Witch-Doctors Part 30

"Ough! Ough!" grunted the warriors in a.s.sent, although many of them were sorely puzzled to know why the doctors themselves had fled. Yabolo began to grow restless in his mind. To allow Bakahenzie to steal all the thunder and condemn the possible source of political power to the level of an evil demon was contrary to his policy, but he gave no physical sign save to become engrossed in his snuff box.

Then Bakahenzie continued with a long harangue maintaining the necessity of the consummation of the Marriage of the Banana and announced that Zalu Zako had been taken by the spirit of his forefathers in order to prepare magic for the eating up of the terrible Eyes-in-the-hands; that as the voice of Tarum had said, Zalu Zako would return with "That which was slain on the hill-that which ye seek, that which is yours." Although Bakahenzie was not sure to what these words had referred, yet he was sagacious enough to know that if Marufa had engineered that scene, then there must be some plan at the back of it, and in any case knew, as any white medicine man, that words in mystic phrasing are always soul-satisfying to the credulous who interpret them in terms of their subconscious desires. Then with political prudence he avoided any reference to uncomfortable topics, by dismissing the a.s.sembly before any pertinent questions could be asked.

But when Bakahenzie had retired to his hut, presumably for the night, as Marufa had done before him, he girded himself with an amulet containing the gall of an enemy killed in battle and a short stabbing spear and sallied forth through a hole in the fence to brave the spirits of the forests in his need.

In the village generally sleep was not entertained with enthusiasm by any save those women and slaves who knew not of the great happenings. In the hut of Yabolo were MYalu and Sakamata. From the old men MYalu received much consolation and advice, but no information as to why the wizards had bolted as fast as the laymen from ghosts invoked by their own magic.

Sakamata confirmed authoritatively Yabolo's suspicion that the phenomena had been produced through the magic of Eyes-in-the-hands, urging that they lose no time in going to him to make submission. Yabolo had already decided on that course, but MYalu refused to give a definite decision as to when he would go. He sat sullenly, saying no word, and eventually departed to his own hut where he dismissed his wives and continued to brood.

The fear and rage aroused by the anointing of the warriors for the capture of Bak.u.ma had been dissipated by the general panic produced by the ghosts.

Afterwards MYalu had unconsciously hoped, because he so desired it, that the pursuit of the Bride would be abandoned; hence Bakahenzie's renewal of the chase had angered and frightened him anew. As all the rest of them, he wondered and pondered upon the fate of Zalu Zako and Marufa. Marufa, as he well knew, had a black heart and two tongues; therefore was he suspicious of any manifestation with which the son of MTungo could be connected. Zalu Zako was wealthy; perhaps he had bribed Marufa to make magic in order to enable him to escape the doom of the king-G.o.dship and to flee to another country with Bak.u.ma under the protection of Moonspirit. A lover's jealousy is as powerful a driving force as ambition. In this case it drove even MYalu to defy the spirits of the night, for at the hour of the monkey he too stole away into the gloom.

So it was that as the patterned roof of the forest was etched in the timid green of dawn peeped MYalu through the gate of the zareba of Moonspirit to discover the gaunt form of Bakahenzie squatted by the embers of a fire within a deserted compound. Bakahenzie's quick eyes, on the alert for ghosts or any moving thing, saw him; so coldly MYalu advanced and sat beside him, grunting the formal greeting.

MYalu noted the age of the spoor about the compound, the tent peg holes newly pulled. Now was he sure that Marufa and Zalu Zako were in league with Moonspirit. Wrath smouldered in his broad chest. At length spoke Bakahenzie casually:

"The Bride of the Banana hath been taken away." Bakahenzie paused as if weighing his words, and added: "But the feet of spirits are heavy on the land." MYalu grunted. Bakahenzie had an idea and to MYalu was born another about the same instant. Said Bakahenzie, who wished to know the whereabouts of Marufa, Moonspirit and company: "If the Marriage of the Bride be not consummated then will the power of Eyes-in-the-hands prevail." And after a long pause: "Who will seek the Bride?"

