Kitabı oku: «Courage, True Hearts: Sailing in Search of Fortune», sayfa 15

CHAPTER VI. – AN INVADING ARMY-VICTORY!

"Goo-goo!" said the king.

Duncan shook his head as he sat on a block of wood near to him, and just where he could get a good look of his sable countenance.

"He say," Carrambo interpreted, "no goo-goo, no stoly."

But Duncan was firm. Savages are very like children in some of their ways, and Duncan knew it. He shifted the bottle farther back therefore.

"No story, no goo-goo. Tell him that, Carrambo."

The fat king grinned, slapped one of his wives, grinned again, and began to talk.

As translated by the Somali, the story ran somewhat as follows: -

"I king now. My fadder he king once. My fadder fadder he king befo'; my fadder fadder fadder he king too. 'Twas when fadder fadder fadder king. De boys all in de bush one day, make much fine spolt. Shoot de monkey fo' eat; shoot de lion and de spot-cat (leopard) all wid bow and arrow. Some dey kill wid spear.

"Plesantly, all as soon as nuffin, plenty much noise and shout in de bush. Den fire-sticks flash and plenty thunder, and one, two, tlee, nine, ten (the king was counting on his fingers and could go no further) ob my fadder's fadder's fadder's poor people lie down and bleed red, and die. But dis not all. De king's people fight, and many mo' all kill and bleeding, and so de king make peace.

"De white men dey take many wives away, den take de country, and de king he king no mo'. All de same he not conquer. Plaps he take revenge one day. You see plenty soon.

"Well, de white men wid de thunder-sticks, they build big big house-big, big, stlong, stlong, all de same as you young gemmans lib in now. So dey settle down and lib heah.

"Dey go spolt plenty in de bush, and kill much wild beast. Sometimes de wild beast-ha, ha! – kill dey, and chew up foh tlue.

"But all de same de white folks stay one two year. Dey gadder much glass stone-"

"These," said Duncan, "were evidently diamonds."

"Were they like these?" said Frank, taking the splendid diamond from his pocket and holding it up.

"All same, all same, de king say," cried Carrambo.

"Dey go heah and dere all ober de mountain to seek fo' de glass stone, and many dey find and buly."

"Bury," cried Duncan, showing some little excitement. "Ask him, Carrambo, where the glass was buried. Wait a minute though," he added. "Frank, give him another nutful of goo-goo."

Frank did as he was told. Carrambo put the question, and the king's eyes sparked.

"What does he say, Carrambo?"

"He says de debbil guard the glass stones, and if he tell any white man where they lie, den de debbil take he plenty quick."

The king was offered a whole bottle of goo-goo if he would only divulge the secret, but he was obdurate.

"No, no, no," said Carrambo. "He say de debbil no catchee he foh many many long year yet."

Then his majesty proceeded with the story.

"De white men now begin to dig holes in the earf. Dey want to make hole for bad men to come up throo, and cut all de throats of my fadder's fadder's fadder's pore people.

"De ole ole king he fink, 'I no can stand dis no mo'." "Den one night in de dark folest he gadder his people togedder.

"He 'splain to dem all 'bout de big hole. 'Plaps,' he say, 'eben to-mollow de bad white debbils come up out ob de hole, and catchee us foh tlue.'

"And de ole king's people shake wid anger.

"'Kill, kill, kill, and eat the fire-stick men!' dey cly.

"Dey shake moh and moh wid anger, den de ole king say, 'Vely well, all kill'.

"Dat night, out on de plain de moon he shine. De moon hab one big led (red) face. He look down, he smile and laugh. 'Kill, kill!' he seem to say. 'Kill de white debbils and dair wives, kill de white piccaninnies too. Make much fine bobbery, much fine kill. I not tell.'

"But de white men dat night say, 'O, de black cannibal not come dis night. Too much moon!' So dey dlink goo-goo, and moh and moh goo-goo. Den dey sing-ha, ha! – den dey sleep.

