Ernest Glanville

“ You will catch the cool wind in your mouths. Your nostrils will sniff the air of the hills; your feet will tread the open way; your eyes will see the white clouds afar. Awake, my children, we are at the gates."
They lifted their heads, throbbing with the touch of fever, and before them they saw a sheet of clear water; beyond that a glistening wall of rock, and following up higher and higher, they saw the deep blue of the sky.
"We are out at last," said the hunter, in his deep tones. "Off with the awning, Muata; let us breathe again." ”

“ There was a swirl in the water, a resounding smack made by a long scaley tail, and a third fowl went the way of the others. Beating their wings, the duck rose with loud quacks to seek the safety of a shallow, and the leery green eyes of the piratical crocodile appeared above the disturbed water.
"You old thief!" cried Venning.
"It is his hunting-ground," said Muata, with a chuckle, as he passed the birds to his mother, who began at once to pluck them.
"Out with the big pot and the preserved vegetables," said Compton.
"We'll have one big feast, even if we go hungry for a week." ”

“ The levers were muffled, and the "lookout," with a bill-hook ready to fend off any snag, and a bull's-eye lantern to shoot a sudden light, took up his position in the bows. She crept on slowly through the pitch darkness, the crew easing off at times to listen as some loud noise broke the silence—the plunge of a hippo, the snort of an angry bull, the swirl of a fish, or the cry of an otter from the bank. In one of these silences a whisper came from the bows.
"Look," said Venning; and he flashed the bull's-eye on the bank. ”

“ There was a splash as the boat was shoved off, then muttered exclamations and a yelp from the jackal: Many scores of ants had invaded the Okapi, and each ant, full of murderous rage for the wanton attack upon the nest, seized hold of the first soft thing it came across, and once it gripped it held on like a bull-dog. War was waged on the invaders, and when the last had been discovered and crushed, there was no sleep in the savage eyes of the awakened. ”

“ Hume fixed on a movable bracket within reach of his arm as he sat at the wheel, and when the lights at the village faded astern, he lit the lamp, in order to thread a passage by its light through the dark waters. As the noise of shouting, the drumming, and the report of fire-arms died down, other sounds reached their strained hearing—the booming of the Congo bittern, the harsh roar of a bull crocodile, and the cries of water-birds. ”

“ Beyond, the light branches shook as the huge coils passed over them. Such coils! As they moved into the sunlight they saw the glitter of the scales and the ridges of the muscles, and the movement was like the movement of several serpents instead of one.
Venning looked again at the motionless head. "When it has gathered its length behind and above its head," he said slowly, "it will strike."
"And you dropped the guns!"
"No one can stare a snake out—no one," said Venning; and his eyes were fixed.
"How far can it strike?"
"It has no lids to its eyes. It just looks and looks. Compton!" ”

“ In the little valleys were gardens, showing up like a chessboard pattern in neat patches of green, red, and brown, according to whether there was ripening millet, young maize, or new-turned mould. Halfway down the valley was a village of beehive-shaped huts, with an open space in the centre, adorned with one fine tree, under whose spreading branches they could see distinctly the forms of men. In the strong white light every object could be easily picked out—goats browsing among the rocks at the base of the cliffs; flocks of birds circling above the gardens ”

“ So low was the leafy roof at places that branches rustled on the awning.
"Fix up the big lantern in the bows, old man," said Compton, who was facing up-stream. "There is not light enough to steer by. Better sit up there with the bill-hook while I work the levers."
Venning went forward, and soon a shaft of light pierced the gloom.
For a mile or more they threaded this tunnel, and not a sign of life was there the whole way. When they emerged from the darkness into comparative space and light, the boys wiped their faces, which were clammy with moisture. ”

“ He was moving! Compton picked up the boat-hook with its dagger-ended spear, and prepared for the attack. Slowly, almost without a ripple, the reptile slithered into the water; then came a rush, a snap of jaws, a swirl of waters, and something heavy and wet came right through the mosquito nets, landing in the well of the boat with a tremendous whack.
"Look out," yelled Compton; "keep out of his reach."
"What the dickens is it now?" roared Mr. Hume, as a series of resounding thwacks arose out of the well. ”

“ Hume, looking grave; "and I think we ought to go back. The air is too heavy."
"After a good sleep I shall feel better," said Venning.
"It would be too bad to turn back."
"It would be too bad if you fell ill."
"What do you say, Muata?"
Muata lifted his hand. "Those who would cross the forest must be of the forest. Who are the people of the forest? Not those who live in the plains. Even the river-people are afraid to go far in. What are the creatures of the forest? They are those born among the trees, and those who dwell in the open seldom enter into the darkness and the quiet of the wood." ”

“ Muata's mother came forward, armed with spear, and behind her came other women carrying bows and arrows.
"These men, O mother, will stay by the kraal. They have learnt wisdom; but if they weaken, send a messenger to me."
"There will be no messenger needed, O son," said the woman, as she eyed the cowed men. "So go forth to the battle, for your scouts upon the heights call. They see the man-eaters and the women stealers." Her long arm shot out, and every man stared to the far end of the valley.
Muata gave a few sharp orders, and the first band of fifty young men went off up the valley at a trot. ”

