CHAPTER XVIII
THE FIGHT IN THE DEFILE
In the afternoon, having hidden away the reserve ammunition, they atlast went down to the war council assembled under the tree in thevillage. Mindful of the instructions of Mr. Hume, the two boys werequite self-possessed and incurious, though it was a great effort torestrain expressions of surprise when they were face to face withMuata.
If they were under the necessity to play a part, so in a greatermeasure was he. The men about him were a mixed lot--of adventurerswho had been compelled to seek a harbourage from revengeful enemies,of fugitives who had escaped from the slave gangs--and they were ofseveral tribes. Only a strong hand could keep them in order, andMuata could not afford for a moment to sacrifice his authority. Hewas master in that valley, or nothing. Hence he received thegreeting of his old white friends without a sign of cordiality.
His naturally fine face was hideous in war-paint, two lines ofyellow extending to his ears from the comers of his mouth, andanother black line running from the centre of the forehead downbetween the eyes. Two long black feathers were secured in his headcirclet, and about his throat he wore a necklace made of the teethof the gorilla and the claws of a lion. His eyes were fierce andbright, and the quivering of his nostrils showed also that he waslabouring under suppressed excitement. Mr. Hume recognized at oncethat he was face to face with a crisis, and instinctively herealized that it depended on him to save the situation, not only forhimself and his young companions, but for Muata also. His calm eyestravelled over the ring of black faces behind the chief. He sawthere were two parties. On one side were the young warriors, men ofthe chiefs age, who probably had been brought up in the valley; onthe other was a larger number of older men, whose lowering lookstold a tale of distrust and incipient revolt.
"Behold," he said, making up his mind to the role he would play, "weare the chief's 'white men.' We have made strong medicine. Shall Ispeak, O black bull of the forest?"
"Speak," said Muata, who had caught the hunter's eye when heacknowledged himself to be the chief's white man.
"Thus says the medicine," said the hunter, in his deep tones. "Thereare wolves on the way to eat up the people of this place."
"Eh--hum!" sneered the older men. "We know."
"We are ready for them," shouted the young warriors.
"Ye know--yes; but thus says my medicine--that you are not agreedamong yourselves."
"Er--hum!"
The hunter paused, and his strange eyes dwelt on the faces of theold men so that they looked away.
"There are some among you who would make terms with the enemy. Therewere some who had sent secret word to Hassan. Go ye a little way upthe slope and ye will see the bodies of some of those slain in theirtreachery!"
"Wow!" The older men exchanged uneasy glances, and a woman's voicerang out exultingly, "Ye speak the truth, O lion."
"Thus says my medicine. If ye do not stand together, the enemy willenter at the gates, and not one will be left alive, for Hassan willslay those whose hearts were with him as he will those who wereagainst him."
One of the older warriors interrupted, shooting a finger at Muata.
"Great one, give us the word that we may slay this dog who comes tomake trouble. Is this the counsel of a wise man on the coming of theenemy?"
"What would you do with him?" asked Muata, suavely.
"Send him after those others;" and the man pointed up the hill.
"You stand alone in your words," said the chief, doubtfully.
The spokesman, with a look of fierce triumph, looked around.
"These also I speak for."
"Haw!" said the chief, slowly, running his eye over the old men."All men of wisdom! Do ye all hold with these words? Be not hasty.Ye have heard the words of the white man. Think well before yespeak."
"How do we know that he is not Hassan's man?" said the firstspokesman, fiercely. "He was summoned to the council when the sunwas young, and he has only now come. Who vouches for him?"
"I--Muata, the chief. Yet Muata does not give face to him or to you.Ye have heard both sides. Think well and decide quickly, for the dayis passing, and we must be at the gates this night. First let meknow"--and the chief's voice was very mild--"do we agree inresisting Hassan, or is it that we differ about the white men?"
"We will fight against Hassan," said the spokesman, quickly; "butthis white man has spoken evil words. We know him not; and if thusearly he begins to make mischief, what will happen when the fight isfierce? Stand by me, friends, so that the chief may see our mind."
"Nay," said an older man, who had been watching the chiefs face--"nay, let us talk the matter over."
But it was too late, and the spokesman stepped aside, drawing withhim a score of men.
"Is that all?" asked the chief, quietly, and his eyes ran keenlyover the faces of the other warriors. "I will consider, for it iswell that we should have no differences."
"Hark to the wisdom!" shouted the warriors.
"We must stand together," continued Muata, "or we fall. And I amglad of this thing; it has shown our weakness." He stood a moment,then, with a sudden glance back at his young men, he boundedforward, and with one stroke of his terrible knife struck the leaderof the band to the ground. "Hold!" he roared, as the young men,with a terrific shout, sprang forward. "Let a man move but a hand,and he is dead."
