CHAPTER V.--FIGHTING THE GORILLAS.
Frank and Duncan had undoubtedly been rash. They had penetrated forfully a mile into the gloomy depths of this dark, primeval forest. Thesun-life of beautiful birds and luscious fruits--Frank's paradise--theyhad left far behind. Here was nothing that could be called inviting:slimy, rotting leaves on the bare ground, with here and there a huge andugly toadstool; and the branchless trunks of mighty trees covered withwhite and yellow mildew or flour-like fungi. And these trees toweredskywards, forming a dark green canopy overhead, that no sunlight couldever penetrate, nor moonlight or star-rays at night.
The silence for some time had been both cold and irksome. I cannototherwise describe it.
But now that dread silence was broken, and not only high overhead, butfar away in front, the forest suddenly awoke into a sylvan pandemonium.
What yells, what shrieks, what hoarse and fearful cries!
The boys instinctively drew closer together, and stood ready to shoot.
But nothing appeared, though the awful noises increased rather thandiminished.
Frank saw Duncan's lips moving, but he could hear nothing.
Surely they were in a demon-haunted forest.
They looked at each other, then at once commenced a speedy retreat.
They ran as fast as ever they had done at school, and up behind themcame the roar of the demons. But they could see no creature as yet,though they often glanced furtively behind them.
The enemy, however, seeing that they were but little more than a hundredyards from the sunlight, mustered up courage for the attack.
And down from the trees they leapt--a score, at least, of hideous,long-armed, hairy gorillas.
If they did not possess the courage, they at all events had far morethan the strength of ordinary men.
As they advanced they beat their breasts furiously, uttering savagecries.
"A clear head now!" shouted Duncan.
Both young fellows leaned their rifles against trees to make sure oftheir aim.
Br-rang! Br-rang!
The sound awakened the echoes of the ugly forest, and two gorillas felldead.
There was a silence of fully fifteen seconds, and the boys went hurryingon again.
Then came wailings and howlings, as of grief, but these were quicklychanged to yells of anger, and on they came once more. They soonovertook our two heroes, who, after firing with good effect, drew theirrevolvers and made a running battle of it.
Luckily they never once allowed these fiendish monsters to get intogrips, else speedily indeed would they have been throttled to death.
Out into the sunshine, the glorious life-giving sunshine at last. Andnow they were safe. They crawled rather than walked as far as a littlestream that trickled from a rock, and threw themselves down exhausted.
But youth soon recovers from exertion, and terror too, and so theyfinally found themselves back at the ruined fort loaded with both fruitand fish.
Happy indeed was Conal to see them, for, far away from the fort thoughthe forest was, he had listened appalled to the awful medley of yellsand shrieks, and made sure they were being murdered.
"Hillo!" cried Frank, cheerful once again--and hungry also--and it seemsto me Frank was always hungry--"Hillo! Why, you have actually dinnerready?"
"Yes," said Conal, laughing. "Vike and I found some sweet-potatoes andwe cooked these."
"But that splendid fish you are broiling?"
"Ah! isn't she a beauty? But you should have seen the little girl whobrought it, carrying it on a little grass rope. She was a beauty too.And we had quite a little flirtation."
"Conal! I'm--"
"Oh, are you, indeed? but I don't mind. I gave Umtomie--that's herpretty name--two lovely beads, and she sat there and sang to me, sosweetly! Then she brought me a calabash full of water, and, smilingover teeth quite as white and even as a pointer puppy's, she waved herhand, her lily hand--no, her raven hand--"
"That's more truthful, Con."
"And off she trotted once again."
"Then, I suppose," said Frank, "the sunshine went all out of your life,eh?"
"Well, there did seem to be a partial eclipse or something. But downyou sit to chow-chow."
Down they did sit, and a right hearty meal they made.
It was Conal's turn to go sporting the next day. But he and Duncan gavethe forest a wide berth, and so nothing very wild in the shape ofadventure fell to their lot.
----
Much time was spent every day now in prospecting.
Duncan couldn't and wouldn't believe that the hands that built thatstrong fort had not dug for and found both gold and diamonds.
And he determined, if possible, to find some also.
