"Ridicule?" I repeated. "I do not understand you. What do you mean?"
"What!" replied de Morin. "Cannot you see that, taking into consideration the hostile attitude of the Walindis, a white man could only form part of the proposed embassy by metamorphosing himself entirely, and passing for a Malegga or a Monbuttoo? Not a very difficult business, either; I would undertake to transmogrify myself in an hour into a savage, and the transformation would be a success, I assure you. But the fear of ridicule, as I have already told you, is precisely the thing that holds me back. I know what women are; there are certain impressions which they cannot get over. Madame de Guéran, as soon as she knew that I was going to set out alone to discover her husband, would exclaim—'What a splendid fellow that M. de Morin is, and how devoted!' But when I appeared on the scene, clean shaved, with ostrich feathers in my hair, powdered with cinders to darken my skin, still too white despite the efforts of the sun, tattoed with all the colours of the rainbow, three parts dressed in cow-hide breeches, with naked feet, a club in one hand, and a shield in the other, she would burst out laughing and show all her pretty teeth, and I should be for ever lost, as far as she is concerned. And her husband? Cannot you picture to yourself her husband refusing to take me for an European? I should have to say to him—'I am not a savage, as you think I am; I am a Parisian, M. de Morin, Rue Taitbout, near Tortoni's. I have been chasing you for the last six months, in company with your wife, whom I love. I am going back to her, give me some message to take with me—' No, my dear Périères, a thousand times no! Notwithstanding my devotion, I have not the courage to make myself so ridiculous, and I advise you to follow the example of my reserve. If, however, in spite of my advice, you choose to convert yourself into a savage—you will, perhaps, play the part more naturally than I should—I have nothing more to say, and I will let you go without displaying any great amount of annoyance. The friend will be grieved indeed, but the rival will rub his hands."
"Let the friend make his mind quite easy," I replied, "and do not let the rival be in too great a hurry to rejoice, I cannot, any more than you, afford to run counter to prejudice. Let us give up the idea of sacrificing ourselves, and turn our attention to finding somebody who will sacrifice himself in our stead, and allow us to travesty him."
"Let us think," said de Morin.
He thought for a moment, and then exclaimed—
"Eureka!"
"Who is it?"
"Miss Poles."
The idea of disguising Miss Poles as a savage was more amusing than practical. I remarked to de Morin that she would be in the same boat with ourselves; she lacked neither the courage nor the intelligence for such an adventure, but she would dread ridicule as much as we did. And besides this, I felt bound to point out that the scanty amount of costume allowed for the part would be another obstacle in the way.
"You see, my dear fellow," I continued, "that we must lose no time in finding a substitute for Miss Poles. Munza, as regards energy and promptitude of decision, has nothing of the negro about him. I can see him down below there in the midst of his officers. He has very likely made his choice of ambassadors by this time, and by to-morrow, if not to-night, they may be on the road. We must think again."
"What do you say to Nassar? He is trusty and devoted to us."
"He is a Dinka," I replied. "There would be considerable difficulty in passing him off as a Malegga or a Monbuttoo. These people cannot help betraying their nationality, because, to say nothing of other details, their gums, deprived, according to the custom of their country, of several teeth, would at once call attention to them. In addition to this, Nassar is proud of his so-called uniform, especially his boots. You would have some diflficulty in persuading him to leave those off, seeing that he would be afraid of losing hisprestige. Nassar is no more destitute ofamour-proprethan we are."
"There only remain," said de Morin, "our two Arab interpreters, Omar and Ali. The latter, especially, has given us many proofs of his devotion, courage, and intelligence. To him, as well as to you, I owe my rescue from bondage amongst the Bedouins of El-Hejaz."
"Happy thought!" I exclaimed. "Our brave Ali will do capitally. He has for a long time been complaining of his inaction; he is jealous of Nassar, who is, in these parts, the more useful of the two, and he will, I have no doubt, be thoroughly satisfied with our choice."
"But," observed de Morin, "he does not understand the dialect of the country."
"So much the better. Will not his sole duty consist of looking about him, making observations, and telling us what he has seen? It would be dangerous for him to question the Walindis about M. de Guéran; he would at once, in that case, rouse their suspicions, and the Queen must at all hazards be kept in ignorance that any search is on foot after her prisoner. We ought to rejoice over Ali's ignorance of the language. He will be mute—at all events until he meets M. de Guéran and can speak to him. He knows quite enough of French for that."
"You have convinced me," said de Morin. "Let us go to the Baroness, who is chatting, as you see, with Delange, and apprise her of our plan. If she approves, we must act without loss of time."
The same evening our interpreter, Ali, was in a position to pass as a native of the country. His olive tint would not have been suspected by a Malegga, and, on the score of tattooing, de Morin, who took that in hand, had succeeded admirably.
"Ah," said he, as he covered our interpreter's skin with suns, arabesques, birds, and animals, "how I should have enjoyed doing this on Miss Poles' back! It is really too cruel that an artist is not allowed to choose his own canvas."
Whilst de Morin was thus transforming an Arab into a Malegga, Delange and I drew up a letter intended for M. de Guéran, in case our envoy should meet him without being able to speak to him.
This note was couched in the following terms—
"An expedition, sent from Europe in search of you, is aware of your being a prisoner amongst the Walindis. Lose no time in joining it in the country of your former host, Kadjoro, or, if that is out of your power, send a line by our envoy to let us know how best we can rescue you."
We had settled with Madame de Guéran that her name was not to be mentioned, because if the Baron were to know that his wife, whom he believed to be in Paris, was so near him, he might be tempted, in order to join her, to commit some act of imprudence which would cost him his life.
The embassy, composed of ten Monbuttoos, thirty Maleggas, with whom went Ali, and a thousand oxen, sent by Kadjoro as tribute to Queen Walinda, started on the 10th of October. A month must elapse before their return, and that time was barely sufficient to accomplish the end de Morin had in view—to form a battalion capable of aiding us and reinforcing our escort. This body, according to our friend's idea, was to be composed of a hundred men, armed with rifles and revolvers. We had arms enough for such a number, and we looked to the King of the Monbuttoos to furnish us with the men. We had, hitherto, refused to let him have any of our reserve arms, because we were afraid that we might have to fight him in order to regain our liberty. This fear was still present with us, but it had to yield before a necessity that might soon be ours—that of coming to blows with the renowned and formidable people of Ulindi.
Munza, following our advice, chose, with the greatest care, from out his army a hundred tried men, who were placed under the direct orders of de Morin. The latter armed them, taught them how to use their rifles and revolvers, and gave them firing drill every day. In conjunction with our Nubians, they formed a very respectable battalion, quite capable of keeping the Walindis, male and female, in check. At the same time, calling to my recollection what I had learnt during the siege of Paris, I taught them battalion drill to a certain extent, including skirmishing, rallying on a given point, and such other evolutions as had not escaped my memory.
