CHAPTER TEN.
IN THE HANDS OF THE MANGEROMAS.
For five weary days did that company tramp up hill and down dale throughrugged, mountainous country, the Indian women carrying their meagrebelongings in small bundles wrapped in matting upon their bowedshoulders, while their lords and masters strode blithely along,encumbered only with the weapons they carried, making the air vibratewith their barbarous songs, the unhappy captives meanwhile, staggeringunder their heavy loads, being compelled to keep pace with theirlight-footed guard. It was not so bad for Dick and Earle as it was fortheir unfortunate servants, for the two white men were by this time inthe very perfection of training, and capable of an amount of physicalexertion that, six months earlier, they would have regarded asimpossible; moreover, they were both highly endowed with thatinestimable quality known as "grit," while the miserable bearers were,in addition to their heavy loads, weighed down by a premonition thattheir present misery was but the prelude to an inconceivably horribleand lingering death.
Late in the evening of the fifth day, after an exceptionally long andfatiguing march, the company reached what was without doubt the capitalof the country, for it covered some two hundred acres of ground, andcontained dwellings capable of accommodating, at a moderate estimate, atleast five thousand persons. It is true the dwellings were of the mostprimitive description, consisting of huts, for the most part built ofwattles and palm thatch, with here and there a more pretentiousstructure, the walls of which were adobe, and it was indescribablyfilthy; yet the place was laid out with some pretension to regularity,being divided up into several wide streets, while in the centre of thetown there was a wide, open space, or square, one side of which wasoccupied by a hideous and ungainly idol of gigantic proportions, with along sacrificial altar at its feet, while on the other three sides stooddwellings of such pretentious character that they could only belong tothe chief dignitaries of the place.
The arrival of the captives in this town--the name of which, itsubsequently transpired, was Yacoahite--was the signal for an outburstof most extravagant rejoicing on the part of the inhabitants, who turnedout _en masse_ to witness the event, crowding about the party sopersistently that it was only with the utmost difficulty that theguards, reinforced by a strong body from the town, were able by a freeuse of the butts of their spears, to force a passage along the streets.The delight of the populace, it appeared, was almost wholly due to thecapture of the white men, who were the objects of their unquenchablecuriosity, to such an extent, indeed, that it looked very much as thoughthey had never before seen a white man. At length, however, theprocession reached the central square, and after having, in obedience tosigns, deposited their burdens in one of the biggest of the buildings,the prisoners were divided up and marched away, Dick and Earle, to theirmutual delight, being placed together in a small hut, which was at oncesurrounded by an armed guard of such strength as to render escapeimpossible.
Fortunately, their limbs were not bound, or their movements hampered inany way, therefore the moment that the wattle door of their prison wasslammed upon them and barred on the outside, the pair joyously shookhands as they exchanged greetings.
"Well, Dick, how goes it, old son?" demanded Earle, as he wrung hisfriend's hand. "Tired?"
"Yes, I am, a bit," admitted Dick; "tired, and thirsty too. And justlook at me. Jove! I'm ashamed to be seen. I feel as though I hadn'twashed for a month. And you don't look very much better, old chap.Say! what would you give for a swim in a good, deep river, free fromalligators, at this moment?"
"What would I give?" repeated Earle. "Why, a thousand good Americandollars, willingly. And I'm not sure that I should worry very much asto whether there were any 'gators in it, or not. By the way, how didyou come off that morning when those ginks rushed the camp? Did you gethurt any?"
"Not a scratch," answered Dick. "Hadn't a chance to. The beggars wereupon me and had me trussed up so that I couldn't move hand or foot,before my eyes were fairly open. Hadn't even time to make a snatch formy revolver. Did you get hurt at all?"
"Nope," replied Earle. "I was just as completely taken by surprise asyou were. And I am not at all sure, Dick, but that it was as well. Ifwe--you and I--had been able to put up a fight, we could never havebeaten them off, there were too many of them. We should no doubt havekilled a few, but it would have ended eventually in our meeting the samefate as poor old King Cole. Poor chap! I'm sorry they killed him."
"So am I," agreed Dick. "But I suppose it was bound to be. He wouldnever have allowed them to lay hands upon either of us, so they would becompelled to kill him, sooner or later. And I believe he did not suffermuch. They must have killed him on the spot, I think. Peace to hisashes! And now, what do you think is going to happen to us?"
