Through Veld and Forest Part 12

"Yes," he presently exclaimed in a voice quite loud enough for the king and me to hear, "I am not deceived, I smell him; though his skin is white his heart is black, and I smell the evil thoughts against the Great, Great One that lurk deep down in it!" And a smile of diabolical malice overspread his evil face as he shook his great spear aloft and began to dance very slowly, singing softly to himself.

So that was it--the villain was actually going to smell me out!

But--"Not if I know it," thought I; and starting to my feet as I drew a pistol from my belt and levelled it at him, I cried:

"Halt there, Machenga! Halt, I say, or thou diest! Deceiver and murderer, destroyer of the king's most faithful friends, and giver of evil counsel to the Great, Great One, my magic tells me that in that evil heart of thine thou hast conceived the design to slay me, because when thou didst come secretly to my wagon last night I refused to give thee one of my magic fire tubes. Now I will prove thee, rascal; I will show the king that thou, his chief witch doctor forsooth, art nothing but a base pretender, a player upon his credulity. Thou dost claim to be a great and powerful magician; well, so am I. Kill me, if thou canst; and it shall be that he of us two who kills the other shall be the more powerful magician, and shall also be the one whose mouth speaks the truth."

Meanwhile, during this interlude, brief as it was, five new victims--two of them indunas--had been smelled out and brought forward; but the king, intent only upon what was pa.s.sing between Machenga and myself, had forborne to give the fatal signal to the Slayers, and thus the little group of victims and executioners stood motionless in the centre of the arena, while every eye was turned upon the chief witch doctor and myself.

Machenga had obeyed my imperative command to halt, thus unconsciously demonstrating at once that his state of trance was merely a pretence; and when I ceased to speak he further betrayed himself by answering me.

"Au, Chia'gnosi!" he exclaimed, "so thou, too, art a magician? And thou dost threaten to kill me! Fool! no man living, magician or otherwise, can kill me, else I should have died ages before thou wert born. But I can and will kill thee, in despite of thy magic, and thus I do it!"

And, as he spoke, up went his right hand, with the great bangwan in it, his intent being evidently to transfix me by hurling the spear at me.

But I guessed at his purpose, read it in his eyes; and, quick though he was, I was the quicker, and before he had time to gather his strength to cast the spear I had levelled my pistol and pulled the trigger. The good little weapon barked out as the hammer fell, and through the thin veil of powder smoke I saw Machenga spin round on his heels, flinging up his arms at the same time, and the next instant down he crashed upon his back, with a small blue hole in the very centre of his forehead, from which a thin stream of blood began to trickle slowly.

With a lightning-like movement I thrust the empty pistol into my jacket pocket, and transferred my rifle from my left hand to my right, at the same time wheeling sharply round upon the king to see what action, if any, he intended to take. I caught him in the act of springing to his feet, and at once flung up my left hand warningly.

"Nay, O Great, Great One," I said very firmly, "rise not, I pray thee, lest evil befall. My magic is just now very strong, as thou hast seen-- so strong that I can scarcely control it--and if anyone here cherishes evil designs against me he had better forget them now, this instant, lest they rise up and destroy him. So: that is well!"--as the king sank limply back into his seat. "Now," I continued, raising my voice so that it could be heard by at least the greater part of the warriors gathered there in the great square, "the king and I are about to confer together; therefore let no man move hand or foot, or utter a single word, for the air is full of terrible magic that only I can control; and if we are disturbed it may break loose, when--!" I concluded with an expressive gesture which was meant to convey all sorts of dreadful things; and I had the satisfaction of seeing Lomalindela's black skin turn a kind of slate colour, while his lips became a dirty blue-white.

For a few seconds the king stared stupidly at Machenga's dead body, as though he could not believe the evidence of his own eyes; then he turned to me and said:

"Truly, Chia'gnosi, thou art well named, for thy lightning has slain him who was as we have always known him, even when the oldest living man in Mashonaland was a boy running at his mother's heels. Why hast thou slain the chief of my witch doctors?"

