Munza's officers, when they saw Delange, the white sorcerer, as they called him, coming towards them, ran to meet him and brought him to the spot where their leader lay, to the great dismay of the official sorcerers, whose position we were, without any ceremony, going to usurp. The King was resting on a shield and, in marked contrast to his followers, who were indulging in an incessant chorus ofNanegoué! Nanegoué!allowed no sign of suffering to escape him. He welcomed Delange with a smile, and made a sign with his hand that everybody else should withdraw.
The doctor stooped down and found that the King was suffering from an arrow wound in the thigh. The iron head was still in the wound, none of the negro sorcerers having even attempted to extract it. This operation, as a rule, is not a very difficult one; they seize the shaft of the arrow with both hands, and tug away until it chooses to come out. But by a very ingenious device, the Domondoos manufacture their missiles in such a way that they break at the moment of impact, the head remaining in the wound, and the shaft falling to the ground. The operator has, therefore nothing to catch hold of, and when that functionary happens to be a negro sorcerer, he howls, tears his hair, and does nothing else.
Delange, without a moment's hesitation, opened his case, and, taking out one of those horrible little instruments which always cause a shudder, proceeded to make a large incision in the royal thigh, and with his forceps extracted the iron barb. This operation was performed without a sound from Munza, and the doctor then washed the wound, stanched the blood, bound up the thigh, examined the general state of his patient, put his implements of torture back into their case, shook the hand held out to him by the wounded man in token of gratitude, and made his way back again through the midst of the army.
He had done this all himself, like photographers do, and, no doubt jealous of me, had not even condescended to give me the lint to hold. Nevertheless, I thought I might as well go back with him, and in a few moments we had rejoined de Morin, who, during our absence, had been amusing himself by making a collection of the arrows which were falling around him, and had already possessed himself of a decent-sized bundle.
"Now for the conqueror," said the doctor, as he took his place opposite his adversary.
The spot was no longer tenable by the écarté players; the arrows fell faster and faster, and in ever increasing quantities. De Morin would have had several in his back, if the havresack, which he carried about with him, had not acted as a cuirass. Three arrows had stuck in it, but their onward progress had been arrested by the various articles in the bag, and so the wearer escaped.
"A hit!" said de Morin, each time he felt an arrow strike his havresack. "With all these points, to all appearances sticking out of my body, I shall end by being taken for a porcupine."
"Yes," remarked Delange, "these fools are beginning to show some signs of skill, and I see the moment fast approaching when I shall have to operate on myself, as I have already done on Munza, and that, I assure you, is not exactly the sort of amusement I should choose."
The Domondoos certainly deserved the epithet fools just conferred on them by the Doctor; instead of following up their momentary success, consequent on Munza being wounded, and taking advantage of the panic thus created amongst their enemies, instead of attacking the opposing force with greater vigour than before, charging home, and, possibly, routing it entirely, they began to dance, and sing, and shout, making us the targets of their arrows. It might have been supposed that we three represented Munza's troops, and that if we were exterminated, the whole army would disappear.
But the King was watching over us, and as soon as he saw we were bent on staying where we were, he did his best to render the spot less dangerous by fortifying it in a measure. By his order, a score of soldiers came to our assistance, with a lot of wooden shields, of which they made a sort of palisading behind us; they themselves then extended to the right and left of us, and, by raising and lowering their other shields as the too intrusive arrows flew towards us, they protected us on every side. We were, consequently, in perfect safety, sheltered not only from the arrows, but also from the sun's rays, and the two gamblers were loud in their praises of Munza.
"Nothing could be more ingenious," remarked de Morin. "Thanks to that excellent man, we can continue our game in peace and quietness. Ah! I score a vole."
"Too true, by Jove! There is no disputing that."
The doctor did not score a vole, but, in his next hand, he marked the king, and made the point, which came to the same thing. The two adversaries were two all, and a few moments more would settle the question.
The idea of the palisade was really a very happy one; the short, sharp sounds made by the iron arrowheads, as they struck against the shields, told us that our enemies were continuing their trial of skill at us.
"It might be hailing," observed de Morin.
"I do not know whether it hails or not, my dear fellow," replied Delange, "but I do know that I have made a point, so that I am three to your two."
"So I see; but you need not be so ungenerous as to boast about it."
A Monbuttoo soldier, attending to the game, instead of to his business, let an arrow pass him.
"Look out, clumsy!" exclaimed de Morin. "If I lose, I will have it out of you to the tune of a few thousand francs."
The black burst out laughing, as if he quite saw the joke.
The deal was now with Delange, who turned up the ace of hearts. De Morin looked at his hand, and, without asking for cards, played the king of spades.
An almost imperceptible smile played round the doctor's lips. He took the king with a small trump, played the queen of hearts, which, of course, was the best card, and timidly put down the knave of diamonds. As his adversary had a lower card of the same suit, this gave Delange three tricks out of the five.
He looked at de Morin, and said—
"I score two, if you have no objection, seeing that you chose not to ask for cards. Three and two make five, all over the world, Africa included, and, consequently, the rubber is mine."
"By the skin of your teeth," said de Morin, as he got up.
"Do not grudge me my triumph," replied Delange. "We are now quits, and I feel as if I had escaped a great danger."
"I can quite imagine it—you have escaped ninety thousand francs."
"If we could only escape back again to France," I chimed in. "It is high time we did so, I fear."
"You are right," said de Morin. "That small detail had escaped me. This gambling saloon, constructed by Munza, is so pleasant and comfortable, that I thought I was at the club."
"Don't you think," I continued, "that the battle is becoming monotonous? would it not be as well to interfere?"
"Yes, I do; but how are we to set about it?"
"Let us authorise our Nubians to join in the fray. Look at them down below there; they are boiling over with impatience, and cannot leave their rifles alone. If Nassar had not been there to restrain them, they would have opened fire long ago."
"Their fire would not finish the business; their rifles are only loaded with blank cartridge."
"Are you sorry for that?" asked de Morin.
"Well, considering that the Domondoos have presented us with a plentiful stock of arrows, I think we ought to give them a few bullets in return."
"Nonsense," replied de Morin. "Let us keep our ammunition for a better purpose. Blank cartridge will do well enough here."
He stepped outside our palisade, and contrived, by dint of frantic gesticulations, to let Nassar know that he required the attendance of our escort. They were only too ready to obey, and Nassar was at once despatched to the King with a request that we might be furnished with a hundred of his crack shots. As soon as they reached us, de Morin made them form up in a double line, and told them not to let fly their arrows until he gave the word. At the same time, our soldiers were instructed to reserve their fire until the arrows sped on their way.
