Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest

by W. H. Hudson

  CHAPTER XIX

  My arrival at the village created some excitement; but I was plainly nolonger regarded as a friend or one of the family. Runi was absent, andI looked forward to his return with no little apprehension he woulddoubtless decide my fate. Kua-ko was also away. The others sat or stoodabout the great room, staring at me in silence. I took no notice, butmerely asked for food, then for my hammock, which I hung up in the oldplace, and lying down I fell into a doze. Runi made his appearance atdusk. I rose and greeted him, but he spoke no word and, until he went tohis hammock, sat in sullen silence, ignoring my presence.

  On the following day the crisis came. We were once more gathered in theroom--all but Kua-ko and another of the men, who had not yet returnedfrom some expedition--and for the space of half an hour not a wordwas spoken by anyone. Something was expected; even the children werestrangely still, and whenever one of the pet birds strayed in at theopen door, uttering a little plaintive note, it was chased out again,but without a sound. At length Runi straightened himself on his seat andfixed his eyes on me; then cleared his throat and began a long harangue,delivered in the loud, monotonous singsong which I knew so well andwhich meant that the occasion was an important one. And as is usualin such efforts, the same thought and expressions were used again andagain, and yet again, with dull, angry insistence. The orator of Guayanato be impressive must be long, however little he may have to say.Strange as it may seem, I listened critically to him, not without afeeling of scorn at his lower intelligence. But I was easier in my mindnow. From the very fact of his addressing such a speech to me I wasconvinced that he wished not to take my life, and would not do so if Icould clear myself of the suspicion of treachery.

  I was a white man, he said, they were Indians; nevertheless they hadtreated me well. They had fed me and sheltered me. They had done agreat deal for me: they had taught me the use of the zabatana, and hadpromised to make one for me, asking for nothing in return. They had alsopromised me a wife. How had I treated them? I had deserted them, goingaway secretly to a distance, leaving them in doubt as to my intentions.How could they tell why I had gone, and where? They had an enemy. Managawas his name; he and his people hated them; I knew that he wished themevil; I knew where to find him, for they had told me. That was what theythought when I suddenly left them. Now I returned to them, saying thatI had been to Riolama. He knew where Riolama was, although he had neverbeen there: it was so far. Why did I go to Riolama? It was a bad place.There were Indians there, a few; but they were not good Indians likethose of Parahuari, and would kill a white man. HAD I gone there? Whyhad I gone there?

  He finished at last, and it was my turn to speak, but he had given meplenty of time, and my reply was ready. "I have heard you," I said."Your words are good words. They are the words of a friend. 'I am thewhite man's friend,' you say; 'is he my friend? He went away secretly,saying no word; why did he go without speaking to his friend who hadtreated him well? Has he been to my enemy Managa? Perhaps he is a friendof my enemy? Where has he been?' I must now answer these things, sayingtrue words to my friend. You are an Indian, I am a white man. You do notknow all the white man's thoughts. These are the things I wish to tellyou. In the white man's country are two kinds of men. There are the richmen, who have all that a man can desire--houses made of stone, full offine things, fine clothes, fine weapons, fine ornaments; and they havehorses, cattle, sheep, dogs--everything they desire. Because they havegold, for with gold the white man buys everything. The other kindof white men are the poor, who have no gold and cannot buy or haveanything: they must work hard for the rich man for the little food hegives them, and a rag to cover their nakedness; and if he gives themshelter they have it; if not they must lie down in the rain out ofdoors. In my own country, a hundred days from here, I was the son of agreat chief, who had much gold, and when he died it was all mine, and Iwas rich. But I had an enemy, one worse than Managa, for he was rich andhad many people. And in a war his people overcame mine, and he took mygold, and all I possessed, making me poor. The Indian kills his enemy,but the white man takes his gold, and that is worse than death. Then Isaid: 'I have been a rich man and now I am poor, and must work like adog for some rich man, for the sake of the little food he will throw meat the end of each day. No, I cannot do it! I will go away and live withthe Indians, so that those who have seen me a rich man shall never seeme working like a dog for a master, and cry out and mock at me. For theIndians are not like white men: they have no gold; they are not richand poor; all are alike. One roof covers them from the rain and sun.All have weapons which they make; all kill birds in the forest and catchfish in the rivers; and the women cook the meat and all eat from onepot. And with the Indians I will be an Indian, and hunt in the forestand eat with them and drink with them.' Then I left my country and camehere, and lived with you, Runi, and was well treated. And now, why didI go away? This I have now to tell you. After I had been here a certaintime I went over there to the forest. You wished me not to go, becauseof an evil thing, a daughter of the Didi, that lived there; but I fearednothing and went. There I met an old man, who talked to me in the whiteman's language. He had travelled and seen much, and told me one strangething. On a mountain at Riolama he told me that he had seen a great lumpof gold, as much as a man could carry. And when I heard this I said:'With the gold I could return to my country, and buy weapons for myselfand all my people and go to war with my enemy and deprive him of all hispossessions and serve him as he served me.' I asked the old man to takeme to Riolama; and when he had consented I went away from here withoutsaying a word, so as not to be prevented. It is far to Riolama, and Ihad no weapons; but I feared nothing. I said: 'If I must fight I mustfight, and if I must be killed I must be killed.' But when I got toRiolama I found no gold. There was only a yellow stone which the oldman had mistaken for gold. It was yellow, like gold, but it would buynothing. Therefore I came back to Parahuari again, to my friend; and ifhe is angry with me still because I went away without informing him, lethim say: 'Go and seek elsewhere for a new friend, for I am your friendno longer.'"