There was one breathless moment, during which men stood withupraised spears, their eyes glaring, their breasts heaving, andtheir breath coming in quick gasps. A woman laughed and the tensionslackened.
"Back--back!" and before the fierce word of command the youngwarriors drew off.
"One is enough," growled Muata, transformed, terrible in his fury,and glaring at the small band who stood around the fallen body. "IfI thought that ye were in the counsels of this dog who lies there,not one of ye would be spared. It was in his heart to betray us toHassan."
"We knew it not, great black one," muttered the men, humbly.
"If I thought ye knew," growled the chief, with a terrible look,"there would be an end to you. See that ye carry yourselves well."
The three travellers had stood fast during this scene, and nowMuata, having wiped the blood from his knife, turned to them.
"It is the law," he said, as if in explanation. "Haw! when Idescended into the valley, in the night, I heard evil words spokenround the fire. It was time to act, and as it was seen by yourmedicine, the law was done."
"Ohe! the law was done," chanted the young warriors. "In the dark hecame--the great strong one--silently out of the woods, and in themorning he smote."
"It is the law. If any of you feel a thorn in the foot, you cut itout. Good; we are now whole."
"We are whole, O chief," cried all the warriors together. "Good;then we will go up to the gateways to be ready. In three companieswe will go, and with each will so one of the chief's white men. Yehave seen how strong is the white man's medicine. If any hold back,the medicine will tell."
The chief divided the men into three equal numbers of about fiftyeach, which left over some twenty-five of the older men who hadsided with the slain man.
"Ye," he said, addressing them, "will stay here with the women; andif it chance that the enemy prevail, take the women and the flocksto the foot of the rocks above, where the white men were. OInkosikase! (chieftainess)."
Muata's mother came forward, armed with spear, and behind her cameother women carrying bows and arrows.
"These men, O mother, will stay by the kraal. They have learntwisdom; but if they weaken, send a messenger to me."
"There will be no messenger needed, O son," said the woman, as sheeyed the cowed men. "So go forth to the battle, for your scouts uponthe heights call. They see the man-eaters and the women stealers."Her long arm shot out, and every man stared to the far end of thevalley.
Muata gave a few sharp orders, and the first band of fifty young menwent off up the valley at a trot.
"O great one, you said the word that helped betwixt me and my men.
Igo forward with the next band--do you follow with the others; sothat when Hassan presses us back, as he must, being the stronger,you will let a part of his men pass through the gate; then stop therest, and we who ran will deal with those who got through."
"Is that your plan?"
"It is a good plan. When the leopard is caged his cunning goes. Yourmen will know where to hide; I have overlooked the place."
"Good. The plan will be carried out."
"There is also a second plan;" and Muata fixed his eyes on Compton."Some men will be hidden within the valley, to fall upon those whoenter. I wish the young lion to remain with them."
"I should like that," said Compton, quietly.
"Very well, my lad," said Mr. Hume; "and I think Venning had bettergo with you. I prefer it. And hark! if the plan fails, you know theway to the boat. Shake hands."
They shook hands, and the two lads placed themselves beside Muata ashe went off with the second band. Mr. Hume, with the last company,followed at a slower gait, along a path that skirted the river withits fringe of banana trees, whose broad leaves shone in the sun.After a couple of miles, the river entered the defile through whichlong since it had cut its way out of the valley. It was at theentrance to the defile that an ambush was formed by Muata of fifteenmen, with Compton and Venning. The warriors were already in positionbehind fallen rocks, the two lads being higher up the slope. Theyshowed themselves as Mr. Hume came up, and waved their hats to him.
"Good luck!" they shouted, with a lump in their throats, for theyloved the "great one," and they feared the task allotted to him wasfull of danger.
"Take cover," he said cheerily; "take good aim; and remember thepalm tree, if things go wrong."
"And remember," they cried, "that we want you back safe and sound."
"I'll take precious care of myself," he said with a smile, andfollowed his men into the dark defile.
"I wish we were going with him," said Venning.
"The next best thing is to do our part as well as we can."
They stretched themselves out each behind a rock and waited.
"There is one thing," muttered Venning, after fidgeting about; "wecannot wait long, for it will be dark within an hour."
"The sooner they come the better."
They watched the shadows creeping across the valley--already overthe river and halfway up the opposite slope; they watched the lighton the cliffs above; but, most of all, they watched the youngwarriors crouching below them.
"They hear something," said Venning; and his finger curled round thetrigger.
"Keep cool, old chap. Remember, we don't fire until after these menhave given the sign. They are coming!"
