Notwithstanding his exertions, and the start obtained, le Bourdon
soon felt assured that the swimmers were within a hundred feet of
him, their voices coming from the outer margin of the cover in which
he now lay, stationary. He had ceased dragging the canoe ahead, from
an apprehension of being heard, though the rushing of the wind and
the rustling of the rice might have assured him that the slight
noises made by his own movements would not be very likely to rise
above those sounds. The splashing of the swimmers, and their voices,
gradually drew nearer, until the bee-hunter took up his rifle,
determined to sacrifice the first savage who approached; hoping,
thereby, to intimidate the others. For the first time, it now
occurred to him that the breech of his rifle might be used as a
paddle, and he was resolved to apply it to that service, could he
once succeed in extricating himself from the enemies by whom he was
nearly environed, and from the rice.
Just as le Bourdon fancied that the crisis had arrived, and that he
should soon be called on to kill his man, a shout was given by a
savage at some distance in the river, and presently calls passed
from mouth to mouth, among the swimmers.
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