  I concluded thus boldly because I did not wish him to know that I hadsuspected him of harbouring any sinister designs, or that I lookedon our quarrel as a very serious one. When I had finished speaking heemitted a sound which expressed neither approval nor disapproval, butonly the fact that he had heard me. But I was satisfied. His expressionhad undergone a favourable change; it was less grim. After a whilehe remarked, with a peculiar twitching of the mouth which might havedeveloped into a smile: "The white man will do much to get gold. Youwalked twenty days to see a yellow stone that would buy nothing." It wasfortunate that he took this view of the case, which was flattering tohis Indian nature, and perhaps touched his sense of the ludicrous. Atall events, he said nothing to discredit my story, to which they had alllistened with profound interest.

  From that time it seemed to be tacitly agreed to let bygones be bygones;and I could see that as the dangerous feeling that had threatened mylife diminished, the old pleasure they had once found in my companyreturned. But my feelings towards them did not change, nor could theywhile that black and terrible suspicion concerning Rima was in my heart.I talked again freely with them, as if there had been no break in theold friendly relations. If they watched me furtively whenever I wentout of doors, I affected not to see it. I set to work to repair my rudeguitar, which had been broken in my absence, and studied to show thema cheerful countenance. But when alone, or in my hammock, hidden fromtheir eyes, free to look into my own heart, then I was conscious thatsomething new and strange had come into my life; that a new nature,black and implacable, had taken the place of the old. And sometimesit was hard to conceal this fury that burnt in me; sometimes I felt animpulse to spring like a tiger on one of the Indians, to hold him fastby the throat until the secret I wished to learn was forced from hislips, then to dash his brains out against the stone. But they were many,and there was no choice but to be cautious and patient if I wished tooutwit them with a cunning superior to their own.

/>   Three days after my arrival at the village, Kua-ko returned with hiscompanion. I greeted him with affected warmth, but was really pleasedthat he was back, believing that if the Indians knew anything of Rima heamong them all would be most likely to tell it.

  Kua-ko appeared to have brought some important news, which he discussedwith Runi and the others; and on the following day I noticed thatpreparations for an expedition were in progress. Spears and bows andarrows were got ready, but not blow-pipes, and I knew by this that theexpedition would not be a hunting one. Having discovered so much, alsothat only four men were going out, I called Kua-ko aside and begged himto let me go with them. He seemed pleased at the proposal, and at oncerepeated it to Runi, who considered for a little and then consented.

  By and by he said, touching his bow: "You cannot fight with our weapons;what will you do if we meet an enemy?"

  I smiled and returned that I would not run away. All I wished to showhim was that his enemies were my enemies, that I was ready to fight formy friend.