Sure enough, they were coming. The crouching warriors were quiveringwith excitement, as their gleaming eyes sought the mouth of thedefile, out of which came a confused murmur. From a murmur to ahoarse rumble, then swiftly to the sound of fierce cries, the noisegrew, and then a man leapt into view, and after him a score, allrunning as if for life. The plan was working, but was it not workingtoo thoroughly? Would those men in whom was the panic of flight beable to stand? Muata came last, the long feathers streaming from hishead; and as he ran, he shouted at his flying men words of insult.He cleared the defile, and at his heels there grew a fierce andgrowing clamour. Then, like a pack of wolves on the heels of a deer,the wild men of the woods burst into view. Close together they ran,and when they saw the valley stretching green and peaceful beforethem, they halted to drink in the sight. They feasted their eyes onthe gardens, on the little flocks of goats, on the huts, on thewomen and children streaming up the slope on the right. Then theyshouted in their joy of the promise of blood, of loot, of feasting--shouted and bounded forward. As they were in their stride once more,a wild yell rang out of the defile--a yell of fear and warning, thatreached them, and that brought them up with a jerk. They faced roundimpatiently towards the defile again, and, behold, the mouth washeld by a party of the enemy! But only a small party, less than halftheir number. With a yell they charged, and then they halted, andthen they broke, and in a twinkling they had lost their cunning andwere themselves the fugitives; for at the first step two of theirleading men had fallen, and into the thick of them, from a distanceof a hundred yards, came an accurate and unexpected rifle-fire. Atrap! They shouted to each other, then broke streaming across theriver in a frantic search for hiding. In vain they fled, for thevalley seemed alive with men, Muata's band having scatteredpurposely; while keen-eyed boys, standing in tree-tops, marked downthe fugitives, and shouted directions to the hunters. Even thewomen, led by the chief's mother, came down to join in the pursuit.
This work was not to the taste of the two white boys. They hadplayed their part, and now they entered the defile to seek theircompanion.
Compton went ahead into the shadows, following the river, andthinking of nothing but the fight that they knew from the sounds wasraging somewhere before them. As he turned a corner made by aprojection in the wall, a dark hand seized him by the neck, and hewas on his back, with a roaring sound in his ears, and a feeling ofsuffocation.
"What's the matter?" he gasped presently, when the grip on histhroat relaxed.
"Can you stand?"
"Yes, of course." Compton got up. "You look queer."
"Feel queer," said Venning. "Enough to make a chap queer to see yougo down like that with a big black on top of you."
"Where is he?" and Compton hunted for his rifle.
"Shot him; but, for all I knew, I might have shot you. He fell inthe river. Perhaps there are more of them hiding."
"You shot him?"
"Yes--go along; but for goodness' sake don't let another one jump onyou."
Compton gripped his friend's hand, then went on, very cautiouslythis time, for a little way, until he heard the crack of theExpress, followed by the Hunter's bull voice calling on the men to"stand fast." He dashed on.
"We are coming," yelled Venning, in a voice that sounded veryyouthful; but keen ears heard the high treble, and to them itbrought comfort.
"The chiefs white men," was the cry that rose, that reached Mr. Humeas he fought coolly, warily, in a crisis of the battle, knowingthat, if he gave back an inch, the men behind him would bolt, andHassan's horde would swarm into the valley.
"Hurrah, my brave lads!" he roared. "You there behind, meet thewhite men and lead them up to the place where I first stood."
"Yebo Inkose! (yes, chief)" cried a Zulu of the Angoni.
Thus the chief's "white men" were met in the gorge by a dark figurepanting heavily, who led them through other dark forms, some lyinggroaning, others silent--led them up to a ledge that overlooked theenemy.
"What now?" asked Compton, looking at the Zulu, and in the betterlight noticing the wounds on his head and left arm.
The Zulu pointed down. "Fire, O white men, between that tree and therock. There they are thickest."
The two rifles flashed out simultaneously.
"Hurrah!" roared the Hunter from below. "Give them the wholemagazine."
"Empty the magazines," said Venning between his teeth; and the Lee-Metfords poured out a little rain of thin bullets into a spacebetween the tree and the rock.
"Yavuma!" cried the Zulu.
"Yavuma!" roared the Hunter. "Stand firm, my children!"
The Zulu knelt on the brink of the ledge and peered down into thegloom, out of which came the shouts of the enemy, thrown intoconfusion, when apparently all was going well with the attack. Anarrow struck on the rock, then another.
"The tree," he said, pointing into a great tree-top. "Let one chieffire into the tree and the other at the white spot."
"I see the white spot," said Compton; and again he emptied hismagazine, while Venning riddled the tree-top, out of which at thedischarge men dropped in haste.
"Cease firing," came the command from below. "Now, my children,forward once more. They run."
