The Adventures of Dick Maitland: A Tale of Unknown Africa

by Harry Collingwood

  CHAPTER FOUR.

  PHIL GROSVENOR'S PROPOSITION.

  "Well, dash my wig," exclaimed the skipper, his face the picture ofblank astonishment, "that beats the record! Why, the man's fast asleep,in spite of all your handling of him! How in the name of all that'swonderful did you manage to work that miracle, youngster?"

  "Oh, easily enough!" laughed Dick. "Everything is easy, you know, sir,when you understand how to do it. I learned how to do that, and a greatmany other very useful things, under one of the cleverest men in London,a man who would be famous but for the fact that he prefers to work inthe obscurity of the East-End, and let the poor enjoy the benefit of hiswonderful skill, instead of becoming a fashionable Harley Streetpractitioner. With your permission, sir, I will look after our friendTom, here; and I guarantee to have him up and about again, as well asever, before we reach the latitude of the Cape."

  "You do?" ejaculated the skipper. "Then by George, sir, you shall havethe opportunity. But, look here, why didn't you tell me that you were adoctor, when you came and asked me to allow you to work your passage outto South Africa?"

  "Well, you see," answered Dick, "I was rather down on my luck just then;I--or rather, my mother--had learned, only a few days before, that shehad been robbed of all her money; and it was imperative that I should atonce go out into the world and earn more for her, hence my anxiety to goto South Africa. But I was so badly off that I couldn't even afford topay my fare out there; I therefore determined to work my passage. And,as I considered that the fact of my being a doctor would be norecommendation to you, I decided not to mention it."

  "Ah!" remarked the skipper; "that is just where you made a big mistake;your services as a medical man would have been far more valuable to methan as an ordinary seaman. Besides, you can do better work than merepulling and hauling and dipping your hands into the tar bucket. You area gentleman in manner and speech, and will look like one when you getinto another suit of clothes. Now, I tell you what it is; I am notgoing to waste you by allowing you to remain in the forecastle anylonger, so just turn to and get the tar stains off your hands, shiftinto a white shirt and a shore-going suit of clothes, and come aft intothe cuddy as ship's surgeon. There is, very fortunately, a vacant cabinthat you can have; and you may earn the rest of your passage by lookingafter the health of the passengers and crew--there are three or fourladies who are pretty nearly dead with seasickness, and if you canrelieve 'em they'll bless me for discovering you."

  "Oh yes," answered Dick cheerfully, "I have no doubt I can relieve themall right! But there is one thing with regard to this arrangement thatperhaps you have not thought of, Captain. Perhaps your passengers willnot approve of your bringing me aft out of the forecastle to associatewith them upon terms of equality."

  "Don't you trouble your head about that, my son," returned the skipper."That is my affair. But I'm quite sure that they won't object when Itell 'em the facts of the case. Besides, they've already noticed youwhile you've been at the wheel, and have remarked what a well-spoken,gentlemanly young fellow you are. No, no; that'll be all right, neverfear. Now, if you've finished with this poor chap for a while, you hadbetter cut away and make yourself fit for the cuddy, and then shift aft,bag and baggage."

  "Very well, sir, I will, and many thanks to you for the promotion,"answered Dick. "But we cannot leave Tom here on the table, comfortableas he is. Therefore, with your permission, sir, I will call in a coupleof hands, who, with Joe and myself, will be able to put him into thespare bunk, where he will be out of everybody's way, and where I canattend to him quite conveniently."

  To this proposal the worthy skipper at once consented; and half an hourlater Dick, having discarded his working clothes for a suit of blueserge, and otherwise made himself presentable, moved aft and establishedhimself in the spare cabin which Captain Roberts placed at his disposal,the skipper having meanwhile ensured a cordial reception for him fromthe passengers by telling them such particulars of Dick's history as hewas acquainted with, and also describing, with much picturesque detail,the masterly manner in which the lad had patched up the injured seaman.

