CHAPTER FORTY FIVE.
A FEARFUL DISCOVERY.
They stood there, turned to stone. They stood there, strong men as theywere, their flesh creeping with horror. The awful sound was succeededby a moment of silence, then it burst forth again and again, the grimsubterraneous walls echoing back its horrible import in ear-splittingreverberation. It sounded hardly human in its mingled intonation offrenzied ferocity and blind despair. It might have been the shriek of alost soul, struggling in the grasp of fiends on the brink of thenethermost pit.
"Advance now, cautiously, _amakosi_," said Josane. "Look where you arestepping or you may fall far. Keep your candles ready to light. TheHome of the Serpents is a horrible place. There is no end to itsterrors. Be prepared to tread carefully."
His warning was by no means superfluous. The ground ended abruptlyacross their path. Suddenly, shooting up, as it were, beneath theirvery feet, pealed forth again that frightful, blood-curdling yell.
It was awful. Starting backward a pace or two, the perspiration pouringfrom their foreheads, they stood and listened. On the Kafir no suchimpression had the incident effected. He understood the position in allits grim significance.
"Look down," he said, meaningly. "Look down, _amakosi_."
They did so. Before them yawned an irregular circular hole or pit,about thirty feet deep by the same in diameter. The sides were smoothand perpendicular; indeed, slightly overhanging from the side on whichthey stood. Opposite, the glistening surface of the rock rose into adome. But with this hole the cavern abruptly ended, the main part ofit, that is, for a narrow cleft or "gallery" branched off abruptly atright angles. From this pit arose such a horrible effluvium that theexplorers recoiled in disgust.
"Look down. Look down," repeated Josane.
The luminous disk from the lantern swept round the pit. Upon its nearlylevel floor crawled the loathsome, wriggling shapes of several greatserpents. Human skulls strewn about, grinned hideously upwards, and thewhole floor of this ghastly hell-pit seemed literally carpeted with acrackling layer of pulverised bones. But the most awful sight of allwas yet to come.
Gathered in a heap, like a huge squatting toad, crouched a human figure.Human? Could it be? Ah! it had been once. Nearly naked, save for afew squalid rags black with filth, this fearful object, framed withinthe brilliantly defined circle of the bull's-eye, looked anything buthuman. The head and face were one mass of hair, and the long, bushy,tangled beard screening almost the whole body in its crouching attitudeimparted to the creature the appearance of a head alone, supported ontwo hairy, ape-like arms, half man, half tarantula. The eyes wereglaring and blinking in the light with mingled frenzy and terror, andthe mouth was never still for a moment. What a sight the grizzlydenizen of that appalling hell-pit--crouching there, mopping and mowingamong the gliding, noisome reptiles, among the indescribable filth andthe grinning human skulls! No wonder that the spectators stoodspell-bound, powerless, with a nerveless, unconquerable repulsion.
Suddenly the creature opened its mouth wide and emitted that fearfuldemoniacal howl which had frozen their blood but a few moments back.Then leaping to its feet, it made a series of desperate springs in itsefforts to get at them. Indeed it was surprising the height to whichthese springs carried it, each failure being signalled by thatblood-curdling yell. Once it fell back upon a serpent. The reptile,with a shrill hiss, struck the offending leg. But upon the demoniacthose deadly fangs seemed to produce no impression whatever. Realisingthe futility of attempting to reach them, the creature sank back into acorner, gathering itself together, and working its features in wildconvulsions. Then followed a silence--a silence in its way almost ashorrible as the frightful shrieks which had previously broken it.
The spectators looked at each other with ashy faces. Heavens! couldthis fearful thing ever have been a man--a man with intellect and asoul--a man stamped with the image of his maker?
"He is the last, _Amakosi_," said the grave voice of Josane. "He is thelast, but not the first. There have been others before him,"designating the skulls which lay scattered about. "Soon he will be evenas they--as I should have been had I not escaped by a quick stroke ofluck."