"They run!" shouted Muata's men, as they swept out from the defileafter Mr. Hume.
"At the white spot,
" said the Zulu, gripping Compton by the arm."Fire; ye will not hurt our men. There are men with guns where thewhite is; and, see, others join them. Quick! Shoot, white men, orthey slay our friends."
A flame spurted out from the gloom down where the white specksgathered, and the Lee-Metfords were not idle. The little bulletsrang into the place where those white-robed Arabs were waiting withtheir rifles, and before they could play their part, the beaten vanof their assaulting party broke upon them in their flight. Thebattle was over! Muata, returning from the killing of the men he haddecoyed into the valley, raised the shout of victory, and the twoboys went down into the gorge to join in the throng of exultant andexcited warriors.
"Way for the chief's white men!" cried the Angoni Zulu, staggeringfrom his hurts.
"Bayate! to the white men," shouted the warriors, rattling theirspears.
"We are no chiefs men," said Compton, proudly.
"Ohe!" said Muata, overhearing the words. "Lion's cub, I hear. Yeshall have the chief's feather; and the great one, where is he?"
Out of the darkness beyond came the chant of deep voices--the songof the men who had held the gate, "The great one," "Lion-throated,""He whose roar filled the valley," and so on, until they recognizedthe form of their chief, when very wisely they directed their praiseto his deeds.
Mr. Hume, bare-armed, reeking of battle, hoarse from shouting,stepped up and gripped hands with the boys.
"We go to our house on the hill, chief," he said.
"There will be feasting to-night, my brothers, and your places willbe beside the chief," said Muata.
"'Sot for us. Feast well; but watch well also, for Hassan has nothad his fill. Come, lads."
They left Muata giving directions for guarding the gate, and wentback through the gorge into the valley, and down towards thevillage, where they were met by a band of women carrying torches andsinging. The women formed a ring about them, and in this the chiefsmother danced, stamping her feet, and clapping her hands, while shesang of the battle.
"We go up to the cave," said Mr. Hume, when the dance was over."Send us food, mother."
"In plenty, O shield of my son!"
"And hark to this, wise woman--see that the warriors drinksparingly, for the wolf is most dangerous when he comes to the kraala second time secretly."
"Wow! That is my thought also; but men are foolish. If the horn isfilled, they would empty it without thought of the morrow. Ohe! youwill eat well;" and she issued orders to some women, who returned tothe village, and other orders to a couple of boys, who were only tooglad to lead the popular white men up to the cave, to light thefires and bring water. And almost as soon as they were at the cavethe women arrived with meat, fruit, and milk.
The Hunter stretched himself at once on the blankets. "I am not soyoung as I was," he explained.
"That won't do," said Venning, lighting the lamp. "You must not goto sleep without having had your supper." He turned the light on."Why, you're wounded!"
"I dare say, lad. It was pretty hot down there at one time."
"Oh, you know this is not fair to us! I say, Dick, come here."
"What is it?" asked Compton, coming in from attending the fire.
"Mr. Hume has got himself wounded, and he never told us."
"Don't bother about me, lads; I'll be all right in the morning."
But they did bother about him--washed the blood from his face,cleansed and treated a jagged wound on the skull and fomented aswelling on the right wrist, and then insisted on his taking food.
"Now, you go to sleep," said Venning; "and in the morning, perhaps,you'll tell us all about it."
They were very silent, until the Hunter fell into a deep sleep, whenthey tiptoed out to the fire, and sat long into the night listeningto the noisy shouts of rejoicing that floated up from the villagebelow, where the fires gleamed brightly, too anxious themselves toeven discuss Mr. Hume's injuries. In the morning, however, whenthey opened their drowsy eyes, they were gladdened by the sight ofthe Hunter returning from the bath, with the drops still glisteningon his tawny beard.
"Now tell us," they said, when the breakfast was prepared, "allabout the fight."
"It is soon told. I let the enemy pass in pursuit of Muata, asarranged, but when it came to our part in the plan--that of closingthe defile--we found the job tougher than we anticipated. Thosecannibals are hard fighters. They fell back as we unmasked ourambush; but they rallied quickly, and delivered one assault uponanother. I tell you, we were at our last gasp when your arrivaldecided the matter."
"You must have come to close quarters?"
Mr. Hume nodded his head. "I received the blow on the wrist guardingmy head from a club, and the cut on the head from a spear."
"And you used your knife?"
"I dare say I did my share," said the Hunter, who had held thedefile alone at one time, his staunchest supporter, the Angoni Zulu,having fallen back exhausted.
For a trying spell his undaunted spirit had stood between the valleyand destruction, and the wild men went back to Hassan with a tale ofa terrible white man who had struck down their bravest with a greatblade.