  Dick had no reason to complain of the manner in which the passengersreceived him among them; on the contrary, his reception was cordial inthe extreme, especially by the women, to whose sense of romance thelad's story, as told by the skipper, appealed very strongly. Theintroduction took place just as the passengers--or at least those ofthem who were not too ill--were about to sit down to tiffin, and Dickwas assigned a place at the long table halfway between the head and thefoot, where Captain Roberts and Mr Sutcliffe respectively presided; butthe young man declined to sit down until he had visited and relieved hisnew patients, consisting of five ladies and three men.

  His method of dealing with these unfortunates was simplicity itself.Relying wholly upon the wonderful power of hypnotism with which hisfriend Humphreys had endowed him, he prepared for each patient a draughtconsisting of sugar and water only, slightly flavoured with an aromaticbitter; and, as he presented this, he got the patient under hisinfluence in the instantaneous manner which Humphreys had taught him, atthe same time saying, in a quietly confident tone of voice:

  "Now, I want you to drink this, please. It is an absolutely unfailingand instantaneous remedy for the distressing complaint from which youare suffering, and the moment that you have swallowed it every trace ofdiscomfort will disappear, to return no more. You will feel sothoroughly well that very probably you will wish to rise and dress; butI do not advise that. On the contrary, I recommend you to remain whereyou are until you have had a few hours' refreshing sleep, after whichyou can get up to dinner. That is right,"--as the patient swallowed thedraught. "Now you feel quite all right, don't you? Yes. You will feelvery sleepy presently; just let yourself go; and when you awake you willfind yourself as well as you ever were in your life."

  And, incredible though it may appear, that is precisely what happened.What was perhaps at least equally remarkable was that, although thesegood people had all suffered more or less from seasickness every daysince leaving Gravesend, from that moment they were entirely free fromit for the remainder of the voyage.

  Among the passengers who were thus suddenly and completely cured was aMr Philip Grosvenor, who, having been crossed in love, and, moreover,possessing far more money than he knew what to do with, while he had nodisposition to dissipate it on the racecourse or at the gambling tables,was going out to South Africa to shoot big game; and this young man--hewas only a month or two over twenty-six years of age--at once struck upa warm friendship with Dick, originating, possibly, in a feeling ofgratitude for his prompt relief from those sufferings which had hithertomade his life a burden to him, from the moment when the South Forelandlight had sunk beneath the horizon astern of the _Concordia_.

  He made his first advances after dinner on the evening of the day whichhad witnessed his cure. As Dick had foretold, he fell asleepimmediately after swallowing the draught which the young medico hadadministered, had awakened, feeling absolutely well, just in time torise and dress for dinner, had partaken of a very hearty meal, andthereafter had made his way up on the poop to gaze upon the stirringspectacle of the ship battling with and gallantly holding her ownagainst the raging wind and sea--and possibly also to revel in his new-found immunity from the horrors of _mal de mer_. Here he had foundDick, a born sailor, walking the heaving and plunging deck and chattinganimatedly with Mr Sutcliffe, who, honest man, felt somewhat at a lossto determine precisely the manner of his behaviour toward the youngsterwhom he had so recently patronised and ordered about, but who was nowtranslated aft to the quarterdeck upon an equal footing with himself.Dick had just about succeeded in putting to flight the worthy chiefmate's feeling of awkwardness and embarrassment when Grosvenor appearedand joined the pair, whereupon Sutcliffe, who was rather shy with thepassengers, sheered off, upon the pretence of attending to his duty, andleft the two together.

  "By Jove, Doctor, but this is a grand sight, isn't it?" exclaimed Dick'
srecent patient. "Never saw the like of it before, and shouldn't be inform to see it now, but for you. 'Pon my word, you know, you are awonder--a perfect wonder! Give me your arm and let's walk about a bit,shall we? That's right. D'you know I don't think I ever felt more fitin my life than I do at this moment; and to reflect that only thismorning I was--ugh! Tell you what it is, Doctor, you should patent thatprescription of yours, have it made up, and sell it at five shillingsthe bottle. You would soon make your fortune. And I'll write atestimonial for you. `Took one dose and never needed another!' eh? No,hang it all, that wouldn't do, either, rather too ambiguous, eh? sort ofdouble meaning in that kind of statement--what? But, joking apart, oldman, I'd very strongly advise you to patent the thing and advertise itextensively. I'm certain that there's money in it."