"De moon he smile all de same. And the black man wid plenty spear and knife lie quiet in de bush.

"But the king cly now, and all at once de savage jump up.

"Plenty much branch ob tree dey cut.

"Plenty much fire.

"Den wid gleat stones de door fly all bloken, and de white men come out to fight.

"But too much goo-goo-he, he, he! – and dey fall and fall all in one big heap. Much blood. Much kick and scream!

"Not one alibe now, only de white women and de piccaninnies.

"Ha, ha, ha, how de king do laugh. My fadder, fadder, fadder, dat is.

"But now all de women am drag out, and all de piccaninny. Der troats-"

"Horrible!" cried Duncan. "We will have no more. Give the old pig of a king more goo-goo and let him go and sleep it off. I have never heard, Frank, of a more diabolical massacre in my life."

Said Carrambo now: "What foh you open again de old debbil pits? Some night dey people rise and murder you tree pooh souls all same as dey kill and eat de odder white folks long, long ago. Carrambo know well. Dese sabages not hab de debbil pits open. Oh, no!"

"There is much truth," said Duncan, "in what Carrambo says. It would be a pity to leave this land of gold and diamonds without knowing for certain whether the mines are worth working; but I move that we leave the devil pits alone for a time until we try to reclaim these savages just a little."

"I should reclaim them off the face of the earth," said Frank.

"That is impossible, and were it not, we should only be reducing ourselves to their level. That is not the doctrine of Jesus Christ."

So the "debbil pits", much to the joy of the king, were partially refilled. But just as they were shovelling in the earth, brave broad-shouldered Duncan struck something with his wooden spade.

"Hillo!" he cried, "what have we here?"

Frank and Conal rushed up to see.

"Why, a nugget. And, boys, it is six pounds weight if an ounce."

The excitement of the three young fellows now knew no bounds. They shook each other by the hand; they shouted aloud for joy, and then, while honest Viking capered around them, they raised their voices in song, Duncan leading in an old song, sung by the gold-diggers of California in days long, long gone by.

But a right cheery one it was.

 
"Pull away, cheerily,
Not slow and wearily,
Rocking the cradle,⁵ boys, swift to and fro.
Working the hand about,
Sifting the sand about,
Looking for treasures that lie in below."
 

"Hurrah! Hurrah!"

Another and a truly British cheer. The savages far down below heard it and trembled.

"Plaps," said Carrambo, "dey tink all de debbils was let loose now foh tlue."

"Here, Carrambo, hurry down with a bottle of goo-goo to the old king, and tell him we are his friends now, and if an enemy comes we will help to fight him."

Carrambo came back the same evening rejoicing, but laughing his wildest.

"Plenty much fun!" he cried. "De fat king he dlunk, ebber so much dlunk. He do nuffin' now. Jus' lie on him back and sing. Ha! ha! ha!"

The boys went back to their fort to dine. Carrambo would be their friend, though to the savages he pretended not to be so. He was even entrusted with a revolver, and thus a right happy man was he.

Well, when Duncan talked about the invasion of an enemy he might have been speaking for speaking sake; but one evening a runner brought the alarming intelligence that a rich neighbouring tribe were preparing to fall upon and extirpate the inhabitants of these glens and hills.

"And a jolly good job too," said Frank. "We'll stand by and look on, won't we, Duncan?"

But Duncan shook his head.

"A promise even to a savage is sacred, Frank, and we must fight."

The Umbaloomi, as the invading tribe was called, did not keep the tribe long waiting.

They came in force on the very next day. The king himself marched along with his warriors, mounted on a huge elephant, while behind him, on another, rode his two favourite wives. The Umbaloomi potentate had promised them a great treat, and many heads with which to decorate their huts.

Now Duncan had determined that Goo-goo, as the fat king had come to be called, should attack the invaders first. If he failed to conquer, then Duncan, with Frank, Conal, and Carrambo, meant to give them a startler, and something like a surprise.

This was all as it should be, and the fight, as seen from the bush where our heroes lay perdu, was a fearful one.