"Great Heaven, Josane! Who is he?" burst from the horror-stricken lipsof Shelton and Hoste simultaneously. Eustace said nothing, for at thatmoment as he gazed down upon the mouldering skulls, there came back tohim vividly the witch-doctress's words, "They who look upon `The Home ofthe Serpents' are seen no more in life." Well did he understand themnow.
"The man whom you seek," was the grave reply. "He whom the people callUmlilwane."
An ejaculation of horror again greeted the Kafir's words. This awfultravesty, this wreck of humanity, that this should be Tom Carhayes! Itwas scarcely credible. What a fate! Better had he met his death, evenamid torture, at the time they had supposed, than be spared for such anend as this.
Then amid the deep silence and consternation of pity which thislugubrious and lamentable discovery evoked, there followed an intense, aburning desire for vengeance upon the perpetrators of this outrage; andthis feeling found its first vent in words. Josane shook his head.
"It might be done," he muttered. "It might be done. Are you preparedto spend several days in here, _Amakosi_?"
This was introducing a new feature into the affair--the fact being thateach of the three white men was labouring under a consuming desire tofind himself outside the horrible hole once more--again beneath thebroad light of day. It was in very dubious tones, therefore, thatShelton solicited an explanation.
"Even a maniac must eat and drink," answered Josane. "Those who keepUmlilwane here do not wish him to die--"
"You mean that some one comes here periodically to bring him food?"
"_Ewa_."
"But it may not be the persons who put him here; only some one sent bythem," they objected.
"This place is not known to all the Gcaleka nation," said Josane."There are but two persons known to me who would dare to come within adistance of it. Those are Ngcenika, the witch-doctress, and Hlangani,who is half a witch-doctor himself."
"By lying in wait for them we might capture or shoot one or both of themwhen they come to bring the poor devil his food, eh, Josane?" saidShelton. "When are they likely to come?"
"It may not be for days. But there is another side to that plan. Whatif they should have discovered that we are in here and decide to lie inwait for us?"
"Oh, by Jove! That certainly is a reverse side to the medal," criedHoste, with a long whistle of dismay. And indeed the idea of two suchformidable enemies as the redoubted Gcaleka warrior and the ferociouswitch-doctress lurking in such wise as to hold them entirely at theirmercy was not a pleasant one. There was hardly a yard of the way whereone determined adversary, cunningly ambushed, would not hold their livesin his hand. No. Any scheme for exacting reprisals had better keepuntil they were once more in the light of day. The sooner they rescuedtheir unfortunate friend and got quit of the place the better.
And even here they had their work fully cut out for them. How were theyto get at the wretched maniac? The idea of descending into thathorrible pit was not an alluring one; and, apart from this, what sort ofreception would they meet with from its occupant? That the latterregarded them in anything but a friendly light was manifest. How, then,were they ever to convey to the unfortunate creature that their objectwas the reverse of hostile? Tom Carhayes was well-known to be a man ofgreat physical power. Tom Carr hayes--a gibbering, mouthing lunatic--afurious demoniac--no wonder they shrank from approaching him.
"Silence! Darken the light!"
The words, quick, low, peremptory--proceeded from Josane. In an instantEustace obeyed. The slide of the lantern was turned.
"I listen--I hear," went on the Kafir in the same quick whisper. "Thereare steps approaching."
Every ear was strained to the uttermost. Standing in the pitchyblackness and on the brink of that awful pit, no one dared move so muchas a foo
t.
And now a faint and far-away sound came floating through the darkness; astrange sound, as of the soft bass of voices from the distantspirit-world wailing weirdly along the ghostly walls of the tunnel. Itseemed, too, that ever so faint a light was melting the gloom in thedistance. The effect was indescribable in its awesomeness. Thelisteners held their very breath.
"Up here," whispered Josane, referring to the shaft already mentioned."No! show no light--not a glimmer. Hold on to each other's shoulder--you, Ixeshane, hold on to mine--Quick--_Hamba-ke_." [Go on.]