  "Possibly," agreed Dick, who had no intention of taking this young maninto his confidence to the extent of explaining the actual character ofthe draught. "Unfortunately, however, to do as you suggest needs thepreliminary expenditure of a good deal of money, which is a singularlyscarce commodity with me. No, I am afraid that plan of yours willscarcely do; it is true that I am particularly anxious to make myfortune, and that, too, without a moment's loss of time, but I am afraidI shall have to hit upon some other way of doing it."

  "Ah! Well, what is your plan, if it is a fair question? Excuse me, oldchap, I'm not asking out of mere vulgar, impertinent curiosity, but atthe dinner table to-night somebody mentioned that you are working yourpassage out to South Africa. What do you propose to do when you arrivethere?"

  "Heaven only knows; certainly I do not," answered Dick with a lugubrioussmile. "When I step ashore on the wharf at Port Natal I shall not knowin what direction to turn my steps, or where to look for a meal or anight's lodging. Also the whole of my available capital will consist inthe wages which I shall take up when Captain Roberts gives me mydischarge, amounting, probably, to a couple of shillings."

  "What?" ejaculated Grosvenor incredulously. "Oh, I say, my dear chap,you are not in earnest, surely?"

  "Indeed I am, then, in deadly earnest," answered Dick. "But I am notworrying. I am strong and more than willing to work, and I mean to takethe very first job that comes to hand, let it be what it will. Ibelieve that if a chap is willing to work he can always get something todo, though it may not be precisely the kind of work that he would like.And when once I have secured the means of providing myself with boardand lodging I shall be able to look round for something better."

  "Yes--yes, of course you will," responded Grosvenor, a little dubiously."I say, old chap," he continued admiringly, "you are a `gritty' beggar,and no mistake! I wonder if you would mind telling me your story?"

  "No, not at all," answered Dick; "there is nothing in it that I need beashamed of." And forthwith he proceeded to give his new-found friend abrief yet clear account of the circumstances which had resulted in hisbeing reduced to his present plight.

  "By Jove, Maitland, I admire you!" exclaimed Grosvenor when Dick hadcome to the end of his story. "There is not one man in a hundred who,under similar circumstances, would have tackled the situation with theindomitable pluck and whole-hearted belief in himself that you haveshown; and I feel sure that such courage will meet with its just reward.You are the kind of fellow that always comes out on top, simply becauseyou will not allow yourself to be kept down. Now, look here, I am goingto make a proposition to you--and, understand me, it is on purelyselfish grounds that I am going to make it. I am going out to SouthAfrica because I want to forget a--well, a very bitter disappointmentthat I have recently sustained, and the particulars of which I willperhaps tell you some day if you fall in with my proposition, as I hopeyou will. The way in which I propose to conquer this disappointment ofmine is to go in for a life of adventure--exploration of the interior,big-game shooting, and that sort of thing, you understand. I have heardsome most thrilling stories of the wonderful things and people that areto be found in the interior of Africa, and, while many of them aredoubtless lies, there is evidence enough of a perfectly reliablecharacter to prove that there is at least a certain amount of truth inothers; and it is my purpose to ascertain at firsthand the exact measureof that truth. Take, for example, the contention of certainantiquarians that the ruins of Ophir must exist somewhere upon the eastcoast. I have read pretty nearly everything that has been written uponthat subject, and I am convinced of the soundness of the contention, asI am also of the contention that Zimbabwe is not ancient Ophir. Then,again, there is the statement of the existence of a mysterious whiterace in the far interior, which persistently crops up at intervals. Itwould be interesting in the extreme to be able to settle that matterbeyond a doubt, wouldn't it? Very well, then; my idea is to attempt tofind ancient Ophir, and also the mysterious white race, if possible.

