd--of shape slender and elegant--of plumage resplendent as the mostpriceless of gems--and, what was then of more consequence to ouradventurers, of flesh delicate and savoury as the choicest of game. This last was evidently the quality of the peacock most admired byOssaroo. The elegant shape he had already destroyed; the resplendentplumes he was plucking out and casting to the winds, as though they hadbeen common feathers; and his whole action betokened that he had no moreregard for those grand tail feathers and that gorgeous purple corselet, than if it had been a goose, or an old turkey-cock that lay stretchedacross his knee. 

Without saying a word, when the others came up, there was that inOssaroo's look--as he glanced furtively towards the young sahibs, andsaw that both were empty-handed--that betrayed a certain degree ofpride--just enough to show that he was enjoying a triumph. To know thathe was the only one who had made a _coup_, it was not necessary for himto look up. Had either succeeded in killing game, or even in findingit, he must have heard the report of a gun, and none such on thatmorning had awakened the echoes of the valley. Ossaroo, therefore, knewthat a brace of empty game-bags were all that were brought back. 

Unlike the young sahibs, he had no particular adventure to relate. His"stalk" had been a very quiet one--ending, as most quiet stalks do, inthe death of the animal stalked. He had heard the old peacockscreeching on the top of a tall tree; he had stolen up within bow range, sent an arrow through his glittering gorget, and brought him tumbling tothe ground. He had then laid his vulgar hands upon the beautiful bird, grasping it by the legs, and carrying it with draggling wings--just asif it had been a common dunghill fowl he was taking to the market ofCalcutta. 

Karl and Caspar did not choose to waste time in telling the shikaree hownear they had been to leaving him the sole and undisputed possessor ofthat detached dwelling and the grounds belonging to it. Hunger promptedthem to defer the relation to a future time; and also to lend a hand inthe culinary operations already initiated by Ossaroo. By their aid, therefore, a fire was set ablaze; and the peacock, not very cleanlyplucked, was soon roasting in the flames--Fritz having already madeshort work with the giblets. 

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO. 

THE IBEX. 

Big as was the body of the peacock, there was not much of it left afterthat _dejeuner aux doigts_! Only the bones; and so clean picked werethey, that had Fritz not already been made welcome to the giblets, hewould have had but a scanty meal of it. 

The savoury roast did a good deal towards restoring the spirits of theparty; but they could not help dwelling upon the indifferent prospectthey now had of procuring a fresh stock of provisions--so much changedwere circumstances by their powder having been destroyed. 

The bow and arrows of Ossaroo were still left, and other bows could bemade, if that one was to get broken. Indeed, Caspar now determined onhaving one of his own; and practising archery under the tutelage of theshikaree, until he should be able to use that old-fashioned anduniversal weapon with deadly effect. 

Old-fashioned we may well term it: since its existence dates far beyondthe earliest times of historical record; and universal: for go where youwill into the most remote corners of the earth, the bow is found in thehands of the savage, copied from no model, introduced from no externalsource, but evidently native to the country and the tribe, as if whenman was first created the weapon had been put into his hands by theCreator himself!

Indeed, the occurrence of the bow--with its necessary adjunct, thearrow--among tribes of savages living widely apart, and who, to allappearance, could never have communicated the idea to one another--isone of the most curious circumstances in the history of mankind; andthere is no other way of explaining it, than by the supposition that thepropelling power which exists in the recoil of a tightly-stretchedstring must be one of the earliest phenomena that presents itself to thehuman mind; and that, therefore, in many parts of the world this ideahas been an indigenous and original conception. 

The bow and arrow is certainly one of the oldest weapons on the earth--as well as one of the most universally distributed. It is a subjectthat, in the hands of the skilled ethnologist, might become one of themost interesting chapters in the history of the human race. 

I have said that after eating the peacock our adventurers were in betterspirits; but for all that, they could not help feeling some littleapprehension as to how their food was to be obtained for the future. Ossaroo's skill had provided their breakfast; but how about theirdinner? And after that their supper? Even should something turn up forthe next meal, they might not be so fortunate in obtaining the nextafter that; and this precarious way of subsistence--living, as it were, from hand to mouth--would be a constant exposure of their lives to thechances of starvation. 

As soon, therefore, as they had finished with the flesh of the peacock--and while Ossaroo, who continued eating longer than any of them, wasstill engaged in polishing off the "drumsticks"--the point ofreplenishing the larder became the subject of their conversation; andall agreed that to get up a stock of provisions had now become a matterof primary importance. They resolved, therefore, to devote themselvesentirely to this business--using such means as were in their power forcapturing game, and devising other means should these proveinsufficient. 

First and foremost, then, what were they to have for dinner? Was it tobe fish, flesh, or fowl? They did not think of having all three: for intheir situation they had no desire for a fashionable dinner. One coursewould be sufficient for them; and they would only be too thankful tohave one course assured to them. 

Whether they would choose to go fishing with Ossaroo's net, and havefish for their dinner, or whether they would try for another peacock, oran argus pheasant, or a brace of Brahminy geese; or whether they wouldtake to the woods and search for grander game, had not become a decidedpoint; when an incident occurred that settled the question, as to whatthey were to have for dinner. Without any exertion on their part--without the wasting of a single shot, or the spending of an arrow, theywere provided with meat; and in quantity sufficient, not only for thatday's dinner, but to ration them for a whole week, with odds and endsfalling to the share of Fritz. 

They had gone out of the hut again; and were seated, as oft before, onsome large stones that lay upon the ground in front. It was a finebright morning; and, although cold in the shade, the sun shining downupon them, reflected from the white snow on the mountains above, made itwarm enough to be pleasant. For that reason, and because there was somesmoke inside the hut, where they had cooked their breakfast, they hadpreferred eating it in the open air; and here also they were holdingcouncil as to their future proceedings. 

While thus engaged, a sound fell upon their ears that bore someresemblance to the bleating of a goat. It appeared to come down fromthe sky above them; but they knew that it must be caused by some animalon the cliffs overhead. 

On looking upwards, they beheld the animal; and if its voice had alreadyappeared to them to be like that of a goat, the creature itself in its_personal_ appearance, to a very great extent, carried out theresemblance. 

To speak the truth, it _was_ a goat; though not one of the common kind. It was an _ibex_. 

Once more Karl had the advantage of his companions. His knowledge ofnatural history enabled him to identify the animal. At the first glancehe pronounced it an ibex; although he had never seen a living ibexbefore. But the goat-like shape of the animal, its shaggy coat, andabove all, the immense ringed horns curving regularly backward over itsshoulders, were all characteristic points, which Karl was able toidentify by a comparison with pictures he had seen in books, and stuffedskins he had examined in a museum. 

Ossaroo said it was a goat--some kind of a wild goat, he supposed; butas Ossaroo had never before been so high up the mountains, and thereforenever in the regions frequented by the ibex, he knew it not. Hisconjecture that it was a goat was founded on the general resemblancewhich it bore to a goat; and this Caspar had observed as well asOssaroo. 

They could see the creature from head to foot, standing in a majesticattitude on a prominent point of the cliff; but although it was inreality much larger than the common domestic goat, it was so distantfrom them as not to appear bigger than a kid. It was _en profile_, however, to their eyes; and against the blue sky they could trace theoutlines of the animal with perfect distinctness, and note the grandsweeping curvature of its horns. 

The first thought of Caspar was to lay hold of his gun with the idea oftaking a shot at it; but both the others interposed to prevent this--pointing out the impossibility of hitting at such a distance. Althoughseemingly much nearer, the ibex was considerably more than a hundredyards from where they were seated: for the point of the precipice uponwhich it stood was quite four hundred feet above the level. 

Caspar, reflecting upon this, was easily dissuaded from his design; andthe next moment was wondering why he had been so near playing the foolas to throw away a shot--his penultimate one, too--at an animal placedfull fifty yards beyond the carry of his gun!

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. 

GOATS AND SHEEP. 

As the ibex kept its ground, without showing any signs of retreating, oreven moving a muscle of its body, they remained watching it. Not, however, in silence: for as the animal was standing as if to have itsportrait painted, Karl, in words addressed to his two companions, butchiefly intended for the instruction of Caspar, proceeded to executethat very task. 

"The ibex, " said he, "is an animal whose name has been long famous, andabout which the closet naturalists have written a great deal ofnonsense--as they have about almost every other animal on the earth. After all that has been said about it, it is simply a goat--a wild goat, it is true, but still only a goat--having all the habits, and very muchof the appearance characteristic of the domestic animal of this name. 

"Every one knows that the common goat exists in as many varieties as thecountries it inhabits. Indeed, there are more kinds of goats thancountries: for it is not uncommon to meet with three or four sortswithin the boundaries of a single kingdom--as in Great Britain itself. These varieties differ almost as much from each other as the `breeds' ofdogs; and hence there has been much speculation among zoologists, as towhat species of wild goat they have all originally sprung from. 

"Now, it is my opinion, " continued the plant-hunter, "that the tamegoats found among different nations of the earth have not all descendedfrom the same stock; but are the progeny of more than one wild species--just as the domesticated breeds of sheep have sprung from severalspecies of wild sheep; though many zoologists deny this very plainfact. "

"There are different species of wild goats, then?" said Caspar, interrogatively. 

"There are, " replied the plant-hunter, "though they are not verynumerous--perhaps in all there may be about a dozen. As yet there arenot so many known to zoologists--that is, not a dozen that have beenidentified and described as distinct species; but no doubt when thecentral countries, both of Asia and Africa--with their grand chains ofmountains--have been explored by scientific naturalists, at least thatnumber will be found to exist. 

"The speculating systematists--who decide about genera and species, bysome slight protuberance upon a tooth--have already created a wonderfulconfusion in the family of the goats. Not contented with viewing themall as belonging to a single genus, they have divided them into fivegenera--though to most of the five they ascribe only _one species_!--thus uselessly multiplying names, and rendering the study of the subjectmore complicated and difficult. 

"There can be no doubt that the goats, both wild and tame--including theibex, which is a true wild goat--form of themselves a separate family inthe animal kingdom, easily distinguishable from sheep, deer, antelopes, or oxen. The wild goats often bear a very close resemblance to certainspecies of wild sheep; and the two are not to be distinguished from eachother, by the goats being covered with hair and the sheep with wool--asis generally the case with tame breeds. On the contrary, both sheep andgoats in a wild state have _hairy_ coats--the sheep as much as thegoats; and in many instances the hair of both is quite as short as thatof antelopes or deer. Even where there are almost no external marks todistinguish wild goats from certain kinds of wild sheep, there are found_moral_ characteristics which serve as guides to the genus. The goat isbolder, and of a fiercer nature; and its other habits, even in the wildstate, differ essentially from those of the wild sheep. 

"The ibex which we see above us, " continued Karl, looking up to thequadruped upon the cliff, "is neither more nor less than a wild goat. It is not the only species of wild goat inhabiting the Himalayas; forthere is the `tahir, ' a stronger and larger animal than it; and it isbelieved that when these great mountains have been thoroughly_ransacked_ [Karl here smiled at the very unscientific word he had madeuse of], there will turn up one or two additional species. 

"It is not the only species of ibex neither, " continued he, "for thereis one found in the European Alps, known by the name of `steinboc;'another, in the Pyrenees, called the `tur;' a third, in the Caucasus, the `zac;' and one or two others in the mountains of Africa. 

"With regard to the animal now before, or rather above us, " continuedKarl, "it differs very little from others of the same family; and asboth its appearance and habits have been very ably described by a notedsportsman, who was also an accomplished naturalist, I cannot do betterthan quote his description: since it gives almost every detail that isyet authentically known of the Himalayan ibex. 

"`The male, ' writes this gentleman author, `is about the size of the_tahir_ [here he speaks of the other well-known species of Himalayanwild goat, and which is itself much larger than any of the domesticatedkinds]. Except just after changing their coats, when they are of agreyish hue, the general colour of the ibex is a dirty yellowish brown. I have, however, killed the younger animals, both male and female, withtheir coats as red as that of a deer in his red coat; but never saw anold male of that colour, for the reason, I imagine, that he lives muchhigher, and sheds his hair much later in the season. The hair is short, something in texture like that of the _burrell_ and other wild sheep;and in the cold weather is mixed with a very soft downy wool, resemblingthe shawl-wool of Thibet. This and the old hair is shed in May andJune; and in districts occupied by the flocks at that season the bushesand sharp corners of rocks are covered with their cast-off winter coats. The striking appearance of the ibex is chiefly owing to the noblehorns: which nature has bestowed upon it. In full-grown animals thehorns, which curve gracefully over the shoulders, are from three to fourfeet in length along the curve, and about eleven inches in circumferenceat the base. Very few attain a greater length than four feet; but Ihave heard of their being three inches longer. Their beards, six oreight inches in length, arc of shaggy black hair. The females, lightgreyish-brown in colour, are hardly a third the size of the males; andtheir horns are round and tapering, from ten inches to a foot in length. Their appearance upon the whole is clean-made, agile, and graceful. 

"`In the summer they everywhere resort to the highest accessible placeswhere food can be found--often to a part of the country several marchesdistant from their winter haunts. This migration commences as soon asthe snow begins to disappear; and is very gradually performed--theanimals receding from hill to hill, and remaining a few days upon each. 

"`At this season the males keep in large flocks, apart from the females;and as many as a hundred may occasionally be seen together. During theheat of the day they rarely move about, but rest and sleep--either onthe beds of snow in the ravines, or on the rocks and shingly slopes ofthe barren hill-sides, above the limits of vegetation. Sometimes, butvery rarely, they will lie down on the grassy spots where they have beenfeeding. Towards evening they begin to move, and proceed to theirgrazing-grounds--which are often miles away. They set out walkingslowly at first; but, if they have any considerable distance beforethem, soon break into a trot; and sometimes the whole flock will go ashard as they can lay legs to the ground. From what we could gather fromthe natives, we concluded that they remain in these high regions untilthe end of October; when they begin to mix with the females, andgradually descend to their winter resorts. The females do not wander somuch or so far--many remaining on the same ground throughout the year--and those that do visit the distant hills are generally found lower downthan the males, seldom ascending above the limits of vegetation. Theybring forth their young in July, having generally two at a birth;though, like other gregarious animals, many are frequently found barren. 

"`The ibex are wary animals, gifted with very sharp sight and an acutesense of smell. They are very easily alarmed, and so wild, that asingle shot fired at a flock is often sufficient to drive them away fromthat particular range of hills they may be upon. Even if not fired at, the appearance of a human being near their haunt is not unfrequentlyattended with the same result. Of this we had many instances during ourrambles after them, and the very first flock of old males we found gaveus a proof. They were at the head of the Asrung valley, and we caughtsight of them just as they were coming down the hill to feed--a nobleflock of nearly a hundred old males. It was late in the day, and we hada long way to return to camp. Prudence whispered, "Let them alone tillto-morrow, " but excitement carried the day, and we tried the stalk. Having but little daylight remaining, we may have hurried, andconsequently approached them with less caution than we should have donehad we had time before us. However it might be, we failed; for longbefore we got within range, some of them discovered us, and the wholeflock decamped without giving us the chance of a shot. Not having firedat, or otherwise disturbed them, more than by approaching the flock, wewere in great hopes of finding them the next day; but that and severalsucceeding ones were passed in a fruitless search. They had entirelyforsaken that range of hills. 

"`All readers of natural history are familiar with the wonderfulclimbing and saltatory powers of the ibex; and, although they cannot (ashas been described in print) make a spring and hang on by their hornsuntil they gain footing, yet in reality, for such heavy-looking animals, they get over the most inaccessible-looking places in an almostmiraculous manner. Nothing seems to stop them, nor to impede in theleast their progress. To see a flock, after being fired at, take adirect line across country, which they often do, over all sorts ofseemingly impassable ground; now along the naked face of an almostperpendicular rock, then across a formidable landslip, or an inclinedplane of loose stones or sand, which the slightest touch sets in motionboth above and below; diving into chasms to which there seems nopossible outlet, but instantly reappearing on the opposite side; neverdeviating in the slightest from their course; and at the same timegetting over the ground at the rate of something like fifteen miles anhour, is a sight not easily to be forgotten. There are few animals, ifany, that excel the ibex in endurance and agility. '"

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. 

A BATTLE OF BUCKS. 

Karl had scarcely finished speaking, when, as if to illustrate stillfurther the habits of the ibex, a curious incident occurred to theanimal upon, which their eyes were fixed. 

It ceased to be a solitary individual: for while they were gazing at itanother ibex made its appearance upon the cliff, advancing towards theone first seen. The new comer was also a male, as its hugescimitar-shaped horns testified; while in size, as in other respects, itresembled the one already on the rock as much as if they had beenbrothers. It was not likely they were so. At all events the behaviourof the former evinced anything but a fraternal feeling. On thecontrary, it was advancing with a hostile intent, as its attitudesclearly proved. Its muzzle was turned downward and inward, until thebearded chin almost touched its chest; while the tips of its horns, instead of being thrown back upon its shoulders--their usual positionwhen the animal stands erect--were, elevated high in the air. Moreover, its short tail, held upright and jerking about with a quick nervousmotion, told that the animal meditated mischief. Even at so great adistance the spectators could perceive this: for the forms of both theibex were so clearly outlined against the sky, that the slightest motionon the part of either could be perceived with perfect distinctness. 

The new comer, when first observed, appeared to be approaching bystealth--as if he intended to play the cowardly assassin, and butt theother over the cliff! Indeed, this was his actual design, as wasdiscovered in the sequel; and had the other only remained for sixseconds longer in the attitude in which he had been first seen, hisassailant would no doubt have at once succeeded in his treacherousintent. 

We are sorry to have to say that he _did_ succeed--though not without astruggle, and the risk of being himself compelled to take that desperateleap which he had designed for his antagonist. 

It was probably the voice of Caspar that hindered the immediateexecution of this wicked intention; though, alas! it only stayed it fora short time. Caspar, on seeing the treacherous approach, hadinvoluntarily uttered a cry of warning. Though it could not have beenunderstood by the imperilled ibex, it had the effect of startling himfrom his dreamy attitude, and causing him to look around. In that lookhe perceived his danger, and quick as thought, took measures to avertit. Suddenly raising himself on his hind-legs, and using them as apivot, he wheeled about, and then came to the ground on all fours, faceto face with his adversary. He showed no sign of any desire to retreat, but seemed to accept the challenge as a matter of course. Indeed, fromhis position, it would have been impossible for him to have retreatedwith any chance of safety. The cliff upon which he had been standing, was a sort of promontory projecting beyond the general line of theprecipice; and towards the mountain slope above his escape had beenalready cut off by his challenger. On all other sides of him was thebeetling cliff. He had no alternative but fight, or be "knocked over. "It was less a matter of choice than necessity that determined him uponstanding his ground. 

This determination he had just time to take, and just time to puthimself in an attitude of defence, when his antagonist charged towardshim. Both animals, at the same instant, uttered a fierce, snortingsound, and rising upon their hind-legs, stood fronting each other like abrace of bipeds. In this movement the spectators recognised the exactmode of combat practised by common goats; for just in the same fashiondoes the ibex exhibit his prowess. Instead of rushing _horizontally_, head to head, and pressing each other backwards, as rams do in theircontests, the ibex after rearing aloft, come down again, horns foremost, using the weight of their bodies as the propelling power, eachendeavouring to crush the other between his massive crest and the earth. Several times in succession did the two combatants repeat theirrearings aloft, and the downward strokes of their horns; but it soonbecame evident, that the one who had been the assailant was also to bethe conqueror. He had an advantage in the ground: for the platformwhich his adversary occupied, and from which he could not escape, wasnot wide enough to afford room for any violent movements; and theimminent danger of getting a hoof over the cliff, evidently inspired himwith fear and constraint. The assailant having plenty of space to movein, was able to "back and fill" at pleasure, now receding foot by foot, then rushing forward, rising erect, and striking down again. Each timehe made his onslaught with renewed impetus, derived from the advantageof the ground, as well as the knowledge that if his blow failed, heshould only have to repeat it; whereas, on the part of his opponent, thefailure of a single stroke, or even of a guard, would almost to acertainty be the prelude to his destruction. 

Whether it was that the ibex attacked was the weaker animal of the two, or whether the disadvantage of the ground was against him, it soonbecame evident that he was no match for his assailant. From the veryfirst, he appeared to act only on the defensive; and in all likelihood, had the road been open to him, he would have turned tail at once, andtaken to his heels. 

But no opportunity for flight was permitted him at any moment from thebeginning of the contest; and none was likely to be given him until itshould end. The only chance of escape that appeared, even to him, wasto make a grand leap, and clear his adversary, horns and all. 

This idea seemed at length to take possession of his brain: for all on asudden he was keen to forsake his attitude of defence, and bound highinto the air--as if to get over his adversary's horns, and hide himselfamong the safer snowdrifts of the mountains. 

If such was his intent it proved a sad failure. While soaring in theair--all his four feet raised high off the ground--the huge horns of hisadversary were impelled with fearful force against his ribs, the stroketossing him like a shuttlecock clear over the edge of the cliff!

The blow had been delivered so as to project his body with a revolvingimpetus into the air; and turning round and round, it fell with a heavyconcussion into the bottom of the valley; where, after rebounding fullsix feet from the ground, it fell back again dead as a stone. 

It was some seconds before the spectators could recover from surprise atan incident so curious, though it was one that may often be witnessed bythose who wander among the wild crags of the Himalayas--where combatsbetween the males of the ibex, the tahir, the burrell or Himalayan wildsheep, and also the rams of the gigantic _Ovis ammon_, are of commonoccurrence. 

These battles are often fought upon the edge of a beetling precipice--for it is in such places that these four species of animals delight todwell--and not unfrequently the issue of the contest is such as thatwitnessed by our adventurers--one of the combatants being "butted" orpushed right over the cliff. 

It does not follow that the animal thus put _hors de combat_ is alwayskilled. On the contrary, unless the precipice be one of stupendousheight, an ibex, or tahir, or burrell, will get up again after one ofthose fearful falls; and either run or limp away from the spot--perhapsto recover, and try his luck and strength in some future encounter withthe same adversary. One of the most remarkable instances of this kindis related by the intelligent sportsman, Colonel Markham, and by himvouched for as a fact that came under his own observation. We copy hisaccount verbatim:--

"I witnessed one of the most extraordinary feats performed by an oldtahir, that I, or any other man, ever beheld. I shot him when abouteighty yards overhead upon a ledge of rocks. He fell perpendicularlythat distance, and, without touching the ground or the sides of theprecipice, rebounded, and fell again about fifteen yards further down. I thought he was knocked to atoms, but he got up and went off; andalthough we tracked him by his blood to a considerable distance, we wereafter all unable to find him!"

My young readers may remember that many similar feats have beenwitnessed in the Rocky Mountains of America, performed by the"bighorn"--a wild sheep that inhabits these mountains, so closelyresembling the _Ovis ammon_ of the Himalayas, as to be regarded by somenaturalists as belonging to the same species. The hunters of theAmerican wilderness positively assert that the bighorn fearlessly flingshimself from high cliffs, alighting on his horns; and, then reboundinginto the air like an elastic ball, recovers his feet unhurt, and evenunstunned by the tremendous "header!"

