Nicholas Carter

“ Dobbin handed the glass back to Trim.
“Now, then,” said Trim, “just think a minute. We are hundreds of miles from the nearest white settlement. This part of Africa is so little known that the maps don’t pretend to give the courses of rivers.
“Mighty few explorers have been here, and the long and short of it is that that white man off on the hill is one of the men we want to meet!”
“Ee think he’s one of those that have joined the Narugas, lad?”
“I haven’t a doubt of it. Let’s see what the blacks have to say.” ”

“ If we should send a hundred horsemen out after him and scatter them over a big extent of territory we might perhaps overtake him, but it strikes me that the most sensible thing is to let him go.
“Once he gets started toward Gordonia, as our experience shows, we shall have no further trouble with him.”
“But you say that you’d like to have Mulvey and Miller and the other whites brought to justice?”
“Well, if it could be done without a war it would make things look better. Yes, we should like it.”
“Then,” said Trim, rising, “I’m going to take an excursion to the Narugas and see what I can do.” ”

“ The blacks listened in evident surprise at the boy’s tones and manner.
When the interpreter had translated his remarks they looked still more surprised.
They conversed with each other for a moment and then slowly departed.
“That was a good bluff!” remarked Trim, with a long breath.
“I don’t half understand it, lad,” said Dobbin, seriously.
“The point is,” explained Trim, “that these tribes are governed by men whom they call elders, and as I understand them, the warriors have no right to act without the advice of the elders. ”

“ There was just an instant’s pause for every man to get ready for the charge, then Trim gave the command in ringing tones and the entire party pushed from under cover of the forest and made for the blacks and their white leaders.
There was no question about the surprise with which the attack was received. The entire body of the enemy stood still.
“Surrender!” shouted Trim at the top of his voice, while he aimed his revolver at one of the whites.
The blacks in the enemy’s party immediately took to their heels and made for the other side of the meadow. ”

“ The first black shook his head.
“That elephant has must.”
“Must what?” asked Dobbin.
The blacks then explained to him that must is the word for a strange madness that sometimes attacks elephants. They then become like maniacs and destroy everything that comes in their way.
At such times elephants are the most dangerous animals in the world.
One of the blacks ran to the top of a low knoll near the river’s edge and immediately hurried back crying:
“It’s a big bull and he’s coming straight for this spot.”
“By Jove! Yes!” cried one of the white employees. ”

“ The chief elder went to one of the others, took a bracelet from his arm and put it on his own; the other jabbered at him apparently in indignation, whereupon the chief elder took the smallest string of beads from his own neck and gave it to the one from whom he had taken the bracelet.
“I reckon,” remarked Trim to Dobbin, “that the scheme is working pretty well; these fellows are like children after all.
“The leader is bound to have the best of it, and the others are more likely to quarrel with him than with us.” ”

“ The elephant bellowed and pranced about wildly. He coiled his trunk around Trim, who did not need to hang on, for it held him fast and raised him high up into the air.
The blacks on the raft fell upon their knees and put their faces in their hands.
They were perfectly certain of what would happen. The elephant intended to dash Trim to the ground with such force that every bone in his body would be broken.
He held the boy poised in air for an instant, just as a ball player sometimes holds the ball in his hand at arm’s length before he throws ”

“ The interpreter spoke to the black man, who replied promptly in words that the interpreter translated as follows:
“We are elders of the tribe of Pombas. We live at peace with all men and trouble none who don’t come bringing war.
“We own this land, although the great white queen has asked for it. We have no trouble with the great white queen, but we still have the right to live here.”
“The great white queen,” added the interpreter, “is her Majesty, the Queen of England.”
“I suppose so,” responded Trim, “and they seem to have a good deal of respect for her. ”

“ There was a descent of about fifty feet and the spray that came up from below hung like a cloud over the edge of the precipice.
Glad of a chance to rest, the men threw themselves upon the ground while Trim wandered along the edge of the cliff.
He had no sooner got beyond the cloud of spray than he stopped abruptly and took out his spyglass. The spray rising from the waterfall had concealed the country lying around completely. ”