  "Of course I know that what I propose is scarcely in the nature of apicnic; it no doubt means a good deal of hardship, privation, anddanger; in fact, my friends without exception pronounced me a fool forthinking of engaging in such an undertaking, while at least half of themconfidently prophesy that if I make the attempt I shall never return.Well, that is as may be; plenty of better fellows than I have gone underin such excursions, but, on the other hand, as big duffers as I am havedone great things and turned up again all right, so there is noparticular reason that I can see why I should not do the same. And sofar as money is concerned I have more than enough to enable me to equipthe expedition in such a manner as to ensure the minimum of discomfortwith the maximum of everything necessary to success. The only item thatI have had any doubt as to my ability to obtain is--a suitablecompanion; for of course in my maddest moments I have never been assenough to contemplate going into so big a thing single-handed. But theprecise kind of man that I want was not to be found either among myfriends or elsewhere at home, so I came away without him, trusting thatI should be lucky enough to pick him up somewhere on the way; and, byJove, Maitland, the event has justified my trust; for I have found inyou exactly the kind of man I have had in my mind all along--or, rather,somebody better, for in addition to your other qualifications you havevery considerable skill as a physician and surgeon, which is what Inever hoped to secure, even in my most sanguine moments."

  "Do you wish me to infer, then, that you are proposing to take me as ahired assistant--or what?" demanded Dick.

  "Well, yes--and no," answered Grosvenor, with a somewhat embarrassedlaugh. "As a hired assistant, certainly, because the services of afellow like yourself would be of incalculable value to me, especiallywhen the inevitable sickness comes along. But I want particularly tosecure you because--well, to be perfectly plain and blunt, because Ihave taken a great fancy to you, and because I recognise in you exactlythe qualities that would make of you not only an invaluable assistantbut also a perfectly ideal partner, friend, and companion. Therefore,in your capacity as medical attendant to the expedition I propose tooffer you a regular fixed salary of, let us say, two guineas a day, or,taking one month with another, sixty-five pounds a month--the first sixmonths to be paid in advance--and, in your capacity of partner, all theivory, skins, and other matters which we may accumulate during theprogress of the expedition, except what I may desire to appropriate astrophies wherewith to adorn the ancestral halls."

  Dick laughed. "Thank you very much," he said, "but I couldn't possiblyaccede to your terms; they are altogether too glaringly unfair. Thesalaried part I don't at all object to, because of course if you desireto include a medical man in your retinue you must pay him a fair salary,and two guineas a day is not too much, in my opinion. But when you cometo talk about my share of the spoils, in my capacity of your partner, itbecomes a different matter altogether, since I cannot contribute afarthing to the expenses of the expedition, therefore I cannot by anyprocess of reasoning be entitled to any share of its possible profits.No; if you care to engage me as doctor, at the salary that you havenamed, I will accept the post with pleasure and my most hearty thanks,because the pay will suffice to keep the dear old Ma
ter going; and whenwe return to civilisation--if we ever do--I shall be able to set aboutthe task in earnest of `making my fortune.'"

  "But, look here my dear fellow," remonstrated Grosvenor, "it is justnonsense in you--if you will excuse my saying so--to refuse the secondpart of my proposal, for this reason. I am not undertaking thisexpedition as a speculation, or with any idea of making it pay. I havealready a much larger income than I know what to do with, and for thatand other reasons money does not come into the question at all. Likeother fellows who go hunting, I shall naturally desire to have a fewtrophies to exhibit as tokens of my prowess; but, beyond those, I shallhave no use at all for ivory, skins, horns, and such other matters as wemay acquire; therefore you may as well have them as anyone else,especially as you are avowedly out fortune-hunting. Besides, twoguineas a day is an altogether inadequate rate of remuneration for ayoung fellow of your exceptional ability--why, before you had beenpractising a month you would be earning four or five times that amount,and you will be sacrificing that possibility for an indefinite period ifyou elect to join forces with me. Therefore I contend that if anyprofits of any kind accrue to the expedition, you are justly entitled tothem, and I shall not be content unless you consent to take them; indeedif you refuse I shall be obliged to withdraw my offer altogether, muchas I shall regret having to do so."

