Fort Desolation, Robert Michael Ballantyne [10 best novels of all time .TXT] 📗

began to make himself master of his position long before the men were stirring. Before Ladoc, who was superintendent, had lighted his first pipe and strolled down to the boat to commence the operations of the day, Jack had examined the nets, the salt boxes, the curing-vats, the fish in pickle, the casks, and all the other _materiel_ of the fishery, with a critical eye. From what he saw, he was convinced that Ladoc was not the best manager that could be desired, and, remembering that Ladoc was a bully, he was strengthened in an opinion which he had long entertained, namely, that a bully is never a trustworthy man.

He was in the act of forming this opinion, when Ladoc approached.

"Good morning, Ladoc," said he; "you rise early."

"Oui, sair; mais, you gits up more earlier."

"Yes, I am fond of morning air. The fishery prospers, I see."

"It doos, monsieur," said Ladoc, accepting the remark as a compliment to himself; "ve have catch fifteen casks already, and they is in most splendid condition."

"Hum!" ejaculated Jack, with a doubtful look at a cask which was evidently leaking, "hum! yes, you are getting on pretty well, but--"

Here Jack "hummed" again, and looked pointedly at one of the large vats, which was also leaking, and around which there was a great deal of salt that had been scattered carelessly on the ground. Raising big eyes to the roof of the low shed in which the salt-boxes stood, he touched with his stick a torn piece of its tarpaulin covering, through which rain had found its way in bad weather. He "hummed" again, but said nothing, for he saw that Ladoc was a little disconcerted.

After some minutes Jack turned to his companion with a bland smile, and said--

"The next station is--how many miles did you say?"

"Six, monsieur."

"Ah, six! well, let us go up and see it. You can show me the way."

"Breakfast be ready ver' soon," said Ladoc, "monsieur vill eat first, p'r'aps?"

"No, we will breakfast at the upper station. Ho, Rollo! here, I want you."

Rollo, who issued from the hut at the moment, with a view to examine the weather and light his pipe, came forward.

"I am going with Ladoc to the upper station," said Jack; "you will take his place here until we return."

"Very well, sir," replied Rollo, fixing his eyes upon Ladoc. At the same moment Ladoc fixed his eyes on Rollo. The two men seemed to read each other's character in a single glance, and then and there hurled silent defiance in each other's teeth through their eyes! Ladoc was annoyed at having been silently found fault with and superseded; Rollo was aggrieved at being left behind; both men were therefore enraged--for it is wonderful how small a matter is sufficient to enrage a bully--but Jack ordered Ladoc to lead the way, so the rivals, or enemies, parted company with another glance of defiance.

That day, Jack Robinson had a somewhat rough and remarkable experience of life.

He began by overhauling the nets at the mouth of the river, and these were so prolific that the small flat-bottomed boat used by the fishermen was soon half filled with glittering salmon, varying from ten to fifteen pounds in weight. In order to avoid having his mocassins and nether garments soiled, Jack, who pulled the sculls, sat with bare feet and tucked-up trousers. In less than an hour he rowed back to the landing-place, literally up to the knees in salmon! Among these were a few young seals that had got entangled in the nets, while in pursuit of the fish, and been drowned. These last were filled with water to such an extent, that they resembled inflated bladders!

"Breakfast is ready, sir," said one of the men, as the boat-party leaped ashore.

"Very good," replied Jack; turning to Ladoc, "now, my man, are you ready to start for the upper fishery?"

"Eh? ah--oui, monsieur."

There was a titter amongst the men at the expression of their big comrade's face, for Ladoc was ravenously hungry, and felt inclined to rebel at the idea of being obliged to start on a six-miles' walk without food; but as his young master was about to do the same he felt that it was beneath his dignity to complain. Besides, there was a _something_ peculiar about Jack's manner that puzzled and overawed the man.

The fact was, that Jack Robinson wanted to know what his bullies were made of, and took rather eccentric methods of finding it out. He accordingly set off at his best pace, and pushed Ladoc so hard, that he arrived at the upper fishery in a state of profuse perspiration, with a very red face, and with a disagreeably vacuous feeling about the pit of his stomach.

They found the men at the station just landing with a boat-load of fish. They were all clean-run, and shone in the bright sunshine like bars of burnished silver.

"Now, Ladoc," said Jack, "get breakfast ready, while I look over matters here."

It need not be said that the man obeyed most willingly. His master went to examine into details. Half-an-hour sufficed to make him pretty well acquainted with the state of matters at the station, and, during breakfast, he soon obtained from the men all the knowledge they possessed about the fishery, the natives, and the region.