"I slew him, O King," answered I, "because he was a liar, a cheat, a betrayer, and a murderer. He lied to thee and cheated thee by pretending that he could smell out thine enemies, whereas he possessed no such power; and he smelled out and caused to be destroyed Logwane, one of the most loyal and faithful of your indunas, because, after heavily bribing Machenga for several years, in order to obtain immunity, Logwane refused to submit to further robbery. And what he has done to Logwane he has, doubtless, done to many others of Your Majesty's loyal and faithful subjects."

"How knowest thou all this, Chia'gnosi," demanded the king; "and how am I to know that thy words are true?"

"Have I not proved it to thee by destroying Machenga?" retorted I.

"Thinkest thou that if Machenga had been what he claimed to be I could have slain him? As to how I know it, my snake told me, and he never lies. And if thou dost still doubt me, question the indunas. Doubtless there are some among them whom thou canst trust, who will tell thee whether Logwane was true, or whether he was false to thee."

The king frowningly considered my proposition for a little, and finally, looking up, called Mapela to approach.

"Mapela," said Lomalindela, when the induna had drawn near and saluted, "I am perplexed, and know not what to believe. I can believe thy words, because I have proved thee, and know thee to be faithful and true. Thou didst know Logwane intimately; tell me, therefore, was he loyal to me, or was he not?"

"There was no man in all Mashonaland more faithful to thee than Logwane," answered Mapela.

"Yet Machenga smelled him out and caused him to be slain as an enemy of mine," the king reminded him.

"Do I not know it?" retorted the old man bitterly. "And if Machenga had smelled me out, I too should have been slain, although, as thou sayest, thou hast proved me and know me to be faithful and true! But thank thy snake, O Lomalindela, King of the Mashona, that Chia'gnosi saw the evil and falsehood that lurked in that black heart,"--pointing to the dead body of Machenga--"else would many another of thy friends--myself among the number, perchance--have died before yon sun sank behind the hills."

The king placed his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands for several minutes, evidently overwhelmed by a sense of profound perplexity. At length, however, he looked up again, and, still addressing Mapela, asked:

"And think ye, Mapela, that all those,"--pointing to the long array of slain--"suffered unjustly?"

"Nay," answered Mapela, "I am but a simple induna, knowing nothing save the art of warfare, and the way in which warriors should be trained in order to make good fighters of them. Who am I that I should presume to answer such a question? Ask Chia'gnosi; he is young, but he is very wise. Perhaps his wisdom may be able to answer thee. Ask him."

The king turned to me.

"Thou hast heard my question, Chia'gnosi, and Mapela's answer," said he.

"Canst thou tell me what I want to know?"

"Listen to my words, O King," said I. "Last night, when the moon was so high in the heavens,"--I pointed to the approximate alt.i.tude of the planet--"Machenga came secretly and in disguise to my wagon, asking for gifts. I knew not then who he was, nor did he say; indeed, he pretended to be a messenger from Machenga: but presently I knew him for Machenga himself, although I had never before seen him, and I set forth certain gifts, which I offered him. But he refused them, demanding as a gift one of my magic fire tubes; and when I refused him he went away, threatening me that to-day I should be sorry that I had refused him.

Then I knew that it was no messenger, but Machenga himself who had visited me; and I knew the man for a liar and cheat. Thou dost ask whether all those slain suffered unjustly. I answer thee that they did!

I know none of them save Logwane; but send thou and ascertain the names of the other indunas who have died to-day by the hands of the Slayers, and thou shalt find that, like Logwane, they were rich men, the half of whose riches would pa.s.s to Machenga; or they were men who had incurred Machenga's hatred. Let the smellers-out be brought before thee and questioned, and thou shalt find that it was by Machenga's orders that they smelled out the indunas. As for the others, it was necessary that a certain number of the common people should also die, else would the choice of the indunas have been too obvious."

"By the bones of my royal father, thy words, Chia'gnosi, are the words of wisdom, and I will do as thou sayest!" exclaimed the king. "Mapela, give orders that the smellers-out be brought before me."

