Into the Unknown: A Romance of South Africa

  CHAPTER FOUR.

  INTO THE UNKNOWN.

  Grenville briefly detailed to the Zulu all they had seen in the canon,eliciting many wondering comments from him as to the possible utility ofthe figure in warfare, after which he gave them an account of hisreconnaissance. Suffice it to say that he had rigidly examined theadjacent rocks, and found several small fissures which appeared quitepracticable of defence, but had ultimately concluded their presentposition to be the best, as they were free to strike out upon the veldt,without--so far as he could judge--bringing themselves within range ofany likely rifle-posts.

  On repassing the stairway, he had heard a subdued murmur of voices, andguessed that their enemies were consulting over the body of thesentinel, and had now realised that three men, already accountable forthe deaths of two of their comrades, were by this time at largesomewhere within the jealously-guarded precincts of their own secretkingdom; and thinking that the sooner he regained his party the better,Myzukulwa had returned at speed.

  The Zulu proposed that their party should hold the canon against allcomers. There was water to be had close by, he said, under cover oftheir rifles; they had sufficient dried meat to last them for fullythree days, and in the meantime they could form an opinion of the numberand quality of their enemies. Neither Grenville nor Leigh would,however, consent to this plan of action, for they argued that if thestupendous rock which bounded the canon was thin enough to admit of thehideous facial transparency they had seen, it was also capable of beingpierced with loopholes, and a single marksman thus posted would make theplace untenable by their party. Truth to tell, the unexplained horrorof that diabolical face was strong upon the cousins, and each wasanxious to be gone from its neighbourhood at all risks.

  The Zulu continued to urge his view of the case, when his opposition wasvery strangely disposed of. The moonlight, which had all this time beengradually leaving the canon, now crept along the nearer wall, and theparty perceived, to their dismay, a human figure, apparently watchingtheir movements; an instant more, and the waning light revealed agruesome spectacle which fairly froze their blood. The man they hadseen was _dead--recently and ignominiously crucified_; and upon woodencrosses, ranged at intervals along that awful wall, hung eight or tenhideous skeletons, their naked bones gleaming white and inexpressiblyghostly in the silvery moonlight; and on approaching these they foundover each individual horror identically the same inscription--"_By orderof the Holy Three_"--and realised that this was the Golgotha in whichthe infamous Mormon Trinity quietly, yet with infinite cruelty, executedtheir victims, whether innocent or otherwise. Pausing before oneskeleton, Grenville pronounced it unmistakably that of a young woman,and Leigh, usually unimpressionable, rapped out a string of oaths, andvowed to pile a hecatomb of Mormon bodies to her manes.

  This revelation sufficed even the Zulu, and after a short consultationthe party ate some food, and then struck out into the unknown, just asthe fading moonlight began to be merged into the ghostly mists ofapproaching dawn, which, as they hung over the veldt, would effectuallyconceal the movements of the trio from prying eyes.

  By common consent the party kept away to the left of the direct linesupposed to lead to the Mormon stronghold as indicated by the singleanswering rocket they had seen, and by putting their best foot foremosttrusted before the morning broke to find cover somewhere out of eye-shotof the stairway, and in this they were successful beyond their fondesthopes.

  Silently the daylight came travelling over the grey and weird expanse offog and veldt, lifting the wreaths of mist here and there--only, as itseemed, to render them by contrast with its own brightness even moreopaque than ever; still our friends knew that at any moment the orb ofday might be expected to rise and completely disperse the fog bankswhich afforded them such kindly shelter, and they were feelingconsequently anxious, when the Zulu suddenly exclaimed that there weretrees close by; and so it proved, for in another five minutes the triowere effectually concealed in a broad belt of bush which appeared tofringe a forest of considerable extent.

  Hardly had our friends gained this welcome cover than they saw themountains, now some dozen miles away, appear suddenly through the gauzywreaths of vapour; it was as if an angel's hand had withdrawn theintervening curtain of ghostly mist and revealed the wondrous scene inall the glowing, flashing splendour of a tropic sunrise. The mightyspurs of the mountain seemed instinct with life and beauty, as theclouds lifted and the glorious sunlight ran along their peaks andglinted upon their scarped sides in changing tints of varied loveliness;for but one moment was the picture seen, then the cloud fiend againobtained the upper hand, and only the rolling veldt could be seen bothfar and near.