Kadjoro smiled as he saw all this going on. He began to admit, but only to himself, that his terrible neighbour, to whom he had just sent the flower of his flocks and herds, might, thanks to us, very probably become less formidable. But, as a man of prudence, he obstinately refused to allow his army to join that of Munza. He was both frank in his refusal, and logical in his reason for it.
"If I unite with you to fight the Walindis," he said to his African colleague, "you, as soon as the war is over, will hasten to return to your own country with your prisoners and your booty—voila tout, as far as you are concerned. The Queen will never revenge herself by attacking you in your dominions; you live too far away, and you are too powerful. But I, as her next-door neighbour, shall have to bear the brunt of her vengeance, and she will make me pay dearly for the damage I have done in concert with you. If, on the contrary, she defeats us, she will not rest until she has taken possession of my kingdom—a long-cherished wish on her part. I would rather that she did not recognize any of my soldiers in the ranks of your army. By these means she will have nothing wherewith to reproach me, and we shall continue to live on terms of good understanding."
Whilst we were doing our best to carry out the transformation of Munza's army, Madame de Guéran lived quite apart from us. The various phases of emotion through which she had passed, her continual state of apprehension, fear, and uncertainty, added, possibly, to the dryness of the season and its abnormal heat, completely shook her nervous system, and rendered her subject to an intermittent fever, which even quinine was powerless to subdue. She never went outside the tolerably spacious hut erected for her by Kadjoro, and only received us at long intervals. We respected the seclusion imposed upon her by her mental anxiety and bodily sufferings, and de Morin and I were quite men enough to understand the trouble she was in, and the struggle going on within her mind. Delange, who was confidant and doctor in one, said to us sometimes—
"She suffers terribly, I assure you; but she is a charming woman!"
A charming woman! We know that only too well for the sake of our peace of mind.
This moral prostration from which Madame de Guéran was suffering, and the fever which kept her a prisoner in her hut, presented, at all events, one advantage. Munza, whose passion had seemed to increase, a circumstance which placed us in a perpetual state of anxiety lest we should have to repress some folly on his part, became gradually calmer as his idol was no longer visible.
Love in a negro, there is no disguising the fact, is exclusively material; the heart is not concerned in it, and memory vanishes with the disappearance of the object beloved. These imperfect beings are cognizant of the transport of passion, but the infinite tenderness of love is a sealed book to them. Absence, which revives our love, extinguishes theirs; neither in thought nor in imagination can they to-day dwell upon the being they worshipped yesterday. Sickness, also, instinctively repels them; accustomed to look down upon a woman and to regard her as a beast of burden, she becomes to them a useless incumbrance and devoid of existence from the moment she succumbs to bodily suffering. I am persuaded that Munza, infatuated yesterday, and ready to become so again to-morrow, is to-day so calm and tranquil in mind that, if it were not for his pride and obstinacy, he would let us proceed on our journey without opposition.
November 6.—Our embassy cannot now be long in making its appearance, and we have decided to go as far as the frontier to meet it. We shall thus more speedily obtain the news we are so impatiently awaiting, and we shall be in readiness to enter the territory of the Walindis, either to fight them, or to have an interview with their Queen, as the case may be.
November 25th.—At last the caravan is in sight, just as we had given up all hope of ever seeing it again. Warned of its arrival, we have all of us emerged from our tents. Yes! There is no doubt about it. There is Ali in front. He recognizes us, and hurries to meet us. Why such haste, if he has no news of M. de Guéran? The Arab and the negro, when they are conscious of failure, dissemble and try to hide their want of success. Our interpreter must have some great news for us—our fate is on the point of being decided.
Ali, our interpreter, was with us in a few seconds.
"I see by your eyes," I exclaimed, as soon as he reached us, "that you have succeeded in your mission."
"Yes," replied the Arab triumphantly, "I have succeeded."
"You have discovered M. de Guéran?"
"I have found him, seen him, spoken to him."
"What did he tell you to say to us?"
"Nothing; he was not able to say a word, but I have something to give you."
He put his hand into the leather bag which hung from his waist-belt, pulled out a small sheet of paper, and handed it to us.
I opened it. Yes—it was the handwriting of M. de Guéran, the same handwriting as that of the letter given to us at Khartoum by Nassar, the same as that of the placard we found in the Domondoo hut.
I did not feel myself justified in reading the letter before Madame de Guéran had seen it. Though her health had improved from the moment she quitted Kadjoro's residence to accompany the army to the frontier, she was still too weak to leave the camp, and she was consequently ignorant of the arrival of the caravan. On Delange devolved the duty of telling her the news, which would have indeed been a hard task for de Morin or myself, and of giving her the letter sent by her husband.
When we were alone with Ali we began our enquiries. De Morin, very nervous, very much agitated, but, at the same time, very clear and precise in his questions, opened the ball.
"Why," he asked, "have you been so long away? You have been absent now for more than six weeks, and the journey there and back, according to what the King has told us, as a rule does not take more than a month. Did the Queen detain you, as prisoners, any time?"
"No," said Ali, "but her people would scarcely let us pass. All the chiefs of districts made us wait for orders before they would allow us to go on. Besides, the country is not at all like this; at every step we came across torrents flowing down from the mountains. Storms are of frequent occurrence at the end of the rainy season, and we lost a great deal of time in overcoming all these difficulties."
"Did you come across a large lake, marked on some of our maps as LakePiaggia?"
"No, I never saw it. There is no such thing in the country."
"Is the territory of the Walindis of great extent?"
"Yes, twenty days' march before you get to the royal palace."
"Is it a fact, as we have been told, that the palace is on the eastern frontier of the kingdom?"
"It is at the foot of a lofty and impassable mountain."
Our interpreter, no doubt, meant that mountain which the latestAfrican explorers call Mount Maccorly or M'Caroli.
"And behind that mountain," I asked, "are there others?"
"Yes, larger still, so large that they hide the sky. Their tops appear quite blue, and at night a great noise may be heard coming from their bowels, like the sound produced by a hundred torrents falling together from a lofty height."
"Those are the falls spoken of as being at the north end of Lake Albert," said de Morin to me. "The information given us by Ali leads to the inference that the residence of Walinda is situated at the foot of the Blue Mountains, in Lat. 2° N., and that Lake Albert is immediately behind those mountains. The noise heard by our interpreter evidently proceeds from the cascades, falls, or cataracts on the eastern shores of the lake, at the same elevation as Magungo, and called by certain geographers the Murchison Falls. All these details are valuable, for I certainly think," added de Morin, somewhat bitterly, "that we are now called upon to work on behalf of M. de Guéran by throwing him, as soon as possible, into the arms of his wife."
"My dear fellow," said I, "our first duty is to rescue our fellow-countryman. Suppose, for a moment, that we did not know him, and that, instead of being the husband of our companion, he were a stranger to us, should we hesitate for a moment to go to his rescue?"
