The Two Supercargoes Part 11

said Charley. "We will first, however, try to overtake the blacks, who, as Mr Tubbs observes, have been led by their instinct, or rather their knowledge of the country, in the direction where water is to be found; and I daresay you all feel as I do--very thirsty."

"That I do, sir," said Tom. "I feel for all the world as if my mouth was a dust-hole, and that a bucketful of hot cinders had been thrown into it."

We confessed that our sensations were very similar to those Tom described. We accordingly all got up and shouldered our packs, for neither Harry nor I would allow Aboh to carry our any longer; not that we thought he would attempt to run away with them. We told him, however, when we camped in the evening, that we would divide them, so as to give him a separate package, and thus we should all have an equal load to carry. Aboh pointed out the direction in which, from the appearance of the trees, he believed we should find water, and eagerly led the way.

It was farther inland than we had intended to go, but from his description we made out that there was a lake or pond fed by a stream coming down from the mountains of the interior, and which afterwards lost itself in the sand. We had gone some distance when Aboh made a sign for us to note that the ground had been trampled down by many feet, and that the people who had pa.s.sed that way had broken off a number of young saplings, probably to form spears, and had also torn down the boughs to serve as other weapons of offence or defence. After going a short distance farther, the sound of voices reached our ears. Aboh shook his head. "No good, no good," he muttered, and made us understand that we must advance cautiously.

Presently he again stopped, and advised us by signs to conceal ourselves. He then crept forward, crouching down beneath the bushes, so that he could not be perceived by any persons in front.

"I'll go forward and try and learn what his object is," I whispered to my companions; and Charley not forbidding me, I imitated Aboh's example and quickly overtook him. He turned on hearing my footsteps, and seeing that I was resolved to accompany him, made a sign to me to be cautious.

We had not gone far when the sounds we had before heard became so loud that I knew we must be close upon the people who were uttering them.

After advancing a few paces farther, on looking through the bushes I saw a large party of blacks encamped in an open spot surrounded by tall trees. They were evidently in an excited state, looking up the glade as if they expected some one to approach. They were mostly employed in sharpening the ends of long poles in several fires they had lighted. I at once recognised them as the blacks whom we had a.s.sisted to escape from the wreck. They numbered, however, fewer than those who had landed, and I concluded, therefore, that some had deserted their companions in misfortune. Those who had gone away probably belonged to a tribe in the neighbourhood, and were endeavouring to reach their own people.

We were not long left in doubt as to the cause of their excitement.

Some distance off we caught sight of another large party of negroes advancing with threatening gestures, many of them being armed with muskets and bayonets. On seeing this, Aboh, seizing me by the arm, dragged me back, and motioned me to climb into a large tree the lower branches of which we could reach without much difficulty, he setting me the example and a.s.sisting me up. We soon gained a place where we were completely concealed and protected by the thick boughs. Scarcely were we seated than we saw the slaves advancing towards the newcomers, flourishing the spears they had made and shouting savagely, as if not aware that their opponents had firearms, or fearless of their effects.

They soon, however, discovered their mistake. The enemy fired a volley which brought several of them to the ground.

Notwithstanding this they rushed forward, and a fierce hand-to-hand conflict ensued. The slaves greatly outnumbered their opponents, of whom there were probably not more than fifty or sixty, but nearly all these had muskets. Some of the firearms, I observed, did not go off, probably because they had no locks, or it may have been that their powder was bad. The parties were indeed more evenly matched than at first appeared to have been the case. They fought with the greatest desperation. Those who had muskets which would go off kept at a distance firing at the slaves, while their comrades either charged with their bayonets, or holding the barrels in their hands, used their weapons as clubs.

Several on both sides had fallen, when a fresh party of armed negroes appeared in the direction from whence the others had come. On seeing them, the slaves, who had hitherto fought so bravely, were seized with a panic. The greater number took to flight, making their way westward towards the coast, though they must have looked in vain for succour in that direction. I was afraid that some of them, flying in other directions, might pa.s.s by the spot where we had left our friends, who would run a great risk of being killed either by them or their pursuers.

Aboh and I were so well concealed that there was not much danger of our being discovered. As may be supposed, we crouched down among the thick leaves, much in the same way that Charles the Second did in the oak after the fight of Worcester. The tide of battle swept by beneath our feet, and a more fearful din of shouts and shrieks and cries I had never heard. Those of the slaves who had been engaged in the front rank, deserted by their companions, were mostly bayoneted or shot down or knocked on the head, but the courageous way in which they fought enabled the rest to get to some distance before their rear ranks were overtaken by their pursuers. At length not a combatant was to be seen, but the ground was strewn with the dead and dying. As I was anxious to rejoin my friends, I immediately descended. Had I possessed a drop of water I would have taken it to the poor wretches, whose moans as they lay expiring reached my ears.

