CHAPTER NINE.
THE CHIEF WITCH DOCTOR'S PLOT.
"Speak freely and without fear, O Lobelalatutu!" answered Dick. "Tellus your trouble; and it may be that we shall, as you say, be able topoint the way to deliverance."
"Then--but first let the light be extinguished," said the king, pointingto the hurricane lamp suspended from the pole of the tent. "It may bethat some of my people, standing yonder in the shadow, hoping to beholdsome wonder, may see me with you, and, though they might not recogniseme, disguised as I am, I would rather that no man should know that youhave been secretly visited this night."
"Right!" answered Dick in English. "I see your point, old chap, and outgoes the `glim'." And so saying he took down the lamp, opened, andextinguished it.
"It is well," approved the king, with a sigh of relief. "Now can I talkwithout fear of discovery." He paused for a moment, considering how heshould begin, then said: "As we talked to-day, O Healer ofSicknesses!"--the native word for this expression (soon abbreviated to"Healer") forthwith became Dick's name among the Makolo from thatmoment--"you said that you knew what happened to M'Bongwele, the kingwho ruled before me, and also how I came to be made king in his stead.Know you also the story of Seketulo, whom the Four Spirits made king inM'Bongwele's stead when they first came among the Makolo?"
"Yes, we know," answered Dick. "We know that M'Bongwele was dethronedand banished by the four Spirits because of his barbarous and iniquitousrule, and that Seketulo was made king in his stead. We know also that,after a time, M'Bongwele secretly returned from exile, and, aided bycertain powerful chiefs, slew Seketulo and reinstated himself as King ofthe Makolo. And, finally, we know that when the four Spirits revisitedthis country in their great glittering ship that flies through the air,they again deposed M'Bongwele and hanged him and his chief witch doctorfrom the bough of a tree, because, despite their previous warning, theypersisted in their evil-doing. And in M'Bongwele's place they made you,Lobelalatutu, King of the Makolo."
"It is even so, O Healer!" assented the king. "The tale, as you tellit, is the truth; and now I know of a verity that, possessing thisknowledge, you are like unto the Spirits themselves, to be trusted, evenas they were; therefore will I, without fear, unfold to you the tale ofmy present trouble. It was the dissatisfaction of certain chiefs withSeketulo's system of government, as prescribed to him by the fourSpirits, that made M'Bongwele's secret return and his resumption of thethrone possible. Seketulo was instructed to govern the Makolo justlyand humanely, to put a stop to the oppression of the people by thechiefs, and, above all, not to make war upon the neighbouring nationssave in self-defence. It was this last restriction that occasioned thegreatest discontent among certain of the chiefs; because, the Makolobeing a powerful and warlike nation, we were generally victorious whenwe went to war, and the greater part of the spoils went to the chiefs,who thus increased their riches as often as we made raids upon ourneighbours. But under Seketulo's rule all this was altered, and we wereobliged to be content with such wealth as we already possessed; hencethe discontent and all that followed upon it. Now, since I became king,I have endeavoured to govern my people even as Seketulo did; and for along time things have gone very well with us; the number of the Makolo,no longer kept down by war, has greatly increased, as also has ourprosperity; for now that war is no longer part of its policy the nationhas devoted itself to agriculture and the breeding of cattle, our herdshave greatly multiplied, new villages have sprung up, fresh land hasevery year been brought under cultivation, and all have enough, and morethan enough, to satisfy their wants. But of late I have suspected that,despite our steadily increasing prosperity, all is not well with us. Ihave detected signs of discontent not only among the chiefs, but amongthe people themselves; there have been murmurs that the long peace whichwe have enjoyed is converting the Makolo into a nation of women who willsoon lose the capacity for fighting; our neighbours are growing insolentand aggressive; and--worst sign of all--those chiefs who most boldlysupport me in my determination to continue to rule in accordance withthe tenets laid down by the four Spirits, are rapidly dying off, oneafter the other, by some mysterious disease."
