CHAPTER XXVI
THE LAST OF JOSIAH CRABTREE
All listened intently to the story Dick had to tell, and he hadnot yet finished when Dick Chester presented himself, having beenattracted to the vicinity by the roars of the lion and the variouspistol and gun shots.
"This Crabtree must certainly be as bad as you represent," hesaid. "I will have a talk with him when I get back to our camp."
"It won't be necessary for you to talk to him," answered Dickgrimly. "If you'll allow me, I'll do the talking."
"All right," grinned the Yale student. "Do, as you please. Weare a getting tired of him."
Chester and Cujo descended into the hollow to examine the lion.There was a bullet in his right foreleg which Chester proved hadcome from his rifle. "He must be the beast Frank Rand and I firedat from across the lake. Probably he had his home in the hollowand limped over to it during the night."
"In that case you are entitled to your fair share of the meat--ifyou wish any," said Randolph Rover with a smile. "But I thinkthe pelt goes to Tom, for he fired the shot that was reallyfatal." And that skin did go to Tom, and lies on his parlor floorat home today.
"Several of the students from Yale had been out on a long tour theafternoon before, in the direction, of the mountain, and they hadreported meeting several natives who had seen King Susko. He wasreported to have but half a dozen of his tribe with him, includinga fellow known as Poison Eye.
"That's a bad enough title for anybody," said Sam with a shudder."I suppose his job is to poison their enemies if they can'tovercome them in regular battle."
"Um tell de thruf," put in Cujo. "Once de Mimi tribe fight KingSusko, and whip him. Den Susko send Poison Eye to de Mimi camp.Next day all drink-water get bad, an' men, women, an' children dieoff like um flies."
"That's cheerful information," said Tom.
"And why didn't they slay the poisoner?"
"Eberybody 'fraid to touch him--'fraid he be poisoned."
"I'd run my chances--providing I had a knife or a club,"muttered Tom.
"Or a pistol," finished Sam. "Such rascals are not fit to live."
Dick, as can readily be imagined, was hungry, and before the partystarted back for the lake, the youth was provided with some foodwhich Aleck had very thoughtfully carried with him.
It was learned that the two parties were encamped not far apart,and Dick Chester said he would bring his friends to, see thembefore the noon hour was passed.
"I don't believe he will bring Josiah Crabtree," said Tom. "Ireckon Crabtree will take good care to keep out of sight."
Tom was right. When Chester came over with his friends he saidthat the former teacher of Putnam Hall was missing, having leftword that he was going around the lake to look for a certainspecies of flower which so far they had been unable to add totheir specimens.
"But he will have to come back," said the Vale student. "He hasno outfit with which to go it alone."
He was right. Crabtree put in an appearance just before the sunset over the jungle to the westward. He presented a most woebegoneappearance, having fallen into a muddy swamp on his face.
"I--I met with an--an unfortunate accident," he said toChester. "I fell into the--ahem--mud, and it was only withgreat difficulty that I managed to--er--to extricate myself."
"Josiah Crabtree, you didn't expect to see me here, did you?" saidDick sternly, as he stepped forward. And then the others of hisparty also came out from where they had been hiding in the brush.
The former teacher of Putnam Hall started as if confronted by aghost.
"Why--er--where did you come from, Rover?" he faltered.
"You know well enough where I came from, Josiah Crabtree," criedDick wrathfully. "You dropped me into the hollow for dead, didn'tyou!"
"Why, I--er--that--is--" stammered Crabtree; but couldactually go no further.
"Don't waste words on him, Dick," put in Tom. "Give him thethrashing he deserves."
"Thrashing!" gasped Crabtree.
"Yes, thrashing," replied Dick. "If we were in America I wouldhave you locked up. But out here we must take the law into ourown hands. I am going to thrash you to the very best of myability, and after that, if I meet you again I'll--I'll--"
"Dun shoot him on sight," suggested Aleck.
"You shall not touch me!" said the former teacher with a shiver."Chester--Rand--will you not aid me against this--er--savageyoung brute?"
"Don't you call Dick a brute," put in Sam.
"If there is any brute here it is you, and everyone in our partywill back up what I say."
"Mr. Crabtree, I have nothing to say in this matter," said DickChester. "It would seem that your attack on Rover was a mostatrocious one, and out here you will have to take what punishmentcomes."
"But you will help me, won't you, Rand?" pleaded the formerteacher, nervously.
"No, I shall stand by Chester," answered Rand.
"And will you, too, see me humiliated?" asked Crabtree, turning tothe other Yale students. "I, the head of your expedition intoequatorial Africa!"
"Mr. Crabtree, we may as well come to an understanding," said oneof the students, a heavyset young man named Sanders. "We hiredyou to do certain work for us, and we paid you well for that work.Since we left America you have found fault with nearly everything,and in a good many instances which I need not recall just now youhave not done as you agreed. You are not the learned scientistyou represented yourself to be--instead, if we are to believeour newly made friends here, you are a pretender, a big sham, anda brute in the bargain. This being so, we intend to dispense withyour services from this day forth. We will pay you what is comingto you, give you your share of our outfit, and then you can goyour way and we will go ours. We absolutely want nothing more todo with you."
This long speech on Sanders' part was delivered amid a deathlikesilence. As the student went on, Josiah Crabtree bit his lipuntil the blood came. Once his baneful eyes fairly flashed fireat Sanders and then at Dick Rover, but then they fell to theground.
"And so you--ahem--throw me off," he said, drawing a longbreath. "Very well. But I demand all that is coming to me."
"You shall have every cent."
"And a complete outfit, so that I can make my way back to thecoast."
"All that is coming to you--no more and no less," said Sandersfirmly.
"But he shan't go without that thrashing!" cried Dick, andcatching up a long whip he had had Cujo cut for him he leaped uponJosiah Crabtree and brought down the lash with stinging effectacross the former teacher's face, leaving a livid mark thatCrabtree was doomed to wear to the day of his death. "There youare! And there is another for the way you treated Stanhope, andanother for what you did to Dora, and one for Tom, and another forSam, and another--"
"Oh! oh! let up! The boy will kill me!" shrieked Crabtree, tryingto run away. "Don't--I will be cut to pieces! Don't! don't!"And as the lash came down over his head, neck, and shoulders, hedanced madly around in pain. At last he broke for cover anddisappeared, not to show himself again until morning, when hecalled Chester to him, asked for and received, what was coming tohim, and departed, vowing vengeance on the Rovers and all of theothers.
"He will remember you for that, Dick," said Sam, when the affairwas over. "He will be your enemy for life."
"Let him be--I am not afraid of him," responded the elderbrother.
The Rover Boys in the Jungle; Or, Stirring Adventures in Africa Page 26