This precaution, dictated by the double motive of keeping together inthe darkness, and also to avoid any one of the party accidentallyfalling into the pit--being observed, the Kafir led the way some littledistance within the shaft.
"Heavens!" whispered Hoste. "What about the snakes? Supposing we treadon one?"
In the excitement of the moment this consideration had been quiteoverlooked. Now it struck dismay into the minds of the three white men.To walk along in pitch darkness in a narrow tunnel which you know to beinfested with deadly serpents, with more than an even chance of treadingupon one of the noisome reptiles at every step, is a position whichassuredly needs a powerful deal of excitement to carry it through.
"_Au_! Flash one beam of light in front, Ixeshane," whispered theguide. "Not behind--for your life, not behind!"
Eustace complied, carefully shading the sides of the light with theflaps of his coat. It revealed that the cave here widened slightly, butmade a curve. It further revealed no sign of the most dreaded enemy ofthe human race.
Here, then, it was decided to lie in wait. The lights carried by thoseapproaching would hardly reach them here, and they could lurk almostconcealed, sheltered by the formation of the tunnel.
The flash from Eustace's lantern had been but momentary. And now, asthey crouched in the inky gloom, the sense of expectation became painfulin its intensity. Nearer and nearer floated the wailing chant, and soonthe lurking listeners were able to recognise it as identical with thewild, heathenish _rune_ intoned by their guide--the weird, mysteriousinvocation of the Serpent.
"Harm us not, O Snake of snakes! Do us no hurt _O Inyeka 'Nkulu_!"
The sonorous, open vowels rolled forth in long-drawn cadence, chanted bytwo voices--both blending in wonderful harmony. Then a cloud ofnebulous light filled up the entrance to their present hiding place,hovering above the fearful hell-pit where the maniac was imprisoned,throwing the brink into distinct relief.
The watchers held their very breath. The song had ceased. Suddenlythere was a flash of light in their eyes, as from a lantern.
Two dark figures were standing on the brink of the hole. Each carried alantern, one of those strong, tin-rimmed concerns used bytransport-riders for hanging in their waggon-tents. There was no lackof light now.
"Ho, Umlilwane!" cried a deep, bass voice, which rumbled in hoarseechoes beneath the domed roof, while the speaker held his lantern outover the pit. "Ho, Umlilwane! It is the dog's feeding time again. Wehave brought the dog his bones. Ho, ho!"
The wretched maniac who, until now, had kept silence, here broke forthagain into his diabolical howls. By the sound the watchers could tellthat he was exhausting himself in a series of bull-dog springs similarto those prompted by his frenzy on first discovering themselves. Ateach of these futile outbursts the two mocking fiends shouted and roaredwith laughter. But they little knew how near they were laughing for thelast time. Three rifles were covering them at a distance of fiftyyards--three rifles in the hands of men who were dead shots, and whosehearts were bursting with silent fury. Josane, seeing this, tookoccasion to whisper under cover of the lunatic's frenzied howls:
"The time is not yet. The witch-doctress is for me--for me. I willlure her in here, and when I give the word--but not before--shootHlangani. The witch-doctress is for me."
The identity of the two figures was distinct in the light. The hideoussorceress, though reft of most of the horrid accessories and adornmentsof her order, yet looked cruel and repulsive as a very fiend--fittingfigure to harmonise with the Styx-like gloom of the scene. The hugeform of the warrior loomed truly gigantic in the sickly lantern light."Ho, Umlilwane, thou dog of dogs!" went on the latter. "Art thougrowing tired of thy cool retreat? Are not the serpents goodcompanions? _Haul_ Thou wert a fool to part so readily with thy mind.After so many moons of converse with the serpents, thou shouldst havebeen a mighty soothsayer--a mighty diviner--by now. How long did ittake thee to lose thy mind? But a single day? But a day and a night?That was quick! Ho, ho!" And the great taunting laugh was echoed bythe shriller cackle of the female fiend.