"I don't know," answered Earle, suddenly adopting a much graver tone."My motto is, `Never say die,' for I have been in a good many tightplaces and have always managed somehow to get out of them. But there isa proverb to the effect that `the pitcher which goes oft to the wellgets broken at last,' and it may be that here is where I get `broken.'I don't know; I don't care to hazard an opinion. But I wish to heaven,now, that I had not brought you along with me, Dick."
"Do you really think it as serious as all that, then?" demanded Dick.
"What do you think yourself?" retorted Earle. "What does the capture ofus at all mean? Friendly disposed natives don't do that sort of thing,you know. And why, having captured us, are they taking such extremecare that we shall get no chance to escape? I'm afraid, Dick, it meansthat they want us for some particular purpose, of which, probably, weshall very strongly disapprove."
"You mean--?" began Dick.
"Yes," answered Earle. "Something like that. But say! don't you takewhat I'm saying too seriously. I give you credit for being no moreafraid of death than I am, therefore I think it only right you shouldhave an inkling of what may possibly be in store for us. But don'tbelieve that I am going to take lying down what may be coming to us. Ishall do everything I know to persuade these savages that they could notdo a more unwise thing than hurt either of us. If we should by anychance be brought within earshot of that idol on the opposite side ofthe compound, I shall try the ventriloquial dodge again, among otherthings. The worst of it is that I can't speak these beggars' language;and for a man's own idol to address him in a foreign tongue is notaltogether convincing, is it?"
"It is not," admitted Dick, "although it worked away back there, and itmay again. Poor Grace! If it were not for her, I should not mind somuch."
"What's that about Grace?" demanded Earle.
"My sister, you know," explained Dick. "I have been hoping that, in oneway or another, this expedition would enable me to provide for her, sothat she would not be compelled to go on very much longer earning herown living. She is all right so long as she can remain with theMcgregors; but if anything should happen necessitating her leavingthem--"
"Say, Dick, don't you worry about that," interrupted Earle. "Yoursister is all right for three years from the signing of our contract,anyway, for she will have your pay to fall back upon if anything shouldgo wrong during that time. And for the rest, I may as well tell you foryour comfort that although, in view of this confounded expedition, I didnot think it right to bind Grace to me by a definite engagement, she andI understand each other to the extent that if I should return to Englandwithin three years, she will do me the honour to become my wife. And--this of course is strictly between you and me and my lawyer in NewYork--if I should _not_ turn up in three years, I am to be presumed tobe dead, and my will is to be executed forthwith. That will was made onthe day before we left New York, and by its provisions your sisterinherits everything that I possess."
"What is that you say?" demanded Dick, utterly bewildered. "My sister--Grace--inherits everything you possess?"
"Guess that's what I said," replied Earle, composedly.
"But--but--" stammered Dick, "I can't understand it. Why should youleave Grace all your pr
operty?"
"For two very excellent reasons," answered Earle, "the first of which Ihave already explained to you, namely, that I love her--and mean to makeher my wife, please God, if we should by any chance get out of this fix.And the second is, that if we don't and I die, I have nobody else towhom to leave my property. You look astonished, Dick; and, come tothink of it, I suppose it is only natural. For while you were keptbusy, way back there in Liverpool, over the inquiry into the loss of the_Everest_, I saw a good deal of your sister, with, I believe, the fullapproval of your friends, McGregor and his wife. I was attracted toGrace from the very first, and the more I saw of her, the greater grewmy admiration of her. McGregor saw what was happening, I guess, and atlength he brought me to book upon the matter, pointing out that myattentions to Grace were such as threatened ultimately to engage heraffections. I was glad that he did so, for it enabled me to come to aclear understanding with myself. It enabled me to realise that yoursister was the one woman in all the world for me; and the upshot wasthat, after a very frank exchange of views, I was able to satisfyMcGregor, and ultimately to come to an understanding with Grace. But,of course, she knows nothing about my will, although I made up my mindwhat I would do immediately that she consented to wait for me. And thereason why I have not mentioned this matter to you before is that Ipreferred we should, for a time at least, remain upon our originalfooting as simple comrades and co-adventurers. But, say, Dick, now thatI have told you, are you agreeable to accept me as your brother-in-law?"
