The Fugitives: The Tyrant Queen of Madagascar Part 12

"It means that he and I are united by one of the closest ties that bind the men of this island. No doubt you will think it a strange alliance, nevertheless it is a true and a strong bond of brotherhood. It is meant to unite two people in sacred friendship, so that ever afterwards they feel bound to help and defend each other. When two persons agree to form this bond, a meeting is arranged for the performance of the ceremony and taking the vow. Some gunpowder and a ball are brought, with a little ginger, a spear, and two particular kinds of gra.s.s. A fowl is also used. Its head is nearly cut off, and it is left to bleed during the ceremony. Then a long vow of mutual friendship, a.s.sistance, and defence is p.r.o.nounced. After this each man drinks a few drops of the other's blood. To obtain it they make a small cut in the skin of the centre of the bosom, which they call `the mouth of the heart.'"

"And did you go through this ceremony with Laihova?" asked Mark.

"I did, many years ago, when we were little more than boys. He saved my life by jumping into a deep pool in a lake and rescuing me from the crocodiles. I had fallen in off the steep bank. I could not swim, and he could. After that we made the alliance of brotherhood. Laihova was not a Christian at that time. Since then G.o.d has made use of me to rescue him from a more awful death than that which threatened me.

Laihova is grateful, and, knowing that I run much risk in going near the capital, has come, as you see, to help me."

"Not a bad style of brotherhood that," said Hockins, with a tremendous yawn. "Eh, Ebony? What d'ee think of you an' me goin' in for the same sort o' thing?"

"P'r'aps," answered Ebony, with a responsive yawn which threw that of Hockins quite into the shade, "p'r'aps black blood mightn't agree wid your stummick. But I say, Ma.s.sa Breezy, don' you tink it a'most time we was goin' to sleep?"

As the night was far spent--or, rather, the morning far advanced--by that time, the whole party willingly a.s.sented. Laihova was supplied with a separate mat, the embers of the wood-fire were drawn together, and they all lay down once more, to make the most of what remained of the period of repose. But circ.u.mstances were against them.

True, being tired and healthy men, they dropped off at once with the facility of infants, and during a quarter of an hour or so, while the fire continued to emit an occasional flicker, all went well; but when the last vestige of flame died away, the rats again came out with bead-like eyes and cautious tread. Gradually they became bolder.

Impunity never fails to encourage presumption. In short they soon began to hold a sort of carnival. The pots and pans became, as it were, musical, to the evident distress of the slumbering seaman--especially when the large grey rat fairly overturned a small rice-jar, which in its fall removed several props from other utensils and caused a serious clatter. Still the wearied men slept through it all, until the enemy took to scampering over their bodies. Then the enraged Ebony, being partially awakened, made a fierce grasp at one of the foe, and caught Hockins by the ear. Of course the result was a howl, and a sleepy request from Mark, to "Stop that noise!"

But even that incident failed to arouse them thoroughly, though it filled the rats with temporary horror, and caused them to flee.

The last word reminds us that there were others there that night, besides rats, to disturb the sleepers' dreams--but we merely make a suggestive hint at that!

Soon the rats returned in greater force and more demonstrative hilarity than ever. They evidently went in for a game of hide-and-seek round and over the slumberers, causing the sleepy growls of John Hockins to resemble the fitful mutterings of distant thunder.

Thus they went on until the grey dawn of morning appeared. Then an extremely large c.o.c.k, in the south-east corner of the hut, feeling that it had enjoyed a sufficiently good night's rest, flapped its ungainly wings, stretched out its neck, and gave vent to a clarion-crow which--

"Brute!" exclaimed Hockins, not even giving us time to finish the sentence!

He said no other word, but seizing a piece of wood, sent it forth with such true and effective aim, that he cleared not only the c.o.c.k, but all his wives off their perch, and sent them in cackling consternation out of the hut by the nearest hole in the wall.

After that the much-tried party slumbered in peace until the sun was high.

CHAPTER NINE.

A JOVIAL CHIEF, AND NEW EXPERIENCES OF VARIOUS KINDS.

The friendly hospitality of the chief of this village was found to be likely to cause delay, for he would not hear of his visitors departing until they had been feasted and entertained with games and hunting.

As they were completely in his power there was nothing for it but to submit with the best grace possible, although Ravonino was naturally anxious to push on.

"You see it won't do to look as if we were indifferent to his hospitality," said the guide. "He would be greatly offended, for you must know that the Malagasy pride themselves on their hospitality.

Come, we will go and have a look at the neighbouring woods while they are preparing breakfast for us, and I will tell you a story about the late King Radama."

