CHAPTER VII
LEONARD SWEARS ON THE BLOOD OF ACA
On the morrow Leonard woke early from a troubled sleep, for his feverwould scarcely let him rest. But, early as it was, the woman Soa hadbeen up before him, and on coming out of the cave the first thing thathe saw was her tall shape bending over a little fire, whereon a gourdwas boiling, the contents of which she stirred from time to time.
"Good morning to you, White Man," she said; "here is that which shallcure you of your sickness as I promised to do;" and she lifted the gourdfrom the fire.
Leonard took it and sniffed at the liquor, which smelt abominably.
"It is more likely to poison me, mother," he said.
"No, no," she answered with a smile; "drink half of it now and half atmidday, and the fever shall trouble you no more."
So soon as the stuff was cool enough Leonard obeyed, though with adoubting heart.
"Well, mother," he said, setting the gourd down with a gasp, "ifnastiness is any proof of virtue your medicine should be good."
"It is good," she answered gravely; "many have been dragged from theedge of death by it."
And here it may be stated, whether it was owing to Soa's medicine or toother causes, that Leonard began to mend from that hour. By nightfall hefelt a different man, and before three days were over he was as strongas he had ever been in his life. But into the ingredients of the draughthe never found the courage to inquire, and perhaps it was as well.
Shortly after he had taken his dose Leonard observed Otter walking upthe hill, bearing a huge lump of meat upon his shoulders.
"The old woman has brought us luck," said the dwarf as he loosed himselffrom his burden. "Once more the bush is full of game; scarcely had Ireached it when I killed a young koodoo, fat, ah! fat, and there aremany of them about."
Then they prepared breakfast, and ate it, and when the meal was doneonce more they talked.
"Mother," began Leonard, "last night you asked me to undertake agreat venture, and promised a reward in payment. Now, as you said, weEnglishmen will do much for gold, and I am a poor man who seeks wealth.You demand of me that I should risk my life; now tell me of its price."
The woman Soa looked at him awhile, and answered:
"White Man, have you ever heard of the People of the Mist?"
"No," he said, "that is, except in London. I mean that I know nothing ofsuch a people. What of them?"
"This: I, Soa, am one of that people. I was the daughter of theirhead-priest, and I fled from them many many years ago, because I wasdoomed to be offered up as a sacrifice to the god Jal, he who is shapedlike the Black One yonder," and she pointed to Otter.
"This is rather interesting," said Leonard; "go on."
"White Man, that people is a great people. They live in a region ofmist, upon high lands beneath the shadow of the tops of snow mountains.They are larger than other men in size, and very cruel, but their womenare fair. Now of the beginning of my people I know nothing, for it islost in the past. But they worship an ancient stone statue fashionedlike a dwarf, and to him they offer the blood of men. Beneath the feetof the statue is a pool of water, and beyond the pool is a cave. In thatcave, White Man, he dwells whom they adore in effigy above, he, Jal,whose name is Terror."
"Do you mean that a dwarf lives in the cave?" asked Leonard.
"No, White Man, not a dwarf, but a holy crocodile which they name theSnake, the biggest crocodile in the whole world, and the oldest, for hehas dwelt there from the beginning. It is this Snake that devours thebodies of those who are offered to the Black One."
"As I remarked before," said Leonard, "all this is very romantic andinteresting, but I cannot see that there is much profit to be made outof it."
"White Man, the lives of men are not the only things which the priestsof the Children of the Mist offer to their god; they offer also suchtoys as _this_, White Man," and suddenly she unclosed her hand andexhibited to Leonard's astonished gaze a ruby, or what appeared to bea ruby, of such size and so lovely a colour, that his eyes were dazzledwhen he looked at it. The gem, though roughly polished, was uncut, butits dimensions were those of a small blackbird's egg, it was of thepurest pigeon-blood colour, without a flaw, and worn almost round,apparently by the action of water. Now, as it chanced, Leonard knewsomething of gems, although unhappily he was less acquainted with thepeculiarities of the ruby than with those of most other stones. Thus,although this magnificent specimen might be a true stone, as indeedappeared to be the case, it was quite possible that it was only aspinel, or a garnet, and alas! he had no means of setting his doubts atrest.
"Do your people find many of these pebbles, Soa?" he asked, "and if so,where do they find them?"
"Yes, White Man, they find many, though few of such a size as this.They dig them out of a dry river-bed in some spot that is known to thepriests only, and with them other beautiful stones of a blue colour."