“ Muata, returning from the killing of the men he had decoyed into the valley, raised the shout of victory, and the two boys went down into the gorge to join in the throng of exultant and excited warriors.
"Way for the chief's white men!" cried the Angoni Zulu, staggering from his hurts.
"Bayate! to the white men," shouted the warriors, rattling their spears.
"We are no chiefs men," said Compton, proudly.
"Ohe!" said Muata, overhearing the words. "Lion's cub, I hear. Ye shall have the chief's feather; and the great one, where is he?" ”

“ Hume recognized the suspicion in the altered tone and suave manner of the chief.
"We have spoken," he said sharply. "We go into the forest to hunt and to seek without anger against any. We thought you would have worked in well with us; but I see you are a man of a crooked mind."
"Softly, my father," said the chief, quietly. "Is it wise that a chief should listen to the counsel of strangers without taking thought for his people?"
"We saved the chief's life."
"The chiefs life is his own"—Muata snapped his fingers—"but the secret of the hiding-place is the life of the people. ”

“ The jackal rose at his master's coming, and stood whining and sniffing the air.
No one took any notice of him but Venning, who coaxed him to him, and placed an arm round his yellow neck.
"Why don't they sing something else?" said Compton, irritably, as the mournful wail dinned its misery into his ears.
Muata looked at the white men. "It is the rains," he said.
"Eh?"
"The rains are coming. Maybe that is why Hassan struck so soon, for when the rains come, every warrior is like the bow-string that has been soaked in water. They hide the sun, they breed chills and sickness. ”

“ They were even more helpless than castaways at sea without a compass; for at sea in the day there is the clear sweep to the horizon miles away, while in the forest all they could be certain of was a little circle with a radius of less than fifty yards. Beyond that was the unknown, because unseen—a vague blur of trees that might be sheltering wild animals or savage men. And what made their helplessness the more felt, was the knowledge that Muata knew so much, and that others—the mysterious pigmies—knew still more. ”

“ Close together they ran, and when they saw the valley stretching green and peaceful before them, they halted to drink in the sight. They feasted their eyes on the gardens, on the little flocks of goats, on the huts, on the women and children streaming up the slope on the right. Then they shouted in their joy of the promise of blood, of loot, of feasting— shouted and bounded forward. As they were in their stride once more, a wild yell rang out of the defile—a yell of fear and warning, that reached them, and that brought them up with a jerk. ”

“ Listen, Ngonyama; listen, Indhlovu (elephant) . There is a path for the lion in the veld, and another for the elephant in the forest; but this path is only for those who know it, and are welcome to those who made it. The sun shines without. It were better if Ngonyama and the Spider blinked their eyes in the light Mid the warmth. ”

“ The others stared at the chief in amazement; and even Venning, in spite of his intelligent anticipation, was too surprised to speak.
"There you can look upon the sky; there the wind blows fresh."
They looked up at the roof of branches, and then around into the sombre aisles.
"And where are the little people?" Muata smiled. "Who knows? They come like shadows, and like shadows they go. Even now they may be near watching to see if we are friends or enemies." ”

“ From a murmur to a hoarse rumble, then swiftly to the sound of fierce cries, the noise grew, and then a man leapt into view, and after him a score, all running as if for life. The plan was working, but was it not working too thoroughly? Would those men in whom was the panic of flight be able to stand? Muata came last, the long feathers streaming from his head; and as he ran, he shouted at his flying men words of insult. He cleared the defile, and at his heels there grew a fierce and growing clamour. Then, like a pack of wolves on the heels of a deer, the wild men of the woods burst into view. ”

“ But the chief, he watches always; for Muata there is no rest in the Place of Rest."
"You are the first chief ever I heard take that weight upon his shoulders," said Mr. Hume, with admiration he could not restrain.
"Why don't you resign?" said Compton.
"Haw!"
"Let some one else be chief."
Muata's nostrils quivered in disgust. "Wow! I am a chief, and the son of a chief. Who is there to take my place?"
"But you were a long time away."
"Ohe! and, as ye have seen, men conspired to let Hassan and his man- eaters in upon the valley. So my word to you, my brothers, is, to choose ground for huts;" ”

“ It is as a tree floating."
"Ow ay, we smell meat!" sang a big man, stamping his feet.
"We smell meat—red meat, fat meat; the red meat of the fat cow for the women; the tough meat of the old bull for the men;" and the women clapped their hands.
The Belgian officers were awakened, and stepped out of their darkened rooms. They found the village empty, save for Venning stooping over his last parcel, and Muata at his post with what looked like a yellow native our lying at his feet.
"The bull opens his mouth!" chanted the old hunter. "He wakes from his sleep! There is the smell of man on the wind! ”