CHAPTER XVI
ACROSS THE LAGOON
As the night came stealthily creeping over wood and water, sendinghosts of birds with loud scoldings to their chosen roosting-places--for out of those myriads of trees only certain trees were selected--the boat was put in near the right bank. The levers were muffled,and the "lookout," with a bill-hook ready to fend off any snag, anda bull's-eye lantern to shoot a sudden light, took up his positionin the bows. She crept on slowly through the pitch darkness, thecrew easing off at times to listen as some loud noise broke thesilence--the plunge of a hippo, the snort of an angry bull, theswirl of a fish, or the cry of an otter from the bank. In one ofthese silences a whisper came from the bows.
"Look," said Venning; and he flashed the bull's-eye on the bank.
The others, glancing along the streamer of light, saw reflected twobright eyes, a gleaming muzzle, and the tips of curved horns.
"A buffalo," whispered Mr. Hume.
As the boat drifted slowly past, they watched the bright eyes, andthe eyes of the animal followed them. Out of the intense blacknessonly those points were visible--the luminous eyes, the shiningmuzzle, and the tips of the horns. The rest was left to theimagination; yet the picture seemed to stand out of a shaggy forestbull, his fore feet on the brink of the water, and his head thrownup.
"What a picture for a flash-light photo!" muttered Venning,longingly.
"What a mark for a shot!" sighed Mr. Hume. "And red meat would bevery welcome."'
As they slipped away the buffalo snorted, crashed into the forest,and battered his way on a course parallel to them to get anotherview of that mysterious light, for presently they heard his snortagain. A little further on a bull hippo charged at them, but theglare of the light full in his eyes stopped him, and he remainedopen-mouthed, so that all they saw was a yawning gulf bristling withivory. Mr. Hume, who had picked up his Express at the first snort,laid it down again with a laugh.
"Took the fight out of him that time, Venning; but it's a littlerisky."
"Keeps one wide awake, at any rate," said Compton.
"We'll continue for an hour or so and then tie up, for we may have aheavy day to-morrow."
For a couple of miles the boat felt its way through the dark withoutincident, and then the look-out signalled another discovery.
"Light ahead!"
The Okapi was brought broadside on, so that the crew could have aclear view of the river; and they sat for some time in silence,looking at the strange object--a tiny but steady glow of fire.
"Shut off the bull's-eye, Venning. We'll make for mid-stream, andapproach the fire with caution."
The boat moved out into the current, then worked up very tenderlywhile Venning steered, with his eyes fixed on that little speck ofred. Slowly they advanced, cautiously were the levers pulled overand shot back, so that there should be no noise, and silently thesmooth craft cut into the darkness. But light travels far, and theyseemed to get no nearer.
"I believe it's a light in a boat," muttered the lookout.
The others slowed up, and they listened, but they heard no sound ofpaddles, only innumerable stealthy whisperings from the woods.
"It is stationary," said Mr. Hume, "and ashore, as you may see fromits fixity. Beep her away. We can't be too careful."
They made a long reach down, going very warily, and taking care notto keep their eyes solely upon the fire; for a light is a good lureto draw the careless into an ambush, unless they are on the look-outfor danger in a different quarter.
"I can't see any one about," said Venning, who was using the night-glasses.
In complete silence they came at last opposite the fire, but nosooner had they passed it than it went out.
"Put her round," whispered Mr. Hume.
The boat answered her helm like a well-trained horse, and they wentback on their course to see if they could fetch the light again.
"Yes, there it is."
"Then it's a signal," muttered Mr. Hume; "only to be seen by someone coming up-stream."
"Suppose it is meant for us?"
Mr. Hume went forward with his Express, and relieved Venning at thehelm.
"We'll creep nearer in this time, but be ready to make a dash if itproves to be one of Hassan's watch-parties."
This time the Okapi hugged the shore, and stopped when it cameopposite the light.
Out of the darkness came a low laugh. "I have been awaiting you, Ogreat one; but you came so softly that I should not have knownexcept for these wise ones here."
"Welcome, Muata!" The boat was run in now without further pause, andMr. Hume leapt ashore with the line. "And who are the wise ones,chief, that could smell us out in the dark?"
"Who but the jackal and the wise woman?"
"You found your mother, then! I'm very glad--very glad. And whatabout Hassan? He has passed this way, and made his sign at thevillage where we left the old Arab."
"The Arab thief comes up the little river with many canoes and thewhole pack of man-eaters. So we three will get into the shiningcanoe, if the great one wills, and make good the time beforesunrise."
"The boat is ready."