"That Ghoorka knife," he said, "is a great weapon;" and with thatsumming-up of the struggle in the gloom of the defile he lit hispipe, and sat down to gaze upon the valley, so peaceful inappearance, so charged with the everlasting tragedy of life. "Ifthose people were whites, or Arabs, they would now be following upthe enemy to crush him while he is disorganized. But being blacks,they don't look further ahead than their noses, which were madeshort for the purpose."
"Let us go down and offer to lead an expedition in pursuit," saidCompton.
"I guess not, Dick. They'd leave us to do all the fightingourselves; and there's no sense in that. What we have to think aboutis how to get away."
"Surely there is no difficulty about that. We will go when it suitsus."
"I'm not so sure," said Mr. Hume, gravely.
"But Muata is our friend."
"Muata cannot do what he likes, and, if he could, you've got toremember this--that Muata in the Okapi, dependent on us, is anotherperson to Muata the chief in his own kraal."
"I don't think he would be treacherous," said Venning.
"He need not go so far as that to upset our plans. Maybe he wouldfind it convenient to keep us here as his 'white men' until it suitshim to let us go. You see, he has got to think of himself as chiefand of his people first."
"I don't think he would treat us unfairly," said Compton, warmly,"especially as they owe so much to us."
"That's nothing."
"But, sir, these people were kind to my father; and Muata stood byus all along like a brick."
"Well," said Mr. Hume, lighting his pipe, "I always find it pays tokeep your powder dry and your eyes skinned. So whether Muatacontinues friendly or not, be always on your guard."
Muata was friendly. He paid them a visit, and he proclaimed themchiefs with full right to offer council at the Indabas under thetitle of "The Old Lion," "The Young Lion," and "The Spider," thelast distinction falling to Venning, because of his fondness for thepursuit of insects. Muata then dismissed his body-guard and joinedhis newly appointed chiefs at the fire. He sat a long time silent,his eyes bloodshot, his brows bent, and when he did speak, his wordsveiled a hidden meaning.
"The place is yours," he said, "to go and to come, to eat and todrink, to take and keep. Choose any place, and the people will buildhuts for you."
"This cave is dry and comfortable. We want no huts, chief."
"It is well enough now, but in the rains it is not good."
"We shall be well on our way before the rains set in, chief."
"Wow! The Spider has seen how the ants live."
The Spider admitted that he had studied the ways of the ant.
"Good. There are strangers in the house of the ant."
"Oh yes; you mean what are called the 'cows' of the ants."
"Haw! That was the word given them by the white man who was herebefore. They enter the hous
e of the ant, but out of it never do theypass."
"Is this, then, the house of the ant?" asked Mr. Hume, quietly.
The chief turned to the Hunter an impassive face. "My people canbuild ye good huts, and there are many places thereunder nearrunning waters, with well-grown gardens. Choose which ye like, mybrothers."
"We will examine and select," said Mr. Hume, with assumed unconcern."And what of Hassan?"
The chief rose. "He will return like the badger to a bee-tree whenthe bees have quieted down."
"And you wish to keep us to help you drive him from the honey again?Is that it?"
The chief looked down upon the valley. "A child I came here, Ogreat one; a boy I herded goats among the hills; and while yet otherboys kept the birds off the grain, I went alone into the darkness ofthe woods beyond to seek the man-hunters. Now they seek me. Ye havehelped in one great fight. All the time Muata has been at war--thehunter and the hunted."
He turned his face again towards them, and there was in it a touchof dignity. He broke into a kind of chant.
"Ye may hear the laughter of the little ones. There are no such atthe door of Muata's hut, for a man cannot take unto himself wivesand keep his arm strong to cast the spear, his eyes clear to followthe trail, and his heart strong to face the dangers that come out ofthe forest.
"Ye hear the voice of the young men and maidens singing in thedance. Ye may see the mothers about their work, and the old men atthe fire. For them the cloud is past. They sit in the warmth of thesun, and heed not the shadows that gather in the trees. The boy whosits in the tree to frighten the birds from the grain has his turnat the dance. But the chief, he watches always; for Muata there isno rest in the Place of Rest."
"You are the first chief ever I heard take that weight upon hisshoulders," said Mr. Hume, with admiration he could not restrain.
"Why don't you resign?" said Compton.
"Haw!"
"Let some one else be chief."
Muata's nostrils quivered in disgust. "Wow! I am a chief, and theson of a chief. Who is there to take my place?"
"But you were a long time away."
"Ohe! and, as ye have seen, men conspired to let Hassan and his man-eaters in upon the valley. So my word to you, my brothers, is, tochoose ground for huts;" and the chief stalked away.