Delange and I saw our friend's drift at once; the report of our arms would spread terror amongst the Domondoos, whilst the arrows, from the short range, would make immediate havoc in their ranks. By this combination, the Nubians, seeing their adversaries fall, would labour under the delusion that they had killed or wounded them, and would never perceive that their cartridges were destitute of bullets. The enemy, terrified by the noise, would equally think that they were hit by us. Our consciences would, in this way, be quite clear; our rifles would have done no harm, and in a few moments we should put an end to a struggle which could not fail to be more bloody the longer it lasted.
At a signal from de Morin, away flew the arrows, and a simultaneous report of fire-arms was heard.
The Domondoos were completely routed; some ran in terror across the plain, others sought a refuge in the tall grass, whilst very many were so paralyzed by fright that they lay down flat on their faces, or went on their knees and held out their arms to implore our pity. We should have been well pleased to pardon them, and we would have given much to have been able to tell them to lay down their arms, and return in peace to their homes. But how were we to stop Munza's army, how could we prevent his people pursuing the fugitives, making some prisoners, and killing the remainder?
We contrived, nevertheless, to save a portion of our foes by giving them time to save themselves. By our orders, and still under the impression that they were doing wonders, the Nubians continued their fire, and the Monbuttoos, quite as much frightened as their enemies were by the noise, dared not set off in pursuit. Posted between the two armies, we thus managed, for a short time, to set up a kind of barrier between the victors and the vanquished. But our soldiers, as I have already said, had only ten rounds each, and these were soon expended.
The plain thus became the scene of a horriblemêlée; lances, axes, knives and teeth took the place of arrows. Hand to hand they fought, and bled, and bit, and ate. It was a sight worthy of the infernal regions, a loathsome, revolting spectacle. In one place a group of soldiers might be seen to suddenly cease to fight, and take to dancing round their victims; some would seize on a corpse and cut the flesh to ribands, and others, for the purpose of rendering themselves invulnerable, as Munza had told us, would hack the bodies of their foes to get at the fat. All these scenes were revolting to a degree, but we should have been wrong in shrinking from them and giving way to our feelings of disgust. On the contrary, we rushed from group to group, intent on rescuing same victims, at all events, from the knives of their butchers.
Munza did his best to help us. At the urgent entreaty of Madame de Guéran, who, accompanied by the Arab interpreters, had courageously made her way to the King, he gave orders for the massacre to cease, telling his men to give quarter and make prisoners only. He himself saw that his orders were obeyed; preceded by his musicians, and borne on a shield by six runners, he went all over the battle field as we were doing. As for the prisoners, we obtained permission to place our Nubians on guard over them, together with the Monbuttoos. By this time we had served out ball cartridge to our men, and we knew well that they would not allow the prisoners to be beheaded, so long as they were there to prevent it, the tribes to which they belong having a superstitious horror of decapitation.
We had thus done our very best to mitigate the horrors of this annual massacre, in no way provoked by our presence amongst the Monbuttoos. But, when evening arrived, we were powerless to prevent fire and plunder. A large village was situated hard by the field of battle, and it was to protect the place that the Domondoos had massed their forces in the plain, Munza's troops, when the battle was over, rushed headlong into this important hamlet, and, after having sacked the huts, set fire to them.
Delange, de Morin and I followed close upon their heels, in the hope of saving the aged, the children and such sick people as might have been left to their fate in the huts. We succeeded, indeed, in taking a few under our protection, and we were just about to withdraw with them and rescue them from the flames, when piercing shrieks fell upon our ears.
They proceeded from a hut not yet attacked by the flames. I was the first to enter, and I found a poor, sick man who, unable to get out, was calling for assistance, to save himself from being burnt alive. Just as I was taking him up in my arms, the lurid glare of the flames lit up the interior of the hut, and a species of placard, suspended from the wall, caught my eye.
I went up to it. On a large sheet of paper, evidently torn out of a book, were about a hundred lines of writing, and underneath them we read, in large letters, this signature— BARON DE GUÉRAN.
De Morin and Delange joined me, and assisted me in providing for the safety of the inhabitant of the hut. We entrusted him, as well as the other unfortunates rescued by us, to Nassar, and then made the best of our way back to our camp. Madame de Guéran was on the look out for us, and, after explaining to her in a few words what had taken place, I handed her the sheet of paper with the small, close handwriting of her husband.
She took it, glanced at it, and handed it back to me, saying, in a broken voice—
"I cannot read it; read it for me, and aloud, for I have no secrets from any of you."
By the light of the flames, which had enveloped the entire Domondoo village, had attacked the neighbouring woods, and were extinguished only about a hundred yards from where we were, I contrived to decipher this precious document.
I copy it word for word in the journal of the Expedition—
"How long have I lingered through my enduring agony? Am I in the middle or at the end of 1872? I cannot answer that question precisely.
"If I look around me, the cloudless, deep blue sky, the warm colouring of the trees, the masses of red which overtop the tall grass, and the haze rising from the parched ground and spreading upwards like a cloud in the horizon, all tell me that the dry season has returned.
"My illness, my long lethargy, must therefore have lasted for four months at the very least! Indeed, I remember having been still in possession of my senses during the rainy season; I can recollect the beginning of July, but from that time all is a blank.
"I must needs consult Nature's page. Who can tell me, if she cannot, anything about the time that has escaped me? I am alone—long, very long ago my interpreters and all my servants were massacred before my eyes. As for my soldiers and bearers, some are dead, and the rest, more fortunate than I, fled away.
"Alone—yes, I am alone, and so far from my country, so far from thoseI love, so far from her!
"How I have been punished for having left you, my loved companion! for having preferred the novelty and excitement of distant travel to the calm joy of our dear fireside; for having dared to let my love of science outweigh my love for you! You deem me at this moment dead, and are weeping for me. You may, indeed, weep for me; I live still, but I am so weak, so utterly destitute of resources, and so disheartened, that I shall not go much farther; you may wear mourning for me; it is only a little premature.
"But I will not die without having said good-bye to you. I will tear this page out of my note-book, I will fasten it to the partition of my hut, and I will try to impress upon the unfortunate invalid who inhabits it, the only being who, in this country, has shown me one grain of pity, that this piece of paper is a fetish able to protect him. He will never tear it down, and some day, perhaps, other travellers, following the same route that I have done, will find these lines and take them back to my country.
"What has happened to me?—If my enfeebled memory would only come back to my assistance! Let me try.
"I made a great mistake in allowing Degberra's soldiers to enter the territory of the Domondoos. I very soon succeeded, as I had always intended to do, in getting rid of my compromising escort, and in alarming them to such a degree that they were glad to make the best of their way to their own country. But the Domondoos had recognised their mortal enemies in the midst of my caravan, the men who, every year, plunder them, kill them, and carry them away into captivity. I and my people were destined to bear their vengeance on the Monbuttoos.