"No," replied de Morin quickly, "certainly not. All Europeans who venture into these parts are mutually bound to aid and protect each other. Nevertheless," he added, after a momentary pause, "during the last few seconds, since the existence of M. de Guéran has been established, a queer, novel, perhaps unworthy idea has entered my head and worries me."
"Let us have your idea, by all means. Possibly I have one very like it."
"I guessed as much. You are asking yourself, as I am, whether M. de Guéran is really a prisoner with the Queen of the Walindis, endowed by common report with so much beauty, this Venus in ebony, as Delange will call her? You are tempted to believe that he is staying by her side of his own free will, and that he does not half like the idea of an expedition from Europe coming to interfere with his love-making?"
"I do not go quite to the same length that you do, my dear friend," I replied, smiling. "It is quite possible, indeed, that our compatriot has not always been insensible to the beauty of this female savage, and that she, on her side, is infatuated about the first white man she has ever seen, just as Munza is about the first white woman brought to his notice. This sort of thing is by no means rare in Africa. But a man of intellect like M. de Guéran, a Parisian, is not very likely to surrender the habits of a life-time, civilization, and a wife such as his, simply to spend his days in the society of a native of Ulindi! Depend upon it, I am right. Ask any Parisian you like who has visited Egypt, Palestine, and such-like places. M. de Guéran, whatever position he may occupy amongst the Walindis, is deserving of our sympathy. But, Ali, no doubt, can give us some information as to what that position is. Let us continue our cross-examination of him, and cut short our private reflections, which, after all, as you will admit, proceed from jealousy."
Having thus delivered myself, I turned towards our interpreter, and said to him—
"You were received by Queen Walinda?"
"Yes, sir; the caravan entered her palace, a mass of mud huts covered with branches."
"What did you think of her? Is she as pretty as everybody says she is?"
"Yes, and prettier still," replied the Arab quickly. "She is tall and majestic, with a light brown complexion, ruddy lips, teeth like ivory, and large eyes gleaming between the black fringe of her eye-lashes."
I was afraid that this enthusiasm might involve a waste of time, so I changed the subject.
"Was M. de Guéran with her," I asked, "when you saw him?"
"Yes, he never leaves her, or, really, she never leaves him. He walks by her side, and they are surrounded by fifty female warriors, all young, better made even than the Soudan women, supple as serpents, and—"
Ali, ever enthusiastic, was going to plunge into a fresh dissertation, but I stopped him.
"To come back to M. de Guéran," said I. "Did he appear to you to be in good health?"
"No, he was pale, with a hectic flush on his cheeks, and a disheartened look; he was evidently suffering from fever, for he walked with difficulty."
"Is the climate of Ulindi unhealthy?"
"Not in the northern portion of the kingdom, in the midst of the chains of hills we crossed; but a foreigner would find it so in the vast plain where the royal residence is situated. The surrounding mountains prevent the air from reaching it, and that causes a feeling of suffocation. I suffered more from the heat there than in the Nubian deserts."
I looked at de Morin, as much as to say to him, "You see, M. deGuéran is not quite as happy as you thought he was." Then, turning toAli, I asked—
"How did you manage to get near our fellow-countryman?"
"The Queen," he replied, "went right through our caravan, in order to make a closer examination of the animals we brought her. I took advantage of the opportunity to get close to the white man and whisper to him, 'your friends send me to you; they wish to deliver you; drop your arm next to me and open your hand. I have a paper to give you.' He started when he heard these words spoken in his native tongue, but he soon recovered himself, and, without saying a word, did as I asked him. At the same moment the Queen rejoined him and they went away together."
"You saw him later on?"
"Yes, when the caravan took leave of Walinda. I managed to get close to him again; he had recognized me, and made a sign to me. I understood from it that he was not able to speak to me, but that he had something to give me. Our two hands met; he shook mine, in token of gratitude, no doubt, and slipped between my fingers the paper I gave you."
"And that is all? He did not say a single word to you?"
"Not a word."
I turned towards de Morin, and said to him—
"You see now, my dear fellow, that M. de Guéran is really a prisoner, and watched more narrowly than he would be on the hulks."
We had now only to thank our brave Ali for his services, and to send him to Madame de Guéran, who, after having read her letter, would certainly wish to question him.
As he was going away, Delange came up to us, and asked us whether we had heard the Queen's reply.
"What reply?" we enquired.
Having for the past hour been exclusively occupied with M. de Guéran and his concerns, we had forgotten all about the embassy sent by the King of the Monbuttoos to the Queen of Ulindi. Delange told us that, after having chatted for a moment with the Baroness, and handed her M. de Guéran's letter, he had joined Munza. The latter had just received the report of his ambassadors, which was to the effect that the Queen absolutely declined either an alliance or an interview with him.
"I do not wish"—to use her own words—"the tribes from the north to enter my kingdom and bring their manners and customs with them. I do not go to them, and why should they come to me? An alliance with them is of no use to me; I am quite strong enough to defend myself against all my neighbours put together. Tell your master to return to his own dominions, and not to send me another embassy, because, if he does, he will never see it again; I will have every man in it put to death, from the first to the last."
"This reply," said Delange, "as you may well suppose, has exasperated Munza. He wants to cross the frontier at once, and attack the insolent Queen of the Walindis."
"We must not prevent him," replied de Morin. "It is our only method now of rescuing the Baron."
"Perhaps he himself may have pointed out another," I suggested. "Let us go to Madame de Guéran; she must have finished her reading by this time, and will let us see what her husband says."
Without further delay we bent our steps towards the hut occupied byMadame de Guéran in the middle of the encampment.
Miss Poles was waiting for us.
"The Baroness," said she, "will receive you whenever you wish, but she begs you first of all to glance over these papers. She has just read them, and says that they are addressed to you rather than to her, since M. de Guéran has no idea that she is in Africa."
I took the papers, and drew de Morin into my tent.
"I feared," said I, "that Madame de Guéran would refuse to receive us to-day, and I was astonished at her message."
"You were wrong to fear anything of the kind. The Baroness knows very well that though, as Frenchmen, we may rejoice over the actual and officially-reported resurrection of M. de Guéran, we are rather sorry for it from another point of view. She knows also that we shall bring with us somewhat gloomy countenances, and, with her usual bravery, she wishes to confront us as soon as possible, and arm herself against our despair. Moreover, we must not forget that ever since we left Khartoum, her position towards us has been as open and clearly-defined as possible; she has not concealed from us her conviction that she should find her husband again, that she did not believe herself to be a widow, and that, instead of having to kneel at the tomb of a dead man, she hoped soon to throw herself into the arms of a living one. She begged us not to follow her; it was our idea not to leave her; so that it is not her fault if we have cherished the hope that M. de Guéran might be dead and buried."
"You are a walking hand-book of logic," I replied, determined not to be behind de Morin in the matter of forced spirits. "Let us study the revelations of theci-devantcorpse."
These revelations were written in pencil on some sheets of paper torn out of the self-same note book which had already on several occasions been used by the Baron in his communications.
I have copied these notes into the journal of the expedition, and not into the private memorandum book wherein I jot down, every day, my own personal impressions.
