CHAPTER XXII
DARING PLANS
The tide rose but a trifle higher, so that there was no imprisonment such as had been suggested, and the boatmen, after a modest meal of rice, calmly settled themselves down to sleep.
But, like his employers, Sree was wakeful, and sat near, ready to answer questions or offer advice.
He said that he believed they might stay where they were, unquestioned, for days; and as for provisions, it would be easy for him or one of his men to go here or there about the place and buy food.
These minor questions were soon disposed of. The main topic—how to rescue the King and their friends—then took up all their thought and kept them watching and waking hour after hour, a certain equality now seeming to reign, and the boys' suggestions being listened to eagerly by their elders.
But everything proposed seemed to be full of difficulties. The first most natural and simplest was to get the besieged away in boats, for the rivers and canals were the highways, the roads through the jungle mere elephant tracks. But this was at once seen to be impossible in the face of the facts that the way to the river was watched, and the large boats in the hands of the enemy.
Then there was the plan of escaping by means of the elephants, the whole of which were, according to Lahn, still in their great houses, close to the part of the palace defended by the King and his friends.
But supposing it possible that the whole of the defenders could be mounted upon the huge, docile beasts, and could succeed in forcing their way through the crowd of assailants, where could they go? Only into the jungle to starve, for there was no place to which they could flee.
It was always the same: they were face to face with the fact that in such a self-dependent place the King, who was all-powerful one day, might be the next weaker and more helpless than the humblest of his subjects.
Plan after plan was discussed during the calm silence of that night, when all were in momentary expectation of hearing fresh alarms and attacks; but every idea seemed perfectly futile, and a dead silence fell.
Harry was the first to break the silence.
"Why don't you propose something, Phra?" he said. "We've been talking all this time, and you've hardly said a word."
"I've been listening," said the boy gravely, "and I have thought."
"Yes, what have you thought?"
"That if we could think of some plan of escape, my father would help you to get all your friends away."
"Yes, of course," said Harry, for Phra had stopped. "Well?"
"But he would not leave the place himself. I know my father. He would say, 'I am the king here by right, and I will never leave. I would sooner die.'"
"I fear so," said Mr. Kenyon.
"I can only think of my father," continued Phra; "you only of your friends, and so we think differently."
"Oh no," said Harry. "Your troubles are ours, just as our troubles are yours."
"That is so," replied the boy; "but I can only think of joining my father to help him defend the palace till he has driven his enemies away."
"Phra is right," said the doctor. "We cannot bring our people away—it seems impossible. We must devote ourselves to joining the King and defending the palace against all enemies."
"It is good advice," said Mr. Kenyon, "but how can we join them? It seems impossible, too."
"We have not tried," said the doctor coldly.
"Sree has tried to find a way in," replied Mr. Kenyon, "and he says it cannot be done. Do you not, Sree?"
"Yes, Sahib. If we go as we are, your servant and the men could perhaps make the second king and those with him believe that they were friends; but whether by night or by day, if the sahibs try to get there, they will all be speared. It is what the enemy would gladly do."
"We could fight," said Phra proudly. "We have guns."
"Yes, Sahib Phra, and some of the enemy would be killed, but what are we against so many?"
"Ah, what indeed?" sighed Mr. Kenyon. "A dozen or so against thousands upon thousands."
"Phra Sahib is right," continued Sree. "He is prince, and should take us to join his father the King."
"Yes, but how?" said the doctor.
"It can only be by cunning, Sahib," replied the man.
"Hist! One moment," said Harry excitedly; "what about the men? The spear-bearers forsook the King; how can we trust these boatmen?"
"Because they love and believe in the sahibs," said Sree. "I think we can trust them."
"But your two men, Sree?"
"My two—Adong and Lahn—Sahib Harry?" said the old hunter with a little laugh. "I have always been like a father to them, and they would follow me, even if it were to be killed."
"And you, Sree?" the said doctor bitterly; "why should you be faithful to us?"
"I don't know, Sahib," said the man simply; "only that Sahib Kenyon has been like a father to me ever since he brought me back here to my people from among the Indian sahibs, where I had lived for years. He has always been my good, kind master, who fed me when I was hungry, and gave me money to buy clothes. I don't know how it is, but I feel that I belong to him and the young Sahib Harry; and if they said to me, 'Sree, you must die that we may escape and live,' well, it would only be what I should do, and I should be happy. Yes, sahibs, I should die."
