they had been asleep several hours, when all three were suddenly awakened by the barking of fritz. during night hours the faithful creature stayed habitually within the hut—where he also had his bed of dry grass. on hearing any unusual noise without, he would rush forth and prowl about for awhile; and, after satisfying himself that there was no enemy in the neighbourhood, would return quietly to his lair.
fritz was far from being a noisy dog. he had seen too much service, and gathered too much wisdom, to waste his breath in idle barking; and it was only upon grand and important occasions that he condescended to give tongue. then, however, his bark—or bay, it should rather be termed—was terrific.
on the occasion in question—which happened just about the hour of midnight—the three sleepers were suddenly awakened by his expansive “yowl,” that filled the whole valley, and reverberating from the cliffs, appeared continuous. the dog, after uttering this warning note, had rushed out of the hut—which had no door to it—and it was from some place down near the lake that his barking appeared to proceed.
“what can it be?” was the prompt and very natural inquiry of the three individuals, whom fritz had so abruptly awakened from their slumbers.
“something fritz is frightened at,” said caspar, who knew the dog’s nature better than either of the others. “he don’t bark that way at any sort of game that he knows he can conquer. it’s some animal that’s a match for him, i warrant. if the old yâk bull were still alive, i should say it was he.”
“there may be tigers in this valley; i never thought of that,” rejoined karl. “now that i do think of it,” continued he, drawing upon the reminiscences of his zoological reading, “it is quite probable. people believe the tiger to be exclusively an inhabitant of tropical or subtropical regions. that is an error. on this continent (the speaker was in asia) the royal bengal tiger ranges at least as far north as the latitude of london. i know he is found on the amoor as high as the fiftieth degree.”
“mercy on us!” broke in caspar; “it may be a tiger, and we have never thought of having a door to our hut! if it should be one—”
here the hypothetic speech of caspar was abruptly brought to a conclusion, by a singular noise from without—which was heard mingling in chorus with the baying of fritz.
the noise in question bore some resemblance to the sound of a trumpet, only sharper and more treble in its character. it was in effect more like the squeak of a penny trumpet than the real article; and yet, withal, there was something terrifying in the sound.
it must have terrified fritz: for the moment after it was heard, the dog came rushing back into the hut, as if pursued by a legion of horned bulls; and, though he kept up his angry baying, he appeared altogether disinclined to venture out again.
just then, the singular noise was heard outside the door—something between a shriek and a whistle—and this time with a far more terrifying effect: since, whatever produced it—bird, beast, or man—was evidently near, and still approaching nearer.
of the three individuals within the hut, only one had ever before heard a sound exactly similar to that. ossaroo was the one. the old shikaree recognised the noise the moment it reached his ears, and knew perfectly well the sort of instrument that must have been producing it; but he was hindered for a time from proclaiming his knowledge, by surprise, as well as a strong feeling of terror at hearing such a sound in such a place.
“by de wheels ob juggernaut car!” he gasped out. “can’t be—can’t be; no possible him be here.”
“who? what?” demanded karl and caspar, in a breath.
“see, sahibs! it him—it him!” hurriedly rejoined the hindoo, in a sort of shrieking whisper. “we all perish—it him—it him—de god—de mighty—de terrible—”
there was no light within the hovel, except a faint glimmer from the moon shining brightly enough outside; but it did not require any light to tell that the shikaree was frightened pretty nearly out of his senses. his companions could discover by his voice that he had suddenly changed position, and was retreating backward to that corner of the hut furthest from the doorway. at the same time his words reached them in whispers, cautioning them to lie close and keep silent.
both, without knowing what the danger was, of course obeyed injunctions thus emphatically delivered; and remained sitting up on their couches without uttering a word. ossaroo, after having delivered his cautioning speeches, kept equally silent.
once more the strange sound fell upon their ears—this time as if the instrument that produced it had been thrust into the doorway of the hovel. at the same instant the turf outside, hitherto glistening under a bright moonlight, became darkened by the shadow of an enormous creature—as if the queen of night had suddenly disappeared behind the blackest of clouds! still the light could be seen beyond, and the moon was shining. it was no cloud that had obscured her; but some vast body moving over the earth, and which, having come up to the front of the hovel, was there halting.
karl and caspar fancied they could see a gigantic living form, with huge thick limbs, standing outside; but, indeed, both were as much terrified by the apparition as ossaroo himself, though perhaps for a different reason.
fritz must have been as much frightened as any of the four; and fear had produced upon him an effect exactly similar to that it had produced upon ossaroo. it kept him silent. cowering in a corner, fritz was now as quiet as if he had been born a voiceless dingo.
this speechless trance seemed to have its influence upon the awe-inspiring shadow outside the door: for, after giving utterance to another specimen of shrill piping, it withdrew with as much silence as if it had been but the shadow it appeared!
caspar’s curiosity had become too strong to be kept any longer under the control of his fears. as soon as the strange intruder was seen moving away from the hut, he stole forward to the entrance, and looked out. karl was not slow in following him; and ossaroo also ventured from his hiding-place.
a dark mass—in form like a quadruped, but one of gigantic size—could be seen going off in the direction of the lake. it moved in majestic silence; but it could have been no shadow, for on crossing the stream—near the point where the latter debouched into the lake—the plashing of its feet could be heard as it waded through the water, and eddies could be seen upon the calm surface. a simple shadow would not have made such a commotion as that?
“sahibs!” said ossaroo, in a tone of mysterious gravity, “he be one ob two ting. he eider be de god brahma, or—”
“or what?” demanded caspar.
“an ole rogue.”