No doubt there is a good deal of exaggeration in these "hunter stories;"but it is nevertheless true that most species of wild goats and sheep, as well as several of the rock-loving antelopes--the chamois andklipspringer, for instance--can do some prodigious feats in the leapingline, and such as it is difficult to believe in by any one notaccustomed to the habits of these animals. It is not easy to comprehendhow Colonel Markham's tahir could have fallen eighty yards--that is, 240feet--to say nothing of the supplementary descent of forty-five feetfurther--without being smashed to "smithereens. " But although we mayhesitate to give credence to such an extraordinary statement, it wouldnot be a proper thing to give it a flat contradiction. Who knowswhether there may not be in the bones of these animals some elasticprinciple or quality enabling them to counteract the effects of suchgreat falls? There are many mechanical contrivances of animal life asyet but very imperfectly understood; and it is well-known that Naturehas wonderfully adapted her creatures to the haunts and habits for whichshe has designed them. It may be, then, that these wild goats andsheep--the Blondins and Leotards of the quadruped world--are gifted withcertain saltatory powers, and furnished with structural contrivanceswhich are altogether wanting to other animals not requiring them. Itwould not be right, therefore, without a better knowledge of theprinciples of animal mechanism, to contradict the statement of such arespectable authority as Colonel Markham--especially since it appears tobe made in good faith, and without any motive for exaggeration. 

Our adventurers had entered into no discussion of this subject onobserving the descent of the ibex. Indeed, there was nothing to suggestsuch speculations; for the creature had fallen from such an immenseheight, and come down with "such a thump" upon the hard turf, that itnever occurred to any of them to fancy that there was a single gasp ofbreath left in its body. Nor was there; for on reaching the groundafter its rebound, the animal lay with limbs loose and limp, and withoutsign of motion--evidently a carcass. 

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE. 

THE BEARCOOTS. 

Our adventurers were congratulating themselves on this unexpectedaccession to their larder; which, like the manna of old, had, as itwere, rained down from the sky. 

"Our dinner!" shouted Caspar, gleefully, as the "thump" of the fallingibex sounded in their ears. "Our supper, too, " he added. "Ay, more!In such a large carcass there must be provision to last us for a week!"

All three rose to their feet, and were about starting forward to securethe prize; when a shrill scream twice repeated fell upon their ears--coming down apparently from the top of the cliffs, or rather from themountain that trended still higher above them. 

Could it be the cry of the conquering ibex--his slogan of triumph? No;it was not his voice, nor that of a quadruped of any kind. Neither didthe spectators for an instant believe it to be so. On turning theireyes upward, they saw the creature, or the creatures--for there were twoof them--from whose throats those screams had proceeded. 

The victorious ibex was still standing conspicuously upon the cliff. During the few seconds that the attention of the spectators had beenoccupied elsewhere, he appeared to have been contemplating the dire deedof destruction he had just accomplished, and perhaps indulging in thetriumph he had obtained over his unfortunate rival. At all events hehad stepped forward upon the projecting point of the rock--to the veryspot so lately occupied by his adversary. 

The cry, however, which had been heard in the valley below had reachedhis ears at the same time, and perhaps a little sooner: for as thespectators looked up, they saw that he had been startled by it, and waslooking around him with evident alarm. In the air above and not manyyards distant from him, were two dark objects, easily recognisable asbirds upon the wing. They were of large size, nearly black in colour, and with that peculiar sharpness of outline and sweep of wing thatdistinguish the true birds of prey. There was no mistaking their kind--they were eagles--of a species known in the Himalayas and the steppes ofThibet as the "bearcoot. "

They were swooping in short, abrupt curves, at intervals repeating theirshrill screams, both crying out together, and from their excited mien, and the character of their movements, no doubt could be entertained asto the object of their noisy demonstrations. They were about to assaultan enemy, and that enemy was no other than the ibex. 

The animal appeared to be fully aware of their intent; and seemed for amoment to be irresolute as to how it should act. Instead of placingitself in a bold, defiant attitude--such as it had lately assumedtowards an antagonist of its own kind--it stood cowering, and apparentlyparalysed with fear. It was this very effect which the eagles, by theirscreaming, had designed to produce; and certainly the fierce birds weresucceeding to the utmost of their expectations. 

The spectators kept their eyes fixed upon the actors of this new drama--watching every movement, both of the birds and the beast, with intenseinterest. All were desirous of seeing the latter punished for the cruelact he had just committed, and which they regarded as savouring verystrongly of fratricide. 

It was written in the book of fate that their desire should begratified, and that the destroyer should himself be destroyed. Theywere expecting to witness a somewhat prolonged combat; but in thisexpectation they were disappointed. The duration of the conflict was asbrief as the preliminaries that led to it; and these were of theshortest kind: for scarce ten seconds had elapsed, after they haduttered their first scream, before the bearcoots swooped down to thelevel of the cliff, and commenced a joint attack upon the ibex, strikingat him alternately with beak and claws. 

For a short time the quadruped was shrouded--almost hidden--under thebroad, shadowy wings of the birds; but even when its figure could betraced, it appeared to be making no very energetic efforts at defendingitself. The sudden attack made by such strange enemies seemed to havecompletely disconcerted the ibex; and it remained as if still under theparalysis of fear. 

After a moment or two had passed, the ibex appeared to recoverself-possession; and then he, rearing up, struck out with his horns. But the bearcoots were on the alert; and each time that the animalattempted a forward movement, they easily avoided the blow by shying toone side or the other; and then quickly wheeling, they would swoop backupon it from behind. 

In this way was the conflict progressing, the ibex holding the groundupon which he had been first attacked, turning round and round, with histwo fore hoofs held close together, or else rearing aloft on hishind-legs, and using them as a pivot. 

It would have been better for the ibex had he kept to his fore-feetaltogether; as in that attitude he might have held his ground a littlelonger--perhaps until he had either beaten off his winged assailants, orwearied them out by a prolonged defence. 

But to fight on "all fours" did not chance to be his fashion. It wascontrary to the traditions of his family and race--all of whose members, from time immemorial, had been accustomed, when battling with an enemy, to stand erect upon their hind-legs. 

Following this fashion, he had raised himself to his full perpendicular, and was about aiming a "butt" against the breast of one of the bearcootsthat was tantalising him in front, when the other, that had made a shortretrocession in order to gain impetus, came swooping back with thevelocity of an arrow, and seizing the ibex under the chin, by a quick, strong jerk of its talons, it struck the head of the animal so farbackward that it lost its balance, and went toppling over the cliff. Inanother instant the ibex was in mid-air--falling--falling--through thatsame fearful space that had just been traversed by his own victim. 

The spectators looked to see him strike the ground without receivingfurther molestation from his winged assailants. Not so, however, did itresult. Just as the ibex had got about half-way down the face of theprecipice, the second eagle was seen shooting after him with thevelocity of a flash of lightning; and before he could reach the ground, the bearcoot was seen striking him once more, and causing him to divergefrom his vertical descent. The body came to the ground at length--butat a considerable distance from where the other was lying--the eagledescending with it to the earth, and even remaining over it with wingsand limbs extended, as if still clutching it in his talons!

Why the bearcoot was thus retaining the ibex in his clutch was not quiteso clear: for the animal was evidently dead; and apparently had been solong before reaching the earth. There was something strange about thisproceeding on the part of the bird--as there had also been in its modeof descent through the last forty or fifty yards of space. From themanner in which it had extended its wings after striking its prey, andfrom the way in which it still kept exercising them, the spectatorsbegan to think that its singular descent, and its remaining over thecarcass in that cowering attitude, were neither of them voluntary actson its part. 

The truth was soon made clear--proving the contrary to be the case: foras the bearcoot continued to flap its wings, or rather, flutter them ina violent irregular motion, it became evident that instead of desiringto remain by the fallen body of its victim, it was doing its very bestto get away from it! This was all the more easily believed, when itcommenced uttering a series of wild screams; not as before indicatingrage or menace, but in tones expressive of the greatest terror!

The spectators, who had already risen from their seats, ran towards thespot--surmising that there was something amiss. 

On getting close up to the still screaming and fluttering bird, theywere able to understand what had appeared so incomprehensible. 

They saw that the bearcoot was in a dilemma; that its talons were buriedin the body of the ibex, and so firmly fixed, that with all the strengthof its sinewy legs, backed by the power of its elastic pinions, it wasunable to free itself!

In striking the ibex in his descent, the bird had buried its crookedclaws deeply into the soft abdomen of the animal, but in attempting todraw them out again, had found--no doubt to its great chagrin--that thethick coating of "poshm" which covered the skin of the ibex, had becomeentangled round its shanks; and the more it fluttered to free itself, turning round and round in the effort, the stronger and tighter becamethe rope which it was twisting out of that celebrated staple--theshawl-wool of Cashmere!

Beyond a doubt the bearcoot was in a bad fix; and, although it was soonrelieved from its tether of _poshm_, it was only to find itself moresecurely tied by a stronger string taken out of the pocket of Ossaroo. 

The other bearcoot having followed close after, seemed determined uponrescuing its mate out of the hands of its captors; and uttering loudscreams, it flew, first at one, then at another of them--with its longpointed talons menacing each of them in turn. 

As all of them had weapons in their hands, they succeeded in keeping theangry bird at bay, but it might not have fared so well with Fritz--whoin turn became the object of its furious attack, and who had no weaponbut his teeth. 

These would scarce have been sufficient protection against the talons ofan eagle; and Fritz would very likely have lost one of his eyes, orperhaps both of them, had it not been for an arrow springing from thebow of the shikaree; which, transfixing the great bird right through thegizzard, brought it down with a "flop" upon the surface of the earth. 

It was not killed outright by the arrow; and the dog, on seeing it bitethe dust, would fain have "jumped" it. But perceiving the strongcurving beak and the sharp talons extended towards him, Fritz was easilypersuaded to remain at a prudent distance, and leave the shikaree tomake a finish of the bearcoot with his long boar-spear. 

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX. 

A HOPE BUILT UPON THE BEARCOOT. 

In this unexpected supply of food--which might be said almost literallyto have descended from heaven--Karl could not help recognising the handof Providence, and pointing it out to his companions. Even the lessreflecting mind of Caspar, and the half-heathen heart of the Hindoo, were impressed with a belief that some other agency than mere chance hadbefriended them; and they were only too willing to join with Karl in aprayerful expression of their gratitude to that Being who, althoughunseen, was with them even in that lone valley. 

For a time they stood contemplating with curiosity, not only the twoibex, but also the eagles--interesting on account of the knowledge thatall four animals had but lately been roaming freely beyond theboundaries of that mountain prison--and had just arrived, as it were, from the outside world, with which they themselves so eagerly longed tohold communication. What would they not have given to have been eachprovided with a pair of wings like that bearcoot--the one that stilllived? Furnished in that fashion, they would soon have sought escapefrom the valley--to them a valley of tears--and from the snowy mountainsthat surrounded it. 

While reflecting thus, a thought shaped itself in the mind of thephilosophic Karl, which caused his face to brighten up a little. Only alittle: for the idea which had occurred to him was not one of thebrightest. There was something in it, however; and, as the drowning manwill clutch even at straws, Karl caught at a singular conception, andafter examining it a while, communicated it to the others. 

It was the bearcoot that had brought forth this conception. The birdwas a true eagle, strong of wing and muscle like all of his tribe, andone of the strongest of the genus. Like an arrow, he could fly straightup towards the sky. In a few minutes--ay, in a few seconds--he couldeasily shoot up to the summits of the snowy mountains that towered abovethem. 

"What is to hinder him?" asked Karl, pointing to the bird, "to carry--"

"To carry what?" said Caspar, interrupting the interrogation of hisbrother, who spoke in a hesitating and doubtful manner. "Not us, Karl?"continued he, with a slight touch of jocularity in his manner--"youdon't mean that, I suppose?"

"Not us, " gravely repeated Karl, "but _a rope_ that may carry _us_. "

"Ha!" exclaimed Caspar, a gleam of joy overspreading his face as hespoke. "There's something in that. "

Ossaroo, equally interested in the dialogue, at the same moment gaveutterance to a joyous ejaculation. 

"What do _you_ think of it, shikaree?" inquired Karl, speaking in aserious tone. 

The reply of Ossaroo did not bespeak any very sanguine hope on his part. Still he was ready to counsel a trial of the scheme. They could try itwithout any great trouble. It would only need to spin some more ropefrom the hemp--of which they had plenty--attach it to the leg of thebearcoot, and give the bird its freedom. There was no question as tothe direction the eagle would take. He had already had enough of thevalley; and would no doubt make to get out of it at the very firstflight he should be permitted to make. 

The scheme superficially considered appeared plausible enough; but asits details were subjected to a more rigorous examination, two granddifficulties presented themselves--so grand that they almost obliteratedthe hope, so suddenly, and with too much facility, conceived. 

The first of these difficulties was, that the bearcoot, notwithstandinghis great strength of wing, might not be able to carry up a rope, whichwould be strong enough to carry one of themselves. A cord he mighteasily take to the top of the cliff, or even far beyond; but a merecord, or even a very slender rope, would be of no use. It would needone strong enough to support the body of a man--and that, too, whileengaged in the violent exertion of climbing. The rope would require tobe of great length--two hundred yards or more; and every yard would addto the weight the eagle would be required to carry up. 

It is not to be supposed that they intended to "swarm" up this rope handby hand. For the height of a dozen yards or so, any of them could haveaccomplished that. But there would be a hundred and fifty yards of"swarming" to be done before they could set foot upon the top of thecliff; and the smartest sailor that ever crawled up a main-stay--evenSinbad himself--could not have done half the distance. They hadforeseen this difficulty from the very first; and the ingenuity of Karlhad at once provided a remedy for it--as will be seen in the sequel. 

The second question that presented itself was:--admitting that thebearcoot might bear up a rope stout enough for the purpose, whetherthere would be any possibility of getting this rope stayed at the top?

Of course, they could do nothing of themselves; and that point would bea matter of mere chance. There was a chance--all acknowledged that. The bird, in fluttering over the mountain to make its escape, mightentangle the rope around a rock, or some sharp angle of the frozen snow. There was a chance, which could be determined by trying, and only bytrying; and there were certain probabilities in favour of success. 

The first difficulty--that relating to the strength and weight of therope--admitted of rational discussion and calculation. There were_data_ to go upon, and others that might be decided conjecturally, yetsufficiently near the truth for all preliminary purposes. They couldtell pretty nearly what stoutness of rope it would take to _hang_ anyone of them; and this would be strong enough to carry them up the cliff. The strength of the eagle might also be presumed pretty nearly; andthere was no doubt but that the bearcoot would do his very best to getout of the valley. After the rough handling he had already experienced, he would not require any further stimulus to call forth his very utmostexertions. 

On discussing the subject in its different bearings, it soon becameevident to all, that the matter of supreme importance would be themaking of the rope. Could this be manufactured of sufficient finenessnot to overburden the bearcoot, and yet be strong enough to sustain theweight of a man, the first difficulty would be got over. The ropetherefore should be made with the greatest care. Every fibre of itshould be of the best quality of hemp--every strand twisted with aperfect uniformity of thickness--every plait manipulated with an exactaccuracy. 

Ossaroo was the man to make such a cord. He could spin it with as muchevenness as a Manchester mill. There would be no danger that in a ropeof Ossaroo's making the most critical eye could detect either fault orflaw. 

It was finally determined on that the rope should be spun--Ossarooacting as director, the others becoming his attendants rather than hisassistants. 

Before proceeding to work, however, it was deemed prudent to secureagainst a hungry day by curing the flesh of the brace of ibex. The deadbearcoot was to be eaten while fresh, and needed no curing. 

And so indeed it was eaten--the bird of Jove furnishing them with adinner, as that of Juno had given them a breakfast!

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN. 

THE LOG ON THE LEG. 

As soon as they had hung the ibex-meat upon the curing strings, andpegged out the two skins for drying, they turned their attention to themaking of the rope by which they were to be pulled out of their prison. By good fortune they had a large stock of hemp on hand all ready fortwisting. It was a store that had been saved up by Ossaroo--at the timewhen he had fabricated his fish-net; and as it had been kept in a littledry grotto of the cliff, it was still in excellent preservation. Theyhad also on hand a very long rope, though, unfortunately, not longenough for their present purpose. It was the same which they had usedin projecting their tree-bridge across the crevasse; and which they hadlong ago unrove from its pulleys, and brought home to the hut. Thisrope was the exact thickness they would require: for anything of a moreslender gauge would scarcely be sufficient to support the weight of aman's body; and considering the fearful risk they would have to run, while hanging by it against the face of such a cliff, it was necessaryto keep on the safe side as regarded the strength of the rope. Theycould have made it of ample thickness and strength, so as to secureagainst the accident of its breaking. But then, on the opposite hand, arose the difficulty as to the strength of the eagle's wing. Should therope prove too heavy for the bearcoot to carry over the top of thecliff, then all their labour would be in vain. 

"Why not ascertain this fact before making the rope?"

This was a suggestion of Karl himself. 

"But how are we to do it?" was the rejoinder of Caspar. 

"I think we can manage the matter, " said the botanist, apparentlybusying his brain with some profound calculation. 

"I can't think of a way myself, " replied Caspar, looking inquiringly athis brother. 

"I fancy I can, " said Karl. "What is to hinder us to ascertain theweight of the rope before making it, and also decide as to whether thebird can carry so much?"

"But how are you to weigh the rope until it is made? You know it's thetrouble of making it we wish to avoid--that is, should it prove uselessafterwards. "

"Oh! as for that, " rejoined Karl, "it is not necessary to have itfinished to find out what weight it would be. We know pretty near thelength that will be needed, and by weighing a piece of that already inour hands, we can calculate for any given length. "

"You forget, brother Karl, that we have no means of weighing, even thesmallest piece. We have neither beam, scales, nor weights. "

"Pooh!" replied Karl, with that tone of confidence imparted by superiorknowledge. "There's no difficulty in obtaining all these. Any piece ofstraight stick becomes a beam, when properly balanced; and as forscales, they can be had as readily as a beam. "

"But the weights?" interrupted Caspar. "What about them? Your beam andscales would be useless, I apprehend, without proper weights? I thinkwe should be `stumped' for the want of the pounds and ounces. "

"I am surprised, Caspar, you should be so unreflecting, and allow youringenuity to be so easily discouraged and thwarted. I believe I couldmake a set of weights under any circumstances in which you might placeme--giving me only the raw material, such as a piece of timber andplenty of stones. "

"But how, brother? Pray, tell us!"

"Why, in the first place, I know the weight of my own body. "

"Granted. But that is only one weight; how are you to get thedenominations--the pounds and ounces?"

"On the beam I should construct I would balance my body against a lot ofstones. I should then divide the stones into two lots, and balancethese against one another. I should thus get the half weight of mybody--a known quantity, you will recollect. By again equally dividingone of the lots I should find a standard of smaller dimensions; and soon, till I had got a weight as small as might be needed. By thisprocess I can find a pound, an ounce, or any amount required. "

"Very true, brother, " replied Caspar, "and very ingenious of you. Nodoubt your plan would do--but for one little circumstance, which youseem to have overlooked. "

"What is that?"

"Are your data quite correct?" naively inquired Caspar. 

"My data!"

"Yes--the original standard from which you propose to start, and onwhich you would base your calculations. I mean the _weight of yourbody_. Do you know that?"

"Certainly, " said Karl; "I am just 140 pounds weight--to an ounce. "

"Ah, brother, " replied Caspar, with a shake of the head, expressive ofdoubt, "you _were_ 140 pounds in London--I know that myself--and so wasI nearly as much; but you forget that the fret and worry of thismiserable existence has reduced both of us. Indeed, dear brother, I cansee that you are much thinner since we set out from Calcutta; and nodoubt you can perceive the like change in me. Is it not so?"

Karl was forced to give an affirmative reply to the question, at thesame time that he acknowledged the truth of his brother's statement. His data were not correct. The weight of his body--which, not being aconstant quantity, is at all times an unsafe standard--would not servein the present instance. The calculation they desired to make was oftoo important a character to be based upon such an untrustworthyfoundation. Karl perceived this plainly enough; but it did notdiscourage him from prosecuting his purpose to make the attempt he hadproposed. 

"Well, brother!" said he, looking smilingly towards the latter, andapparently rather pleased at Caspar's acuteness; "I acknowledge you havehad the better of the argument this time; but that's no reason why Ishould give up my plan. There are many other ways of ascertaining theweight of an object; and no doubt if I were to reflect a little I couldhit upon one; but as luck has it, we need not trouble ourselves furtherabout that matter. If I mistake not, we have a standard of weight inour possession, that is just the thing itself. "

"What standard?" demanded Caspar. 

"One of the leaden bullets of your own gun. They are ounce bullets, I've heard you say?"

"They are exactly sixteen to the pound, and therefore each of them anounce. You are right, Karl, that is a standard. Certainly it will do. "

The subject required no further sifting; and without delay theyproceeded to ascertain the weight of two hundred yards of rope. Abalance was soon constructed and adjusted, as nicely as if they hadmeant to put gold in the scale. Twenty yards of the rope already inhand was set against stones--whose weight they had already determined byreduplicating a number of bullets--and its quantity ascertained inpounds and ounces. Eight times that gave one hundred and sixty yards--the probable amount of cord they should require. 

This being determined upon, the next thing was to find out whether theeagle could carry such a burden into the sky. Of course, the bird wouldnot have the whole of it to carry at first, as part would rest upon theground; but should it succeed in reaching the top of the cliff--even atthe lowest part--there would then be the weight of at least one hundredyards upon its leg; and if it ascended still higher, a greater amount inproportion. 

It was natural to suppose that the bearcoot in going out would choosethe lowest part of the precipice--especially when feeling his flightimpeded by the strange attachment upon his leg; and if this conjectureshould prove correct, there would be all the less weight to besustained. But, indeed, by the cord itself they could guide thebearcoot to the lowest part--since by holding it in their hands, theycould hinder him taking flight in any other direction. 

Considering all these circumstances, and rather cheered by the manypoints that appeared to be in their favour, they proceeded to make trialof the eagle's strength. 

It would not take long to decide; but conscious of the great importanceof the result, they set about it with due deliberation. 

A log of wood was procured, and chopped down, till it was exactly theweight of the rope to be used. To this the piece of twenty yards--already employed for a different purpose--was attached at one end--theother being tightly knotted around the shank of the eagle. 

When all was ready, the bird was stripped of his other fastenings; andthen all retired to a distance to give him space for the free use of hiswings. 

Fancying himself no longer under restraint, the bearcoot sprang up fromthe rock on which he had been placed; and, spreading his broad wings, rose almost vertically into the air. 

For the first twenty yards he mounted with a vigorous velocity; and thehopes of the spectators found utterance in joyful ejaculations. 

Alas! these hopes were short-lived, ending almost on the instant oftheir conception. The rope, carried to its full length, became suddenlytaut--jerking the eagle several feet back towards the earth. At thesame time the log was lifted only a few inches from the ground. Thebird fluttered a moment, taken aback by this unexpected interruption;and, after recovering its equilibrium, again essayed a second flighttowards the sky. 

Once more the rope tightened--as before raising the log but very littlefrom the ground--while the eagle, as if this time expecting the pluck, suffered less derangement of its flight than on the former occasion. For all that, it was borne back, until its anchor "touched bottom. "Then after making another upward effort, with the like result, itappeared to become convinced of its inability to rise vertically, anddirected its flight in a horizontal line along the cliffs. The log wasjerked over the ground, bounding from point to point, occasionallyswinging in the air, but only for a few seconds at a time. 

At length the conviction forced itself upon the minds of thespectators--as it seemed also to have done upon that of the performer--that to reach the top of the cliff--with a cord upon its leg, equal inweight to that log--was more than a bearcoot could accomplish. 

In short, the plan had proved a failure; and, no longer hoping forsuccess, our adventurers turned their disappointed looks upon eachother--leaving the eagle free to drag his wooden anchor whithersoever hemight wish. 

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT. 