"Do you think we could help some of them?" I said to Aboh, pointing to the wounded men.

"No good," he said, and made a sign that they would soon be dead. I went up to three or four, and was convinced from the nature of their hurts that I could do nothing for them; indeed, the spirits of most of them fled while I stood by. Aboh then, seizing my arm, hurried me away.

I found Charley and Harry very anxious about me, for hearing the firing, they supposed that I must have been in the thick of it, and by my not coming back they thought that I was either killed or taken prisoner.

"One thing is certain, we must not remain here a moment longer. The negroes will very likely pa.s.s this way, and either kill us all or carry us off into captivity," observed Charley. "I have heard that the black people in this part of the country are among the most savage of the African tribes, and that some--the Fans--are cannibals. I don't know to what tribe Aboh belongs, but I hope he is not a Fan."

"Maybe he is, and intends to deliver us to his countrymen, to serve as a feast given to celebrate his safe return to the bosom of his family,"

said Tom, in a tone half in joke half in earnest.

"He has. .h.i.therto shown only good feelings, and we will trust him, at all events," said Charley.

He made signs to Aboh that we wished to move on, and being anxious to find water, we begged that he would lead us to it as soon as possible.

He nodded, and pointed to the east. We were too thirsty to hesitate about going in that direction, although we should thus be led farther than we wished from the coast.

We accordingly once more set off, Aboh hurrying us along as fast as we could make our way through the thick forest, stopping at first every now and then to listen as the sound of distant firing was heard, and then apparently to ascertain whether any of the blacks were coming towards us. Aboh's object was evidently to avoid both parties. It was most likely that the slaves whom he had deserted would murder him for having left them, while the people of the other tribe were probably hereditary enemies of his, and would without ceremony have put him to death. We were by this time very hungry as well as thirsty, but our thirst prevented us from eating, and we urged Aboh to endeavour to find water without delay. He merely pointed eastward, and nodded his head as before.

"Well, keep moving, my black angel; whatever you do, keep moving, and lead us to the water," said Tubbs, patting him on the back.

We marched chiefly under the shade of the forest trees, where we found it tolerably cool; at the same time, as Tom observed--"In the opening the sun was hot enough to roast an ox."

At last I felt that I could go on no longer. I threw myself down at the roots of a large tree. Harry, who was marching with me, while the rest were ahead, endeavoured to rouse me up.

"No, no," I said; "go on. If you find water, bring me some, though I doubt if I shall be alive by that time;" and I spoke as I felt.

"Nonsense!" cried Harry. "You are the last person of the party I should have expected to give in. I'll stay by you until you are rested, and then we will hurry on after our friends."

"Perhaps we shall lose them if we are separated," I answered.

The thought made me arouse myself, and rising to my feet, I staggered on. Harry shouted to Charley and Tom, and they came back to give me their a.s.sistance. We had not gone far after this, when Aboh shouted out--

"Dere water, water!"

We caught sight of a bright gleam shining through the trees. Though we were in Africa, we knew that it was no mirage, which only appears on dry and sandy deserts. We all hurried on, knowing that our burning thirst would soon be relieved. As we drew nearer, we saw a lake stretching out before us, on the banks of which appeared numberless birds. There were long-legged storks, cranes, pelicans, pink-winged flamingoes, ibises, and similar waterfowl of various descriptions. As we appeared, those nearest to us took to flight, the beautiful flamingoes rising in the air with their long legs stretched out behind them. One thought, however, occupied our minds. How to get to the water, for we feared that we should find muddy banks, which might prove impa.s.sable. Aboh's quick eye, however, detected a small inlet into which a rivulet fell. He led us down to a hard, gravelly bank, where the water ran as clear as that of an English trout-stream.

We did not stop to consider whether alligators lurked beneath the lilies which floated on the surface, or huge snakes were concealed near at hand waiting for their prey, but kneeling down, we plunged in our heads, and drank huge draughts of the cooling liquid. Cooling it was to us, although probably it would have been thought somewhat tepid in a colder climate. In an instant I was revived, and my companions felt the same sensations.

We could now sit down and enjoy a few mouthfuls of the food we had brought from the wreck, which we took to stay our appet.i.tes. We intended, before many minutes were over, to have some of the waterfowl flying round us cooking before the fire. Charley and Harry, being tolerable shots, agreed at once to try and knock over a sufficient number for our wants, while Tom and I collected sticks for a fire.