"My dear chap," exclaimed Dick, grasping Earle's outstretched hand witha strength which made the latter wince--"of course I am. I have seenenough of you and your character to convince me that you will be good toGrace--if we survive long enough to return to her. And if she lovesyou--and I know that she would never have encouraged you if she didn't--why--that's all that really matters. But--poor girl, it will be worsethan ever for her if we should both be wiped out."
"It will," agreed Earle, gloomily. There was silence in the hut for afew moments as the two friends faced the doom that seemed to beimpending; but neither of them was of a pessimistic nature, andpresently Earle turned to his companion and said:
"Look here, Dick, you and I have got to buck up, for Grace's sake aswell as for our own. We are not going to take it for granted that we'redown and out, just because we happen to have fallen into the hands of alot of savages. We're not going to take, lying down, anything andeverything that they choose to hand out to us. I guess I am going tohave a chance to make these ginks sit up and take notice before theyhave done with me, and you bet I mean to do it. Give me a quarter of anhour's talk with them, and I'll make them believe I'm the bossmedicine-man of South America. If only we could get into touch withInaguy and prompt him what to say, I would soon make it all right. But,anyway, I'm some conjurer as well as a ventriloquist, and it will bestrange if I can't get a chance to astonish them before the end comes."
The two friends continued to chat far into the night, discussing variousschemes of escape; but the difficulty in every case was their Indianservants, whom neither of them for a moment dreamed of deserting; and atlength, quite unable to hit upon any practicable plan, they composedthemselves to sleep in preparation for the possible ordeal of themorrow.
Nine days passed, however, and nothing happened, except that--as theprisoners discovered, by peeping through a small chink in the wail ofthe hut, by way of beguiling the time--day after day the town becamemore crowded with people, who seemed to be pouring into it from alldirections, as though mustering for some great event; while singing,hideous blasts from trumpets made of burnt clay, and the pounding ofdrums made from hollowed sections of trees, created a deafening din thatlasted from early dawn until far into the night. On the ninth day thisstate of things reached its climax, for the din lasted all through thenight without intermission, raging with especial fury in the greatsquare, in the centre of which an enormous fire was kindled, round whichmultitudes of people, mostly naked, danced furiously, shouting andyelling themselves hoarse, while the trumpeters and drummers seemed tovie with each other in the effort to drown all other sounds.
"I guess," yelled Earle into Dick's ear, when the babel of sound was atits height--"this is the eve of some great festival; and beforetwenty-four hours more have passed, you and I will know our fate. Now,there is just one thing that I want to say, Dick. You and I have doneour level best to devise some scheme by which we might save the lives ofnot only ourselves, but also of Inaguy and the rest of our followers;and we have failed.
"Now, if the worst should come to the worst, there will be no sense inthrowing away our own lives because we can't save those of the others--that would be carrying sentiment to a perfectly ridiculous extreme;therefore, in the last extremity, and if all other efforts should fail,you and I must endeavour to break away, make a sudden dash for the hutwhere all our belongings are stored, and get hold of a weapon or two.And if we should succeed in that, we must then be guided bycircumstances, fight our way out, if there is a ghost of a chance; andif not, shoot ourselves rather than go tamely to the torture stake. Howdoes that strike you?"
"I'm with you," shouted Dick in reply. "I shall watch for your signal,and act directly you give the word."
"Good!" returned Earle. And with a grip of the hand the two parted andmade their way to opposite corners of the hut where, seating themselves,each in his own way proceeded to prepare himself for the anticipatedtremendous ordeal of the morrow.
That ordeal seemed very near when, about an hour after dawn, the door ofthe hut in which Dick and Earle were confined was flung open, and agigantic Indian, fully armed, and arrayed in a gorgeous mantle composedof the skins of brilliant plumaged birds, and with a narrow band of goldaround his head, clasped to which, one above either ear, was a greatscarlet and black wing, like that of a flamingo, beckoned the twoprisoners forth. Hitherto they had been treated fairly well, havingbeen supplied with three good meals per day; but no food was now offeredthem, and both thought the omission tragically ominous.