Unluckily they had no mining-tools, neither spade, shovel, nor pick-axe.
But Frank was a boy of infinite resources.
"Why not make miners' tools?" he said. "We have chisels and hammers andwhat not, and there is a tree growing yonder that is as hard as iron!"
"What! Another happy thought, Frank?"
"Yes, Duncan, my brave old captain, and I haven't got half-way to thebottom of my mine of happy thought yet."
Well, picks and spades were now actually fashioned, partly by tools,partly by fire. And then the boys set to work with a will to open theold mines.
They had worked for a whole week, but without success, when one eveninga loud and awful trumpeting told them that elephants had arrived on theplains below, or were passing through the country of the cannibals forpastures new.
"What a splendid chance for sport!" cried Frank.
"Yes," said Conal. "Fancy bagging a few elephants. Tuskers, don't theycall them, brother?"
"Yes, in India the males are so named, but here in Africa both sexeshave tusks, though those on the he ones are bigger, and are said to bebetter ivory."
It was determined, therefore, to march against the elephants next day,and neither Conal nor Frank could sleep very well for thinking of it.
Now, though I have no desire to be hard upon my heroes, I must say thatI am not sorry for what happened, because elephants--next to our friendthe dog--are probably the wisest and most innocent animals in the world.
When, therefore, Duncan next forenoon killed a lady elephant and Conalwounded a bull, the lady being his wife, it was no wonder he should losehis temper and charge right down on the lad.
To fly was impossible. There was no refuge anywhere. But Conal didattempt to retreat. He stumbled and fell, however, and next moment theawful foe was upon him. A less brave boy would have fainted, but therewas no such weakness about Conal, though he felt his hour was come, andDuncan, who was fully eighty yards away, could not assist him. He puthis hands to his eyes to avoid being a witness to the dreadful death ofhis brother, which now seemed inevitable.
The wounded monster had dashed forward trumpeting, but, once alongside,though blood was jerking from a wound through one of his eyes, heattacked immediately. He knelt beside the boy's prostrate form andattempted to tusk him. The terrible snorting, blood-streaming head wasclose over him. But, with the quickness and cuteness of a professionalfootballer, Conal rolled himself between his legs, and now the bruteattempted to squash him to death with his knees, and Conal managed,strange to say, to avoid each stroke.
It was really a tussle for life, and, unable to bear the sight anylonger, Duncan came rushing on now towards the scene of conflict,apparently determined to die with Conal if he could not rescue him.
The boy seemed to be dead, and was almost under the elephant. ButDuncan took steady aim, and the bullet put out the poor beast's othereye. He staggered to his feet now, and, stumbling and trumpeting as hewent, made directly back to the herd.
Conal was bruised and sore, as well he might be, but otherwise intact,and the two hunters now made for higher ground.
Now I do not know the reason for what followed. I can but guess it, andgive the reader facts. Only, when the grea
t bull regained the herd,which, by the way, numbered only about a score, he fell, or rather threwhimself down in front of his companions.
"Kill me now," he seemed to plead. "My mate is dead, and I am blind andin pain. Put me out of my misery."
Next moment the killing had commenced. The bull never winced nor moved,and his companions trode him to death before the eyes of their humanpersecutors.
"Let us go back to the fort," said Duncan sadly. "A more heartrendingsight I never have seen. Conal, I have shot my first and my lastelephant."
When they told Frank all the sad story, he, too, agreed thatelephant-shooting is not sport, but the cowardly murder of one of themost noble animals ever God placed on earth.
----
Strange to say, every day that Conal was left at the fort to do thewatching and the cooking, little Lilywhite, as he now called the weesavage lassie, came to pay him a visit, her eyes all a-sparkle, her tworows alabaster teeth flashing snow-white in the sunshine.
Nor did she ever come without a fish, which she herself had caught. Sotame did she become, that he could trust her to attend to the fire, forwhich she gathered wood, turn the fish with a wooden fork, and gatherand cook the sweet-potatoes or yams.
Of course Frank chaffed Conal unmercifully about this lady-love,Lilywhite, of his.
But Conal cared nothing for that.