"From the bottom of my heart I thank the European expedition, which, after having so courageously set out in search of me, is to-day bent on rescuing me. But I cannot join it in the Malegga territory, nor can I permit it to come to my aid in Ulindi.
"Flight is out of the question, for all the inhabitants of the country are, in a way, my gaolers. They know that the Queen intends to keep me prisoner, and nobody would dare to oppose her will.
"Three months ago I attempted to escape, and I got as far as five leagues in the direction of the mountains. On the day after I started all Walinda's guards were despatched in pursuit of me, and discovered my hiding-place. I was conducted back to the royal residence with every mark of respect, but the whole of the villages through which I had passed, and where I was supposed to have received hospitality, were burnt by order of the Queen, and all their inhabitants put to death. More than three hundred beings were massacred. I have no longer any right to escape.
"Neither do I think that I have any right, for the sake of regaining my liberty, to expose Europeans to certain death. The expedition, which so generously offers me its assistance, has already overcome so many obstacles, and surmounted so many and great dangers, that it deems itself capable of emerging safe and sound out of a fresh adventure. It is mistaken; the Walindis do not in any way resemble the other tribes which inhabit the north. They are stronger and more dangerous than the most numerous and most warlike tribes on the African continent. A day, perhaps an hour, will suffice for them to crush a caravan, notwithstanding the bravery of its soldiers, and the terror caused by fire-arms.
"Two vices, carried to excess, sensuality and sloth, appear to have developed the warlike instincts of this tribe. Determined not to cultivate their ground, more irregular, be it known, than the neighbouring districts, disinclined to breed cattle, hunters and fishers without any natural bent in that direction, but gluttons to excess, and greedy of vegetables, fruits, meat, and fish, the Walindis have gained a gradual reputation for being able to live at the expense of their neighbours. Every inhabitant of the country has turned soldier so as to avoid becoming a husbandman or a shepherd.
"An hereditary and despotic monarchy for a long time presided over the destinies of this tribe, and transmitted, from reign to reign, certain traditions and customs, having, for their object, the maintenance of the warlike spirit of the people. Thus it happened that a prince, acting on the ideas of his predecessors, formed a corps of amazons, which later on became a regular army. These women, enrolled at the age of twelve, are put through a course of training and exercise, which develops their muscles, renders them wonderfully active, and fits them to undergo any amount of fatigue and to brave every danger. One of their exercises consists of hurling themselves, entirely naked, against a village, defended by fascines of sharp thorns and surrounded by gigantic cacti, and taking it by assault. It is a species of petty warfare far more dangerous than ours, where every combatant leaves strips of flesh behind her, if she does not sustain, as is frequently the case, severe wounds.
"When they attain the age of fifteen, these young girls, by that time converted into robust women, with large shoulders and hardy limbs, active and supple to a degree, are incorporated into the army, which is composed of five battalions, that is to say, five or six thousand warriors. Their weapons are terrible; arrows dipped in a deadly poison, and iron points, like bayonets, which protect their bodies and render their hugs and embraces mortal.
"It is impossible to give any just idea of the discipline prevailing amongst them; the most trivial faults are punished in the severest manner, death being continually decreed. As for rewards, they are eagerly sought after, and, in the case of the women, consist simply of the right to marry. This is, in their idea, the supreme recompense for their fatigue, their sufferings, and their courage. To obtain it, they must have killed an enemy; the most rigorous celibacy is imposed on those who have not fulfilled this condition. As soon as their efforts are crowned with success, they no longer form part of the active army, but belong to a sort of sedentary militia, constituting the internal police of the country. Their daughters, unless they are deformed, in which case the poor little things are pitilessly massacred, are destined later on to become amazons like their mothers were.
"Women, therefore, are a formidable element of power amongst the Walindis, and it followed, very naturally, that one day, having found out their superiority over the men, they determined to be governed by a Queen instead of a King. This idea, as far as I can learn, was put in force about twenty years ago, the reigning Queen, Walinda, having succeeded, without any masculine interruption, six other sovereigns of her sex. Her eldest daughter, the heiress to the throne, is being brought up in the midst of the amazons, whose labours and dangers she shares. She has no rivals in the shape of brothers to fear, because all the male children of the Queen are smothered on the day they are born. This ostracism, applied to our sex amongst the Walindis, is confined to the throne and the royal dynasty. The government of the various districts is entrusted to men; the male sex has also its army, less formidable than that of the amazons, and inferior in discipline, but far above the armies of other tribes.
"This information, which I beg the European expedition to transmit, in my name, to our various Geographical Societies, will, I trust, cause my fellow-countrymen to abandon their designs. I intreat them to give up all attempt to rescue me. In my soul and my conscience I feel that they can do nothing for me.
"Let me die in this country, where I have already accomplished some good, where I hope to do more. Walinda keeps me a prisoner, I admit; rather than let me leave her dominions, she would put her whole tribe to death. But when my liberty is not in question, I exercise a serious influence over her mind. She is gradually getting rid of her barbarism. I have already succeeded in inducing her to abolish many bloody customs. I have experienced the joy of saving hundreds of lives, and I trust to save far more.
"If you had only seen the horrible spectacles at which I had to be present during the first part of my stay here! Under the pretence of sacrificing to the Gods, that is to say, to the hideous serpents elevated by the priests and fetish-mongers, what rivers of blood have been set flowing under my very eyes! One of these fêtes—heaven save the mark—lasted a whole week, the Queen, surrounded by her personal guard, presiding at it. On the first day a hundred prisoners were led out on to a platform raised in front of the palace. They were seated in huge baskets, thrown together pell-mell, men and women alike, their knees forced up to their chins, their arms bound tightly across their chests, and their mouths stopped with leaves. At a sign from Walinda, the crowd drew near. I cannot give any idea of the excitement, the gestures, the contortions, and the ferocity of this mob. The joy depicted on every face! The voluptuous looks of the amazons! With craning necks and chests pressed against the platform, with every nerve in their bodies vibrating with pleasure, they hungered for their prey, and gloated over the sufferings of their victims, their nostrils quivering and their sensual mouths half open.
"At a fresh signal the drummers execute a prolonged roll, and a hush succeeds the former din; the Queen, reclining indolently on her mats, half rises, and the sacrificing priests, who were awaiting this signal, commence their office. They drag each prisoner singly from the baskets, bring him to the front of the platform, show him to the crowd, and strangle or behead him forthwith. Each execution is welcomed with cries of joy and frenzied shouts; the spectators leap, dance, roll themselves on the ground, and become a maddened herd, whilst the amazons, delirious with delight, drag themselves along through the dust to kiss the feet of the Queen.
"Well, I hope, nay, I believe that there will be no more such sacrifices! I have prayed the Queen to allow, to ordain no more. I have awakened in her breast some feelings of humanity; she has promised to spare me these hideous sights she even appears to be conscious of their atrocity.