Muata called. The fire was put out, and presently two figuresappeared within the range of the bull's-eye lantern--a woman and thejackal. The woman halted to speak a few words to Muata, then she puta hand on the hunter's shoulder and peered into his face. Shelaughed and said something.
"What says the wise woman, Muata?"
"Lion--not gorilla. Haw! We heard the story from the little men howthe great one cleft the skull of the gorilla; and how they calledyou my father, after the man-monkey. But I told her you were morelion than ape, and she has judged for herself."
Mr. Hume laughed, and held a hand to help the woman into the boat;but she stepped aboard unassisted, and moved forward, the jackalfollowing very humbly.
"And the river-man?"
"He struck the trail of three man-eaters, and followed them, seeingred. Maybe he slew them and was slain, for there was much noise, andhe did not return. So we here are all till we reach the hiding-place."
The boat was pushed off, and Muata took one of the levers.
"Let the young lions sleep," he said. "We can have no better watchthan we now have. See! the jackal smelt you while you were stillafar, and the chiefs wife heard the noise of the boat before I did.Wow! We are safe while they watch."
"Does the chiefs wife smoke?" "Ow ay! tobacco would please herheart." Mr. Hume passed a pipe and tobacco to the woman, and Comptongave her a lighted match. She took them as if they were ordinaryobjects of her life, lit the pipe, and by the flame of the matchleant forward to peer into the boy's face as she had stared at Mr.Hume. And she spoke a word or two before turning her face to thebows for the long watch.
"The river runs into the sea; but the river is always full. That isher word, young lion."
"Which means?"
"I told her you were the white man's son, and she has seen forherself. Maybe her words mean that when the father is gone the sontakes his place. But in time you will know, for her meaning issometimes hard to understand. Now sleep, you two, for there is greatneed for us ahead."
Without more ado the two "young lions" rolled themselves in theirblankets and enjoyed the rare luxury of an untroubled sleep, andwhen they awoke they were in a vast lagoon, out of which stood thebleached skeletons of dead trees, with gaunt bare branches, in allmanner of fantastic shapes. But it was only the trees that weredead, for the astonished eyes of the boys rested on such amultiplicity of animal life as they had never before seen. Birdsroosted on the aforesaid dead branches--sooty ibis, white pelicans,crows, kingfishers, and here and there, like sentinels on thetopmost branches, a white-headed eagle, with his hooked bill,dominating the scene. Wheeling through the air were strings of duckand wisps of snipe in battalions, rows of cranes with their longlegs trailing, and on the surface of the smooth water, on scores ofsmall islands, formed originally by uprooted trees, and under thewater, there were yet innumerable creatures.
It was certainly grandhunting for all. There were flies and gnats for the frogs, tadpolesand the spawn of frogs for the little fishes, little fishes werepreyed on by the ducks and the big fishes, while the birds and thebig fishes in turn provided breakfast, dinner, and supper for thecrocodiles. Apparently the crocodiles were too tough, too musky, andtoo powerful, to serve as food for any other animal higher up in thescale; but it is not to be supposed that they had merely to opentheir jaws to snatch a meal, for there were shallows all about wherethe waders could go to sleep in peace, standing on one leg. Andthere they stood, regiments of them--crested cranes, blue cranes,black ibis, pink ibis, flamingoes, and wild geese.. And the noisewas tremendous!
The Okapi sailed under a gentle breeze right into the thick of thissportsman's paradise, and from the low islands armies of mosquitoesgaily advanced to meet her until they formed a moving cloud aroundher, only kept off from eating up the crew by the mercifulintervention of the canvas awning and mosquito curtains.
"What a magnificent specimen of the spoonbill bittern," groanedVenning. "If we had only brought an air-gun--for I suppose we cannotfire."
"Look at those fat geese in a row," said Compton. "What a stew theywould make. Just one shot, sir."
"It won't do," said Mr. Hume. "A single shot would raise noiseenough to wake the seven sleepers."
"There is another way," said Muata.
"What way?"