What a horrible melée! What a murderous massacre! No wonder that the wild birds rose in screaming clouds, or that the echoes of the forest were awakened by the bedlam shrieks and howlings of the gorillas!

"Now for it, lads!" cried Duncan, as he noticed that Goo-Goo's side was losing. "Steady aim. Give 'em fits, but don't fire until I tell you."

Nearer and nearer to the foe they crept under cover of the mimosa bushes.

"Fire!"

At the word a rattling volley was poured into the very midst of the foe.

Another and another, for the rifles were repeaters.

"Hurrah!" shouted Carrambo, "the fire-debbils have come!"

Whether the enemy understood him or not I cannot say, but they were staggered, and backward now they reeled in a confusion which is indescribable.

The elephants waxed wild, and, instead of flying, charged right towards the Goo-Goo tribe.

And the invading king, with both his wives, were instantly slain.

That completed the victory.

But after victory came the rout, the slaughter, and utter extermination of the invaders.

With the details of the fearful feast that followed, I should be sorry, indeed, to sully my pages.

So the curtain drops on a sadder scene than ever I trust any of my readers shall ever behold.

There was another feast, however, of a somewhat less terrible kind. For on the slain that night the beasts of the forest held high revel.

And thus ended the invasion of King Goo-Goo's land.

CHAPTER VII. – THE MYSTERIOUS STONE

For the first time since their arrival Goo-Goo paid the boys a visit of ceremony, on the day after the battle.

Carrambo had apprised them of the honour they were about to be the recipients of, and they stayed at home in consequence.

Goo-Goo was very pompous-and precious little else.

He was elated with his victory, but did not hesitate to admit that Duncan and his comrades had contributed a little to the turn of the tide of battle.

Goo-Goo was even boastful

Goo-Goo was also very thirsty.

So Duncan invited him to come inside.

He refused. Not even a whole bottle of his favourite sherry would have tempted him to cross the threshold of the fort, because-as he explained through Carrambo-"plenty much debbil lib (live) in one hole below de floor".

But he made very small work of a nut-shell of goo-goo that Duncan presented to him with his own hand.

Then he explained why he had come. It was to offer to our heroes the two tame elephants that had been captured in battle.

Duncan nodded to his fellows, and the gift was accepted unconditionally, and that very day the great wise beasts were taken over.

A huge compound was erected for them in a bit of jungle not far off; the king's men building it with their own hands.

Moreover, two men were told off to feed and care for the noble brutes, who soon became very great pets indeed, with all hands.

The larger of the two might well have been called immense or colossal. He seemed especially fond of Frank, and there wasn't a titbit Frank could think of that he did not bring to Ju-ju of a morning.

Ju-ju was certainly grateful. He had one very curious method of showing his gratitude, namely, by encircling the boy with his trunk and swaying him up and down, and to and fro.

"Gently, Ju-ju," Frank would say sometimes; "gently, Ju, old man."

Then Ju would set him quietly down and trumpet with delight.

—

But as soon as it was dark, all was generally peaceful enough about the fort, for after a residence of some months in king Goo-Goo's country they had got quite used to the cry of wild beasts, and even the roar of lions did not disturb their slumbers.

But the nugget and the diamond-oh! these indeed. Duncan's eyes used to sparkle with delight as they were placed upon the table of an evening.

What possibilities did they not point to! What joy for the future seemed to scintillate from the diamond! One night something that the king had said during his visit to the fort suddenly flashed across Frank's memory.

He almost startled both Conal and Duncan by the eagerness with which he almost shouted:

"Cousins!" he cried, "I have the happiest thought that ever I had. Do you not remember that the king refused to come into the fort because devils dwelt in a hole beneath the floor!"

"Yes, yes, he did say so."

"Duncan, those devils are diamonds, and, it may be, gold nuggets as well."

His comrades were thunder-struck apparently, but they admitted that in all likelihood Frank's surmise was correct.

"Then, boys," said Frank, "we shall open a devil hole right here where we sit."

