Chapter XVI: A Perplexing Mix-Up

Muro turned to John and Sutoto and quietly said: “They are preparing to attack us.” Sutoto looked at the guns and John divined his meaning glance. Taking one of the guns he gave it to Muro and requested him to explain its use.

Like many of the natives he had heard of the wonderful weapons, but this was the first opportunity to see and handle one of them. John told him it was his gun, and a smile lit up his face. The method of loading it; the putting on of the cap; the manner in which the firing plug was drawn back, and the firing of the piece by the pulling of the trigger were soon grasped by him.

The sights were being explained, when John called Muro’s attention to a moving object in the distance directly to the north. Sutoto noted the hand pointing in that direction, and casting a glance, instantly cried out: “Brabos!”

His keen eyesight saw what none of the others recognized. John turned to Muro: “I now see why he is such a remarkable messenger. A wonderfully keen sight, and a swift runner.”

To this Muro nodded a quick assent. “Kurabus to the southwest; Illyas to the southeast, and Brabos to the north. Well, this is a fine combination on the chessboard,” was Blakely’s summing up of the situation.

“But are not the Brabos at war with the Kurabus?” asked Harry.

“No doubt they are; but I imagine they are after us at this particular time. Remember we attacked, or rather their party attacked us three days ago. They are sending us an answer,” said John.

“If I am not mistaken there will be the most terrible mix-up this island has ever witnessed.” And Blakely danced around as though he enjoyed the prospect. Evidently the besiegers had not noticed the approach of the new element from the north, for they were now preparing to renew the combat.

New positions were taken, and the constant communications between the two tribes were witnessed by the little party within the fort. At a signal the attacking parties advanced from all directions. John and Sutoto were on the south side; Harry and Tom on the north side in the wagon; Muro, Ralph and Chump on the east, and George and Blakely on the west side.

Thus eight guns were in the hands of the defenders, leaving twenty guns as reserves. As before, they approached close enough to discharge their arrows, and then began the grand rush.

“Take careful aim and fire,” cried John. The volley came like a crash. They were stunned.

“Reload, and keep cool,” came the second command. The party halted, and the indecision was long enough to gain time for the second shot, before they recovered and began the second concerted action.

“They are coming again; fire as rapidly as you can and follow it up with one of the reserve guns.”

The third shot came when they were within fifty feet of the wagon, and at this distance every shot counted.

“Let one reload and the other fire, and make every shot count.”

John was in earnest now. One shot now followed the other, and the warriors could not understand it. Without an order they turned and fled beyond reach of the bullets.

The sight within the fort was now indescribable. Sutoto danced about, hugging his gun. He went up to the boys, and crawled into the wagon, and in every imaginable way expressed his delight. A boy with a new toy could not have shown greater pleasure. The boys enjoyed themselves watching him.

But it was a sad day for the Kurabus and the Illyas. The latter had suffered by far the most. But where were the Brabos by this time? They had heard the noise of the battle, and at the last volley were within a half mile of the scene and hurried forward rapidly.

The hosts beyond the wagon had not yet discovered their approach, and after the retreat the chiefs of the contending forces gathered in consultation. But soon there was an uproar. The Brabos had been detected, and a new movement was discerned. The latter saw the conflict, and readily learned who the participants were. They had before them their two bitterest tribes, and the whites were their enemies as well.

They made no movement, however, which showed fear of their enemies, though greatly outnumbered. For a half hour they remained at a safe distance, and the other forces did not undertake to attack them.

Muro turned to John. “They are afraid to attack the Brabos while we are here.” That explained the situation.

Suddenly the Brabos started to the east, and then turned to the south. The attacking parties saw the movement, and an intense commotion resulted. John mounted the wagon top to get a better view, and Muro followed him. What could be their object in thus getting to the south of their enemies?

“I told you we would have some strange moves on this chessboard,” exclaimed Blakely, without taking his eyes off the Brabos. Then the next strange movement took place. The Illyas started in pursuit of them, leaving the Kurabus on guard.

“We might as well continue to take a hand in this,” quickly answered John, as he turned to Muro, and spoke a few words.

The Kurabus were to the west, and at the command of John, the fort section on the east side was pushed aside nearest the wagon, and each with an extra gun sallied out, taking a direction toward the south of the Kurabus.

“Drive them to the west and separate them from their allies,” was his command.

