Samba: A Story of the Rubber Slaves of the Congo

by Herbert Strang

  CHAPTER VII

  Blood Brothers

  But in the morning the situation appeared only more grave. Provisionswere threatening to run short. Hitherto there had been no difficultyin procuring food from the natives met _en route_, and Mr. Martindale'sparty had carried with them only a few days' provisions, and the"extras" necessary for the white men's comfort. But now they were cometo a less populous part of the country: Imbono's villages were the onlysettlements for many miles around; and unless Imbono relaxed the rigourof his boycott Mr. Martindale's party would soon be in want.

  Mr. Martindale was talking over matters with Jack when, from the slighteminence on which the camp was pitched, they saw a canoe, manned by sixpaddlers, pass up stream. Jack took a look at the craft through hisfield glass.

  "It's Imbono, uncle," he said; "I wonder what he is up to."

  He followed the progress of the canoe for some distance through theglass; then, looking ahead, his eye was caught by a herd of eight ornine hippopotami disporting themselves on a reedy flat by the riverbank.

  "What do you say, uncle? Shall we go and get some hippo meat? It willrelieve the drain on our stores, and Nando told me the men are ratherfond of it."

  "We'll go right away, Jack. We must keep the larder full at any rate.I suppose we shall have to stalk the beasts."

  "I don't think so, uncle. Those we saw as we came up seemed prettybold; they've such tough hides that they've no reason to be much afraidof the native weapons."

  "Well, we'll paddle up to them and see how we get on."

  A canoe was launched, and Mr. Martindale set off with Jack, Barney, andthe terrier, Nando and six of the men paddling. By the time theyarrived opposite the feeding ground several hippos had come out fromthe reeds for a bath in the shallows of the river, only their heads andbacks showing above the water. The rest had moved off into the thickerreeds and were hidden from sight.

  "One will be enough for the present," said Mr. Martindale. "Ourfellows are great gluttons, but there's enough meat in one of thosebeasts to last even them a couple of days; and we don't want it to gohigh!"

  "Let us both aim at the nearest," suggested Jack. "Fire together,uncle: bet you I bag him."

  "I guess I won't take you, and betting's a fool's trick anyway. We'llaim at the nearest, as you say; are you ready?"

  Two shots rang out as one. But apparently there had been a differenceof opinion as to which of the animals was the nearest. One of themdisappeared; another, with a wild roar of pain and rage, plunged intothe reeds; the rest sank below the surface. Nando, knowing the ways ofhippopotami, began to paddle with frantic vigour, and set the canoegoing at a rapid pace down stream, much to the indignation of Pat, whostood with his forefeet on the side of the canoe, barking fiercely.Half a minute later a head appeared above the surface some fifty yardsbehind; then another and another: but the beasts seemed to haverecovered from the alarm, for after a long cow-like stare at thereceding canoe, they turned and swam ashore, to rejoin their companionsin the reeds.

  "Easy all!" said Mr. Martindale. "We'll give 'em a quarter of an hourto settle down, then we'll go back. What about your bet, eh, Jack?"

  "It's your hippo, uncle, no doubt of that," said Jack with a ruefulsmile. "An awful fluke, though; you didn't hit once to my twice comingup stream."

  "A fluke, was it? I kind o' notice that when you young fellows make agood shot or pull off a good stroke at billiards or anything else, it'sreal good play; whereas an old boy like me can only do anything decentby a fluke."

  "Well, you've lost him, anyway. The hippo hasn't come up."

  "Too cocksure, my boy; he's only just below the surface."

  The beast mortally wounded by Mr. Martindale's rifle was lying inshallow water. Pat could no longer restrain himself. He leaptoverboard and swam towards the hippo, barking with excitement, andbecoming frantic when he found that it was just out of his reach. Inhis eagerness to attack the animal he even made an attempt to dive, socomical that all on board the canoe were convulsed with laughter.Being paddled to the spot, Mr. Martindale found that the beast wasquite dead.

  "Now what are we to do with him?" said Mr. Martindale. "Shall we goback and send a party to cut him up?"

