Smain's band at twoor three days' distance appeared to him to be the safest course as itwas very improbable that Smain would return with his human wares by wayof the same circuitous route instead of making his way directly for theNile. Stas understood also that Abyssinia could be reached only fromthe southern side where that country borders on a great wilderness andnot from the eastern boundary which was carefully guarded by dervishes.
As a result of these thoughts he determined to venture as far aspossible towards the south. They might encounter negroes, eitherrefugees from the banks of the White Nile or natives. But of the twoevils Stas preferred to have dealings with the blacks rather than withMahdists. He reckoned too that in the event of meeting refugees ornatives Kali and Mea might prove useful. It was enough to glance at theyoung negress to surmise that she belonged to the Dinka or Shilluktribe, for she had uncommonly long and thin limbs, so characteristic ofboth of those tribes, dwelling on the banks of the Nile and wading likecranes and storks, during its inundation. Kali, on the other hand,though under Gebhr's hand he became like a skeleton, had an entirelydifferent stature. He was short and thick and strongly built; he hadpowerful shoulders and his feet in comparison with Mea's feet wererelatively small.
As he did not speak Arabian at all and spoke poorly the Kiswahililanguage with which one can converse almost anywhere in Africa andwhich Stas had learned fairly well from the natives of Zanzibar,working on the Canal, it was evident that he came from some distantregion.
Stas determined to sound him upon this point.
"Kali, what is the name of your people?" he asked.
"Wahima," answered the young negro.
"Is that a great nation?"
"Great, which is making war upon the bad Samburus and takes theircattle."
"Is that country like this?"
"No. There are mountains and great water."
"How is that water called?"
"We call it 'The Dark Water.'"
Stas thought that the boy might come from the neighborhood of theAlbert Nyanza, which up to that time had been in the hands of EminPasha; so, desiring to confirm this, he asked further:
"Does not a white chief live there who has black smoking boats andtroops?"
"No, the old men with us say that they saw white men, (here Kali partedhis fingers) one, two, three. Yes. There were three of them in longwhite dresses. They were looking for tusks. Kali did not see them forhe was not in the world, but Kali's father received them and gave themmany cows."
"What is your father?"
"The king of Wahima."
Stas was flattered a little by the idea that he had a Prince Royal fora servant.
"Would you like to see your father?"
"Kali wants to see his mother."
"What would you do if we met the Wahimas, and what would they do?"
"The Wahimas would fall on their faces before Kali."
"Lead us to them; then you shall remain with them and rule after yourfather, and we will go farther to the sea."
"Kali cannot find the way to them, and cannot remain, for Kali lovesthe great master and the daughter of the moon."
Stas turned merrily to his companion and said:
"Nell, you have become the daughter of the moon."
But, glancing at her, he saddened suddenly, for it occurred to him thatthe emaciated girl actually looked with her pale and transparentcountenance more like a lunar than an earthly being.
The young negro became silent for a while; then he repeated:
"Kali loves Bwana kubwa, for Bwana kubwa did not kill Kali, only Gebhr,and gives Kali a great deal to eat."
And he began to stroke his breast, repeating with evident delight:
"A great deal of meat! a great deal of meat!"
Stas wanted to ascertain how Kali became the slave of the dervishes; itappeared that from the night when he was caught in a pit, dug forzebras, he had gone through so many hands that Stas could not tell fromhis statements what countries he had passed through and by what routehe had been conducted to Fashoda. Stas was much impressed by what hesaid about the "dark water," for if he came from the region of AlbertNyanza, Albert Edward Nyanza, or even Victoria Nyanza, near which laythe kingdoms of the Unyoro and the Uganda, he would undoubtedly haveheard something about Emin Pasha, about his troops, and about thesteamers, which aroused the wonder and fear of the negroes. Tanganyikawas too far away; there remained only the supposition that Kali'snation had its seat somewhere nearer. For this reason their meetingwith the Wahimas was not an utter improbability.