  He was pleased at my words, and said no more and gave me no weapons.Next morning, however, when we set out before daylight, I made thediscovery that he was carrying my revolver fastened to his waist. Hehad concealed it carefully under the one simple garment he wore, but itbulged slightly, and so the secret was betrayed. I had never believedthat he had lost it, and I was convinced that he took it now with theobject of putting it into my hands at the last moment in case of meetingwith an enemy.

  From the village we travelled in a north-westerly direction, and beforenoon camped in a grove of dwarf trees, where we remained until the sunwas low, then continued our walk through a rather barren country. Atnight we camped again beside a small stream, only a few inches deep,and after a meal of smoked meat and parched maize prepared to sleep tilldawn on the next day.

  Sitting by the fire I resolved to make a first attempt to discover fromKua-ko anything concerning Rima which might be known to him. Insteadof lying down when the others did, I remained seated, my guardian alsositting--no doubt waiting for me to lie down first. Presently I movednearer to him and began a conversation in a low voice, anxious not torouse the attention of the other men.

  "Once you said that Oalava would be given to me for a wife," I began."Some day I shall want a wife."

  He nodded approval, and remarked sententiously that the desire topossess a wife was common to all men.

  "What has been left to me?" I said despondingly and spreading out myhands. "My pistol gone, and did I not give Runi the tinder-box, and thelittle box with a cock painted on it to you? I had no return--not eventhe blow-pipe. How, then, can I get me a wife?"

  He, like the others--dull-witted savage that he was--had come to thebelief that I was incapable of the cunning and duplicity they practiced.I could not see a green parrot sitting silent and motionless amidst thegreen foliage as they could; I had not their preternatural keenness ofsight; and, in like manner, to deceive with lies and false seeming wastheir faculty and not mine. He fell readily into the trap. My return topractical subjects pleased him. He bade me hope that Oalava might yet bemine in spite of my poverty. It was not always necessary to have thingsto get a wife: to be able to maintain her was enough; some day I wouldbe like one of themselves, able to kill animals and catch fish. Besides,did not Runi wish to keep me with them for other reasons? But he couldnot keep me wifeless. I could do much: I could sing and make music; Iwas brave and feared nothing; I could teach the children to fight.

  He did not say, however, that I could teach anything to one of his yearsand attainments.

  I protested that he gave me too much praise, that they were just asbrave. Did they not show a courage equal to mine by going every day tohunt in that wood which was inhabited by the daughter of the Didi?

  I came to this subject with fear and trembling, but he took it quietly.He shook his head, and then all at once began to tell me how they firstcame to go there to hunt. He said that a few days after I had secretlydisappeared, two men and a woman, returning home from a distant placewhere they had been on a visit to a relation, stopped at the village.These travellers related that two days' journey from Ytaioa they hadmet three persons travelling in an opposite direction: an old man witha white beard, followed by two yellow dogs, a young man in a big cloak,and a strange-looking girl. Thus it came to be known that I had left thewood with the old man and the daughter of the Didi. It was great news tothem, for they did not believe that we had any intention of returning,and at once they began to hunt in the wood, and went there every day,killing birds, monkeys, and other animals in numbers.

  His words had begun to excite me greatly, but I studied to appear calmand only slightly interested, so as to draw him on to say more.

  "Then we returned," I said at last. "But only two of us, and nottogether. I left the old man on the road, and SHE left us in Riolama.She went away from us into the mountains--who knows whither!"

  "But she came back!" he returned, with a gleam of devilish satisfactionin his eyes that made the blood run cold in my veins.

  It was hard to dissemble still, to tempt him to say something thatwould madden me! "No, no," I answered, after considering his words. "Shefeared to return; she went away to hide herself in the great mountainsbeyond Riolama. She could not come back."

  "But she came back!" he persisted, with that triumphant gleam in hiseyes once more. Under my cloak my hand had clutched my knife-handle, butI strove hard against the fierce, almost maddening impulse to pluck itout and bury it, quick as lightning, in his accursed throat.