With a quick grip of the hand, which each felt might be his farewell tothe other, the two stepped into the blazing sunlight, and, surrounded bya numerous guard, were led across the square and halted before thealtar, which stood at the foot of the idol. But what a change had takenplace within the last hour. The great square, as well as the streetsleading to it was, with the exception of a small space, packed withpeople, as were the roofs of the buildings abutting on the square, yetthe silence was so profound that, to use the hackneyed expression, onemight have heard a pin drop. The small space left vacant consisted ofan area some thirty feet square, bounded on one side by the sacrificialaltar, and on the other by the front row of spectators, squatting on theground, these evidently being, from the magnificence of their featherrobes and the splendour of their barbaric ornaments, chiefs, to thenumber of about sixty, in the middle of whom sat an Indian who, by thesuperlative richness of his garb, the two white men at once decided mustbe the paramount chief, or king. The third side of this small openspace was occupied by a front row of fantastically garbed men whoeventually proved to be priests, behind whom stood a dense mass ofordinary spectators, while the fourth side was bounded by a row of ninemassive posts, or stakes, to which--ominous sight--were securely boundInaguy and the remaining eight of Earle's followers.
Arrived at a spot some five paces from the altar, the two white men wereturned with their backs to the altar and the idol, and their facestoward the long array of chiefs, and then the armed guard stationedthemselves to the right and left of the prisoners, while the silencehovering over the scene seemed to become more intense than ever.
It was broken by Earle, who turned to Dick and murmured in a low voice:
"That scheme of mine for making a dash at the hut containing our weaponswon't work, Dick. We could never force our way through this crowd. Imust try another stunt."
"All right," murmured Dick in return. "Go ahead. But I'm afraid it'sall up with us. I don't see how--"
"You wait," interrupted Earle, and fell silent again.
Meanwhile, all eyes were intently fixed upon the line of priests who,presently, at a signal from him who seemed to be their chief, prostratedthemselves with their faces to the earth, and so remained.
For the space of some thirty seconds nothing happened. Then that vastassemblage was suddenly electrified by a loud voice, issuing apparentlyfrom the mouth of the idol, saying, in the Indian language:
"Inaguy, son of Mali, and servant of my son Toqui, speak to this peopleand say that if they dare to hurt so much as a hair of the heads of thewhite men, or of you and the others, those white men's servants, I willvisit them in my wrath and pour out upon them pestilence and famine,drought and fire, until not one remains alive. For the white man withblack hair is a great medicine-man, capable of working wonders; he hascome into this land to do good to my people, and it is my will that noharm shall come to him or his."
The incredible wonder of the thing, the marvel that their god, who hadnever before been known to speak, should at this particular and solemnmoment see fit to break his long silence, absolutely paralysed thethousands who heard the voice. They could do nothing but stare,open-mouthed, at the gigantic figure, afraid almost to breathe, lestsomething frightful should happen to them. There were many present whocomprehended the meaning of the words, although they were spoken in adifferent tongue from that generally in use among them, and these beganto question themselves:
"Inaguy, son of Mali! Who is he? We know no priest of that name. Ishe one of us? Why does he not speak?"
Meanwhile Inaguy, who had once before witnessed such a phenomenon, wasnot altogether surprised that a god should again intervene to save hismaster; and turning his face to the idol, he cried:
"Lord, first bid them to release me. It is not meet that I, thyservant, should deliver thy message, bound here to the torture stake."
"Nay, the man is right," murmured Jiravai, the king, who understoodInaguy's speech, and who began to fear that he was like to get into veryserious trouble if he was not exceedingly careful. And, rising to hisfeet, he looked toward Inaguy and demanded:
"Art thou Inaguy, son of Mali?"
"Lord, it is even so," answered Inaguy.
"Then, release him," ordered the king. Turning toward the idol andprostrating himself, he continued:
"Great Anamac, god of the Mangeromas, forgive us, thy servants. What wehave done was in ignorance--"
"Tell him, Inaguy, that I am displeased with him and his people, foracting as he has done without first consulting me, and that I refuse tolisten to him or communicate with him, save through thee," interruptedthe idol sternly.