After a few hours' ride, the sun began to descend. The heat decreasedconsiderably. They chanced upon a wide valley in which they found waterand a score or more of wild fig trees. So they stopped to rest theirhorses and partake of provisions. As the rocky walls at that place werelower, Stas ordered Kali to climb to the top and ascertain whethersmoke could not be seen in the vicinity.
Kali complied with the order and in the twinkling of an eye reached theedge of the rocks. Peering around carefully in all directions he sliddown a thick liana stalk and announced that there was no smoke, butthat there were "niama." It was easy to surmise that he was speakingnot of guinea-fowl but of some bulkier game, for he pointed at Stas'short rifle and afterwards put his fingers on his head to indicatehorned game.
Stas in turn climbed up and, leaning his head carefully over the edge,began to look ahead. Nothing obstructed his view of the expanse, as theold, high jungle was burnt away and the new, which had already sproutedfrom the blackened ground, was barely a few inches high. As far as theeye could reach could be seen sparsely growing great trees, with trunkssinged by the fire. Under the shade of one of them grazed a flock ofantelopes which from the shape of their bodies resembled horses, andfrom their heads buffaloes. The sun penetrating through the baobableaves cast quivering bright spots upon their brown backs. There wereten of them. The distance was not more than one hundred paces, but thewind blew from the animals towards the ravine, so they grazed quietly,not suspecting any danger. Stas, desiring to replenish his supplieswith meat, shot at the nearest one, which tumbled on the ground as ifstruck by lightning. The rest of the flock ran away, and with them agreat buffalo, which he did not perceive before, as he lay hiddenbehind a stone. The boy, not from necessity, but from a sporting vein,choosing the moment when the animal turned his side somewhat, sent abullet after him. The buffalo staggered greatly after the shot, drew inhis haunches, but rushed away, and before Stas was able to reloaddisappeared in the unevenness of the ground.
Before the smoke blew away, Kali sat upon the antelope and cut open itsabdomen with Gebhr's knife. Stas walked towards him, desiring toinspect more closely the animal, and great was his surprise when aftera while the young negro with blood-stained hands handed to him thereeking liver of the antelope.
"Why are you giving me that?" he asked.
"Msuri, msuri! Bwana kubwa eat at once."
"Eat it yourself," replied Stas, indignant at the proposition.
Kali did not allow this command to be repeated, but immediately beganto tear the liver with his teeth, and greedily gulp down the rawpieces; seeing that Stas gazed at him with loathing he did not ceasebetween one gulp and another to repeat: "Msuri! msuri!"
In this manner he ate over half of the liver; after which he started todress the antelope. He did this with uncommon quickness and skill, sothat soon the hide was flayed and the haunches were separated from thebackbone. Then Stas, somewhat surprised that Saba was not present atthis work, whistled for him to come to a bounteous feast of the foreparts of the animal.
But Saba did not appear at all. Instead, Kali, who was bending over theantelope, raised his head and said:
"The big dog ran after the buffalo."
"Did you see him?" Stas asked.
"Kali saw."
Saying this, he placed the loin of the antelope on his head and the twohaunches on his shoulders and started for the ravine. Stas whistled afew times more and waited, but seeing that he was doing this in vain,followed Kali. In the
ravine Mea was already engaged in cutting thethorns for a zareba, while Nell, picking with her little fingers thelast guinea-fowl, asked:
"Did you whistle for Saba? He ran after you."
"He ran after a buffalo which I wounded with a shot, and I am worried,"Stas answered. "Those animals are terribly ferocious and so powerfulthat even a lion fears to attack them. Saba may fare badly if he beginsa fight with such an adversary."
Hearing this Nell became alarmed and declared that she would not go tosleep until Saba returned. Stas, seeing her grief, was angry at himselfbecause he had not concealed the danger from her and began to comforther:
"I would go after them with the rifle," he said, "but they must now bevery far away, and soon the night will fall and the tracks will beinvisible. The buffalo is badly
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