MYalu remained silent, revolving his own notion in his mind. There remained with him still many traces of the awe and belief in the power and knowledge of Bakahenzie, and so his words threatening the triumph of Eyes-in-the-hands a.s.sured and strengthened his purpose; for he thought that if he could accomplish his plan then would Eyes-in-the-hands surely triumph as Bakahenzie predicted. Thus it was that he said:

"O master of Wisdom, give unto me a mighty charm against the evil eye of traitors and will I and those that follow me seek the Bride and bring her so that which is bidden may be, that the children of the Banana may triumph."

MYalu rose. The two started on the return to the village. On the road Bakahenzie sought to flatter MYalu by pretending to take him into his confidence, adjuring him to secrecy and informing him that he would cause it to be known that MYalu, the son of MBusa, would bring back the Bride of the Banana. MYalu a.s.sented gravely. Just before reaching the village his keen eyes noticed a slight trail from the regular path. Broken, twisted and crushed leaves and strained branches indicated the recent pa.s.sage of two or three people through the undergrowth.

With difficulty, for the Wongolo are not forest people, he followed the spoor in a semi-circle towards the village and a footprint in the slime revealed the track of Zalu Zako or Marufa coming from the fires. MYalu grunted, but he said nothing to Bakahenzie or anybody else. That the vision had been caused by Moonspirit's magic he had now no doubt, and his estimation of Moonspirit's power increased to the point of terror; yet the smouldering jealousy and desire for Bak.u.ma drove him dreadfully on.

Before the sun was two spans high MYalu left the village with some two hundred of his followers anointed against magic and spirits. The track from Moonspirit's camp was like an elephant's path. Through the steamy heat they followed all day until they came out upon a river near to a village upon the border of the forest. The headman of the village was away with his chief; but women, children and slaves remained. Zalu Zako, in the company of a white man called Moonspirit, Marufa, the wizard, and a girl had arrived, had taken three canoes and had left up-stream within a hand's breadth of a shadow. MYalu took all the canoes available and started in pursuit, leaving the rest of his men to follow as soon as they had procured other canoes from the nearest village.

The river was small but deep and flowed swiftly between the vast curtains of the overhanging trees. When the dungeon of the forest was glooming to night they saw the gleam of a fire. Swiftly and silently they landed, surrounded the camp and uttering the war yell, rushed.

But Moonspirit, Zalu Zako or Marufa they found not-only Bak.u.ma with some dozen Wamungo carriers. Even the dismal squawk of a Baroto bird could not damp the relief and joy of MYalu. Next morning he despatched a secret messenger to Yabolo, making a rendezvous at a certain village and with a weeping Bak.u.ma in his train set out to seek the rest of his fortune at the camp of Eyes-in-the-hands.

CHAPTER 21

In the village of Bakahenzie was discontent.

The desertion of Sakamata, Yabolo, and three chiefs, had corroborated his suspicions of the unfrocked priest. That Sakamata had been preaching open sedition he had known, yet Bakahenzie was in the situation of many a president or prime minister; he had feared to put his own position in jeopardy by having the offender removed expeditiously. This treachery, which synchronised with the time when MYalu should have either returned or sent a messenger, implied another grave error. All the information he could gather was that MYalu had returned through the village by the river with the girl Bak.u.ma, some prisoners and some of the white man's equipment, on his way to the north-east; but no one apparently had seen Zalu Zako, Marufa nor the white man.

Bakahenzie was at a loss to discover a plausible theory to account for MYalu having kidnapped Bak.u.ma, who could not be of any political importance to him in going over to Eyes-in-the-hands, but would rather prejudice him seriously with the rest of the tribe for the sin of sacrilege in taking the Bride of the Banana. Shrewd judge of his compatriots though he was, the possibility of a love motive never occurred to Bakahenzie. A dominating pa.s.sion in an individual for any particular female was rare in the native world; attractive wives or concubines were chosen and bought as one buys a goat or an ox. Bak.u.ma, in her capacity as a sacrificial victim, was to him merely a good-looking girl, well selected by Marufa for the orgy of the Harvest Festival.

