myself fromhim with my hands did he creep towards me."
It occurred to Stas that if Nell were a negress she would have beenpounced upon at once, and that in part she owed her preservation to theastonishment of the beast, which seeing before it for the first time abeing unknown to it, for a while was uncertain what to do.
A chill passed through the boy's bones.
"Thank God! Thank God that I returned!"
After which he asked further:
"What were you thinking of at that moment?"
"I wanted to call you, and--I could not--but--"
"But what?"
"But I thought that you would protect me--I myself do not know--"
Saying this she again threw her little arms around his neck, and hebegan to stroke her tufts of hair.
"You are not afraid, now?"
"No."
"My little Mzimu! My Mzimu! You see what Africa is."
"Yes, but you will kill every ugly beast?"
"I will."
Both again began to examine closely the rapacious beast. Stas, desiringto preserve its skin as a trophy ordered Kali to strip it off, but thelatter from fear that another wobo might creep out of the ravine beggedhim not to leave him alone, and to the question whether he feared awobo more than a lion, said:
"A lion roars at night and does not leap over stockades, but a wobo inthe white day can leap over a stockade and kill a great many negroes inthe middle of the village, and after that he seizes one of them andeats him. Against a wobo a spear is no protection, nor a bow, onlycharms, for a wobo cannot be killed."
"Nonsense," said Stas, "look at this one; is he not well slain?"
"The white master kills wobo; the black man cannot kill him," Kalireplied.
It ended in this, that the gigantic cat was tied by a rope to the horseand the horse dragged him to the camp. Stas, however, did not succeedin preserving his hide, for the King, who evidently surmised that thewobo wanted to carry off his little lady, fell into such a frenzy ofrage that even Stas' orders were unable to restrain him. Seizing theslain beast with his trunk he tossed it twice into the air; after whichhe began to strike it against a tree and in the end trampled upon itwith his legs and changed it into a shapeless, jelly-like mass. Stassucceeded in saving the jaws, which with the remnants of the head heplaced on an ant-column on the road, and the ants cleaned the bones inthe course of an hour so thoroughly that not an atom of flesh or bloodremained.
XIX
Four days later Stas stopped for a longer rest on a hill somewhatsimilar to Mount Linde, but smaller and narrower. That same night Sabaafter a hard battle killed a big male baboon, whom he attacked at atime when the baboon was playing with the remnants of a kite, thesecond in order of those which they had sent before starting for theocean. Stas and Nell, taking advantage of the stay, determined to gluenew ones continually, but to fly them only when the monsoon blew fromthe west to the east. Stas placed great reliance upon this, that evenif but one of them should fall into European or Arabian hands it wouldundoubtedly attract extraordinary attention and would cause anexpedition to be despatched expressly for their rescue. For greatercertainty, besides English and French inscriptions he added Arabian,which was not difficult for him, as he knew the Arabian languageperfectly.
Soon after starting from the resting-place, Kali announced that in themountain chain, which he saw in the east, he recognized some of thepeaks which surrounded Bassa-Narok; nevertheless, he was not alwayscertain, as the mountains assumed different shapes, according to theplace from which they were viewed. After crossing a small valleyovergrown with cusso bushes and looking like a lake of roses, theychanced upon a hut of lone hunters. There were two negroes in it andone of them was sick, having been bitten by a thread-like worm.* [*Filandria medineusis, a worm as thin as thread, and a yard long. Itsbite sometimes causes gangrene.] But both were so savage and stupid andin addition so terrified by the arrival of the unexpected guests, socertain that they would be murdered, that at first it was impossible toascertain anything from them. But a few slices of smoked meatunloosened the tongue of the one who was not only sick, but famished,as his companion doled out food to him very stingily. From him,therefore, they learned that about a day's journey away there laystraggling villages, governed by petty kings, who were independent ofone another; and afterwards, beyond a steep mountain, the domain ofFumba began, extending on the west and south of the great water. WhenStas heard this, a great load fell off his heart and new courageentered his soul. At any rate, they now were almost on the threshold ofthe land of the Wahimas.
