“Perhaps they are at war with some other tribe and not with the white people. My hus—Lord Huntingford says they fight among themselves incessantly.”
“That’s it. It is a band of foragers, no doubt. But what are we going to do about it?” Hugh was nonplussed. The brown backs and bobbing heads still stretched before them in almost comical humbleness.
“It may be a trick.”
“It stands us in hand to remain where we are until we know what they intend to do next.”
“I hope they’ll get up and go away.”
“I guess I’ll yell down and ask them what they want.”
“I wouldn’t, Hugh,” she entreated. “If we leave them alone, they may go away presently.” He looked at her and laughed, for he was growing less uneasy with each passing moment.
“Hey, there!” he yelled. “How are you?”
Slowly the head-bobbing ceased and dark faces were lifted toward the elevation. For the first time the newcomers saw the beautiful face of Lady Tennyson. They struggled to their feet, the tall chief stepping forward with outstretched arms. Then in some wild gibberish he began to speak, half to the white witnesses, half to the sky and sun.
“What the dickens is he talking about?” murmured the mystified American. “Perhaps he’s asking us to surrender.”
“He is either appealing to the sun or praying to the sky,” said his companion.
“I have it!” cried Hugh. “He thinks we are angels.” Despite the gravity of the moment she giggled delightedly.
“Then we may as well sit down and await developments,” she said a moment later, as they observed the whole band go face downward on the sand again—all save the chief. The white people seated themselves on the ledge and watched the impassioned jabberer. Presently the prostrate figures arose and in mute submission spread forth their arms and bent their heads, standing like bronze statues in the glaring sunlight, all to the increased astonishment of those who had expected to become victims of their torture.
“This beats all I ever knew,” exclaimed Ridgeway. “It begins to look as though they are either friendly or afraid of us. What shall we do?”
“I will follow you, Hugh, if you think it best to go down to them. I do not believe they will harm us.”
“We will go down to them, but we must not let them think we are in the least afraid of them.”
With some anxiety and a decided feeling of insecurity they arose to take the risk. Putting into use all the composure he could command, he deliberately began the descent, turning to assist her Ladyship.
“They are on the ground again, bobbing worse than ever,” she whispered, for his back was toward them. In a few minutes, after a descent made more tortuous by the uncertainty of its ending, they found themselves on a level with the huddled natives. Taking her hand in his left and clutching his club nervously in his right, Hugh advanced slowly toward the band. Every nerve in his body was quivering under the strain which his apparent coolness cost. When within fifteen feet of the prostrate figures they halted and Hugh cried out boldly:
“Get up!”
Instead of obeying the command instantly, the little band peeped slyly at the strangers. Then they struggled to their feet, crowding into a bunch, the picture of bewilderment.
“By George, they look at us as if they never had seen white people before,” said Hugh. With stately tread he approached the now trembling, shrinking natives, holding his left hand aloft to signify graciousness. Lady Tennys walked beside him, a smile playing on her exceedingly pale face. “My good friends, be not afraid,” said he. The brown men looked at each other in deeper wonder than before.
The leader, a perfect giant, stepped forward hesitatingly, fairly pushed on by his comrades. In an awed voice he gave utterance to a most outlandish rattle of sound, the like of which his hearers never had heard. In conclusion he touched his mouth and ears and shook his head solemnly. Hugh, taking the cue, repeated the performance.
“That signifies that we don’t understand each other. He sha’n’t beat me on the sign language,” he said. “I believe this is a great time to work in something dramatic. We can make a hit by simply going among them and laying our hands on their heads. It will be graceful and fetching, I’m sure. First, I am going to see if they are afraid of us.” He suddenly threw up both hands and cried “Boo!” in a loud tone. The eyes of the watchers hung out and they jumped like so many mice at the sound. It was so laughable that she was compelled to place her handkerchief over her mouth and turn her head away. “I guess we’ve got ’em pretty well paralyzed,” grinned Hugh. Then he went among them, placing his hands gently upon their woolly heads, Lady Tennys doing likewise. The flesh of the savages fairly quivered at the touch, yet all seemed delighted that the visitors had condescended to lay hands of kindness upon them. They began to chatter and chant softly, all the time eyeing Hugh and his companion with reverence.
