Dick Sands, the Boy Captain Part 42

sh.o.r.e, and copal-trees, acacias with their stiff foliage, bauhinias clothed with lichen, fig-trees with their ma.s.ses of pendant roots, and other trees of splendid growth rose to the height of a hundred feet, forming a shade which the rays of the sun utterly failed to penetrate.

Occasionally a wreath of creepers would form an arch from sh.o.r.e to sh.o.r.e, and on the 27th, to Jack's great delight, a group of monkeys was seen crossing one of these natural bridges, holding on most carefully by their tails, lest the aerial pathway should snap beneath their weight. These monkeys, belonging to a smaller kind of chimpanzee, which are known in Central Africa by the name of sokos, were hideous creatures with low foreheads, bright yellow faces, and long, upright ears; they herd in troops of about ten, bark like dogs, and are much dreaded by the natives on account of their alleged propensity to carry off young children; there is no telling what predatory designs they might have formed against Master Jack if they had spied him out, but d.i.c.k's artifice effectually screened him from their observation.

Twenty miles further on the canoe came to a sudden standstill.

"What's the matter now, captain?" cried Hercules from the stern.

"We have drifted on to a gra.s.s barrier, and there is no hope for it, we shall have to cut our way through," answered d.i.c.k.

"All right, I dare say we shall manage it," promptly replied Hercules, leaving his rudder to come in front.

The obstruction was formed by the interlacing of ma.s.ses of the tough, glossy gra.s.s known by the name of tikatika, which, when compressed, affords a surface so compact and resisting that travellers have been known by means of it to cross rivers dry-footed. Splendid specimens of lotus plants had taken root amongst the vegetation.

As it was nearly dark, Hercules could leave the boat without much fear of detection, and so effectually did he wield his hatchet that, in two hours after the stoppage, the barrier was hewn asunder, and the light craft resumed the channel.

It must be owned that it was with a sense of reluctance that Benedict felt the boat was again beginning to move forward; the whole voyage appeared to him to be perfectly uninteresting and unnecessary; not a single insect had he observed since he left Kazonnde, and his most ardent wish was that he could return there and regain possession of his invaluable tin box. But an unlooked for gratification was in store for him.

Hercules, who had been his pupil long enough to have an eye for the kind of creature Benedict was ever trying to secure, on coming back from his exertions on the gra.s.s-barrier, brought a horrible-looking animal, and submitted it to the sullen entomologist.

"Is this of any use to you?"

The amateur lifted it up carefully, and having almost poked it into his near-sighted eyes, uttered a cry of delight,-

"Bravo, Hercules! you are making amends for your past mischief; it is splendid! it is unique!"

"Is it really very curious?" said Mrs. Weldon.

"Yes, indeed," answered the enraptured naturalist; "it is really unique; it belongs to neither of the ten orders; it can be cla.s.sed neither with the coleoptera, neuroptera, nor to the hymenoptera: if it had eight legs I should know how to cla.s.sify it; I should place it amongst the second section of the arachnida; but it is a hexapod, a genuine hexapod; a spider with six legs; a grand discovery; it must be entered on the catalogue as 'Hexapodes Benedictus.' " Once again mounted on his hobby, the worthy enthusiast continued to discourse with an unwonted vivacity to his indulgent ii* not over attentive audience.

Meanwhile the canoe was steadily threading its way over the dark waters, the silence of the night broken only by the rattle of the scales of some crocodiles, or by the snorting of hippopotamuses in the neighbourhood. Once the travellers were startled by a loud noise, such as might

[Ill.u.s.tration: It was caused by a troop of a hundred or more elephants.]

proceed from some ponderous machinery in motion: it was caused by a troop of a hundred or more elephants that, after feasting through the day on the roots of the forest, had come to quench their thirst at the river-side.

But no danger was to be apprehended; lighted by the pale moon that rose over the tall trees, the canoe throughout the night pursued in safety its solitary voyage.

CHAPTER XVIII.

AN ANXIOUS VOYAGE.

Thus the canoe drifted on for a week, the forests that for many miles had skirted the river ultimately giving place to extensive jungles that stretched far away to the horizon. Dest.i.tute, fortunately for the travellers, of human inhabitants, the district abounded in a large variety of animal life; zebras, elands, caamas, sported on the bank, disappearing at night-fall before howling leopards and roaring lions.