"You can't do less than marry her, you know," he said one day. "Itwould be cruel to trifle with the young lady's affections."
"I shouldn't think of doing less than leading her to the altar," saidConal. "I should hate a breach of promise case."
They still paid many visits to the king, but though he frequently askedfor "goo-goo" (wine), no goo-goo was given him for the present.
At last, oh joy! news came from the far-off outer world. For Carramboreturned.
A little thinner he looked, but maintained the same nonchalant air.
He handed Duncan a letter, and as it was written in a bold English handhe tore it nervously open.
"Flom de skipper of de _Pen-Gun_," said Carrambo. "When I see degun-boat lie in de ribber of Lamoo, I say to myse'f, 'No good bother widthe Sultan.' Den I go on board. All boo'ful white deck; all shinyblass, and black big gun; and de men all dress in sca'let and blue. Oh,dam fine, I 'ssure you. De skipper he take me below and give mebiscocoes and vine till I not can dlink mo'.
"He read the letter. He den write anoder and soon I go again."
"Ten thousand thanks, Carrambo. You have earned your rifle. My brotherand I shall teach you to shoot, and if when we make an attempt to leavethis wild land, you will come with us to be our guide to Lamoo manyanother present you shall receive besides."
Lieutenant-commanding H.M.S. _Pen-Gun_ wrote most cheerfully andhopefully to Duncan, assuring him that he himself would steam at onceeastwards, and if he was successful in finding the unhappy mariners,they should be immediately taken off, tenderly cared for, and landed atZanzibar, to wait under the charge of the British consul until a shipshould arrive and take them back to England.
"Thank God for all his mercies," exclaimed Duncan piously, after he hadtwice read the letter aloud to his comrades.
Then all hands shook Carrambo's hard fist, and noting that there wassomething more than usual on the tapis, Vike must jump up and go dancingall round the fort. But he made his way to the water to finish up with,for racing in Africa is hot work.
Carrambo received his rifle, and that very evening received also hisfirst lessons in the use thereof.
Carrambo was indeed a proud man now.
He held his head erect and said to Duncan:
"We'n King Slaleema he want some piccaniny kill fo' to eat, I bling datpiccaniny down wid one lifel bullet plenty twick."
Then Duncan lost his temper.
He was a strong young Scot and athlete, and Carrambo, tough savagethough he was, had no show after Duncan got hold of that rifle.
He wrenched it from his hand before anyone could have said "knife".
"You yellow-skinned scoundrel!" he cried, "you do not touch the rifleagain till you promise me on your honour--though I don't suppose thatweighs much--that you will never attempt to shoot, even at the king'sbidding, any child he wishes to destroy."
Carrambo glanced one moment at Duncan, then, turning on his heel, walkedoff.
The boys thought he was gone for good; but presently he returned,holding in his hand a long thin root.
This he cut in two with his knife.
He placed one half in his bosom, and gave the other to Duncan.
"Carrambo plomise. Suppose Carrambo bleak dat plomise, den de debbil hecut Carrambo's heart in two, and take he away to de ver bad place."
This was an oath, though of a curious sort, but Duncan knew that thisstrange being would keep it, and so the rifle was restored.
The Somali now went off to see the king, but he first and foremostdelivered the rifle into Conal's keeping.
Presently he returned laughing.
"De king--ha, ha!--he want to see you, foh tlue."
"Yes?"
"And he vant to see you vely mooch dilectly."
"Well?"
"Well, ha, ha, ha!" Carrambo evidently couldn't contain himself, "hewants one bottle of goo-goo."
The royal command was obeyed by Frank and Duncan, Carrambo accompanyingthem to carry the goo-goo.
The king laughed like one possessed when he saw the bottle, and madevarious signals for a drink, holding out the same old nutshell.
It was three times filled, and Carrambo himself was also presented witha nutful.
Then the king waxed communicative, and, after calling upon two of hiswives to fan him, and two more to cool Duncan and Frank down, he said hewould tell them the story of the fort, and Carrambo himself stood by totranslate.
The story was certainly a sort of a "freezer", as Frank termed it, butCarrambo, I have no doubt, gave a very literal translation thereof.
Let me carry it on to the next chapter please.