Tom Burnaby Part 23

On the second day after this, early in the morning, the chief returned from a hunting-expedition, in high feather at having secured several magnificent tusks of ivory. But his jubilation was changed to terrible wrath when he was met by the news that two of the finest of his Hima bulls were dead. The Bahima are intensely proud of their cattle, and any injury to them is most bitterly resented. When Barega heard that his own loss was only the climax of similar losses among his princ.i.p.al officers, he blazed forth in fury. He threatened to chop off everybody's head, but contented himself with summoning his household officials, along with the medicine-man and other important tribesmen, to a palaver.

At this it was decided, after very little discussion, that next day a great smelling-out ceremonial should be held. The duty of conducting this important and mystic rite naturally fell upon Mabruki, who at once went off with a gleeful look of satisfaction to make the necessary preparations. As soon as he found an opportunity, the katikiro went to Tom's hut, and urged him to fly instantly. The medicine-man would a.s.suredly pitch on him as the worker of this evil spell on the cattle, and nothing could then save him.

"Why should he? What have I done to him?"

Then, without making an explicit statement, Msala hinted that Mabruki was bent on the white man's destruction, and had himself poisoned the oxen to that end.

"And you expect me to run, eh?" said Tom. "No, my friend, I'll see this through. I'm not going to abscond, and let that a.s.s bray."

Mbutu had still sufficient superst.i.tion to be greatly alarmed at hearing the medicine-man called an a.s.s. But the katikiro was greatly tickled when the boy reluctantly interpreted the opprobrious term, and he went away chuckling and clacking the native word kapa between his lips with much enjoyment. He had no objection to other people calling Mabruki names.

Early next morning the adult population a.s.sembled in a huge circle at the south end of the village, waiting for the mysterious ceremony to begin. There was an absence of the light-hearted chatter that goes on usually in a company of negroes; they were too much awe-stricken at the occasion. At length the princ.i.p.al officials took their places, and the chief, in full dress, looking very grim in his leopard-skin mantle and antelope cap, seated himself on a rough stool, a large elephant's tusk being held on each side of him. Then he gave the order to beat the drums; the great wooden instruments sent forth deep-booming notes from their ox-hide heads, and the medicine-man appeared.

He cut a most extraordinary figure. His fat legs and arms were smeared with white kaolin; he wore a belt of cowries with bunches of fetish-gra.s.s dangling all round it; on his head there was a remarkable head-dress of feathers, and his face was hidden by a fantastic grimacing mask. In one hand he carried a bell, in the other a basket. He walked slowly into the circle, treading gingerly, like a cat on hot bricks, and halted in the centre of the silent crowd. Then the chief ordered the katikiro to proclaim the reason for holding the a.s.sembly. Msala made an oration lasting fully half an hour, and licked his lips and slapped his thighs in thorough enjoyment of his own eloquence. Then was the turn of the medicine-man. In a hollow, sepulchral, and unsteady voice he began to recite an incantation of the abracadabra sort. As he progressed he worked himself up into a state of frenzy. Then, depositing his basket and bell on the ground, he burned a few bunches of specially-prepared gra.s.s which sent forth a nauseating smell. Moving to the immediate left of the chief, he began to make the circuit of the crowd, ringing his bell as he went. Save for the dong of the bell, there was a silence as of death; the natives, from the chief downwards, kept their eyes fixed on the circulating medicine-man, and not even the bleating of a calf, which had strayed into the village and poked its nose over the shoulder of one of the women, brought the faintest shadow of a smile to their faces, though the animal's mild stare of wonderment almost convulsed Tom. Round went Mabruki, coming nearer to the spot where Tom stood on the right of the chief. Mbutu's knees were knocking together; he gave a gasp of relief when the medicine-man pa.s.sed him. Suddenly Mabruki stopped; he was opposite to Tom, three yards away. He flourished his bell up and down frantically, but no sound came from it. A groan went round the circle; the chief turned and gave Tom an anxious and startled look, and Mbutu had gone gray about the lips.

Without a word the medicine-man returned to the centre of the circle.

Laying down the bell, he took up the basket and again walked round the throng, removing the lid of the basket as he came opposite each individual. He arrived at Tom, who was standing now with his hands in his pockets, looking on with a smile of amus.e.m.e.nt mingled with contempt.

There, though Mabruki apparently pulled with all his strength at the lid of the basket, it refused to come off. Angry cries arose from all parts of the circle; some of the men sprang up and shook their spears menacingly, but the medicine-man called for silence and began a frenzied denunciation of the white man. It was he who had destroyed the much-prized cattle; the Buchwezi had declared it. Before him the bell would not ring, before him the basket-lid was immovable. The spirits had given their doom; let the white man die!