  Under those circumstances there was of course nothing more to be said;and finally Dick agreed to Grosvenor's proposal in its entirety, themore readily that, after all, when he came to reflect upon it, there wasmuch truth in what Grosvenor had said with regard to the possible losswhich Dick might sustain by attaching himself to the expedition andburying himself in the wilds for a more or less indefinite period.

  As time went on there could be no doubt as to the fact that Grosvenorwas genuinely pleased with the arrangement by which he had secured Dickas his companion in the projected expedition, nor did he make any secretof the fact that he regarded the terms of the agreement as eminentlysatisfactory from his own point of view; while Dick, for his part, feltthat he had done not at all badly in securing a post at a salary ofsixty-five pounds a month, to be enjoyed the moment that he set foot onshore. Moreover, that salary was a sure thing for at least six months,and since Grosvenor insisted upon paying in advance for that period Dickwould be in a position to remit quite a nice little sum home to hismother, immediately upon his arrival on South African soil. Bothparties to the agreement were thus equally satisfied, and thenceforwarddevoted much of their time to elaborating their plans, in order that notime should be lost upon their arrival.

  Grosvenor, with the confidence of the inexperienced, was quite preparedunhesitatingly to plunge into the very heart of darkest Africa with noother companions than Dick, and a few Kafir or Hottentot "boys" asservants; but Dick, although the younger of the two, had discretionenough to understand that this would be a very unwise thing to do, andthat it would be altogether more prudent in every way to secure theservices of some white man, well acquainted with the country, and theways and language of the natives, to act as a sort of general overseerand factotum, and this view Grosvenor at length somewhat unwillinglyaccepted.

  Meanwhile, Tom, the injured man, made the most extraordinarily rapidprogress toward recovery, under Dick's skilled treatment, much to theenhancement of that young gentleman's reputation; and some appreciabletime before the period that Dick had named he was out again and on duty,very little the worse for his accident save that his right cheek bore ascar which he would carry with him to his grave.

  At length a day arrived when Captain Roberts, having worked out hisobservations for the determination of the ship's latitude and longitude,made the welcome announcement that, if the wind held and all went well,the passengers, by this time thoroughly weary of the--to most of them--changeless monotony of sea and sky, might hope to feast their eyes uponthe glowing picture of a South African landscape within the ensuingtwenty-four hours; and at once everybody became cheerfully busy upon thetask of packing up in preparation for the joyous moment when they mightexchange the eternal movement of the rocking deck for terra firma, andrejoice once more in the sight of trees and grass and flowers, of busystreets, and of the much-talked-of beauties of suburban Berea. DickMaitland's possessions were so few that they needed very little packingto prepare them for transit from ship to shore, and when he had finishedhe adjourned to Grosvenor's cabin to assist that gentleman, who, sincedispensing with the services of a valet, seemed quite incapable ofreplacing his possessions in the receptacles from which he had takenthem upon the beginning of the voyage. The remainder of the day waspassed in the animated discussion of future plans and arrangements,while one effect of the imminent termination of the long ocean voyagewas the sudden development of an amazing access of cordiality betweenpeople who had hitherto manifested but little interest in each other,accompanied by pressing invitations to "come and stay a few days at myplace whenever you happen to be in the neighbourhood". Also a few ofthe more enthusiastic occupants of the cuddy remained on deck untilmidnight, in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Bluff light beforeturning in, only to retire to their cabins, discontented and grumbling,because at eight bells the gleam still obstinately refused to appear onthe horizon over the port bow, where Mr Sutcliffe, the chief mate, hadbeen anxiously watching for it.

