W pustyni i w puszczy. English

do that."

  "So, listen yet and look who sits before the hut between the ears ofthe terrible elephant. Lo, there sits bwana kubwa, the great and mightywhite master, whom the elephant fears!"

  "He!"

  "Who has thunder-bolts in his hand and kills with it bad men--"

  "He!"

  "Who kills lions--"

  "He!"

  "Who lets loose fiery snakes--"

  "He!"

  "Who crushes rocks--"

  "He!"

  "Who, however, will do you no harm, if you will honor the 'Good Mzimu.'"

  "Yancig! Yancig!"

  "And if you will bring to him an abundance of dry flour from bananas,eggs of chickens, fresh milk, and honey."

  "Yancig! Yancig!"

  "So approach and fall on your faces before the 'Good Mzimu!'"

  M'Rua and his warriors started and, not ceasing to "yancig" for amoment, advanced between ten and twenty paces, but they approachedcautiously, for a superstitious fear of the "Mzimu" and downrightterror before the elephant impeded their steps. The sight of Sabastartled them anew as they mistook him for a "wobo," that is, a big,yellowish-brown leopard, which lives in that region as well as inSouthern Abyssinia, and whom the natives fear more than a lion, for itprefers human flesh above all other, and with unheard-of daring attackseven armed men. They quieted, however, seeing that the little obesenegro held the terrible "wobo" on a rope. But they were acquiring astill greater idea of the power of the "Good Mzimu," as well as of thewhite master, and, staring now at the elephant then at Saba, theywhispered to each other: "If they bewitched even the 'wobo' who in theworld can oppose them?" But the most solemn moment did not come untilStas, turning to Nell, first bowed profoundly and afterwards drew asidethe curtain-like walls of the palanquin and exhibited to the eyes ofthe crowd the "Good Mzimu." M'Rua and all the warriors fell on theirfaces so that their bodies formed a long, living deck. Not one of themdared to move, and fear prevailed in all hearts all the more when theKing, either at Stas' order or of his own volition, raised his trunkand began to trumpet strongly; and after his example Saba emitted thedeepest bass of which he was capable. Then from all breasts issued,resembling entreating groans, "Aka! Aka! Aka!" and this continued untilKali again addressed them.

  "Oh, M'Rua, and you, children of M'Rua! You have paid homage to the'Good Mzimu'; therefore rise, gaze, and fill your eyes, for whoeverdoes that gains the blessing of the Great Spirit. Drive away, also,fear from your breasts and bellies and know that wherever the 'GoodMzimu' sojourns, human blood cannot be shed."

  At these words, and particularly as a result of the announcement thatin the presence of the "Good Mzimu" no one can meet death, M'Rua rose,and after him the other warriors, and began to gaze, bashfully buteagerly at the kind divinity. Indeed, they would have to acknowledge,if Kali again should ask them about it, that neither their fathers northey ever had beheld anything like it. For their eyes were accustomedto monstrous figures of idols, made of wood and shaggy cocoanuts, andnow there appeared before them on an elephant's back a bright divinity,gentle, sweet, and smiling, resembling a white bird, and at the sametime a white flower. So, too, their fears passed away, their breastsbreathed freely; their thick lips began to grin and their hands wereinvoluntarily stretched out towards the charming phenomenon.

  "Oh! Yancig! Yancig! Yancig!"

  Nevertheless, Stas, who was watching everything with the closestpossible attention, observed that one of the negroes, wearing a pointedcap of rats' skin, slunk away from the ranks immediately after Kali'slast words and, crawling like a snake in the grass, turned to anisolated hut standing apart, beyond the enclosure, but surroundedlikewise by a high stockade bound by climbing plants.

  In the meantime the "Good Mzimu," though greatly embarrassed by therole of a divinity, at Stas' request stretched out her little hand andbegan to greet the negroes. The black warriors watched with joy intheir eyes each movement of that little hand, firmly believing itpossessed powerful "charms," which would protect them and secure themagainst a multitude of disasters. Some, striking their breasts andhips, said: "Oh, mother, now it will be well--for us and our cows."M'Rua, now entirely emboldened, drew near the elephant and prostratedhimself once more before the "Good Mzimu" and after that, bowing toStas, spoke in the following manner:

  "Would the great master, who leads the white divinity on the elephant,be pleased to eat a small piece of M'Rua, and would he consent thatM'Rua should eat a small piece of him, in order that they should becomebrothers, among whom there is no falsehood and treachery?"