"Day after day they attacked us, harassed us with their arrows, and killed some of my men. Then we fell into an ambush, and, in spite of our determined resistance, we were overwhelmed by numbers. They seized upon everything I possessed, baggage, provisions, and arms; my ammunition they could not take, for it was exhausted, and for a long time we had been fighting with side-arms. With ten rifles I could have routed the whole tribe!
"Instead of vanquishing them, I am become their slave, the slave of a tribe of wild beasts! The Monbuttoos are right in stigmatising them with the degrading title, theMomvoos. The Monbuttoos! They are the refinement of civilisation compared with this tribe. The wretches have but one merit; they are not cannibals. On this side of Africa, cannibalism appears to cease on their frontier. But if they do not eat their prisoners, they make them suffer horribly, and I almost think they would display more humanity if they did eat them!
"One day, worn out by privation and fatigue, tortured in mind and body, broken down and utterly overcome, I fell in one of the streets of the village, and I did not get up again.
"What happened then I know not, and never shall know. They, no doubt, thought I was dead; I must have been thrown aside in some corner, where, later on, I was picked up and brought here. What was the nature of my illness? Sunstroke, I imagine, or malignant typhoid fever. Who looked after me? Nobody—I only remember a negro, a poor invalid, the sole inhabitant of the hut, dragging himself occasionally to my side, and putting to my lips a gourd filled with a beverage of his own brewing. How came an angel of mercy into this Domondoo hell? I owe him my life, and T cannot show him my gratitude. May God reward him; may He watch over the awakening of this benighted soul, and bring it to the full knowledge of Himself!
"Afterwards, long afterwards, I was able to open my eyes, and look around me; I felt that I still lived, and that was all—I could neither move, speak, nor think.
"By degrees my strength came back to me, and my host gave me now and then a banana or a little flour mixed with water. My weakness diminished, and I was once more becoming master of myself. In about ten days from this time I was able to walk about the hut, but my saviour made me understand that I must not cross the threshold. His countrymen thought me dead, and, thanks to this mistake, I might be able to escape during the night.
"Escape! Where can I go in my present state? Return to Degberra? It is too far, and I should have to pass through the country of the Domondoos; I should be recaptured, I should be their prisoner once more! No! no! I have suffered outrage and torture enough! And, besides, how should I be received by the despot whom I have misled, who has been deceived in his expectations?
"I have but one course before me; to gain the frontier of the Maleggas, a few miles only distant from this spot. That tribe, according to what I have been told, is more humane than the Domondoos; they will, perhaps, let me regain my strength in their country, recover my health, and, later on, continue my journey.
"My journey! As if I could think even of carrying out my project—as if, in my state of weakness and destitution, I could dream of filling up the blank between the discoveries of Schweinfurth and those of Speke and Grant!
"And yet—hope has not abandoned me altogether. I cannot have undergone all these perils to die now. It cannot be that, after having achieved so much, I am destined to leave my task unfinished. My terrible past is, in itself, a guarantee for my future.
"I will escape to-night! I will drag myself to the neighbouring frontier. May God have mercy on me, and be gracious to those who read these lines!"
As soon as I had finished reading I looked at Madame de Guéran. Her face was bathed in tears.
We were going discreetly to withdraw, when, drying her tears and mastering her emotion, she made a sign to beg us not to leave her, and as soon as she had thoroughly recovered her self-possession, she said—
"Is the negro of whom my husband speaks alive? Can we find him?"
"Certainly," I replied. "He is close to us, with our people. We were fortunate enough to save him and snatch him from the flames."
"Ah!" she exclaimed, holding out the paper I had handed back to her, "my husband was not mistaken! These lines have served as a talisman to this poor creature! I want to see him. I want to question him. Perhaps he can tell us more—perhaps—"
She stopped. We divined her unspoken thought.
"You had better let us question this man," said de Morin. "We will repeat to you every word he says, but if there should be bad news, we might break it to you less brusquely, less unfeelingly—"
"Be it so! Go, and I will wait for you here."
We found Nassar keeping watch and ward over our personal prisoners,protegéswould be the better word, and he brought us to the man who interested us so deeply. The poor wretch was awake, his fears preventing him from sleeping; it appeared to him impossible that he should have been rescued from the flames and made a prisoner without being destined to be eaten. The Monbuttoos enjoyed an unenviable reputation, and he tarred us with the same brush.
Nassar succeeded in explaining to him that, so far from wishing to do him harm, we were bent upon doing everything we could for him, and as soon as he had reassured him on this point, he questioned him about the white man, his guest for so long a time.
"What has become of him?" asked our interpreter. "Has he reached the frontier of the Maleggas?"
The negro considered for some time; the terrible fright he had just undergone had almost deprived him of the little memory he possessed. At length he gave us to understand that the white man had never reappeared.
"But," persisted the interpreter, "did he die before reaching the neighbouring tribe?"
"No," replied the sick man, "he arrived there, and, some time afterwards, sent me, as a present, an ox given to him by the King of that tribe."
We had this answer repeated and translated twice, as it appeared to us to be of the utmost importance. It, indeed, established the fact that not only had M. de Guéran been able to escape from his enemies and continue his journey, but that he had been received kindly by the Maleggas.
"And you have never heard of him since?" asked Nassar.
"Never," was the reply.
"Well," said de Morin, as we made our way back to the spot where we had left Madame de Guéran, "I begin to think that, one day or other, we shall stumble across this dear Baron."
"Yes," I replied, "the chances are in favour of it."
"So I think. But has it occurred to you that in proportion as those chances increase, ours diminish?"
"Clearly. How does that affect you?"
"How does it affect you?"
"My dear fellow," said de Morin to me, "it is very odd, but all the same it is a fact that I have ended by sharing the hopes, fears, doubts, and sufferings of our companion. I appear now to have a direct interest in finding her husband, whereas you might naturally suppose that all my interest would be centred in never setting eyes on him. In short, this charming woman has gained such a hold over me, and I esteem her so highly, that every now and then I am surprised at finding my own identity merged in hers, and my thoughts devoted to her happiness alone."
"That is precisely my feeling," I replied. "Only, I wish she would feel that to bring about my happiness would conduce to her own."
This philosophical dissertation was interrupted by the subject of it. She came to meet us as soon as she caught sight of us, and at once asked for our report. De Morin must have been right, for I experienced a real pleasure in imparting to her the good news we had just heard.
The night was far advanced when we separated, after having decided upon the line of conduct we were to pursue on the morrow.
About an hour after sunrise Doctor Delange commenced his round of visits. The wounded had, indeed, every need of his skilful ministrations. De Morin and I went with him, as medical students or hospital orderlies. Less presumptuous than on the previous day, I had resigned my position as assistant-surgeon.
"I do not intend," said Delange, as we walked along, "to depart from my Parisian habits. When I was a surgeon at Lariboisière, I always began my rounds with the hospital, leaving my rich patients to wait until I had finished there. So I am going to begin with the prisoners, and shall attend to those who were wounded yesterday before I do anything to the royal thigh. Does that suit you?"
