Tahara Among African Tribes
Page 13
CHAPTER XIII
JUNGLE DANCERS
The victory was complete.
By the time Mahatma Sikandar came on the scene, borne upon his litter,the Muta-Kungas were in full flight, pursued by the Kungoras, Gorolsand Taharans.
The Arabs, too, had vanished, but a few of their horses were loose,running about the village and the surrounding forest.
Dick spied his Taharan friends, Kurt and Kurul, returning from thepursuit of the enemies and cried:
"Round up the stray horses! Get all you can! We'll start out torescue Dad."
"Yes, Master," they replied obediently, and called upon their fellowsto help in the capture of the terrified animals.
The Mahatma spoke to them in his placid voice:
"Patience, my children! I see that the battle has gone as I foretold.Through my power over beasts, I caused the elephants to stampede. Nowbe quiet, and watch. You will see me bring the horses to you."
Fascinated, Dick and his followers watched the wise old Hindu raiseboth hands above his head with a convulsive gesture. His eyes closed.At the same time his lips moved as he appeared to be saying somethingunder his breath. But no sound came to the ears of the men beside him.The message was not meant for them. It was directed at the runawayhorses.
At a distance the beasts were racing madly, at first, then their paceslackened and a few of them began to graze quietly, while the othersstared in the direction of the holy man.
Kurt and Kurul, ropes in hand, gave a grunt of admiration, "MahatmaGood!" and started to bring in the horses.
But Dick restrained them. "Leave it to the wise man," he said. "Hedoes not need help."
Sure enough in a few minutes the horses began straying back to wherethe Mahatma was sitting, all their fear gone.
"Now you can capture them, Dick Sahib," said Sikandar. "Go to themquietly and take them by their bridles."
Dan cried enthusiastically, "You are certainly there with the goods,chief!" With one arm around his sister, he exclaimed, "There's the manyou want to thank, Ray! Without his help we might never have rescuedyou!"
"That's right!" cried Dick. "You owe him everything!"
Ray bowed and expressed her thanks shyly. The strange old Hindu didnot seem so wonderful to her, but if Dick and Dan said he was a miracleworker, there must be something to it.
And now Raal came forward, still holding Veena as though he could neverlet her go.
Prostrating himself before the Mahatma, Raal drew the girl down besidehim and the pair addressed a chant of thanksgiving to him in their ownlanguage.
The old man beamed upon them and uttered a blessing, then turned toDick.
"You are impatient, my son."
"Yes, holy man. It is about my father. Can you help me save him?"
"I know. I know what has happened," said the Hindu. "Today thespirits that control my crystal are active, and I have seen everything."
"And will you bring Dad back safely?"
"Tomorrow you shall clasp his hand. Have no fear."
But Dick was not so easily quieted.
"He is in the power of a murderous scoundrel, a man who tried to killme."
"Fear not, my son."
"Let me take the horses and go out with a party tonight."
"That would spoil everything! You would be lost in the forests. See,already the shadows are heavy in the jungle and before you couldovertake him, it would be dark as the souls of evil men. Also thejungle is full of fierce beasts. The leopards, the lions and thecrocodiles would destroy you."
Reluctantly Dick decided to stay in the camp until daylight, and joinin the feasting that celebrated the victory.
"It is well for you that I have taught the Kungoras to advance a littleway in the path of good," said the Mahatma, "otherwise you would havewitnessed a cannibal feast this night."
"Do you mean it?" cried Dan.
"I do mean it. When I came to the Kungoras, they were eaters of humanflesh. They believed that eating the heart of an enemy gave them allhis strength and courage."
"And they slaughtered their prisoners?"
"And feasted on them!"
"That's too many for me!" ejaculated Dan Carter. "I can't deny thatI'm fond of eats, but if it came to making a lunch off one of thoseMuta-Kungas, I'd rather go hungry."
The smell of cooking floated over the camp, mingled with the smoke ofwood fires. Plenty of food had been found in the mud huts thatchedwith straw, for the surprise attack had caused the natives to fleewithout taking anything.
The feast was served in the clearing before the ruins of ChiefMobogoma's house. There a big fire was kept burning and by its lightthe warriors gorged themselves with roasted game, corn and otherproducts of the garden patches and then finished off with quantities ofbananas and other fruit.
Ray and Dick ate sparingly as was their habit, and the Mahatmacontented himself with a little food and that of the plainest, but DanCarter joined the warriors in disposing of huge quantities of roastedand broiled meat.
The savages showed their delight in his prowess.
"Dan good!" said Kural.
"Dan big chief!" replied Kurt, his mouth full, and reached into a stewpot with a forked stick.
As the boy smiled at them, waving a bone that he was gnawing, Dick sangout:
"Take care, Dan! I was tipped off that the Kungoras smuggled in partof a Muta-Kunga brave among the stew meat."
Dan pulled back hastily and stared at the big pot in which vegetablesand chunks of meat were mingled.
"You take?" asked Kurul.
"Stew good!" suggested Kurt with a broad smile.
"No thanks," gasped Dan Carter, turning a little pale. "I don't--thinkI care--for any more."
He got up hastily and left the circle of heavy eaters.
"Lost your appetite?" laughed Dick.
"No, not exactly. I just--think I've had--enough! Guess I'll take alittle walk!" And Dan disappeared on the trot.
Ray gave Dick a reproachful look. "Is that nice?" she asked. But shewas unable to keep back a smile.
"Dan Sahib is bound to the wheel of fleshly enjoyment," remarked theMahatma. "He must learn to restrain his appetites."
"Especially his appetite for stew, when dining with jungle blacks!"laughed Dick.