This proposal was agreed to, and the work would have commenced the very next day had not a strange adventure happened to Frank.

It may be observed that mostly all the terrible adventures did happen to Frank. Some people are born unlucky, you know.

But next forenoon Duncan and he had gone towards the forest for the purpose of shooting hyenas, no great or very exalted sport, it is true, but they had become numerous and bold of late, and needed scattering.

Duncan had followed a wounded monster some distance for the sake of giving him his congé, when he came back- lo! Frank was gone.

For hours and hours Duncan searched all that portion of the forest that he dared to enter, but in vain.

But he found his comrade's gun, and at some little distance his cap.

So he went sorrowfully home.

Further search was made next day, some of the bravest of Goo-Goo's native soldiers assisting.

But no more trace of the lost Frank could be found.

A whole fortnight went past, and he was mourned for as one dead, and even Carrambo gave up hopes.

Frank, he told them, must have been throttled by the gorillas and hung up in a tree.

But lo! and behold, one forenoon who should appear again in propria persona, but the laughing little Cockney boy himself.

By the hand he led a little long-armed hairy gorilla, that clung to him in terror when Viking began to growl.

Jeannie, as she was called, sprang trembling into Frank's arms, but he gently soothed her, and after having a cup of coffee he told his marvellous story.⁶ It was briefly as follows: -

He had been captured by the awful gorillas, having been first stunned by a blow from a club. Then carried deep into the forest and up into a very high tree. There he found a shelter, quite a hut in fact, and far from being unkind to him, the gorillas fed and tended him every day, only guarding him at night.

"And this is my little pupil," he added. "Jeannie was given me to educate, I suppose; but early this morning the gorillas went off to do battle with some neighbouring tribe, and Jeannie and I slipped down the tree and ran for it.

"So here I am!"

"Heaven be praised!" cried Duncan with tears in his eyes. "You come to us as one risen from the dead."

"And what are you going to do with Jeannie?" asked Conal.

"Oh!" said Frank, "Jeannie is a sweet child. She shall go with us wherever we go."

"I hope," said Conal, "her parents won't come for her. It might be rather inconvenient."

—

Two long months passed away, and our heroes were almost weary of this lonesome and wild land.

But they had not been idle all the time of their sojourn here. On the contrary, they had commenced to dig in the fort itself for buried treasure.

There was plenty of excitement about this, but for many a weary week no luck attended their excavations.

The excitement, however, was somewhat like that of gambling, and once begun they felt they could not give it up until they came to something.

So they dug and dug.

But all in vain.

They still spent much of their time in fishing and shooting, however. These were necessary sports. Food they must have.

A rather gloomy time arrived later on, when they had finally abandoned all hopes of finding any buried treasure. Tremendously heavy banks of clouds had rolled up from the horizon and overspread the heavens.

Then with terrible thundering and vivid lightning a short rainy season was ushered in. The stream became flooded, so that fishing was now out of the question.

But Conal's little Lilywhite visited the fort every day, and-though I cannot say where she found them-never came without a fish, while just as often as not she brought the boys a present of delightful fruit.

The rain-clouds were scattered at last, and soon the country all around was greener and more lovely than ever the wanderers had seen it, while the most gorgeous of flowers seemed to spring into existence in the short space of twenty-four hours.

Sport began again once more.

They still paid visits to the king, but these were not so welcome now to his sable majesty, for the goo-goo was all finished, and he cared for little else-with, of course, the exception of human flesh.

Conal was exceedingly well developed, and under certain conditions he would not have objected being reminded of this.

But when the king one day felt his arm and said something which Carrambo translated: "Ah, num-num! you plenty good to eat," Conal hardly relished the verdict.

But the great elephants became a source of much pleasure to everyone. They were so perfectly tractable and manageable that the boys often went across country with them.

This was practice, and Duncan had a meaning for it.

