Dick Sands, the Boy Captain Part 26

"No, he has been at his place at Kazonnde for a year or more."

"And how does business go on?"

"Badly enough, on this coast," said Harris; "plenty of slaves are waiting to be shipped to the Spanish colonies, but the difficulty is how to get them embarked. The Portuguese authorities on the one hand, and the English cruisers on the other, almost put a stop to exportation altogether; down to the south, near Mossamedes, is the only part where it can be attempted with any chance of success. To pa.s.s a caravan through Benguela or Loande is an utter impossibility; neither the governors nor the chefes

[Footnote 1: Subordinate Portuguese governors at secondary stations.] will listen to a word of reason. Old Alvez is therefore thinking of going in the other direction towards Nyangwe and Lake Tanganyika; he can there exchange his goods for slaves and ivory, and is sure to do a good business with Upper Egypt and the coast of Mozambique, which supplies Madagascar. But I tell you, Negoro," he added gravely, "I believe the time is coming when the slave-trade will come to an end altogether. The English missionaries are advancing into the interior. That fellow Livingstone, confound him! has finished his tour of the lakes, and is now working his way towards Angola; then there is another man named Cameron who is talking about crossing the continent from east to west, and it is feared that Stanley the American will do the same. All this exploration, you know, is ruinous to our business, and it is to our interest that not one of these travellers should be allowed to return to tell tales of us in Europe."

Harris spoke like a merchant embarra.s.sed by a temporary commercial crisis. The atrocious scenes to which the slave-dealers are accustomed seems to render them impervious to all sense of justice or humanity, and they learn to regard their living merchandize with as small concern as though they were dealing with chests of tea or hogsheads of sugar.

But Harris was right when he a.s.serted that civilization must follow the wake of the intrepid pioneers of African discovery. Livingstone first, and after him, Grant, Speke, Burton, Cameron, Stanley, are the heroes whose names will ever be linked with the first dawnings of a brighter age upon the dark wilds of Equatorial Africa.

Having ascertained that his accomplice had returned unscrupulous and daring as ever, and fully prepared to pursue his former calling as an agent of old Alvez the slave dealer, Harris inquired what he proposed doing with the survivors of the "Pilgrim" now that they were in his hands.

"Divide them into two lots," answered Negoro, without a moment's hesitation, "one for the market, the other...."

He did not finish his sentence, but the expression of his countenance was an index to the malignity of his purpose.

"Which shall you sell?" asked the American.

"The n.i.g.g.e.rs, of course. The old one is not worth much, but the other four ought to fetch a good price at Kazonnde."

"Yes, you are right," said Harris; "American-born slaves, with plenty of work in them, are rare articles, and very different to the miserable wretches we get up the country. But you never told me," he added, suddenly changing the subject, "whether you found any money on board the 'Pilgrim'!"

"Oh, I rescued a few hundred dollars from the wreck, that was all," said the Portuguese carelessly; "but I am expecting...." he stopped short.

"What are you expecting?" inquired Harris eagerly.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," said Negoro, apparently annoyed that he had said so much, and immediately began talking of the means of securing the living prey which he had been taking so many pains to entrap. Harris informed him that on the Coanza, about ten miles distant, there was at the present time encamped a slave caravan, under the control of an Arab named Ibn Hamish; plenty of native soldiers were there on guard, and if d.i.c.k Sands and his people could only be induced to travel in that direction, their capture would be a matter of very little difficulty. He said that of course d.i.c.k Sands' first thought would naturally be how to get back to the coast; it was not likely that he would venture a second time through the forest, but would in all probability try to make his way to the nearest river, and descend its course on a raft to the sea. The nearest river was undoubtedly the Coanza, so that he and Negoro might feel quite sure of meeting "their friends" upon its banks.

"If you really think so," said Negoro, "there is not much time to be lost; whatever young Sands determines to do, he will do at once: he never lets the gra.s.s grow under his feet."

"Let us start, then, this very moment, mate," was Harris's reply.

Both rose to their feet, when they were startled by the same rustling in the papyrus which had previously aroused Negoro's fears. Presently a low growl was heard, and a large dog, showing his teeth, emerged from the bushes, evidently prepared for an attack.

"It's Dingo!" exclaimed Harris.

"Confound the brute! he shall not escape me this time," said Negoro.

He caught up Harris's gun, and raising it to his shoulder, he fired just as the dog was in the act of springing at his throat. A long whine of pain followed the report, and Dingo disappeared again amongst the bushes that fringed the stream. Negoro was instantly upon his track, but could discover nothing beyond a few blood-stains upon the stalks of the papyrus, and a long crimson trail upon the pebbles on the bank.

"I think I have done for the beast now," was Negoro's remark as he returned from his fruitless search.

Harris, who had been a silent spectator of the whole scene, now asked coolly,-

"What makes that animal have such an inveterate dislike to you?"

"Oh, there is an old score to settle between us," replied the Portuguese.

"What about?" inquired the American.

Negoro made no reply, and finding him evidently disinclined to be communicative on the subject, Harris did not press the matter any further.

A few moments later the two men were descending the stream, and making their way through the forest towards the Coanza.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Dingo disappeared again amongst the bushes]

CHAPTER III.

ON THE MARCH AGAIN.