"Phew! I say, that looks very fishy, doesn't it, Dick?" exclaimedGrosvenor, when the king had concluded his story. "Smacks of conspiracyand secret murder--eh, what?"
"Yes," agreed Dick; "I must confess that it undoubtedly has a look ofthat kind of thing about it." Then, turning to Lobelalatutu, he asked:
"How long is it since the chiefs who support you began to sicken anddie; and how many have already passed along the Dark Path?"
"It is now nearly three moons since 'Mtatu, my most trustworthy chief,died; and since then five others have travelled along the same DarkRoad," answered the king. "And now a seventh, 'Nkuni, lies sick in hishut with the same symptoms as the others. Three nights and two days hashe thus lain."
"And how long does the sickness usually last?" asked Dick, hisprofessional instincts being at once aroused.
"They usually die on the seventh day after the sickness declaresitself," answered the king.
"Good!" responded Dick. "Then your friend is in no immediate danger;and to-morrow, when we present ourselves before you with our gifts, Iwill see him, and it may be that I shall be able to save his life. Haveyou aught further to tell us?"
"No," answered the king. "I have now told all. But I fear that allthese things portend evil to me, and, perchance, the end of my reign andlife. It is for this reason that I have visited you to-night in secret;for I hoped that if a conspiracy is growing up against me you might beable to name the conpirators to me. That is all the help I ask," hefinished grimly.
"Yes," answered Dick; "I have no doubt that if we could ascertain theidentity of the conspirators--if any--you could be safely trusted to dothe rest. Well, we will see what can be done to help you. Must youreally go? Well, good night! Take care of yourself; or, in otherwords, _hamba gahli_."
As the tall, dark figure of Lobelalatutu strode away down the slightslope, upon the summit of which the tent was pitched, and melted intothe shadows, Grosvenor turned to his companion, who had now re-seatedhimself, and said:
"It seems to me, friend Dick, that we have arrived upon the scene at thepsychological moment--eh, what? If our friend Lobelalatutu's suspicionshave any better foundation than his own imagination, it strikes me thatwe are on the eve of exciting times. What say you?"
"I say yes to that, most emphatically," responded Dick. "For, don'tmake any mistake, Phil, the king's imagination is not running away withhim; the death of six chiefs in quick succession, followed by theserious illness of a seventh, is something more than mere coincidence;it means conspiracy, followed by ghastly, blood-curdling tragedy--unlesswe can contrive by some means to discover the identity of theconspirators in time. As for those unfortunate chiefs, I have not theslightest doubt that they have been removed by poison--some secret andcomparatively slow but deadly poison, and I intend to make it my firstbusiness to discover what that poison is, and its antidote--if I can.The chances are, however, that I shall fail, for almost all the savagepeoples possess a great deal more knowledge of drugs, and especially ofpoisons, than we civilised folk are aware of, or are inclined to creditthem with; and if poison is really being employed, it will almostcertainly be something of which I have no knowledge. Still, we shallsee. And you may be sure that I shall use my very best efforts tosucceed, and also to discover the details of the conspiracy whichLobelalatutu suspects; for, should it succeed, we shall find ourselvesin an exceedingly awkward predicament."
"Why--how do you mean?" demanded Grosvenor.
"How do I mean?" repeated Dick. "Why, in a few words, I mean this, thatso long as Lobelalatutu lives and continues to govern this people we arereasonably safe. But if he should happen to be deposed, and murdered,the new king will most probably sacrifice us both to his fetish as asort of thank-offering for his success. Twig?"
"Of course I do," answered Grosvenor. "I had never though
t of that; butit seems likely enough, now that you come to mention it. It appears tome that our first business must be to straighten out matters, for ourown sakes as well as for that of Lobelalatutu. Poor chap! Here is he,a despot, with absolute power over the life of every one of hissubjects; you would naturally suppose that such a man would have nothingto fear, wouldn't you? Yet, like other monarchs, he seems liable at anymoment to become the victim of secret intrigue, and lose his crown andhis life together. I thought the poor chap looked worried when wecalled upon him to-day. The Bard was right--`Uneasy lies the head thatwears a crown', be the head that of a civilised monarch or a savage."