"I don't envy him his post," said Mr. Hume, looking after him; "butI was right, you see."
"Well, when we want to go we will go," said Compton. "In the meantime we will make the best of these quarters and this valley, whichis a good enough place for a holiday. And remember I have to find myfather's journal."
Leaving the Hunter at the cave, the Young Lion and the Spider wentoff on an excursion, and, of course, turned their steps first of allto the gorge, to see the place where the great stand had been made.They were greeted by a small band of warriors, who were squatting onthe ledge from which they had fired, and who apparently were onguard. They found themselves on the outer slope of the crater,looking down once more on the interminable reaches of the forest,with just a gleam of water showing at intervals to mark the courseof the river up which Hassan's flotilla of canoes had sailed afterleaving the wide lagoon. Descending from the ledge to the level ofthe gorge, they saw the place where the Hunter had made his stand--alittle square of rock opening on to the wood path, up which the wildmen had rushed to the attack. This path, as they saw, was nothingelse than the dry cataract of a river, strewn with boulders, andthen they suddenly turned to each other with an exclamation at thethought, "What had become of the river?"
"It's queer!" said Venning. "Where is the water?"
On looking around, they beard for the first time a peculiarsubterranean rumbling, and going back a few feet, saw the riverdisappear in a smooth, green slide down into a wide fissure. Theystood looking down, fascinated at this mysterious, silent, andstealthy disappearance of the waters that come with such a sparkleout of the bright valley; then dropped stones down, and stoopedtheir heads in vain to catch even the slightest sound out of thedepths. The fissure was about twenty feet wide, with a sloping lipon the near side, and a straight wall on the far or forest side. Theslope seemed to carry the water to the left, and with a desire todiscover its course, they tugged at a large post which stood againstthe wall of the gorge and rolled it into the fissure. It whizzedaway down into the dark, and nearly dragged Compton after it, forthe sleeve of his coat caught on a projecting point, and he wasjerked on to his knees, being saved from further danger by the coattearing.
"Thanks," he said, looking a little white; "I am quite satisfiedthat the water disappears."
"I rather think," said Venning, "that we have pulled up a gate-post.See, there is one on the other side. A few tree-trunks thrown acrosswould make a fine barricade. Come on back into the valley."
They went back slowly, looking up at the dark walls of the rockygorge, and Venning stopped.
"See that rock up there?"
"Looks as if it would drop at any moment."
"Remember what Muata said about Hassan drowning out the valley."
"One of his figures of speech."
"S'pose that rock fell; it would just about fill up this passage,river and all. And if it did not quite, a few men working from theledge, which you see would be behind the dam, could easily fill upthe cracks. Then the river could be dammed and the valley flooded."
"They'd have to blast the rock, and the task would be tootroublesome."
They returned slowly through the defile, stopping at the place wherethe warrior had sprung out on Compton, and on reaching the valley,went down among the rustling bananas and among the gardens, wherethe women stopped their work to shout out merry greetings, and tooffer them earth-nuts, wild cherries, sweet cane from the maizepatches, and a thick porridge-like beverage made from the redmillet. They watched the little pickaninnies basking in the sun, andas they strolled, rejoicing in the brightness and in the beauty ofthis little island of rest, set within an ocean of trees, they werefollowed by an admiring company of lads, each carrying his hurling-stick. Coming to a little patch of reeds in the far corner of thevalley, the black boys, with shouts, gave chase to a long-tailedfinch, clothed in a beautiful waistcoat of orange. The two whitechiefs threw aside their dignity, and when, after a breathlesschase, the bird, hampered by its streaming tail-feathers, wascaught, each chief stuck a feather in his hatband. They worked roundthe valley, seeing many strange birds and curious insects, backtowards the cave, arriving on the ledge at dusk. At once they openedout on Mr. Hume with a description of where they had been and whatthey had seen.
The Hunter listened patiently, but he was evidently preoccupied.
"We have seen all the valley, sir, and if we do have to stay herelonger than we thought, it is a consolation to think that it is ajolly place."
"I have been away myself," said Mr. Hume, "and I made an unpleasantdiscovery. At first I thought it best to keep it from you, but Iknow you would not like that."
"No, sir."
"The boat has gone!"
"Gone!"
"Clean gone; stolen or hidden away. I went down shortly after youhad left, found the path by the marks I had made, never saw a livingsoul or any spoor but our own; and I tell you it was a great shockwhen I saw at the first glance that the boat was not there."
"I wonder----" began Venning.
"It is no good wondering," said the Hunter, testily. "Muata or hismother has had a hand in this."
"We can soon put that right," said Compton, "by demanding that theboat be produced within a certain time."
