CHAPTER XVII
THE PLACE OF REST
The chiefs wife urged them on. Neither night nor day did she seem torest, for whenever one of the boys, in a feverish sleep, tossed hisarms about, she was at his side with a drink compounded of herbs,that kept the fever away. She took her spell at the levers, her longround arms moving with unexpected power, and only the hunter himselfcould tire her out. As for him, he was not happy unless he wasworking, and at times he made the screw spin again under his fiercestrokes, whenever his eyes fell on the wan faces of his youngcompanions stewing in the insufferable heat. He shortened thejourney by twenty-four hours, for on the afternoon of the fourth daythe woman, for the first time, showed signs of joy.
"Lift up your heads, O young lions," she cried; "let the light comeinto your eyes, and the strength into your limbs, for we are at thegates! You will catch the cool wind in your mouths. Your nostrilswill sniff the air of the hills; your feet will tread the open way;your eyes will see the white clouds afar. Awake, my children, we areat the gates."
They lifted their heads, throbbing with the touch of fever, andbefore them they saw a sheet of clear water; beyond that aglistening wall of rock, and following up higher and higher, theysaw the deep blue of the sky.
"We are out at last," said the hunter, in his deep tones. "Off withthe awning, Muata; let us breathe again."
The awning was thrown back, and the boys sat up, drawing in the airin great gulps.
"This is but the beginning," said the woman. "A little further andyour eyes will rest on the gardens below and the hilltops above. Youwill skip like the he-goat from rock to rock. You will shout andrejoice. I know. I was young, too, and I also came through the darkway."
"Where now, Muata?" asked the hunter.
"If the great one cares to leave the canoe, we could reach the topto-night, and sleep far above the woods. None come here. The wateris 'taboo,' and the boat would be safe."
"Let us go up," urged Compton.
"Yes; up out of this stagnation," cried Venning, with a longing lookup.
Mr. Hume ran the boat in, and Muata leapt ashore. As his feet feltthe firm ground he raised one hand high and broke into a chant, thewoman joining in at intervals. As he chanted he stamped his feet onthe sand; and this song was of himself--of his deeds in the past, ofhis triumphs in the future.
"Wow!" he said, when he had finished. "There were many days thatMuata thought never to look upon these walls again; many times, whenhis heart was dark, when his blood was like water; and lo! he standsagainst the walls of his home."
"Of his resting-place," corrected the woman. "His home lies beneaththe setting sun."
"I know how you feel, Muata. If I were to see again the cliffs ofold England, I would sing too."
"It must be like finding a new beetle," said Venning.
"We are not out of the woods yet," chimed in Mr. Hume, grimly, "sojust give your attention to our stores. We must carry up as much aswe can, for, 'taboo' or not 'taboo,' I do not like the idea ofleaving all our things here."
They made up in parcels as much of the stores as they could carry,and the woman strode off first, erect and graceful, with the largestparcel on her head. Venning followed, carrying only his carbine,blanket, and bandolier; then Muata, with sixty pounds' weight on hishead, then Compton, and, last of all, Mr. Hume, with an ample load.A fairly open path, over a lattice-work of roots, mounted up throughthe trees, and the hunter "blazed" the path by chipping a slice ofbark off every fifth tree. Up and up the woman swung with freestrides, her short leather skirts, trimmed with beads, rattling asshe went; and after many a breather, for the sake of the whites, shestrode out, one thousand feet above the lake, on to a rock-strewnslope, free of trees. A glance back showed the evening mist rollinglike a huge curtain over the sombre forest, so that they seemed tobe looking down upon a silent sea.
"A little more, my children--a little more, and you will sleep undera roof."
She swung off, balancing the load easily, and the others followed inand out among great rocks that had an unfamiliar look, bending theirbodies to the steep and labouring for breath; and as they went Mr.Hume drew marks on the ground, as a guide, with the point of hisknife, for he trusted no man in the wilderness, except himself.After another thousand feet of climbing, they entered into a gorge,that narrowed at the summit to a mere cleft, and from that cleftthey stepped out on to a broad platform, which dominated a widevalley rimmed with cliffs.
"Behold the Place of Rest, O white men; and ye, O great one, whomarked the trees below, and whose glance went ever back to note theway so that you should know it again, know that we have led you tothe hiding, whose secret was our refuge."
"Ay, mother," said Mr. Hume, quietly, though surprised she had seenhis actions; "and remember that we are here to help you keep out thewolf from your refuge. I marked the trail, as ye saw, for it is wellthat a man should know his way out as well as in."
"He is right, O wise one," said Muata, bearing down his mother'ssuspicious look. "Should Hassan prevail in the fight, there would beno Muata to guide these our friends to safety."
"He prevail!" cried the woman, sternly; then her finger shot out,and her form seemed to increase in stature. "Look, O warrior offeeble words; see how it greets the chief;" and her eyes blazed asshe followed the flight of a great bird that swept out of the mist."A sign--a sign, my son."