Bakahenzie was distraught. He feared that he had not the authority to prevent further desertions; he did not know how far Sakamata's propaganda had permeated; he could not guess what Zalu Zako, Marufa and the white man were going to do. As many a wise statesman before and after him he adopted a policy of "wait and see." To provide an exciting distraction to keep his const.i.tuents amused and from thinking too much, he borrowed another political tactic of abusing some one vigorously. He called a meeting of the faculty and the warriors. There he solemnly denounced MYalu as a traitor and accused him of the crime of having abducted the Bride of the Banana, and consequently as the cause of the continuance of the misfortunes of the tribe.

The move was successful, inasmuch that it afforded discussion and absorbed wrath for two whole days. Various chiefs proposed as many plans. But none was taken. Everybody was discontented and quarrelsome, as fearful of Eyes-in-the-hands as he was of his tribal G.o.d; many were impressed by the propaganda of Sakamata and Yabolo and the impunity with which Yabolo and Sakamata and company had quietly gone over to the enemy. Meanwhile Bakahenzie squatted in oracular silence, murmuring incantations that were prayers to the Unmentionable One interlarded with promises of the things he would accomplish for the said Deity, with solemnity and sincerity, for he felt that the result of Marufa's intrigue with the magician Moonspirit would mature very shortly. What that would be he had no notion; only he strained every nerve to be alert when the crisis came to s.n.a.t.c.h from Marufa the advantage that wily old man had gained.

On the third day two more chiefs followed in the wake of Yabolo.

Bakahenzie made no comment, but he realised that before long, unless the unknown happened, he would be unable to retain any of his followers; realised that his one chance lay in procrastination. In his despair he began to contemplate an alliance with Marufa, even if he had to take a subordinate role-which would at any rate give him his only ally, time, to help checkmate his colleague.

On the next day yet another chief and his men departed. Bakahenzie knew that they were like a herd of goats and that to stop the stampede he must adopt desperate measures. To quell the restlessness which murmured ominously throughout the camp he called another meeting as soon as the news had come of the last desertion. While the drum tapped out the summons Bakahenzie sat muttering his most impressive spells alone, endeavouring to discover a plausible excuse for some sort of excitement to distract the public mind.

Slowly and sulkily the remainder of the brethren of the craft and those lay chiefs that were left, a.s.sembled within the circle of fires. Squatted in the prescribed order they eyed the figure of Bakahenzie in his red and green feathers mumbling incantations with doubt and disfavour. Indeed Bakahenzie seemed to them the symbol of the fallen G.o.d and a past regime; impotent and as mistaken as they were. In each and every one of them were suspicions and fears growing like weeds in tropic rain that he had made an error in not propitiating the new G.o.d in time, an impulse which required but a few hours' growth to propel them out to the north-east after Sakamata and the others.

As they watched in silence Bakahenzie was aware of the state of their minds towards him and grew the more perplexed in his search for an entertainment sufficiently stimulating to postpone the effects of their discontent. Sapiently he decided that any more messages from Tarum would be unwise in the present atmosphere. An idea of a revelation by divination to appoint a subst.i.tute for Bak.u.ma as the Bride of the Banana and thus thrust forward a reason for a feast, as there was now no Yabolo to object, was abandoned because such an orgy was exclusive to the craft and would serve to exasperate the lay chiefs.

His resource suggested a method. Suddenly he uttered a piercing yell and fell sideways as in the manner of one about to receive a communication from Tarum; but instead of the habitual seizure and cries and groans he lay rigid and silent. The divergence from the usual distracted the doubts of the audience.

The fires flickered and danced to the insectile anthem as for twenty minutes or more he lay there as one dead. But at the first flutter of inattention among the doctors he sat up with closed eyes and called out in a loud voice:

"That which is and must be, shall be!"

Intuitively he had followed the precept of witch-doctors the world over of saying nothing at all in such a way that as many interpretations may be deduced as there are listeners. Each and every doctor and chief accordingly saw in these mystic words, as Marufa had done in the chance phrase of Moonspirit, that which he was most urged to do. Bakahenzie had accomplished his temporary object. Once more he cried out:

"Let the children of the Banana be as the wild-cat at the fishpool that that which I have prophesied may come to pa.s.s!"