It was d.i.c.k's general custom, as he lay to for a while in the afternoon, to go ash.o.r.e in search of food, and as the manioc, maize, and sorghum that were to be found were of a wild growth and consequently not fit for consumption, he was obliged to run the risk of using his gun. On the 4th of July he succeeded by a single shot in killing pokoo, a kind of antelope about five feet long, with annulated horns, a tawny skin dappled with bright spots, and a white belly. The venison proved excellent, and was roasted over a fire procured by the primitive method, practised, it is said, even by gorillas, of rubbing two sticks together.

In spite of these halts, and the time taken for the night's rest, the distance accomplished by the 8th could not be estimated at less than a hundred miles. The river, augmented by only a few insignificant tributaries, had not materially increased in volume; its direction, however, had slightly changed more to the north-west. It afforded a very fair supply of fish, which were caught by lines made of the long stems of creepers furnished with thorns instead

[Ill.u.s.tration: He stood face to face with his foe.]

of fish-hooks, a considerable proportion being the delicate sandjtkas, which when dried may be transported to any climate; besides these there were the black usakas, the wide-headed monndes, and occasionally the little dagalas, resembling Thames whitebait.

Next day, d.i.c.k met with an adventure that put all his courage and composure to the test. He had noticed the horns of a caama projecting above the brushwood, and went ash.o.r.e alone with the intention of securing it. He succeeded in getting tolerably close to it and fired, but he was terribly startled when a formidable creature bounded along some thirty paces ahead, and took possession of the prey he had just wounded.

It was a majestic lion, at least five feet in height, of the kind called karamoo, in distinction to the maneless species known as the Nya.s.si-lion. Before d.i.c.k had time to reload, the huge brute had caught sight of him, and without relaxing its hold upon the writhing antelope beneath its claws, glared upon him fiercely. d.i.c.k's presence of mind did not forsake him; flight he knew was not to be thought of; his only chance he felt intuitively would be by keeping perfectly still; and aware that the beast would be unlikely to give up a struggling prey for another that was motionless, he stood face to face with his foe, not venturing to move an eyelid. In a few minutes the lion's patience seemed to be exhausted; with a grand stateliness, it picked up the caama as easily as a dog would lift a hare, turned round, and lashing the bushes with its tail, disappeared in the jungle.

It took d.i.c.k some little time to recover himself sufficiently to return to the canoe. On arriving, he said nothing of the peril to which he had been exposed, but heartily congratulated himself that they had means of transport without making their way through jungles and forests.

As they advanced, they repeatedly came across evidences that the country had not been always, as now it was, utterly devoid oi population; more than once, they observed traces which betokened the former existence of villages; either some ruined palisades or the debris of some thatched huts, or some solitary sacred tree within an enclosure would indicate that the death of a chief had, according to custom, made a native tribe migrate to new quarters.

If natives were still dwelling in the district, as was just probable, they must have been living underground, only emerging at night like beasts of prey, from which they were only a grade removed.

d.i.c.k Sands had every reason to feel convinced that cannibalism had been practised in the neighbourhood, Three times, as he was wandering in the forest, he had come upon piles of ashes and half-charred human bones, the remnants, no doubt, of a ghastly meal, and although he mentioned nothing of what he had seen to Mrs. Weldon, he made up his mind to go ash.o.r.e as seldom as possible, and as often as he found it absolutely necessary to go, he gave Hercules strict directions to push off into mid-stream at the very first intimation of danger.

A new cause of anxiety arose on the following evening, and made it necessary for them to take the most guarded measures of precaution. The river-bed had widened out into a kind of lagoon, and on the right side of this, built upon piles in the water, not only was there a collection of about thirty huts, but the fires gleaming under the thatch, made it evident that they were all inhabited. Unfortunately the only channel of the stream flowed close under the huts, the river elsewhere being so obstructed with rocks that navigation of any kind was impossible. Nothing was more probable than that the natives would have set their nets all across the piles, and if so, the canoe would be sure to be obstructed, and an alarm must inevitably be raised. Every caution seemed to be unavailing, because the canoe must follow the stream; however, in the lowest of whispers d.i.c.k ordered Hercules to keep clear as much as he could of the worm-eaten timber. The night was not very dark, which was equally an advantage and a disadvantage, as while it permitted those on board to steer as they wanted, it did not prevent them from being seen.

The situation became more and more critical. About a hundred feet ahead, the channel was very contracted; two natives, gesticulating violently, were seen squatting on the pilework; a few moments more and their voices could be heard; it was obvious that they had seen the floating ma.s.s; apprehending that it was going to destroy their nets, they yelled aloud and shouted for a.s.sistance; instantly five or six negroes scrambled down the piles, and perched themselves upon the cross-beams.