"Perfectly," I replied. "We shall, in all probability, have a long conversation with Munza, and the other invalids might grow impatient."
The prisoners had been turned into a large enclosure, surrounded by a palisade; quite naked, and huddled together like a flock of sheep brought to the shambles, they awaited, with resignation, the arrival of the butchers. Thanks to the precautions we had taken, no harm had come to any of them.
Delange dressed their wounds, set a few dislocated limbs, and very skilfully extracted such arrow-heads as had been thoughtless enough to remain embedded in the flesh. Did his patients appreciate these attentions? Did they take him for a surgeon or a cook? To reply to these questions, the doctor betook himself to the study of a few heads. Alas! after examination made, he confessed that the gorilla and the chimpanzee appeared to him superior to the Domondoos, from an intellectual point of view. Nevertheless, as regards the structure of the body, we have come to the conclusion that the nearer we approach to the equator, the more perfect becomes the human form. The Niam-Niam have the advantage of the Bongos, and are in turn surpassed by the Monbuttoos, whilst the Domondoos are in advance of both.
"We are evidently drawing near," said Delange, "to that famous tribe of which we have heard so much. At last we shall see the dusky Venus of my dreams."
Munza appeared very grateful to the doctor for the visit. His ordinary attendants would never have succeeded in extracting the arrow-head which had wounded him, and, without Delange, he would have suffered horribly, even if he had not died from the poison. He submitted, therefore, with the best possible grace to a fresh dressing, which made him lend a willing ear to what we had to say.
Nassar recounted to him the incident of the previous evening, and gave him a resumé of M. de Guéran's letter. One point, which seemed to us of but little importance, struck him at once.
"The Domondoos ill-treated your father," said he, "and you, doubtless, are eager for revenge. Take two thousand of my prisoners and kill them without mercy; I give them to you."
We replied that white men never thought of revenge, but did good, even to their enemies. Munza was silent for a moment; in spite of all his efforts, he could not understand us.
"Then," he said, at last, addressing Delange, "you did not come to my assistance yesterday, and cure my wound, because I am your friend?"
"I came to you because you were in pain," replied the Doctor. "I try to cure all those who suffer."
The King was silent once more for an instant, and then he murmured a few words, which meant, "these white men are very strange!"
A species of slow, but progressive, revolution was taking place in the mind of this barbarian. He was still far from understanding or sharing in our ideas, but they attracted his attention, and he endeavoured to make a note of them, ponder over them, and compare them with his own. He was living with us in a new world, one which, he instinctively admired.
"And so," he resumed presently, "you do not want me to give you my prisoners?"
"On the contrary," said de Morin. "But if you do we shall set them at liberty."
"That is impossible;" replied Munza, as soon as the words were translated for him; "my soldiers would mutiny. Whatever we capture from the enemy, belongs to them equally with myself."
"Give us, then, your share of the booty," said I, boldly.
"Yes, I will give that to your sister," replied the King.
"In her name we thank you, and we will release the women, the children, and the wounded."
"Be it so! What is done," he asked, after another pause, "in your country with the prisoners?"
"We keep them in custody for a certain time," replied de Morin, "to prevent them fighting against us. As soon as the war is over, we send them back to their own country."
"Where do you keep them?"
"In our towns. The officers can even walk about, as they are free on parole."
Nassar could not translate this last expression, and we were compelled to make use of a paraphrase to convey our meaning.
"And is that sufficient?" said Munza.
"The white man never lies," replied de Morin, imprudently.
"Ah!" exclaimed the King. "Then tell me if you think your sister will return to my kingdom and marry me?"
De Morin had made the mistake, and on him fell the responsibility of repairing it.
"She will certainly return," said he, "if we find our father, and he allows her to marry you."
"Do you think he will?"
"I do not know, and I cannot say. To make a statement, without being sure about its truths is to tell a lie, and I have already said that we never lie."
A lengthy silence ensued.
"You wish, therefore," resumed Munza, "to visit the people you call Maleggas, and we Maogoos? I can take you there without any fighting, for the King, Kadjoro, is my ally. But suppose your father has left his kingdom?"
"We must go on."
"I cannot go so far away from my country."
"Not even to win our sister?"
"If I were only sure of winning her I would give up my kingdom!"
Nassar was not under the necessity of interpreting this last sentence, such expression was there in Munza's look, action and voice.
It was agreed that the King of the Monbuttoos should give due notice to his ally of his speedy arrival, and that the army should continue its march towards the south. The prisoners were to be despatched to Degberra, but the soldiers sent with them were forbidden, on pain of death, to maltreat them.
"Munza is decidedly becoming more and more civilised," said Delange, as we were going back to our camp. "Love works wonders. But is there not something in the conduct of this savage quite contrary to reason? Nobody will believe our account of this part of our expedition. I think I hear the Club wits say—'Get along with you! You are making fun of us! Instead of making love to Madame de Guéran in the orthodox fashion, and setting about the discovery of hersoi-disantfather, an African monarch would have killed or poisoned you off-hand. And when he had got rid of his trio of bores, he would have shut the Baroness up in his palace, without giving her the option of saying yes or no."
"The ignorant and fools would, doubtless, say so, my dear Delange," replied de Morin, "and their saying so would simply prove that they knew nothing whatever of the credulous, unsophisticated character of the negro, and that they utterly ignored the marvellousprestigeattaching to white men amongst the African tribes. Men of intelligence would take the trouble of reflecting, and would say to themselves that the stronger and more numerous have not always the courage to attack their weaker brethren. Here the colour of the skin goes for something; in Europe, rank and education fill the samerôle. Take a regiment, for instance. Send it on a campaign by itself, free from all control, and fearless of consequences. The rank and file muster two thousand, and the officers, perhaps, twenty, but those twenty men, even with sheathed swords, can do what they like with that, comparatively speaking, vast army of rifles. Materially, Munza cannot fear us; morally, without knowing it, he trembles before us."
"In that case," said I to de Morin, "we shall never have to fight theKing and his army?"
"I never said so. The moment he sees that we do not intend to return to his dominions, and to surrender Madame de Guéran to him, he may become terrible. The influence we exercise over him at this present time will vanish before his passions. The savage will once more resume his rights, and in that case I would not give much for our three lives. But, my dear fellow, we must be guided, as we have ever been, by events. If we only take proper precautions before undertaking anything, Paris may yet have the honour of claiming us once more as her own."
In the afternoon, some of Munza's officers came to ask us to choose our prisoners. Without standing on any ceremony, we released a goodly number—that is to say, we allowed M. de Guéran's host to release them. He selected his friends, and they were at once turned out of the enclosure. He thus, very cheaply, acquired a great reputation in his own country, and was speedily recognised as a sorcerer, which elevated him to the ranks of the nobility. The Baron's debt was discharged.