  "No, no, sah," said Nando instantly. "Tie rope; pull, pull; hippo hecome 'long all behind."

  "Tow him, eh? Very well. I allow that'll save time."

  A rope was fastened firmly about the beast's neck and jaws; the otherend was fixed to the canoe; and the men began to paddle down stream,towing the hippo. The tendency of the animal being to sink, the canoeseemed to Jack to be dangerously low in the water at the stern. Butthey had only a part of the usual complement of men on board, and thepaddlers were among the most skilful on the Congo. They had gone but afew strokes when Jack, glancing back, caught sight of Imbono's canoereturning. Like Mr. Martindale's it was keeping fairly close to thebank. All at once a great shout of alarm broke from the chief'spaddlers; their easy swing was quickened to desperate exertion, andthey pulled out violently towards the middle of the stream.

  "By Jove! uncle, a hippo's after them," cried Jack.

  Just astern of the chief's canoe, between it and the shore, a hugehippopotamus, with jaws distended, showing his gleaming tusks, wasswimming along in pursuit. For a little he gained, and Jack's pulsebeat more quickly with excitement as he saw that the enraged beast wasnot more than half a dozen yards from the canoe. But the gap widenedas soon as the six strong paddlers had settled down to their quickenedstroke.

  Imbono, sitting in the stern, had caught sight of the white men as hiscanoe cut for a few moments across the current, and with the naturalvanity of the negro he began to show off. At a word from him one ofthe crew dropped his paddle, and, catching up a spear, hurled it at thepursuing hippo. There was a hoarse bellow from the animal, and a wildcheer from the men; the shaft of the spear was seen standing almostperpendicularly above the hippo's shoulder. With fierce exertion thebeast increased his pace, and the gap momentarily diminished; but thenegro resumed his paddle, and again the canoe drew away.

  As the canoe came almost level with the towed hippo at a considerabledistance towards mid-stream, Imbono ordered the same manoeuvre to berepeated. But fortune doubly befriended the pursuing animal. Just asthe negro was poising his spear, a submerged tree stopped the canoewith a sudden jerk; the man lost his balance and fell overboard; halfof the crew followed him into the water, the rest tumbled over oneanother into the bottom of the canoe. Imbono had been thrown backwardas the vessel struck the snag. He had barely time to rise and plungeinto the water when there was a hideous crackling sound; the stern ofthe canoe was caught between the hippo's gaping jaws and crunched tosplinters.

  The consequences of the chief's temerity would have been amusing butfor his manifest danger. The negroes were swimming in all directions,keeping as much as possible under water to escape the eyes of thehippo; but Imbono, an older man than the rest, was not so expert aswimmer, and Jack saw with concern that the hippo, leaving the sinkingcanoe, was making straight for the chief.

  A hippopotamus may be distanced by a canoe, but not by a man swimming.Imbono did not look behind, but seemed to know instinctively that deathwas within a few yards of him, and he struck out more and moredesperately for the bank.

  At the moment when the canoe struck the snag, Jack had seized hisrifle; but after the catastrophe, canoe, hippo, and swimming nativeswere so intermingled that he could not venture a shot at the beastwithout the risk of hitting a man. The hippo's huge body provided atarget sufficiently broad, indeed; but Jack knew that to strike itanywhere save at a vital spot would merely add to the beast's rage andmake it doubly formidable to the men in the water. When he saw theplight of the chief, however, the great head now only a couple of yardsbehind him, the jaws already opening, disclosing the vast red chasmflanked by gleaming tusks and molars--when Jack saw Imbono thus in thevery article of peril, he could no longer hesitate. The canoe wasalready at rest. Bidding Nando keep it steady,
Jack raised his rifleto his shoulder and took careful aim.

  The chief was gasping for breath after a vain attempt to dodge thebeast by diving; the horrid jaws were just about to snap, when a shotrang out. A squealing grunt came from the closing gullet; the uncouthactions of the beast ceased; and he began to sink slowly and silentlybeneath the surface.