"True for you, my boy," answered Dick. "But are you not beginning tofeel tired? Because, if you are, pray don't stand on ceremony, but turnin as soon as you like. As for me, I think I will sit up a bit longerand see if I cannot think this matter out and find a streak of daylightsomewhere."
"Which, I suppose, is a hint that you don't need my company any longer,"retorted Grosvenor. "All right, old chap, pray don't apologise. I knowI'm a bit of a duffer in such matters as this, so I'll leave you tothresh it out alone, and turn in for a good night's sleep--eh, what?"
Left to himself, Dick Maitland sat far into the night, considering thesituation unfolded to him by the king; and at length an inspiration cameto him, by following which he thought it possible that he might be ableto clear up the mystery connected with the deaths of Lobelalatutu's mosttrusted chiefs, and perhaps discover whether or not there really existeda conspiracy to overthrow that monarch and restore the barbarouspractices that had made the rule of the last king literally a reign ofterror. Then he turned into his hammock and slept soundly until Mafutaaroused him at sunrise with the early cup of chocolate which was theinvariable prelude to the business of the day.
The first thing after breakfast the two friends walked to the wagon,which was outspanned close at hand, and opened the boxes and bales whichcontained the various articles which they had brought with them to serveas presents and media of barter, and from the contents of these theyselected a liberal assortment of gifts for the king, his wives, and themost important chiefs in His Majesty's immediate entourage. These theyhanded over to the care of Mafuta, Jantje, and 'Nkuku the voorlouper;then, directing the trio to follow them, Dick and Grosvenor mountedtheir horses and rode at a foot-pace to the king's village.
The distribution of the gifts proved to be a somewhat lengthy function,for the articles presented included a considerable number of mechanicaltoys, the working of each of which had to be carefully explained to therecipient; but at length it came to an end, to the apparent satisfactionof everybody concerned, and then Dick said to the king:
"Your Majesty is aware that I am a healer of sickness; is there anymember of your family, or anyone in whom you are interested, lying sickat the present moment? Because, if so, I shall be very glad to do whatI can to restore the patient to health."
The king looked doubtfully at Dick for a moment or two, as though notquite comprehending the drift of the question; then something in theexpression of Maitland's face led to his understanding, and he replied:
"There is no one of my household at present sick, O Healer! but one ofmy chiefs--a man named 'Nkuni, who is my friend, lies nigh unto death;and if you can heal him I shall be grateful to you, for he is very dearto me. His sickness is the same as that which has already sent sixother chiefs along the Dark Path; and it is of so strange and deadly anature that Sekosini, the head witch doctor, can find no cure for it."
As the king thus spoke Dick was keenly watching the faces of the variouspersons present, and he noted with something of a thrill that four orfive of the chiefs seemed to exchange stealthy glances of meaning witheach other, and also, despite their assumption of indifference, toexhibit signs of inward perturbation. But it was no part of his policyto show that he had observed these things; he therefore responded to theking:
"Ah, it may be that the sickness from which 'Nkuni is suffering is asickness new to this country; and if it should prove to be so it is notsurprising that Sekosini is unable to conquer it. It may be, however,that it is akin to some of the diseases with which I am acquainted, andin that case I can save the chief's life. We will go to his hut and seehim even now, if the king will direct someone to conduct us thither."
Lobelalatutu at once turned to one of the chiefs present, and said:
"Ingona, you are 'Nkuni's friend; take these white men to his hut, thatthe Healer may see him, and perchance restore to him his health andstrength."
Two minutes later Dick stood in the hut of 'Nkuni, and saw, lyingstretched upon the pallet before him, a man somewhat past the prime oflife who, when in health, must have been a very fine specimen ofmanhood. Now, however, he was thin and wasted, his skin was cold yetdry, his pulse was exceedingly feeble and erratic, and he was in aterribly exhausted condition, having suffered a severe paroxysm ofabdominal pain shortly after swallowing a draught of milk which had beenadministered to him by Sekosini's order. This last fact, together withseveral other details respecting the progress of the disease, werecommunicated by the man's chief wife, who appeared to be greatlyconcerned about him, as was naturally to be expected.