The sudden appearance of the besieged force disconcerted the Kurabus, who slowly at first fell back, but as the whites now rushed on, despite the overwhelming force in their front, they finally broke and fled, before the party had time to fire a single shot.

“Not too far, boys. The wagon is unprotected.”

This called them to a halt, and as they ran back to the wagon Sutoto pointed to the south at the Illyas and Brabos maneuvering for an attack. Sutoto took his place on the wagon top and observed the Kurabus. When they saw the pursuit had ended they stopped, and began a movement to the north.

At four in the afternoon of that day the Professor and his party were moving along to the north as fast as the warriors could travel, and he himself was on foot, and urging them to make haste.

A sudden boom came from the north, and the Professor stopped in startled surprise. The boys ran to him, and the warriors, who had recognized the sound before, gathered around him.

Uraso was the first to recover from the shock. “They have met and are fighting. I know what that means.”

“Forward, forward,” cried the Professor. “Wait for nothing. Uraso, go; go quickly, and stop them.”

Uraso started like a shot, followed by Ralsea and several of the fleetest warriors. As the sub-chief sprang forward he called out to his men: “Remain here with the White Chief, and follow as fast as you are able to.”

They fairly flew to the front. The firing continued; the second and the third volleys rang out. Would they never stop? The Professor knew what execution they were capable of, and that John would not permit them to fire recklessly. The sub-chief had not gone an hour before the scouts to the west came in hurriedly and reported that a tribe had appeared to their left.

“Who can they be?” asked the Professor. “Have we been discovered?” The scouts could not inform him. “Keep on, and move to the right,” were his orders, and they hurried forward with greater celerity, in the effort to avoid the band.

“How many are there?” asked the Professor.

“About a hundred, but of this we are not sure.”

Night came on, and still there was no news from the firing line.

“What can all this mean?” said the Professor to the boys. The firing had ceased long before, but the mystery of the non-appearance of Uraso and Ralsea could not be accounted for.

About nine o’clock a commotion in the camp announced the appearance of a messenger from Uraso. “My people not fighting your people. Illyas and Brabos ready to fight.”

Where were the Osagas? and with whom were John and party engaged? The night was dark, so that it was difficult to make any attempt at a forward movement, and they impatiently awaited news from the two chiefs.

Will and Jim were with the Professor constantly, and the latter referred to the remarkable exhibitions of feelings expressed by the Chief Uraso during the exciting events of the day.

“I always thought,” said Jim, “that a great many people at home show their excitement when anything happens, but it is nothing compared with the savages here. You can tell when anything unusual happens with them a mile off.”

“The matter of expressing feeling or emotion by physical expressions has characteristic national traits. Among civilized people the French show the most intense actions physically, while the German is the most voluble. The Italians can cast the darkest frown, and the Turks are the least affected outwardly. The Englishman is always cool and collected. John Bull is shown typically as a cautious, self-satisfied individual, and Uncle Sam is always pictured in the European comic as the alert character.”

“We noticed a big difference between two of the tribes here. The Saboros are a very quick people; quick in their actions, and will take offense readily. The Sebrees are much slower, and show sympathy or any excitement more slowly.”

“I was told by Uraso, the Osaga chief,” responded the Professor, “that he could distinguish his foes, when all other tests failed, by their manner of gesticulating, or in their movements, and this explains why, at great distances, they are so frequently able to distinguish people, when they are so far distant that their dress does not betray them.”

“It is wonderful how the people here, ignorant as they are, will observe little things.”

“Yes; a wise man may know little, and a fool much.”

The boys laughed at the remark. “Well, isn’t a wise man the one who knows the most?”

“By no means. A man may have read and read all his life, and not be able to utilize any of the things he has crammed himself with. The most valuable thing to man is the ability to utilize what comes to him. The common mistake of people is endeavoring to learn too much. The proper course in which education should be directed is to grasp the value of observation.”

When morning came the scouts reported a tribe of warriors to their left. Neither Ralsea nor Uraso had returned, but a messenger came in very early in the morning with the news that they awaited the result of the conflict between the Brabos and the Illyas.

“Can you ascertain who the people are to the west of us?”

“No; but the scouts are now in that direction, and we may soon be able to tell you.”

“Send some messenger forward to find Uraso and Ralsea, and inform them of the force at our left.”