"Africa! Africa!" was the terrible word that echoed and re-echoed in the mind of d.i.c.k Sands. As he pondered over the events of the preceding weeks he could now understand why, notwithstanding the rapid progress of the ship, the land seemed ever to be receding, and why the voyage had been prolonged to twice its antic.i.p.ated length. It remained, however, a mystery inexplicable as before, how and when they had rounded Cape Horn and pa.s.sed into another ocean. Suddenly the idea flashed upon him that the compa.s.s must have been tampered with; and he remembered the fall of the first compa.s.s; he recalled the night when he had been roused by Tom's cry of alarm that Negoro had fallen against the binnacle. As he recollected these circ.u.mstances he became more and more convinced that it was Negoro who was the mainspring of all the mischief; that it was he who had contrived the loss of the "Pilgrim," and compromised the safety of all on board.

What had been the career, what could be the motives of a man who was capable of such vile machinations?

But shrouded in mystery as were the events of the past, the present offered a prospect equally obscure.

Beyond the fact that he was in Africa and a hundred miles from the coast, d.i.c.k knew absolutely nothing. He could only conjecture that he was in the fatal province of Angola, and a.s.sured as he was that Harris had acted the traitor, he was led to the conclusion that he and Negoro had been playing into each other's hands. The result of the collision, he feared, might be very disastrous to the survivors of the "Pilgrim." Yet, in what manner would the odious stratagem be accomplished? d.i.c.k could well understand that the negroes would be sold for slaves; he could only too easily imagine that upon himself Negoro would wreak the vengeance he had so obviously been contemplating; but for Mrs. Weldon and the other helpless members of the party what fate could be in store?

The situation was terrible, but yet d.i.c.k did not flinch; he had been appointed captain, and captain he would remain; Mrs. Weldon and her little son had been committed to his charge, and he was resolved to carry out his trust faithfully to the end.

For several hours he remained wrapped in thought, pondering over the present and the future, weighing the evil chances against the good, only to be convinced that the evil much preponderated. At length he rose, firm, resolute, calm. The first glimmer of dawn was breaking upon the forest. All the rest of the party, except Tom, were fast asleep. d.i.c.k Sands crept softly up to the old negro, and whispered:-

"Tom, you know now where we are!"

"Yes, yes, Mr. d.i.c.k, only too well I know it. We are in Africa!"

The old man sighed mournfully.

"Tom," said d.i.c.k, in the same low voice, "you must keep this a secret; you must not say a word to let Mrs. Weldon or any of the others know "

The old man murmured his a.s.sent, and d.i.c.k continued:-

"It will be quite enough for them to learn that we have been betrayed by Harris, and that we must consequently practise extra care and watchfulness; they will merely think we are taking precautions against being surprised by nomad Indians. I trust to your good sense, Tom, to a.s.sist me in this."

"You may depend upon me, Mr. d.i.c.k; and I can promise you that we will all do our best to prove our courage, and to show our devotion to your service."

[Ill.u.s.tration: "You must keep this a secret"]

Thus a.s.sured of Tom's co-operation, d.i.c.k proceeded to deliberate upon his future line of action. He had every reason to believe that the treacherous American, startled by the traces of the slaves and the unexpected roaring of the lion, had taken flight before he had conducted his victims to the spot where they were to be attacked, and that consequently some hours might elapse before he would be joined by Negoro, who (to judge from Dingo's strange behaviour) had undoubtedly for the last few days been somewhere on their track.

Here was a delay that might be turned to good account, and no time was to be lost in taking advantage of it to commence their return journey to the coast. If, as d.i.c.k had every reason to suppose, he was in Angola, he hoped to find, either north or south, some Portuguese settlement whence he could obtain the means of transporting his party to their several homes.

But how was this return journey to be accomplished? It would be difficult, not to say imprudent, to retrace their footsteps through the forest; it would merely bring them to their starting-point, and would, moreover, afford an easy track for Negoro or his accomplices to follow. The safest and most secret means of reaching the coast would a.s.suredly be by descending the course of some river. This would have to be effected by constructing a strong raft, from which the little party, well armed, might defend themselves alike from attacks either of the natives or of wild beasts, and which would likewise afford a comfortable means of transport for Mrs. Weldon and her little boy, who were now deprived of the use of Harris's horse. The negroes, it is true, would be only too pleased to carry the lady on a litter of branches, but this would be to occupy the services of two out of five, and under the circ.u.mstances it was manifestly advisable that all hands should be free to act on the defensive. Another great inducement towards the plan was that d.i.c.k Sands felt himself much more at home in travelling by water than by land, and was longing to be once again upon what to him was, as it were, his native element. He little dreamt that he was devising for himself the very plan that Harris, in his speculations, had laid down for him!

The most urgent matter was now to find such a stream as would suit their purpose. d.i.c.k had several reasons for feeling sure that one existed in the neighbourhood. He knew that the little river, which fell into the Atlantic near the spot where the "Pilgrim" stranded, could not extend very far either to the north or east, because the horizon was bounded in both directions by the chain of mountains which he had taken for the Cordilleras. If the stream did not rise in those hills it must incline to the south, so that in either case d.i.c.k was convinced he could not be long in discovering it or one of its affluents. Another sign, which he recognized as hopeful, was that during the last few miles of the march the soil had become moist and level, whilst here and there the appearance of tiny rivulets indicated that an aqueous network existed in the subsoil. On the previous day, too, the caravan had skirted a rushing torrent, of which the waters were tinged with oxide of iron from its sloping banks.

d.i.c.k's scheme was to make his way back as far as this stream, which though not navigable itself would in all probability empty itself into some affluent of greater importance. The idea, which he imparted to Tom, met with the old negro's entire approval.

As the day dawned the sleepers, one by one, awoke. Mrs. Weldon laid little Jack in Nan's arms. The child was still dozing; the fever had abated, but he looked painfully white and exhausted after the attack.