The charging of the air with the familiar suggestion of magical doings gripped the audience and forced from them the conventional grunt of a.s.sent. Bakahenzie began again to mutter incantations. He had, he knew, averted the immediate danger for at least another sun, or perhaps two. Now was there only to wait and see. But Bakahenzie, as all great men, had the distinct vein of luck that follows the bold. Even as they squatted there, thoroughly worked up for the reception of a miracle, came a rustle among the leaves. Every head turned as one to see once more the mystic gleam of eyes in the gloom as the voice of Marufa cried:

"Let there be a new fire!"

From the cavern of the undergrowth emerged a white man bearing upon his shoulders a burden which, as he staggered into the gleam of the fires, was seen to be in form and in shape that of the burned idol. Then did Bakahenzie leap to his feet and in one stroke recover his lead and fetter his most dangerous enemy by proclaiming in a loud voice:

"Behold! The bearer of the Burden of the World even as Bakahenzie hath prophesied!"

And as Birnier set down the idol, from warrior and wizard, with the chief witch-doctor's declaration, "That which is and must be, shall be," echoing in their ears, came the deep grunt of acceptance of the new King-G.o.d of the lost Usak.u.ma, the Incarnation of the Unmentionable One.

CHAPTER 22

In the humid heat of the forenoon the small hills of Fort Eitel, as zu Pfeiffer had renamed the Place of Kings, in the centre of the rased banana plantations, resembled scabby pimples upon a shaven patch of a green head seething with a verminous activity.

Across the ford of the river came a puckered-faced Bak.u.ma in the train of carriers and slaves of MYalu, who with Yabolo was coming to make obeisance to Eyes-in-the-hands, under the protection of Sakamata. To Bak.u.ma there was no joy in the prospect of the sight of her old home; the bitter taste of the oleander was in her mouth as she trudged despondently with downcast head.

But the breast of MYalu was filled with the song of the cricket. The terrors that had haunted him throughout the journey, of being overtaken by the magic of Bakahenzie or his emissaries, for the sacrilege of stealing the Bride of the Banana, began to evaporate at the approach to his village where now dwelt a new G.o.d more powerful than any, from whom he was about to gain protection, honours, and incidentally the ivory, which his anxious eyes pictured still within his hut. But when they broke from the outer banana plantation a mighty grunt was punched from the chests of Yabolo and MYalu at the vision of the half-completed street of large huts in the midst of desolation.

"Eh!" quoth Sakamata, "is not the way of the mighty one more wonderful than he who is gone? Behold, he maketh a city like unto that of his people, a city of G.o.ds!"

But MYalu had no admiration to spare, for to him the alleged beauty thereof was fogged by the fact that his own huts were but blackened ruins.

The next moment MYalu, in spite of his native dignity, started as one of those uniformed keepers of the coughing monsters barked at them magic words.

Sakamata replied. Yabolo and MYalu stiffened as they observed the cringe of the shoulders as he fumbled hastily within his loin-cloth and presented a piece of hard substance, the colour of blue clay with magic marks upon it. The demon grunted at them to proceed as if talking to a slave.

Followed in file the rest of the caravan. As Bak.u.ma pa.s.sed the uniformed demon standing with the sword and gun with seven voices upon his shoulder, leered, and grunting in a strange tongue, stepped forward and spun her round by the shoulders. Bak.u.ma cried out in terror and the carriers gasped fearfully. MYalu and Yabolo wheeled. MYalu's facial scar twitched with rage as he raised his spear. But Sakamata clung to his arm as the soldier, grinning, raised his rifle in their direction. Bak.u.ma ran on. The man laughed and turned his back to them, calling out something that the Wongolo could not understand.

"Eh!" commented Sakamata indignantly, "the dog hath eaten poison gra.s.s! We will tell his words to Eyes-in-the-hands and he will be beaten until he stales."