"Let me be! Let me save fresh victims, and pursue the task imposed on me by circumstances. Do not interrupt me in my work of regeneration, my efforts towards gentleness and peace. The good that I can do in this country will, perhaps, compensate for the wrong I have done in leaving those who were dear to me, those whom I never ought to have left.
"Adieu! adieu! my dear friends. Prom the bottom of my heart I thank you for your efforts to find me, and your plans for my rescue. They are, alas! beyond realization. It is impossible to save me, nor do I wish it."
When we had finished reading these notes I turned to de Morin and said to him—
"Does the Baron de Guéran remind you of Ladislas Magyar?"
"I remember the name," replied, de Morin, "but I cannot recall any circumstances in connection with him."
"He was a Hungarian explorer," I replied, "employed in a house of business in Benguela, a country of western Africa. His business obliged him, in 1849, to take a trip into the interior, where he had the misfortune to take the fancy of Ozoro, the lovely daughter of the king of Bihé, who compelled him to marry her. As Ladislas Magyar was never seen again, it was supposed that the jealousy of his wife, and thesurveillanceput in force by her over him, kept him away from his family and his country."
"By quoting this historical and geographical incident," said de Morin to me, "do you wish to advance the opinion that M. de Guéran is the happy lover of Venus in ebony? When I suggested that a moment ago, you scouted the idea."
"Not at all, my dear fellow, you quite misunderstood me. On the contrary, I agreed with you; I merely maintained that the charms of Walinda would not be powerful enough to induce a Parisian to settle down and naturalize himself in Africa. M. de Guéran's letter strengthens me in that conviction. After all, the Baron is flesh and blood like ourselves, capable of becoming, either by force or fancy, the lover of the Queen. But this weakness would not prevent his hankering after freedom. He is perfectly sincere, rely upon it, when he speaks of the work of regeneration which he has in hand. M. de Guéran, theprotégé, the godson, I believe, of Livingstone, has in his veins some drops of that African missionary's blood. A feverish longing for discovery was not the only motive which induced him to leave his country and his beloved wife; he has also, and above all, the fervour of an apostle, or perhaps, a martyr. Do not destroy my illusion; I experience a certain pleasure in forming this high opinion of the husband of Madame de Guéran. I absolutely refuse to believe that such a right-minded, clear-headed woman would have, of her own free will, chosen a mere seeker after adventures."
"So far from trying to do away with your illusion, as you call it, I share it. I look upon M. de Guéran, the husband, as my personal enemy, and I always place my enemies on a pedestal so that I may gain all the more credit for upsetting them when I get the chance. Besides, it is not the first time that my thoughts have turned upon M. de Guéran. I often heard him spoken of in France, and I formed a high opinion of him. I respect his memory, and should like to admire his conduct. He is a missionary, an apostle, a martyr, I admit, but he is also a rather queer specimen of humanity,blaséwith Parisian life and European customs. He knows all the secrets of our countries, and he must needs dive into the mysteries of another continent. He is quite comfortable, believe me, in the midst of this menagerie of wild beasts called amazons, and by the side of this splendid, ferociously amorous queen, whose lord and slave he is at one and the same time."
"Our opinions," I replied, "are not so far apart after all. M. de Guéran is a working missionary, but a layman, if I may so express myself, without any religious 'call;' he does good, civilizes savages, and preaches Christian morality. But he knows also how to mingle the profane with the sacred, and he manages to pass the period of his apostolate as pleasantly as possible. So far we agree. When, however, he speaks of the dangers which lie before us amongst the Walindis, and the utter impossibility of rescuing him, do you believe that he is sincere?"
"I do. His information is strictly correct. He is convinced that we shall be crushed, smashed to pieces, or cut up into little bits, if we try to save him; but he is mistaken. In his idea, our expedition differs in no way from any other; we are depending on ourselves alone, as indeed we had to do for a long time, and our caravan consists of a hundred bearers and a weak escort—that is his idea. He could not know by intuition that we have at our disposal a hundred and fifty soldiers, armed with European rifles, and more than five thousand men disciplined by us, and roused to fanaticism by their King."
"Then, according to you, under these circumstances we should pay no attention to his warnings and his prayers?"
"Certainly not. Moreover, allow me to observe that if it suits M. de Guéran to plant himself in Africa, to establish there his electoral freehold, and to die there, we are not bound in the same way. We want to get back again to our own country; one route only is open to us— that towards the south, and we are going that way. If we come across the Baron in Ulindi, so much the better, or so much the worse for him, but go that way we must and will. Do you follow me?"
"I entirely agree with you. M. de Guéran is a mere accessory. In saving ourselves we may possibly save him."
"Precisely so, and in that way he will have nothing to thank us for. That pleases me all the more, for I confess that his gratitude would annoy me slightly."
We might have added that even if we wished to avoid the Walindis and retrace our steps, King Munza would prevent us by insisting on our following him. Our conversation was scarcely at an end, when we heard loud shouts proceeding from the Monbuttoo camp, and emanating, apparently, from the entire army. Whilst we had been discoursing, Munza had taken an innings too. He had called together his troops, and, following the invariable custom of African chiefs, had made a sort of proclamation to them. He narrated his grounds of complaint against the Queen of the Walindis, expatiated with great skill upon the riches of her kingdom and the beauty of the women inhabiting it, and asked his soldiers if they would not like to get possession of the riches and make a razzia amongst the inhabitants.
The army replied, as armies generally do to the addresses of their commanders, by loud applause. "Ee, Ee, tchupy, tchupy, Ee, Manza, Ee," resounded on every side, the drums and trumpets began their horrid din once more, bows and lances were waved in the air, and the Monbuttoos, without waiting for marching orders, burnt their camp and made ready to advance against the enemy.
We were obliged to calm this excitement, and prevail upon Munza not to start until the following day; we had several preparations to make, and it appeared to us a very dangerous proceeding to cross the frontier at nightfall.
When the hour of departure was settled, we had to apprise Madame de Guéran of our proceedings. She was waiting for us. As soon as she saw us she came forward, and, without either hesitation or embarrassment, held out her hand.
"The doctor tells me," she said, "that in spite of the warnings of M. de Guéran you are bent upon making an attempt to rescue him?"
"No," said de Morin; "there you are mistaken. We are not going to rescue anybody; we are only going back to Paris by the shortest possible way."
"No other is open to us," I added, "unless we go back by the way we came, and take up our abode amongst the Monbuttoos for the remainder of our existence."
"You may possibly succeed," she replied, with a smile, "in deceiving yourselves, and being mistaken as to the motives which actuate you, but I know you, and for some time past have formed my estimate of your courage, your generosity, and your self-denial. Depreciate yourselves, if you like, I know what value to place upon you, and you will ever have in my heart the large place which you deserve. I accept this fresh proof of your devotion, and I do not feel inclined even to thank you for it. One does not thank men like you, one admires and esteems them."
The arrival of Delange cut short this conversation.