"A line such as you used for fish--see." He shaved off some thinshreds of buffalo biltong, chewed it, and dropped it astern. Aninquisitive teal watched him keenly, and, as the boat went by, madea swoop for the fragment. The incident was noticed, and a biggander, curiously tame, came sailing up, arching its neck inimitation of the swan. The boys were at the lockers in a flash, drewout a couple of lines, bent on a large hook, buoyed it, by theadvice of Mr. Hume, between two floats, baited the hooks, and payedthe line over the stem, while Muata dropped over a few more pellets.There was a flotilla of duck and geese following in the wake of theOkapi, and in less than a minute there were two bites. Compton hadthe black and grey gander, while Venning had a fat duck in tow. TheOkapi was backed full speed astern and the astonished fowl pulled onboard before they knew what had happened. The geese sheered off atonce, speaking to each other in subdued tones, but in the nextquarter of an hour three more ducks were added to the bag. Then apiratical craft appeared in the very thick of the peaceful convoy,opened its broadside, as it were, and engulfed a couple. There was aswirl in the water, a resounding smack made by a long scaley tail,and a third fowl went the way of the others. Beating their wings,the duck rose with loud quacks to seek the safety of a shallow, andthe leery green eyes of the piratical crocodile appeared above thedisturbed water.
"You old thief!" cried Venning.
"It is his hunting-ground," said Muata, with a chuckle, as he passedthe birds to his mother, who began at once to pluck them.
"Out with the big pot and the preserved vegetables," said Compton."We'll have one big feast, even if we go hungry for a week."
The pot was got out, water from the lagoon was boiled, strained, andboiled again, then, as each bird was cleaned, it was cut up andplaced in the pot, the offal falling to the share of the jackal. Itwas a great meal, of soup, game, cabbage, potatoes, onions, andcarrots, all mixed up, and when it had been eaten down to the lastdrop, with a dose of quinine for safety, and a cup of coffee forcomfort, they were all shiny and happy. The oily fat from the birds,which formed a layer on the top while the mess was boiling, had beencarefully removed, and when it had cooled, Muata and his motherrubbed it over their faces, necks, arms, and hair until theyglistened.
"Well, I'm sugared!" said Compton.
"Fat very good for the skin," said Muata, showing his teeth. "Youtry."
"Better for the guns, chief.''
"Wow! and for the big knife;" and the chief polished up his Ghoorkablade, while the boys greased the rifles and stared at the chief'swife, thinking, as they stared, of the adventures which she had beenthrough since she fled from the kraal of her husband, driven out bythe slave-hunters. They had seen old black women at the villages,wrinkled old crones, phenomenally thin; but this woman was not muchwrinkled, and she was not thin. Neither was she ugly as those othershad been, for she carried herself straight, and there was a dignityabout her actions whenever she moved her long bare arms. But theycame to the conclusion that she was not a person to sew on buttons,for there was a hard look about the eyes, and the whole cast of theface was set and stem. It did not seem possible that she couldsmile, and, remembering the careless laughter of native women, whowere amused at anything or nothing, she was a mystery to them. Sothey very soon gave up trying to make anything out of her, andturned their attention to the lagoon, which stretched away a goodten miles on either hand to the dark fringe of forest. Evidently theforest had grown where the shallow waters now were, as the deadtrees testified.
"The land has sunk about here," said Venning, "and underneath theremust be a coal-bed in process of formation. Now, if there were hillsaround, and a nice clean sand-beach, I should like to spend monthshere."
"Too many mosquitoes!"
"Besides," said Mr. Hume, striking in, "there are hills."
"Where? Over there? Why, that's a cloud!"
"Perhaps so; but the cloud rests on a hill-top. Isn't that so,Muata?"
"Those be the gates to the Place of Rest."
"By Jimminy! How far?" This was something to be excited about.
Muata held up five fingers. "So many suns will rise and set."
"And does the forest lie in between?"
"Between and beyond."
"And the Place of Rest, is that forest also?"
"The sun shines there all day," said the chief; "and a man can seehis shadow lengthen. The little ones play on the white sand, thewomen and the girls work in the gardens on the open slopes of thehills, and the men----"
"Well, what about the men?"
"They lie in the sand like lizards, and talk like parrots."
It was the chief's wife who spoke scornfully, using the languagethey had mastered.
"Wow!" chimed in the chief, "they are timid people, the men; but thetime is at hand when those who will not fight will be set to dowomen's work in the gardens."
The woman nodded her head grimly. "The time is at hand when thereapers will work, not in the cornfields, but about the fires wherethe men sit. Hassan is to be feared; but he can only enter if he ishelped from within."
"I listen, O wise one," said the son, sternly. "Even if I weed themall out so that there are none left but Muata and these three whitestrangers, your counsel shall be followed."
"It is well," said the mother, nodding her head.
"You seem to have little faith in your people," said Compton.
"Haw! They grow fat and timid. They have no fight in them. Oncebefore, when I was a boy, I beat them; but they have forgotten."
"I rather think, chief, that they would be as well off under Hassanas under you."
"Hassan would yoke them in and drive them out through the forestinto the plains. A man must fight for his kraal. That is the law."