“ He waited until the light breeze that was blowing cleared away the cloud of spray for a moment, and then drew upon the white leader of the Narugas.
At that moment the leader was standing perhaps two hundred feet away looking in the direction of the falls. He was trying to locate the enemy.
“This is where we are, boss!” shouted Trim, as he pulled the trigger.
The leader apparently caught sight of Trim just as the revolver spoke, for he leaped aside and made for a tree.
He was too late. The pistol ball sped faster than he could, and it struck him as Trim had intended, in the right arm. ”

“ The interpreter spoke as directed, and the elder after listening gravely replied:
“He says,” translated the interpreter, “that he admires the white traveler and does not wish him to come to harm; he thinks, therefore, that the white traveler had better face to the rising sun and so escape.
“He assures you that if you do so no one of his warriors will be permitted to touch you.”
“Tell him,” said Trim, sternly, “that the white traveler proposes to go toward the setting sun, and that there must be no delay about it.” ”

“ The elder was quite certain that he was going to find a man who would make trouble.
“Now what does that mean?” thought Trim. “These tribes see white travelers once in a while. How can they learn to tell a trader or some scientific explorer from a man who is going out on detective business?
“There’s only one explanation to it, and that is that Miller, while on his way to the Narugas, warned the Massais that he might be pursued.
“If these savages have some kind of an arrangement with the Narugas, what is more likely than that they would try to scare a pursuer back? ”

“ At last he came to the spot where the rope was fastened at his side of the chasm. It was made fast upon a tree trunk which grew at the very edge, and five or six feet below it there was a little shelf of rock just big enough for a man to stand on.
The rope went straight across to the other side of the chasm, where it was fastened above a broader shelf of rock. The shelving at this side would have held three or four men comfortably.
“This is their bridge,” thought Trim. “I wonder if they get across by a hand-over-hand act. If they do they are all good athletes.” ”

“ Trim’s companions wanted to fire after them, but the boy forbade them.
“There’s no sense in killing them unnecessarily,” he said; “let them scoot if they want to. A scare is just as good for them as a beating.”
At that moment there was a sound of firing at the other entrance to the cave.
Leaving his guards with orders to fight off any further attack that might be made, Trim hurried around under the falls, passing Dobbin and the donkeys, until he came to the other entrance. ”

“ Both staggered back, and the one who was struck in the neck lost his balance and tumbled with a loud howl of terror into the chasm. The other dropped his knife and clutched blindly at Trim’s leg to prevent himself from falling.
This clutch caused Trim to slide still further along the rope so that in a half second he was directly over the shelf. He did not let go of the pulley block yet.
Before he ventured to do that he gave the white man another vigorous kick. The fellow, already half stunned, let go his leg and rolled over the edge to join his companion three hundred feet below. ”

“ The blacks were going slowly and were scattered over a considerable portion of the meadow.
“That shows,” said Trim to himself, “that they are directed by intelligent white men.
“They think that we are hiding in the forest at the edge of the meadow, they don’t exactly know where; therefore they scatter their men so that if we opened fire on them we should not be able to do as much damage as if the men went forward in a bunch.
“That’s the white man’s style of warfare. They won’t find us down there, and they’ll probably come further up the mountain. ”

“ Not more than three men at the very most could stand together at either of the entrances to the cave beneath the falls.
Trim stationed a white man and two blacks at each of these entrances.
“Now then,” he said, “I’m going to attend to Dobbin’s wound. The enemy can’t possibly get at us through the falls. The only way that they can get in here is by coming in the same way that we did.
“Three men at each entrance is as good as a thousand.
“When they come up, if they attack, fire at them until you have emptied every cartridge, then stand back and let three other men take your places. ”

“ What I mean to say is that while we all admire your courage and shrewdness and while we are willing to admit that you’ve done the colony a great service I must say that you are now undertaking something that is beyond your powers. ”

“ It revived him to a considerable extent, but Trim could see that he had not long to live.
“I suppose you’re the plucky American detective?” this man muttered. “I’m glad to set eyes on you before I die.”
“What do you know about me?” asked Trim.
“I know all that Jem Miller could tell,” was the faint reply. “He came out to join us, and told such tremendous stories of what you could do that all the blacks were scared half to death.
“They were still more frightened when shortly after Miller came a couple of fellows that belonged to the Massais tribe arrived with still more stories. ”