FURTHER EXPERIMENTS. 

The usual silence which succeeds a disappointment was for some timepreserved by the three individuals who had been spectators of theunsuccessful attempt of the eagle. Caspar seemed less cast down thanthe others; but why it was so, neither of them thought of asking him. 

It was not a silence of very long duration, nor was the chagrin that hadcaused it of much longer continuance. Both were evanescent as thesummer cloud that for a moment darkens the sky, and then glides off--leaving it bright and serene as ever. 

It was to Caspar the party was indebted for this happy change offeeling. An idea had occurred to the young hunter--or rather a newscheme--which was at once communicated to his companions. 

Strictly speaking, Caspar's scheme could not be termed a _new_ one. Itwas only supplementary to that already set before them by Karl; and thebearcoot, as before, was to be the chief actor in it. 

While calculating the length of rope it would take to reach to the topof the cliff, Caspar had already bethought him of a way by which itmight be shortened--in other words, how it might be arranged, that ashorter rope would suffice. He had for some time carried this idea inhis mind; but had declined communicating it, to the others, until afterwitnessing the test of the eagle's strength. Now that the bearcoot hadbeen "weighed and found wanting, " you might suppose that the creaturewould be no longer cared for--excepting to furnish them with a meal. This was the reflection of Karl and Ossaroo; but Caspar thoughtdifferently. He was impressed with a belief, that the bird might stilldo them a service--the very one which he had undertaken sounsuccessfully. 

Caspar reflected, and very correctly: that it was the extra weight thathad hindered the eagle from ascending. It was not so much beyond hisstrength neither. Perhaps had it been only half as heavy, or even alittle more, he might have succeeded in carrying it over the cliff. 

What if the weight should be reduced?

To make the rope more slender did not enter into Caspar's calculations. He knew this could not be done: since it was a point already discussedand decided upon. 

But how if the rope were to be _shorter_, than that which had beentheoretically considered? How if it were to be only fifty yards, instead of one hundred and fifty? Of course, then the eagle might flywith it, to whatever height its length would allow. 

Caspar felt satisfied of this fact; nor did either of the othersquestion its truth--but what then?

"What, " inquired Karl, "would be the use of a rope of fifty yards, though the eagle might carry it up to the moon? Even at the lowest partof the cliffs--should the bearcoot take one end over, the other would befifty yards above our heads?"

"Not a yard, brother--not a foot. The other end would be in our hands--in our hands, I tell you. "

"Well, Caspar, " calmly rejoined the philosopher, "you appear to beconfident enough; though I can't guess what you are driving at. Youknow this hideous precipice is at no point less than a hundred yards insheer height?"

"I do, " replied Caspar, still speaking in the same tone of confidence;"but a rope of only fifty--ay, of not more than half that length--may beheld in our hands, while the other end is over the top of the cliff. "

Karl looked perplexed; but the shikaree, on this occasion quicker ofperception than the philosopher, catching at Caspar's meaning, criedout:--

"Ha, ha! young sahib meanee from top ob da ladder! Dat meanee he. "

"Exactly so, " said Caspar; "you've guessed right, Ossy. I mean justthat very thing. "

"Oh! then, indeed, " said Karl, in a drawling tone, at the same timelapsing into a reflective silence. 

"Perhaps you are right, brother, " he added, after a pause. "At allevents, it will be easy to try. If your scheme succeed, we shall notrequire to make any more cord. What we have will be sufficient. Let usmake trial at once!"

"Where is the bearcoot?" asked Caspar, looking around to discover thebird. 

"Yonner be he, young sahib, " answered Ossaroo, pointing towards theprecipice; "yonner sitee he--ober da rock. "

The eagle was perceived, perched, or rather crouching, on a low ledge ofthe cliff, --upon which it had dropped down after its unsuccessfulattempt at flight. It looked crestfallen, and as if it would sufferitself to be caught by the hand. But as Ossaroo approached it with thisintention, the bird seemed to fancy itself free, and once more rose, with a bold swoop, into the air. 

It was only to feel the check-string tighten afresh upon his leg. Itcame fluttering down again, first drawn back by the weight of the log, and afterwards by the strong arm of the shikaree. 

The log was now removed; and the whole rope they had on hand--a lengthof rather more than fifty yards--was knotted in its place. 

The bearcoot was again set free--Ossaroo taking care to keep the leashwell in hand; and now the beautiful bird of Jove rose into the air, asif not the summit of the cliff, but the proud peak of Chumulari, was tobe the limit of its flight. 

At the height of fifty yards its soaring ambition was suddenly curbed, by the check-string of Ossaroo, reminding it that it was still acaptive. 

The experiment had proved successful. Caspar's plan promised well; andthey at once proceeded to take the necessary steps for carrying it intopractical effect. 

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE. 

THE EAGLE'S ESCAPE. 

The first thing to be done, was to look to the quality of the rope, andtest its strength. The ladders were already in place, just as they hadbeen left. The rope once _proved_, there would be nothing further todo, but make it secure to the shank of the bearcoot; ascend the cliff tothe highest ledge, reached by the ladders; and then fly the bird. 

Should they succeed in getting the creature to go over the cliff--and bysome means entangle the cord at the top--they might consider themselvesfree. The very thought of such a result--now apparently certain--oncemore raised their spirits to the highest pitch. 

They did not count on being able to "swarm" up a piece of slender cordof nearly fifty yards in length--a feat that would have baffled the mostagile tar that ever "slung the monkey" from a topgallant stay. They hadno thoughts of climbing the rope in that way; but in another, longbefore conceived and discussed. They intended--once they should beassured that the cord was secure above--to make steps upon it, byinserting little pieces of wood between the "strands;" and these, whichthey could fix at long distances, one after the other, would formsupports, upon which they might rest their feet in the ascent. 

As we have said, all this had been settled beforehand; and no longeroccupied their attention--now wholly absorbed in contriving some way toprove the reliability of the rope, upon which their lives were about tobe imperilled. 

It was not deemed sufficient to tie the rope to a tree, and pull upon itwith all their united strength. Karl and Caspar thought this would be asufficient test; but Ossaroo was of a different opinion. A betterplan--according to the shikaree's way of thinking--was one which hadgenerated in his oriental brain; and which, without heeding theremonstrances of the others, he proceeded to make trial of. Taking oneend of the rope with him, he climbed into a tall tree; and, aftergetting some way out on a horizontal branch--full fifty feet from theground--he there fastened the cord securely. By his directions theyoung sahibs laid hold below; and, both together, raising their feetfrom the ground, remained for some seconds suspended in the air. 

As the rope showed no symptoms either of stretching or breaking underthe weight of both, it was evident that it might, under anycircumstances, be trusted to carry the weight of one; and in thisconfidence, the shikaree descended from the tree. 

With the eagle carried under his right arm, and the coil of ropeswinging over his left, Ossaroo now proceeded towards the place wherethe ladders rested against the cliff. Karl and Caspar walked closeafter, with Fritz following in the rear--all four moving in silence, andwith a certain solemnity of look and gesture--as befitted the importantbusiness upon which they were bent. 

The new experiment, like the trial of the eagle's strength, did notoccupy any great length of time. Had it proved successful, ouradventurers would have been longer occupied, and in the end would havebeen seen triumphantly standing upon the summit of the cliff--with Fritzfrisking up the snowy slope beyond, as if he intended to chase the great_ovis ammon_ upon the heaven-kissing crest of Chumulari. 

Ah! how different was the spectacle presented on the evening of thateventful day! A little before sunset the three adventurers were seenslowly and sadly returning to their hut--that despised hovel, underwhose homely roof they had hoped never to seek shelter again!

Alas! in the now lengthened list of their unsuccessful struggles, theyhad once more to record a failure!

Ossaroo, bearing the bearcoot under his arm, had climbed the ladders upto the highest ledge that could be attained. From it he had "flown" theeagle--freely dealing out all the cord in his possession. That was aperilous experiment for the shikaree to make; and came very near provingthe last act in the drama of his life. 

Thinking that the bearcoot would rise upward into the air, he had notthought of anything else; and as he stood balancing himself on thatnarrow shelf, he was but ill prepared for what actually came to pass. Instead of soaring upwards, the eagle struck out in a horizontaldirection, not changing its course till it had reached the end of itstether; and then not changing it, nor even pausing in its flight, butwith the fifty yards of rope trailing behind it--which, fortunately forOssaroo, he was himself no longer at the end of--it continued on acrossthe valley towards the cliffs on the opposite side--the summit of whichit would have no difficulty in attaining by following the diagonal linein which it was making that unexpected escape from the clutches of theshikaree. 

Not without chagrin did Karl and Caspar behold the spectacle of thebearcoot's departure; and for a while they were under the impressionthat Ossaroo had bungled the business with which he had been entrusted. 

Ossaroo's explanations, however, were soon after received; and provedsatisfactory. It was evident from these, that had he not let go in theright time, he would have been compelled to make a leap, that would haveleft him no opportunity for explaining the nature of the eagle's escape. 

CHAPTER FORTY. 

FRITZ AND THE FALCONS. 

With feelings of sad and bitter disappointment did our adventurers turntheir backs upon these ladders--that had once more deluded them--andmake their way towards the hut. 

As upon the former occasion, they walked with slow steps and downcastmien. Fritz, by his slouching gait and drooped tail, showed that heshared the general despondency. 

They had arrived nearly at the hut, before any of the three thought ofspeaking; when the sight of that rude homestead, to which they had sooften fancied themselves on the eve of bidding farewell--and to which asoften had they been compelled to return--suggested a theme to Karl:causing him to break silence as they advanced towards the doorway. 

"Our true friend, " said he, pointing to the hovel, "a friend, when allelse fails us. Rough it is--like many a friend that is neverthelessworthy. I begin to like its honest look, and feel regard for it as oneshould for a home. "

Caspar said nothing in reply. He only sighed. The young chamois-hunterof the Bavarian Alps thought of another home--far away towards thesetting sun; and, so long as that thought was in his mind, he couldnever reconcile himself to a forced residence in the Himalayas. 

The thoughts of Ossaroo were equally absent from that spot. He wasthinking of a bamboo hut by the borders of some crystal stream, overshadowed by palms and other tropical trees. He was thinking stillmore of rice curry and chutnee; but above all, of his beloved "betel, "for which the "bang" of the _cannabis sativa_ was but a poor substitute. 

But Caspar had another thought in his mind; one which proved that he hadnot yet abandoned all hope of returning to the home of his nativity;and, after they had finished eating their supper of broiled venison, hegave utterance to it. 

He had not volunteered to break the silence. It was done in obedienceto a request of Karl who, having noticed the abstracted air of hisbrother, had asked for an explanation. 

"I've been thinking, " said Caspar, "ever since the eagle has escaped us, of another bird I know something about--one that might perform theservice we want quite as well, if not better, than a bearcoot. "

"Another bird!" inquired Karl; "of what bird are you speaking? Do youmean one of those Brahminy geese upon the lake? We might catch onealive, it is true; but let me tell you, brother, that their wings areconstructed just strong enough to carry their own ponderous bodies; andif you added another pound or two, by tying a cord to their legs, theycould no more mount out of this valley than we can. No--no. I fancy wemay as well give up that idea. There's no bird but an eagle with wingstrong enough to do what you wish. "

"The bird I was thinking of, " rejoined Caspar, "is of the same _genus_as the eagle. I believe that's correctly scientific language. Isn'tit, my Buffon of a brother? Ha! ha! Well, shall I name it? Surely, you have already divined the sort of bird to which I allude?"

"No, indeed, " replied Karl. "There are no other birds in this valley ofthe same genus as the eagle--except hawks; and according to the closetnaturalists, they are not of the same genus--only of the same _family_. If you mean a hawk, there are several species in this place; but thelargest of them could not carry anything over the cliff heavier than astring of twine. See, there's a brace of them now!" continued Karl, pointing to two birds that were circling in the air, some twenty yardsoverhead. "`Churk' falcons they are called. They are the largest ofthe Himalayan hawks. Are these your birds, brother?"

"A couple of kites, are they not?" interrogated Caspar, turning his eyesupward, and regarding the two winged creatures circling above, andquartering the air as if in search of prey. 

"Yes, " answered the naturalist, "they are of that species; and, correctly described, of the same genus as the eagles. You don't meanthem, I suppose?"

"No--not exactly, " replied Caspar, in a drawling tone, and smilingsignificantly as he spoke; "but if they be _kites_--Ho! what now?"exclaimed the speaker, his train of thought, as well as speech, suddenlyinterrupted by a movement on the part of the falcons. "What themischief are the birds about? As I live, they seem to be making anattack upon Fritz! Surely they don't suppose they have the strength todo any damage to our brave old dog?"

As Caspar spoke, the two falcons were seen suddenly to descend--from theelevation at which they had been soaring--and then sweep in quick shortcircles around the head of the Bavarian boar-hound--where he squatted onthe ground, near a little copse, some twenty yards from the hut. 

"Perhaps their nest is there--in the copse?" suggested Karl; "That's whythey are angry with the dog: for angry they certainly appear to be. "

So any one might have reasoned, from the behaviour of the birds, as theycontinued their attack upon the dog--now rising some feet above him, andthen darting downward in a sort of parabolic curve--at each swoopdrawing nearer and nearer, until the tips of their wings were almostflapped in his face. These movements were not made in silence: for thefalcons, as they flew, kept uttering their shrill cries--that soundedlike the voice of a pair of angry vixens. 

"Their young must be near?" suggested Karl. 

"No, sahib, " said Ossaroo, "no nest--no chickee. Fritz he hab suppa--depiece ob meat ob da ibex. Churk wantee take de dog suppa away. "

"Oh! Fritz is eating something, is he?" said Caspar. "That explains itthen. How very stupid of these birds, to fancy they could steal hissupper from our valiant Fritz: more especially since he seems to relishit so much himself! Why he takes no notice of them!"

It was quite true that Fritz, up to this time, had scarcely noticed thebrace of winged assailants; and their hostile demonstrations had onlydrawn from him an occasional "yir. " As they swooped nearer, however, and the tips of their wings were "wopped" into his very eyes, the thingwas growing unbearable; and Fritz began to lose temper. His "yirs"became more frequent; and once or twice he rose from his squattingattitude, and made a snap at the feathers that were nearest. 

For more than five minutes this curious play was kept up between theboar-hound and the birds; and then the episode was brought to a somewhatsingular--and in Fritz's estimation, no doubt--a very unpleasanttermination. 

From the first commencement of their attack, the two falcons hadfollowed a separate course of action. One appeared to make all itsapproaches from the front; while the other confined its attacksexclusively to Fritz's rear. In consequence of these tactics on thepart of his assailants, the dog was compelled to defend himself bothbefore and behind: and to do this, it became necessary for him to look"two ways at once. " Now, he would snarl and snap at the assailant infront--anon, he must sieve himself round, and in like manner menace themore cowardly "churk" that was attacking him in the rear. Of the two, however, the latter was the more demonstrative and noisy; and at length, not content with giving Fritz an occasional "wop" with its wing, it hadthe daring audacity to strike its sharp talons into a part of hisposteriors approximate to the seat of honour. 

This was something more than canine flesh and blood could bear; andFritz determined not to submit to it any longer. Dropping the "quid" hehad been chewing, he started up on all fours; wheeled suddenly towardsthe kite that had clawed him; and bounded aloft into the air with thedesign of clutching it. 

But the wary bird had foreseen this action on the part of the quadruped;and, ere the latter could lay a fang upon it, had soared off--far beyondthe highest leap that any four-footed creature might accomplish. 

Fritz, with a disappointed growl, turned round again to betake himselfto his piece of meat; but still more disappointed was his look, when heperceived that the latter was no longer within reach! Churk falconnumber one had clawed him over the croup, but churk falcon number twohad deprived him of his supper!

The last look Fritz ever had of that piece of ibex venison, was seeingit in the beak of the bird, high up in air, growing smaller by degreesand beautifully less--until it disappeared altogether in the dimdistance. 

CHAPTER FORTY ONE. 

FRITZ OFFENDED. 

This odd little episode, between the boar-hound and the churk falcons, had interrupted the conversation of the two brothers on the subjectwhich Caspar had introduced. Nor was it resumed immediately, on thetermination of the affair: for the look with which Fritz regarded thedeparture of the bird, that had so adroitly bilked him out of his bit ofvenison, was so supremely ludicrous, as to elicit long loud peals oflaughter from the spectators. 

Fritz's "countenance" betrayed the presence of rare emotions. Profoundsurprise and chagrin--strongly blended with a feeling of concentratedrage--were visible not only in his eyes, but his attitude, and, for sometime, he stood with head erect and muzzle high in air, his glancesspeaking unutterable vows of vengeance, as they followed the flight ofthe falcons. 

Never in all his life--not even when the trunk of the elephant wastrumpeting at his tail--had Fritz so sensibly felt the want of wings. Never had he so regretted the deficiency in his structure that left himwithout those useful appendages; and had he been gifted with the "wandof a fairy, " the use to which he would at that moment have applied itwould have been to furnish himself with a pair, not of "beautifulwings"--for that was a secondary consideration--but of strong and longones, such as would have enabled him to overhaul those churk falcons, and punish them for their unheard-of audacity. 

For more than a minute Fritz preserved the attitude to which we havealluded: the demeanour of a dog that had been regularly duped and "sold"by a brace of beings, for whose strength and capacity he had exhibitedsupreme contempt; and it was this mingling of surprise and rage thatimparted to him that serio-comic appearance that had set them alla-laughing. Nor was his countenance less ludicrous under the expressionwith which, on turning round, he regarded his trio of human companions. He saw that they were making merry at his expense; and his look ofhalf-reproach half-appeal had no other effect than to redouble theirmirth. Glancing from one to the other, he appeared to seek sympathyfrom each in turn--from Karl, Caspar, and Ossaroo. 

It was an idle appeal. All three had equally surrendered themselves tohilarity--unsympathetic, as it was uncontrollable. Fritz had not afriend on the ground. 

Full ten minutes must have elapsed before any of them could check hisloud cachinnations; but long before that time, the butt of theirridicule had betaken himself out of sight--having moved away from thespot, where he had been robbed of his supper, and retired, with anoffended and sneaking air, to the more friendly concealment of thehovel. 

It was some time before our adventurers could recover their seriousmood; but the subject of their mirth being now out of their sight, wentgradually also out of their minds. 

It might be wondered that, circumstanced as they were, they had thusgiven way to a fit of jollity. But, indeed, there was nothing wonderfulabout it. On the contrary, it was perfectly natural--perfectly true tothe instincts of the human soul--to be thus stirred: joy and sorrowfollowing each other in periodic succession--as certainly as day followsnight, or fair weather succeeds to the storm. 

Though we know not the why and the wherefore of this, we can easilybelieve that a wise Providence has ordered it so. A poet who has sungsweetly says, that:--

 "Spring would be but gloomy weather, If we had nothing else but Spring;"

and our own experience proclaims the truth conveyed in the distich. 

He who has lived in the tropical lands of ever-spring--where the leavesnever fall, and the flowers never fade--can well confirm the fact: thateven spring itself may in time become tiresome! We long for thewinter--its frost and snow, and cold bitter winds. Though ever soenamoured of the gay green forest, we like at intervals to behold it inits russet garb, with the sky in its coat of grey, sombre butpicturesque. Strange as it may appear, it is true: the moral, like thenatural atmosphere, stands in need of the storm. 

CHAPTER FORTY TWO. 

A KITE!

As soon as their mirth had fairly subsided, Karl and Caspar resumed theconversation, which had been broken off so abruptly. 

"And so, brother, " said Karl, who was the first to return to thesubject, "you say there is a bird of the eagle genus, that might carry arope over the cliff for us. Of what bird are you speaking?"

"Why, Karl, you are dull of comprehension this morning. Surely thepresence of the two _kites_ should have suggested what I mean. "

"Ha! you mean a kite, then?"

"Yes, one with a very broad breast, a very thin body, and a very longtail: such as you and I used to make not so many years ago. "

"A _paper kite_, " said Karl, repeating the phrase mechanically, at thesame time settling down, into a reflecting attitude. "True, brother, "he added, after a pause; "there might be something in what you havesuggested. If we had a paper kite--that is, a very large one--it ispossible it would carry a rope over the summit of the cliff; but, alas!--"

"You need not proceed further, Karl, " said Caspar, interrupting him. "Iknow what you are going to say: that we have no paper out of which tomake the kite; and that, of course, puts an end to the matter. It's nouse our thinking any more about it: since we have not got the materials. The body and bones we could easily construct; and the tail too. Butthen the wings--ah, the wings. I only wish we had a file of oldnewspapers. But what's the use of wishing? We haven't. "

Karl, though silent, did not seem to hear, or at all events heed, whatCaspar had been just saying. He appeared to be buried either in areverie, or in some profound speculation. 

It was the latter: as was very soon after made manifest by his speech. 

"Perhaps, " said he, with a hopeful glance towards the wood, "we may notbe so deficient in the material of which you have spoken. "

"Of paper, do you mean?"

"We are in the very region of the world where it grows, " continued Karl, without heeding the interrogation. 

"What! where paper _grows_?"

"No, " replied Karl, "I do not mean that the paper itself grows here; buta `fabric' out of which that useful article may be made. "

"What is that, brother?"

"It is a tree, or rather a shrub, belonging to the order of the_Thymelaceae_, or `Daphnads. ' The plants of this order are found inmany countries; but chiefly in the cooler regions of India and SouthAmerica. There are even representatives of the order in England: forthe beautiful `spurge laurel' of the woods and hedges--known as a remedyfor the toothache--is a true daphnad. Perhaps the most curious of allthe Thymelaceae is the celebrated Lagetta, or lace-bark tree of Jamaica;out of which the ladies of that island know how to manufacture cuffs, collars, and berthas, that, when cut into the proper shapes, andbleached to a perfect whiteness, have all the appearance of real lace!The Maroons, and other runaway negroes of Jamaica, before the abolitionof slavery, used to make clothing out of the lagetta; which they foundgrowing in plenty in the mountain forests of the island. Previous alsoto the same abolition of slavery, there was another, and less gentle, use made of the lace-bark, by the masters of these same negroes. Thecruel tyrants used to spin its tough fibres into thongs for theirslave-whips. "

"And you think that paper can be made out of these trees?" asked Caspar, impatient to know whether there might be any chance of procuring somefor the covering of a kite. 

"There are several species of daphnads, " replied the botanist, "whosebark can be converted into paper. Some are found at the Cape of GoodHope, and others in the island of Madagascar; but the best kinds for thepurpose grow in these very mountains, and in China. There is the`Daphne Bholua, ' in Nepaul; from which the Nepaulese make a strong, tough, packing-paper; and I have reason to believe that it also grows inthe Bhotan Himalayas--at no very great distance from our position here. Besides, in China and Japan, on the other side of these mountains, thereare two or three distinct kinds of the same plant--out of which theChinese make the yellowish-coloured paper, you may have seen in theirbooks, and pasted upon their tea-chests. So then, " added the botanist, looking wistfully towards the woods, "since the paper-yielding daphnegrows in China, to the east of us, and in Nepaul and Bhotan to the west, it is but reasonable to conclude that some species of it may be found inthis valley--where the climate is just that which it affects. Its seedmay have been transported hither by birds: since many species of birdsare fond of its berries, and eat them without receiving any injury;though, strange to say, they are poisonous to all kinds of quadrupeds!"

"Do you think you would know the shrub, if you saw it, brother?"