  "A1!" ejaculated Mr. Martindale. "That makes up for your miss, Jack."

  "Oka moe!"[1] shouted the negroes. Imbono's men had gained the bank,but the chief himself, overcome more by his fright than his exertions,seemed unable to swim any farther.

  "Quick, haul him in, Jack," said Mr. Martindale. "There may be acrocodile after him next!"

  A few strokes of the paddles brought the canoe within reach of thechief. Laughing heartily--the negro's laugh is always very near thesurface--Nando and a comrade hoisted Imbono into the canoe.

  "Me tell Imbono he oughter die of shame," said Nando gravely.

  "What on earth for?" asked Mr. Martindale.

  "What for, sah! Has he not made big puddle in massa's canoe? Heplenty much wet, sah."

  "Well, he couldn't help that. Tell him we're glad he came off so well.You need not say anything about the puddle."

  But Nando had his own views as to the proper thing to do. As he spokethe chief glanced at the pool of water that had flowed from his body,and replied in a tone that was clearly apologetic.

  "He say he die with shame him so wet, sah," said Nando. "Him no do itno more. Say he praise de young Inglesa for shooting de hippo; say hegib massa de hippo and manioc and bananas and anyfing whatever datmassa like. Say he want massa and young massa to be blood brudder. Mesay berrah good; tell him oughter had sense before."

  "That's all right. We'll accept supplies with pleasure, and pay forthem. The hippo is Mr. Jack's already, of course. As for becoming hisblood brothers, I don't just know right off what that means; but ifit'll please him, and doesn't mean any nastiness, we'll think it over."

  The canoe, towing Mr. Martindale's hippo, was rapidly paddled downstream to the encampment, the second beast being left to drift slowlydown the river until, in the course of some hours, it should finallyrise to the surface. On landing the chief renewed his protestations ofgratitude, then went off to the village, to polish himself up, saidNando, and replace his ruined headdress, a curious structure of clothand feathers stuck on to the chignon into which his hair was gathered.Mr. Martindale sent back another canoe to find and tow down the deadhippo. When it was hauled up on the low sandy bank, Jack and his unclewent down to examine it.

  "You said I missed, uncle," cried Jack. "What do you make of this?"

  He pointed to a furrow ploughed across the full breadth of the beast'sforehead.

  "Nothing but a bullet did that, I know. My shot must have hit him, butdidn't enter the skull. I suppose he hid in the reeds, and vented hisfury on the chief. He happened to have a harder skull than your hippo,uncle; you see it was a fluke after all."

  Mr. Martindale slowly cut and lighted a cigar. Not until he hadwatched a big cloud of smoke float across the river did he speak. Thenhe said quietly--

  "Just so!"

  Somehow Jack felt that he had not the better of the argument.

  Before the sun went down, a group of men came from Ilola staggeringunder loads of grain and fruit, a quantity large enough to supply thecamp for several days. That night the men had a royal feast, consumingso many hippo steaks that Barney professed himself indignant.

  "Bedad! 'tis greedy scoundhrels they are," he said, "Wheniver me mothergave us bhoys a stew--and 'twas not often, ye may be sure, meat beingthe price it was--'twas wan tiny morsel uv mutton, and a powerful lotuv murphies: she said too much meat would spoil our complexion and ruinour tempers. And begorra! isn't it meself that proves it!"

  Mr. Martindale laughed at Barney's logic.

  "I'm not afraid of the niggers' complexions or their tempers," he said;"I only hope they won't keep up that hullabaloo all night and spoil oursleep."

  The men were indeed very uproarious, and remained around their firesfor the greater part of the night, recounting for the hundredth timethe exciting events of the day, and composing on the spot songs inpraise of the young white man whose fire-stick had slain the terror ofthe river. One of these songs seemed especially to strike their fancy,and it remained a favourite for many days:--

  Happy Imbono! Oh! oh! Imbono! Who saved Imbono? The good stranger! The young stranger! The brave stranger! Good Jacko! Young Jacko! Brave Jacko! He came to Ilola! Happy Ilola! Lucky Ilola! He saved Imbono From five hippos, From ten hippos! Lucky Imbono! Happy Imbono! Oh! oh! Imbono!