"Where is the vessel from which the milk was drunk?" demanded Dick, whenthe woman had told all that she had to tell.
A calabash bowl capable of containing about a quart was produced for hisinspection, and he saw with satisfaction that it had not yet beenwashed. The film of milk still clinging to its interior showed that ithad been about half full when offered to the patient, and about ateaspoonful of milk still remained in the bowl. Of this vessel Dickinstantly took possession, handing it over to Grosvenor, withinstructions not to spill a single drop of its contents on any account.Then he asked if any medicine had been administered in the milk, and wasanswered in the affirmative, a very small calabash bottle being shownwhich had contained the drug. Of this also Dick took possession. Next,having brought his medicine chest with him, in accordance with the planswhich he had made overnight, the young doctor administered a powerfulemetic, then he locked the chest, slipped the key into his pocket, and,leaving the chest in the hut to obviate the inconvenience of carrying itto and fro, he gave certain instructions to the chief's wife, and thenrequested Ingona to conduct him to the hut of Sekosini, the chief witchdoctor.
This request appeared to fill Ingona with alarm, which he made noattempt to conceal. He informed Dick that Sekosini was a very great manindeed, second in power and influence only to Lobelalatutu himself; thatit was not his custom to receive visitors unless permission had firstbeen asked, the request being invariably accompanied by a present; thatevil invariably befell those who were foolhardy enough to offend him;and that if he--Ingona--might presume to advise, he would stronglyrecommend the white man not to go near him, as Sekosini had alwaysmanifested a peculiarly strong aversion to strangers, and especially towhite men since the two visits of the Spirits of the Winds to the Makolocountry.
All this, however, only tended to strengthen certain suspicions whichDick had already formed; but he did not express them to Ingona; heblandly explained to that chief that, having been requested by the kingto use his best endeavours to cure 'Nkuni, he wished to see Sekosini andconsult with him, in order that he might learn as many particulars aspossible respecting the ailment from which 'Nkuni was suffering. Thisexplanation appeared at least partially to satisfy Ingona, who made nofurther attempt to dissuade Dick from his purpose, but, on the contrary,offered to go forward and prepare Sekosini for the proposed visit. Tothis proposal, since it could scarcely interfere with his plans, Dickcheerfully assented, whereupon Ingona, pointing out the witch doctor'shut, which stood a good quarter of a mile apart from all others,hastened toward it at the long, swinging trot which enables the SouthAfrican savage to get over the ground so quickly and which he canmaintain for such an incredible length of time.
Dick, meanwhile, accompanied only by Mafuta to act as interpreter,sauntered slowly on his way, for the double purpos
e of arrangingmentally the plan of his impending interview with Sekosini, and givingIngona time to say whatever he might wish to say to the witch doctor.
It was about a quarter of an hour later that, as Dick and his henchmanapproached the witch doctor's hut, Ingona emerged from it with thegratifying intimation that he had succeeded in inducing Sekosinigraciously to accord the white man an audience. Whereupon the whiteman, having suitably expressed the satisfaction which was his at sogreat an honour, stooped and passed into the hut, preceded by Ingona andfollowed by Mafuta, whose original wholesome fear of wizards had by thistime become completely swamped by his belief in the power of his masterto circumvent the most powerful wizard that ever lived.
The hut of Sekosini afforded no indication of the importance of itsowner, for it was of the same size as, and in all other respects similarto, the other huts of the ordinary natives, that is, as regarded itsexternal appearance. Inside, however, there was a very markeddifference; for whereas the ordinary native is content to sleep on thebare floor, Sekosini was satisfied with nothing less than a bed,consisting of a quadrangular framework of hardwood supported, at theheight of a foot above the floor, by four stout posts driven firmly intothe ground, the skeleton framework being strapped across and lengthwaysby a great number of tightly strained raw-hide thongs upon which werepiled several very valuable karosses, or skin rugs. Also the interiorof the hut was thickly hung with bunches of dried herbs and otherobjects, the precise nature of which Dick was at first unable todetermine in the comparative obscurity of the interior, passing at once,as he did, from the blazing sunshine of the open direct into an interiorwhich was unilluminated save by such light as penetrated through thelow, narrow entrance.
