The Two Supercargoes Part 25

We were hurrying forward, when the starling cry arose. "The queen is dead, the queen is dead!"

The mult.i.tude immediately uttered the most piercing shrieks and lamentations. Directly afterwards we caught sight of the hideous doctor, or priest, urging on a party who were dragging forward a person between them. We did not at first see the features of the latter, and it was not until he had been hauled up on the platform, where the king was standing, that we discovered him to be our friend Shimbo. His hands were tied behind his back, so that he was unable to make any movement with them. He cast an imploring look around him, for he knew but too well why he was brought there.

Harry on seeing him shouted out to the king: "Let that man go, he is our servant."

But the king, taking no notice of what was said, flourished his long sword. The mult.i.tude shouted and howled, the weapon flashed in the sunlight, and the next instant Shimbo fell, and his head rolled along the floor of the temple. The maddened cries of the superst.i.tious mob on this grew louder, and many of the elders and chiefs of the people, rushing forward, bowed themselves before the king.

We were horror-struck at what we had seen, and we had also reason to fear, from the savage looks that the people cast at us, that we ourselves were in no slight danger. The juggler might at any moment accuse us of sorcery, and, in the excited state of mind in which the people surrounding us then were, they might set upon us, and in spite of the resistance we might make, tear us limb from limb. Fortunately for us, the names of three other persons were shouted out as having taken part in the enchantment which had destroyed the queen. As the mob were occupied with them, we beat a retreat in a dignified war to our house.

Without telling Aboh what had happened, we placed him in our midst, and avoiding the excited mult.i.tude, made our way down to the river. If we were to save Iguma, we must carry her off at once without waiting for the night, for the instant the priest had p.r.o.nounced her name, the crowd, in overwhelming numbers, would rush to her house to seize her, and even Kendo himself would be utterly unable to afford her protection.

All this time we knew by the hideous din that the cruel executions were going forward. As long as the people were thus engaged we might be unmolested, but should a new victim be required, they would at once come rushing towards the house of the prince. We dreaded every instant to hear their voices approaching. We had already reached the bank of the river, but could find no canoes fit for our purpose. The prince's house was, I should have said, some way along the bank. We hurried towards it. As we got near Kendo himself sprang out to meet us.

"My wife is in the canoe," he exclaimed, "quick, quick!"

There was good reason for our hastening, for after a few minutes'

cessation of the uproar, the din from the vast mult.i.tude again burst forth. Kendo was certain that they were coming towards us. Not a moment was to be lost. Several canoes were on the bank, one was already in the water smaller than the others. Kendo pointed it out to Charley and me, and entreated us to jump in, observing as he did so: "Wife dare." We thought that he was about to follow, but instead of doing so, he gave the canoe a shove off with all his might into the middle of the stream, and then a.s.sisted Harry and the rest to launch another.

As soon as we found ourselves adrift, we each took a paddle and made down with the current. If we were to save Iguma's life, we had no time to spare. Already we could see a ma.s.s of black forms coming rushing frantically towards the river flourishing their weapons, while the air was filled with the cries they uttered. Two other canoes contained the remainder of our party, Kendo being accompanied by a single faithful attendant who had acted as his henchman and companion on all our hunting expeditions. Just as they were on the point of shoving off, a white man appeared on the bank, and without apparently even asking permission, leapt into one of the canoes. Instantly she shoved off and came paddling after us. Kendo shouted to us to go on and not stop for anything; a piece of advice we saw the wisdom of following.

As Iguma was the chief object of the savages pursuit, it was of the greatest importance to get her beyond their reach. She lay all this time, I should have said, at the bottom of the boat, covered up with a piece of matting, but she uttered no expressions of terror now that she thought she was safe. Had we delayed another minute, not only would Iguma have been captured, but we should ourselves very likely have lost our lives. Scarcely had the other canoe got away from the sh.o.r.e, than a vast mult.i.tude of infuriated natives, uttering the most fearful yells, appeared on the banks. We naturally expected to be immediately followed, but, as we looked astern, we saw no canoes being launched. We were not aware at the time that Kendo had thoughtfully concealed all the paddles, or had so injured the canoes that they were unfit to put off.

"Paddle on, paddle on," he kept shouting to us, and we were, as may be imagined, well disposed to follow his advice. We wished, however, that he had come with us, both to act as pilot and to a.s.sist in the defence of his wife, for he was a brave fellow, and would certainly have fought to the last. Though it was still daylight, evening was approaching. We hoped during the darkness to get far beyond the pursuit of the savages, who would, we felt sure, endeavour to obtain possession of Iguma, and to wreak their vengeance on our heads for attempting to carry her off. Had the course of the river been straight, there would have been no doubt about our ultimate escape, but it made numerous bends, sometimes running to the north, then to the south, then again to the west, so that it would be a long time before we could get out of the territory owned by King Kickubaroo. Now and then also the river was very broad, extending almost into a lake. This under some, circ.u.mstances might be to our advantage, but during the night we ran the risk of losing our way, for though Charley still had in his possession the pocket compa.s.s, it was so dark that we could not see it, and we did not venture to strike a light.