Tom still stood with his hands in his pockets, now gazing grimly at his denouncer. Inclined at first to pooh-pooh the whole business, he saw that the people were impressed by the medicine-man's harangue, and that the chief was troubled and perplexed. "Poor fellow!" thought Tom, "I suppose he'll have to give in." It was of no use his merely denying the charge, he very well knew. It was equally useless to engage in a war of words with Mabruki. It was a time for action, prompt and vigorous. His resolution was instantly taken. Almost before the last words were out of Mabruki's mouth, he stepped before the chief, bidding Mbutu accompany him, and asked to be allowed to speak. Then, in a clear confident voice, he began his first public speech, the words, unpremeditated as they were, pouring from his lips with a fluency that surprised him and taxed Mbutu's interpretative powers to the full.

"I am amazed, O Barega," he said, "that you, and the mighty tribe you rule, should be swayed by an ignorant, stupid humbug like Mabruki. Look at him, forsooth! He can't stand straight; he has been feeding his courage on tubs of museru till he is fuddled. He says I destroyed the cattle. Why should I, a stranger to whom you, O Barega, have shown so many kindnesses--why should I so basely return evil for your good, and bring death among those who brought me back to life? There is no sense in it. You believe your medicine-man? I don't care that for your medicine-man." (He walked slowly to the centre,--Mabruki, with eyes glaring through the mask, retreating before him,--and with two kicks sent the bell and the basket flying among the negroes, who watched him in dumb amazement.) "I will prove to you that his medicine is no medicine. To-morrow at sunset, do you, Barega, call your tribe together, and I will bring medicine to match against Mabruki's. Then shall you see whose medicine is the stronger; then shall you see that I am a true man, and know Mabruki for the sham he is. Shall it be so?"

A murmur of a.s.sent ran round the ring. Tom's dauntless bearing and confident words, a little amplified perhaps in places by his interpreter; above all, the fact that he had kicked the magic bell and basket without suffering instant hurt; had made their impression on the natives. And the negro dearly loves a show. The prospect of a similar but more novel entertainment entranced them. The medicine-man was in no condition to offer a protest; he had seized the opportunity to take frequent pulls at a gourd of museru, and, exhausted by his own violence, he now lay a fuddled, huddled heap on the ground. The chief, unfeignedly glad of the turn events had taken, consulted with his officers, and was strongly urged by the katikiro to agree to Tom's proposal. The trial of strength was fixed then for the evening of the following day, and the a.s.sembly broke up. Now all tongues were loosed; every incident in the strange scene was canva.s.sed by two thousand chattering negroes. Some openly expressed their belief that the fearless white man would effectually squelch the unhappy discredited medicine-man, while others still had confidence in Mabruki, and expected that even yet the white man would smart for his impiety.

Tom spent the rest of that day in seclusion. He was making medicine, was Mbutu's invariable answer to enquiries. The white man was making medicine!--the word flew round the village, and even the most sceptical began to believe there was something in it. Just before sunset Tom sent for the katikiro, who had been bursting with curiosity to know what was going on in his own hut. Darkness fell, and the stars appeared, and yet he remained with Tom. The chief, in the hut adjoining, once or twice fancied he heard the sounds of stifled laughter. Unable to contain himself, he went quietly to Tom's hut, and crept in before Mbutu had time to interpose. Tom was standing in the middle, with arms akimbo, smiling down at the katikiro, who was sitting on the floor fairly shaking with half-suppressed merriment. He got up rather sheepishly when he saw his chief looking grimly at him, and sidled out of the hut.

Tom turned to the chief and said cheerfully:

"I was only finishing my medicine-making, chief. Everything is ready now."

"Ah, um! Are you quite sure that your medicine will be stronger than Mabruki's? If not, I would urge you to flee at once; I will send trusty men with you. For if Mabruki prevails to-morrow my people will claim a terrible revenge."

"Don't be alarmed, chief. I will answer for my medicine. I hope your sleep won't be disturbed; as for me, I have been working hard, and want a good night's rest."

Very early next morning the villagers began to a.s.semble on the site of the previous day's ceremony. Time does not exist for the negro; sunrise and sundown are his only periods, and the people were quite content to squat in a circle through all the long hot day. The crowd was larger than ever; all the boys and girls had been brought to see the show.

Villagers, even, from outlying parts had come in, the news having spread with that wonderful speed which is one of the most striking phenomena in African life. Nor were the tongues of the people tied by any feeling of solemnity; on the previous day they might have been compared to the congregation in a cathedral, to-day they were like the spectators at a circus.