At the king's command a crowd of officious guards dashed forward, andwith the hardened copper blades of their spears quickly severed Inaguy'sbonds, whereupon the latter strode forward and, puffed up with pride atagain being made the mouthpiece of a god, stood before the grovellingfigure of Jiravai, haughtily awaiting the moment when it should pleasehis Majesty to rise and receive Anamac's message. And presently theking, realising perhaps that his grovelling was not doing any good, roseto his feet, and the message was duly delivered.
"It is well," returned Jiravai. "It must be as the Great Anamacpleases. Yet, say to him, good Inaguy, that if I have erred, it wasthrough ignorance. To-day is his festival, and when the news wasbrought to me that two white men had been taken alive in my country, Irejoiced, and bade them and their followers be brought hither; for Ithought that to sacrifice them upon the altar would be pleasing to him;while as for you and those with you, it was a great opportunity for--Butit is as our great Lord Anamac pleases. And now, I would fain know whatis his will toward the white men and you, their followers."
Facing round, Inaguy shouted to the idol, repeating the words of theking's apology. Whereupon the idol graciously replied:
"It is well. I know that the Mangeromas have erred through ignorance,therefore I forgive them. But it must never be permitted to happenagain, for I do not forgive twice. There must be no more humansacrifices offered to me; nor must the Mangeromas ever again eat men;for both are offences in my sight. And touching these white men andtheir servants, it is my will that the king and his people shall makethem welcome in Mangeroma, treating them as honoured guests and doingall things to help them; so shall the Mangeromas derive great profit andhappiness from their visit. I have spoken."
This message Inaguy repeated in the tongue commonly used among theMangeromas, shouting it in tones which were distinctly audible all overthe square, and for some distance beyond it.
"It is good," answered the king. "Say to our Lord Anamac that his willshall be obeyed in all things, and the white men, ay, and ye, too, hisservants, are henceforth my brothers, the sons of my father's house."Then, turning to the armed guards, he added, pointing to the eightfigures still bound to the stakes:
"Release those men and take them to my guest house until my whitebrother with the black hair shall be pleased to express his wishesconcerning them. As for my brothers, the white men"--he turned to thechiefs immediately about him--"make ye room for them that they may sit,the one on my right hand and the other on my left."
These orders having been carried out, Jiravai appeared to be somewhat ata loss what to do next. For to-day was the annual festival of the GreatGod Anamac, and an elaborate programme of proceedings had been prepared,the chief items of which had been the offering up of the white men as asacrifice to the god, and the torturing to death of the white men'sfollowers, to which festivity all the people of note throughoutMangeroma had been invited; and now, by the omission of these two "star"turns, so to speak, the whole affair was likely to fall woefully flat.In his perplexity, the king faced round toward the array of priests onthe left side of the open space and, addressing the chief of them, said:
"Since the offering of human sacrifices is displeasing to our LordAnamac, say now, O Macoma, in what other manner shall we fittingly andacceptably do honour to him on this day which is especially dedicated tohis service?"
But Macoma, the chief of the priests, was in no humour just then to helphis illustrious master out of a difficulty. He was an exceedingly proudand haughty man, the greatest man in Mangeroma, next to King Jiravaihimself, and he felt slighted and humiliated to an intolerable extentthat, before all that vast assemblage, consisting of the pick of theMangeroma nation, Anamac should have absolutely ignored him, the chiefpriest, and have chosen instead to make his wishes known by the mouth ofan obscure stranger, coming from heaven only knew where. Therefore, inresponse to the king's question, he rose to his feet and said:
"Nay, Lord, ask me not, for I cannot answer thee. Ask rather the manInaguy, whom it has pleased our Lord Anamac so signally to honour thisday before thee and all the people. Doubtless he will be able to tellthee all that thou may'st desire to know."
And in high dudgeon Macoma resumed his seat.
The king frowned. There was a hint of veiled insolence in Macoma'smanner that at once set his majesty's easily kindled anger aflame; andit was not the first time that the chief of the priests had so offended,though never until now had the man dared to flout the supreme ruler ofthe Mangeroma nation in public, much less in the presence of allMangeroma's nobility. The fellow threatened to get out of hand if hewere not checked, and the present moment seemed to offer an excellentopportunity not only to check Macoma's growing insubordination, but alsothat of the priesthood in general, which had for some time pastmanifested a disposition to claim for itself rights and privileges whichJiravai was by no means willing to concede. Therefore he said toMacoma:
"Thou can'st not answer me, Macoma? Then will I act as seems good tomyself. A sacrifice of some sort has always been offered to Anamac onthis day, and he shall have one now. And what better sacrifice can weoffer him than those who have devoted their lives to his service?Therefore, stand forth, Macoma; we will offer thee and ten otherpriests, to be chosen by lot, in the place of these strangers whom ourLord Anamac has forbidden us to
sacrifice."