"Thou wert a mighty man with thy fists, a mighty man with thy gun, OUmlilwane!" went on the savage, his mocking tones now sinking to thoseof devilish hatred. "But now thou art no longer a man--no longer a man._Au_! What were my words to thee? `Thou hadst better have cut off thyright hand before shedding the blood of Hlangani _for it is better tolose a hand than one's mind_.' What thinkest thou now of Hlangani'srevenge? Hi!"
How plain now to one of the listeners were those sombre words, overwhose meaning he had so anxiously pondered. This, then, was the fearfulvengeance promised by the Gcaleka warrior. And for many months hiswretched victim had lain here a raving maniac--had lain here in adarkness as of the very pit of hell--had lain among noisome serpents--among crawling horrors untold--small wonder his reason had given wayafter a single night of such, as his tormentor had just declared. Smallwonder that he had indeed lost his mind!
A fiendish yell burst from the maniac. Suddenly a great serpent wasthrown upward from the pit. Petrified with horror, the watchers saw itsthick, writhing form fly through the air and light on thewitch-doctress's shoulder. With a shrill laugh the hag merely seizedthe wriggling, squirming reptile, which, with crest waving, was hissinglike a fury, and hurled it back into the pit again. What sort ofdevil's influence was protecting these people, that they could handlethe most deadly reptiles with absolute impunity? Were they, indeed,under some demoniac spell? To one, however, among the white spectators,the real solution of the mystery may have suggested itself.
"Here are thy bones, dog," resumed the great barbarian, throwing whatlooked like a half-filled sack into the hole. "Here is thy drink," andhe lowered a large calabash at the end of a string. "Eat, drink, andkeep up thy strength. Perhaps one day I may turn thee loose again. Whoknows! Then when thy people see thee coming they will cry: `Here comesHlangani's Revenge.' And they will fly from thee in terror, as from theapproach of a fell disease."
The watchers looked at each other. These last words, coupled with theact of throwing down the food, seemed to point to the speedy conclusionof the visit. They could hear the miserable victim mumbling andcrunching what sounded like literally bones, and growling like a dog.But Hlangani went on.
"Wouldst thou not rather have gone to feed the black ants, or have diedthe death of the red-hot stones, Umlilwane? Thou wouldst be at restnow. And now thou hast only just begun to live--alone in the darkness--alone with the serpents--a man whose mind is gone. Thou wilt never seethe light of day again. _Whau_! The sun is shining like gold outside.And thy wife, Umlilwane--thy beautiful wife--tall and graceful, like thestem of the budding _umbona_ [Maize]--dost thou never think of her? Ha!There is another who does--another who does. I have seen him--I haveseen them both--him and thy beautiful wife--"
Eustace had nudged Josane in such wise as to make that individualunderstand that the curtain must be rung down on this scene--and that atonce. Simultaneously the "yap" of a puppy dog burst forth almostbeneath his feet. Its effect upon the pair at the pit's brink waselectric.
"_Yau_!" cried Ngcenika, turning toward the sound. "The little dog hasfollowed me in after all. Ah, the little brute. I will make him tastethe stick!"
"Or throw him down to Umlilwane," laughed her companion. "He will dofor him to play with, two dogs together. _Mawo_!"
Again the "yap" was heard, now seve
ral times in rapid succession. Soperfect was the imitation that the watchers themselves were for a momenttaken in.
"_Iza, inja! Injane, izapa_!" ["Come, dog! Little dog--come here!"]cried the witch-doctress coaxingly, advancing into the lateral gallery,holding her lantern in front of her. Josane, with his mouth to theground was emitting a perfect chorus of yaps.
"Now," he whispered, under cover of the echoes produced, as the width ofthe gallery left a clear chance at Hlangani, without endangering thewitch-doctress. "Remember--the female beast, Ngcenika, is for me.Shoot Hlangani--_Now_!"
Scarce had the word left his mouth than the shots crashed forthsimultaneously.