"That would mean war," said Mr. Hume. "I had thought of that, andso no doubt has Muata. The odds are in his favour by force ofnumbers, for he could starve us out in a week. Violence is no use.Our best plan is to remain friendly, but watchful."
"Don't you think," said Venning, thoughtfully, "that we are on thewrong scent? Suppose the boat was stolen by Hassan's men."
"It may be--it may be, lad; and yet, if Hassan's men did find theboat, it seems to me they would have let
it alone to disguise thefact of their presence. Anyway, we will make a further search to-morrow."
They had cause now for uneasiness, and the boys for the first timebegan to entertain suspicions about Muata's faithfulness, for theloss of the Okapi in the very thick of the forest meant to them whatmarooning is to the sailor man. They sat discussing the matter longinto the night, and when morning came they looked out on the valleywith other feelings than before. It was to them a prison, lovelystill, but changed; and their eyes went to the spot where they hadseen the bodies of the men upon whom Muata had fulfilled the law ashe understood it, the terrible law of swift vengeance upon any whoopposed the will of the chief. There were armed men on their way tothe gorge from the village, and very soon, before the dew had driedon the grass, and while the morning clouds hung white on thehilltops, the chief himself came up with his headmen. And the reasonof his coming was none else than to make Mr. Hume vice-chief, withfull power, in his absence, over life and property in the valley;for, said he, "I go upon the trail myself, and who should haveauthority when I am gone but you, my friend?"
The headmen expressed themselves delighted.
"But," said the Hunter, troubled by this upset of his theory thatMuata would think only of himself, "our boat has been taken."
"The water there is taboo," said Muata, without showing anysurprise. "No one would go there but that one who may go. If theboat is gone it will be returned at the appointed time. See, myfriend, I give you my seat under the council tree; have you alsotrust in Muata, the lone hunter."
"Do you go alone?"
"Ay, alone with the silent one--he of the four legs;" and a faintsmile lit up the chiefs sombre and stern countenance, as he glancedat the jackal now reappearing after good eating.
Mr. Hume went aside with Muata to dissuade him from his purpose, butthe chief was determined, having in his mind a plan to destroyHassan's canoes, as he had learnt from his spies that the Arab wasarranging for another attack. So while the Hunter went down to beformally received by the clan, the two sub-chiefs, the Young Lion,and the Spider, went off on a reconnaissance of their own to thewater that was "taboo," to all but one, as Muata had hinted. Theypicked up the trail from the marks that Mr. Hume had renewed on hislast trip, and arrived on the banks of the unruffled pool. Bycontrast with the open valley bathed in sunshine, this sheet ofwater at the foot of the perpendicular cliffs was gloomy and creepy.There was, too, a mystery about it, for it had no visible source.There was no ripple on its smooth surface, no trace of a current,except in the centre, where, from time to time, bubbles appeared anddisappeared, leaving just a trace of foam. They tossed pebbles in tojudge the depth from the sound which ranged from the "splash" of theshallows to the gurgling "plop" of the deeps, and followed thepebbles with rocks, till at last the sluggish pool was stirred andfurrowed with waves. And in the very midst of their sport a blackhand appeared above the waters, and with a heavy roll the bodyitself floated before them, dead and stark.
The boys stood with their hands arrested, staring at this startlingapparition.
Slowly it drifted away, the strong white teeth set in a grin, a darkoily stain trailing from numerous wounds on the body and limbs.
"It's a cannibal," said Compton, in a whisper.
"How did he come to be here?" muttered Venning, with a fearfulglance around.
They stepped back to the shelter of a tree, and listened, for if onecannibal had found his way to the pool, it was pretty certain thatothers had. But there was no sound down in those shaded depths. Thelittle waves on the pool quieted down, the surface recovered itsglassy smoothness, the bubbles reappeared in the centre, and brokewith a faint noise audible yet in the stillness. The pool hadyielded up one of its secrets, and the poor body was now come to theend of its voyage, anchored apparently against a log of wood whichhad grounded against the bank.
"We can't leave it there!"
"No, Dick."
But the sudden, unexpected, ghastly upheaval from the deep of thatstark body had naturally badly shaken them, and they stood wherethey were in nervous expectation of some other horror. If this placewas "taboo" except to one yet unknown to them, it might be thatsolitary priest or priestess of the pool was now watching them, evenif there were no other cannibals near at hand. So they lingered yeta little longer behind their tree, advancing a foot again and again,only to withdraw it at some fancied noise.
At last Compton stepped out with his carbine at the ready, stood onthe shore a moment then went on till he was opposite the dead man.There Vending joined him.
There was a movement in the water among some reeds, then a ripplelike that made by a heavy fish, and the body, leaving its moorings,went slowly away.