"Well, to say the truth, I do not think I could recognise it by itsgeneral appearance; but if I had a flower of the _daphne_, I could nodoubt tell it by its botanical characteristics. The leaves of thepaper-yielding species are of a lanceolate form and purplish hue, glabrous and shining, like the leaves of laurels--to which genus the_daphne_ is closely allied. Unfortunately, the shrub would not be inflower at this season; but if we can find one of the berries, and a leafor two, I fancy I shall be able to identify it. Besides, the bark, which is very tough, would help to guide us. Indeed, I have some reasonto think that we shall find it not far off; and that is why I speak withsuch confidence, in saying, that we might not be so deficient in thematerials for paper-making. "

"What reason, brother Karl? Perhaps you have seen something like it?"

"I have. Some time ago, when I was strolling about, I passed through athicket of low shrubs--the tops of which reached up to my breast. Theywere then in flower--the flowers being of a lilac colour, and growing atthe tops of the branches in little cymes. They had no corolla--only acoloured calyx. Now these characters correspond with those of thedaphne. Besides, the leaves were lanceolate, velvety on the surface, and of purplish colour; and the flowers were of an exceedingly sweetscent--as is the case with all the daphnads. I did not think ofexamining them at the time; but, now that I recall thesecharacteristics, I feel almost certain that the shrubs were of thisgenus. "

"Do you think you can find the thicket again?"

"Oh! yes, easily enough. It is not very distant from the place, wherewe were so near fighting that fearful duel. "

"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Caspar, in reply to the significant remark of thebotanist. "But, brother!" continued he, "suppose it should prove to bethe shrub you speak of, what good would there be in our finding it, solong as we don't understand the process of manufacturing it into paper?"

"How do you know that we don't?" said Karl, challenging the too positivedeclaration of Caspar. "I am not so sure that we don't. I have readthe whole account of the process, as given by one of the old writersupon China. It is very simple; and I think I remember enough to be ableto follow it. Perhaps not to make fine paper, that one might writeupon; but something that would serve our purpose just as well. We don'twant the best `cream-laid. ' Unfortunately, we have no post-office here. I wish we had. If we can fabricate anything as fine as the coarsestpacking-paper, it will do well enough for a kite, I fancy. "

"True, " replied Caspar. "It would be all the better to be coarse andstrong. But, dear Karl, suppose we go at once, and see if we candiscover the trees. "

"That is just what we shall do, " replied Karl, rising as he spoke, andpreparing to set out in search of the daphne. 

All, of course, went together: for Ossaroo was as much interested in theresult of the exploration as any of them; and Fritz, from within thehut, perceiving that they were about to depart upon some new expedition, managed partially to coax himself out of his ill-humour; and, sallyingforth from his hiding-place, trotted silently after them. 

CHAPTER FORTY THREE. 

THE PAPER-TREE. 

To the great delight of the party, it turned out just as Karl hadconjectured. The thicket that he had spoken of was composed chiefly ofdaphne shrubs--judging by the appearance of the fallen leaves, and someberries that still remained on the branches, Karl believed them to be ofthis species. But the bark was also a characteristic: being exceedinglytenacious, and moreover of a strongly acrid taste--so much so as tocauterise he skin of Ossaroo's mouth, who had been foolish enough tochew it too freely. 

After duly examining the leaves, berries, and bark, the botanist came tothe conclusion that the shrub must be a true daphne; and so in realityit was--that species known in Nepaul as the _Daphne Bholua_--from which, as already stated, the Nepaulese manufacture a coarse, but soft paper. 

As soon as this point was determined to their satisfaction, theyresolved upon carrying Caspar's hint into execution--by trying theexperiment of a paper kite. 

But for Karl's practical education--which had made him acquainted notonly with the botanical characters of plants and trees, but also withtheir uses--and in some cases with the mode of using them--the merediscovery of the daphne would have availed them nothing. As it stood inthe thicket, it was no more like paper than any of the trees that grewaround it. Indeed, there were many others that would have yielded barkin broader flakes than it, and much more resembling paper: for that ofthe daphne, stripping off as it did in narrow pieces, looked like thelast thing in the world of which to make a kite out of. But Karl knewthe process by which it could be metamorphosed into paper; and withoutfurther delay, he entered upon the performance--the others placing theirservices at his disposal, and acting in obedience to his orders. 

The knife-blades of all three were called into requisition; and in anincredibly short space of time, some scores of the little trees werestripped of their bark--from their roots up to the lower branches. Thetrees themselves were not cut down; as that was not necessary. Theycould be peeled more readily, as they stood; and for this reason theywere left standing. 

Up to the hour of sunset did these "cascarilleros" work--with only a fewminutes of interruption, while they went back to the hut, and ate ahurried luncheon of ibex-meat--and just as the sun was sinking behindthe summit of the great Chumulari, they might have been seen trudginghomeward--each bearing a heavy bundle of bark, with Fritz followinggleefully at their heels. 

The thicket from which they had taken their departure, gave evidence ofthe industry with which they had been working all day long. Over aspace, of nearly half an acre in extent, the trees were seen standing, each with its tiny trunk completely divested of bark: as if a whole gangof goats had been browsing upon them!

On reaching the hovel, our bark-gatherers did not desist from theirlabour. They only entered upon a new branch of industry: by becoming_paper manufacturers_. 

It was after night; and they had to work by the light of their torchesof cheel-pine, already prepared. But as these burnt with a clear steadyflame, they served quite as well as candles would have done. 

The first process in the paper-making did not require much nicety in itsexecution; and, moreover, it could be performed as well inside the hutas in the largest room of a paper-mill. All they had to do was to pickthe bark to shreds. This occupied them the whole evening--during whichthere was much conversation of a cheerful kind, with a joke or two aboutoakum-picking in a prison; and of this, not only the task in which theywere engaged, but the situation in which they were executing it, did notfail to remind them. 

When they had finished, they ate their frugal supper and retired torest--full of the idea of continuing the paper manufacture in themorning. 

When morning came, they had not much to do: for the next process was onewhich required the exercise of patience rather than of labour. 

When the bark of the daphne has been thoroughly picked to pieces, it isput into a large pot or cauldron filled with water. A lixivium ofwood-ashes is then thrown in along with it; and it is suffered to boilfor several hours. 

As our manufacturers were without pot or cauldron of any kind, therewould have been here an interruption of an insurmountable kind: had itnot been that they had plenty of water already on the boil, andperpetually boiling--in the hot-spring near the hut. 

Apparently all they should have to do would be, to immerse the preparedbark in the spring, and there leave it for a proper length of time. Butthen the water, where it was hottest, was constantly in motion--bubblingup and running off; so that not only would the strings of bark becarried away, but the ashes would be separated from the mass, andconsequently of no service in aiding to macerate it. 

How was this difficulty to be got over? Easily enough. They had notproceeded thus far without thinking of a plan; and this plan was, toplace the bark along with the ashes in one of the large yak-skins stillin good preservation, and after making it up into a sort of bundle--likeclothes intended for the laundry--to plunge the skin and its contentsinto the spring, and there leave them--until the boiling water shouldperform its part. By this ingenious contrivance, did they get over thedifficulty, of not being provided with a not. 

When Karl thought that the bark was sufficiently boiled, it was takenout of the water, and also out of its yak-skin wrapper. It was thenplaced, in mass, upon a flat rock near by--where it was left to drip andget dry. 

During the time that it was in the water--and also while it was drippingand drying on the rock--none of them were idle. Caspar was engaged infashioning a stout wooden mallet--a tool which would be needed in someafter operations--while Ossaroo was equally busy upon an article of avery different kind. This was a sort of sieve made of thin splints ofcane, set in a frame of thicker pieces of the same cane--ringall bamboo. 

Ossaroo had undertaken this special task: as none of the others knew sowell, how to fashion the bamboo into any required utensil; and althoughhe was now making something altogether new to him, yet, working underthe direction of Karl, he succeeded in making a sieve that was likely toserve the purpose for which plant-hunter designed it. That purpose willpresently be spoken of. 

As soon as the fibre was nearly dry, the mallet was brought intorequisition; and with this the mass was pounded upon the flat surface ofthe rock--until it became reduced to a complete state of "pulp. "

This pulp was once more put into the yak-skin--which had been gatheredup around the edges so as to form a sort of concavity or rude vat--andagain immersed under water--not of the boiling spring, but the coolwater of the lake--until the bag became full. The pulp was next stirredwith a stick--which brought the coarse dirty parts to the surface. These were skimmed off, and thrown away as refuse; and the process wasrepeated with fresh water--until the whole substance, which was of amucilaginous character, was rendered pure, and soft to the touch. Thenext and last operation was in fact the making of the paper; and wasperformed by Karl himself. It was simple enough, though requiring acertain dexterity, or sleight of hand, to do it well. It consisted inplacing a quantity of the pulp upon the sieve before mentioned; andcradling the frame about--all the time held under water--until thesubstance became equally and uniformly spread over the whole surface. The sieve was then taken out of the water--being raised gently and keptin a horizontal position--so as not to derange the even stratum of pulpthat severed it. This done, nothing more remained but to place theframe across a pair of bars, and leave the pulp to get drained andeventually become dry. When dry, it would be _paper_!

Of course, with one sieve, the whole quantity required could not be madeat a single cast; but, as soon as one sheet became sufficiently dry tobe taken off the frame, the sieve was again repulped; and so on, tillthe whole of the boiled bark was converted into paper; and they foundthemselves in possession of a sufficient number of broad sheets to makea kite as big as a coach-house-door. 

In consequence of their having to wait for the drying of each sheet, theprocess occupied them for several days; but during this time they hadnot been either idle or inactive. Karl and Caspar had been hard atwork, in getting up the "bones" of the kite; while Ossaroo hadundertaken to fabricate the tail. 

The rope with which it was to be "flyed, " occupied more time, andrequired more care, than any other portion of their work. Every strandhad to be twisted with the greatest exactness; and almost every fibretested, as to its strength and fitness. Could they have used a rope ofstouter build, it would not have been necessary to be so particular; buta thick rope would have been too heavy for the kite to carry--just as ithad been too heavy for the strength of the eagle. A slender cord, therefore, like that they were obliged to make, required to befaultless--else the life of some one of them might be sacrificed whileattempting the ascent. 

With a foreknowledge of this, it is hardly necessary to say that Ossaroodid his best in the manufacture of that rope--every strand of it beingtwisted between his index finger and his thumb, as smoothly and evenlyas if he had been spinning it for a fishing-line. 

The framework of the kite was made out of split culms of the ringallbamboo; which, on account of its strength, elasticity, and lightness, was far superior for the purpose to any species of exogenous wood; whilethe glue for laying on the paper was procured from the root of an arum--grated, and then boiled into a glutinous starch. 

In about a week after the notion of a kite had been "hatched" in thebrain of Caspar, the bird itself might have been seen outside the doorof the hut--full-fledged and ready for flight!

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR. 

FLYING THE KITE. 

The kite having been thus prepared, they only waited for an opportunityof flying it--for a day when the wind should be sufficiently strong, andblowing from the right quarter--that is, towards that portion of theprecipice over which it appeared best that the paper-bird should bedispatched. This was the same place, where the ladders had been set, and where they had unsuccessfully endeavoured to send up the bearcoot. 

They had already ascended one of the isolated cairns of rock, that stoodwithin the valley nearly opposite this part of the cliff; and from itstop they had been able to get a view--though not a very good one--of aportion of the sloping declivity of the mountain above. It appeared tobe covered with snow--here and there supporting huge masses ofsomething, either boulders of rock, or dark-coloured lumps of ice. Theeyes of our adventurers rested on these with the greatest interest: asthey had done upon a former occasion, when about to send the bearcootamong them. Now they had conceived higher hopes than ever--founded uponthe presence of these masses. If they should succeed in flying the kiteinto their midst, and there dropping it, it was not only possible, buthighly probable, that it might either get the rope warped around one ofthem, or itself become caught between two, so as to hold fast. Torender this the more practicable, they had furnished its wings withspurs--in other words, they had left the cross-piece of bamboo to extendon each side about a foot beyond the edge of the paper; and near the endof each extension, they had placed other pieces transversely, and lashedthem firmly--so that they might act as the flukes of an anchor. 

They had spared neither pains nor ingenuity to ensure success. They haddone all, that man could do, to deserve it. 

Fortune was so far favourable, as not to keep them long in suspense. Only two or three days had passed, when one came, on which the wind blewin their favour--exactly as they wanted it. It was a stiff breeze, steady in the right direction, and strong enough to carry up the largestof paper kites. 

Proceeding to the place, where the ladders were set, with the huge birdcarried in the arms of Ossaroo, they made ready for its flight. Karlwas to start the kite, and guide its ascent from the ground; whileCaspar and the shikaree were to run out with the rope: as it wouldrequire the united strength of both to hold such a broad-breasted birdagainst the wind. They had taken the precaution to cut away the bushesto a long distance backwards from the cliff, and so clear the track:there was therefore nothing to impede them while paying out the string. 

It was arranged that Karl should have direction of the movement, andgive out the signal for them to start. 

It was a moment of vivid emotion, as each of he three placed himself inthe position assigned to him--Karl by the kite, with its backbone in onehand, and its tail in the other--Ossaroo clutching the rope--and Casparby his side, holding the great coil in readiness for delivery. 

Karl poised the creature upon the stump of its tail; and then, liftingwith all his strength--so as to raise it several feet from the ground--he gave forth the signal at the highest pitch of his voice. 

At the same instant, Caspar and the shikaree ran backward--tighteningthe rope as they went; and like a vast vulture with outspread wings, thebird soared silently upward into the air. 

It rose with a regular majestic motion, soon overtopping the trees thatgrew near, and still mounting on towards the summit of the cliff. 

Karl cheered as he saw it ascend. The others were too busy in theperformance of their parts to find time for this expression of triumph;and not until the kite had soared high into the heavens, and appearedmany yards above the brow of the beetling precipice, did Caspar andOssaroo respond to the cheering of Karl. Then both together gave ventto their excited feelings in a long-continued hurrah!

"Let go now, Ossaroo!" cried Karl, shouting so as to be heard above thewind. "You, Caspar, keep hold of the end of the cord. "

Ossaroo, obedient to the order, suddenly slackened his hold--at the sametime springing towards Caspar, and prudently seizing the end along withhim. 

The kite, thus released, like some huge bird that had received itsdeath-wound, turned head downwards towards the earth; and, after makingvarious sinuous evolutions through the air, flouting its long tail firstin one direction then in another--it was seen darting down towards theacclivity of the mountain. At length, passing behind the summit of thecliffs, it was no longer visible to the eyes of those who had aided itin its lofty flight, and then left it helplessly to fall. 

So far they had succeeded to the utmost of their expectations. The kitehad alighted, just where they wanted it. 

But now arose the question--would it stay there? In other words, wouldit be caught among the rocks, and hold fast?

If not, they would have to fly it again and again, until it should getfastened above, or until the experiment should prove a failure. 

Karl stepped forward to decide the point--the others looking on with aneagerness of glance, that betrayed how deep was their interest in theresult. 

Karl's hand trembled as he laid hold of the cord. At first he pulledupon it in a gentle way--hand over hand--so as merely to take in theslack. 

At length it began to tighten, requiring greater strength to take it in:as if the kite was still free, and dragging over the snow. 

This produced anything but a pleasant anticipation; and as the rope cameto hand, foot after foot, and yard after yard, a shadow, that had stolenover the countenances of all three, became sensibly darker. 

Only for a short while did this shadow remain. It vanished, moresuddenly than it had arisen: when they saw the running cord becomeabruptly checked, and then tighten as Karl continued to draw it in. Hepulled upon it, at first exerting only a part of his strength, as ifafraid that it might again come loose. After awhile, gainingconfidence, he pulled with all his power. It still held fast!

Ossaroo and Caspar now joined their strength to his; and all threepulled together. 

Hurrah! the kite would not come! The cord kept its place, stretching tothe bottom of the cliff, as taut as the main-stay of a ship!

Ejaculations of joy escaped from all three at the same instant of time:and for some moments they stood, tightly clutching the rope, and holdingit firmly: as if in dread of its being dragged out of their grasp bysome hostile and invisible hand. 

At length Karl suggested the propriety of making the cord secure, byfastening it to some object. A large upright stone, close by the bottomof the cliff, appeared to be the most proper thing; and to this theydetermined upon tying it. 

Still keeping it taut--lest by slackening it they might disturb theanchor aloft--they moved hand over hand along the rope, until they hadgot close to the bottom of the precipice. Then, while Karl and Casparstill held on, Ossaroo gathered up the slack; and, turning it severaltimes round the stone, securely _belayed_ it. 

Nothing more remained but to make the steps--which had been alreadydesigned--adjust them in their places--climb up to the top of thecliff--and be free as the mountain breeze, which would there be blowingaround them!

The thought of such a lucky deliverance filled them once more withjoyous imaginings; and they stood around the stone, to which the ropehad been attached--congratulating themselves, as if they had alreadyescaped. 

They knew there would still be some time required to make the steps, andfix them in their places; but, since they no longer doubted theirability to accomplish the ascent, the interval of time might be passedcheerfully enough; and, with this pleasant anticipation, they went backto their workshop in the best of spirits, and cooked themselves a morecareful dinner than they had eaten since the discovery of the daphnetrees. 

CHAPTER FORTY FIVE. 

THE ROPE-LADDER. 

It took them another day--with their blades all busy from morning tillnight--to prepare the pegs which were to constitute the "rounds" oftheir rope-ladder. More than a hundred were required: as the cliffwhere the rope passed up was over a hundred yards in height; and thesteps were intended to be placed at equal distances of about two feetapart. 

It had been their design at first to insert the steps in the rope--between the strands of which it was composed; but, on reflection, abetter plan suggested itself. By opening the strands to let in thepieces of wood, the rope might be weakened, so much as to endanger itsbreaking; and this alone, above all things, was to be avoided. It wasdeemed more prudent to leave the cord untouched, and place the stickscrosswise outside of it. Whipped round with strong pieces of othercord, they could easily be made to keep their places--more especiallyas, with the hands of the climber grasping the rope above, no one stickwould have to carry the full weight of his body; and, even should one ofthem slip a little out of place, there would be no great danger of anaccident arising out of the circumstance. 

It occupied them a second day in twining the pieces of string, requiredfor tying the sticks in their places; and, upon the morning of thethird, they returned to the cliff, with the intention of transformingthe cord, that the kite had carried up, into a rope-ladder. 

The mode by which they intended to effect this purpose will be easilyunderstood--after what has been already said respecting it. The littlesticks were to be laid transversely against the rope, and then sotightly tied in their places, as to prevent them from slipping down. The first was to be attached about the height of a man's waist from theground; and the second on a level with his chin. Then with the feetresting upon the first, and the left hand grasping the rope above, itwould be possible to fix another at the height of the chin, as it wouldthen be. By climbing up to the second, a fourth could be placed at alittle distance above; and thus in succession, till the top of the cliffshould be attained. 

It was not supposed, that any one could continue the process ofattaching the steps, till all were set in their places; nor did theycontemplate being able to complete the work in a little time. On thecontrary, they expected it to occupy them for days; and they knew, moreover, that long intervals of rest would be required by any one whoshould have to execute it. Standing upon such unstable footing, for anyconsiderable length of time, would be both irksome and fatiguing; andthey were about to enter upon the task with a full knowledge of itsdifficulties. 

On reaching the cord they at once set to work upon it. Rather should itbe said, that one of them did so: for only one could work at a time inthis, the last labour, as they supposed, they would have to perform inthat lone valley. 

In attaching the steps to the rope, Ossaroo was allowed to act as soleoperator: since neither of the others understood the handling of cordageso well as he. They could but act as spectators and the only purposewhich their presence could serve, was to cheer the shikaree by theircompany and conversation. 

By good fortune it was not necessary for Ossaroo to fix any steps to thefirst thirty feet of the kite cord. One of the long ladders which theyhad made enabled him to ascend that far without using the sticks; and, indeed, all of the ladders might have served in this way, had the kitecarried its cord up the cliff within reach of them. Unfortunately, thisdid not happen to be the case; and only the first ladder could be madeavailable. 

Placing it nearly parallel with the rope, Ossaroo mounted up; and, whennear its top, commenced attaching the steps. He had carried up alongwith him about a dozen of the little sticks, with cords to correspond--in a sort of pouch, which he had formed with the skirts of his cottontunic. 

Karl and Caspar below, seated upon stones, and Fritz squatted on theground, watched the movements of the shikaree with deep and speechlessinterest. 

It was not a very long time, before he had adjusted the first two pegsin their proper places; and, then letting himself off the ladder, andplacing both his feet upon the first cross-piece, in a way that theybalanced one another and kept the stick in a horizontal position--heproceeded to attach the third about the height of his chin. 

To do this required, a good deal of adroitness; but Ossaroo was giftedwith this quality to a high degree; and, so far as his footing wasconcerned, the Hindoo was as much at home upon a rope, as would havebeen one of those monkeys sacred to the believers in his Brahministiccreed. 

Any other feet would soon have become tired--resting upon such a slendersupport; but Ossaroo had been accustomed to climbing the tall loftypalms, until his toes had acquired a certain degree of prehensile power;and the smallest branch or protuberance on the trunk of a tree, or evena knot on a rope, was footing enough to enable him to hold on for manyminutes at a time. He had no difficulty, therefore, in balancinghimself upon the sticks, which he had already attached; nor ascendingfrom one to the other, as each was got into its place. In this way heproceeded, until the stock which he had taken up with him was exhausted, and his apron hung empty. Then, letting himself down from step to step, and cautiously returning to the wooden ladder, he descended to thebottom of the cliff. 

Karl or Caspar might have rendered his coming down unnecessary, aseither could have carried so light a "hod" up the ladder; but there wasgood reason why Ossaroo should make the descent--that was, to rest andrefresh himself. 

He did not remain very long below--just long enough to let the bloodcirculate along the soles of his naked feet--and then, with his aprondistended--being once more full of sticks--he reclimbed the ladder, swung himself out upon the cord, and clambered up the steps he hadalready fixed in their places. 

His second stock of sticks becoming exhausted as the first, he againrevisited the earth; again allowed himself an interval of rest; and thenascended as before. 

With Ossaroo proceeding in this fashion, the remainder of the day wasspent--a long interval being allowed for dinner; which Karl and Caspar, having nothing else to do, had cooked with extra care. They did not gohome to the hut to perform their culinary operations. There would havebeen no advantage in doing so: since the kitchen accommodation there wasnot a whit better than where they were at work; and the larder containednothing more than what they had brought along with them--some driedibex-meat. But Karl had not been idle for a portion of the time; andhad collected various roots and fruits that, when roasted, not onlyhelped out the meal, but rendered it sufficiently luxurious for stomachslike theirs, no longer fastidious. 

After dinner, Ossaroo indulged in a long smoke of his favourite "bang;"and, stimulated by this, returned to his task with renewed energy. 

So successful was he in its accomplishment, that, before sunset he hadfull fifty steps in place; which, along with the wooden ladder, enabledhim to climb nearly a third of the way up the cliff. 

Of course darkness put an end to his operations for that day; and withthe intention of continuing them on the morrow, both the operator andspectators wended their way back to the hut--Karl and Caspar showing asmuch respect to Ossaroo, as if he had been the master architect, andthey only his assistants or labourers. Even Fritz appeared to beimpressed with the belief that the shikaree was the most importantpersonage in the party: for every time that the latter descended fromthe cliff the dog had paid his "devoirs" to him, frisking around, leaping up, and looking steadfastly in his face, as if congratulatinghim on being their deliverer!

On the road home Fritz continued these demonstrations--springing againstthe legs of the shikaree so as occasionally to impede his progress, evidently convinced--either from his own observation or from the respectwhich he saw the others were paying him--that the Hindoo was the hero ofthe day!