Charley and I, however, paddled along with all our might, hoping that even should our savage pursuers again catch sight of us, they would be still unable to procure canoes in which to follow us.

The night was unusually dark, and by Charley's advice we all kept silence, that our voices might not betray our position, should there be any of the enemy near us. Although our canoe was somewhat smaller than the others, yet as they were more heavily laden, we managed to keep ahead. We must have paddled on for a couple of hours or so, when we found ourselves on a broad lake. A thick mist obscured the sky, so that not a star was twinkling overhead to guide us, and we were only able to steer by ascertaining in which direction the current was running. The darkness was so great that we could not even see the other canoes, and we were afraid, for the reason I have before mentioned, of shouting to attract their notice. We thought that unless we paddled on we should be overtaken by daylight. At length, however, my strength began to fail, my arms ached, though by this time I was pretty well used to bodily exertion. Charley continued working away without uttering a word, and sometimes I wished that he would speak, for the silence oppressed me; Iguma lay perfectly still in the bottom of the canoe; it was evident she fully comprehended the danger we were in.

On we went, hour after hour pa.s.sed by. Daylight broke sooner than I had expected, and yet it seemed that we had been in the canoe a long time.

A mist hung over the water shrouding all objects, so that we were unable to see the land, or discover which bank we were nearest. Though we listened attentively, we could not hear the slightest splash of paddles to indicate the whereabouts of our friends. We were afraid that something had happened to them, either that they had been overtaken, or that the canoes had run on snags. We said nothing to Iguma, however, lest we should alarm her, but it was absolutely necessary that we should rest our arms and take some food, of which we had brought a supply in our knapsacks, some also had been put in the canoe. Not knowing how far off the sh.o.r.e we were, we allowed the canoe to drift down, while we took in our paddles and got out our provisions. We invited Iguma to take some breakfast; she, pointing to some plantains and roast yams, signified that they would satisfy her hunger.

"Come, I think we ought to take to our paddles again," said Charley, when we had finished our meal. "How do your arms feel, d.i.c.k?"

"Ready for work, though I should be glad to give them a few hours'

rest," I answered--"but softly, where are we?"

As I spoke, I found that the canoe had drifted in among some tall reeds, which showed that we were nearer the sh.o.r.e than we expected. While we were attempting to paddle out from among them, a breeze blew the mist away, and what was our astonishment, not to say dismay, to see a number of blacks standing on the banks and regarding us attentively. They had probably heard us talking and making a splashing while endeavouring to extricate the canoe from the reeds into which it had drifted. No sooner did they discover us than a dozen of them, or more, armed with spears and lances, plunged into the water and began swimming towards us.

"Put down your paddle and take your gun," cried Charley, "these fellows mean mischief."

All this time Iguma had not moved. The blacks, seeing only two white men in the canoe, thought that they would easily master us, and swam boldly forward.

"I suppose that there are no crocodiles hereabouts, or those fellows will be picked up to a certainty by one of the beasts; we must not trust to that, however, but when the men come near enough, shoot them without ceremony," exclaimed Charley.

Standing up in the canoe we warned the blacks to go back, but they took no notice of what we said.

"Their blood be on their own heads--fire, d.i.c.k."

We both pulled our triggers, one black threw up his arms and floated down the stream wounded, another dived, still I felt sure that I had hit him. The rest, undaunted, came on while we were reloading. Three were close upon us, and several others were not far behind them; one had actually got hold of the gunwale of the canoe, while Charley was aiming at another a short distance off. He fired, the black letting go his spear, threw up his arms. The first, however, might in another instant have climbed into the canoe, when Iguma, springing up with an axe in her hand, dealt him a blow on the head; without a cry he dropped back and sank immediately. I fired, and the rest seeing the fate of their companions, turned about and made for the sh.o.r.e. This gave us time to reload and be ready should any fresh ones come off to renew the attack.

They appeared, however, to have had enough of it, and we, putting down our rifles, again took to our paddles and urged the canoe further out into the river, which was here very broad and the current slow. Still it ran at a sufficient speed to enable us to ascertain the direction we were to take. We now had time to look-out for our companions. They were nowhere to be seen, and we were still in doubt as to whether they were ahead or astern of us. Charley thought they must have paddled on and gone ahead, and if so, we should overtake them before long. We were, however, still followed by other bodies of our enemies along the sh.o.r.e, for those we had encountered were evidently only a small party, and, probably, others would be waiting for us close to the banks.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

IGUMA RELIEVES ME AT THE PADDLE--WE REJOIN OUR COMPANION!--CHARLEY HAS THE "WATCH BELOW"--WRECK OF KENDO'S CANOE--I RECOGNISE HERMAN JANSEN AMONG OUR PARTY--NECESSITY OF TAKING REST--A NARROW ESCAPE FROM SURPRISE BY A PARTY OF NATIVES--TEMPTATION TO KILL RESISTED--A DANGEROUS ENEMY-- HIPPOPOTAMI--OUR OTHER CANOE DESTROYED--FATE OF THE MURDERER OF CAPTAIN RODERICK--WE DETERMINE TO DIVIDE OUR PARTY, AND, FOLLOWING THE COURSE OF THE RIVER, MARCH TOWARDS THE SEABOARD, TAKING IT TURN AND TURN ABOUT IN THE CANOE--A FEARFUL STORM--OUR ONLY CANOE CRUSHED--CONTINUATION OF THE JOURNEY ON FOOT--THE "SPARKLING OCEAN" ONCE MORE IN SIGHT--WAITING FOR A SAIL--THE SIGNAL ANSWERED--CAPTAIN MAGOR--ON BOARD THE "ARROW"-- CONCLUSION.