“They don’t seem to thaw out or show any signs of friendship,” said Hugh, very much puzzled. He and his companion walked over to the shade of the rock and calmly sat down to await the next move. They now had no fear of harm at the hands of the simple though savage-looking men, who watched them from a distance jabbering excitedly.
“Hugh, I am firmly convinced that they have never seen white people before. They don’t know what we are.”
For five minutes they sat and discussed possibilities and probabilities, fully realizing that they were objects of awe to the savages. Finally the tall one left the group and drew near the couple, approaching in fine humility. When he was a dozen feet from them, they arose, extending friendly hands toward him. He dropped to his knees and fairly ground his head upon the rock. Then he arose and came directly to them. Hugh marvelled at his size. Tremendous muscles, cords, knots and ridges stood, out all over his symmetrical body. He peered intently at the white man’s flesh and then dubiously at his own. When he turned his inspection to Tennys, his eyes riveted themselves upon her clear white face, the most gorgeously beautiful flower he ever had seen. He could not grasp the full glory of that dazzling flower; he was stupefied, helpless before the blue eyes and dazzling smile. In mute idolatry he at last lifted his puzzled gaze to the sun and then, extending his great arms upward, uttered a few low, guttural appeals to the King of the sky.
“He thinks we are from the sun,” said she, keenly ingenious.
“This fellow really seems quite willing to worship us. The best we can do for the present is to set ourselves up as idols. I think I can be a very clever idol with precious little practice. You can be one without an effort. Shall we set up a worship shop among these decidedly willing subjects?”
“But, Hugh, if we go away from the coast we cannot hope to see a white man again; these poor fellows are now, for the first time, looking upon one. Should we not stay here?” she asked, full of fear and perplexity.
“If a white man ever finds this land he will discover us. Besides, we cannot live on this rock forever. It would only be a question of time until we should starve or be killed by wild beasts. I am in favor of retaining the very evident monopoly we have established in this land of nowhere.”
“But if they should prove treacherous?”
“There’s no mistaking the honesty of their wonder. We are real curiosities, and we have only to follow up the advantage to become regular despots.” He was enthused by the possibilities that thronged his imagination.
“I will leave it all to you, Hugh. Do what you think best,” she said softly and resumed her seat on the rock.
With his heart quickened by the inspiration in that trusting face, Hugh boldly stepped to the side of the brown giant, deliberately taking his hand to lead him to the edge of the precipice.
There, by signs and gesticulations, he endeavored to tell him that they came from over the sea. From the awed expression on the face of the savage he guessed that he had increased the mystery. It was quite evident that his auditor now believed them to be from the bottom of the sea instead of from the sun. To Hugh
it mattered little as long as he could have the wand of power over their heads. He delighted the chief by making him understand that he and his companion would accompany them in the boats. The word was conveyed to his warriors, and a wild chatter of joy went up from among them. They fell upon their faces and groaned in mighty discord.
Within a quarter of an hour the light bark canoes were speeding toward the harbor mouth, big brown arms manning the paddles vigorously. Ridgeway and Tennys sat facing each other in the foremost boat, the chief steering. Their turtle shell was in another boat, and Hugh did not forget the good old spar that lay on the beach below. Hour after hour passed, the oarsmen paddling the same stroke, never tiring, never faltering. The passengers at last began to lose interest in the gorgeous scenery along the coast they were skirting. Where would this startling journey end? When would the indefatigable oarsmen lay down their paddles to rest? When would they be able to procure food and drink?
The sun was sinking toward the water line, the forest along the uneven coast was merging into one vast green shadow, the waters were growing blacker and blacker, and yet the row of canoes continued its wearisome glide toward a seemingly unattainable end. Lady Tennys became so tired and sleepy that her long lashes could not be restrained from caressing her cheeks, nor could her dreamy eyes bear the strain of wakefulness. Hugh, observing her fatigue, persuaded her to turn about in the boat and lie back against his shoulder. Soon she was sleeping soundly, her face protected from the dying sun by a readjustment of her palm-leaf bonnet.