Some ten minutes later the subordinate witch doctors, or "smellers-out", were called together and drawn up before the king, when, prompted by me, Mapela subjected the wretches to a searching cross-examination, with the result that my surmise was completely confirmed. It is not easy to shock a savage, but there could be no doubt that when the investigation was finished Lomalindela was shocked, not so much at the fact that a great deal of innocent blood had been shed, but that so many of his most loyal and devoted indunas had been removed, and could therefore no longer exercise their loyalty and fidelity on his behalf; and no one knows better than a savage autocrat the value of true loyalty and fidelity. He was distinctly perturbed at the disquieting thoughts that came crowding into his mind; and it was characteristic of him that he seemed more than half-inclined to blame me for what had happened--on the principle, I suppose, that but for me he would have known nothing about it, and would consequently have escaped the perturbation and disquiet which resulted from the revelation. At all events, when the revelation was complete, it was upon me that he turned, demanding sharply:

"And now, Chia'gnosi, having revealed the evil, reveal also the remedy."

"That, O Great, Great One, is easy," I replied. "Let there be no more smelling out, and there will be no more mistakes."

"No more smelling out?" he repeated. "Then how shall those who meditate evil against me be found?"

"They will not need to be found," I replied; "for if such there be, rest a.s.sured that they will betray themselves, even as Machenga betrayed himself to me. I repeat, let there be no more smelling out; but if any man be discovered meditating evil, let his accusers bring him before thee and bear witness against him, and if he be found guilty, let him suffer."

The king meditated upon this proposition at considerable length, and asked a mult.i.tude of questions before he appeared able to grasp the idea fully; but finally he seemed to apprehend my plan, and graciously announced his willingness to consider it. The "smelling out" function was thus brought to a somewhat premature conclusion--to the obvious relief of everybody except perhaps Lomalindela himself--and the troops were dismissed. But when I, too hastily a.s.suming that everything was over, rose to take my leave and return to the wagon, I was imperiously ordered to stop. Upon resuming my seat I was thanked by the king in a somewhat perfunctory, half-hearted way for what I had done; but he added that my revelations had so upset him that he found it impossible to tolerate my presence in his country any longer, and he therefore begged me so to arrange matters that I could resume my journey that same afternoon. Naturally, I remonstrated against such discourteous treatment, reminding His Majesty that although the revelation was certainly mine, the evil-doing was Machenga's; and I wound up by saying that, so far from expecting to be expelled from the country, I had confidently reckoned upon being granted a concession to mine gold in Mashonaland. But it was all of no avail; it was through me that the upset had occurred, therefore out I must go--escorted by an impi, the induna of which would receive instructions to see that I did not unduly loiter on the way. And, as to gold, if I wanted that, the king strongly advised me to go to the Bandokolo country, far away to the north, where I would doubtless be able to obtain as much of the metal as I needed.

After generously giving me this piece of valuable advice His Majesty curtly dismissed me, with the intimation that I must be prepared to start in the equivalent of two hours' time--or take the consequences of my disobedience. Upon which I, in turn, got angry, and, having told the king one or two plain truths in distinctly undiplomatic language, bade him an abrupt farewell and hastened back to the wagon.

We were quite ready to make a start, even to the extent of having the oxen inspanned, by the time that the escorting impi put in an appearance; and when it did I was thankful to discover that it was commanded by my friend Mapela.

"Au, Chia'gnosi!" the old chap exclaimed, as the impi halted and saluted, with great heartiness; "so thou art ready. It is well; for the Great, Great One is in an evil temper, and his face is black toward thee because thou hast spoiled the festival: therefore it will be good for thee to withdraw thyself from before his eyes as soon as possible.

Which way go ye--forward or backward?"

"I go forward, Mapela," I replied. "I came to this country in the hope of obtaining gold, and gold I must have; therefore I am going forward to the country of the Bandokolo, where, so your king tells me, gold is to be obtained in great abundance."

"Wao! ma me! the Bandokolo!" exclaimed the old fellow in great astonishment. "Know ye aught of the Bandokolo, or where they are to be found?" he demanded.

"Nay," answered I; "I know nothing of them, save that their country lies far to the north, and that they have much gold."