Sunset was the time fixed for the trial of strength. As the sun disappeared the officials came from their huts, the katikiro apparently relishing his recollection of the previous night's amus.e.m.e.nt, and failing lamentably to maintain the dignity of his office. The medicine-man was brought in; he had wisely laid aside his flummery, and looked more ghastly than ever in his coating of kaolin. The chief entered the ring, with his drummers and tusk-bearers, followed by Tom, and a score of torch-bearers ranged themselves around.

Just as Barega reached his place a man came dashing up the village from the northern gate, never pausing till he stood before the chief. It was one of the princ.i.p.al scouts. In breathless haste he stated that he had learned that a strong Arab force was advancing through the forest. It was bent on some great enterprise, for the caravan included thousands of slaves, carrying all the paraphernalia of a camp and large stores of provisions. It was by this time only twelve marches away, and was coming steadily in the direction of the village. The news went through the a.s.sembly in an instant, and silenced every tongue. The medicine-man straightened himself, and with something of his former a.s.surance proclaimed that the white man was accountable, and that unless he were expelled or slain the village would fall an easy prey to the enemy. He evidently welcomed the diversion, and was preparing for a long harangue, when Tom, advancing, stilled the gathering murmurs with an imperious gesture.

"Chief," he said, "heed not what the medicine-man says. It is a trial of strength between our magic to-day; if his medicine proves the stronger, turn me out or slay me; but if mine, then I promise you I will not leave you till we have made a good account with your Arab foes. I know the Arabs; I have fought them; I have been a prisoner among them and escaped; I saved you from them. Is it a bargain?"

Loud shouts of a.s.sent broke from the whole company, and the chief, with a dignified inclination of the head, said: "It shall be so." Then, amid breathless silence, the trial of strength commenced.

Tom had resolved from the outset that he would make no attempt to persuade the natives that Mabruki's medicine was mere vanity and hollowness. Superst.i.tions generations old could not be banished in a night. His object was to show, not that the medicine did not exist, but that it was poor medicine, quite unworthy of an important village, and not to be compared with the medicine he himself had at command. He began with a short speech in which he recited the history of the affair up to the present, finding it rather difficult to get on without the interpreting aid of Mbutu, who was not at hand. He laid stress on the strange disaster that had befallen the primest cattle, and reminded the people how the medicine-man had professed to discover that he was the cause, if not the agent, of the death of the bulls. If this accusation was merely the outcome of spite and hatred, the Bahima would know how much reliance to place on it. If, however, it were really due to the operation of Mabruki's magic--here Tom turned swiftly toward the medicine-man, and cried: "We shall see what faith can be placed on the words of an ignoramus like this. Bahima and Bairo, look!"

He seized the bell, which the medicine-man had placed on the basket at his feet. Mabruki stood mute and motionless with astonishment as Tom, ringing the bell with the same large gestures as his enemy, began to march round the circle. Before he had walked ten paces Tom found, as he had expected, that by a simple mechanical contrivance the clapper could be fixed at the will of the performer, and the trick had not been discovered only because no one else in the village had dared to touch the magic bell. He walked on solemnly round the circle until he came to the place where Mabruki stood scowling, and then, though he agitated the bell with more than ordinary violence, not a sound came from it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tom surprises Mabruki]

There was for a moment a silence as of death. Then a low growl rumbled round the throng. The katikiro laughed, the chief frowned ominously, as Tom, keeping a wary eye on Mabruki, flung the bell contemptuously at his feet. The medicine-man was livid with wrath. The scorn of his enemy, the murmurs of the spectators, the despiteful usage of his fetish, whose terrors were now gone for ever, were too much for him. With a snarl of rage the burly negro hurled himself at Tom, aiming a vicious blow at him with a strangely-carved fetish staff he carried in his hand. It was the very move Tom had intended to provoke; if only Mabruki could be goaded to attack him he was confident of the issue. His confidence appeared to be shared by Msala, who, alone of that vast throng, seemed to be excited rather with suppressed merriment than with any emotion of doubt or fear.

The crowd gazed open-mouthed, for Mabruki was to all appearance easily able to overpower the slim stripling opposed to him. But as the big man lurched forward Tom stepped nimbly aside and evaded the blow. Before Mabruki could recover he found his wrist firmly grasped, and was jerked sharply forward, his elbow being gripped as in a vice by Tom's left hand. Then Tom brought into play a trick of j.a.panese wrestling he had learnt from a ship's engineer, who had taken advantage of visits to the island empire to make a study of methods unrecognized and unknown in c.u.mberland and Cornwall. The medicine-man instinctively resisted when he felt the forward pull. Instantly reversing his movement, Tom pushed his opponent's elbow up with the left hand while pulling his hand outwards and downwards with the right. At the same time he placed his leg behind his opponent's knee, and before the astonished magician could realize what was happening, with a sharp jerk he was thrown on to his back, the earth seeming to shake under his seventeen stone of corpulence.