Believing that our friends were ahead, we paddled on with all our might.

It was of the greatest importance that we should join them before we were again attacked, for, united, we might set at defiance any number of our pursuers likely to a.s.sail us. As may be supposed, our arms ached, and though we paddled on mechanically, I felt very sleepy, and occasionally my eyelids closed. As the sun got up the heat became excessive, but we did not dare to stop even for a few seconds under the trees which shaded the banks, lest any of our enemies might be lurking near, and might pounce down upon us. At last Iguma, who had been sitting watching us, offered to take my paddle. At first I felt ashamed to let her have it. "Give it up to her," said Charley. "I daresay she understands how to handle it as well as you do, and we shall make better way."

I at length consented. When she had the paddle in her hand I lay down in her place at the bottom of the canoe, and I soon saw that she was working away with far more energy than I had lately shown. I watched her for a few minutes admiring the grace and dexterity with which she plied the paddle, and then my eyelids closed, and in another instant I was fast asleep. I do not think I ever enjoyed a more sound slumber, lulled by the ripple of the water on the side of the canoe as we glided rapidly along. Charley, being older and more inured to labour, was able to keep up better than I was, and I knew that he would not give in while there was any necessity for his exerting himself. I had pulled the matting over my head to preserve myself from the heat of the sun, which struck down with great force on the calm water.

"There they are, there they are!" I heard Charley shouting out.

His words awoke me, and starting up I could distinguish two dots on the water right ahead.

"Are they our friends, though?" I asked Charley, after I had gazed at them a few seconds.

"I hope so," he answered. "I felt sure that they were ahead of us, for, thinking that we were before them, they have been paddling on, expecting all the while to overtake us."

"What does Iguma think?" I said, and tried to make her understand that we wanted to know whether the canoes we saw were those of our friends.

To my great satisfaction she appeared to have no doubt about the matter.

I then begged that she would let me have the paddle again, but she smiled and replied that her arms did not ache, and advised me to take my brother's paddle.

"I don't mind if you do for ten minutes or so, I will then resume it and try if we cannot come up with the other canoes," said Charley.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked him, as I took his place.

"Three or four hours, I suspect," he answered, "though I have not had time to look at my watch."

As I thought would very likely be the case, no sooner did Charley lie down than he dropped off into a sound sleep. As after my long rest I felt very capable of work, I determined not to arouse him, treating him as he had treated me.

Iguma and I made the canoe glide rapidly over the water. A light breeze had sprung up, somewhat cooling the air and enabling us to increase our exertions. I eagerly watched the canoes ahead, and felt sure that we were gaining on them. I wondered, however, that no one on board saw us, and could only suppose that those who were not paddling were asleep, while, of course, the paddlers had their backs towards us, and believing that we were ahead did not trouble themselves to look astern.

At length I thought that they were near enough to make them hear me. At first I thought of firing my rifle, but the sound would, to a certainty, show our whereabouts to our enemies should they still be pursuing us, whereas my voice could be heard to any distance along the water alone.

Acting on the impulse of the moment, I shouted out at the top of my voice. Charley started up, thinking that something was the matter. On seeing the canoes he joined his voice to mine.

At length they ceased paddling; as they did so I cried out:

"I fear, after all, they are enemies. See, those are black fellows standing up in the canoe nearest us."

"If they are we must fight our way past them," observed Charley; "they have no firearms, and we can knock over several of them before they get up alongside, and should they do that we must fight them hand to hand; Iguma has shown that she is well able to defend herself; at all events, a few minutes will settle the matter."

We again took to our paddles, and I, making a sign to Iguma to sit down again in the canoe, took her place. We had not gone far before Charley shouted out, "Hurrah! it's all right, I see Harry's and Tom's broad-brimmed hats, and I make out two white men in the other canoe."

We were soon up to our friends, who greeted us warmly, they all along having fancied that we were ahead, and under that belief having paddled on, incited to exertions by occasionally hearing the voices of their pursuers as they cut off the bends of the river. They were of opinion, however, that we were now well ahead of them,--still we agreed that, during the remainder of daylight, it would be safer to continue our course.

The river now narrowed considerably, and the current became much more rapid than it had been hitherto. Kendo and his henchman, with Harry and Tom, led the way.

We were gliding quickly on, when suddenly Kendo's canoe spun round, and filling was driven against some rocks whose black heads rose above the foaming water. We narrowly avoided the danger, and as we shot by had just time to help Harry, who held on tight to his gun, on board, while Kendo, striking out, got up alongside us, and with the aid of Iguma also scrambled in.