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They are sailing away, and may reach some country far distant, and so be safe." Harvey partly assented. "They may escape for a time, Roka, but not for long. Rest assured of that."
Five or six men darted off, while the rest, under Roka's directions, quickly made a litter for Harvey, and placed him upon it. "Art thou in pain, master?" asked the giant Manhikian tenderly, as the bearers lifted the wounded man. "Ay, but let me smoke so that the pain may go. * Cowries. Roka himself ran off, picked up the hat and shells and brought them back; then he gave the word to march.
Running past Chard, rifle in hand, the Manhikian launched a curse at the groaning man, who heard him not in his agony. Leaping from pool to pool over the rough, jagged coral, which cut and tore his feet and legs, the seaman sprang to Harvey's aid, and a hoarse sob of joy burst from him when he saw that he was not dead. "My thigh is broken, Roka.
Now and then they sent arrows into the dusk, sometimes missing and sometimes hitting, and the growling of the bears and wolves and the screaming of the great cats was almost continuous. The darkness seemed eternal, but at length, with infinite joy, they saw the first pale streak of dawn over the eastern mountains. "Now the fierce animals will withdraw farther into the forest," said Roka.
He, too, had been impressed by the enormous size of the hoof prints, the largest that he had ever seen, but there was no fear, nor even apprehension in his valiant soul. "It is the king of them all," he said. He is but a little distance away, and we need rifles to go against him, but we do not turn back! Do we, Roka? Do we, Waditaka?" "We do not," whispered Roka.
Harvey grasped the steer oar, the crew were aroused, and in another few minutes the boat was under way again, heading for the sombre cloud to the westward under which Roka said the land lay. And he was right.
To a man like Roka there was no difficulty in following the line which Hendry and the supercargo had taken; their footsteps showed deep in the soft, sandy soil, rendered the more impressionable by the heavy downfall of rain a few hours before.
For had the destroyers of poor Oliver and his crew discovered the canoes they probably would at once have launched their boat again, and have put to sea, or at least prepared themselves for an attack. But great events so often come of small things. For nearly an hour Harvey, Roka, and Huka fished for pura from the coral ledges, but without success.
Soon after they had left Harvey the Manhikian and Huka parted, each preferring to take his own way, Roka laughingly telling his comrade that although he, Roka, had no spear, he would bring back a turtle. "In my land of Manihiki we trouble not about spears. We dive after the turtle and drag them ashore."
Carry me to the shore quickly, and then haste, haste, good Roka, and warn the others. These men of Pikirami are traitors. Haste thee, dear friend, if ye be a good man and true, and help to save the woman who is dear to me." Tearing off the sleeves of Harvey's shirt, Roka, as he answered, bound them tightly over the wound to stay the flow of blood. "Nay, master, 'tis not the men of Pikirami.
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