We might very well suppose that Africa, flattered at receiving a visit from Europeans, is bent upon preparing a fresh surprise for us every day, and wishes to astonish us by the variety of her landscapes and manners. The soil, and they who inhabit it, present a fresh aspect every moment, so that the eye is never wearied, curiosity is always aroused, and one's imagination is incessantly active.
Yesterday, we met with a race of dwarfs, the Akkas; to-day we find ourselves amongst the Maleggas, men of commanding stature, and admirably-proportioned limbs, with frank, open countenances, fine eyes, well-shaped mouths, and complexions of bronze. Yesterday we were fighting against the Domondoos, a set of cowardly, cruel brutes; to-day we have been received with open arms by a hospitable, brave, and almost intellectual people.
The natives, amongst whom we have sojourned during the past few months, have never been able to make up their minds to cultivate the ground, although the soil requires so little labour, and repays the slightest attention. They reap the harvest before it is ripe, gather the fruit whilst it is still green, and in every conceivable way display their ingratitude towards the paradise where accident has made them see the light. If they become tired of the vegetables and fruit which Nature places ready to their hands, if the manna which falls from heaven does not suffice them, and if they hanker after more substantial food, they betake themselves to plundering their neighbours, "lifting" their cattle, and growing fat at their expense.
For the last few days, on the other hand, we have been passing through a vast territory in a state of perfect cultivation, whose inhabitants are self-dependent. Oxen form the wealth of the country, and every hamlet possesses a large quantity of them. They roam at will through the extensive pasture-grounds watered by numerous streams converging towards the Keebally. This constant supply of water renders the plains as green, even in summer, as they are in the height of the rainy season. Vast forests encircle them and shelter them from the sun's rays, and where the plain is of too great an extent to be effectually shaded by the surrounding woods, trees scattered here and there prevent all possibility of its being parched and dried up. Here one sees a tamarind tree, eighty feet in diameter, and forming a perfect bower; there a baobab, with a circumference of twenty yards.
Such of the cattle as are not allowed to roam about, are herded in large kraals surrounded by palisades and guarded by herdsmen, who keep large fires burning to protect them from the flies and mosquitoes. We are in the midst of a mild-mannered race of shepherds, who fight in self-defence alone, when their wealth provokes the cupidity of their neighbours. As a measure of precaution, sentries continually patrol round the kraals and villages, and the war-drum is ever in readiness to summon the tribe to arms. As if to assert that they are neither invaders nor oppressors, but confine themselves to protecting their native land, their dwellings and their families, the Maleggas do not possess any weapon of attack. They replace the bow and arrow by a long-bladed knife, and a formidable iron-headed club.
These people defend themselves valiantly, and their neighbours are so well aware of it that they hesitate to attack them. In other respects the Maleggas show themselves friendly-disposed towards the bordering tribes, and, in order to enjoy the blessings of peace, and herd their cattle in ease and tranquillity, they pay tribute to those whose strength they fear. They never trouble their heads about the Domondoos, their northern neighbours, because the Monbuttoos, as we have already seen, make it their business to bring that nation to reason once a year, and carry all its able-bodied men into slavery.
Amongst this tribe, out of place in the heart of Africa, planted, apparently, by God, to be an example to their neighbours—an example, by-the-way, by which those neighbours do not profit the least—we ought very easily to obtain the information we seek.
If accident had not placed in our hands the notes written by M. de Guéran, we should not have learnt a single thing from the Domondoos, who were incapable even of understanding our interpreters and replying to them. But here, with the knowledge we have already gained of the negro dialects, which are very various, but always, to a certain extent, analogous, we can often manage to convey our own meaning, and grasp the sense, at all events, of what is said to us. The vocabularies of these tribes are not so voluminous as our own; a few simple words and certain expressions, adopted into common usage, form the foundation of the language. By degrees, one gets to understand these, and any verbal deficiencies are made up advantageously by a look or a gesture.
These interviews were not always easily arranged, because in the first districts we passed through, our arrival produced great consternation. King Kadjoro, however, lost no time in assuring his subjects that they had nothing to fear from the Monbuttoos, and Munza, at the same time, maintained strict discipline in his army, having secured that desirable end by the summary execution of a few thieves and marauders.
In spite of these delicate attentions on the part of Munza, and the remonstrances of their own King, the peaceable Maleggas in the first instance took to flight at the very approach of our noisy and always unruly army. But by degrees, when the soldiers had constructed their camp, and it was seen that they laid aside their arms and lolled about quietly in the shade, the natives returned to their homes, and frequently came to our side of the encampment.
Without being almost entirely clothed, as the Monbuttoos are, the Maleggas wear a species of drawers made out of cow-hide, which renders them presentable. This is supplemented by tattooing, in their case very complicated, composed of curved and straight lines crossing each other, with zigzags and circles intermixed. The women, following the example of their sisters in other tribes, wear a costume of leaves, and are not sparing of the material, which is always of considerable dimensions. Near the equator, Nature is liberal with her foliage, and the Malegga ladies take advantage of her generosity to give amplitude to their garments.
It was not long before we were surrounded by curious, but not offensively inquisitive groups. We, on our side, scanned the crowd attentively, so as to single out the man or woman whose appearance held out the greatest promise of intelligence. When we hit upon a likely subject, we called him or her, as the case might be, to come to us. The individual thus distinguished would hesitate at first, and show signs of retreating, but urged on by his comrades he would end by waddling awkwardly towards us.
The examination would then commence, M. de Guéran, of course, being the sole topic. Here we learnt that he stayed in the neighbouring village for nearly a fortnight. He appeared, so we were told, tired and ill, and dragged himself along rather than walked. They showed us the hut where he had rested, and whence, as soon as he felt himself strong enough, he had set out towards the south. We were thus following our fellow-countryman, step by step. We saw him, as it were, recovering his strength, and making longer and longer stages on his journey. The hospitality of the Maleggas hastened his recovery; in the villages on the frontier he was still an invalid, staggering along; in the hamlets in the centre of the country he was a man again, stronger and more vigorous. He walked and did not merely crawl.
His portrait never varies, but seems graven on the memory of the whole tribe. Those who never saw him have heard him spoken of so often that they know him and can depict his appearance. The journey of this stranger through the country has been a regular event, and the recollection of it is even now far from dying out.