  Next morning, as soon as it was light, Imbono came to pay a visit ofceremony. He had got himself up most elaborately for the occasion. Astrip of yellow cotton was wound about his waist. His arms werecovered with polished brass rings, and copper rings weighing at leastten pounds each encircled his wrists and ankles. A new headdressdecked his hair; and he must have kept his barber busy half the nightin arranging his top-knot and painting his face with red camwood andwhite clay. Pat by no means approved of the change, and barked at himfuriously.

  "Whisht, ye spalpeen!" said Barney, calling off the excited dog. "Sure'tis only his Sunday clothes!"

  Surrounded by a group of his young men, who were again loaded withofferings of food, the chief began a long speech, which was by no meansabridged in Nando's translation. He related the incident of theprevious day, omitting none of the most insignificant details,accounting, as it appeared, for every tooth in the jaws of the hugeanimal from which he had been saved. He went on to say that ingratitude to the white man he had changed his mind. No longer would hewithhold food; his young men even now had their hands full of the bestproducts of Ilola. No longer would he refuse his friendship; he wouldeven show the white man the place where the yellow metal was to befound--on one condition, that the white man would become his bloodbrother. Imbono and the white men would then be friends for ever.

  "Well, I'll be very glad to be friends with the chief," said Mr.Martindale, "and I'm right down obliged to him for agreeing to show methe location of the gold. And what's this blood brother businessanyway? I don't size up to that without knowing something about it,you bet."

  "Me tell all 'bout it, sah. Imbono hab got knife; he come scratch,scratch massa his arm; den blood come, just little tiny drop, oh yes!Den Imbono he lick massa him blood. Massa he hab got knife too: hescratch Imbono him arm all same, lick Imbono him blood. Me fink massanot like black man him blood--not berrah berrah much. Den massa gibImbono little tiny present--knife, like knife Samba stole from Nando;Imbono gib massa fowl, or brass ring, or anyfing massa like. Den massaand Imbono dey be blood brudder, be friends for eber and eber amen."

  "Well, I guess the blood business sounds rather disgusting. What doyou think, Jack?"

  Jack made a grimace.

  "Couldn't we leave all the licking to him, uncle?"

  Here Nando broke in. "Me fink massa not like black blood. All same, Ishow de way. Massa hold Imbono him arm tight, berrah tight, pretend tolick, get little drop of blood on hand; dat nuff; Imbono pleased."

  "If he's satisfied with that I'm willing, so fire away."

  The chief beamed when he learnt that the white man had given hisconsent. The ceremony was quickly performed. Then Imbono handed themeach a copper ring, and received in return a pinch of salt from Mr.Martindale and a lucifer match from Jack, Nando assuring them that nomore acceptable presents could have been thought of. Imbono recited asort of chant, which was explained to mean that he, his sons, hisfriends, the men of Ilola, from that time forth and for evermore wouldbe the true friends of the white men; everything he had was theirs.With a suitable reply from Mr. Martindale and Jack the ceremony ended.

  Jack noticed when the chief had gone that Nando's face wore a somewhatwoebegone look.

  "What's the matter, Nando?" he asked.

  "Nando berrah sick, sah. Imbono hab got present, mass
a hab gotpresent, little massa hab got present all same; Nando hab got nopresent, no nuffin. Dat make Nando sick. Samba hab got Nando himknife: what for Nando no hab nuffin at all?"

  "Seems to me he wants a commission on the transaction," said Mr.Martindale with a smile. "Give him something, Jack; he's not a badsort."

  "I've got a lucky sixpence, uncle; he can string that round his neck.Here you are, Nando."

  The negro took the coin with delight.

  "Bolotsi O!" he exclaimed. "Nando no sick no more. Him plenty comfyinside. All jolly nice now sah: oh yes!"

  [1] Bully for you!