"Give me the benefit of your advice," he exclaimed, "for I am terribly puzzled about Miss Poles. She has just been to me, in my tent, in a state of the greatest excitement. 'Doctor,' she cried, 'Doctor, protect me, I beseech you, from myself.'"
"Good heavens!" said I; "what danger is she in?"
"After much beating about the bush, and an immense amount of maidenly hesitation, she ended by confessing that she was madly in love with Kadjoro."
"We suspected as much," said do Morin; "but, my dear Delange, we hand her over to your tender mercies with every confidence."
"No, no, never!" exclaimed Delange. "Oh, what a mistake I made in coming with you instead of Dr. Desrioux! When I think that on this 25th of November, 1873, whilst we are menaced with so many dangers, he is seated quietly by a nice fire, with his friend Pommerelle at his side, and that they are both sticking pins on maps of Africa, following us from tribe to tribe, with their feet on the fender—"
"Oh, bother," said de Morin. "Very likely they are not following us any longer, but have forgotten all about us."
Madame de Guéran, who was present and had smilingly listened toDelange's rhapsody, thought it high time to interfere in defence ofDesrioux.
"He has not forgotten us," said she; "and if it had not been for his mother, whom he would not leave, he would have been with us, and would have shared our dangers."
November 26th.—The sun is just rising in all its radiant glory. The army of the King of the Monbuttoos is already on the march, and we are off after it.
The King of the Maleggas only left us at the farthest extremity of his kingdom, and very sorry we were to part with this intelligent, humane, and, relatively speaking, civilized chief, who has behaved so well to our caravan. He, too, had tears in his eyes as he warmly shook hands with us, and for a long time we could see him following us with his gaze as we went farther and farther away from him. Miss Poles, of course, assumed that all this was intended for her, and, by way of reply, sent countless kisses through the intervening air. But Delange, notwithstanding his protests, had constituted himself the guardian of this impressionable creature, and he had taken very good care to confine Miss Poles to aerial osculation.
Ali has not misled us; the country through which we are passing does not in any way resemble that of the Maleggas. No more pasture land, no more cultivation, no more pretty little villages nestling among wooded slopes; torrents, rocks, and sharp-pointed stones have replaced all these. We are evidently upon an old spur of the mountain range already visible in the horizon. Some severe volcanic shock must have produced this effect in days gone by; a portion of the mountain must have been detached, in the first instance, and subjected afterwards to a leveling process which has brought about the stony, unequal, deeply indented ground over which we have been passing to-day.
But vegetation is so luxuriant and irresistible in these parts that superb trees raise their heads amidst weird and jagged ridges, and palms, with their bare stems and fan-like foliage, stand side by side with aloes on the banks of the torrents.
The temperature, in this semi-desert, is stifling; there is but an imperceptible line of shadow at the foot of the rocks, and the earth seems to faint under the burden of the heat. Our army winds slowly, like a huge serpent, along the turnings and twistings of the road. The men march in silence, step by step, rifles in hand, and ready for any emergency. A scouting party has been organized by de Morin to warn us of coming danger, and the army is composed of several battalions, subdivided into companies. We occupy the centre of this force with our own personal escort, and the Monbuttoos whom we have trained in the use of the rifle.
Munza, still suffering from his wound, is close to us, carried on a shield. Madame de Guéran reclines in a hammock slung from large poles, borne by eight Nubians, who advance with measured step. Delange, de Morin, and I are on foot, the last horse we had having been attacked in the Malegga country by thetsetse, a fly whose bite, though harmless to human beings and wild animals, is fatal to horses.
Finally, Joseph, induced by his natural indolence to prolong his period of convalescence, is carried on the back of an ox, converted for the nonce into a beast of burden. The flocks and herds follow after, and they are of considerable dimensions, thanks to the generosity of Kadjoro. We cannot count upon receiving any hospitality at the hands of the Walindis, and we have taken our precautions accordingly. Our caravan and the army generally are plentifully supplied with cattle and grain, for we have come to an arrangement with Munza that there shall be no plundering until we are attacked.
However, there are at present no symptoms of hostility; nobody opposes our advance; no one flies at our approach. On the contrary, in front of every village (we go round them instead of passing through them) the inhabitants assemble to see us pass.
Has Queen Walinda changed her mind about us, or is she at this moment collecting her forces and waiting until we have advanced farther into the interior of her country to attack us? This latter supposition is the more probable one.
The natives of this district are evidently conscious of their strength, and are not tormented by a thousand and one fears on the approach of strangers. Consequently, when we see them gathered together, it often happens that Delange, de Morin, and I leave the army for the purpose of making a more minute inspection of them.
They are a fine race, superior even to the Maleggas, whose physical attractions have already commanded our admiration. Their facial angle is strictly correct, the forehead rather wide, the lips thick but not swollen, the teeth good and even, and if their noses are not aquiline they are, at all events, delicately rounded. The most complete nudity appears to be obligatory throughout the entire tribe, a decree of banishment having apparently been pronounced against the slightest strip of hide, or the minutest leaf. Some sovereign, in order to give his people full liberty to develop themselves and spread out unfettered, must have decreed a sumptuary law on the most radical lines.
We are not yet in the presence of the regular amazons, those who, according to the report of M. de Guéran, form part of the active army; we only see here and there the sedentary ones, national guards at the disposal of the chiefs of the various districts. Nevertheless, these second-class women, if I may call them so, would be eagerly sought after as models by all our sculptors. Their necks are well set on spreading shoulders, their limbs are muscular and admirably proportioned, and the play of their muscles is very marked.
"They are superb," says Delange, always enthusiastic over the human form divine in living bronze. "The natives of this country are evidently daughters of Venus, and that goddess of antiquity must have had amongst her numerous train of admirers some negro deity who has been discreetly ignored in the Mythology."
As is the case with several other tribes, the women of Ulindi, disdaining all clothing and ornament, give way to considerable luxury in the manner of dressing their hair. Their thick, abundant tresses, curly rather than woolly, are restrained by a fillet, or network of bark. Instead of falling over the temples, the neck, or the shoulders, all the plaits and straggling locks are gathered together on the top of the head, and rise one above the other until they form a thick pad of hair, a species of extremely solid cushion, capable of resisting any sword cut, however well directed. The majority of these new-fangled helmets are stained with red ochre, a natural dye obtained from the clay deposited by the streams in the ravines of the country. Some coquettes also dye their eyelashes and eyebrows with this ochre, and from a distance they look like red-haired negroes, a combination which nature, notwithstanding her eccentricities, never allows.
We managed, also, to gain access to some of the huts, surrounded by three circular walls like regular bastions, and surmounted by a spherical roof made of rushes bound together by a fine, flexible sort of grass. As soon as you have stooped down and made your way on all fours through the aperture which serves as a door to these huts, you experience an indefinable sense of enjoyment; to the equatorial heat outside succeeds a most refreshing coolness. In a moment, however, you are anxious to get out again, and make for the door, or hole, to speak more correctly. This arises from the circumstance that two or three brands, placed in a corner of the cabin, are kept continually smoking in order to drive away the mosquitoes and dry the skins which curtain the walls of the hut. I saw many lion skins, there being numbers of those animals, so we were told, in the neighbouring districts. Against these the amazons wage a continual warfare, because in the chances of the chase, as well as of war, they can gain the husband, the reward of their bravery.