  The Zulu was now despatched upon another scouting expedition, and, afteran absence of half an hour, returned with the reassuring news that noenemy was in sight in any direction. The party then indulged in theircustomary frugal breakfast of dried meat and water, into which last--inconsideration of the night's exposure--Grenville introduced a dash ofbrandy from their carefully-husbanded store; then after enjoying theirone luxury--a good lazy smoke--the cousins settled down to sleep,leaving Myzukulwa to keep watch, Grenville relieving him a few hourslater, as the trio had resolved--at all events, until they knew moreabout the strange country they were operating in--to confine theirtravels strictly to the night-time.

  Towards evening Grenville climbed a huge tree in order to obtain ageneral idea of their position, but came down without being very muchwiser; and it was finally determined to keep along the edge of theveldt, utilising the shadow of the forest, so far as possible, as adefence against prying eyes.

  This programme was carefully adhered to, and when daylight came againwithout further misadventure, it was a satisfaction to feel that theyhad at all events placed another twenty miles between themselves and theghostly canon which Leigh had christened "Execution Dock."

  On this morning all felt cold and tired, and would have given much for awarm breakfast; but it was thought altogether inexpedient to light afire as yet.

  After their usual sleep Grenville again ascended a tree, and camequickly down with the news that smoke was rising from the bush a fewhundred yards off, and that he thought he could smell tobacco. Each manimmediately seized his weapons, and in a trice the little party wasgliding stealthily forward in the direction indicated by Grenville.

  Just as Myzukulwa, who formed the advance guard, was about to enter asmall clearing in the forest, he was arrested by the sound of a humanvoice. The tones were low and growling, but the speaker was still toofar off for them to hear his words, and at a sign from the Zulu the triowere soon stealing snake-like through the bush, eager to see what wasgoing on.

  A curious scene now presented itself. In the very centre of an openspace some fifty or sixty yards in circumference--for it was an almostcomplete natural circle fringed by trees and heavy bush--a white man wassitting on a fallen log, a big pipe in his mouth and a long rifle acrosshis knees. His face, which looked low and brutal, seemed to peer outthrough a profusion of bushy beard and whiskers, and his manner ofspeech was aggressive and objectionable.

  Within ten yards of him, bound hand and foot to a sapling, stood anotherwhite man, stripped naked to a waist cloth, yet looking, in spite of hisdegradation and emaciation, a brave man and a gentleman, whilst hisstyle of address differed in a very marked degree from that of thescoundrel before him.

  As our friends noiselessly gained their coign of vantage, the prisonerwas speaking, and his voice, though clear, was so weak and low that thetrio had to strain their ears to catch his words.

  "Abiram Levert," he said, "you have kept me bound to this tree for threedays and nights without food, you have given me water to prolong mysufferings and keep me alive, and I tell you once and for all that yourdevilish ingenuity is utterly thrown away upon me. I am an Englishman,and a man, moreover, who fears and trusts the God you daily blaspheme inyour false, infamous worship: and I warn you that no power on earthshall force or induce me to consent to my daughter
's union with such awretched piece of carrion as yourself, having already half a dozenmiserable so-called wives in your filthy harem. I would undergo athousand horrible deaths sooner than agree to your proposals, and I prayGod that Dora may die rather than fall into such abominable hands."

  The face of the Mormon assumed a positively Satanic aspect, and henervously fingered the lock of his rifle, but suddenly rose and laugheda harsh discordant laugh, removed his pipe from his mouth, andexpectorated violently. "All right, Jack Winfield," he growled. "Iguess I can wait; another week of this will bring you to your senses;and if it doesn't--why, I'll carry your pretty daughter off into thewoods, and then perhaps she'll be glad to form one of my establishment,_if she can get the chance_," and the villain turned to walk away.

  And now was enacted a singular drama--part tragedy, part comedy.

  The cousins, with their rifles cocked, had been watching every action ofthe Mormon so closely that they had quite forgotten their Zulu friend,and just as the man who had been designated as Abiram Levert was aboutto leave the glade and betake himself to the forest on the side farthestfrom their hiding-place, to the utter astonishment of the watchers,Myzukulwa coolly stepped out into the open and barred his passage in athreatening manner. Quick as thought the Mormon threw forward hisrifle, but before he could pull the trigger the active Zulu had struckup his muzzle and the piece was harmlessly discharged in the air.

  Myzukulwa promptly followed up his advantage, and aimed a thrust at hisenemy which would certainly have annihilated him, when his spear wasdeftly turned aside by a similar weapon, from which it struck averitable shower of sparks, and the Zulu found himself fully employed inprotecting his own epidermis from the spear of a splendid-looking man,who might easily have passed for one of his own people.