For a full minute he stood, mute and motionless, waiting for his eyes toaccustom themselves to the change; then the various objects of theinterior gradually began to reveal themselves to him with increasingdistinctness, and he found himself face to face with a thin, wizened,shrunken creature of apparently incredible age, without a particle ofhair on head or face, but with a pair of eyes that glowed likecarbuncles within their cavernous sockets. He was seated cross-leggedupon the floor, was absolutely naked, save for a necklace of snake skin,and was toying with an enormous green _mamba_--one of the most deadly ofSouth African snakes--that lay coiled between his legs with its cruel,vindictive eyes fixed immovably upon the visitor. Beside Sekosini stoodIngona, apparently impassive, but his quick, irregular breathingbetrayed the fact that he was labouring under a considerable amount ofexcitement. As for the witch doctor, his face wore a smile ofconcentrated malice, as though he anticipated something in the nature ofa conflict with this audacious white _mfana_ and was already exulting inthe prospect of a quick and overwhelming victory.
Suddenly he fixed his eyes intently upon Dick's, and said, in soft,sibilant tones:
"Well, _'mlungu_, what want ye with Sekosini?"
It was the moment and the opportunity for which Dick had been waiting.Gazing intently into the eyes of the savage, in the peculiar manner thathe had learned from Humphreys, the young doctor suddenly concentratedhis will upon the effort to bring his foe--for as such he intuitivelyrecognised Sekosini--under subjugation. For a moment the strangelycontrasted pair gazed at each other, and then some strange sensationexperienced by the witch doctor seemed to warn him of what washappening. But it was too late; Dick had caught him unawares, and soabsolutely instantaneous was the hypnotic method which Humphreys hadtaught his pupil that before Sekosini could offer any effectiveresistance his will had completely succumbed to Dick's, and he was inthe latter's power. In response to Dick's unspoken thought he said:
"Ask what you will, and I will answer."
"You hear?" demanded Dick, turning his gaze for a moment upon Ingona.
"I hear," answered Ingona, unsuspectingly meeting Dick's gaze as hereplied, and in that moment he, too, was brought under the youngdoctor's influence. For a few seconds longer Dick kept his unwinkinggaze steadfastly fixed upon the chief, mentally commanding him to forgeteverything that he might see and hear during the interview; and then heagain turned his attention to the witch doctor. He recalled to mind adeclaration of Humphreys' upon which the latter had laid great stress:"The spoken word, where you can use it, is always more potent than theunspoken, but whether it is understood or not is really a minor matter;it is the emphasis, the insistence which is conveyed by speech, added tothe will power employed, that renders the operator absolutelyirresistible." As it was of the utmost importance that Sekosini shouldremain completely under his influence until the whole affair was broughtto an end, he now once more sent his compelling gaze into the unblinkingeyes of the ancient savage, and finally said to him, in English:
"Henceforth, until I release you, your will is mine; you will think andact only as I direct. You understand?"
"I understand, and will obey," answered Sekosini.
"Good!" returned Dick. "Now I command you to tell me the absolutetruth. Know you anything relative to the sickness from which the chief'Nkuni is suffering, or the sickness from which 'Mtatu and the otherfive chiefs died?"