  He continued: "Seven days before you returned we saw her in the wood. Wewere always expecting, watching, always afraid; and when hunting we werethree and four together. On that day I and three others saw her. It wasin an open place, where the trees are big and wide apart. We startedup and chased her when she ran from us, but feared to shoot. And in onemoment she climbed up into a small tree, then, like a monkey, passedfrom its highest branches into a big tree. We could not see her there,but she was there in the big tree, for there was no other tree near--noway of escape. Three of us sat down to watch, and the other went backto the village. He was long gone; we were just going to leave the tree,fearing that she would do us some injury, when he came back, and withhim all the others, men, women, and children. They brought axes andknives. Then Runi said: 'Let no one shoot an arrow into the treethinking to hit her, for the arrow would be caught in her hand andthrown back at him. We must burn her in the tree; there is no way tokill her except by fire.' Then we went round and round looking up, butcould see nothing; and someone said: 'She has escaped, flying like abird from the tree'; but Runi answered that fire would show. So we cutdown the small tree and lopped the branches off and heaped them roundthe big trunk. Then, at a distance, we cut down ten more small trees,and afterwards, further away, ten more, and then others, and piled themall round, tree after tree, until the pile reached as far from the trunkas that," and here he pointed to a bush forty to fifty yards from wherewe sat.

  The feeling with which I had listened to this recital had becomeintolerable. The sweat ran from me in streams; I shivered like a personin a fit of ague, and clenched my teeth together to prevent them fromrattling. "I must drink," I said, cutting him short and rising to myfeet. He also rose, but did not follow me, when, with uncertain steps, Imade my way to the waterside, which was ten or twelve yards away. Lyingprostrate on my chest, I took a long draught of clear cold water, andheld my face for a few moments in the current. It sent a chill throughme, drying my wet skin, and bracing me for the concluding part of thehideous narrative. Slowly I stepped back to the fireside and sat downagain, while he resumed his old place at my side.

  "You burnt the tree down," I said. "Finish telling me now and let mesleep--my eyes are heavy."

  "Yes. While the men cut and brought trees, the women and childrengathered dry stuff in the forest and brought it in their arms and piledit round. Then they set fire to it on all sides, laughing and shouting:'Burn, burn, daughter of the Didi!' At length all the lowe
r branches ofthe big tree were on fire, and the trunk was on fire, but above it wasstill green, and we could see nothing. But the flames went up higher andhigher with a great noise; and at last from the top of the tree, outof the green leaves, came a great cry, like the cry of a bird: 'Abel!Abel!' and then looking we saw something fall; through leaves and smokeand flame it fell like a great white bird killed with an arrow andfalling to the earth, and fell into the flames beneath. And it was thedaughter of the Didi, and she was burnt to ashes like a moth in theflames of a fire, and no one has ever heard or seen her since."

  It was well for me that he spoke rapidly, and finished quickly.Even before he had quite concluded I drew my cloak round my face andstretched myself out. And I suppose that he at once followed my example,but I had grown blind and deaf to outward things just then. My heart nolonger throbbed violently; it fluttered and seemed to grow feebler andfeebler in its action: I remember that there was a dull, rushing soundin my ears, that I gasped for breath, that my life seemed ebbing away.After these horrible sensations had passed, I remained quiet for abouthalf an hour; and during this time the picture of that last act in thehateful tragedy grew more and more distinct and vivid in my mind, untilI seemed to be actually gazing on it, until my ears were filled with thehissing and crackling of the fire, the exultant shouts of the savages,and above all the last piercing cry of "Abel! Abel!" from the cloud ofburning foliage. I could not endure it longer, and rose at last to myfeet. I glanced at Kua-ko lying two or three yards away, and he, likethe others, was, or appeared to be, in a deep sleep; he was lying onhis back, and his dark firelit face looked as still and unconscious asa face of stone. Now was my chance to escape--if to escape was my wish.Yes; for I now possessed the coveted knowledge, and nothing more was tobe gained by keeping with my deadly enemies. And now, most fortunatelyfor me, they had brought me far on the road to that place of the fivehills where Managa lived--Managa, whose name had been often in mymind since my return to Parahuari. Glancing away from Kua-ko's stillstone-like face. I caught sight of that pale solitary star which Runihad pointed out to me low down in the north-western sky when I had askedhim where his enemy lived. In that direction we had been travellingsince leaving the village; surely if I walked all night, by tomorrow Icould reach Managa's hunting-ground, and be safe and think over what Ihad heard and on what I had to do.