Well, one day as Frank was entering the living-room of the fort, his eyes fell upon a curious mark upon a stone, which proved to be an arrow bent partly upwards. He followed its direction with his eye and on another stone found another arrow, then two or three more, and finally there was a square stone above the window with a cross over it, thus (cross symbol).

There were no more arrows.

Frank rushed out half frantic with joy.

"Duncan! Conal!" he shouted.

They were coming quietly up the hill.

"Come quick, boys, I've made a discovery!"

Then he led them in and pointed the arrows, and the stone marked with the (cross symbol).

"The diamonds are there," he said excitedly.

—

The stone, however, was so firmly cemented in that it defied any ordinary methods to get it out.

So they determined to dine first, and go to work on it afterwards.

But no one could think or speak of anything else except their hopes of finding the treasure.

The boys had made cocoa-nut-oil lamps, and by the little flicker of light these gave, they now set about attacking the flint-hard cement in earnest. They chipped it out bit by bit, and hard, tedious work they found it.

But they succeeded at last, and stood silent and with a kind of awesome delight. For there before them was the glad sparkle of diamonds-a sparkle that seemed to dim the light of their poor oil lamp.

"Boys," cried Duncan, "our fortune is made!"

The diamonds, however, were but few-eight in all-but of great size, and apparently of high value, although the boys were no judges.

The hole where they had lain was carefully cemented all round, and besides the diamonds they found here two or three nuggets of gold, and a tiny brick of cement about six inches by four by three.

Just one word was engraved thereon.

That word was evidently Spanish, though partly obliterated-ABRIR-

They hoped to find diamonds inside.

They did not, however; only a piece of parchment, on which many words were written which they could not understand.

They were just putting in the stone again, after carefully storing away the diamonds and parchment, when Viking sprang up fiercely barking, and with his hair erect all along his spine.

At the same moment they perceived a terrible face at the open window.

It was that of a savage in his war-paint-the lips were painted red, great red rings were around each eye, and cheeks and brow were daubed with spots of white.

"Idle curiosity, I suppose," said Duncan, "or a trick to frighten us. For now that the goo-goo is all exhausted, I believe the king would like to see the very last of us."

When Carrambo came next day they told him about the terrible face at the window.

Carrambo considered for a moment, then shook his head.

"Dat no good," he said. "You close all de debbil pit?"

"Yes," said Duncan.

"Dat bad sabage see somefing, sah! He go tell de king. King make bobbery soon. Plaps cut all you troats, like he kill pore leetle Lilywhite to-mollow."

"What!" cried Conal, "kill Lilywhite! If he dares, I'll put a bullet through his fat and ugly phiz."

"Poh Lilywhite!" continued Carrambo, as if speaking to himself. "But," he added, "s'pose you come to-night, I take you to de hut. Lily come back heah; den not die."

Conal at once agreed, and Carrambo came for him some hours after sunset.

The butchering hut was at a considerable distance from the main village, and, strange to say, unguarded. But they crept in and found Lily bound hand and foot.

She was speedily rescued, and in an hour's time they were all back at the fort.

But Conal had seen something that night which seriously alarmed both him and his companions.

The savages were squatted out-of-doors around fires, and all in war-paint.

They looked fierce and terrible.

Very busy, too, were they, sharpening horrid knives and spears.

This was fearful intelligence to bring back, and Carrambo, being asked what it all meant, did not hesitate a moment in replying.

"It mean dis," he said; "dey tink dat you open de debbil hole again. To-mollow dey come plenty twick and cut all you troats, foh shuah."

"Carrambo," said Duncan after a pause, "can you guide us towards Lamoo?"

"Ees, sah, I guide you foh tlue!"

"Without having to go through that gorilla-haunted forest?"

"Ees, sah, ees," was the quick reply. "I myse'f not go t'loo de folast."

"Well, Carrambo, send for the men who attend to the elephants, and we shall start this very night."

The two elephant attendants were very sincere, and when Duncan promised them clothes and beads and many fine gifts, they readily consented to go with them to the coast.

So packing was commenced without a moment's delay.

And none too soon, as things turned out.