"Yes," answered Sekosini--and the answer in nowise surprised Dick; "Iknow all. 'Nkuni is slowly dying of poison administered by me, the samepoison that sent 'Mtatu and the other five chiefs along the Dark Path.The destruction of these men is preliminary to the destruction of theking, of whose method of government I and others disapprove. I mighthave destroyed Lobelalatutu alone; but if the chiefs whom I havedestroyed had been allowed to live it would assuredly have led totrouble, therefore have I destroyed them first. When 'Nkuni dies thechiefs who think as I do will be strong enough to act without fear ofopposition, and we shall be able to destroy Lobelalatutu and restore thesystem which prevailed when M'Bongwele reigned, the system by which thechiefs and the witch doctors were able to acquire much wealth instead ofliving, as we do now, in comparative poverty."
"Then," demanded Dick, "do I understand that under Lobelalatutu's ruleyou have not a sufficiency to meet all your wants?"
"I have a sufficiency, yes," answered Sekosini; "but I would have muchmore than that. I would have wealth, great wealth, and, above all,power, the power that the witch doctors wielded in M'Bongwele's time.True, I have much power even now; but it is as nothing to the power thatwas wielded by Mtusa, the chief witch doctor whom the accursed Spiritsof the Winds sent along the Dark Path with M'Bongwele, the king."
"I see," said Dick meditatively. "And are there any others concernedwith you in this precious scheme of yours to remove Lobelalatutu?"
"Yes," answered Sekosini, "there are Ingona, Lambati, Mapela, Moroosi,Amakosa, N'Ampata, and Sekukuni, all chiefs."
"Quite a formidable little crowd," mused Dick, as he drew forth hispocket book to make a few notes. "Just repeat those names again--slowly, if you please," he commanded.
Sekosini did so, and Dick noted down the names very carefully, so thatthere should be no mistake, for some of the native names are quiteembarrassingly similar in sound.
"Now," resumed Dick, when he had done this, "to return to 'Nkuni. Whatis the poison that you have been administering to him?"
"It is a decoction of the leaves of the plant that hangs immediatelyover your head," answered Sekosini.
Dick reached up and touched a thick branch depending from the roof ofthe hut. "This?" he asked.
Sekosini assented, and Dick took down the branch and examined it. Itseemed quite an ordinary shrub to all appearance. He handed it over toMafuta for safekeeping.
"Next question," said Dick. "Is there an antidote to this particularpoison?"
"Oh yes!" answered the witch doctor cheerfully; "I never use a poisonthat has no antidote, because it is sometimes desirable to alter one'splans at the last moment."
"Quite so," assented Dick; "and I am going to alter your plans withregard to 'Nkuni straight away. Where is your antidote, and how is itprepared?"
"It is contained in those roots," answered Sekosini, pointing to abundle of bulb-like object
s also suspended from the roof. "The methodof preparation is simple. A root is taken, cleaned from the adheringsoil, and boiled in water until it is soft enough to crush between thefingers. Then the liquid is allowed to cool and strained through cloth.This liquid is of a dark colour, almost black. To administer it, addenough water to stain it very pale yellow, and let the patient drink ashe will; the more he drinks the quicker will be his cure."
"Excellent! I shall easily remember that," murmured Dick. Then,addressing the witch doctor, he said:
"That is all I want to know at present. Now, remain here until I summonyou to the presence of the king. Mafuta, take these roots, and we willbe going."
Two hours later he had prepared a sufficient quantity of the antidote tofill an eight-ounce medicine bottle; and as the stuff was exceedinglystrong, he believed that this ought to be nearly, or quite, sufficientto effect a complete cure. Armed with this, he made his way to 'Nkuni'shut, and was gratified to find that the emetic had been productive ofvery satisfactory results, the pain being greatly eased, while thetemperature of the body had become almost normal. He now administered agood stiff dose of the antidote, and left the bottle containing it incharge of the patient's wife, giving her the most minute instructionsrespecting its administration. This done, he proceeded to the enclosedpart of the village containing the king's house and its dependencies,and informed the sentries at the gate of the palisade that he desired toreport personally to the king the state of the chief 'Nkuni, from whosehut he had just come. The sentries had already received orders to admitthe white men whenever they should present themselves, and in a fewminutes Dick found himself standing in the presence of Lobelalatutu.
The Adventures of Dick Maitland: A Tale of Unknown Africa Page 9