"A black eagle," said Venning. "Maybe it has its nest somewhereabout here."
"As this is the Place of Rest," said Mr. Hume, "it would do us allgood to sit down. Where is the hut you spoke of, mother?"
"Shall I carry you, little one?" said the woman, with a loud laugh."A few steps only. A little way, and you can eat and sleep."
She passed to the right under shelter of a cliff, and came veryquickly to the door of a wide cave, that ran back some thirty feet.
"Here is your home, and in the morning the sun will look in at thedoor, and from the threshold, when you awake, you may sit and feaston such a sight as will gladden your eyes, for now the shadows hideit."
They threw their packages on the floor and sat down on a carpet ofclean white sand.
"A little further there is water. Muata, my son, for the last timedo woman's work and light the fire, while I go below for food."
"Say nothing to the people of my coming," said the chief. "PresentlyI will go down secretly, and see how the men bear themselves."
"Wow! I see now it is the chief, and not a carrier of wood."
She went off into the gathering gloom, but was back in the hour witha great bunch of yellow bananas, a calabash of goats'-milk, and ayoung kid, showing no signs of weariness for all her toil. Thosebananas, growing with an upward curve against the stem to relievethe dead weight on the branch as they grew, were just then a finersight than the most magnificent scenery, and the travellers made agreat feast, which done, they stretched themselves out on the cleandry sand up there in the clean, crisp air, and slept till the sunnext morning streamed into the open cave.
They woke up to find themselves alone, but not forgotten; foroutside there lay a little heap of good things, including fresheggs, a calabash of milk, sweet potatoes, and a bundle of firewood.
"By Jove!" cried Compton; "look at the view. Isn't it splendid?"
"Well, it won't vanish," said Mr. Hume, "so we'll have breakfastfirst."
Further on along the ledge there was a little cascade, falling intoa bath-like opening evidently, from the signs, of humanconstruction, and here, in ice-cold water, they refreshedthemselves. After breakfast they were like new men. The keen air putto flight the beginnings of malaria contracted in the noisomeatmosphere of the dark water-course they had last travelled, andbrought the sparkle into their eyes, and a smile to the lips.
"Now for the view--for a good long look at the Garden of Rest."
"Not yet. We'll first overhaul our rifles and stock of ammunition.This is no picnic, you know. We may be fighting for our lives to-morrow; so to work!"
Orders had to be obeyed, and th
e ammunition was sorted out--providing 150 rounds for the Express, 250 rounds each for the threecarbines, and 175 rounds for the shot-gun.
"That is a short supply, boys. We must be careful not to throw awaya single shot; for, remember, we've got to go a long way before wereach safety, even after this business of Hassan's is done. We musttry and do with fifty rounds apiece in this little affair."
"Little affair!" muttered Venning, remembering the flotilla ofcanoes and the mob of fierce-looking cannibals.
"Big or little, we can't afford to indulge in reckless firing. Onebullet, one man, is my motto."
"But we cannot all shoot like you," grumbled Venning.
"A matter of habit," said the hunter, quietly. "All you have to dois to get the advantage of position, and then it is no merit toshoot straight. Drop three men out of a hundred, and you will stopthe remainder; drop thirty out of a thousand, and the same thinghappens. If there are only a hundred, and you have the upper ground,let them come within two hundred yards; if the enemy is in greatnumbers, open at five hundred yards; and anywhere down to fiftyyards according to his dwindling strength. Shoot straight everytime, and the plan answers like clockwork."
"Have you tried it?"
"Many times, but only in self-defence. Now we'll just examine ourposition, for it is always good to have open a line of retreat."
They walked along the ledge to the mouth of the gorge up which theyhad ascended, saw that the ledge ended there, then retraced theirsteps past the cave and the bath to a spot where a break in theledge opened up a way down into the valley.
"Just take note of that path," said the hunter, "and follow itdown."
"What a beautiful spot!" said Compton.
"It does the eyes good to look on it," said Venning,enthusiastically. "See how the sun shines on the broad leaves--banana-leaves, I think--bordering the silver stream."
"Never mind the silver stream," broke in Mr. Hume, testily. "Fixyour attention on this path. Get it into your mind. See how it dropsdown to that solitary palm."
"Now remember that if you are down there, and have to run, you areto make for that palm, ascend here, and cut along to the gorge. Haveyou got that fixed? Good. Now we will go back."
