“Get into the car and watch out! Don’t mind me. Take care of yourselves.”
They obeyed promptly2, but none too soon; for scarcely had they closed the door when a shower of arrows rattled3 against the dome4. All subterfuge5 and arbitration6 was now at an end; they had at last “shot the arrow” and we might expect in the future nothing but implacable hatred7.
183
My captors—two stalwart chiefs—having raised me to my feet now held me firmly secured by means of the thong8 lasso which still encircled my body. The coils pinioned9 my elbows so closely to my sides that I could not even withdraw my hands from the pockets of my jacket.
They had begun to hurry me toward the king’s house when a roar of dismay broke from the group we had just left. I turned half around and saw that the automobile10 had made a short circle and was plunging11 straight at the king and his warriors12. Some were wise enough to scatter13 from its path, but the more dignified14 hesitated and were bowled over like a company of wooden soldiers and tossed in every direction.
The lightness of the machine prevented many serious casualties, however, and while Duncan chased them here and there, managing the huge automobile with consummate15 skill, the warriors gathered up the stunned16 and maimed and, dodging17 the onslaught as nimbly as they could, fled into the palace and houses where the terrible monster could not follow them.
184
Forgetting for the moment my own unenviable plight18, I laughed heartily19 at the exhibition until the two chiefs pushed me roughly toward a doorway20 and so along the narrow hall and into the big courtyard.
Here the chiefs began to gather, muttering angrily at their recent discomfiture21 and casting upon me glances of such malignity22 that they had the effect of sobering me effectually.
The king came limping in and dropped upon his bench with a brow like a thundercloud. He had not been much injured, but his royal dignity had suffered a severe blow.
While one man held the loose end of my lasso and guarded me, the others all ranged themselves back of the king, who said, with what appeared to me to be unseemly haste:
“What shall be the fate of the white stranger?”
“Death!” they cried, in a fierce chorus.
“And at once,” added Nalig-Nad. He glanced around him. “To you, Tetch-Tsa, I allow the privilege.”
185
A stout23 young fellow with considerable of the royal green in his robe stepped forward with a grim smile and drew his long knife. As I looked at him I clutched with my fingers the handles of the two self-cocking revolvers that were fortunately in my jacket pockets, and which I had been secretly holding when the coil of the lasso settled over me. I was not able to move my arms because of the thong that pressed them against my body, but I pointed24 the barrel of the right hand weapon as accurately25 as I could toward my proposed executioner. When he was but a few paces off I blazed away at him.
At the first shot he paused, as if astonished; at the second he threw up his arms and tumbled over.
Instantly I whirled and fired at the man behind, and my position was so awkward and my aim so uncertain that I emptied the chambers27 of the revolver in quick succession to make sure one bullet would take effect.
He staggered back and released the thong, and even while I loosed the slip-noose I ran toward the hall and made my best speed for the door.
186
The thong tripped me as it dropped to my feet and I fell just in time to escape a spear that was hurled28 after me. Another, as I jumped up, slipped past my right ear, and a third slashed29 my hip30. But I fled for dear life and in a jiffy was free of the house and heading across the enclosure toward the automobile.
They saw me coming and opened the door for me to tumble in. A spear crashed into the netted glass just as the door swung into place again, hurled with such force that its point stuck half way into the car and taught us we were not so secure within the dome as we had imagined. But now I lay panting upon the floor while Bryonia emptied a couple of revolvers into the crowd of my pursuers and brought them to an abrupt31 halt.
“Getting a little warm,” remarked Duncan Moit, calmly. “I’m not sure, Sam, whether we can stick out the day or not.”
“Glad you escape, Mars’ Sam!” said Nux, bending over me. “Bad hurt?”
“I guess not,” I answered, still breathing hard.
187
The black unfastened my clothing, which was saturated32 with blood just over the left hip. The spear had cut an angry looking gash33 in the flesh as a passing reminder34 of what it might do if better aimed, but fortunately the wound was not deep and on account of its location would cause me little trouble beyond a slight stiffness. Nux began to dress it as well as he could by tearing up a shirt for bandages and applying plenty of sticking plaster from the supply we had brought with us. I thought he made a very good job of it, being somewhat skilled in the treatment of flesh wounds myself.