  But full compensation came to the disappointed ones when, awakened onthe following morning about six o'clock by the voice of the mate issuingcertain sharp orders from the poop, followed by the flinging down ofropes upon the deck and the cheery "yo ho's" of the sailors, as theythrew their weight upon various portions of the ship's running gear, thesaid disappointed ones leaped from their bunks and hastened out on deckclad only in pyjamas and overcoats; for they found the ship hove-to onthe starboard tack with her head to the eastward, while stretching awayastern of them, from the starboard to the port quarter, was thedominating eminence of the Bluff, bush-clad from base to crest, crownedwith its lighthouse and signal staff--from the latter of which wasfluttering the answering pennant, acknowledging the deciphering of the_Concordia's_ number--with the long breakwater jutting out into the seafrom its foot, while, nearer at hand, there stretched across the scenethe low outline of the Point, also bush-crowned, with the roofs of a fewhouses and a flagstaff or two showing above the verdure, the sandybeach, with the eternal surf thundering upon it in long lines of rainbowspray, reaching for mile after mile athwart the ship's stern, and forbackground the far-stretching ridge of the bush-clad, villa-studdedrange of the Berea, the windows of its houses already ablaze with theardent beams of the newly risen sun. The prospect is a charming one atany time, but never more so perhaps than when it is suddenly presented,fresh, green, and beautiful, in the clear atmosphere and the light ofearly morning, to the vision of those whose eyes, after seventy days ofgazing upon sky and sea, are yearning to behold once more the beautiesof the solid earth.

  For a full hour the ship remained hove-to with her head to seaward,during which an early breakfast was served to the occupants of thecuddy; then, upon the appearance of the tug coming out over the bar, the_Concordia_ wore round and headed inshore, the light sails were rapidlyclewed up or hauled down, the towline was got ready for passing, and ina moment everything was bustle and apparent confusion upon the ship'sdecks, barefooted seamen rushing hither and thither, flinging down coilsof rope on deck, casting off halyards and sheets, and draggingvociferously upon clew-garnets, clewlines, downhauls, and the othercomplicated paraphernalia of a ship's furniture, with the captainshouting orders from the poop, and the mate in charge of a gang of menon the forecastle getting the anchor a-cockbill ready for letting go,and preparing for the arrival of the tug alongside. Then up came thelittle steamer, rolling and pitching heavily upon the long ground swell,sweeping round in a long curve that brought her all but alongside thewallowing ship; a brief interchange of hails between her bridge and the_Concordia's_ poop, the sudden snaking out of a whirling heaving-linefrom the forecastle of the latter, followed by the thin but tremendouslyst
rong steel towing hawser; and as the few remaining sheets of theship's canvas shrivelled in to the masts and yards the tug passed ahead,the towrope rose dripping out of the water, tautened to the semblance ofa metal rod, and away went the two craft, heading for the middle of thespace of water that divided the two breakwaters. Half an hour later the_Concordia_ came to an anchor in the spacious but shallow inner harbouropposite the railway station, and the long voyage was at an end.

  But the eager passengers were not yet at liberty to go on shore.Although the _Concordia_ carried a clean bill of health, certainformalities had yet to be gone through; the medical officer had still tosatisfy himself that there was no sickness of any infectious kind onboard before pratique was granted. And, as the medical officer happenedto be a thoroughly conscientious man, the determination of this factconsumed a full hour. But at length the tedious examination came to anend, the ship was pronounced perfectly healthy, and the boats which hadbeen hovering round her were permitted to come alongside. Then ensued afew minutes of strenuous bargaining between passengers and boatmen, atthe end of which time Dick and Grosvenor, having said goodbye to thecaptain and officers--Dick also included the crew in his farewell--foundthemselves being pulled across the few yards of water which intervenedbetween ship and shore, and presently they stood upon the sun-blisteredwharf fighting their way through an odoriferous crowd of shouting,laughing, gesticulating, and more than half-naked Kafir rickshaw-men whoclamoured for the honour of dragging them the mile or so that separatedthe Point from Durban. But the Custom House officers had first to beplacated, and Grosvenor disgustedly found himself obliged to disburse agoodly sum as duty upon his firearms and ammunition before he waspermitted to retain possession of them. At length, however, the Customsbarrier was successfully negotiated; and then Dick in one rickshaw,Grosvenor in another, and their baggage in a third, the two friendsproceeded in triumph along the bush-bordered road, over the levelcrossing of the railway, and so up Smith Street to the Royal Hotel,where they purposed to put up for a day or two, and where, upon theirarrival, they joined their fellow passengers at a hilarious secondbreakfast in accordance with an arrangement made at the cabin table afew hours earlier.