Ridgeway was beginning to fight against the effects of an ungovernable drowsiness when the boat in which they sat suddenly turned toward the beach. Long, powerful strokes sent the little craft whizzing in the new direction. Just as the sun’s last rays lost themselves in the night, the prow glided upon the sand and the oarsmen sprang out to carry him and the fair sleeper ashore.
CHAPTER XXII
FLESH SUCCEEDS STONE
Lady Tennys rubbed her eyes and stared blankly about her when Hugh awoke her. The darkness and the strange forms frightened her, but his reassuring words brought remembrance of the unique trip and with it the dim realization that they had landed at last.
If their first landing place was wonderful, this was doubly so. Despite the darkness, they were able to see quite distinctly the general outline of the coast. Two mammoth rocks, as large apparently as the one they had left behind, rose toward the hazy moonlit sky, far in shore, like twin sentinels, black and forbidding. Between them a narrow stretch of sky could be seen, with the moon just beyond. Entranced, they gazed upon the vivid yet gloomy panorama bursting from the shades of night almost as if it were advancing upon them. So immense, so startling, were these vast towering columns, so brilliant was the sky behind them, that the wonder-struck strangers found difficulty in controlling a desire to turn about and fly from the impending rush of mountain, moon and sky. In the first moments of breathless observation it seemed to them that the great rocks were moving toward the sea and that the sky was falling with them, giving the frightful impression that they were soon to be crushed in the ponderous fall. They were exchanging expressions of relief when the big chief came up and prostrated himself at their feet.
Ridgeway touched his shoulder and bade him arise, pointing toward the mounts and their attendant glory. To his amazement the chief uttered an exclamation of satisfaction and abruptly ran back to the boats. In an incredibly short space of time the restless savages were coming up the beach with their canoes on their shoulders, heading straight for the opening through which the moonlight streamed. Two of them formed a “basket,” and Lady Tennys, taking her seat upon their hands, and holding timidly to their hard, muscular shoulders, was borne swiftly onward and upward, Ridgeway having some difficulty in keeping pace with the human carriage.
Big rocks told them that they were at the base of the rocky columns and the course of the little band indicated that they were to pass between the towering, almost perpendicular monsters. Suddenly the little cavalcade of the night came to a halt, the boats were thrown down and Hugh arrived at the conclusion that they were to stop until morning. In this he found himself mistaken, for with the very next moment he heard the splashing of water, seemingly beneath his feet. Up to now he had been looking upward at the rift in the rocks. Instead of a rocky gorge he now saw the shimmering of water, and a fresh exclamation of surprise fell from his lips.
“Can this be fairyland?” he cried, completely dazed.
“We must be dreaming, Hugh,” murmured she. The party stood at the water’s edge, looking up through the miniature cañon, the rushing of distant rapids coming to their ears.
The boats were lowered, and the oarsmen were soon pulling sturdily between the tall twins. These frowning monsters formed a perfect gateway from the sea to the home of the savages. Hugh felt that he was shut off forever from the outside world as he surveyed, with sinking heart, the portals through which they had passed. Soon a second landing was made, this time upon soft, rich soil, instead of crunching sand. It was easy to tell that they were standing on velvety grass, soft, cool and dewy. The boats were made fast, the spar and shell were swung upon broad shoulders, and then the party plunged straight into the wood, Lady Tennys being carried as before.
After ten minutes of rapid walking over a well-beaten trail the band halted, and the chief uttered several piercing cries. From afar off in the still night came an echoing answer and again the march was resumed, the travellers keeping close to the bank of the river. In time they reached an open stretch, across which the escort started, turning away from the stream.