December 8th.—For twelve days we have been marching in Ulindi, and still have no news of the Queen! It might be supposed that she was either entirely ignorant of our arrival in her dominions, or that she does not condescend to bother her head about us. But there is evidently some scheme on foot; the chiefs of these districts fly at our approach for fear we should question them. All the able-bodied men, and all the women capable of fighting have disappeared from the villages. There only remain the children and old men, who, in fear and trembling, make all sorts of grimaces instead of answering our questions. An appalling void has been created all around us.
We shall soon find out the answer to this terrible riddle, for Ali tells us that we are scarcely three days' march from the royal residence. Moreover, the mountains, which serve as the south eastern frontier of Ulindi, rear themselves up about a dozen leagues from us. We can see their crests, and distinguish every bend in them. In the foreground, and in the centre is Mount Maccorly or M'Caroli, from fifteen to eighteen hundred feet high; behind it are two long chains, one behind the other, whose peaks are lost in the clouds. They lie almost due N.N.E. and S.S.W., and extend for about thirty leagues.
Our telescopes are not only levelled towards this distant horizon; they are turned in all directions and scan every feature of the landscape. We ourselves do duty as scouts, and we do not allow the army to advance without reconnoitring at short intervals. This army, moreover, is a source of astonishment to us. Is it conscious of the danger it runs, and does it obey us instinctively? Has the discipline we have attempted to introduce into it had a great effect on these savages? Or is it reserving its strength for a grandrazziaof lovely prisoners, and a meal off the most appetizing of them? Whatever may be the reason, not a soul strays from the line of march we mark out in advance; there is no quarrelling; the natives and their dwellings are alike respected. We are indeed glad of it; let the battle come—we have right on our side.
Of all the Monbuttoos, Munza, who ought to set an example of calmness and self-possession, is certainly the least tractable and the most excited. If it had not been for Madame de Guéran, who is occupied incessantly in soothing him, he would already have burnt a village or two, and massacred a goodly number of natives. His inaction weighs upon him, the unknown unnerves him, the utter silence and void around us, which are day by day becoming more marked, make him uneasy. He longs, even at the risk of imprudence, to emerge from out the profound night in which we now are. As soon, too, as he again saw Madame de Guéran, who is regaining her strength, as soon as he could be by her side, and she could speak to him, his insane passion appeared to return in all its strength.
Good heavens, what a situation! If we are attacked and conquered by the Walindis, it is death! If we are victors, we shall have to fight another battle with Munza to regain our freedom—and we have armed him against us! Eighty of his picked men are in possession of rifles and revolvers, all his troops have now some idea of fighting, and he is in a position to command them. We have taught him all we know! De Morin imparted to me, in confidence, these fears and, heaven knows, I share them.
Delange continues to deplore, very cheerfully all the same, the filial affection of Dr. Desrioux, which led to his taking that loving son's place. But, above all, he envies Pommerelle who, after having risked his life once as far as Monaco, has not hit upon the happy idea of journeying two thousand leagues farther to bring us reinforcements and cigars.
"He is a selfish egotist," says Delange. "He prefers whispering soft nothings into the ear of that questionable flame of his, who will hook him in the end! And he will have missed seeing Ulindi! A country of adorable, but unapproachable women!"
Miss Poles utters no sound; her thoughts, her regrets, and her amorous despair drive away all fear. She is marching on to death with her eyes shut. Perhaps she courts it! Without Kadjoro, life is wearisome!
Joseph, on the contrary, is fully alive to the situation, and protests as vehemently as his fat will allow him to do. But de Morin disposes of him very quickly by informing him that he is quite at liberty to return alone to the Rue Taitbout.
December 11th.—About five o'clock this morning I left my tent to look about me. Large, confused bodies of people are moving on the rising ground which surrounds us on every side. The army of the Walindis has taken advantage of the night to advance towards us, and is now endeavouring to close in upon us.
The journal of the European expedition comes to an abrupt close on the 11th December. That is to say, the notes taken by M. Périères are so concise that they are not sufficient for the exigencies of our tale. In order to give a more detailed account of the events which followed on each other with such rapidity, and hastened thedénouementof this lengthy history, we have had recourse to certain information subsequently obtained from those who were best qualified to enlighten us.
M. Périères, as soon as he had satisfied himself about the appearance of the army of the Walindis, hurried himself off to warn MM. de Morin and Delange.
"Bravo!" said the latter. "This style of thing is much more to my taste. There will be an end of the business now."
"We shall be attacked at sun-rise," said de Morin. "That is the way the black tribes, when they make war, love to salute that luminary. Quick, let us rouse the camp and to arms!"
"Then you do not see," asked Périères, "any means of avoiding this battle, which threatens to be a terrible one?"
"I see nothing but fighting for it," replied M. de Morin. "And it is not for want of thinking, I can assure you, because, for a long time, I have foreseen what has come to pass this morning."
"Suppose we send a flag of truce to the Queen?"
"She will receive it with a flight of arrows, and, besides, what are our envoys to say to her?"
"They can say that the army of the Monbuttoos has not been guilty of any excesses in the territory of the Walindis, that it has respected both the inhabitants and their property, that it has behaved more like an ally than an enemy, and that it makes fresh proposals for an alliance."
"Well! I agree to a last attempt, but only on condition that we send our own proper ambassadors. As white men, we may possibly have some influence. But if we are attackeden route, if we are killed before we can reach the Queen, or if we are taken prisoners, for we must not place too much reliance on her forbearance, or on her respect for flags of truce—you will admit that, will you not?—what will become of Madame de Guéran, of our caravan, of Munza, and of his army without us?"
"In fact," said the doctor, "the presence of both of you is not only precious in the extreme but also indispensably necessary, for your death or disappearance would spread discouragement through the ranks of the Monbuttoos and the Nubians. But I am not so generally necessary. I could die or be made prisoner without any very great inconvenience, and I offer to make my way to Walinda alone. Oh I don't go into raptures, you may postpone your admiration. At this moment my prevailing feeling is curiosity. I have for a long time been burning with a desire to find myself face to face with this lovely Queen, whose godfather I am, seeing that I have christened her with the name of Venus in ebony. I want, and speedily too, to see her beauty for myself, because one of our bullets may disfigure my godchild at any moment, and convert a pretty woman into a mere corpse. I will therefore set out alone and unarmed; that will be the more prudent course. So let us find out with our telescopes where she is, for I confess to not relishing the idea of searching for her through the ranks of that vast army."