  I moved softly away a few steps, then thinking that it would be well totake a spear in my hand, I turned back, and was surprised and startledto notice that Kua-ko had moved in the interval. He had turned over onhis side, and his face was now towards me. His eyes appeared closed, buthe might be only feigning sleep, and I dared not go back to pick up thespear. After a moment's hesitation I moved on again, and after a secondglance back and seeing that he did not stir, I waded cautiously acrossthe stream, walked softly twenty or thirty yards, and then began to run.At intervals I paused to listen for a moment; and presently I heard apattering sound as of footsteps coming swiftly after me. I instantlyconcluded that Kua-ko had been awake all the time watching my movements,and that he was now following me. I now put forth my whole speed, andwhile thus running could distinguish no sound. That he would miss me,for it was very dark, although with a starry sky above, was my onlyhope; for with no weapon except my knife my chances would be smallindeed should he overtake me. Besides, he had no doubt roused the othersbefore starting, and they would be close behind. There were no bushesin that place to hide myself in and let them pass me; and presently, tomake matters worse, the character of the soil changed, and I was runningover level clayey ground, so white with a salt efflorescence that adark object moving on it would show conspicuously at a distance. HereI paused to look back and listen, when distinctly came the sound offootsteps, and the next moment I made out the vague form of an Indianadvancing at a rapid rate of speed and with his uplifted spear in hishand. In the brief pause I had made he had advanced almost to withinhurling distance of me, and turning, I sped on again, throwing off mycloak to ease my flight. The next time I looked back he was still insight, but not so near; he had stopped to pick up my cloak, which wouldbe his now, and this had given me a slight advantage. I fled on, and hadcontinued running for a distance perhaps of fifty yards when an objectrushed past me, tearing through the flesh of my left arm close to theshoulder on its way; and not knowing that I was not badly wounded norhow near my pursuer might be, I turned in desperation to meet him,and saw him not above twenty-five yards away, running towards me withsomething bright in his hand. It was Kua-ko, and after wounding me withhis spear he was about to finish me with his knife. O fortunate youngsavage, after such a victory, and with that noble blue cloth cloak fortrophy and covering, what fame and happiness will be yours! A changeswift as lightning had come over me, a sudden exultation. I was wounded,but my right hand was sound and clutched a knife as good as his, andwe were on an equality. I waited for him calmly. All weakness, grief,despair had vanished, all feelings except a terrible raging desire tospill his accursed blood; and my brain was clear and my nerves likesteel, and I remembered with something like laughter our old amusingencounters with rapiers of wood. Ah, that was only making believe andchildish play; this was reality. Could any white man, deprived of histreacherous, far-killing weapon, meet the resolute savage, face to faceand foot to foot, and equal him with the old primitive weapons? Pooryouth, this delusion will cost you dear! It was scarcely an equalcontest when he hurled himself against me, with only his savage strengthand courage to match my skill; in a few moments he was lying at myfeet, pouring out his life blood on that white thirsty plain. From hisprostrate form I turned, the wet, red knife in my hand, to meet theothers, still thinking that they were on the track and close at hand.Why had he stooped to pick up the cloak if they were not following--ifhe had not been afraid of losing it? I turned only to receive theirspears, to die with my face to them; nor was the thought of deathterrible to me; I could die calmly now after killing my first assailant.But had I indeed killed him? I asked, hearing a sound like a groanescape from his lips. Quickly stooping, I once more drove my weapon tothe hilt in his prostrate form, and when he exhaled a deep sigh, and hisframe quivered, and the blood spurted afresh, I experienced a feelingof savage joy. And still no sound of hurrying footsteps came to mylistening ears and no vague forms appeared in the darkness. I concludedthat he had either left them sleeping or that they had not followed inthe right direction. Taking up the cloak, I was about to walk on, whenI noticed the spear he had thrown at me lying where it had fallen someyards away, and picking that up also, I went on once more, still keepingthe guiding star before me.