At last, with their feet dangling over the edge of the ledge beforethe cave, they were at liberty to satisfy their longing to taketheir fill of the beauty outspread before them. Perhaps it was bycontrast with the monotony of the forest that the scene below themseemed to them all to be the most beautiful that had ever gladdenedthe eyes of men. Imagine a valley about five miles in length,narrowing at each end, and opening out about the centre to a widthof two miles, the sides of grass sloping up to a buttress of rock,and rippling along the whole length into folds, with little valleysin between--narrow at the summit, where they joined the rock-wall,and wide at the base, where they opened out on the parent valley,through which flowed a broad stream, fringed its whole length with aborder of pale green banana-leaves with stems of gold. In the littlevalleys were gardens, showing up like a chessboard pattern in neatpatches of green, red, and brown, according to whether there wasripening millet, young maize, or new-turned mould. Halfway down thevalley was a village of beehive-shaped huts, with an open space inthe centre, adorned with one fine tree, under whose spreadingbranches they could see distinctly the forms of men. In the strongwhite light every object could be easily picked out--goats browsingamong the rocks at the base of the cliffs; flocks of birds circlingabove the gardens; fowls walking among the huts; tiny little blackforms toddling in the sun, and their mothers squatting with theirfaces turned to the council tree.
"No women in the gardens," said Mr. Hume, "and that always meanswar."
Venning readjusted his glasses. "There is something I can't quitemake out at the back of the village. Looks like men lying down."
Mr. Hume took the glasses and turned them on the spot. "Humph!" hemuttered, while his brow clouded. "They are dead men."
"Five," said Compton.
"Yes, five. Muata has been at work!"
"Muata? He was sitting here quietly eating last night."
"Maybe it was either he or they, and he happened to be first tostrike."
"It is awful!" muttered Venning.
The discovery destroyed their pleasure in the gentle beauty of thescene below, and they fell to discussing Hassan's probable plan ofattack, arriving at the conclusion that the chances of success werewith him, when they contrasted his force with the small band of mendown below.
"While they are talking," said Compton, "Hassan will be seizing thebest positions. Why on earth don't they do something?"
"Perhaps they are at work already," said Mr. Hume. "There is a smallparty coming down the valley from the left. Muata said somethingabout Hassan's determination to drown the people of the valley. Hecould only flood the valley by damming the stream at its outlet,which would lie to the left, and I guess those men have been seeingto the defence."
"The leading man has plumes in his head. A chief, I suppose."
"It is the chief himself, Dick."
"So it is. I can make out his Ghoorka knife. Let's give him ashout;" and the two sent a loud "coo-ee" ringing down the slope. Thesound reached the ears of the little band of warriors, for theystood to look up; it also reached the people in the village with astartling effect. The men jumped up from the ground, women snatchedup children and scuttled hither and thither like ants disturbed.From the depths below a cry came up clear and crisp--the marvellousvoice of the native, trained through long centuries to speed amessage of war or peace, of victory or disaster, from hill to hill.
"Ohe! Ohe! my brothers, the chief awaits you."
"Does he?" said Mr. Hume, dryly. "Then he may wait until he sends upa proper escort. Oh, here they come, I suppose," as half of Muata'sbody-guard detached themselves and advanced towards the palm-tree.
"Shall we go down?" said Compton, rising.
"Sit still, my lad. No chief ever hurries; and, you understand, weare all chiefs."
"Are we, though?"
"We take rank with Muata, if he is the head chief; not out of pride,you understand, but out of policy. So just keep cool. Just look asif you were a sixth-form boy approached by a deputation from thekids. See?"
"I'll be as cool and haughty as a----"
"Freshman in a bun-shop," interposed Venning. "Me, too;" and he puton a high and mighty look.
"Don't overdo it, my boy," said Mr. Hume, with a grave smile.
There were seven men coming up, and they breasted the slope insingle file at a walk which quickly got over the ground. On reachingthe ledge they advanced at a trot up to within a few feet, when theysuddenly halted, grounded their spears with a clang, and raised theright hand with the fingers spread. They were fine lads, straightof limb, supple and lithe, without, however, much show of muscle.Their quick glances, with a certain quality of wildness in the eyes,ranged over the three seated and silent whites.
"Greeting, O white men from out the forest, and the water beyond,and the father of waters beyond that." The spokesman steppedforward. "Greeting from the great black one, the river-wolf--he whomet the wild man of the woods alone; he who crept in at the gate andslew the man-hunters; he the chief Muata. Greeting to the lion-killer, the cleaver of heads, the maker of plans, who came out ofthe mist in a shining boat. Greeting to the young lions who slew thetree-lion."
"What is your word?"
"The great chief awaits at the war council."
"Go down and tell your chief we will descend when we have made warmedicine."
"Wow!" The spokesman fell back into the ranks. The seven warriorsstood for a time in silence; then, at a word from the spokesman,they went through a salute, turned, and marched back in single file,chanting a war song as they went, as an accompaniment to a dancingstride.
"What is the war medicine we are to make, sir?"
"Just the remains of our breakfast and supper, with a dose ofquinine to finish up."
"And those chaps will be telling the people down below tha
t we aremaking strong medicine, warranted to kill Hassan at sight, and wardoff spears, bullets, mosquitoes, and Arab swords."
"Well, it will give them courage, if they think all that," said Mr.Hume, coolly, as he inspected the rations.
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