A loud cry of astonishment and alarm rose from those
behind, followed by curses and exclamations of rage. A few seconds
after the fall of the tree there was a crash in the rear of the
party, and to their astonishment the freebooters saw that another
tree had fallen there, and that a barricade of boughs and leaves
closed their way behind as in front. Deprived of their leaders,
bewildered and alarmed at this strange and unexpected occurrence,
the marauders remained irresolute. Two or three of those in front
got off their horses and tried to make their way to the assistance
of their comrades who were lying crushed under the mass of foliage,
and of their leaders in the pit beyond.
But now almost simultaneously two more crashes were heard, and a tree
from each side fell upon them. Panic stricken now the horsemen
strove to dash through the underwood, but their progress was
arrested, for among the bushes ropes had been fastened from tree
to tree; stakes had been driven in, and the bushes interlaced with
cords. The trees continued to fall till the portion of the road
occupied by the troop was covered by a heap of fallen wood and
leaf. Then for the first time the silence in the wood beyond them
was broken, the flashes of firearms darted out from the brushwood,
and then with a shout a number of men armed with pikes and axes
sprang forward to the attack.
Pages:
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103