MM. de Morin and Périères did not attempt to turn the doctor from his purpose. Being themselves quite capable of acting as he was doing, they considered his conduct as perfectly natural. Though they did not expect very much from their friend's proceedings, they yet felt that some attempt ought to be made to obviate the frightful massacre, the wholesale butchery that was on the eve of taking place. They gave Delange no instructions whatever, not quite knowing what to tell him to do, and relying on that intelligence and imperturbable coolness of which he had so often given such proofs.
Whilst the bearer of the fresh flag of truce was quietly making his way towards a hillock about five hundred yards distant, lighted up by the earliest rays of the rising sun, and seeming to be the central point of the line of battle arrayed against us, MM. de Morin and Périères, without loss of time, carried out a plan they had just hit upon.
The ground upon which they had passed the night, and which in all probability was destined to serve as the battle-field, resembled a large, oblong amphitheatre, surrounded on the north, east, and west, by gradually sloping hills, and shut in, on the south, by a mountain about eighteen hundred feet high.
Périères had conceived the idea of resting the army against this last mentioned rampart, and cutting a deep trench in front of it. Thanks to this plan of defence, the Walindis would not be able to surround their enemies, as would have been the case had the latter remained in the centre of the open plain. At the same time, the European caravan and a portion of the Monbuttoo army would be protected by a fortification where, should they not succeed in defeating the Walindis, they might make a last desperate stand.
Whilst the soldiers and bearers, and, indeed, everybody who was capable of wielding an axe or tearing up the ground with his hands, were working for the common safety, de Morin was engaged in a careful survey of the mountain which rose up before him.
"What a nuisance it is," said he, "that this splendid wall is insuperable! If we could only get past it we could save ourselves without having to strike a blow, we could escape from the territory of the Walindis, and gain Lake Albert."
"Let us blow it up," replied Périères, laughing. "It is very likely stopping up the mouth of some extensive pass."
"My dear fellow," said de Morin. "I labour under a very decided impression that very soon we shall find another, and a better use for our powder."
The doctor was, meanwhile, composedly continuing his walk across the plain alone and unattended. He had been asked to take Nassar with him, but he distinctly refused, on the ground that if he saw the Queen he should see M. de Guéran also, and that he preferred having the Baron as interpreter.
He was not mistaken; his fellow countryman came to his rescue. Received at first by a heavy shower of arrows, Delange soon noticed that the missiles became fewer and farther between. They ceased at last altogether, and when he was about a hundred yards from the group he was attempting to reach, some one stepped forward and came to meet him.
It was a man about forty years of age, tall, thin, and with a slight stoop. Despite his sunburnt skin, unkempt hair, long beard, and the tattered garments which barely covered him, you could tell from the whole contour of his face, his marked and aristocratic features, and his general bearing, that you were face to face with a man of birth and breeding.
He walked towards Delange, and, raising a cap, saved from the general shipwreck of his belongings, he said in French and in a broken voice—
"You, sir, are a member of that expedition which has so generously devoted itself to searching after me?"
"I am," replied the doctor, as he also uncovered, "for I presume I have the honour of addressing the Baron de Guéran?"
"Yes, I am, indeed, the Baron de Guéran, though," he added with a slight smile, "my dress might lead you to doubt that assertion. And now, may I in turn enquire to whom I am speaking? I must needs know your name, if only that I may ever cherish it in my memory."
"Dr. Delange, a Frenchman, and a Parisian."
"And your friends?"
"M. de Morin and M. Périères."
"Thank you; those names are graven on my heart. But permit me to come straight to the point without further delay, for time presses. It has been a difficult matter to obtain even this short interview with you. In spite of my advice you have persisted in your idea of rescuing me. Well! I should, perhaps, have done the same in your place. But what is your present object, and why have you ventured here alone?"
"I want to see the Queen, and, through your mediation, make proposals of peace to her, so that, if possible, we may avoid a bloody battle."
"You will not succeed, for the Queen is furious against the Monbuttoos for having invaded her territory, and in her anger she mixes you up with her enemies. For the last fortnight, ever since she was warned of your arrival in Ulindi, she has been eager to come to blows. The whole tribe is equally anxious; her sorcerers and fetish-mongers have declared in favour of war, and preach it as the crusades used to be preached in olden days, and I, alas! am powerless to ward off from you the evils which menace you."
"But," asked the doctor, "is it, as you wrote, absolutely necessary that we should be conquered?"
"Yes, I believe so firmly. The force at Walinda's disposal is considerable. Ah! you will do me justice at least," added M. de Guéran, seizing the doctor's hand. "I have done all in my power to prevent your coming here—and now, I cannot even fight by your side!"
"What?" asked Delange. "Are you not coming over to us?"
"Coming to you? Would I not have been with you already if I could have managed it? Turn your head, and look at that band of women who are watching our slightest movement. They are not more than a hundred yards from us. If I make one step in advance, if I were to pass the limits laid down for me, if I were to attempt to approach your camp, at that very moment my gaolers would rush upon us, and would, after they had killed you, take me back to the Queen. Come, there is yet time, let my friends desist from all endeavours to save me; let them cross the frontier once more. Perhaps I may induce the Queen to let you go without attacking you."
"Your advice is impracticable. The King of the Monbuttoos is bent on a trial of strength with Walinda, and we should never persuade him to beat a retreat. If the Queen persists in refusing him an interview and an alliance, he will attack her before she has time to attack him."
"She will refuse, just as she has already done."
"Then a battle is inevitable."
"Inevitable, as you say."
"And it means defeat and death for us?"
M. de Guéran bowed in silence. Then M. Delange said in a clear, distinct voice, dwelling upon each word—
"You know that we have two white women with us?"
"Yes, so the Queen told me. They are your wives, doubtless. You are travelling after the fashion of my old friend Livingstone, and as Baker was travelling when last I saw him."
"You are mistaken," said Delange, abruptly. "We are travelling with the Baroness de Guéran, your wife."
"My wife! my wife here!" stammered the Baron. "It is impossible— impossible."
"I give you my word," interrupted Delange, "that I have spoken the truth."
"The truth! the truth! She is there—my wife is there!" said M, de Guéran, over and over again, as if he were stupefied or had lost his head completely.
"Yes," continued Delange, "Madame de Guéran is not more than three hundred yards from you, at the foot of that mountain, in the midst of that army yonder."
"How could she have travelled so far? How has she had the courage—I do not understand, I—"
He stopped, his emotion overcoming him. The doctor came to his rescue.
"She arranged," said he, "an expedition of which I and my friends have the honour to be members, and this expedition has been searching for you during the last fourteen months."
Suddenly M. de Guéran, who had been leaning on the doctor's shoulder to prevent himself falling, drew himself up, and exclaimed—
"I must see her! I must see her! Let them kill me—what do I care? I must see her, I tell you! Come! Come!"
He seized hold of Delange, who, seeing the danger, tried to restrain him.
But, hardly had the pair stirred a step, than a hundred amazons rushed at full speed towards the Frenchmen, overtook them, and, without any violence, without even touching them, formed a circle, three deep, round them.