CHAPTER FORTY SIX. 

OSSAROO MAKES A QUICK DESCENT. 

Next morning, as soon as they had despatched an early meal, theyreturned to their work--that is, Ossaroo to work, the others to watch. 

Unfortunately on this day the weather was unfavourable for operations. There was a high wind, not continuous, but blowing in short, quickpuffs--gusty and violent. 

As Ossaroo hung upon the rope half-way up the precipice, the wind actingupon his body, carried him at times several feet out from the face ofthe cliff--causing him also to oscillate violently from side to side, notwithstanding that the rope was fast at both ends. 

It was fearful to look at him thus suspended, and swinging in mid-air. At times the hearts of the spectators were filled with consternation, lest the brave shikaree should either have his brains dashed out againstthe beetling cliff; or, being forced to let go his hold, be flung farout, and falling upon the rocks below, get crushed to atoms. 

Often during the earlier part of the day were the alarms of Karl andCaspar raised to such a height, that they shouted to Ossaroo to comedown; and when down, entreated him not to go up again until, by thelulling of the wind, the danger should become diminished. 

Their entreaties, however, were of no avail. The shikaree, accustomedall his life to braving the elements, felt no fear of them; but on thecontrary, seemed to feel a pride, if not an actual pleasure, in thusdaring danger. 

Even while swinging out from the cliff, and oscillating along its_facade_--like the pendulum of some gigantic clock--he was seen tyingthe strings and adjusting the pieces of stick, as coolly, as if he hadbeen standing upon _terra firma_ at the bottom!

Thus, nearly to the hour of noon, did Ossaroo continue his arduousundertaking--of course with the usual intervals of rest, during each ofwhich Karl and Caspar reiterated their entreaties for him to desist andleave the work to be executed at a more favourable opportunity. Fritz, too, while lavishing his caresses on the daring climber, seemed to lookpersuadingly into his face--as if he knew there was danger in what theHindoo was doing. 

It was all in vain. The shikaree, while resisting all their efforts torestrain him, seemed to scorn the danger which they dreaded; and, without hesitation, returned to his perilous task. 

And no doubt he would have succeeded in accomplishing it, allowing duetime for its completion. It was not the wind that would have shaken himfrom that rope, to which he clung with the tenacity of a spider. Hadthe support proved true, he could have held on, even though it had beenblowing a hurricane!

It was not in this that his chief danger lay; nor from such source wasit to come; but from one altogether unexpected and unthought-of. 

It was near the hour of noon, and Ossaroo had already succeeded insetting the steps up to about half the height of the cliff. He haddescended for a fresh supply of sticks; and, having gone up thetree-ladder, and swung himself back upon the kite cord, was justcommencing to clamber up it--as he had already done nearly a score oftimes. 

The eyes of Karl and Caspar were upon him, following his movements, asthey had been doing all along; for, despite his frequent repetition ofthe ascent, it was always a perilous performance, and interesting tobehold. 

Just as he had got free from the ladder, and fairly out upon the rope, acry came from his lips that thrilled the hearts of the spectators withalarm: for they knew that the utterance was one of terror. They neededno explanation of that cry; for at the same moment that it reached theirears, they perceived the danger that had caused Ossaroo to utter it. Hewas descending along the facade of the cliff--not gliding down the ropeof his own free will, but as if the kite had got loose at the top, and, yielding to the weight of his body, was being dragged over the surfaceof the snow!

At first, he appeared to be descending only very slowly; and, but forthe cries he was putting forth, and the slackening of the rope below, they upon the ground might not have been aware of what was going on. But they had not regarded his movements for many seconds, beforeperceiving the true state of the case, and the fearful peril in whichtheir faithful shikaree was now placed. 

Beyond doubt the kite had become detached above; and, yielding to thestrain upon the rope, caused by Ossaroo's weighty was being pulledtowards the edge of the precipice!

Would the resistance be equal to the weight of the man's body? Would itlet him down easily? Or would the dragging anchor arrive at a placewhere the surface was smooth, and then gliding rapidly over it, increasethe velocity of the descent? In other words, was the shikaree about tobe projected through a fall of thirty feet to the bottom of the cliff?

The spectators were left but little time to speculate on probabilities. Not a moment was allowed them to take measures for securing the safetyof their companion. Before they could recover from the surprise, withwhich his first shout had inspired them, they saw that his descent wasevery moment becoming more accelerated: now in gradual declination, thenin quick, short jerks--until he had got within about twenty-feet of theground. They were in hopes that he might continue to descend in thisfashion for a few yards further, and then the danger would be over; but, just at that moment, the broad breast of the kite was seen poisingitself over the top of the cliff; and like a great living bird, itsprang off from the rocks, and soared out over the valley!

Ossaroo, still clinging to the cord, was carried some distance from thecliff; but, fortunately for him, the weight of his body overbalanced theresistance which the atmosphere offered to the broad surface of thekite; else he might have been carried much higher into the air. Equallyfortunate was it, that the amount of overbalance was exceedinglyslight--otherwise he might have been dashed with violence to the earth!

As it was, he came down as gently as a dove, alighting upon his legs, and remaining erect upon them, like Mercury upon the top of his"sky-kissing mountain. "

The moment that the shikaree felt his feet touching _terra firma_, hesprang nimbly to one side, at the same instant letting go the rope, asif it had been a rod of red-hot iron!

The great kite, no longer held in poise against the wind, commenceddarting hither and thither; at each turn descending lower and lower--until by one last swoop, in which it seemed to concentrate all itsfailing strength, it came down towards Ossaroo like a gigantic bird ofprey descending upon its victim!

It was just as much as the shikaree could do to get out of the way; and, had he not ducked his head in the very nick of time, he would certainlyhave received a blow upon his skull, that would have endangered itsentirety. 

CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN. 

THE ESCAPE OF THE KITE. 

The joy, which all felt at the miraculous escape of Ossaroo, more thancompensated for their chagrin at the circumstance of the kite havingreturned to them: more especially, as they believed that the accidentwas not without remedy. It might be attributed to the wind: which nodoubt had lifted the kite from where it lay, detaching it from the rock, or whatever other object that had for the time entangled it. 

They doubted not, but that they might again succeed in sending it up, and getting it fast as before; and this confidence hindered them fromgrieving over the unfortunate occurrence, as they might otherwise havedone. 

As the wind on that day was in the wrong quarter for flying a kitetowards the cliff, they determined to postpone the attempt, till a morefavourable opportunity; and, in order that their kite should not be indanger of getting spoiled by the rain, they once more shouldered, andcarried it back, rope and all, to the shelter of the hut. 

Nearly a week elapsed, before there was a breeze that blew in theirfavour; but during this interval, they had not been altogetherunemployed. Still uncertain of the length of time they might bedetained in the valley, they had passed almost every hour of thedaylight in increasing their stock of provisions--so as not to encroachupon the cured venison of the ibex, of which a considerable quantity wasstill to the good. 

Their guns were no longer used for procuring food. The last loads stillremained in the barrels; and were not to be fired off--until every othermeans of capturing game should fail them. 

Indeed, they were now so confident of being able to get out of theirprison, that at times they almost fancied themselves already on theirway down the mountains; and talked of keeping their guns loaded, againstany danger from large animals they might encounter on their homewardjourney. For procuring food they knew that firearms were not necessary. Ossaroo's bow was sufficient weapon for that. Often might it be heardtwanging among the trees; and as often did the shikaree's arrow piercethe breast of some fine bird--a peacock, or argus pheasant, or one ofthe beautiful Brahminy geese that frequented the waters of the lake. 

Ossaroo's nets and lines, too, were not without their use. Fish werecaught of various kinds, and excellent quality; and there was one sortin particular, should all else fail, that promised to furnish them withan inexhaustible supply. This was a large species of eel, in which thelake abounded, to such an extent, that it was only necessary to cast ina hook, with a worm upon it, and an eel of nearly six feet in lengthwould be instantly landed. 

As they did not always relish to dine upon eels, but little of theirtime was spent in procuring them. For all that, they were gratified ondiscovering the abundance of these slippery creatures--knowing that, should other resources fail, they would find in them a staple article ofwholesome food, that could never become scarce, no matter how much theyshould eat of it. 

A favourable wind at length came on to blow; and the kite was once moreshouldered, and carried to the same place as before. Just in the sameway did they proceed to fly it; and in the same style it again rosesoaring above the cliff; and--the cord having been suddenly slacked--sank to rest upon the slope of the mountain. 

So far were they once more successful; but alas! it proved to be just sofar and no farther. 

Pulling upon the rope, to ascertain whether their anchor had "bit, " theywere chagrined to receive an answer in the negative. The cord came backto them with scarce any resistance; or only such, as was caused byfriction over the edge of the cliff, and by the drag of the kite itselfalong the snowy surface. 

Hand over hand, they drew it back: foot by foot, and yard by yard, itcame yieldingly towards them--until they saw the broad curving breast ofthe pseudo-bird projecting over the parapet edge of the precipice!

Once more was it launched out into the air; once more was rope given it, till it had ascended to the full length of its tether; and once more wasit allowed to alight. 

Again the pull downward and inward--again the cord came freely to hand--and again was the rounded bow seen upon the brow of the precipice, andoutlined against the blue sky above; not like the beautiful bow of theiris--a thing of promise--but one of disappointment and chagrin. 

Again the flight--again the failure--again and again; until the patienceof the operators--to say nothing of their strength--was well nighexhausted. 

But it was no mere play for the sake of pastime. They were not flyingthat kite for their amusement; nor yet for the purpose of making somescientific experiment. They were flying it as a means of obtainingtheir personal liberty; and they were all of them interested in thesuccess or failure of the attempt--almost as much as if their livesrested on the issue. 

However tried their strength, or worn out their patience, it would notdo to give up; and therefore--although at each unsuccessful effort, withhopes constantly becoming diminished--they continued their exertions. 

For more than a score of times they had sent up the kite, and as oftendragged it back to the brow of the cliff; not always at the same point:for they had themselves changed their ground, and tried the flight indifferent places. 

In all cases, the result was the same. The bird refused to take holdwith its claws--either on rocks, or blocks of ice, or banks of frozensnow--all of which lay scatter over the slope of the mountain. 

Considering that it had caught hold on the very first trial, so manyfailures were regarded by our adventurers with some surprise. Had itnever held, there would have been no cause for this; and after so manyattempts, they would have been the more inclined to yield up their plan, deeming it impracticable. But the fact of their first success sustainedthem in the hope that success might again be obtained; and, in thisbelief, they were encouraged to "keep on trying. "

Half a dozen additional flights were made, but fortune still decliningto favour them, they desisted from their efforts, leaving the paper-birdwith its breast protruding over the cliff: as if perched there inpreparation for a further flight. 

By this time the kite had become sadly damaged--its _plumage_ havingreceived rough usage by constant trailing over the rocks and sharpangles of ice. While up in the air, daylight could be seen shiningthrough it in several places; and it no longer exhibited that majesty offlight that had originally characterised it. It was evident thatrepairs would soon be needed; and to discuss this question, as also toconsider the propriety of proceeding to make trial at some other place, our adventurers, for a time, discontinued their efforts. 

All three were standing together, but at several paces distant from theend of the rope; which they had for the moment abandoned, and which laynegligently along the ground. 

They had not taken the slightest precaution to secure it: for it had notoccurred to them that there was any risk in leaving it loose. 

It was only when too late, that they perceived the mistake they hadcommitted--only when they saw the cord suddenly jerked up from theground, as if some invisible hand was lifting it aloft into the sky!

All three rushed towards it at the same instant. They were too late. Already the end of the rope was dangling at such a height above theirheads, that even the tallest of them could not touch it with the tips ofhis fingers. 

Ossaroo leaped high into the air in an endeavour to clutch the string. Caspar ran to procure a pole which lay near, in hopes of retaining it inthat way: while Karl ran up the ladder that was resting against thecliff, near which the rope was yet trailing. 

The efforts of all three were alike vain. For a second or two, the endof the cord hung oscillating above their heads--just sufficiently out ofreach to tantalise them; and then, as if the invisible hand above hadgiven it another gigantic jerk, it was drawn rapidly and verticallyupward, till it finally disappeared over the crest of the cliff!

CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT. 

NO MORE PAPER-TREES!

There was nothing mysterious in the disappearance of the cord. The kitewas no longer visible on the summit of the cliff. The wind had carriedit away; and, of course, its rope along with it. 

When the first moment of surprise had passed, our adventurers turnedtowards each other with glances that spoke something more thandisappointment. Notwithstanding the number of times that the kite hadfailed to fix itself, still it had once taken a fast hold, and it wasbut reasonable to suppose it would have done so again. Besides, therewere other places where the precipice was as low, and even lower, thanwhere they had made the trials; and at some of these they might havebeen more successful. Indeed, there was every probability that, hadthey not lost that kite, they would have been able in due time to haveclimbed out of their rock-bound prison by a ladder of rope; but now allchance of doing so was gone for ever--swept off by a single puff ofwind. 

You may be fancying, that the misfortune was not irremediable. Anotherkite, you will be saying, might be constructed out of similar materialsas those used in making the one carried away. But to say this, would beto speak without a full knowledge of the circumstances. 

The same thought had already passed through the minds of ouradventurers, when they perceived that the kite they were flying wasgetting torn and otherwise damaged. 

"We can easily make another, " suggested Caspar at that crisis. 

"No, brother, " was the answer of Karl; "never another, I fear. We havepaper enough left to patch this one; but not enough to make another. "

"But we can make more paper, can we not?" urged Caspar, interrogatively. 

"Ah!" again replied Karl, with a negative shake of the head, "no more--not another sheet!"

"But why? Do you think there are no more daphne trees?"

"I think there are not. You remember we stripped all there were in thethicket; and since then, thinking we might need more bark, I have goneall through the valley, and explored it in every direction, withoutmeeting with a single shrub of the daphne. I am almost certain thereare none. "

This conversation between the brothers had occurred, long before thelosing of the kite. When that event came to pass, it was not necessaryfor them to repeat it; and, both being thus acquainted with the factthat it was impossible for them to construct another, they felt thatthey had sustained an irreparable loss. 

In what direction had the kite been carried off? Might it not be blownalong the line of cliffs, and tossed back again into the valley?

As there appeared some probability that such a chance might arise, allthree ran outward from the rocks--in order to command a better view ofthe precipice, on each side. 

For a long time they stood watching--in hopes that they might see thegreat paper-bird returning to the scene of its nativity. But it nevercame back; and they became at length convinced, that it never would. Indeed, the direction of the wind--when they paused to consider it--rendered the thing not only improbable, but impossible. It was blowing_from_ the cliffs, and _towards_ the snowy ridge. No doubt the kite hadbeen carried up the sloping acclivity; and had either passed clear overthe mountains, or become lodged in some deep defile, where the windcould no longer reach it. At all events, it was certain, that both kiteand cord were lost to them for ever. 

"Ach! how very unfortunate!" exclaimed Caspar, in a vexed tone, whenthey had finally arrived at this conviction. "What ill-starred luck wehave, to be sure!"

"Nay! brother, " remarked Karl, in a tone of reproval; "do not chideFortune for what has happened just now. I acknowledge it is a greatmisfortune; but it is one for which we may justly blame ourselves, andonly ourselves. By sheer negligence we have lost the kite, and alongwith it, perhaps, the last chance of regaining our liberty. "

"Yes, you speak truly, " rejoined Caspar, in a tone of mingled regret andresignation. "It _was_ our fault, and we must suffer for it. "

"But are you quite sure, brother Karl, " resumed he, after a pause, andreferring to the conversation that had already passed between them--"areyou quite sure there are no more of these paper-bearing trees?"

"Of course, " replied the plant-hunter, "I am not positive--though I fearit is as I have said--that there are no more. It will be easy for us todetermine the point, by making a complete exploration of the valley. Itmay be that something else might turn up which would answer the purposeequally as well. There is a birch-tree indigenous to the Himalayamountains, found both in Nepaul and Thibet. Its bark can be strippedoff in broad flakes and layers, to the number of eight or ten--eachalmost as thin as common paper, and suitable for many purposes to whichpaper is usually applied. "

"Do you think it would do for a kite?" inquired Caspar, without waitingfor Karl to finish his explanation. 

"I am sure of it, " replied the botanist. "It would serve even betterthan the daphne paper; and had I believed there was a chance of findingit here, I should have preferred it to that. But I do not think weshall find it. I have observed no species of birch; and I know thatthis one, like most of the _Betulaceae_, affects a much colder climatethan there is in this valley. Likely enough, it grows on the mountainsabove; but there it is out of our reach. Could we reach it there, weshould not need to be robbing it of its manifold envelope. But let usnot despair, " added Karl, endeavouring to appear cheerful; "perhaps itmay be found growing down here; or, if not, we may still find anothergrove of the daphne trees. Let us proceed on and search!"

Karl was far from being sanguine in either conjecture; and it was aswell for him that he was not: for after a minute and careful explorationof the valley--which occupied nearly three whole days--neither thewished-for birch, nor the desired daphne trees--nor any other materialout of which a kite might be manufactured--rewarded their search. 

It was of no use, therefore, to think any longer of a kite; and thesubject was at length dismissed from their minds. 

CHAPTER FORTY NINE. 

AEROSTATICS. 

It is scarce possible to talk of a paper kite, without thinking of thatother and greater aerostatic contrivance--a balloon. 

Karl had thought of it, long before this time; and so had Caspar, justas long: for the kite had suggested it simultaneously to the minds ofboth. 

It may be asked why they had not entertained the thought, andendeavoured to carry it into practical effect: since a balloon wouldhave been far more likely to have delivered them out of their "mountainprison" than a paper kite?

But they _had_ entertained the thought--at least, Karl had done so--andexamined it in all its bearings. Caspar had permitted it to pass out ofhis mind, under the impression that _they could not make a balloon_; andKarl had arrived at the same conclusion; but only from a belief thatthey _had not the materials_ with which to make one. Given thematerials, Karl felt quite equal to the construction of a balloon--arude one, it is true; but one which might have served the purpose forwhich they required it. 

During the days when they had been occupied in making the paper-bird, hehad given his thoughts a good deal to this subject; for, to say thetruth, he had never been very sanguine about the success of the kiteexperiment. He had pondered long and patiently on the subject ofballoons--endeavouring to recall to mind what little he had studied ofaerostatics--and had mentally examined all the material objects withinreach, in the hope of discovering some substance out of which one mightbe constructed. 

Unfortunately, he had not been able to think of anything that appearedto be suitable. The daphne paper--even had it been in abundance--wouldnot do: for paper of itself, however close in texture, is not strongenough to withstand the pressure of the outside air--that is, in aballoon of sufficient size to carry any considerable weight. But it wasof no use to talk of paper: since there was not enough; and Karl hadgiven over thinking of a balloon: because there was nothing within reachlikely to serve for its construction. 

He knew that that great sphere would require to be air-proof. He hadthought of the skins of animals; but such of these as might have beenobtained in sufficient quantity, were entirely too thick and heavy tomake the covering of a balloon. The hemp, of which there _was_ anabundance, might be woven into a cloth, and then coated over by gumobtained from some tree; for in the valley were several species ofgum-exuding trees. But the question was, could they manufacture a clothout of hemp that would be light enough when thus coated over? It wasvery doubtful whether they could--at all events they would have topractise the weaving trade for a long time, before they should arrive ata sufficient expertness to accomplish such a feat. The plan was toounpromising to be seriously entertained; and Karl had dismissed it, along with the whole subject of the balloon. 

That had been previous to the experiment of the kite, and itsunfortunate ending. But now that all hope from this quarter had beenbrought to an end, the balloon once more began to shape itself in hismind, as well as in that of Caspar; and for the first time theyproceeded to talk over the subject together. 

"Cords we could have in plenty, " remarked Caspar, "but they'd be of nouse, without the stuff to cover the great globe. They make it of silk, don't they?"

"Yes, " replied Karl, "silk is the best material for the purpose. "

"And why?" inquired Caspar. 

"Because it combines the three properties of lightness, strength, andcloseness of texture, in a greater degree than any other knownsubstance. "

"Would nothing else do?"

"Oh, yes; many things would answer to make a balloon, that might carryup a certain amount of weight. Even a paper balloon can be constructedto take up a few pounds--a cat, or a small dog; and people in manycountries have been cruel enough to dispatch such creatures into theair, not caring what became of them. "

"Very cruel indeed!" assented Caspar, who, although a hunter, was farfrom having an unfeeling heart. "Such people should be sent upthemselves in paper balloons. "

"Yes, if paper balloons would carry them; which, unfortunately for us, they wouldn't. Even if we had an unlimited supply of paper, it would beof no use to us. We require something stronger, and more tenacious. "

"Can we not think of something? Let us try, Karl!"

"Ah! dear brother, I have been trying for days, and in vain. There isnothing within this valley at all suitable for the purpose. "

"Would canvas do? Have you thought of that?"

"I have. It would be too coarse and heavy. "

"But, with great pains, could we not make it light enough? We mightchoose the finer fibres of the hemp; and spin and weave it withscrupulous care. Ossaroo here is a perfect Omphale in his way. I'llwarrant he could beat Hercules with the distaff. "

"Ho! brother!" exclaimed Karl, a little astonished. "You are quiteclassical in your speech this morning. Where learnt you the history ofHercules--you who have never seen the inside of a university?"

"You forget, brother Karl, that you yourself have been my instructor inthese classical themes, as you call them. Though I must tell you that, with the exception of their occasionally lending a little ornament to myspeech, I have derived not the slightest advantage from them; nor is itlikely I ever shall. "

"Well, Caspar, " answered the botanist, "I am not going to stand up forthe classics, as you are well aware. Although I have taught you alittle of their lore, it was when I had nothing to do, and you wereequally idle; otherwise I should have considered that both of us werewasting time. You already know my opinions on that subject--which are:that a knowledge of what is usually termed `the classics' is of about asmuch use to a reasoning man as might be an equally profound knowledge ofChinese _mnemonics_. The time I have spent in the study of the _dead_languages has been sheer waste; and all I have learnt wont raise us afoot higher here. My knowledge of Jupiter and Juno is not likely togain us the means of getting out of our difficulty, no more than myacquaintance with Mercury will help me to a pair of wings. So a truceto classical ideas, and let us see whether scientific ones may not serveus better just now. You have a quick invention, brother Caspar; can youthink of anything--I mean anything within our reach--that would make theair-bag of a balloon?"

"But could you make the balloon, if you had the stuff?" inquired Caspar, still in doubt whether any other than an experienced aeronaut couldconstruct so wonderful a machine. 

"Pooh!" replied the philosopher, "the making of a balloon is almost aseasy as making a soap-bubble. Any air-tight bag, filled with heatedatmosphere, becomes a balloon. The question is, what weight it can bemade to carry--including the materials out of which it may beconstructed. "

"But how are you to get the heated air into it?"

"Simply by making a fire under an aperture left open below. "

"But would not this air soon become cold again?"

"Yes; and then the balloon would sink back to the earth from the airinside getting cooled, and becoming as heavy as that without. Ofcourse, " continued the philosopher, "you are aware that heated air ismuch lighter than the ordinary atmosphere; and that is why a balloonfilled with the former, rises, and will continue rising, till it hasreached that elevation, where the rarefied atmosphere is as light as theheated air. Then it can go no further, and the weight of the balloonitself will bring it down again. A bladder of ordinary air sunk inwater, or a corked bottle, will illustrate this point to yourcomprehension. "

"I comprehend it well enough, " rejoined Karl, rather piqued at beingtreated too much _a l'enfant_ by his learned brother. "But I thoughtthat, in a balloon, it was necessary to keep a fire constantly burning--a sort of grate or fire-basket suspended below. Now, even if we had thesilk to make the great spherical bag, how could we make a fire-basketwithout iron?"