Everybody is agreed on the point that he had a long fair beard, and flowing locks. This latter detail was at first a surprise to the Baroness, who only knew her husband as with a pair of moustaches and short hair, but it soon dawned upon her that M. de Guéran, robbed by the Domondoos of all his baggage, must have been obliged to submit to the growth of that which he could neither cut nor shave. Besides, travellers in central Africa, even those who have not been robbed, as the Baron was, do not take very great pains with their toilet, and we are exceptionally favoured in this respect, thanks to Joseph, who at the commencement of our journey was appointed to the rank of sole barber to the expedition. It also very frequently happens that Europeans end by drawing near to the Africans in the matter of complexion, the fair ones becoming coffee-coloured, and the dark ones chocolate. The skin peels under the influence of the sun's burning rays, one becomes unrecognizable and might very easily pass muster, if not amongst regular negroes, at all events amongst many tribes of a less dusky hue. M. de Guéran appears to have saved from the wreck the clothes he had on, for he is described as having been dressed very much as we are. This piece of minor information seemed to delight Miss Poles, who had never attempted to conceal her fear that we shall find M. de Guéran reduced to the condition of a savage, which, she is wont to add, would be very shocking.
The natives are very clear about the route adopted by the white man on leaving their village for the next hamlet, but we can gain no information as to the direction he took on the day when he finally quitted their country, or, indeed, whether he ever left it. Their knowledge and information never extend beyond a radius of five or six leagues; the districts in the north are entirely ignorant of what passes in those of the centre and south. It could not well be otherwise in countries where communication is a matter of difficulty, and newspapers are unknown. We can only be assured on this point when we reach the monarch, who, according to all accounts, appears to have hospitably entertained the European traveller. In the meantime, thanks to the intelligence of the Maleggas, we can trace, to a certain extent, each stage made by our fellow-countryman. He arrived amongst them in the middle of October, just as we were setting out from Paris in search of him. That, seeing that we are now in October, 1873, is precisely a year ago. We can, even, approach him in thought more nearly than that, as he certainly remained amongst the Maleggas for several months, taking advantage of their hospitality to recruit his forces, to pick up again, in vulgarparlance, in order to attempt fresh enterprises. Six or eight months only, therefore, separate us from him—a blank of six or eight months, how has he filled up that blank? That is a question which we must lose no time in answering.
As we approach the royal residence the country becomes still more picturesque, and the villages succeed each other in closer, more unbroken array. They are dotted here and there on the hills, and nestle amidst their wooded and flowering slopes. We are tempted to forget Africa and to imagine ourselves in Normandy. Goats frisk about the hills, cattle find luxuriant pasture in the plains, and diminutive shepherds armed with miniature lances and clubs keep watch over the flocks and herds. Pretty girls, with upright carriage and shapely limbs, bearing huge jars on their heads, wend their way towards the river. In front of the huts, under a sort of verandah composed of banana branches, the family take their ease, from the hoary-headed ancient to the toddling infant just taking his first lessons in walking. The sun pours his rays in streams over this landscape; odours of ineffable sweetness escape from the flower-laden bushes, and the birds sing amongst the branches. We push as far as possible ahead of the army to revel, free and untroubled, in the glorious beauty of the scene.
At length the roll of our drums is echoed by a similar sound from afar, shouts are heard, men run to meet us, soldiers appear. Kadjoro is advancing to welcome his ally Munza. Despite the simplicity of his manner and customs, he has seized on the opportunity for display. An African sovereign could never deny himself that pleasure.
The King of the Maleggas took his royal brother by the hand, and led him towards an immense baobab, underneath which he is in the habit of holding his receptions and administering justice. A space of about twenty square yards is carpeted with ox hides, and trunks of trees, covered with hyæna, lion, and leopard skins, serve for the throne and its surrounding seats.
Whilst we lingered behind the two chiefs, and in the midst of their respective escorts, I examined Kadjoro. He is a man about thirty years of age, tall and robust. His manner is a mixture of the rustic and the warrior. His features are regular and agreeable; his eyes black, fine and full of expression; his hair, or, to describe it more correctly, his mane is parted in the middle of his forehead, and falls behind his ears in numerous twists, reaching to the shoulders. Feathers of the ostrich, eagle and vulture are stuck at intervals in this thick wool. In his left hand he holds a shield of buffalo hide, in his right a club, and, after the manner of his tribe, a portion of his body is covered with a pair of very ample breeches. Looking only at his features, his physiognomy generally, and his olive complexion, one might take him for a European; his mane, ornaments, and tattoo-marks make him a savage, "but a very handsome savage," affirms Miss Poles, who has already, from behind her blue spectacles, made her little observations, and gives us the benefit of them.
"Take care," said de Morin to me in a whisper, "she is quite capable of falling in love with Kadjoro, and indulging in some fresh folly."
I promised my friend that I would watch over her.
The King has not yet taken his seat; he converses with his guest, and is questioning him, undoubtedly about us, for he frequently looks in our direction, a proceeding which puts Miss Poles in a great state of excitement, she being already persuaded that the new monarch is noticing and admiring her.
"How far superior he is to Munza!" she repeats, incessantly.
Suddenly, Kadjoro, having, doubtless, heard all about us from his royal friend, leaves him abruptly, comes to where we are standing, shakes hands with us three, bows to our two companions, just as we Europeans should do, and, by a wave of his hand, invites us to follow him.
"He is charming," whispers Delange; "this savage has the manners of agrand seigneur."
Reminding him that Kadjoro must by this time know of our connection with M. de Guéran, we follow the King and set foot on the carpet of skins.
Our entrance into the reserved enclosure is made to the accompaniment of Malegga music. A score of musicians, placed at a convenient distance, blow to the full extent of their lungs into elephants' tusks shaped like shells, at the same time keeping in perpetual motion their arms and legs, on which, at the wrists, knees, and ankles, are hung small iron bells. Behind these musicians stand the members of the royal Court, eager to see us; everybody is standing on tip-toe, and some high dignitaries, forgetful of the proprieties, even get on their neighbours' backs. But no one dares penetrate into the enclosure reserved for the King and his guests. Not a single woman is to be seen anywhere; it appears that, amongst the Maleggas, they are excluded from all public meetings.
At a sign from Kadjoro, the orchestra is silent. We take our places on the seats pointed out to us by the King, and the interview, to which we have for so long looked forward, commences.
"Welcome to my kingdom!" were the first words of Kadjoro. "You are the friends of my ally, the King of the Monbuttoos. That is sufficient for me, and I do not need any explanation of your plans."
"We, on the contrary," said de Morin, at once, "wish to inform you of those plans. We can have no secrets from one who has behaved in so generous and hospitable a manner towards us ever since we have been in his dominions."
"Speak," replied the King, "and I will endeavour to be of service to you."
"We quite believe you. To see you and hear you is to believe in your sincerity."
De Morin had expressed the opinion of all of us. At first sight we were drawn towards this savage, so superior to all those whom we had seen, even to the King of the Monbuttoos himself.
"Whatever you do, do not wound our touchy Munza by being too complimentary to his ally," said I to de Morin.
"Make your mind easy," replied my friend. "His turn will come."