“ We are at peace with the Massais and simply intend to cross their territory.”
“We think you don’t mean peace.”
“But we do mean peace! We have no wish to trouble the Massais and we are willing to make gifts to the elders to show our good will.”
As in the previous case Trim and Dobbin opened the box and took out a quantity of trinkets.
They approached the savages with these.
The eyes of the black men glistened with interest as they saw the trinkets, but they did not put out their hands to receive them. Trim accordingly laid the trinkets at their feet.
“You see,” he said, “we come as friends.” ”

“ Trim concluded, “we can keep up a battle as long as we have got a cartridge left, and I should be surprised if our ammunition doesn’t hold out as long as theirs does.”
“We’ve got a big advantage in shooting from under cover,” remarked one of the whites.
“Yes,” responded Trim, “but they outnumber us a good many times. If the savages are as desperate as savages sometimes are, they may force an entrance in spite of anything.”
“Let them try it!” muttered the white man, looking carefully at his rifle.
The blacks in the party were silent, but Trim knew that they could be depended on. ”

“ The interpreter translated and the elder’s eyes fairly burned with excited curiosity.
“Ee’ve got him all right when he shakes hands with ee, haven’t ee, lad?” asked Dobbin.
“Shaking hands is not enough for these people,” Trim replied, “if they were whites a handshake might be a sign of faithful friendship; as it is, I’ve got to wait for a stronger expression from them.” ”

“ I don’t believe that many of the blacks have firearms. Even if they have, I reckon that we fellows will be able to give them a hot afternoon’s work.”
Trim said nothing to his companions about the advancing party of Narugas until Dobbin had been taken under the falls and made comfortable upon a dry shelving rock there.
Then Trim explained the situation to the two white men, and told them what he thought was the best plan for meeting the attack.
There were weapons enough in the party to give each man either a revolver or a rifle. ”

“ When the chief of the Kimberley police was here leading an expedition against them, the Narugas, under their white leader, took great pains not to kill their enemies.
[Pg 26]
“That was because they did not want to excite the English authorities into sending a powerful army into this country; so at that time they pursued a policy of retreat and hiding.
“It’s almost certain to be different with me. They think that they have defeated us in this little skirmish on the meadow and there’s no denying that they’re right. ”

“ Aloud he said:
“Tell the men at each entrance not to fire until attacked. Let the enemy go by if they will.”
It proved that the attacking party had not suspected the hiding-place of Trim and his companions.
They had never noticed the entrance to the big cavern under the falls. As they went further up the mountainside they were more and more puzzled to think what had become of their foes.
The white man who guarded the entrance through which the donkeys had been driven saw a dozen or more blacks pass within a hundred feet of him and examine the ground. ”

“ Trim’s men told him that a great deal of time and trouble would be saved by floating down the river on rafts for somewhat more than a hundred miles.
It would take him a little out of his course to do this, and yet it would bring him to the borders of the Narugas’ territory.
It would save time because if he proceeded overland he would have to cross several mountain ranges where there were no roads, and where the climbing would be very difficult even for the well trained donkeys. ”

“ We went so far as to capture two or three of the tribe’s men and start back to Kimberley with them, intending to use them as hostages.
“We let it be understood among the Narugas that if they wanted their men back again they must surrender Mulvey.
“This, you must understand, was only after another thorough campaign among the hills in which, as before, we would learn of the existence of a village only to go there and find it deserted.
“We could never come across more than two or three natives at one time. ”

“ As I said, he had been a soldier and a convict but previously to his turning up in Kimberley we learned that he had been living in Central Africa, and that he was on mighty good terms to say the least, with the Narugas.
“The Narugas are a small tribe who live in Gordonia in the western part of Bechuanaland.
“Gordonia is several hundred miles from here and to reach it one has to travel across an unsettled country and cross the lands of several uncivilized tribes.
“Most of the natives there are peaceful enough now, for they have had their fill of resisting John Bull’s soldiers. ”

“ The men hustled the donkeys on to the rafts and one was pushed off from shore with most of the party aboard.
Dobbin ran up to Trim, who was sleeping peacefully, and shook him.
“Wake up, lad!” he cried, hastily. “They say there’s an insane elephant making for ee.”
“A what?” demanded Trim, sleepily.
“There’s an elephant amuck, lad. Stir your steps or he’ll stamp on ee.”
Even then there came the sound of furious trumpeting just over the knoll beyond the camp. ”