"We should not need the fire-basket you speak of. That is onlyrequired, when you design to keep your balloon some length of time inthe air. If you only wish to make a short ascent, once filling the bagwith hot air is sufficient; as it would be for us here. Even if wewanted a suspended grate, surely, brother, you have enough ingenuity toget over such a trifling difficulty as that?"

"Well, I'm not so sure that I could. How would you get over it?"

"Why, by making a common basket, and lining it with clay. That wouldcarry fire, as well as a vessel of either cast or wrought iron--at leastsufficient to serve for a short excursion such as we should care tomake. Now-a-days, fire is not used for inflating balloons. Inflammablegas has been found to be far superior for this purpose; but as we haveno such thing in stock, we should have to proceed on the old originalplan--that employed by the brothers Montgolfier--the first inventors ofthe balloon. "

"You think, then, that the fire apparatus could be dispensed with, if wecould only discover some material that would make the great globe-shapedbag to contain the heated air?"

"Ay, " replied Karl; "think of something to do that, and I promise tomake you a balloon. "

Thus challenged, Caspar set his wits to work; and for a long while hesat in silence, as if buried in some very profound speculation. Probably, there was no material substance in that valley that did notpass in review before the retina of his mental vision; and all wereconsidered in turn. 

"It must be light, air-tight, and strong?" asked he, at length, as ifthere was something in his thoughts possessing these three requisites. 

"Light, air-tight, and strong, " answered Karl, simply repeating hiswords. 

"The two last I am sure of, " rejoined Caspar. "Of the first only have Imy doubts. "

"What is it?" asked Karl, in a tone that betrayed his interest in whatCaspar had said. 

"Eel-skins!" was the laconic answer. 

CHAPTER FIFTY. 

THE SKIN BALLOON. 

"Eel-skins, " said Caspar, repeating the phrase, as he saw that Karlhesitated before pronouncing an opinion. "Don't you think they woulddo?"

Karl had it on the tip of his tongue to cry out--"The very thing!" butsomething withheld him from making this unqualified declaration. 

"They might--it is possible they might, " said he, apparently debatingthe question within himself--"just possible; and yet I fear--"

"What do you fear?" asked Caspar. 

"Do you think they would not be strong enough?"

"Strong enough, " replied Karl. "That's not what I fear. "

"The air can't pass through an eel-skin?"

"No--not that. "

"At the seams, perhaps? We can stitch them neatly; and then gum themover at the joinings. I'll warrant Ossaroo can sew like a shoemaker. "

The shikaree could do all that. Karl knew it. It was not there thedifficulty lay. 

"The weight, then?" pursued Caspar interrogatively. 

"Precisely that, " answered Karl; "I fear they will be too heavy. Bringone, Ossaroo; and let us have a look at it. "

The shikaree rose from his seat; and going into the hovel, returnedpresently--bringing back with him a long shrivelled object, which anyone could tell to be a dried eel-skin. 

There were many like it inside: for they had carefully preserved theskins of the eels they had caught, induced to do so by a sort ofpresentiment, that some day they might find a use for them. In thiscase their prudent providence was likely to prove of service to them. 

Karl took the skin; and, holding it out on the palm of his hand, appeared to make an estimate of its weight. Caspar watched hisbrother's countenance, and waited to hear what he would say; but Karlonly expressed himself by a doubtful shake of the head, which seemed toshow that his opinion was _against_ the eel-skins. 

"They might be made much lighter, I fancy, " suggested Caspar: "scrapingwould do a deal for them; and by the way, why would not boiling makethem light enough? It would take all the fatty, oily substance out ofthem. "

"There's something in what you say, " rejoined Karl, apparently impressedby the last suggestion. "Boiling might render them a good deal lighter. We can easily try it. "

As Karl said this, he proceeded to the boiling spring, and plunged theeel-skin under the water. There it was permitted to remain for abouthalf an hour, when it was taken out; and, after being scraped with theblade of a knife, was spread upon a rock, under the sun, where it wouldsoon get thoroughly dry. 

They all waited patiently for the completion of this process. Theresult was of too interesting a character to allow of their occupyingthemselves with anything else. 

In due time the eel-skin had become sufficiently dry, to be submitted toexamination; and Karl, once more taking it up, balanced it upon hispalm. 

Tested, even in this inexact fashion, it was evidently much lighter thanbefore; and, by the gratified look with which the philosopher regardedit, he appeared to be much better satisfied with its weight. Still, however, he was not sanguine: as his words testified. They were almosta repetition of what he had said before. 

"It may do--it is just possible. At all events, there can be no harm intrying. Let us try it, then. "

To say, "Let us try it, " meant the same as to say, "Let us make theballoon. " The others understood that; and of course acquiesced in thedetermination. 

As there was nothing to interfere with the immediate commencement of thework, they resolved to set about it at once; and in fact did set aboutit without farther delay. 

The number of eel-skins on hand, though very considerable, would not benear enough for covering a balloon; and therefore Ossaroo went to workwith his hooks and lines to catch a few hundreds more. Karl was able totell how many it would take; or he could at least make an estimatesufficiently exact for the purpose. He designed a balloon of twelvefeet diameter: for he knew that one of less size would not have powerenough to carry up the weight of a man. Of course, Karl knew how tocalculate the surface of a sphere whose diameter should be twelve feet. He had only to multiply the diameter on the circumference; or the squareof the diameter on the fixed number 3. 1416; or find the convex surfaceof the circumscribing cylinder; or else find four times the area of agreat circle of the said sphere. Any one of these methods would givehim the correct result. 

On making the calculation, he found that a sphere of 12 feet diameterwould have a surface of 452 square feet, within a trifling fraction. Therefore 452 square feet of eel-skins would be required to cover it. In other words, that quantity would be required to make the balloon. 

As the eels happened to be of large size--most of them being over a yardin length, and full four inches in average girth--the skin of one whenspread out would yield about a square foot of surface. Taking large andsmall together--and allowing for waste, the heads and tails that wouldhave to be chopped off--Karl calculated that he would get nearly asquare foot each out of the eels; and that about five hundred skinswould make the balloon bag. But as they would have to be cutoccasionally with a slant, in order to get the globe shape, perhaps afew more would be needed; and therefore Ossaroo was to keep his baits inthe water, until the requisite number of eels should be hooked out ofit. 

Ossaroo had another department assigned to him besides catching thefish; and one that took up more of his time: since the baiting of thehooks, and looking after them, required only his occasional attention. Spinning the thread by which the skins were to be sewed together, was amuch more delicate operation: since in these both strength and finenesswere absolutely necessary. But as Caspar had said, Ossaroo was an adeptwith the distaff; and several large skeins of the finest twist were soonturned off from his nimble fingers. 

When enough thread had been thus produced, Ossaroo proceeded to makingthe cords and stronger ropes, that would be needed for attaching the"boat"--as well as to hold the balloon in its place, while being gotready for its ascent. 

Caspar's employment was--first, the skinning of the eels; and afterwardsthe scraping, boiling, and drying of the skins; while Karl, who acted asengineer-in-chief, besides giving a general superintendence to the work, occupied himself in imparting the final dressing to the material, andcutting it into such shapes, that it could be closely and convenientlystitched together. 

Karl had also made an excursion into the forest, and brought back withhim large quantities of a gum, which he had extracted from a tree of thegenus _ficus_--a sort of _caoutchouc_--which is yielded by many speciesof _ficus_ in the forests of the Lower Himalayas. Karl had gone insearch of this substance, because he knew it would be required forpaying the seams, and rendering them air-tight. 

When they had pursued their various avocations for about a week, it wasthought that material enough of every kind was collected and made ready;and then Ossaroo was set to stitching. Fortunately, they were providedwith needles: for these had formed a part of the _accoutrement_ of theplant-hunters--when originally starting upon their expedition. 

As neither Karl nor Caspar had any experience in handling such sharptools, the sewing had all to be done by Ossaroo; and it took anotherfull week to accomplish this Sartorean task. 

At the end of that time, it was fully accomplished and complete; and thehuge bag was ready to receive its coat of gum varnish. A day sufficedfor "paying;" and nothing more remained but to attach the "boat, " or"car, " that was to carry them aloft in their daring flight into the"azure fields of air. "

CHAPTER FIFTY ONE. 

MAKING READY FOR THE ASCENT. 

Karl was the only one of the three who knew anything about a balloon, orthe mode of inflating it. Had it been their intention of navigating theair, an apparatus would have been required to carry up a fire. ThisKarl could easily have contrived. A basket of wicker-work, as he hadsaid, well lined with clay, would have answered the purpose after afashion; but as they did not intend to use the balloon for any purposebeyond making the single ascent to lift them over the cliffs, acontinuous fire would not be required. The first inflation would answerthat end well enough; and therefore a grate or fire-basket was notthought of. 

The car to carry the passengers--or boat, as it is sometimes styled:since, for reasons easily understood, it is usually a boat--was quiteanother affair; and had it been designed for more than a mere temporaryuse, would have taken a considerable time in the making; but for whatthey wanted almost anything would serve; and all that they intendedemploying was a sort of wicker basket, or deep hamper, suspended bystout ropes. This had been already prepared; and only needed to beattached to the bottom of the air-bag. 

In the present case, the "bottom of the bag" is quite a figure ofspeech--_lucus a non lucendo_. Strictly speaking, it had no bottom;but, where this should have been, there was a round aperture, formed bya stout hoop of ringall bamboo, to which the skin covering was lashed, and to which, also, the cords intended to sustain the afore-mentionedbasket, as also the stay-ropes, were to be attached. 

The object of this aperture will be easily understood. It was by itthat the hot air was to be admitted inside the balloon, for the purposeof inflating it. 

And how was this hot air to be obtained? That was a question which Karlalone could answer. Of course, fire was to be the agent for producingit: but how was it to be got into the bag? Karl could tell that, andKarl only; and, now that the time had arrived for trying the experiment, he condescended to explain to his coadjutors how he meant to proceed. 

The bag was to be propped up between tall stakes set in the ground; itsbottomless bottom turned towards the earth, so that the aperture wouldbe below. Under this a fire was to be kindled--not, however, untileverything else should be ready; and the hot air rising up into theaperture would enter the balloon, and cause it to swell out to its fullglobular dimensions. More hot air being admitted, the cooler atmospherewithin would be expelled, the balloon would become lighter than thesurrounding air, and by the simple principle of atmospheric pressure itwould ascend into the air. It was expected it would do so--it was hopedit would. 

To say the truth, the hopes of the engineer were far from being high--his expectations anything but sanguine. He had observed all along, that, notwithstanding the process employed for lightening the eel-skins, they were still far heavier than silk; and perhaps, after all, theexperiment might not succeed. There was another circumstance that hadas much _weight_ on the mind of Karl as the eel-skins; and that wasquite as likely to have a _bearing_ upon the balloon. He had notoverlooked the fact, that the spot, from which they proposed making theascent, was nearly ten thousand feet above the level of the sea. Heknew that the atmosphere in such a situation would be extremelyrarefied, and that a balloon, which might easily ascend many thousandfeet into the air starting from the level of the sea, would not stirfrom the ground if carried to the top of a mountain ten thousand feethigh. This was the circumstance which preyed upon the spirit of theyoung philosopher, and hindered him from entertaining any very sanguinehopes of success in the experiment they were making. 

The philosophical truth had been before his mind from the first, and attimes had almost determined him to abandon the project. But as he wasnot sufficiently acquainted with the laws of aerostation as to becertain of failure, he had worked on with the determination to seeksuccess, though it must be acknowledged with but faint hopes of findingit. 

Thus stood matters on the morning when it was finally arranged to launchtheir great aerial ship, and ascertain whether it would swim. 

All things were made ready at an early hour. The huge bag was set upbetween the supporting stakes the _car_ was attached to it, as alsoseveral ropes to keep the balloon from being carried away; and thesewere fastened at their other ends to stout pegs, driven firmly into theground; while a little furnace of stones was built underneath to holdthe fire, whose ascending caloric was to expand the balloon, and raiseit into the air. 

The fuel out of which this fire was to be made had been alreadycollected near the spot. It was not wood, nor faggots of any kind; foralthough these might have served after a fashion, Karl was acquaintedwith a better material. He remembered that the Montgolfiers, and otherearly aerostats--previous to the introduction of the inflammable gas--had used chopped straw and wool, and regarded these materials to be thebest substances for inflating their balloons. Karl had adopted theiridea; and had provided chopped grass as a substitute for the choppedstraw, and in lieu of sheep's wool he had procured a quantity of the_poshm_ of the ibex, and other animals, that had been killed--the richshawl-wool of Cashmere!

The car, which has already been described as a sort of deep hamper, wasnot over three feet in diameter. It was evidently not equal to theholding of three persons--to say nothing of a large dog--for it ishardly necessary to say that Fritz was not going to be left behind. Thefaithful creature had too long followed the fortunes of our adventurersto be abandoned by them now. 

But there was not the slightest danger of that. The dimensions of thecar were large enough for what the "vehicle" was intended to carry, which was only _one_. 

Karl believed that there would be little chance of the balloon havingsufficient power to take up all three of them, their united weight beingover four hundred pounds. He would be but too contented if one shouldbe carried aloft; and if that one should succeed in effecting a landingon the summit of the cliff, it was of no importance what afterwardsbecame of the aerial ship. Having completed that one voyage, it mightmake another on its own account--either south to Calcutta or eastward toHong Kong, if it liked China better. 

Of course, if any one of them should succeed in surmounting the cliff, it would be an easy matter to get over the mountain; and as they hadpassed native villages on their way upward, these could be reached in aday or two, and a party of men, with a proper rope-ladder, brought tothe rescue of the others. 

Even had there been no prospect of assistance from any one outside, itwould not matter very much. If only one of them could get to the top ofthe cliffs, they could construct a rope-ladder of themselves--by whichthe other two would be able to make the ascent. 

It is hardly necessary to say who was to make the attempt--Ossaroo wasto be the aeronaut. Ossaroo had voluntarily offered himself for thisperilous performance; and his offer had been accepted. 

Not that either of the others were at all afraid to have run the risk. It was from no desire to shirk the danger that they had appointedOssaroo to undertake it; but simply because, once outside, the shikareewould be far better able to find his way down the mountains: and in hisnative language could readily communicate with the villagers, and give acorrect account of their situation. 

CHAPTER FIFTY TWO. 

INFLATION AND FAILURE. 

At length arrived the hour for making that important experiment--as towhether their aerial ship would prove herself air-worthy. 

All three stood around the spot where the chopped grass and shawl-woolwere to be set on fire. This fuel itself appeared underneath--in alittle heap lightly laid, and ready for the touch of the tinder. 

Karl had a piece of blazing torch in his hand; Caspar held one of thestay-ropes, to prevent the balloon from rising too rapidly; whileOssaroo, equipped as if for a journey, stood by the hamper, inreadiness, when the proper time should arrive, to "pack" himself intoit. 

Alas! for the frailty of all human foresight! The most carefulcalculations often prove erroneous--not that in the present instancethere was any unforeseen error: for from the very first, Karl had beendistrustful of his data; and they were now to disappoint, rather thandeceive him. It was not written in the book of destiny that Ossarooshould ever set foot in that wicker car or ever make an ascent by thatballoon. 

The torch was applied to the chopped grass and shawl-wool. Both blazedand smoked, and smouldered; and, more being thrown on, the blaze waskept up continuously. The heated air ascended through the aperture, causing the great sphere of stitched skins to swell out to its fulldimensions. 

It trembled and rocked from side to side, like some huge monster inpain. It rose to the height of a few inches from the ground, sank, andthen rose again, sank once more, and so kept on rising and sinking andbobbing about, but alas! never exhibiting sufficient ascending power, toraise the hamper even as high as their heads!

Karl continued to feed the furnace with the chopped grass and poshm, butall to no purpose. The air within was sufficiently heated to haveraised it for miles--had they only been as low as the sea-level, and theballoon constructed of lighter materials. 

As it was, all their efforts were in vain. The gigantic globe could notbe raised above six feet from the ground. It had not power enough tocarry up a cat--much less a man. In short, it was a failure--one moreadded to the long list of their dark disappointments!

For more than an hour Karl continued to keep his fire ablaze. He eventried faggots of the resinous pine: in hopes that by obtaining a greaterstrength of caloric he might still succeed in causing the balloon tosoar upward; but there was no perceptible difference in the effect. Itbobbed about as before, but still obstinately refused to ascend. 

At length, with patience exhausted and hopes completely crushed, theengineer turned away from the machine which he had taken so much painsin constructing. For a moment he stood irresolute. Then heaving a sighat the recollection of his wasted labour, with sad, slow step hedeparted from the spot. Caspar soon followed him--fully participatingin the feeling of grievous disappointment. Ossaroo took leave of theinflated monster in a different fashion. Drawing near to it, he stoodfor some seconds contemplating it in silence--as if reflecting on thevast amount of seam he had stitched to no purpose. Then uttering anative ejaculation, coupled with a phrase that meant to say, "No goodeither for the earth, the water, or the air, " he raised his foot, kickedthe balloon in the side--with such violence that the toe of his sandalsburst a hole in the distended eel-skins; and, turning scornfully away, left the worthless machine to take care of itself. 

This task, however, it proved ill adapted to accomplish: for thedisappointed aeronauts had not been gone many minutes from the ground, when the heated air inside, which had for some time been graduallygrowing cooler, reached at length so low a temperature, that the greatsphere began to collapse and settle down upon the embers of the pinefaggots still glowing red underneath. The consequence was that theinflammable skins, cords, and woodwork coming in contact with the fire, began to burn like so much tinder. The flames ran upward, licking theoily eel-skins like the tongues of fiery serpents; and when the_ci-devant_ aeronauts looked back from the door of their hut, theyperceived that the balloon was ablaze!

Had the accident occurred two hours before, they would have looked uponit as the saddest of calamities. Now, however, they stood regarding theburning of that abandoned balloon, with as much indifference as is saidto have been exhibited by Nero, while contemplating the conflagration ofthe seven-hilled city!

CHAPTER FIFTY THREE. 

ANOTHER SPELL OF DESPAIR. 

Never, during all the days of their sojourn in that "Valley of Despond, "did our adventurers feel more despondence, than on the afternoon thatsucceeded the bursting of their great air-bubble--the balloon. Theyfelt that in this effort, they had exhausted all their ingenuity; and sofirmly were they convinced of its being the last, that no one thoughtabout making another. The spirits of all three were prostrate in thedust, and seemed at length to have surrendered to despair. 

Of course, it was not that sort of despair which takes possession of oneconscious of coming and certain death. It was far from being so dire asthis; but for all it was a bitter feeling. They knew they couldcontinue to live, perhaps as long there, as elsewhere upon the earth;but what would life be worth to them, cut off from all communicationwith the world?--for now, to the fulness of conviction, did they believethemselves thus isolated. 

In disposition not one of the three had the slightest particle of thehermit. Not one of them, but would have shuddered at the thought ofbecoming a Simon Stylites. You might suppose that, with books andNature to study, Karl could have made shift. True, with such companionshe might have lived a less irksome life than either of the others; buteven with these to occupy him, it is doubtful whether Karl could havepassed the time; for it is not very certain, that a man--knowing himselfalone in the world, and for ever to be alone--would care either for thebooks of men or the book of Nature. 

As for Caspar, the thought that their lonely existence was to beperpetual, was enough at times to send the blood rushing coldly throughhis veins. 

The Hindoo felt the affliction as much as either of his companions inmisfortune; and sighed as much for his bamboo hut on the hot plains ofHindostan, as they for their home in the far fatherland of Bavaria. 

It is true their situation was not so bad as if each had been left aloneby himself. Many a poor castaway upon a desert island has beencondemned to a far more unhappy fate. They knew and acknowledged this. Each had the other two for companions; but as they reflected thus, theycould not hinder their thoughts from casting forward into the future--perhaps not distant--when one of them might leave that valley withoutthe aid of either rope-ladders or balloons; and then another--leavingthe last of the three lonely and forlorn!

With such sad reflections did they pass the evening of that day, and themorning and evening of that which followed. They took no heed of time;and could scarce summon sufficient energy to cook their frugal meals. The spirit to plan, and the energy to act, seemed both to have departedfrom them at once and for ever. 

This state of things could not long continue. As already said, the soulof man holds within itself a power of resuscitation. So long as itcontinues to live, it may hope to recover from the heaviest blow. Broken hearts are more apparent than real; and even those that are worstshattered have their intervals in which they are restored to a perfectsoundness. The slave in his chains, the prisoner within his darkdungeon, the castaway on his desert isle, all have their hours of joy--perhaps as vivid and lasting as those of the king upon his throne, orthe conqueror in his car of triumph. 

On earth there is no happiness unmingled with alloy; and, perhaps, thereis no sorrow that may not in time find solace. 

On the second clay succeeding their last great disappointment, thespirits of all three began to revive; and those natural wants--which, whether we will or not, force themselves upon our attention--commencedto claim their consideration. 

Karl was the first to recognise these necessities. If they were to livethere for life, he reasoned, --and this seemed no longer a doubtfulsupposition, --it would be of no use, giving way to despondency--mopingout their days like mutes at a funeral. Better far to lead an activelife; and live well too--by providing plenty to eat and plenty todrink--which with industry they could easily do. All this might notmake them cheerful; but they would certainly be less a prey tomelancholy while engaged in some active industry, than if they remainedbrooding over their fate. 

These thoughts, as we have said, arose on the morning of the second daysucceeding that on which the balloon had been abandoned. Karl gavewords to them, in an attempt to cheer his brother Caspar--who hadrelapsed into a state of unusual despondency. Ossaroo equally requiredcheering; and therefore it devolved on the botanist to attemptenlivening the spirits of his companions. 

For a time, he met with very slight success; but gradually the necessityof action forced itself upon the attention of all--if only to providethe means to keep them from starving; and without further loss of time, they resumed the various branches of industry, by which they hadhitherto been enabled to supply their larder. 

To Caspar, as before, the chase was entrusted; while Ossaroo attended tothe fishing; as he, better than either of the others, understood themanagement of hooks, lines, and nets. 

The botanist busied himself in the old way, exploring the valley, insearch of such seeds, plants, and roots, as might be found wholesome forfood--not neglecting others of a medicinal character, that might servein case of sickness. Many such had the young plant-hunter encounteredduring his early researches; and had made note of them against thepossibility of their being required. 

Fortunately, up to that time there had been no real need for any of theparty to make trial of the natural _Pharmacopoeia_ which the valleyafforded: and it was to be hoped they should never have occasion to testthe virtues of the specifics which the plant-hunter had discovered. Karl nevertheless collected several kinds; and, after submitting them toa process necessary for their preservation, had stored them away withinthe hut. 

Of those vegetable products adapted for food, the chief article obtainedwas the nutritive seed yielded by the edible pine (_Pinus Gerardiana_). The cones of this valuable tree were as large as artichokes; eachyielding several seeds of the size and appearance of pistachio nuts. 

The wild cockscomb (_Amaranthus Cruentus_) also furnished a portion oftheir supply. Its seeds when parched, and crushed between two stones, produced a kind of meal, of which cakes of bread were manufactured byOssaroo. These, although very far inferior to the real home-bake, oreven to the most ordinary production of the bakehouse, were neverthelesssufficiently palatable to those who had no other bread. 