"Sapphires probably," said Leonard to himself: "they generally gotogether."
"Every year they dig them," she went on, "and the biggest of those thatare found in their digging they bind upon the brow of her who is to beoffered as a wife to the god Jal. Afterwards, before she dies, they takethe gem from her brow and store it in a secret place, and there in thatsecret place are hidden all those that have been worn by the victims ofcountless years. Moreover the eyes of Jal are made of such stones, andthere are others.
"This is the legend of my people, White Man, that Jal, God of Death andEvil, slew his mother, Aca, in the far past. There where the stones arefound he slew her, and the red gems are her blood, and the blue gems areher tears which she shed praying to him for mercy. Therefore the bloodof Aca is offered to Jal, and so it shall be offered till Aca comesagain to drive his worship from the land."
"A nice bit of mythology, I am sure," said Leonard. "Our old friends theDarkness and the Dawn in an African shape, I suppose. But listen to me,mother. This stone, if it is genuine, is worth many ounces of gold, butthere are other stones so like it that none who are not learned can tellthe difference, and if it be one of these it is of little value. Stillit may happen that this, and the others of which you speak, are truerubies; at any rate I should be willing to take my chance of that. Butnow, tell me, what is your plan? This is a very pretty story, and therubies may be there, but how am I to get them?"
"I have a plan, White Man," she answered. "If you will help me, I offerto give you that stone, which I have borne hidden about me for manyyears, tellings its story to none, no, not even to Mavoom. I offerto give it to you now if you will promise to attempt the rescue of mymistress, for I know by your eyes that if once you promise you will notdesert the quest;" and she paused, looking at him keenly.
"Very well," said Leonard, "but considering the risks the price does notseem quite good enough. As I told you, this stone may be worth nothing:you must make a better bid, mother."
"Truly, White Man, I have judged you well," answered Soa with a sneer;"also you are wise: little work for little wage. Listen now, this is thepay I proffer you.
"If you succeed, and the Shepherdess is saved alive from the grip of theYellow Devil, I promise this on her behalf and on my own: that I willguide you to the land of the People of the Mist, and show you a wayto win for yourself all those other countless stones that are hiddenthere."
"Good," said Leonard, "but why do you promise on behalf of your mistressand yourself? What has she got to do with it?"
"Without her nothing can be done, White Man. This people is great andstrong, and we have no force with which to conquer them in war. Herecraft must be your spear."
"You must speak more clearly, Soa. I cannot waste time in guessingriddles. How will you conquer this people by craft, and what has MissRodd, whom you name the Shepherdess, to do with the matter?"
"That you shall learn by-and-by, after you have rescued her, White Man;till then my lips are shut. I tell you that I have a plan, and this mustbe enough, for more I will not say. If you are not content, let me go toseek help elsewhere."
Leonard thought a moment, and seeing that she was determined not to bemore explicit, said:
"Very well, then. And now how am I to know that your mistress will fallin with this scheme?"
"I answer for her," said Soa, "she will never go back upon my word. Lookyou, White Man, it is not for a little thing that I would have told youthis tale. If you journey to the land of the People of the Mist, I mustgo with you, and there, should I be discovered, my death waits me. Itell you the tale, or some of it, and I offer you the bribe becauseI see that you need money, and I am sure that without the chance ofwinning money you will not hazard your life in this desperate search.But I love my mistress so well that I am ready to hazard mine; ay, Iwould give six lives, if I had them, to save her from the shame of theslave. Now, White Man, we have talked enough; is it a bargain?"
"What do you say, Otter?" asked Leonard, thoughtfully pulling at hisbeard, "you have heard all this wonderful tale and you are clever."
"Yes, Baas," said the dwarf, speaking for the first time, "I have heardthe tale, and as for being clever, perhaps I am and perhaps I am not. Mypeople said that I was clever, and that is one of the reasons why theywould not have me for a chief. If I had been clever only, they couldhave borne it, they said, or if I had been ugly only, but being bothugly and clever I was no chief for them. They feared lest I should rulethem too well and make all the people to be born ugly also. Ah! theywere fools; they did not understand that it wants someone cleverer thanI to make people so ugly."
"Never mind all that," said Leonard, who understood however that thedwarf was talking thus in order to give himself time to think before heanswered. "Show me your mind, Otter."