A runner was dispatched in all haste. When Uraso and Ralsea went forward the night before, they had with them two of the fleetest runners in the tribe, and they took a course immediately to the north, and in the direction of the firing, avoiding the Brabos who were in their front.

It will be remembered that when the Brabos left the vicinity of the wagon, they went to the south, and then proceeded westwardly, before the Illyas came up. The direct line of the march of the two chiefs was, therefore, to the east of the Brabos, and as the latter continued to the west in their movement, they were obliged to go to the east to escape them.

“Who are the warriors coming from the west?” asked Ralsea.

“They look like the Illyas,” answered Uraso.

Moving farther to the north, this was found to be true.

“Your people are not here,” said Ralsea.

“Then they must be to the north,” answered Uraso.

It was evident that the Osagas had not been in the fight with the people in the wagon; but what did this array of forces mean, after the late fight?

Ralsea at once sent the messenger which arrived the night before, as stated, and the chiefs and remaining runner at once started for the north.

After the Kurabus had been scattered by the charge which John had conducted they circled around to the north, and afterwards went east and then south, thus completely encircling the wagon. Of this John and his associates had no knowledge. This tribe was, therefore, going south, in the attempt to assist their late allies in the fight with the Brabos.

When Ralsea and Uraso struck out for the north, in the hope that they would find the Osagas in that quarter, they ran into the Kurabus, who at once started in pursuit. The chiefs could not go to the south nor to the west, and their only line of retreat was to the east.

John and his companions knew that the Brabos and the Illyas were to the southwest and supposed that the Kurabus were to the north, and the most natural thing under the circumstances was to move to the southeast, as the route to Muro’s country was now clear.

_Fig. 16._]

The wagon was set in motion as fast as it could be driven, and within an hour Muro discovered a band ahead, and as it was a large one, and was moving to the southwest, he could not account for it.

With his gun he went forward while the wagon was halted, and soon came back with the intelligence that the Kurabus had circled their position, and were heading in the direction of the two warring forces.

It thus seemed that at every turn, some unfortunate element would bar their progress. John considered the situation from every standpoint, and in the consultations with Muro, decided that it would be unwise to remain in the present position, as the results of the battle could not long be in doubt, with the two forces arrayed against the Brabos.

It would mean, either that the Brabos would be captured, en masse, or they would be driven eastwardly, and thus again bring the two forces against them. Where were the Saboros? Stut must have failed to reach his tribe. This was now apparent, and no hope was expected from that quarter. The situation was indeed desperate.

To add to their perplexities, not one thing had been learned from the Professor and his party since the arrival of Sutoto. The latter affirmed that they should now be in that vicinity, unless they took a more westerly route. He knew they intended to go first to the Osaga village, and then follow up the warriors from that tribe.

These reasons made an entire change in the decisions of John and Muro. Why not take the route to the west, and thus avoid both of the tribes, and assure them of a much quicker flight to the south, although it took them away from Muro’s country.

The wagon was headed due west, the object being to reach the river and thus move down its banks, until they reached the Osagas’ country, where Muro believed they would find shelter. They avoided the battle-ground which the Kurabus and Illyas occupied on one side, and the Brabos on the other side, the Brabos being to the southwest of the other forces.

This position was such, that as the two forces would, undoubtedly, quickly defeat the Brabos, who were not aware of the presence of the Illyas, the rout and the direction of the flight would be to the southeast, and the trail along the river would be left free from any enemies.

When the last messenger came from Uraso, stating that the Illyas and Brabos were maneuvering for a fight, and that they would await the result of that issue, he and Ralsea had not discovered the presence of the Kurabus.

The positions of the hostile forces, with the Illyas to the west and the Brabos to the southeast, with the Kurabus coming from the northeast, made the situation a difficult one for them to determine. Were the Kurabus on the way to aid the Brabos or the Illyas?

If they knew this they would be able to decide, just as Muro did, what direction would be the safest to go. Their only course was to escape the Kurabus, and then follow up their movements.

This description of the maneuvers will explain why the Professor did not get a messenger during the entire day, and he waited with the warriors, who watched the tribe to the west, until late in the afternoon, when the scouts reported that they had disappeared.

If the Professor had known that this tribe to the west was the Osagas, as was really the case, the settlement of all their troubles would have been more speedy, but they had no means of learning this, and the Osagas were much more intent, at this time, in watching the movements of the Illyas and the Kurabus.