The lake, besides yielding fish to the nets of Ossaroo, also afforded asupply of vegetables. On searching it, the botanist discovered severaledible kinds of plants; among others the curious _Trapa bicornis_, orhorned water-nut--known among the natives of the Himalayan countries bythe name _Singara_, and much used by them as an article of wholesomefood. 

There was also a splendid water-lily--with very broad leaves and largeflowers of pink and white colour--the seeds and the stalks of which Karlknew to be edible; as he had read of their being used for this purposeby the poorer people in the country of Cashmeer. The lily in question, viz. The _Nelumbium speciosum_, grows plentifully in the lakes of thefar-famed valley so named. 

On first observing this beautiful plant growing luxuriantly, as it was, in their own little valley lake, Karl took occasion to inform hisbrother--Ossaroo at the same time listening attentively to hisstatement--of the various uses made of it by the inhabitants ofCashmeer. How the boys sailing about in their boats when the daychances to be very hot, are in the habit of plucking one of its largeshining leaves out of the water, and spreading it over their crowns, toprotect them from the fervid rays of the sun; and how the petiole of theleaf, being hollow inside, serves them as a tube for drinking out of. Many such interesting particulars, in regard to the economy of this fineaquatic plant, did the young botanist communicate to his companions; butnone more interesting than the fact that both its seeds and stalks areedible: since this promised them additional security against the dangerof running short in their supply of vegetable food. 

CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR. 

THE BEAN OF PYTHAGORAS. 

The discovery of the water-lily was not a thing of recent occurrence. They had known of its existence before; and more than once had visitedthe little embayment in the lake, where it chiefly grew. In fact, ithad attracted their attention a few days after their first arrival inthe valley--not by its own conspicuousness, for its broad round leaves, spread horizontally upon the surface, could scarce be seen from theshore. Only when its beautiful pink-white flowers were in bloom, couldit be observed at any great distance. 

That which had first led them to approach the place where it grew, andexamine the plant, was their having noticed a singular phenomenonconnected with it; and which for awhile had puzzled all three of them toexplain. 

The _bed_ of lilies, at that time in full bloom, was visible from theplace where they had originally made their encampment; and everymorning, just after daybreak, and sometimes also during the day, theywere in the habit of seeing some birds disporting themselves near thatplace in a singular manner--very singular indeed: since these birdsappeared to _walk upon the water_!

They were tall, long-legged, slender-bodied creatures, and easilydistinguished by both Karl and Caspar, as belonging to the family of_rallidae_ or water-hens. 

There could be no doubt that they were walking on the water--sometimesslowly, at other times in a quick run--and, what was even moreunaccountable than this, they were seen at times to _stand still uponthe water_! Ay, and, what might be considered more surprising still, they performed this aquatic feat _upon only one leg_!

The thing might have been more mysterious, had not Karl from the firstsuspected the reason why the laws of specific gravity appeared to bethus contradicted. He suspected the existence of some plant, whoseleaves, lying spread on the surface, perhaps offered a footing for thebirds, sufficiently firm to support the weight of their bodies. 

The botanist was only reasoning from remembrance. He had lately readthe account published but a few years before of the discovery of thegigantic water-lily of tropical America--the _Victoria Regia_--andremembered how its discoverers had spoken of large birds of the cranefamily making their perch upon its huge leaves, and thus supported, playing about over the surface of the water, as if the firm earth hadbeen under their feet. 

With these facts fresh in his memory, Karl conjectured that thewater-hens seen by him and his companions were supported on a similarpedestal, and playing themselves on a like platform. His conjectureproved correct: for on visiting the place shortly after, the broadorbicular leaves of the _Nelumbium speciosum_ were perceived--almost aslarge as those of their South American congener. 

Other interesting points relating to the great lily growing in theHimalayan lake, Karl had mentioned from time to time to his companions:for he knew that the _Nelumbium speciosum_ was the celebratedPythagorean bean mentioned in the writings of the Greeks--moreespecially by Herodotus and Theophrastes. 

It is described by these writers as growing plentifully in Egypt; and nodoubt was cultivated in that country in their day; though it is notknown there at the present time. It is found represented on theEgyptian sculptures, and so accurately has it been described by theGreek writers, as to leave no doubt as to the identification of thespecies. 

It is one of the plants supposed to be the celebrated "lotus" ofantiquity; and this supposition is probable enough: since not only itssucculent stalk, but its seeds or "beans, " have been eaten in all timesby the people in whose country it grows. It is a food that produces astrengthening effect upon the system; and is also very refreshing incases of thirst. The Chinese call it "Lienwha, " and its seeds with thinslices of its root, mixed with the kernels of apricots and walnuts, andplaced between alternate layers of ice, constituted one of the selectdishes offered by the great mandarins to the British ambassadors on thevisit of the latter to the Celestial Empire. 

These people store up the roots of the lienwha for winter use--preserving them in a pickle of salt and vinegar. The Japanese also makeuse of the plant as an esculent; and it is, moreover, regarded by themas sacred to their divinities--the images of which are often representedseated upon its large leaves. 

The flowers of the _Nelumbium speciosum_ when in full bloom, give out amost fragrant odour--somewhat resembling that of anise; while the seeds, shaped like acorns, have a flavour equal in richness and delicacy tothat of the finest almonds. 

CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE. 

AN AQUATIC HARVEST. 

It was not upon that occasion that Karl communicated to his companionsall these interesting facts in relation to the great lily. Many of themhe had made known long before--especially that the seeds of the plantwere eatable; and both Caspar and Ossaroo had often proved to their ownsatisfaction that they were something more than eatable--in short, agreat delicacy. 

It was from a knowledge of this fact that the thoughts of all three werenow turned upon the lilies--whose huge roseate corollas, no longer seenglistening above the surface of the water, proclaimed that the "beans"were ripe, and ready for "shelling. "

The three were about starting from the hut to reap this aquaticharvest--which, judging from the quantity of seed-pods that appearedabove the surface, promised to be abundant. 

Each had provided himself with a rush basket--which the shikaree hadwoven, during the long winter nights, for other purposes; but as theywere of just the size and shape to hold the Pythagorean beans they werenow to be employed in that capacity. 

Both Karl and Caspar had rolled up their trowsers to mid-thigh; so asnot to wet them while wading among the lilies; but Ossaroo, not beingprovided with any nether garment entitled to the name of trowsers, hadsimply tucked up the skirt of his cotton tunic, making it fast under hisgirdle. 

In this guise all three proceeded round the shore of the lake, to thatside where they would be nearest the bed of lilies. The water-hens, seeing them make their approach, rose from their perch upon the leaves, and fluttered off to seek a more secure shelter among the sedge. 

The aquatic gleaners at once waded in; and commenced picking off thepods, and shelling them into their rush baskets. They had been therebefore, and knew there was no danger in the depth of the water. 

They had nearly filled their respective sacks with the Pythagoreanbeans, and were meditating a return to dry land, when a dark shadowpassing over the tranquil surface of the lake--closely followed byanother of similar size and shape--attracted their attention. 

All three saw the shadows at the same instant of time; and allsimultaneously looked up to ascertain what sort of creatures werecasting them. In the sky above they beheld a spectacle, calculated toinspire them with feelings of a strange interest. 

Right above the lake, and also over their heads, a brace of large birdswas circling in the air. Each was borne up by a pair of huge wings fullfive yards from tip to tip; while from the body, between, a neck ofenormous length was extended horizontally--prolonged into atapering-pointed beak, in shape like the seed-pistil of a pelargonium. 

Their beaks might well have been compared to the pistil of apelargonium; or rather the latter should be assimilated to them; sinceit is from this species of birds, the flower has derived its botanicalcognomen. 

The birds were _storks_. Not the ordinary _Ciconia_, that makes itshome among the Hollanders--or finds a still more welcome hospitality onthe roof-tree of the Hungarian by the plains of the _Puszta_--but astork of far grander dimensions; in short, a stork that is the _tallest_of his tribe--the _Adjutant_. 

On looking up, Karl recognised the species; so did Caspar, and at aglance. It required no lengthened scrutiny--no profound knowledge ofnatural history, to identify the noted _adjutant_. It only needed tohave seen him before either in _propria persona_, or in a picture; butboth brothers had seen specimens of the bird, in full flesh and feather, on the plains of India--in the environs of Calcutta itself. 

As to the shikaree, was it likely he should be mistaken about thecharacter of those winged giants--those tall scavengers he had seenthousands of times stalking pompously along the sandy shores of thesacred Ganges? It was not possible for him, to have a doubt about theidentity of the birds, who were now throwing their shadows over thatlone lake of the Himalayas. He had no doubt. The very certainty thatthe birds above him were the gigantic cranes of the Ganges--the sacredbirds of Brahma--caused him to utter a sort of frenzied shout, and atthe same time, dropping his "sack of beans" into the water!

He needed not to look at the colour of the birds, to note that they werebrown black above, and white underneath. The naked vulture neck withits pouch-like appendage of brick-red hue; the silken feathers of bluishwhite under the tail--those precious plumes well-known and worn by theladies of many lands under the appellation of _marabout feathers_--allwere recognised at a glance. 

Even quicker than either of his youthful comrades had the Hindooidentified the birds. A single glance sufficed, and simultaneously withthat glance had the cry fallen from his lips, and the sack ofPythagorean beans from his grasp. 

The birds were flying slowly, and to all appearance _laboriously_: as ifwearied of wing. They appeared to be in search of some roost on whichto repose themselves. 

That they had entered the valley with this intention was made evident afew moments after: for having made a circuit round the little lake, bothat the same instant ceased to ply their long pinions, and drawing theirwings suddenly in to their bodies, they settled down upon the shore. 

The spot upon which they had chosen to alight was the prominenceterminating a little peninsula that protruded out almost to the bed oflilies, and from which the three waders had themselves descended intothe water. As the latter now stood knee-deep among the aquatic plants, they were distant not more than twenty paces from the point of thispeninsula. 

The storks, after alighting, stood upon the shore in erect attitudes--apparently as unconcerned about the presence of our three adventurers, as if the latter were only overgrown stalks of the Pythagorean bean--utterly incapable of doing them an injury. 

CHAPTER FIFTY SIX. 

THE ADJUTANTS. 

The brace of gigantic birds, that had thus alighted by the shore of thelittle lake, were, to say the least, uncouth creatures; for the wholeornithological world might be ransacked without finding a greater odditythan the _adjutant_. 

In the first place, it stands six feet upon its long, straight shanks;though its actual length, measuring from the tip of its bill to thetermination of its claws, is full seven and a half. The beak, ofitself, is over a foot in length, several inches in thickness, with agibbous enlargement near the middle, and having both mandibles slightlycurved downwards. 

The spread of a full-grown adjutant's wing is fifteen feet, or fiveyards, from tip to tip--quite equalling in extent either that of theChilian condor or the "wandering" albatross. 

In colour the adjutant may be described as black above and whiteunderneath, neither [that] being very pure. The upper plumage is adirty brownish black; while the belly and under parts present a dullwhite appearance, --partly from an admixture of greyish feathers, butalso from the circumstance that the bird is usually bedaubed with dirt--as mud from the marshes, where it feeds, and other filth, in which itseems to take delight. But for this foulness, the legs of the adjutantwould be of a dark colour; but in the living bird they are never seen ofthe natural hue--being always whitened by the dust shaken out of itsplumage, and other excrement that attaches itself to the skin. 

The tail is black above and white underneath--more especially the undercoverts, which are of a pure white. These last are the plumes so highlyprized under the name of "marabout feathers, " an erroneous title, arising through a mistake--made by the naturalist Temminck in comparingthe Indian adjutant with another and very different species of the samegenus--the marabout stork of Africa. 

One of the distinctive characteristics of the adjutant, or "argala, " asit is better known to the Indians, --and one, too, of its ugliest"features, "--is a naked neck of a flesh-red colour the skin shrivelled, corrugated, and covered with brownish hairs. These "bristles" are morethickly set in young birds, but become thinner with age, until theyalmost totally disappear--leaving both head and neck quite naked. 

This peculiarity causes a resemblance between the adjutant bird and thevultures; but indeed there are many other points of similarity; and thestork may in all respects be regarded as a vulture--the vulture of the_grallatores_, or waders. 

In addition to the naked neck, the adjutant is furnished with an immensedew-lap, or pouch which hangs down upon its breast--often more than afoot in length, and changing from pale flesh colour to bright red, alongwith the skin of the throat. At the back of the neck is found stillanother singular apparatus--the use of which has not been determined bythe naturalist. It is a sort of vesicular appendage, capable of beinginflated with air; and supposed to serve as an atmospheric buoy toassist in sustaining the bird in its flight. The inflation has beenobserved to take place under exposure to a hot sun; and, therefore, itis natural to infer, that the rarefaction of the air has something to doin causing [the bird to use this organ]. As the adjutant often flies toa great height, it is possible that this balloon-like apparatus isnecessary to sustaining it in the rarefied atmosphere found at such anelevation. The annual migration of the bird over the lofty chain of theHimalayas might not be possible, or if possible, more difficult, withoutthis power of decreasing the specific gravity of its body. 

It is scarce necessary to say that the adjutant--like all birds of thefamily to which it belongs--is a filthy and voracious feeder;carnivorous in the highest degree; and preferring carrion and garbage toany other sort of food. It will kill and swallow live kind--such asfrogs, snakes, small quadrupeds, and birds--the latter not so very smalleither: since it has been known to bolt a whole fowl at a single"swallow. " Even a cat or a hare can be accommodated with a passage downits capacious gullet; but it will not attempt to kill either one or theother: since, notwithstanding its gigantic size, it is one of theveriest cowards in creation. A child, with a bit of a switch, can atany time chase the adjutant away; and an enraged hen will put it toflight whenever it strays into the neighbourhood of her young brood. Itdoes not retreat, without first making a show of defiance--by placingitself in a threatening attitude--with reddened throat, and beak wideagape, from which latter proceeds a loud roaring, like that of a bear ortiger. All this, however, is mere braggadocio; for, on the enemycontinuing the attack, it immediately cools down, and betakes itself toignominious flight. 

Such are a few peculiarities of the gigantic stork, known as the_adjutant_ or _argala_. It only remains to be added, that there are atleast two, perhaps three, other species of storks of very largedimensions--though not so large as this one--that for a long time havebeen confounded with it. One of these is the _marabou_; which inhabitsthe tropical regions of Africa, and which also produces the plumes somuch prized in the world of fashion. The feathers of the Africanspecies, however, are far less beautiful and valuable than those fromthe tail of the adjutant; and it is these last that are really bestknown as _marabout feathers_, in consequence of the mistake made byTemminck, and propagated by the anatomist Cuvier. 

Another great stork--differing both from the _argala_ of Asia and the_marabou_ of Africa--inhabits the Island of Sumatra. It is known to thenatives as the "Boorong Cambay;" while in the neighbouring Island ofJava is found either a fourth species of these gigantic birds, or thesame that belongs to Sumatra. 

It is somewhat singular that such creatures should have remained so longunknown to the scientific world. It is not much more than half acentury since travellers began to describe them with any degree ofexactness; and even at the present time their history and habits havereceived but very slight elucidation. This is the more surprising whenwe consider that on the banks of the Ganges--even in Calcutta itself--the adjutant is one of the most common birds--constantly stalking aboutthe houses, and entering the enclosures with as much familiarity, as ifit was one of the regular _domestics_ of the establishment!

Its services as a "scavenger" procure for it an immunity frompersecution; and it is not only tolerated by the people, but encouraged, in its advances towards fellowship with them; notwithstanding that attimes it becomes rather troublesome in its attentions to the youngducklings, chicklings, and other denizens of the farmyard. 

Sometimes they are not even contented with such fare as may be foundoutside; but have been known to enter the bungalow; snatch a smokingjoint from the table; and swallow it, before either master or servantcould rescue the dainty morsel from between their long and tenaciousmandibles!

When seen in flocks, wading through the water, --with wings outstretched, as is their custom, --they may be taken for a fleet of small boats. Atother times, when stalking about over the sandy shores; and picking upthe _debris_ strewed along the banks of the sacred river; they resemblea crowd of native women engaged in the like occupation. 

Ofttimes may they be seen feeding voraciously upon the filthiest carrionof animals; and not unfrequently upon a human body in a state ofputrefaction--the corpse of some deluded victim to the superstition ofJuggernaut--which has been thrown into the so-styled _sacred_ river, tobe washed back on the beach, an object of contention between _pariah_dogs, vultures, and these gigantic cranes of the Ganges!

CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN. 

The standing sleepers. 

The advent of the adjutants produced a vivid impression on the minds ofall three of our adventurers--more vivid, perhaps, upon Ossaroo thaneither of the others. To him they seemed like old friends who had cometo visit him in his prison; and though it never occurred to theshikaree, that they could be in any way instrumental in obtaining hisrelease, still the impression produced was one of a pleasant nature. Hesaw before him two creatures whose forms, however uncouth, wereassociated with the scenes of his earliest childhood; and he could nothelp a passing fancy, that the pair, that had thus unexpectedly madetheir appearance, might be the same old cock and hen he had so oftenseen roosted on the branches of a huge banyan tree, that overshadowedthe bungalow in which he was born. 

Of course this could be only fancy on the part of Ossaroo. Out of thethousands of storks, that annually make their migration from the plainsof Hindostan to the northward of the Himalaya Mountains, it would havebeen a rare coincidence if the two that for years had performed theoffice of scavengers in the shikaree's native village, should beidentical with those now hovering above his head--for it was while theywere yet upon the wing that Ossaroo had indulged in this pleasantspeculation. Though scarce serious in his thought--and onlyentertaining it for an instant--he was nevertheless gratified by thesight of the two storks, for he knew they must have come from his nativeplains--from the banks of that glorious river in whose waters he longedonce more to wet his feet. 

The sight of the huge birds suggested to Caspar a different train ofthought. As he beheld their immense wings, extended in slow but easyflight, it occurred to him that one or other of the great creaturesmight have the power to perform that task which had proved too much forthe bearcoot; and for which the "kite" had been "flyed" in vain. 

"Oh!" exclaimed he, as the idea came across his mind, "don't you think, Karl, that either of those great creatures would be strong enough tocarry the line aloft? They look as if they could lift even one ofourselves to the top of the cliff. "

Karl made no reply; though his silence was only caused by Caspar'ssuggestion--which he was proceeding to ponder upon. 

The young hunter continued: "If we could only catch one of them alive!Do you suppose they are going to alight? They look as if they would. What do _you_ say, Ossaroo? You know more of these birds than we do. "

"Yees, youngee Sahib; ee speakee de true. Dey go for come down. Yousavey dey make long fly. Dey both weary on de wing--no able fly furder. 'Sides, ee see, here am de lake--water--dey want drinkee--want eat too. Dey sure come down. "

Ossaroo's prediction was fulfilled, almost as soon as it was uttered. The birds, first one and then the other, jerked in their spread wings;and dropped down upon the shore of the lake--as already stated, not overtwenty paces from the spot where the three waders were occupied amongthe leaves of the lilies. 

The eyes of all three were now directed with a fixed gaze upon thenew-comers, --in whose behaviour they observed something irresistiblyludicrous. 

Almost on the instant of their feet touching _terra firma_, instead ofmoving about over the ground in search of food, or striding down towardsthe water to drink--as the spectators were expecting them to do--the twolong-legged bipeds acted in an entirely different manner. Neither ofthem seemed to care either for food or drink. If they did, both theseappetites must have been secondary with them to the desire for rest; forscarce ten seconds had elapsed after their alighting, when each drew inits long neck, burying it between the shoulders as in a case, leavingvisible only the upper half of the head, with its huge scythe-shapedbeak--the mandibles resting against the prominence of the breast bone, and pointing diagonally downwards. 

Simultaneous with this movement, the spectators perceived another--equally indicative of a desire on the part of the birds to betakethemselves to repose. This was the drawing up of one of their longfleshless legs, until it was entirely concealed under the loose feathersof the belly--a movement made by both so exactly at the same instant, asto lead to the belief that they were actuated by like impulses, by somespiritual union that existed between them!

In ten seconds more both birds appeared to be asleep. At all events, their eyes were closed; and not a movement could be detected in thelimbs, wings, bodies, or beaks of either!

It was certainly a ludicrous sight to see these huge creatures--eachsupporting itself on a single stalk, so straight and slender thatnothing but the nicest balance could have ensured their equilibrium; andthis, too, while neither seemed conscious of any danger of topplingover--of which, indeed, there was not the slightest reason to be afraid. 

The Hindoo had been too long accustomed to this sort of spectacle, tosee anything in it worthy of being laughed at. Not so Caspar--whosemirth was at once excited to the point of risibility. The unconcernedmanner in which the storks had come to a stand--along with thepicturesque _pose_ in which they had composed themselves to sleep--waseven too much for the stoical Karl; who at once echoed the laughterwhich his brother had inaugurated. 

Their united cachinnations rang loudly over the lake--reverberating inrepeated peals from the adjacent cliffs. 

It might be supposed that the _fracas_ thus created would have alarmedthe new arrivals: and caused them once more to make an appeal to theirwings. 

Nothing of the sort. The only effect perceptible on either, was theopening of their eyes, a slight protrusion of the neck, a shake of thehead, an upraising of the long beak, with a quick clattering of itsmandibles--which soon becoming closed again, were permitted to drop intotheir original position of repose. 

This cool behaviour of the birds only increased the hilarity of theboys; and for several minutes they remained in their places, giving wayto loud and uncontrollable laughter. 

CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT. 

FRITZ AMONG THE FEATHERS. 

Their hilarity could not be continued for ever. Even that of Casparcame to a termination; though not until his ribs ached with theagreeable exercise. 

As their bean-sacks had been already filled, it was determined that theyshould first take them to the hut, and then return to the storks withthe design of capturing them. Ossaroo was of the opinion, that theywould have no difficulty in effecting this; declaring the birds to be sotame, that he might walk straight up to them, and throw a noose overtheir necks. This, in all probability, he might have done, had he beenprovided with a piece of cord proper for the making of such a noose. But there was no cord at hand--not even a bit of string--nothing but therush baskets filled with the lotus beans. To obtain a snare, it wouldbe necessary to make a journey to the hut. 

In the minds of our adventurers there was no very clear conception ofthe object of capturing the storks: unless it might have been that thethought, to which Caspar had given speech, was still entertained byhimself and his brother. That indeed would have justified them in theirattempt to take the birds. 

Another idea may have suggested itself--more especially to Ossaroo. Ifnothing else should come of it, there would be some pleasure in holdingthe birds in captivity--as pets and companions. Ossaroo had beeninvoluntarily contemplating the prospect of a long lonely life in thesolitude of that mountain valley. With such a prospect even the solemnstork might be regarded as a cheerful companion. 

Stimulated by these thoughts--and some others of a more indefinitekind--our adventurers came to the determination to ensnare the_adjutants_!

All three commenced wading out of the lake--in a direction so as not todisturb the sleepers. Karl and Caspar--now that they had becomeinspired with a design--lifted their feet out of the water, and set themdown again, as though they ere treading upon egg. Ossaroo sneered attheir over-caution--telling them, that there was not the slightest fearof frightening the storks; and indeed there was truth in what heaffirmed. 

In most countries bordering upon the banks of the Ganges, these birds, protected alike by superstitious fears and edicts of law, have become soused to the proximity of man, that they will scarce stir out of theirway to avoid him. It was possible that the brace in question might havebelonged to some of the wilder flocks--inhabiting the swamps of theSunderbunds--and therefore less accustomed to human society. In thatcase there might be some difficulty in approaching them; and it was forthis reason that Ossaroo had consented to adopt the precautions fortheir capture which Karl had insisted should be taken. 