I could imagine how furious the San Blas would be at my escape. They did not venture out into the open space after these two repulses35, but hung around the doorways36 in an alert and vigilant37 way, being very sure that we could not get out of the enclosure and would be unable to defy them for any length of time.
Duncan rather expected the princess to appear, as she had promised in case of open warfare38; but either she did not consider the emergency had yet arisen or she had been prevented from acting39 as she wished.
“I won’t go without her, though,” he muttered, decidedly.
188
“Tell me,” said I, “what is your object in wanting to wait until to-morrow before escaping from here? I can’t see that another day will bring any better condition to our captivity41, and it’s a settled fact that we can’t get the machine out of this enclosure, in any event.”
“Perhaps I ought to explain,” he began, and then paused for a long time, as if absorbed in deep thought.
“Take your time, Duncan,” I remarked, impatiently.
“Perhaps you remember that I once told you I used a glycerine explosive of my own invention to prime the engines of this automobile. In starting, a tiny drop is fed into the cylinders44 to procure45 the air compression which furnishes the motive46 power.”
“I remember; go ahead.”
189
“The feeding chamber26 is supplied with enough of this explosive to run the machine a year or more,” he continued; “but when I made it, in my own laboratory, the apparatus47 required was so complicated and expensive that I decided40 to manufacture an extra supply, to use in other machines which I intended to build later.”
“I see.”
“This reserve supply, in a powerfully concentrated form, I now have with me.”
“Oh! Isn’t it dangerous, old man?” I asked, glancing around uneasily.
“Properly applied48 it might blow all Panama to atoms,” he returned vaguely49. “But it cannot be accidentally exploded while it remains50 in the place I have provided for it.”
“Where is that?”
He reached down and removed a square trap in the floor of the car. Leaning over, I discovered a small cylindrical51 jar, having the capacity of about a quart, which was suspended at one side of the driving shaft52. The straps53 that held it in place allowing it to swing in any direction with the movement of the machine, but any sudden jar was impossible.
190
“Not at all,” replied the inventor, calmly closing the trap again. “It is a much more powerful explosive, in its concentrated form, but may be diluted55 to any strength desired. The mechanism56 I have invented for its application renders it perfectly57 harmless when exploded in atomic quantities in the engines, although ordinary concussion58 would, as in the case of nitro-glycerine, explode the condensed contents of the extra cylinder.”
“I think I now comprehend your idea,” said I.
“Yes, it is very simple. Under cover of darkness I propose to bore a hole in that barrier and fill it with my explosive. In the morning I will blow up the wall and in the excitement that follows run the machine through the gap and escape.”
“Very good!” I exclaimed, joyfully59. “Then all we need do is to keep these Indians at bay until we have an opportunity to do the job.”
“Otherwise,” said he, musingly60, “I would have to throw some of the explosive at the wall, and that attempt might prove as dangerous for us as are the fierce San Blas themselves.”
191
The Indians seemed for some time unwilling61 to resume the attack. It was the middle of the afternoon before the king sent a messenger from his council chamber to say that all friendship had now ceased and we must consider ourselves completely in his power. If the Senator Nux and the Honorable Bryonia would leave the village alone and on foot, Nalig-Nad would guarantee their safe conduct to the border, and thus they would be permitted to escape. The white men and their devil-machine were alike doomed62, and could in no way survive the vengeance63 of the Techlas. And, unless Nux and Bry abandoned us at once, they must perish with us.
This proposition enabled us to gain the desired respite64. Bryonia pretended to consult with Nux and then answered the messenger that they would decide the matter at daybreak the following morning. At that time the final answer of the two kings would be given to Nalig-Nad, and they intimated that they might possibly decide to abandon the miserable65 whites and save their own skins.
192
Whether this proposition was satisfactory or not to the king and his council did not appear; but the San Blas evidently decided to wait, for they did not molest66 us again that day.