"Crocodile," muttered Venning, whose nerves had never quiterecovered the shock caused the night the lion charged.
Compton frowned and shook his head.
The dark body went straight on, stopped a spell at a cluster ofreeds, then moved on across, moved by some volition not its own, andnot due to the current.
"It's very queer, Venning."
"It's horrible."
Compton's glance came back from the gruesome spectacle to the log,and with a start of surprise he stooped down to pick up something.
As he did so, Venning, with a yell of terror, gripped him by theshoulder. Looking up and across, Compton saw the dead man standerect in the water, his head and shoulders above the surface, andhis face towards them! He felt the moisture break out on his browwhen the horrid thing began to advance without movement of its own.
Venning pointed a finger across. "It's coming," he gasped, turnedand ran; and Compton felt no shame in running after.
They flew from the dark pool and its nameless horror; but when fromthe height they paused breathless and gasping to look down, therewas no stain, or blot, or ripple on its calm face.
"Ugh!" said Compton, "it looks what it is--' Deadman's Pool.'"
Venning shuddered, turned his back upon the sheer drop with thestill water at its bottom, and did not stop again until he had thepeaceful valley at his feet, when he took off his hat.
"Thank goodness, we came out with our wits whole."
"It was a trick," muttered Compton, abstractedly.
"But who could play a trick like that?" asked Venning, in tremblingexcitement. "No human being!"
Compton put his hand on the other's shoulder. "We've both had a rarefright, old man, but neither you nor I will let a thing like thatupset our appetite. Mr. Hume promised us a treat in green mealiesfor tea, and I smell some strange dish."
"Hulloa, lads, I was just thinking of starting out after you. Seenanything?"
"We've had a scare," said Compton, lightly, with a meaning look atMr. Hume; but already the observant eyes of the Hunter had seen thatVenning was upset.
"All right; just try this roast mealie;" and the strong handsteadied the boy to his seat.
Mr. Hume talked, while they ate, about the ceremony of hisinitiation as vice-chief and of the long, wordy arguments he hadlistened to in a case at law concerning the ownership of a monkey,to which there were two claimants, the boy who had caught it, andthe man who owned the garden where it had been caught.
"Now," he said, when they had eaten, "you have something to tell me.Go ahead."
They related the incident, which lost nothing of its repulsivenessby the relation:
"And you saw no one."
"No one alive, but I believe there was trickery. There must havebeen," said Compton, with knit brows.
"I think so too, but the trick was horrible enough to produce theeffect desired. I must say I felt a creepy sensation when I was downthere yesterday."
"But we saw no one," said Venning, with a shudder.
"By Jove! I forgot this;" and Compton produced a fragment of cloth."I took that from a post in the pool."
"A bit of rag," said the Hunter.
"Yes; but a bit torn out of my sleeve yesterday over there in thedefile."
Venning snatched at it. "I have it," he shouted.
> "I see you have; but you need not yell."
"The blind river! It comes out under the pool!"
Compton stared.
"What do you mean?" asked Mr. Hume.
"Why, sir, we dropped a tree stump into the opening which swallowsthe river over there. As it slipped from our hands, it caught Dick'ssleeve, tearing out the bit of cloth, and nearly taking him downtoo."
"Well, what then?"
"Why, the stump turns up in the pool a thousand feet below, and somust the river! You see, after entering the fissure, it twists backunderground, to emerge down there at the bottom of the cliff."
"Of course," said Compton, eagerly; "and that body must havefollowed the same course."
"Exactly."
"That accounts for the appearance of the pool and of the dead man,but it does not explain the trickery."
"Perhaps it does," said Venning, who, now that he saw a cause forthings, recovered his nerve and his spirit. "There is a subterraneanpassage. The formation here is volcanic. The valley is an extinctcrater, the hills are the walls. Well, in volcanic formations,there are usually enormous caverns. Now, then, how do we know thatthe Okapi has not been taken into one of those caverns opening on tothe pool?"
"Good; go on to the trickery."
"The person who hid the boat, if it is hidden, would probably be onthe watch to scare off any who tried to find out what had become ofit. Well, then, if we admit that, it is easy to admit the rest--that a good swimmer could play the trick played on us."
"Let me find him," said Compton, angrily.
"Yes--yes," muttered Mr. Hume; "there's a lot in that, and we'llfollow it up, but not without a good plan."
He filled his pipe, and stared into the fire for some time.
"Clearly," he said, "what we should do first is to find out if anyone leaves the valley for the pool. As far as we know, there is thegorge up which we came, but there may be openings direct from thevalley into the underground passages. We will leave the pool alone,as if we had had enough of it, and examine the interior cliffs."
In Search of the Okapi Page 18