  Kali at once translated these words, but perceiving from Stas'countenance that he did not have the slightest desire to eat a smallpiece of M'Rua, turned to the old negro and said:

  "Oh, M'Rua! Do you really think that the white master, whom theelephant fears, who holds thunderbolts in his hands, who kills lions,to whom the 'wobo' wags its tail, who lets loose fiery snakes andcrushes rocks, could form a blood brotherhood with a mere king?Reflect, oh, M'Rua, whether the Great Spirit would not punish you foryour audacity, and whether it is not enough of glory for you if you eata small piece of Kali, the son of Fumba, the ruler of the Wahimas, andif Kali, the son of Fumba, eats a small piece of you?"

  "Are you not a slave?" M'Rua asked.

  "The great master did not seize Kali, neither did he buy him; he onlysaved his life; therefore Kali is conducting the 'Good Mzimu' and themaster to the country of the Wahimas in order that the Wahimas andFumba should pay honors to them and give them great gifts."

  "Let it be as you say and let M'Rua eat a small piece of Kali and Kalia small piece of M'Rua."

  "Let it be so," repeated the warriors.

  "Where is the fetish-man?" the king asked.

  "Where is the fetish-man? Where is the fetish-man? Where is Kamba?"numerous voices began to call.

  Then something occurred which might change entirely the state ofaffairs, embroil the friendly relations, and make the negroes enemiesof the newly arrived guests. From the hut standing apart and surroundedby a separate stockade, there suddenly resounded an infernal din. Itwas like the roar of a lion, like thunder, like the rumbling of a drum,like the laughter of a hyena, the howling of a wolf, and like theshrill creaking of rusty iron hinges. The King hearing these dreadfulsounds, began to trumpet, Saba barked, the donkey, on which Nasibu sat,brayed. The warriors leaped as if scalded, and pulled the spears out ofthe ground. Confusion ensued. Stas' ears were assailed by the uneasyshouts of: "Our Mzimu! Our Mzimu!" The esteem and favor, with whichthey looked at the arrivals, vanished in one moment. The eyes of thesavages began to cast suspicious and hostile glances. Threateningmurmurs began to rise among the crowd and the horrible noise in theisolated hut increased more and more.

  Kali was terrified and, approaching Stas quickly, said in a voicebroken with emotion:

  "Master! the fetish-man has awakened the wicked Mzimu, who fears thathe will lose gifts and is roaring in a rage. Master, quiet thefetish-man and the wicked Mzimu with great gifts, for otherwise thesemen will turn against us."

  "Quiet them?" Stas asked.

  And suddenly he was possessed by anger at the perversity and greed ofthe fetish-man; and the unexpected danger roused him to the bottom ofhis soul. His swarthy face assumed the same expression which it hadwhen he shot Gebhr, Chamis, and the Bedouins. His eyes glitteredominously; his lips were compressed and his cheeks paled.

  "Ah! I'll quiet them!" he said.

  And without any reflection he drove the elephant towards the hut.

  Kali, not desiring to remain alone among the negroes, ran after him.From the breasts of the savage warriors there came a shout--it was notknown whether of alarm or of rage, but, before they recovered theirwits, the stockade under the pressure of the elephant's head crashedand tumbled; after that the clay walls of the hut crumbled and amiddust the roof flew up in the air; and after a while M'Rua and his mensaw the black trunk raised high and at the end of the trunk thefetish-man, Kamba.

  And Stas, observing on the floor a big drum
made of the hollowed trunkof a tree with monkey skin stretched over it, ordered Kali to hand itto him and, returning, stopped directly among the amazed warriors.

  "Men!" he said in a loud voice, "it is not your Mzimu who roars; it isthis rogue who makes the noise on the drum to wheedle gifts out of you,and whom you fear like children!"

  Saying this, he seized the rope drawn through the dried-up skin of thedrum and began to twirl it around with all his strength. The samesounds which had previously so startled the negroes resounded now, andeven more shrilly, as they