"It is the law," said the woman.
"And that is the Place of Rest?" said Venning, lingering on thesight. "More like a place of trouble for some; but, at any rate, ifthere are hills and open places, I shall be glad to get there. Itwould be a real treat to have space enough for a trot. But, I say,it is time you two slept."
"That is just what I have been thinking," said Mr. Hume.
The two boys took the levers, but Muata declined to rest. He saidthere were two openings leading from the lagoon to the hills--one abroad channel, commonly used, the other a smaller channel.
"We will take the little river," he said, "so that Hassan, who willfollow the other track, will not know of our going. But it is hardto find this little water-path, and I must search for it."
"Don't go up a track that will not give water for the boat. Are yousure that it will carry us?"
"Ow ay! t
here is water enough, great one. So sleep well."
For a couple of hours the boys worked the levers, and at the endthey came upon a thicket of reeds, along which the Okapi skirted,while the chief and his mother kept a keen outlook. Twice theyplunged into the reeds on a false trail; and then, as they lay offscanning the oily water for trace of a current, the woman held upher hand.
"It is Hassan," said the chief.
Venning reached for his glasses, and far back over the shining lakehe saw little black specks emerging, as it were, out of the forest.
"Canoes," he said; "a great many."
If they did not find the outlet soon they would be sighted. Muataand his mother spoke a few words rapidly, and then he signalled tothe crew to enter the reeds. This done, and the boat screened, heslipped into the water and disappeared shorewards. For some time hewas away, during which the flotilla of canoes came into view like aflock of ducks, still so far off that the boys could not hear thesound of paddles. Presently Muata splashed back, and, towing theboat, made across a barrier of reeds that had been banked up,forming a sort of natural breakwater, and most effectually hidingthe mouth of the stream he sought. Mr. Hume was awakened, and theentire crew, taking to the water, managed to hoist the boat over thebarrier. This done, they climbed on board again, and were soon inthe mouth of a dark river, almost overhung by great trees.
"That is well done," said Muata. "Now we can sleep, great one; forthe other river runs far from this, so that Hassan's men will nothear us."
They were soon asleep. Even the chief's wife stretched herself outwith the jackal at her feet, and the two boys were left in solecharge. They had been toughened by the rough-and-tumble of theirstrange experiences, and inured to the brooding silence and darkavenues of the forest; but they entered into a scene that triedtheir nerves. The trees closed in as they advanced, and very soonthey entered a leafy tunnel, lit up by a faint light that barelyshowed up the slimy banks, covered by a network of snake-like roots.The little waves churned up by the screw splashed softly upon theroots, making the only sound that disturbed the sombre silence ofthe place. So low was the leafy roof at places that branches rustledon the awning.
"Fix up the big lantern in the bows, old man," said Compton, who wasfacing up-stream. "There is not light enough to steer by. Better situp there with the bill-hook while I work the levers."
Venning went forward, and soon a shaft of light pierced the gloom.
For a mile or more they threaded this tunnel, and not a sign of lifewas there the whole way. When they emerged from the darkness intocomparative space and light, the boys wiped their faces, which wereclammy with moisture.
"A few more experiences like that, Dick, and we cross the river forgood."
"Eh?"
"Why, man, it's the Styx. It has given me the shivers."
"Quinine," said Compton; and they dosed one another there and then."I say, I'd give the whole five hundred miles square of this forestfor one little glade in Epping."
"Bother!"
"Of all the squirmy, snaky, gloomy, airless, sunless, moist,decaying masses of misery, I think this is the worst."
"It is, Dick; it is. There's not a butterfly even."
"Thunder! It's raining fire! No; it's an ant S It's raining ants, bygum!"
"You ass, you've hooked the bill into a nest. There--that round,black thing--like a football. They're running up the bill-hook."
There was a splash as the boat was shoved off, then mutteredexclamations and a yelp from the jackal: Many scores of ants hadinvaded the Okapi, and each ant, full of murderous rage for thewanton attack upon the nest, seized hold of the first soft thing itcame across, and once it gripped it held on like a bull-dog. War waswaged on the invaders, and when the last had been discovered andcrushed, there was no sleep in the savage eyes of the awakened.
Incidents like these alone varied the monotony of the dreary daysthey spent in that mournful slough, and if it had not been for theregular exercise at the levers, and the hope of a speedy releasefrom their surroundings, the young explorers must have succumbed. Asit was, they lost colour, became pale, languid, and heavy-eyed; andMr. Hume, noting the signs of the dreaded wasting sickness withanxiety, did not spare himself or Muata when it came to their turnto work the levers.