The truth is, that Karl had conceived a deeper design than either of hiscompanions. It had occurred to him--while engaged with his brother inthat laughing duetto--and somewhat to the surprise of Caspar, it hadcaused a sudden cessation of his mirth, or at least the noisy ebullitionof it. 

The philosopher had become silent and serious; as if the thought hadsuddenly arisen, that hilarity under the circumstances was indecorousand out of place. From that moment Karl had preserved a mysterioussilence--even refusing to explain it when interrogated by Caspar. Hewas only silent on this one theme. Otherwise his speech flowed freelyenough--in counsel to his companions--charging both to adopt everyprecaution for ensuring the capture of the storks--and with aneagerness, which puzzled them to comprehend. 

A few minutes' walk brought them back to the hut. It was rather a runthan a walk--Karl going in the lead, and arriving before either of theothers. The bean-sacks were flung upon the floor--as if they had beenempty and of no value--and then the strings and lines that had been spunby Ossaroo were pulled out of their hidden places, and submitted toinspection. 

It did not take long to make a running noose, which was accomplished bythe nimble fingers of the shikaree. Easily also was it attached to theend of a long stem of the ringall bamboo; and thus provided, ouradventurers once more sallied forth from the hut; and made their waytowards the sleeping storks. 

As they drew near, they were gratified at perceiving the birds still inthe enjoyment of their meridian slumber. No doubt they had made a longjourney, and needed rest. Their wings hung drooping by their sides, proclaiming weariness. Perhaps they were dreaming--dreaming of a rooston some tall fig-tree, or the tower of an antique temple sacred to theworship of Buddha, Vishna, or Deva--dreaming of the great Ganges, andits odorous waifs--those savoury morsels of putrefying flesh, in whichthey delighted to dig their huge mattocks of mandibles. 

Ossaroo being entrusted with the noose, did not pause to think, aboutwhat they might be dreaming; or whether they were dreaming at all. Enough for him to perceive that they were sleeping; and, gliding forwardin a bent attitude, silent as a tiger threading his native jungle, theshikaree succeeded in making approach--until he had got almost within_snaring distance_ of the unconscious adjutants. 

There is many a slip between the cup and the lip. The old saw wasillustrated in the case of the shikaree while endeavouring to ensnarethe storks; though it was not the snare, but the birds that nowillustrated the adage. 

After the attempt had been made, the snare could be still seen in itsplace, stiffly projecting from the point of the long bamboo rod; whilethe adjutants were soaring in the air, mounting still higher upward, their slender necks outstretched, their beaks cracking like castanets, and their throats emitting an angry sound like the roaring of a brace oflions. 

The failure was not to be attributed to Ossaroo; but to the imprudenceof one of his companions--an individual of the party close treading uponhis heels. That individual was _Fritz_!

Just as Ossaroo was about casting his loop over the shoulders of asleeping adjutant, Fritz--who had followed the party from the hut--nowfor the first time perceiving the birds, rushed forward and seized thetail of one of them between his teeth. Then, as if determined onsecuring the beautiful _marabout feathers_, he pulled a large mouthfulof them clean out by the roots. 

This was not exactly the motive that impelled Fritz to make such anunexpected attack--unexpected, because the well-trained animal wouldhave known better than to fright the game which his masters were in theact of stalking; and such imprudence had never before been displayed byhim. It was the particular kind of game that had provoked Fritz to actcontrary to his usual habit of caution; for of all the creatures whichhe had encountered, since his arrival in the counted there, was nonethat had inspired him with a more profound feeling of hostility thanthese same adjutants. During Fritz's sojourn in the Botanic Gardens ofCalcutta--where his masters, it will be remembered, were for some timeentertained as guests--Fritz had often come in contact with a brace ofthese gigantic birds, that were also guests of that justly celebratedestablishment: they habitually made their stay within the enclosure, where they were permitted to stalk about unmolested, and pick up suchstray scraps as were cast out by the domestics of the _curator's_mansion. 

These birds had grown so tame, as to take food freely out of the hand ofanyone who offered it to them; and with like freedom, to take it whereit was not offered, but found within reach of their long prehensilebeaks. Often had they pilfered provisions to which they were anythingbut welcome; and, among other acts of their rapacity, there was one ofwhich Fritz had been an interested spectator, and for which he was notlikely ever to forgive them. That was, their robbing him of a daintypiece of meat, which one of the cooks had presented to Fritz himself;and upon which he had been going to make his dinner. One of the birdshad the audacity to seize the meat in its mandibles, jerk it out of thedog's very teeth, and swallow it, before the latter had time to offereither interruption or remonstrance. 

The consequence was, that, from that time, Fritz had conceived a mostrancorous antipathy towards all birds of the genus _Ciconia_--and thespecies _Argala_ in particular; and this it was that impelled him, onfirst perceiving the adjutant--for being by the hut on their arrival hehad not seen them before, --to rush open-mouthed towards them, and seizethe tail of one of them between his teeth. 

It is not necessary to add that the bird, thus indecorously assailed, took to instant flight, followed by its more fortunate though not lessfrightened mate--leaving Fritz in a temper to treat Marabout feathers asthey had never been treated before--even when by the hands of somescorned and jealous vixen they may have been torn from the turban ofsome hated rival!

CHAPTER FIFTY NINE. 

CAPTURING THE STORKS. 

Our adventurers witnessed the uprising of the birds with looks thatbetokened disappointment and displeasure; and Fritz was in danger ofgetting severely castigated. He merited chastisement; and would havereceived it on the instant--for Caspar already stood over him with anupraised rod--when an exclamation from Karl caused the young hunter tohold his hand, and saved Fritz from the "hiding" with which he was beingthreatened. 

It was not for this that Karl had called out. The exclamation thatescaped him was of a different import--so peculiarly intoned as at onceto draw Caspar's attention from the culprit, and fix it on his brother. 

Karl was standing with eyes upraised and gazing fixedly upon theretreating stork--that one with whose tail Fritz had taken such anunwarrantable liberty. 

It was not the ragged Marabout feathers, hanging half plucked from theposterior of the stork, upon which Karl was gazing; but its long legs, that, as the bird rose in its hurried flight, hung, slantingly downward, extending far beyond the tip of its tail. Not exactly these either wasit that had called forth that strange cry; but something attached tothem--or one of them at least--which, as it came under the shining raysof the sun, gleamed in the eyes of Karl with a metallic lustre. 

It had a yellowish sheen--like gold or burnished brass--but thescintillation of the sun's rays, as they glanced from its surface, hindered the spectators from making out its shape, or being able to sayexactly what it was. 

It was only Caspar and Ossaroo who were thus perplexed. Karl knew thatglittering meteor, that for a moment had flashed before his eyes like abeam of hope--now slowly but surely departing from him, and plunging himback into the old misery. 

"Oh! brother!" he exclaimed, as the stork flew upward, "what amisfortune has happened!"

"Misfortune! what mean you, Karl?"

"Ah! you know not how near we were to a chance of being delivered. Alas! alas! it is going to escape us!"

"The birds have escaped us, you mean?" inquired Caspar. "What of that?I don't believe they could have carried up the rope anyhow; and whatgood would it be to catch them? They're not eatable; and we don't wanttheir feathers valuable as they may be. "

"No, no!" hurriedly rejoined Karl; "it is not that--not that. "

"What then, brother?" inquired Caspar, somewhat astonished at theincoherent speeches of the plant-hunter. "What are you thinking of?"

"Look yonder!" said Karl, now for the first time pointing up to thesoaring storks. "You see something that shines?"

"Ha! on the leg of one of the birds? Yes; I do see something--like apiece of yellow metal--what can it be?"

"I know what it is!" rejoined Karl, in a regretful tone; "right well doI know. Ah! if we could only have caught that bird, there would havebeen a hope for us. It's no use grieving after it now. It's gone--alas! it's gone; and you, Fritz, have this day done a thing that willcause us all regret--perhaps for the rest of our lives. "

"I don't comprehend you, brother!" said Caspar; "but if it's the escapeof the storks that's to be so much regretted, perhaps it will never takeplace. They don't appear to be in such a hurry to leave us--notwithstanding the inhospitable reception Fritz has given them. See!they are circling about, as if they intended to come down again. Andsee also Ossaroo--he's holding out a lure for them. I warrant the oldshikaree will succeed in coaxing them back. He knows their habitsperfectly. "

"Merciful Father!" exclaimed Karl, as he looked first at the flyingstorks and then at Ossaroo; "be it permitted that he succeed! You, Caspar, lay hold upon Fritz, and give Ossaroo every chance! For yourlife don't let the dog get away from you; for your life--for the livesof all of us!"

Caspar, though still under surprise at the excited bearing of hisbrother, did not allow that to hinder him from obeying his command, andrushing upon Fritz, he caught hold of the dog. Then placing the houndbetween his legs, he held him with both hands and knees as tightly as ifFritz had been screwed in a vice. 

The eyes of all--the dog included--were now turned upon Ossaroo. Casparcontemplated his movements with an undefined interest; while Karlwatched them with feelings of the keenest anxiety. 

The cunning shikaree had not come to the spot unprepared. Havinganticipated some difficulty in getting hold of the storks, he hadprovidentially provided a lure, which, in the event of their provingshy, might attract them within reach of his _ringall_. This lure was alarge fish--which he had taken out of the larder before leaving the hut, and which he was now holding out--as conspicuously as possible, toattract their attention. He had gone some distance apart from theothers, and especially from Fritz, whom he had scolded away from hisside; and, having stationed himself on a slight eminence near the edgeof the lake, he was using all his wiles to coax back the birds that hadbeen so unwittingly compelled to take wing. 

It was evident to Ossaroo--as well as to the others--that the flight ofthe storks had been against their will; and that they had reluctantlyascended into the air. They were no doubt wearied, and wanted rest. 

Whether this desire would have brought them to the earth again, Ossaroodid not stay to determine. As soon as by their actions he becameconvinced that they saw the fish held out in his hand, he flung thetempting morsel to some distance from him, and then stood awaiting theresult. 

It proved a success--and almost instantaneously. 

There was nothing in the appearance or attitude of Ossaroo to excite thesuspicion of the adjutants. His dark skin and Hindoo costume were bothwell-known to them; and though now observed in an odd, out-of-the-waycorner of the world, that was no reason for regarding him as an enemy. 

Fritz was alone the object of their fear, but Fritz was a good way off, and there appeared no longer any reason for dreading him. 

Reasoning thus--and perhaps with empty stomachs to guide them to aconclusion--the sight of the fish--lying unguarded upon the grass--putan end to their fears; and, without further hesitation, both droppeddown beside it. 

Both at the same instant clutched at the coveted prize--eachendeavouring to be the first in securing it. 

As one of the birds had got hold of the fish by the head and the otherby its tail, a struggle now arose as to which should be the first toswallow its body. Each soon passed a portion of it down its capaciousthroat, until its mandibles met in the middle, and cracked against eachother. 

As neither would yield to the other, so neither would consent todisgorge, and let go; and for some seconds this curious contention waskept up. 

How long it might have continued was not left to the determination ofthe parties themselves; but to Ossaroo, who, while they were thusoccupied, rushed upon the spot; and, flinging wide his arms, enfoldedboth the birds in an embrace, from which they vainly struggled to getfree. 

With the assistance of Karl and Caspar--who had in the meantime tiedFritz to a tree--the huge creatures were soon overpowered, and pinionedbeyond the possibility of escaping. 

CHAPTER SIXTY. 

A LABELLED LEG. 

"It is! it is!" cried Karl, stooping suddenly down, and grasping theshank of one of the birds. 

"What?" inquired Caspar. 

"Look, brother! See what is there, round the stork's leg! Do you notremember having seen that bit of jewellery before?"

"A brass ring! Oh yes!" replied Caspar; "now I do remember. In theBotanic Gardens there was an adjutant with a ring round its ankle; abrass ring, too--just like this one. How very odd!"

"Like!" echoed Karl. "Not only like, but the very _same_! Stoop down, and examine it more closely. You see those letters?"

"_R. B. G. , Calcutta_, " slowly pronounced Caspar, as he read theinscription graven upon the ring. "`_R. B. G_. ' What do these initialsstand for, I wonder?"

"It is not difficult to tell that, " knowingly answered Karl. "_RoyalBotanical Garden_! What else could it be?"

"Nothing else. For certain, these two birds must be the same we used tosee there, and with which we so often amused ourselves!"

"The same, " asserted Karl. "No doubt of it. "

"And Fritz must have recognised them too--when he made that unprovokedattack upon them! You remember how he used to quarrel with them?"

"I do. He must not be permitted to assail them any more. I have a usefor them. "

"A use?"

"Ah, a most important one; so important that these birds, ugly andunamiable as they are, must be cared for, as if they were the prettiestand most prized of pets. We must provide them with food and water; wemust tend them by day, and watch over them by night--as though they weresome sacred fire, which it was our duty to keep constantly burning. "

"All that, indeed!"

"Verily, brother! The possession of these storks is not onlyimportant--it is essential to our safety. If they should die in ourhands, or escape out of them--even if one of them should die or getaway--we are lost. Our last hope lies in them. I am sure it is ourlast. "

"But what hope have you found in them?" interrogated Caspar--puzzled tomake out the meaning of his brother's words, and not without wonder attheir apparent wildness. 

"Hope? Every hope. Ay, something more than hope: for in this singularincident I cannot fail to recognise the finger of a merciful God. Surely He hath at length taken compassion upon us! Surely it is He whohas sent these birds! They are messengers from Heaven!"

Caspar remained silent, gazing earnestly in the eyes of his brother, that were now sparkling with mingled gratitude and joy. But althoughCaspar could perceive this expression, he was utterly unable tointerpret it. 

Ossaroo was alike puzzled by the strange looks and speeches of the SahibKarl; but the Hindoo gave less heed to them--his attention being almostwholly taken up by the adjutants, which he fondled in turns--talking tothem and embracing them, as if they had been his brothers!

As soon as the cord had been looped round their ankles, and there was nolonger any danger of their getting away, Ossaroo cut up the fish intoslices convenient for their gullets; and proceeded to feed them with asmuch fondness as he could have shown to a brace of human beings, who hadarrived from a long journey in a state of starvation. 

The storks exhibited no signs of shyness--not the slightest. It was notin their nature to do so. They gobbled up the morsels flung beforethem, with as much avidity and unconcern, as if they were being fed bythe side of the great tank in the Garden at Calcutta. 

The sight of Fritz alone had a disturbing influence upon them; but, bythe command of Karl, the dog was kept out of view, until they hadfinished the meal with which Ossaroo had provided them. 

Caspar, still in a cloud, once more interrogated the plant-hunter as tohis purpose. 

"Ho, brother!" answered Karl, "you are not wont to be so dull ofcomprehension. Can you not guess why I am so joyed by the presence ofthese birds?"

"Indeed I cannot--unless--"

"Unless what?"

"You expect them to carry a rope up the cliff. "

"Carry a rope up the cliff! Nothing of the sort. Yes; perhaps it issomething of the sort. But since you have made such a poor guess, Ishall keep you in suspense a little longer. "

"O, brother!--"

"Nay, I shall not tell you. It is news worth guessing at; and you andOssaroo must make it out between you. "

The two hunters, thus challenged, were about entering upon a series ofconjectures, when they were interrupted by Karl. 

"Come!" said he, "there is no time now. You can exercise your ingenuityafter we have got home to the hut. We must make sure of the storks, before anything else be attended to. This cord is too slight. They mayfile it in two with their bills, and get free. The very strongest ropewe have got will not be more than sufficient. Come, Ossaroo, you takeone. Lift it up in your arms. I shall carry the other myself; whileyou, Caspar, see to Fritz. Lead the dog in a leash. From this timeforward he must be kept tied up--lest any misfortune should happen tospoil the best plan that has yet offered for our deliverance. "

So saying, Karl flung his arms around one of the adjutants. Ossaroo atthe same instant embraced the other; and, despite the roaring thatproceeded from their throats, and the clattering made by theirmandibles, the huge birds were borne home to the hut. 

On arriving there, they were carried inside, and fastened with strongropes--carefully attached to their legs, and tied to the heavy beamsforming the rafters of the roof. The door was to be kept shut upon themat all times when the eyes of the captors were not watching them: forKarl, knowing the importance of having such guests, was determined tomake sure of his "game. "

CHAPTER SIXTY ONE. 

MAIL-CARRIERS ON WINGS. 

It was only after they had gone back for their baskets of beans, andonce more returned to the hut, that Caspar and Ossaroo found time toindulge in their conjectures. Then both of them set to work inearnest--seated upon the great stones outside the door, where oftenbefore they had conjured up schemes for their deliverance. Neithercommunicated his thoughts to the other; each silently followed thethread of his own reflections--as if there was a rivalry between them, as to who should be the first to proclaim the design already conceivedby Karl. 

Karl was standing close by, apparently as reflective as either of hiscompanions. But his thoughts were only occupied in bringing toperfection the plan, which to them was still undiscovered. 

The storks had been brought out of the hut, and tied to a heavy log thatlay near. This had been done, partly to accustom them to the sight ofthe place, and partly that they might be once more fed--the single fishthey had swallowed between them not being deemed sufficient to satisfytheir hunger. 

Caspar's eyes wandered to that one that had the ring upon its leg; andthen to the ring itself--_R. B. G. , Calcutta_. 

The inscription at length proved suggestive to Caspar, as the ringitself, on first seeing it, had to his brother. On that bit of brassthere was information. It had been conveyed all the way from Calcuttaby the bird that bore the shining circlet upon its shank. By the samemeans why might not information be carried back? Why--

"I have it! I have it!" shouted Caspar, without waiting to pursue thethread of conjecture that had occurred to him. "Yes, dear Karl, I knowyour scheme--I know it; and by Jupiter Olympus, it's a capital one!"

"So you have guessed it at last, " rejoined Karl, rather sarcastically. "Well, it is high time, I think! The sight of that brass ring, with itsengraved letters, should have led you to it long ago. But come! let ushear what you have got to say, and judge whether you have guessedcorrectly. "

"Oh, certainly!" assented Caspar, taking up the tone of jocular badinagein which his brother had been addressing him. "You intend making achange in the character--or rather the calling--of these lately arrivedguests of ours. " Caspar pointed to the storks. "That is yourintention, is it not?"

"Well?"

"They are now soldiers--_officers_, as their title imports--adjutants!"

"Well?"

"They will have no reason to thank you for your kind intentions. Theappointment you are about to bestow on them can scarce be called apromotion. I don't know how it may be with birds, but I do know thatthere are not many men ambitious of exchanging from the military to thecivil service. "

"What appointment, Caspar?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you mean to make _mail-carriers_ ofthem--_postmen_, if you prefer the phrase. "

"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Karl, in a tone expressive of gratification at theclever manner in which Caspar had declared himself. "Right, brother!you've guessed my scheme to the very _letter_. That is exactly what Iintend doing. "

"By de wheeles ob Juggannaut coachee, " cried the shikaree, who had beenlistening, and understood the figurative dialogue; "dat be da goodeeplan. Dese stork go back Calcutt--surely dey go back. Dey carry letterto Feringhee Sahibs--Sahibs dey know we here in prison--dey come d'livawe vey dey affer get de letter--ha! ha! ha!" Then _delivering_ himselfof a series of shrill ejaculations, the Hindoo sprang up from the stoneupon which he had been sitting, and danced around the hut, as if he hadsuddenly taken leave of his senses!

However imperfectly spoken, the words of Ossaroo had disclosed the wholeplan, as conceived by the plant-hunter himself. 

It had vaguely defined itself in Karl's mind, on first seeing the storksabove him in the air; but when the lustre of metal flashed before hiseyes, and he perceived that yellow band encircling the shank of thebird, the scheme became more definite and plausible. 

When at length the storks were taken captive, and Karl deciphered theinscription--by which they were identified as old acquaintances of theR. B. G. --he no longer doubted that Providence was in the plot; and thatthese winged messengers had been sent, as it were, from Heaven itself, to deliver him and his companions from that prison in which they had solong been pining. 

CHAPTER SIXTY TWO. 

CONCLUSION. 

The deliverance came at length; though it was not immediate. Severalmonths more, of that lonely and monotonous life, were our adventurerscalled upon to endure. 

They had to wait for the return of the rainy season; when the riversthat traverse the great plains of Hindostan became brimful of flood--bearing upon their turbid bosoms that luxuriance, not of life, but ofdeath, which attracts the crane and the stork once more to seeksubsistence upon their banks. Then the great adjutant returns from hissummer tour to the north--winging his way southward over the loftysummits of Imaus. Then, too, did Karl and his comrades believe that_their adjutants_ would be guided by a like instinct, and go back to theR. B. G. --the Royal Botanic Garden of Calcutta. 

Karl felt confident of their doing so, as certain almost as if he hadstood on the banks of the sacred stream in the R. B. G. Itself, and sawthem descending from their aerial flight and alighting within theenclosure. This confidence arose from the remembrance of his havingheard--while sojourning with the Curator--that such had been their habitfor many years; and that the time, both of their departure and arrival, was so periodically regular, that there was not an employe of the placewho could not tell it to a day!

Fortunately, Karl remembered the time, though not the exact day. Heknew the week, however, in which his guests might be expected to taketheir departure; and this was enough for his purpose. 

During their stay in the valley the birds had been cared for, as if theyhad been sacred to some deity, adored by those who held them in charge. 

Fish and flesh had they a plenty--with Ossaroo as their provider. Foodand drink, whenever they stood in need of either; freedom fromannoyance, and protection from enemies of every kind--even from Fritz, who had long since ceased to be their enemy. Nothing had been wantingto their comfort; everything had been granted--everything but theirliberty. 

This, too, was at length restored to them. 

On a fair morning--such as a bird might have chosen for its highestflight--both were set free to go whithersoever they listed. 

The only obstruction to their flight was a pair of small skin sacks, oneattached to the neck of each, and prudently placed beyond the reach ofits mandibles. Both were furnished with this curiously-contrived bag;for Karl--as the spare leaves of his memorandum-book enabled him to do--had determined that each should be entrusted with a letter and lest oneshould go astray, he had sent his _despatch in duplicate_. 

For a time the birds seemed reluctant to leave those kind companions--who had so long fed and cherished them; but the instinct that urged themto seek the sunny plains of the South at length prevailed; and, giving a_scream_ of adieu--reciprocated by the encouraging shouts of those theywere leaving behind, and a prolonged baying from the throat of theboar-hound Fritz--they soared aloft into the air; and in slow, solemnflight ascended the cliff--soon to disappear behind the crest of theencircling ridge. 

Ten days after, on that same cliff stood a score of men--a glad sight toKarl, Caspar, and Ossaroo. Even Fritz barked with joy as he beheldthem!

Against the blue background of the sky, it could be perceived that thesemen carried coils of rope, pieces of wood, and other implements thatmight be required for scaling a cliff. 

Our adventurers now knew, that, one or other, or both copies of theirduplicate despatch, must have reached the destination for which they haddesigned it. 

And the same destination was soon after reached by themselves. By thehelp of their rescuers, and the long rope-ladders which they let down, all three succeeded in _climbing the cliff_--Fritz making the ascentupon the shoulders of the shikaree!

All three, amidst a company of delighted deliverers--with Fritzfollowing at their heels--once more descended the southern slope of theHimalayas; once more stood upon the banks of the sacred Ganges; oncemore entered within the hospitable gates of the R. B. G. --there to renewtheir acquaintance, not only with hospitable friends, but with thosewinged messengers, by whose instrumentality they had been delivered fromtheir living tomb, and once more restored to society and the world!

THE END.