The meal was prolonged far into the night and broken by exhibitions oftribal dances. First the Gorols pranced about the fire in single file.They bent low, shuffling along and uttering monkey-like cries, while tomake the resemblance perfect they had tied long twigs to their belts,so that they waggled like tails during the dance.
With their dark skins, long thin arms and legs and primitive features,they looked more like ape-men than ever and Ray and Dick shouted withlaughter.
Dan Carter returned to the circle, attracted by the noise.
"Get in line, Dan, you are all that's needed to complete the picture,"his friend kidded him.
"I don't--think I feel--like dancing," replied Dan, still a littlegreenish about the gills. "I'm not feeling very well."
"Have some more stew!"
Ray slapped Dick's arm and cried, "Don't tease the poor boy!"
"All right," Dick extended his hand. "Come on, Dan! Shake on it!We'll change the subject."
The Taharans were the next to dance and with a great brandishing offlint knives and stone axes they went through an imaginary battle. Twowarriors would break away from the line and face each other likeduellists, while the rest danced about them, uttering war cries thatmade the forest ring.
"These mock battles look like the real thing!" said Dick. "Look atthat! I thought sure that the tall fellow was going to split the otherone with his axe."
"I don't like it," said Ray. "What if he got excited and landed ablow?"
"Then there would be one Taharan the less.--Watch out! Now theKungoras are going to it!"
With a howl like jungle beasts, the black men were on their feet andrushing to the firelight with spears and painted shields waving abovethe
ir heads.
At the same time the boom-boom-boom of the hollowed log resounded, thehuge drum that the Muta-Kungas used for sending alarms through theforest.
"Now it's getting good!" exclaimed Dan, forgetting his attack ofindigestion. "I wondered whether the natives were going to forget theold tom-tom."
"Boom-boom-boom," went the big drum like a challenge, and at that theKungora dancers lined up in two bands facing each other and howleddefiance and threats back and forth.
"What's going to happen?" whispered Ray clinging to Dick's arm. "Arethey really going to kill each other?"
"Can't say. Ask the Mahatma. He knows this tribe."
"If they do slay a few warriors, it will be an accident," said MahatmaSikandar. "This is a dance of battle and they sometimes forget it isnot the real thing."
"How terrible!" cried Ray.
"Can't you make them be reasonable?" asked Dick as the Hindu watchedthe apparently enraged savages.
"Reasonable? What human being is ever reasonable?" asked the wise man."Are your own people reasonable when they slaughter each other withguns and poison gas? No, the savages are on a low plane, but thecivilized men are also far from the path of wisdom."
"Go it, Mutaba!" shouted Dan, clapping his hands.
The guide and chief warrior of the Kungoras was dancing in front of hisown band, shaking his spear in the face of the rival leader. The pairrushed together furiously, leaped back and returned to the attack,while their rolling eyes and thick snarling lips expressed murderoushatred.
Behind each leader swept the warrior ranks, brandishing their weapons,guarding with their shields and pretending to attack and retreat inwild convulsive rhythms.
Their bodies, dripping with sweat, gleamed in the firelight, the whitesof their eyes flashed furiously and foam gathered in the corners oftheir mouths as they jerked and writhed in mimic warfare.
All the time the drum kept up its beating, ever faster and wilder, likethe pulse of a fever patient. To this boom-boom-boom was added theyells and shrieks of the frenzied Kungoras, and above the din rose theexcited chatter of monkeys in the tree tops and the shrill outcries ofparrots and other birds. Even the beasts in the depths of the foresthad caught the tense excitement from afar, and the black jungle echoedwith the roar of lions and the trumpeting of elephants.
"What a night!" gasped Ray, tightening her grasp on Dick.
"It's a grand show!" exclaimed Dan. "Wouldn't miss it for a big leagueball game!"
"Reminds me of the witch-hunt," said Dick in a low voice. "Rememberthe night Cimbula was picking out victims for sacrifice?"
"Gee, I thought I was a goner when that black fellow grabbed me," Danejaculated. "Say, let me tell you I have dreamed of that many a nightand started up in a cold sweat."
"That was horrible!" Ray answered. "Every second I expected thatwitch-doctor to pounce on me."
"Well, Mahatma," said Dan, "you did a good job to tame those wildKungoras. How did you ever teach them to be good? How did you makethem obey you?"
"By the power of the mind," answered the Hindu. "The spirit of thewise is master of the wildest savage. Watch me, and you shall see."
Fascinated, the two boys and Ray looked on, while the Mahatma leanedback, closed his eyes and seemed to put the force of his mind upon thefrenzied dancers.
At first there was no response. The dance was more furious than ever.Then, one at a time, the warriors seemed to come to their senses. Manafter man lowered his weapons, dropped quietly out of the ranks andreturned to squat before the fire, all pausing to make a hastyprostration in front of the wise man before they sat down.
The Mahatma did not open his eyes until the notes of the big drum hadfaded out into silence. By that time all the blacks were seated andonce more eating quietly.
"It's a miracle," said Dick.
"It sure is," answered Dan. "Listen. Even the wild beasts in thejungle have quieted down."
"There is more to this than I can understand," whispered Ray.
"Those Hindus know plenty of things that are beyond me," Dick answered.
"I thought it was all the bunk, at first," said Dan, "but now I thinkthe old man is the real article."
"Wait until you go to India where the masters are," Dick continued."Then you will see miracles that even our Mahatma can't understand."
"I'd love to go," said the girl. "Africa is thrilling enough, goodnessknows, but India fascinates me."
Before the feast broke up, Dan, Ray and Dick slipped away, too tired tohold their eyes open.