As night approached we were somewhat worried lest they should resume the attempts to burn us; but they must have been satisfied of the impossibility of such a proceeding67. No bonfires were lighted, which suited our plans admirably.
The moon, however, was brilliant during the first part of the night, and by its rays we could see that watchers were maintained in several places, so we were unable to do more than restrain our impatience68 as best we might. Moit raised the trap and carefully removed the cylinder that contained the explosive from its suspended position, placing it on the seat beside him. The very sight of the thing filled me with terror, and both Nux and Bry moved as far away from it as possible—as if that would do any good if it went off. But the inventor had handled it so often that he did not fear it as we did, and taking an empty glass bottle that was about as big around as your little finger he unscrewed the cap of the cylinder and calmly filled the bottle from its contents.
193
I watched him as if entranced, and thought the liquid resembled castor oil in color and consistency69. When the bottle was filled Duncan corked70 it and put it in his inside pocket, afterward71 replacing the cylinder and strapping72 it into place.
And now he rummaged73 in his box of tools and took out a brace74 and a long bit that was about a half inch in diameter. He also picked out a piece of red chalk and placed that too in his pocket.
We were all ready, now, but had to wait, although the strain began to tell upon our nerves.
Finally the moon passed behind the king’s house and sank so low that the building cast a black shadow over the enclosure, throwing both the automobile and the barricaded75 archway into intense darkness.
“In an hour more day will break,” whispered Duncan in an anxious voice. “We must work quickly now, or we are lost.”
194
He started the machine moving so slowly that it merely crept toward the wall. The watchers had doubtless retired77, for we heard no sound of movement in the sleeping village.
When we had approached quite near to the barricade76 Moit softly opened the rear door, left the car, and crawled on hands and knees to the wall. We showed no light at all, and from the automobile I lost sight of our friend altogether.
But presently I could hear the faint sound of the augur78 as it ground its way into the clay wall. Duncan started at about the middle of the barricade, but bored his hole slanting79 downward, so that the explosive would run into the cavity without danger of escaping. It did not take him more than a few minutes to complete his task, and before long he was back in the car again, holding the empty bottle before our faces with a smile of satisfaction.
And now the machine crept inch by inch back to its former position, and we were ready for the day to break.
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1
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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subterfuge
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| n.诡计；藉口 | |
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6
arbitration
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| n.调停，仲裁 | |
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7
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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8
thong
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| n.皮带；皮鞭；v.装皮带 | |
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9
pinioned
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| v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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11
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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12
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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13
scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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14
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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15
consummate
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| adj.完美的；v.成婚；使完美 [反]baffle | |
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16
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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17
dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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18
plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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19
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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20
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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21
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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22
malignity
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| n.极度的恶意，恶毒；（病的）恶性 | |
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24
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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25
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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26
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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28
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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29
slashed
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| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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30
hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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31
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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32
saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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33
gash
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| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
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34
reminder
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| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
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35
repulses
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| v.击退( repulse的第三人称单数 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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36
doorways
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| n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
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37
vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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38
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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39
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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40
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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41
captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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42
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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43
cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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44
cylinders
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| n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 )；圆柱；汽缸；（尤指用作容器的）圆筒状物 | |
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45
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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46
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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47
apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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48
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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49
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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50
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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51
cylindrical
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| adj.圆筒形的 | |
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52
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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53
straps
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| n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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54
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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55
diluted
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| 无力的，冲淡的 | |
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56
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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57
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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58
concussion
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| n.脑震荡；震动 | |
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59
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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60
musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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61
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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62
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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63
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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64
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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65
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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66
molest
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| vt.骚扰，干扰，调戏 | |
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67
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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68
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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69
consistency
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| n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度 | |
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70
corked
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| adj.带木塞气味的，塞着瓶塞的v.用瓶塞塞住( cork的过去式 ) | |
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71
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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72
strapping
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| adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式 | |
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73
rummaged
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的过去式和过去分词 )； 已经海关检查 | |
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74
brace
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| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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75
barricaded
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| 设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守 | |
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76
barricade
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| n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住 | |
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77
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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78
augur
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| n.占卦师；v.占卦 | |
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79
slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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