Aboh, seeing them set off, started by himself in an opposite direction.

"We're not likely to starve on our journey, Mr Westerton, if we are fortunate enough to fall in with as many birds as we see around us just now," said Tom.

"I am afraid that we cannot expect always to camp on the borders of a lake or river," I answered. "It will be plenty one day, and starvation the next. However, if we are prudent, I hope that we shall get along without much suffering. There are probably wildfowl to be found, and then we may fall in with friendly tribes, of whom we can purchase food.

At all events, don't let us expect misfortunes until they come."

"That's what I never have done, and never intend to do," answered Tom.

"I've always held that there's 'a sweet little cherub who sits up aloft, to take care of the life of poor Jack;' and although that may sound like a heathen song, there's truth in it notwithstanding."

We were talking thus while engaged in collecting sticks, cutting some with our axes, and picking up others, until we had made a large pile, sufficient, Tom averred, to roast an ox, when we saw our friends coming back, each loaded with half a dozen ducks. Directly afterwards Aboh appeared, carrying a still greater number, which he gave us to understand that he had captured by swimming out into the lake, his head concealed by a cap of rushes, towards a flock floating unsuspicious of danger near the margin, and that, getting close to them, he had pulled them down under water by the legs. As the slight repast we had eaten had only just taken off the edge of our appet.i.tes, we eagerly plucked a bird apiece, and had them spitted in a few minutes before the fire.

"If we only had some pepper and salt, we should do well," said Harry.

"Here they are, sir," said Tom, producing from his knapsack a bag of each.

"We are greatly indebted to you, Mr Tubbs, for your forethought,"

observed Charley; "but remember, we must husband these treasures, for it may be a long time before we are able to replenish them."

By the time we had finished our repast, the sun had sunk behind the trees of the forest we had pa.s.sed through, and as we could not go farther that night, we agreed to camp where we were. It was important to keep up the fire, as we might otherwise receive an unwelcome visit from a lion, elephant, or leopard, or perhaps from a huge species of ape, numbers of which we had reason to suspect were in the neighbourhood, though we had not as yet seen any. It was, of course, settled that we should keep watch, each one of us taking it in turns.

Not knowing how far Aboh might be trusted, we did not ask him. Before sitting down we collected a further supply of fuel, and cut down some boughs, with which we constructed a rude arbour to shelter our heads and bodies from the night dew, although it would have been of little service in case of a fall of tropical rain. Tom suggested that, as Charley was leader, he ought not to keep watch.

"No, no," said Charley. "I will share with you all in that respect;"

and he offered to keep the first watch. Harry took the second, Tom the third, and I the morning watch.

Tom called me, saying that he had been listening to the mutterings and roars of lions, the occasional cries of deer as they were pounced on by some savage beasts, and the shrieks and other strange noises of night birds. "But you mustn't mind that, sir," he said; "you'll soon get accustomed to them. If you see anything suspicious, don't mind rousing me up, although you may not wish to awaken the whole party."

I promised to do this, and began to walk about in front of the fire.

However, feeling very tired, I sat down, placing my rifle by my side.

While thus seated, I confess that, unexpectedly, my eyes closed. It appeared to me but for a moment, although when I opened them daylight had broken, and a bright gleam cast from the orange-tinted sky was thrown over the lake. I was about to spring to my feet and stoop to pick up my rifle, when I found it had gone. On looking round, I saw Aboh holding it in his hand and moving cautiously away from the camp, while he presented it at some object of which he had caught sight a little distance off, and on which his eye was intently fixed. He did not appear to hear me as I followed, when what was my horror to see an enormous serpent, its neck rising in the air, its mouth extended as if about to spring. Aboh stepped behind a small tree, which afforded him some protection, and resting the barrel of the rifle against the trunk, fixed his eye on the creature. It seemed to me about to make its fatal spring, when he, and perhaps my companions and I as well, might have been destroyed. The serpent rose in the air, Aboh fired, its head instantly dropped, although the body continued to writhe and twist along the ground.

The report aroused the rest of the party, who sprang to their feet.

They looked greatly astonished when they found it was Aboh and not I who had fired. This, I may say, was the first of many dangers we escaped from the huge monsters of that region. On measuring the snake, we found it full thirty feet in length, with a girth as large as the body of a stout man. Indeed, we agreed that the creature could have swallowed any of us, or all of us in succession, had he been so disposed.

"Good eat," said Aboh, as he cut off the creature's head.

While we cooked the ducks, he roasted a piece of the snake's flesh at the fire, and ate it in preference to them.