In a paroxysm of mingled anger and consternation Macoma sprang to hisfeet--as did all the rest of the priests--and for several seconds theking and the chief priest faced each other, the one smiling sardonicallyat the effect of the bomb which he had hurled into the enemy's camp,while the other stood clenching and unclenching his hands as he rackedhis brain in the effort to find an answer to what he had sense enough tounderstand was a personal challenge on the part of the king, and achallenge, moreover, which, unless he could quickly find the rightanswer to it, might very easily result in utter disaster to himself.For Jiravai, like most savage kings, was an absolute monarch whom nonemight beard with impunity, and now, when it seemed too late, the chiefof the priests heartily execrated that sudden ebullition of ill-humourwhich had in a moment brought him and ten of his following to the brinkof the grave. Then, suddenly, in a flash of memory and inspiration, theright answer came to him and, lifting his head, he said:
"Be it so, as my lord the king has said. Let him sacrifice us toAnamac, if he will. Doubtless, the man Inaguy was speaking only idlewords when he said that our Lord Anamac forbade human sacrificehenceforth. Sacrifice us then, O my Lord Jiravai; and let all Mangeromasee what will happen, and whether any dependence is to be placed on thewords of Inaguy."
The battle was won, and Macoma knew it. So also did the king; forabsolute monarch though he was, there were certain things which he darednot do, and to go against the directly spoken word of the god Anamac,and that, too, when the word was the first which the god had evercondescended to utter--was one of them. Therefore, making the best ofwhat he now perceived to have been a serious mistake, King Jiravaismiled across the open space at the now triumphant Macoma, and said:
"It is well, Macoma, I did but try thee. But now, perhaps, having hadtime to think, thou may'st be able to say what sacrifice, other thanhuman, we may acceptably offer to Anamac."
Macoma shook his head. The king had given him, to say nothing of theother priests, a very nasty five minutes, and even now, when the dangerwas past, his nerves were all a-quiver from the shock of finding himselfsuddenly looking into the eyes of death; moreover he was a man who didnot easily forgive; he was unwilling to abate one jot of his triumph,therefore he answered:
"Nay, Lord, I am still unable to answer thee, excepting in so far asthis. Let Inaguy be recalled, and let him put thy question to our LordAnamac, and if the god refuses to reply, then I say let Inaguy besacrificed as a deceiver."
"Thou hast answered well, Macoma," retorted the king. "It shall be asthou sayest; and if our lord replies through his mouth it shall be asign that Anamac prefers Inaguy to thee, and Inaguy shall be chiefpriest in thy stead."
Thus neatly did Jiravai turn the tables upon the man who, a momentbefore, had been congratulating himself upon having got the best of theking in a public battle of wits.
Meanwhile, Dick and Earle had been interested watchers of the scene; andalthough the language in which the king and the chief priest had beensparring was strange to them, they caught a word here and there whichsounded so nearly like words with the same meaning in the language withwhich they were by this time becoming fairly conversant, that they wereable to follow, without very much difficulty the general trend of theconversation, including that portion of it in which Macoma had venturedto cast a doubt upon Inaguy's _bona fides_. And although Earle had nogreat liking for the task of exercising his ventriloquial powers whileseated in such close proximity to the king, he felt that he must makethe effort, and make it successfully, too, if Inaguy's life was to besaved. Therefore, when a few minutes later, Inaguy was led forth, andthe king put to him the question which Macoma had declared himselfunable to answer, and Inaguy had in turn passed it on to the idol, thelatter was heard to reply, sharply:
"Let a young bull be found, without blemish, and let him be slain uponthe altar and his carcass be burned before me, and I shall be satisfied;for ye can offer me no more acceptable sacrifice than this and yourobedience to my commands. It is enough. I have spoken. Henceforth,trouble me not, for I will speak no more."
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