"I know you would, Sree," whispered Harry, leaning over to grasp the man's hands. "He would, wouldn't he, father?"
"Yes, my boy, I believe he would. He has saved my life more than once."
"Oh, I believe in Sree, too," said the doctor excitedly. "But those we love are perishing close by, and we are doing nothing."
"I know what we might do," said Harry eagerly.
"Yes, what?" said the doctor.
"Wait till to-morrow night."
"Wait till to-morrow night!" echoed the doctor bitterly. "Wait while they perish!"
"We don't know but what they can keep the enemy off till then," said
Harry, with spirit.
"True," said his father quickly; "but what if we wait till to-morrow night?"
"Then it would be dark, and we might go and join with the enemy when they make one of their attacks. Then, when they retire, we might fall down as if wounded, and wait close up to the gate."
"Yes," said Phra eagerly, "and as soon as the enemy were far enough off we could call to those in the palace that we were friends, and they would open and let us in."
"That sounds wild," said Mr. Kenyon, "but it is possible. What do you say, Sree?"
"No, Sahib; it would do for me and the men. We could get into the palace that way, but the Sahibs? No. The enemy would know them at once, however dark."
"True," said Mr. Kenyon.
"It is not possible," groaned the doctor. "We must try by force to break through."
"That would mean death to all, Sahib," said Sree in a low, sad voice; "and there would be no help for your friends."
"Stop," said Phra. "I think it might be done."
"Hist! Sahib Phra; a boat is coming."
All listened, but the Europeans once more felt that they had been deceived, till suddenly there was a faint splash, followed by the dull pattering of water against a prow, and this sound came nearer and nearer till a big, dark shadow propelled by quite a dozen oars was seen to glide up the river towards the palace landing-place.
They waited till the boat passed out of hearing, and Phra went on.
"Harry and I could darken our faces, hands and legs easily enough so as to pass for common people. We did once dress like that. You remember, Hal, when we went right down among the house-boats and no one knew."
"Yes, I remember," said Harry shortly.
"It would be easy for us," said Phra; "but—"
The boy stopped.
"Would Doctor Cameron and I disguise ourselves for such a purpose as this? Certainly we would."
"Yes, of course," said the doctor huskily. "What about the native clothes—the baju and padung?"
"They would be easier to get, Sahib—easier than spears."
"Spears?" said the doctor; "we have our guns."
"But they would betray us, Cameron," said Mr. Kenyon. "We should have spears for ourselves and men."
"There are plenty of guns in the palace," said Phra. "Sree, could we get spears by then?"
The old hunter was silent for a while, as if thinking deeply.
"How long is it before morning?" he said.
"It must be near day-break now," replied Mr. Kenyon.
"No, Sahib. Not for two hours yet. There are many spears in the big boats that have gone up to the palace landing-place; and if the men on board are asleep, we might get what we want."
"There are sheaves and sheaves in the guard-rooms, Sree, if we could get them."
"Yes, Sahib Phra," replied the man; "but that we could not do. If the sahibs will get on to the floor above us and stay there with the men, it is very dark to-night, and Adong and Lahn might go with me in the boat. We could row up very quietly, and perhaps get enough from one of the barges."
"Try," said Mr. Kenyon laconically. "You could not hurt if you were careful."
Phra whispered a word to Harry.
"Yes," he replied. "Father, Phra and I want to go with Sree."
"It would be better for him to go alone."
"The young sahibs have been trained by me to be silent when seeking wild creatures in the jungle, Sahib. They could help us by taking the spears, if we get any, and laying them in the bottom of the boat."
"Why not take two of the boatmen?"
"His servant would rather trust the young sahibs," said Sree.
"There is no time to discuss the matter," said Mr. Kenyon firmly. "Be careful, boys, and go."
Harry's heart gave a big throb, and he gripped Phra's knee.
"Ah," whispered the latter; "this is what I wanted. It is doing something to help."
"Yes," whispered back Harry. "It is horrible sitting here doing nothing but talk."
Even in those brief moments something had been done; the boat had been set in motion, and now glided with the stream from beneath the bamboo platform out at the upper end.
Then at a word the boatmen followed the two gentlemen and Mike out on to the platform, and squatted down at once; Adong and Lahn seized oars, passing the cocoa-nut fibre loops over the posts which served as rowlocks, and, with the boys' hearts beating high with excitement, the boat began to glide rapidly and silently up stream with the tide.