"That is true," returned Mapela. "Then, let us start, for delay is dangerous; and if we linger, the Great, Great One may change his mind and not suffer thee to go at all. Yonder is the way, up that valley.

Give the word, Chia'gnosi. And, as we go, we can talk together; and if what I can tell thee should cause thee to change thy mind, we can take the road back on the other side of the mountains when we have pa.s.sed through the valley."

He paused and left me for a moment while the wagon was getting into motion and the impi was forming up round it; then, when we were fairly under way, he came to my side again, and remarked:

"Au, Chia'gnosi! thine arrival at Gwanda was well timed; for many are still alive who, but for thee, would have lain dead in the great square before the setting of yonder sun. Did not I say that my snake told me thou wouldst save many lives? And thou hast done so; and mark thou this, Chia'gnosi, though to-day the king's face be black against thee, the people know what thou hast done; and henceforth thy name will be hlonipa among the Mashona." [Hlonipa means "unmentionable". To make a man's name hlonipa is the highest honour that the Kafirs can render the bearer; for it indicates that the name is regarded as too sacred, too highly venerated, to be spoken. Thus I subsequently learned that after my departure from the country the Mashona never mentioned Chia'gnosi (Smiter with Lightning), but, when they referred to me, spoke of "Him who slew with thunderbolts", or in some other more or less roundabout fashion evaded any direct use of the word lightning.]

"Well," I replied, "to be quite candid with you, Mapela, I believe it is a very good thing for the Mashona that Machenga is dead; and I am not sorry that he compelled me to kill him. Also I am glad that the king has promised to abolish the system of 'smelling out', for in the first place I do not in the least believe in it, and, in the next, it is perfectly evident that an unscrupulous scoundrel like Machenga would only be too likely to use it for his own vile purposes. And now let us talk about something else. Tell me, for instance, what you know about the Bandokolo, and whereabout their country is situated."

"Their country lies yonder," answered Mapela, pointing a little to the west of north; "and it is a long way off. Thou wilt have to cross the Great River (Zambezi), and then travel through the wilderness for the s.p.a.ce of a moon and a half, or, maybe, two moons, before thou wilt reach it. For myself, I have never been beyond the Great River; but many moons ago there came into Mashonaland a stranger who said that he had been one of a band accompanying a white man from afar, who, after much weary wandering, had arrived in the Bandokolo country, and had there died--how I know not. And when the white man died the Bandokolo took his followers and made slaves of them, treating them so cruelly that at last the man who told me these things resolved to escape. And after waiting many moons for an opportunity it came, and he succeeded. But when he arrived in Mashonaland he was so weak and ill with fever and starvation that, after lingering for a short time, he died.

"But before he died he told me many wonderful things about the Bandokolo. He said that they were little people, about so tall (indicating with his hand a stature of about four feet eight or nine inches). Also, that instead of being black, as I am, they are almost white; that they live in great houses dug out of the rocks of the hillside; that the men wear clothes made of small plates of gold, and carry spears, shields, and great knives made of gold; that they adorn themselves with shining stones which they dig out of the ground; and that they are all 'mkulu 'mtagati (great wizards)."

"That is a very extraordinary story, Mapela," said I. "Did you believe it; or do you think that the man who told you had a sick brain and imagined things that were not?"

"Nay, who can say?" returned Mapela. "As I have told you, the man was very sick when he reached Mashonaland; but I think his sickness was of the body, not of the mind: and he told me these things many times before he died, therefore I believed him."

I spent the best part of the afternoon in cross-questioning Mapela upon the exceedingly interesting and remarkable story which he had told me; but the old fellow stuck to his text so perfectly that at length I was forced to the conclusion that what he had told me was substantially what he had himself been told, and that if there was any falsehood or exaggeration in the yarn it was not he who was responsible for it. We outspanned that night at a distance of twelve good miles north-east of Gwanda, in a most beautiful valley full of lush gra.s.s, and beside the stream, now much diminished in volume, which we had been following ever since our pa.s.sage of the Limpopo; and, I having shot an elephant about an hour before our arrival at the outspan, we all feasted royally that night, the impi building an enormous watch fire and squatting round it, stuffing themselves with elephant meat until they could eat no more.