One of the men was a half-caste, a fine-looking, grave, earnest fellow, who spoke English pretty well. His name was Marteau.

"The seals and the bears are our worst enemies, sir," said Marteau, in the course of conversation.

"Indeed! and which of the two are worst?" inquired Jack. "Another slice of pork, Ladoc, your appetite appears to be sharp this morning; thank you, go on, Marteau, you were saying something about the bears and seals."

"It's not easy to say which of them is worst, sir. I think the bears is, for the seals eat the bits that they bite out o' the fish, and so get some good of it; but the bears, they goes to the vats and pulls out the salt fish with their claws, for you see, sir, they can't resist the smell, but when they tries to eat 'em--ah, you should see the faces they do make! You see, they can't stand the salt, so they don't eat much, but they hauls about and tears up an uncommon lot of fish."

"It must make him ver' t'irsty," observed Ladoc, swallowing a can of tea at a draught.

"It makes one thirsty to think of it," said Jack, imitating Ladoc's example; "now, lads, we'll go and overhaul the nets."

Just as he spoke, Ladoc sprang from his seat, seized Jack's gun, which leant against the wall, shouted, "A bear!" and, levelling the piece through the open doorway, took aim at the bushes in front of the hut.

At the same moment Jack leaped forward, struck up the muzzle of the gun just as it exploded, and, seizing Ladoc by the collar, hurled him with extraordinary violence, considering his size, against the wall.

"Make yourself a better hunter," said he, sternly, "before you presume to lay hands again on my gun. Look there!"

Jack pointed, as he spoke, in the direction in which the man had fired, where the object that had been mistaken for a bear appeared in the form of a man, crawling out of the bushes on all-fours. He seemed to move unsteadily, as if he were in pain.

Running to his assistance, they found that he was an Indian, and, from the blood that bespattered his dress and hand, it was evident that he had been wounded. He was a pitiable object, in the last stage of exhaustion. When the party ran towards him, he looked up in their faces with lustreless eyes, and then sank fainting on the ground.

"Poor fellow!" said Jack, as they carried him into the hut and placed him on one of the low beds; "he must have met with an accident, for there is no warfare in this region among the Indians to account for his being wounded."

"'Tis a strange accident," said Marteau, when the man's clothes were stripped off and the wounds exposed. "An accident sometimes puts _one_ bullet through a man, but seldom puts _two_!"

"True," said Jack, "this looks bad, here is a hole clean through the fleshy part of his right arm, and another through his right thigh. An enemy must have done this."

On farther examination it was found that the bone of the man's leg had been smashed by the bullet, which, after passing through to the other side of the limb, was arrested by the skin. It was easily extracted, and the wounds were dressed by Jack, who, to his many useful qualities, added a considerable knowledge of medicine and surgery.

When the Indian recovered sufficiently to give an account of himself to Marteau, who understood his language perfectly, he told him, to the surprise of all, that his double wound was indeed the result of an accident, and, moreover, that he had done the deed with his own hand. Doubtless it will puzzle the reader to imagine how a man could so twist himself, that with an unusually long gun he could send a bullet at one shot through his right arm and right thigh. It puzzled Jack and his men so much, that they were half inclined to think the Indian was not telling the truth, until he explained that about a mile above the hut, while walking through the bushes, he tripped and fell. He was carrying the gun over his shoulder in the customary Indian fashion, that is, by the muzzle, with the stock behind him. He fell on his hands and knees; the gun was thrown forward and struck against a tree so violently, that it exploded; in its flight it had turned completely round, so that, at the moment of discharge, the barrel was in a line with the man's arm and leg, and thus the extraordinary wound was inflicted.

To crawl from the spot where the accident occurred took the poor fellow nearly twelve hours, and he performed this trying journey during the night and morning over a rugged country and without food.

The surgical operation engaged Jack's attention the greater part of the forenoon. When it was completed and the Indian made as comfortable as possible, he went out with the men to visit the nets which were set at the rapids about two miles higher up the river.


CHAPTER SIX.


JACK HAS A DESPERATE ENCOUNTER.

We never can tell what a day or an hour may bring forth. This is a solemn fact on which young and old might frequently ponder with advantage, and on which we might enlarge to an unlimited extent; but our space will not admit of moralising very much, therefore we beg the reader to moralise on that, for him--or herself. The subject is none the less important, that circumstances require that it should be touched on in a slight, almost flippant, manner.

Had Jack Robinson known what lay before him that evening, he would--he would have been a wiser man! Nothing more appropriate than that occurs to us at this moment. But, to be more particular:--

When the party reached the nets, Jack left them to attend to their