Turning again towards Kadjoro, he resumed, aloud—
"We are in search of a white man, our father. He stayed for some time in this country, and we are come to you for news of him."
"Your father! The white man was your father?"
De Morin was fully alive to all the dangers of the situation, but, resolute as ever, he did not even take the trouble to enter into any explanation, lest by so doing he should arouse the suspicions of Munza, who was drinking in every word of the conversation. He hoped also, for reasons already explained, that the title of father, bestowed upon M. de Guéran, would pass unnoticed, or that in any case Kadjoro would not attach any importance to it.
He was not mistaken. The King evidently recalled to his mind the worn features of M. de Guéran, his long beard, his flowing locks, his countenance seared by severe illness, and, glancing at Madame de Guéran, young, charming, and with her colour heightened by the excitement under which she was labouring, he acknowledged to himself that she might well be the stranger's daughter.
Without, however, giving him time to utter a word, which might have been dangerous for us, de Morin went on to say—
"We have made a long and perilous journey to obtain an interview with you. We beg you, therefore, to tell us all you know about him who was your guest."
"Yes, he was both my guest and my friend," said the Malegga chief, in a tone almost of affection.
"Where is he?" asked de Morin, quickly. "Can he still be in your dominions?"
"No, no," said the King, sadly; "he left me long ago."
We all shared in the emotion now exhibited by Madame de Guéran. She had risen from her seat, and pale and trembling, but determined to know all as soon as possible, she herself questioned the African monarch through the medium of Nassar.
These questions were not, perhaps, put in the order in which I now write them, but the interview, so interesting to all of us, not excepting Munza, is to this day so vividly impressed on my memory, that I feel sure I do not forget a single incident, nor err, either as to the sense of the questions, or the answers to them, which were given without the slightest hesitation, and with the utmost candour.
"Is he who was your guest still living?" asked Madame de Guéran, abruptly.
"I do not know," was the reply. "Since the day he crossed my frontier, I have had no news of him."
"When did he leave you?"
Kadjoro made a calculation, and entered into some explanations with Nassar, from which we gathered that scarcely six months had elapsed since the departure of M. de Guéran.
"Which direction did he take on leaving you?"
"Towards the south, in the direction of the mountains."
"What country would he enter on crossing your frontier?"
"Ulindi."
"Is it large?"
"Yes; it extends as far as the mountains."
"What is the name of the King who rules over it?"
"It is not a King; it is a Queen—Queen Walinda, who has given her name to her kingdom and her subjects. They are called Walindis."
Nassar informed us that in Africa, when the name of a country begins withU, that of the inhabitants commences withWa.
"Do you think that this Queen has allowed our father to continue his journey?"
"No, I do not think so. She does not even allow her neighbours, or her allies like ourselves, to enter her kingdom."
"Nevertheless, from what you say, our father appears to have entered it?"
"Yes, against all my advice. But he would be made prisoner at once."
"You are sure of that?"
"It cannot have happened otherwise, for he Has not returned to my dominions."
"There would be no necessity for his returning, if he could succeed in crossing the mountains?"
"He could not cross them. They are the boundary of the earth; it ends there."
Instead of combating this error, de Morin said to the King—
"Then, if our father still lives, we shall find him amongst theWalindis?"
"No, you will never find him. You will be taken prisoners, as he has been, as soon as you set foot in the country."
"We will purchase the right of going through it," said I at once.
Nassar had scarcely time to translate these words before the King demanded an explanation; he could not grasp the meaning of my expression. In the districts where the ivory and slave merchants have not penetrated, the idea of securing a right of way by payment has not entered the minds of the natives; they consider that everybody is free to traverse the uncultivated districts, and, with few exceptions, look upon a visit from a stranger as a compliment. If, in the districts watered by the Nile and on the high road of the caravans, any tribute is exacted, it is simply because the slave merchants, fearing the loss of their prisoners, have adopted the custom of offering presents to the chiefs for the purpose of securing their good-will. For a long time the latter remained in ignorance of the reason why their wishes were thus anticipated, but they have since then taken kindly to the custom, and now display the greatest rapacity towards white men, all of whom they regard indiscriminately as traders in human flesh.
"The Queen of the Walindis," resumed Kadjoro, as soon as he understood what we meant, "will decline your presents, and will not allow you even to get as far as her palace."
"We will get there by force," said de Morin.
"It is evident that you do not know my neighbours," replied the King. "I am strong and powerful, but yet I pay them a tribute to prevent them making war on me."
"Their army, then, is more numerous than yours?"
"No, but the battalions of women of whom it is composed frighten my soldiers."
The King perceived our astonishment, and hastened to give Nassar the following details. At the commencement of his reign, the Walindis suddenly invaded his country on a cattle-stealing expedition. He had defended himself valiantly, and was on the point of gaining a decisive victory, when a numerous force of women, commanded by the Queen in person, appeared on the scene and, in a few moments, routed his whole army. These female warriors, of whose very existence he was ignorant, were young, for the most part lovely, and strong and brave to a degree. They did not waste any time in shooting arrows, or fighting at a distance; they came to close quarters at once, and committed fearful havoc with their steel pikes and long knives. It was impossible to seize them, or even to approach them at all closely; their foreheads, necks, waists, wrists, legs below the thigh, and feet above the ankle, were surrounded with iron rings barbed with sharp points a foot long, which served at once for offensive and defensive weapons. The King added that, whilst fightings they utter most terrifying cries, their eyes flash fire, and they foam at the mouth; they give no quarter, despise making prisoners, and, as soon as they have wounded an enemy, they despatch him. Consequently, these women inspire the Maleggas with unconquerable fear, and it was because of this fear that Kadjoro had come to the conclusion that he had better make a few prudent concessions to his neighbours, and purchase the alliance of their Queen, the lovely and invincible Walinda, as she is called in this Country.
"It seems to me," said de Morin, turning to us, "that in the heart ofAfrica we have found a second kingdom of Dahomey."
"And it seems to me," whispered Delange in my ear, "that I shall very soon find myself in the presence of my Venus in ebony."
If the Amazons, whose existence has just come to our knowledge are too formidable for us to make light of them, we must on no account allow it to be supposed that they cause us any alarm.
Consequently, de Morin, addressing the King, went on to say—
"I can quite understand that your troops, armed only with lances and clubs, are afraid of the Queen of the Walindis and her female warriors. But it need not be the same with us, because our arms enable us to keep the enemy at a distance, and so avoid the hand to hand conflicts which you describe as being so deadly."
"I know your arms," replied the King, "your fellow-countryman spoke to me of their effect. I know that they make thunder, but I also know that they cannot always make it. The time comes sooner or later when they are of no more use than these clubs of ours which you appear to despise."
M. de Guéran had evidently explained to Kadjoro, so far as such a thing was possible, the mechanism of fire-arms, and the negro king was fully aware of their uselessness without ammunition.
