“Now look here, Miss Mary, I must exact respect,” exclaimed Harry, with a comical attempt to look reproving; but the corners of his mouth twitched, and he was obliged to give way to laughter. It was while joking thus that the whole party arrived at Traucos’ Rest.
It now became a question as to whether they should continue the journey on foot or on horseback. Traucos’ Rest itself consisted of a high plateau, dotted here and there with shady trees, which gradually became less wide apart as they neared the outskirts of the forest. Several well-worn tracks led into this latter at this point, severally formed, no doubt, by wild horses and the migrating Traucos. It was surmised that these tracks led through the forest belts to the open valleys far away below, and it appeared not unlikely that they would be worn enough to permit of easy riding, if they had been traversed by the baguales. In any case, it was resolved to stick to the horses as long as possible, a horse’s back being second nature to an Araucanian, who finds himself less at home on his legs.
A halt was here called, and the order of march arranged. Harry and Topsie, as experienced in forest travelling, were deputed to head the van, next to them being Aniwee and Piñone. Then followed Sir Francis and Lady Vane, behind whom came Freddy, Willie, and Mary, and next in order Graviel and Blancha. After these followed Coquet and Chorlo, the two girl volunteers, and bringing up the rear, riding two abreast, were the sixteen Araucanian braves, who had been chosen, as aforementioned, to take part in the expedition.
As they entered the forest in the order described, every Indian, including Piñone, bowed his head, and raised his hand to his forehead, saluting thus the Gualichu and hidden spirits, whom they believed haunted the forest, and whom they deemed it necessary to propitiate by acts of obeisance. As they rode along Harry and Topsie kept a sharp look-out, while Shag trotted ahead of them, with his nose to the ground, wise as Solomon, and evidently extremely keen on scent of some kind.
“I wonder if it is Trauco spoor he is on,” remarked Topsie to her brother as they watched the dog’s evident eagerness to get forward. “Look how his bristles are up. It seems uncommonly like as if there was danger ahead. I vote we get our rifles ready, Harry.”
“Right you are, dear,” answered her brother, as he unslung his weapon from off his shoulder, and put himself into what he called an attention attitude, Topsie doing the same.
Suddenly Shag halted, cocked his ears, sniffed the air two or three times, and growled. Then he looked round rather anxiously at Topsie.
There was clearly something ahead which Shag regarded as disquieting, for he kept on growling and showing his fine white teeth in a most menacing fashion.
“Halt!” called out the girl to those behind her, at the same time raising her hand in a warning attitude.
“Look out for squalls!” shouted Harry, at the same time bringing his rifle to his shoulder. As he did so an angry roar reverberated through the forest, and the next moment a messenger of death pinged forth from the young midshipman’s rifle, which was followed by a roar fiercer and more menacing than the one which had preceded it.