It was difficult to foresee how their further journey would progress;nevertheless, the boy in any event could expect that it would not beharder or even longer than that terrible journey from the banks of theNile which they had undergone, thanks to his exceptionalresourcefulness, and during which he had saved Nell from destruction.He did not doubt that, thanks to Kali, the Wahimas would receive themwith the greatest hospitality and would give every assistance to them.After all, he already well understood the negroes, knew how to acttowards them, and was almost certain that, even without Kali, he wouldhave been able somehow to take care of himself among them.
"Do you know," he said to Nell, "that we have passed more than one-halfof the way from Fashoda, and that during the journey which is stillbefore us we may meet very savage negroes, but now will not encounterany dervishes."
"I prefer negroes," the little maid replied.
"Yes, while you pass as a goddess. I was kidnapped from Fayum with alittle lady whose name was Nell, and now am conducting some kind ofMzimu. I shall tell my father and Mr. Rawlinson that they never shouldcall you anything else."
Her eyes began to sparkle and smile:
"Perhaps we may see our papas in Mombasa."
"Perhaps. If it were not for that war on the shores of Bassa-Narok, wewould be there sooner. Too bad that Fumba should be engaged in one atthis time!"
Saying this, he nodded at Kali.
"Kali, did the sick negro hear of the war?"
"He heard. It is a big war, very big--Fumba with Samburus."
"Well, what will happen? How shall we get through the Samburu country?"
"The Samburus will run away before the great master, before the Kingand before Kali."
"And before you?"
"And before Kali, because Kali has a rifle which thunders and kills."
Stas began to meditate upon the part which would devolve upon him inthe conflict between the Wahima and Samburu tribes and determined toconduct his affairs in such a manner as not to retard his journey. Heunderstood that their arrival would be an entirely unexpected eventwhich would at once assure Fumba of a superiority. Accordingly it wasnecessary only to make the most of a victory.
In the villages, of which the sick hunter spoke, they derived newinformation about the war. The reports were more and more accurate, butunfavorable for Fumba. The little travelers learned that he wasconducting a defensive campaign, and that the Samburus under thecommand of their king, named Mamba, occupied a considerable expanse ofthe Wahima country and had captured a multitude of cows. The villagerssaid that the war was raging principally on the southern border of thegreat water where on a wide and high rock King Fumba's great "boma"* [*The same as a zareba in the Sudan. A great boma may also be a sort offortress or fortified camp.] was situated.
This intelligence greatly grieved Kali, who begged Stas to cross themountain separating them from the seat of the war as quickly aspossible, assuring him, at the same time, that he would be able to findthe road on which he could lead not only the horses but the King. Hewas already in a region which he knew well and now distinguished withgreat certainty peaks which were familiar to him from childhood.
Nevertheless, the passage was not easy, and if it were not for the aidof the inhabitants of the last village, won by gifts, it would havebeen necessary to seek another road for the King. These negroes knewbetter than Kali the passes leading from that side of the mountain, andafter two days' arduous travel, during w
hich great cold incommoded themduring the nights, they successfully led the caravan to a depression ina crest of a mountain and from the mountain to a valley lying in theWahima country.
Stas halted in the morning for a rest in this desolate valley,surrounded by underwood, while Kali, who begged to be allowed to scouton horseback in the direction of his father's "boma," which was about aday's distance, started that very night. Stas and Nell waited for himthe whole day with the greatest uneasiness and feared that he hadperished or fallen into the hands of the enemy, and when finally heappeared on a lean and panting horse, he himself was equally fatiguedand so dejected that the sight of him excited pity.
He fell at once at Stas' feet and began to implore for help.
"Oh, great master," he said, "the Samburus have defeated Fumba'swarriors; they
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