There were fitful flashes of light ahead. Across the little plain came a jumble of flying human beings, two or three bearing torches. They seemed to have sprung from the ground, so abruptly did they appear before the eyes of the dumbfounded strangers in this strange land. The chief went forward rapidly and checked the advancing figures, preparing them for what was to follow. The entire company prostrated itself in good form.
With the horde of stupefied recruits at their heels, the white people at length entered the village, which nestled against the hillside. Hundreds of dark, almost naked, savages rushed from the shadows, the news of the great visitation having spread like wildfire. By the time the halt was made in front of a large, odd-looking structure, her Ladyship was so overcome with excitement that she could hardly stand. Ridgeway caught her as she staggered from her improvised litter. Presently she grew stronger, and with her companion entered what was apparently a palace among the squat, queerly built houses.
The chief ordered torches stuck in the ground, and a bright, strong light filled the interior. They found themselves in a large apartment, twenty by thirty feet in size. A reed or grass roof provided covering. This roof, like those in civilized lands, ran to a high point in the centre, the sides being fully twelve feet from the ground. There were no windows in the walls, but as they did not come within three feet of the roof, there was ample provision for ventilation and light. The entrance to this structure was through wide portals, reaching from ground to eaves. There was no floor save the earth, but there were rugs made from the skins of wild animals. Hugh noticed with a thrill of excitement that among them were tiger and leopard skins. Directly opposite the entrance stood a rough and peculiarly hewn stone, resembling in a general way the form of a man, colossal, diabolical.
“An idol,” whispered Lady Tennys in awed tones.
“Perhaps it would be wisdom on our part to kneel before the thing,” said Hugh calculatingly.
“I’ll do anything you think best,” she said reluctantly, kneeling for a moment with him before the idol. Whereupon the chief and his attendants shouted for joy and fell upon their much-used faces. The populace, thronging about the temple, took up the cry, and all night long they chanted praise to the living gods. The weird, ghastly figures flitted from end to end of the mad village long after the chief and his party had left the temple to the sole possession of the new divinities.
“I wonder if the
y expect us to sit up forever as sedately as that old party over there,” mused Hugh, after the savages had withdrawn, greatly to the mystification of their guests. “We’re evidently left here to make the best of it. I fancy we are now supposed to be in business as real gods with a steady job in the temple.”
“I am beginning to think we have come to a terrible place, Hugh. How fierce and wild these people are! What is to become of us?” asked she, shivering as with a chill. “How horrible it would be if they brought us here as a sacrifice to this beastly idol. Is there no way of escape?”
“Nonsense! We’ve queered this antiquated old fossil forever. Two real live gods are worth ten thousand stone quarries like that. If you say so, I’ll have a few of his worshippers take him down and toss him in the river.”
The big room was devoid of furniture save for the rugs and several blocks of stone grouped about the idol. Ridgeway was convinced that they were in the sacred place of worship. Seating themselves rather sacrilegiously upon the stone blocks, they looked about the place with tired, hopeless eyes. The walls were hung with spears, war clubs and other ferocious weapons, evidently the implements of defence to be used by the stone deity in case of emergency.
“Well,” quoth Hugh, after the gloomy inspection, “they must think that gods don’t sleep. I don’t see anything that looks like a berth around here. God or no god, I am going to turn in somewhere for the night. His Reverence may be disturbed if I snore, but I dare say his kick won’t amount to much. I’ll pile some of these skins over in that corner for you and then I’ll build a nest for myself near the door.” Suiting the action to the word, he proceeded to make a soft couch for her. She sat by and watched him with troubled eyes.
“Do you think it safe to go to sleep when we don’t know what they may do during the night? They may pounce upon us and kill us.” Hugh paused in his work and walked to her side.
“Something tells me we are safe with these people. We may as well make the best of it, anyhow. We are in for it, and I’ll bet my soul we come out all right. Go over there and sleep. I’ll be the first one killed if they attempt violence. Here’s a club that will down a few of them before they get the best of me.” He took from the wall a great murderous-looking club and swung it about his head.
The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack: 25 Classic Novels and Stories Page 180