On board the canoe the profoundest silence was maintained. d.i.c.k only signalled his directions to Hercules, without uttering a word, while Jack performed his part by holding Dingo's mouth tightly closed, to stop the low growlings which the faithful watch-dog seemed resolved to make; but fortunately every sound was overpowered by the rushing of the stream and the clamour of the negroes, as they hurriedly drew in their nets. If they should raise them in time, all might be well, but if, on the other hand, the canoe should get entangled, the consequences could hardly fail to be disastrous. The current in its narrow channel was so strong that d.i.c.k was powerless either to modify his course or to slacken it.

Half a minute more, and the canoe was right under the woodwork, but the efforts of the natives had already elevated the nets so that the antic.i.p.ated danger was happily escaped; but it chanced that in making its way through the obstacle, a large piece of the gra.s.s-thatch got detached. One of the negroes raised a sudden shout of alarm, and it seemed only too probable that he had caught a sight of the travellers below and was informing his companions. This apprehension, too, was only momentary; the current had changed almost to a rapid, and carried the canoe along with such velocity that the lacustrine village was quickly out of sight.

"Steer to the left!" cried d.i.c.k, finding that the riverbed had again become clear.

A stiff pull at the tiller made the craft fly in that direction.

d.i.c.k went to the stern, and scanned the moonlit waters. All was perfectly still, no canoe was in pursuit; perhaps the natives had not one to use; but certain it was that

[Ill.u.s.tration: Instantly five or six negroes scrambled down the piles.]

when daylight dawned no vestige of an inhabitant was to be seen. Nevertheless d.i.c.k thought it prudent for a while to steer close under the shelter of the left-hand sh.o.r.e.

By the end of the next four days the aspect of the country had undergone a remarkable change, the jungle having given place to a desert as dreary as the Kalahari itself. The river appeared interminable, and it became a matter of serious consideration how to get a sufficiency of food. Fish was scarce, or at least hard to catch, and the arid soil provided no means of sustenance for antelopes, so that nothing was to be gained from the chase. Carnivorous animals also had quite disappeared, and the silence of the night was broken, not by the roar of wild beasts, but by the croaking of frogs in a discordant chorus, which Cameron has compared to the clanking of hammers and the grating of files in a ship-builder's yard.

Far away both to the east and west the outlines of hills could be faintly discerned, but the sh.o.r.es on either hand were perfectly flat and devoid of trees. Euphorbias, it is true, grew in considerable numbers, but as they were only of the oil-producing species, and not the kind from which ca.s.sava or manioc is procured, they were useless in an alimentary point of view.

d.i.c.k was becoming more and more perplexed, when Hercules happened to mention that the natives often eat young fern-fronds and the pith of the papyrus, and that before now he had himself been reduced to the necessity of subsisting on nothing better.

"We must try them," said d.i.c.k.

Both ferns and papyrus abounded on the banks, and a meal was prepared, the sweet soft pith of the papyrus being found very palatable. Jack in particular appeared to enjoy it extremely, but it was not in any way a satisfying diet.

Thanks to Cousin Benedict, a fresh variety in the matter of food was found on the following day. Since the discovery of the "Hexapodes Benedictus" he had recovered his spirits, and, having fastened his prize safely inside his hat, he wandered about, as often as he had a chance, in his favourite pursuit of insect-hunting. As he was rummaging in the long gra.s.s, he put up a bird which flew but a very short distance. Benedict recognized it by its peculiar note, and, seeing d.i.c.k take his gun to aim at it, exclaimed,-

"Don't fire, don't fire! that bird will be worth nothing for food among five of us."

"It will be dinner enough for Jack," said d.i.c.k, who, finding that the bird did not seem in a hurry to make its escape, delayed his shot for a moment, without intending to be diverted from his purpose of securing it.

"You mustn't fire," insisted Benedict, "it is an indicator; it will show you where there are lots of honey."

Aware that a few pounds of honey would really be of more value than a little bird, d.i.c.k lowered his gun, and in company with the entomologist set off to follow the indicator, which seemed, by alternately flying and stopping, to be inviting them to come on, and they had but a little way to go before they observed several swarms of bees buzzing around some old stems hidden amongst the euphorbias. Notwithstanding Benedict's remonstrances against depriving the bees of the fruits of their industry, d.i.c.k instantly set to work, and without remorse suffocated them by burning dry gra.s.s underneath. Having secured a good amount of honey, he left the comb to the indicator as its share of the booty, and went back with his companion to the canoe.