  Taking advantage of this diversion in his favour, the cowardly Mormondrew a murderous-looking hunting-knife, and, walking up to the Zulu,prepared to strike him in the back. The moment he raised the weapon,however, Grenville's rifle vomited a sheet of flame through the bushes,and Brother Abiram Levert bit the dust, with a heavy bullet through hisbrain.

  The cousins watched anxiously for a chance of disposing of Myzukulwa'sopponent in like manner, but the evolutions of the combatants were muchtoo complicated to admit of shooting one without very great risk to theother.

  The Zulu had forced his man inch by inch into the centre of the forestglade, and the steely flashes of the spears were keen and vivid as thelightning on a stormy night; all at once Myzukulwa, who had manoeuvredso as to get the light into his opponent's eyes, made an advance whichGrenville knew to be a favourite and deadly point of his, and, on itsbeing most unexpectedly parried, bounded back with a cry ofastonishment, and stood quietly leaning on his spear, whilst his foegazed at him, for the space of a few seconds, in sheer wonder, and then,concluding Myzukulwa had given in, prepared to finish him. The greatZulu, however, raised his hand, and, pointing to his foe, began a speechwhich was both wild and curious:--

  "Tell me, white men, what is life? Is it not the breath of the Creator?Does it come and go like the blushes on a maiden's cheek? Is it theshadow which comes to us at daybreak but to vanish with the setting sun?Here have we no daybreak, nor can it be evening; yet, how then, in thisstrange place of witchcraft, have I, Myzukulwa, the son of Isanusi, thelast of the ancient chieftains of the race of Undi, met face to face andfought with my brother Amaxosa, the son of my own mother, he having beenslain in the Pass of the Spooks sixty long moons ago?"

  The other man emitted a strange wild cry, gazed for a moment atMyzukulwa as if spell-bound, and then the pair fell to embracing oneanother, vociferating the while in the Zulu tongue, whilst Grenville,who saw they had no more to fear from the new arrival, commencedunbinding the white prisoner with many commiserating expressions.

  "Who are you?" he asked Grenville.

  "Englishmen who have come in answer to your entreaty for help," repliedLeigh.

  "Thank God--oh! thank God," murmured the other, and then fainted deadaway in their arms.

  A little water sprinkled on his face soon brought him to life again, andhe commenced to explain his position.

  "My name," he began, "is John Winfield, and I--"

  "Look here, old chap," cut in Leigh, "we've no time to hear your storynow; we can see you don't belong to this wretched Mormon herd, so justswallow this drop of brandy whilst we strip yonder scoundrel and get yousomething decent to put on, and we'll try to feed you by-and-by. Dick,what a good thing it was you took that fellow in the head; I drew a beadon his ribs, and should have mauled his clothes horribly if you hadn'tfired first."

  With the help of the Zulus the dead Mormon was quickly despoiled of hisapparel and Winfield rigged out in it, and by the time this was done,the shadows were lengthening and Myzukulwa said his brother was ready totake them to a place of safety, where they would find food, water, andsleep. Rapidly assenting to the plan, Grenville told the Zulus to leadon, and leaving the denuded body of Brother Abiram without compunction,they followed their new friend through the forest.

  Plunging deeper and deeper into the bush, they found the country roughand stony; the trees were of unusual growth, and matted with curiouscreepers of the lichen species, whilst here and there tangled festoonsof parasites hung from tree to tree in the likeness of gigantic swinginghammocks. The party at length heard the welcome sound of running water,and soon reached a small stream, into which, by direction of Amaxosa,all entered, following its course upward for quite a mile, so as toconceal every trace of their movements. Then, instead of climbing thebank, the active Zulu swung himself into a tree which overhung thewater, and, working his way along a stout branch, was followed one byone by the entire party, all being thus enabled to drop on to some rocksa dozen feet off, without leaving any marks behind them. Another mile,mainly over stony ground brought the party to a second small river, upwhich they waded in like manner for some little distance, until theyfound that it issued from a great hole in the side of a curiousragged-looking cliff, which, erecting itself some hundred feet abovethem, seemed entirely to bar further progress through the forest.

  Through this entrance Amaxosa passed, beckoning to the party to follow;and when the gloom began to grow deep some twenty yards from the outlet,he spoke for the first time, addressing Grenville in fairly goodEnglish, though he did not speak the language with the same fluency ashis brother.

  "Let the Inkoosis strike lights, and Amaxosa will find his torch."

  Grenville at once complied with this request, and when the match wasonce alight the Zulu stepped forward a couple of yards, picked up historch from a ledge of rock, and having quickly ignited it, led the partyout of the water, up a passage some fifty feet long, and into a spaciousand lofty cavern, having the appearance of a vaulted room, with only oneoutlet.