"You are quite right," replied de Morin, holding up his rifle, "in supposing that there is a time when this weapon can no longer kill. But a few moments alone would suffice to disperse or destroy the whole force of Walindis. Ask your ally how long it took to conquer the Domondoos after we appeared on the scene."
Kadjoro drew himself up. We had not convinced him.
"My neighbours in the south," said he, "are far more formidable than those in the north. I do not fear the Domondoos, but I do dread the Walindis. You may massacre one half of their array, and the remainder will exterminate you and yours. Your father knew their power and shared my fears."
"Which, by the way," replied de Morin, "did not prevent him from venturing into the midst of them alone. We cannot hesitate to do what he has done, more especially when his safety is at stake."
Kadjoro, obstinate as all negroes are, did not budge an inch.
"Your fellow-countryman was alone," he persisted, "and there was no reason to fear him; his life has, therefore, probably been spared. You are numerous and well-armed, and, consequently, they will kill you."
"Very well, they will kill us," exclaimed de Morin and Delange, simultaneously, my voice coming up behind like an echo.
Instead of admiring us, Kadjoro looked at us with a pitying air; with him wisdom and prudence predominated over enthusiasm. But the King of the Monbuttoos came to our rescue; if Kadjoro had the bump of obstinacy very strongly developed, his African brother was proud to excess, and de Morin at once made every effort to rouse that pride. Munza fell into the trap immediately, and, taking the King of the Maleggas aside, told him that he would never abandon the white people, who were his guests and his friends, but that he would march with them against the tribe which held their father in captivity.
"In that case you will be utterly annihilated," observed Kadjoro, calmly.
Nothing could have served our purpose better than this speech. Munza was furious, declaring that his army was invincible, and that he would soon prove it. If Madame de Guéran had not joined us in smoothing him down, he would have declared war, on the nail, against the King of the Maleggas in order to show his power. But, from that moment we could rely upon our powerful ally; he was determined to have a trial of strength with the Walindis. It is quite possible that the cunning Kadjoro was playing a similar game to our own; he was urging Munza on against his own inconvenient and dangerous neighbours, people whom he dared not attack, but whom his ally, led away by his pride, was bent on fighting. Whatever might be the result of the struggle, the King of the Maleggas had nothing to lose, and everything to gain; a defeat of the Monbuttoos would render them less exacting as regards an ally who had up to that time been treated by them as a vassal, whilst their success, on the other hand, would diminish the power of the Walindis, and, perhaps, do away with his paying any further tribute to them. Negro monarchs are, very frequently, rather clever politicians, and Kadjoro, more intelligent than his contemporaries, might, if the worst came to the worst, not only turn diplomatist, but be a grand success in that line.
In the course of one hour we had made a great step in advance; we had received the most positive information that, six months previously, the Baron de Guéran had started off in the direction of Ulindi and we had strong reasons for supposing that he was still in that territory, only a few days' march from us. Finally, Munza, who might very reasonably have declined to proceed any farther southwards, had decided, not merely from a desire to please Madame de Guéran, but impelled by his pride as a negro and a king, to accompany us, and, with us, attempt fresh adventures. It was no longer an effort to induce him to move onwards; on the contrary, we had our work cut out to limit his zeal, and tone down an eagerness, which, if applied in a wrong direction, would do us positive harm.
In reality, if, as Kadjoro asserted, his neighbours are formidable, Munza's army, notwithstanding our support, may be defeated and exterminated, and we may share its fate. In our interest, therefore, in that of Madame de Guéran—in short, on all accounts we must, if we can manage it, avoid coming to blows with this Venus in ebony, as Delange persists in calling her.
Madame de Guéran, whose influence over Munza was all the greater by reason of her never condescending to make use of it, undertook to preach prudence to the King, without, however, extinguishing all his warlike fire. She advised him to send to Walinda a regular embassy, charged with proposals for an alliance and a request for an interview. If the Queen assented, the army of the Monbuttoos would enter the neighbouring territory peaceably, and would assist us in our endeavour to liberate our compatriot. If, on the other hand, Walinda declined the alliance, that army would march against her, and the Europeans, with easy consciences, this time fighting on their own behalf, would render assistance to the Monbuttoos.
One difficulty, however, presented itself. How were Munza's ambassadors to react the Queen, in a country ever on the alert, always suspicious, and where the chiefs of districts had orders to treat all strangers as enemies?
Kadjoro helped us out of this dilemma. It was his time for paying the Walindis his annual tribute, and he offered to let his envoys accompany ours. Munza's officers would mingle indiscriminately with the Maleggas, would pass unnoticed in their midst, and in that way would reach the royal palace, situated at the other extremity of the kingdom, at the foot, according to all accounts, of the mountains. This offer was accepted, and we took a speedy leave of Kadjoro. Our departure was as simple as our arrival had been; a little music, a few shouts, and that was all. Whether the King of the Maleggas had a contempt for excessive pomp and show, or whether he was not in a position to display it, his reception of us was not to be named in the same breath with that vouchsafed by the King of the Monbuttoos, except that it was far more frank and cordial.
As soon as we got back to camp, de Morin joined me, and, taking his arm, I said—
"You are quite of opinion, are you not, that the despatch of Munza's ambassadors to Ulindi will not suffice for us? They are going to propose an alliance and an interview, very important, I admit, if M. de Guéran is a prisoner there, which is possible, probable even, but by no means certain. The great point with us is to find out whether the Baron is actually present in the neighbouring district, and to commit that task to somebody on whom we can rely."
"Precisely so," replied de Morin, "and I pushed on the business of the embassy in order to settle the question of M. de Guéran with as little delay as possible. If we receive news of his death, we shall then only have to get rid of Munza, and try to reach Zanzibar by some route more to the south, which will enable us to avoid these terrible Walindis. In that case, we might skirt the Blue Mountains and reach Lake Victoria by Ouando, without paying any attention to Lake Albert. For Delange's sake I shall be sorry to make thisdétour, for he is burning to see this Venus in ebony of his, but, before all things, I must look after our own safety. If, on the other hand, our envoy should find M. de Guéran a prisoner in the hands of the neighbouring tribe, we will endeavour to communicate with him, and get him to tell us what plan he may have formed for escape."
"Admirably conceived," said I, "but have you settled who this trusted envoy is to be? He must be brave, reliable, intelligent, devoted, and prudent. Who is there amongst us who unites in himself these indispensable qualifications?"
"Delange, you, and I," replied de Morin. "But we cannot ask the doctor to make such a sacrifice; it would be taking advantage of him. As for you, my dear Périères, though I detest you as my rival, I have the sincerest friendship for you, and I could not suggest your doing what I myself am incapable of undertaking. My devotion to Madame de Guéran stops at the point of making myself an object of ridicule."