The whole operation had not occupied more than a few seconds. The medicine-man in an African village is rather feared than beloved; he has countless ways of making his dreaded tyranny felt. When, therefore, the people saw the man whose power they had held in awe so rapidly overthrown, apparently without any exertion on the part of his opponent, a great shout of mocking laughter burst from them. The katikiro was bent double with delight, and even Barega's face relaxed its habitual gravity, Mabruki, with no breath left in his unwieldy body, thoroughly cowed, was in no condition to renew the attack. He still lay upon the ground as Tom explained that he had turned Mabruki's medicine upon him, and shown that white medicine had enabled himself to do what no other man among them, not even the strongest, could have accomplished.

Mabruki had brought his humiliation upon himself.

"But this," he added, "is mere trifling. In my country we leave such simple things to the children. If you wish to see what the white man's magic is like, pay heed to what I am about to do. And I warn you, be satisfied with that, lest worse befall."

He walked slowly to the centre of the circle, where the huge king-drum was placed. The glare of the torches lit up the hundreds of eager faces, all gazing at him with eyes opened to their widest. Even the katikiro, who had shown no surprise at the previous feats, looked on now with an air of fearful expectancy.

"Put out your torches!" cried Tom.

One by one the lights were extinguished. The whole village was covered with the black darkness of a moonless tropical night. For half a minute there was absolute silence; then, taking the drum-stick, Tom smote the drum with three measured strokes.

Boom! boom! boom!

The hollow sounds rolled away and died in the distance. Nothing could be heard but the quick pants of the waiting crowd. A light breeze had sprung up, grateful after the day's heat, and from far in the distance came faintly the trumpet note of an elephant, followed by the quick bark of a hyena. Again Tom struck the drum.

Boom! boom! boom!

A moment later he noticed a glow in the tree-tops of a plantation three-quarters of a mile to the west. The silent throng was still looking towards him, trying to pierce the darkness. The glow increased rapidly in brightness, defining itself as a globe of fire.

B-r-r-rrrrrrrr!

A tremendous roll from the drum woke rumbling echoes all around.

Pointing dramatically with his drum-stick into the sky, Tom cried: "Behold!"

The crowd turned as one man. A huge blazing globe was advancing slowly towards them out of the darkness. The effect was stupendous. For a moment the throng was inarticulate with dread. Then murmurs of fear arose. Some of the women shrieked; many of the children buried their faces in their mothers' bosoms. Most of the men sank into their customary abject att.i.tude of supplication; others were too terrified to move, and gazed upwards in stupefaction at the advancing and ascending ball of fire. It came slowly along on the breeze, pa.s.sed almost directly over the village, then mounted higher and higher into the sky as it drifted eastward. The crowd watched it in awe-struck silence as it grew smaller and smaller in the distance, and at last disappeared as a tiny speck on the horizon.

A gasp of relief rose from the throng. Barega cried again for torches; by their light Mabruki could be seen shaking like an aspen, the evidence of superior medicine having overpowered him altogether. Among the people there was the inevitable reaction. Their fear being removed, they turned against the medicine-man and a.s.sailed him with vehement cries of scorn. Barega sent for his executioner, and announced his immediate intention of having Mabruki's head. But Tom called aloud for silence, and beckoning Mbutu, who with the torches had suddenly appeared at his side, said:

"Barega and Barega's men," he said, "you have seen with your own eyes.

You saw that with Mabruki's own bell I proved against him, if such childish folly can be called a proof, what he had proved against me.

You saw that when he tried to fell me with his weighty fist, with a mere turn of the hand I laid him low. And now you have seen how, striking your own king-drum, Bugandanwe, I summoned a globe of fire from the trees yonder, and how it sailed away out of sight with a message to the morning chamber of the sun. The trial is made; who has the stronger medicine--Mabruki or I?"

"You, the muzungu!" shouted every creature in the throng.

"And do you, O Barega, any longer believe that I caused the death of your cattle?"

"No, no; I do not believe it. If any of my people believes it, he shall surely die!"

Barega glared round the circle of his trembling subjects, as if to dare any of them to confess himself a doubter.

"No one believes it," said Tom quickly. "Now I tell you this," he added, turning to Barega; "you will lose no more cattle, my friend.

Your losses are due to Mabruki's bad medicine."

"I will have his head!" cried Barega furiously.

"Wait, my brother. Let me plead for him. What will his death avail?