"Was that the good king you told us about who did so much for the missionaries, though he wasn't a Christian himself?" asked Hockins, as they all pa.s.sed through the enclosure of the village and entered the woods.

"Yes, the same," replied the guide, "though whether he was a Christian or not I cannot tell. I judge no man. He made no profession of Christianity, but he was kind to the missionaries--very different from Ranavalona."

"Das de oosurper, what you call 'er?" said Ebony.

"Just so," returned the guide. "Well, as I was saying, our people are very hospitable. Everywhere, almost, throughout the country, when a traveller enters a village, a present is usually brought to him of rice, poultry, or fruit, or whatever they have on hand. You'll find out that for yourselves as you go along--"

"A bery proper state ob tings," remarked Ebony.

"And whatever house you come to," continued Ravonino, "the owner will invite you politely to enter, and make you welcome. Of course there are greedy and surly people here and there, but these are an exception to the rule. Well, on one occasion King Radama heard of some people of that sort. You must know that our chiefs have always required that they should be entertained on the best the people could provide. It is an old custom. Well, Radama made a law that all the provisions and other kinds of property should belong to the people, but all the houses in the country should belong to the sovereign; and he ordered the inhabitants to furnish lodgings to his servants and soldiers wherever they went. In order to make sure that his orders were obeyed the King soon after went in disguise to a village some distance off, and towards evening entered a peasant's house and asked to be taken in for the night.

"The heads of the family did not refuse, but rendered their hospitality in such a way as showed that he was not welcome. Next day he went to another house. There he was kindly welcomed, civilly treated, and the best they had in the house was set before him. In the morning when taking leave he made himself known, no less to the surprise than consternation of the family, and he left, a.s.suring them that their hospitality should not be forgotten. The King kept his word, for he afterwards sent his officers to the village with a stern reproof to his first entertainer and a handsome present to the other."

Just as the guide finished his anecdote a resplendent b.u.t.terfly of enormous size rose from the bushes, and Mark, to whom it was quite a new specimen, bounded after it, but failed to effect a capture.

"Neber mind, ma.s.sa," said the sympathetic Ebony, "you'll hab better luck nex' time--p'r'aps!"

"Besides," added the guide, "there are plenty more where that came from, for we have got into a good region for insects."

"Seems to me," said Hockins, "it's a good region for everything. Look at that now,"--he pointed to an object in front of him. "I would say that was a spider if it warn't as big as a bird, and hadn't set up a fishin'-net for a web!"

Although not strictly correct, the seaman's description had a foundation in truth, for some of the spiders of Madagascar are enormous, and their webs so thick that it requires a considerable effort to break them.

Moreover they are said to be poisonous, and the bite of some even deadly.

The contemplation of those creatures, however, had to be cut short at that time, as they did not dare to risk keeping Voalavo waiting breakfast for them.

"We are going to stick pigs and hunt wild cattle," said the jovial chief, with his mouth full of chicken and rice, when they arrived. "We will show the white men some fun."

On this being translated Ebony hoped that the black man was included in the white, and Mark asked if the hunting-ground was far-off.

"A long way," said the chief, "we shan't reach it till night. But that's no matter, for night is our time to hunt."

He said this with a twinkle in his eye, for he saw well enough that his guests were impatient to be gone.

"But," continued he, on observing that they did not seem cheered by the prospect, "our road to the hunting-plain lies on your way to Antananarivo, so you won't lose time."

As he spoke he opened a small box containing a brown sort of dust, of which he put as much as he possibly could between the teeth of his lower jaw and the lip.

"What in all the world is he doin'?" asked Hockins of the guide in a low tone.

"He is taking snuff."

"I always s'posed," remarked Ebony, "dat snuff was tooken by de nose!"

"So it is, they tell me, in England; but we have a different fashion here, as you see, and quite as foolish."

"You don't mean that it's tobacco he treats in that way?" exclaimed Mark.

"Not pure tobacco, but tobacco mixed with other things--something like the cheap cigars which you English are said to smoke!" replied Ravonino with something of a humorous twinkle in his eyes. "But we don't smoke.

We only snuff. In making our snuff we first dry the tobacco leaves and grind them to powder. Then to this we add the ashes of the leaves of a sweet-smelling herb, the mixture being twice as much tobacco as ashes; a small quant.i.ty of potash or salt is added, and then it is considered fit for use."

"Don't your people smoke at all?" asked Hockins.

"Not much, and never tobacco--except those on the coast who have been corrupted by Europeans. Some of us used to smoke _rongona_, a kind of hemp. It is a powerful stimulant, and used to be taken by warriors before going out to battle, because it drove them nearly mad, and so fitted them for their b.l.o.o.d.y work. Government has lately forbidden its use--but it is still used in secret."