"Baas, what can I say? I know nothing of the value of that red stone.I do not know whether this woman, of whom my heart tells me no good,speaks truth or lies about a distant people who live in a fog andworship a god shaped as I am. None have ever worshipped me, yet theremay be a land where I should be deemed worthy of worship, and if soI should like to travel in that land. But as to the rescue of thisShepherdess from the Nest of the Yellow Devil, I do not know how it canbe brought about. Say, mother, how many of the men of Mavoom were takenprisoners with your mistress?"
"Fifty of them perchance," answered Soa.
"Well now," went on the dwarf, "if we could loose those men and if theyare brave we might do something, but there are many _if's_ about it,Baas. Still if you think the pay is good enough we can try. It will bebetter than sitting here, and it does not matter what happens. Every manto his fate, Baas, and fate to every man."
"A good motto," said Leonard. "Soa, I take your offer, though I am afool for my pains. And now, with your leave, we will put the matterinto writing so that there may be no mistake about it afterwards. Get alittle blood from the buck's flesh, Otter, and mix gunpo water with it;that will do for ink if we add some hot water."
While the dwarf was compounding this ominous mixture Leonard sought ofpaper. He could find none; the last had been lost when the hut was blownaway on the night of his brother's death. Then he bethought him ofthe prayer-book which Jane Beach had given him. He would not use thefly-leaf, because her name was on it, so he must write across thetitle-page. And thus he wrote in small, neat letters with his mixture ofblood and gunpowder straight through the _Order of Common Prayer_:--
"_Agreement between Leonard Outram and Soa, the native woman._
"I. The said Leonard Outram agrees to use his best efforts to rescueJuanna, the daughter of Mr. Rodd, now reduced to a state of slavery andbelieved to be in the power of one Pereira, a slave-dealer.
"II. In consideration of the services of the said Leonard Outram, thesaid Soa delivers to him a certain stone believed to be a ruby, of whichthe said Leonard Outram hereby acknowledges the receipt.
"III. Should the rescue be effected, the said Soa hereby agrees, onbehalf of herself and the said Juanna Rodd, to conduct the said LeonardOutram to a certain spot in central South Eastern Africa, inhabited bya tribe known as the People of the Mist, there to reveal to him and tohelp him to gain possession of the store of rubies used in the religiousceremonies of the said tribe. Further, the said Soa agrees, on behalf ofthe said Juanna Rodd, that she, the said Juanna, will accompany her uponthe journey, and will play among the said People of the Mist anypart that may be required of her as necessary to the success of thisundertaking.
"IV. It is mutually agreed that these enterprises be prosecuted untilthe said Leonard Outram is satisfied that they are fruitless.
"Signed in the Manica Mountains, Eastern Africa, on the ninth day of May18--."
When he had finished this document, perhaps one of the most remarkablethat were ever written since Pizarro drew up his famous agreement forthe division of the prospective spoils of Peru, Leonard read it aloudand laughed heartily to himself. It was the first time that he hadlaughed for some months. Then he translated it to his companions, notwithout complaisancy, for it had a truly legal sound, and your laymanloves to affect the lawyer.
"What do you think of that, Otter?" he asked when he had finished.
"It is fine, Baas, very fine," answered the dwarf. "Wonderful are theways of the white man! But, Baas, how can the old woman promise thingson behalf of another?"
Leonard pulled his beard reflectively. The dwarf had put his fingerupon the weak spot in the document. But he was saved the necessity ofanswering by Soa herself, who said quietly, "Have no fear, White Man;that which I promise in her name, my mistress will certainly perform,if so be that you can save her. Give me the pen that I may make my markupon the paper. But first do you swear upon the red stone that you willperform what you undertake in this writing."
So Leonard laughed, swore, and signed, and Soa made her mark. ThenOtter affixed his, as witness to the deed, and the thing was finished.Laughing again at the comicality of the transaction, which indeed he hadcarried out more by way of joke than for any other reason, Leonard putthe prayer-book in his pocket and the great ruby into a division ofhis belt. The old woman watched the stone vanish with an expression oftriumph on her face, then she cried exultingly:
"Ah! White Man, you have taken my pay, and now you are my servant to theend. He who swears upon the blood of Aca swears an oath indeed, and woebe to him if he should break it."
"Quite so," answered Leonard; "I have taken your pay and I mean to earnit, so we need not enter into the matter of the blood of Aca. It seemsto me more probable that our own blood will be in question before all issaid and done. And now we had better make ready to start."
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