章节正文
and yet the people I spoke to were chary of saying much
about him. Presently I found that he preached more than the
gospel. His word was "Africa for the Africans," and his chief
point was that the natives had had a great empire in the past,
and might have a great empire again. He used to tell the story
of Prester John, with all kinds of embroidery of his own. You
see, Prester John was a good argument for him, for he had
been a Christian as well as a great potentate.
'For years there has been plenty of this talk in South Africa,
chiefly among Christian Kaffirs. It is what they call
"Ethiopianism," and American negroes are the chief apostles. For
myself, I always thought the thing perfectlyharmless. I don't
care a fig whether the native missions break away from the
parent churches in England and call themselves by fancy
names. The more freedom they have in their religious life, the
less they are likely to think about politics. But I soon found
out that Laputa was none of your flabby educated negroes
from America, and I began to watch him.
'I first came across him at a revival meeting in London,
where he was a great success. He came and spoke to me about
my soul, but he gave up when I dropped into Zulu. The next
time I met him was on the lower Limpopo, when I had the
pleasure of trying to shoot him from a boat.'
Captain Arcoll took his pipe from his mouth and laughed at
the recollection.
'I had got on to an I.D.B. gang, and to my amazement
found the evangelist among them. But the Reverend John was
too much for me. He went overboard in spite of the crocodiles,
and managed to swim below water to the reed bed at the side.
However, that was a valuable experience for me, for it gave me
a clue.
'I next saw him at a Missionary Conference in Cape Town,
and after that at a meeting of the Geographical Society in
London, where I had a long talk with him. My reputation does
not follow me home, and he thought I was an English publisher
with an interest in missions. You see I had no evidence to
connect him with I.D.B., and besides I fancied that his real
game was something bigger than that; so I just bided my time
and watched.
'I did my best to get on to his dossier, but it was no easy
job. However, I found out a few things. He had been educated
in the States, and well educated too, for the man is a good
scholar and a great reader, besides the finest natural orator I
have ever heard. There was no doubt that he was of Zulu
blood, but I could get no traces of his family. He must come
of high stock, for he is a fine figure of a man.
'Very soon I found it was no good following him in his
excursions into civilization. There he was merely the educated
Kaffir; a great pet of missionary societies, and a favourite
speaker at Church meetings. You will find evidence given by
him in Blue-Books on native affairs, and he counted many
members of Parliament at home among his correspondents. I
let that side go, and resolved to dog him when on his
evangelizing tours in the back-veld.
'For six months I stuck to him like a leech. I am pretty good
at disguises, and he never knew who was the broken-down old
Kaffir who squatted in the dirt at the edge of the crowd when
he spoke, or the half-caste who called him "Sir" and drove his
Cape-cart. I had some queer adventures, but these can wait.
The gist of the thing is, that after six months which turned my
hair grey I got a glimmering of what he was after. He talked
Christianity to the mobs in the kraals, but to the indunas* he
told a different story.'
*Lesser chiefs.
Captain Arcoll helped himself to a drink. 'You can guess
what that story was, Mr Crawfurd. At full moon when the
black cock was blooded, the Reverend John forgot his Christianity.
He was back four centuries among the Mazimba sweeping
down on the Zambesi. He told them, and they believed
him, that he was the Umkulunkulu, the incarnated spirit of
Prester John. He told them that he was there to lead the
African race to conquest and empire. Ay, and he told them
more: for he has, or says he has, the Great Snake itself, the
necklet of Prester John.'
Neither of us spoke; we were too occupied with fitting this
news into our chain of knowledge.
Captain Arcoll went on. 'Now that I knew his purpose, I set
myself to find out his preparations. It was not long before I
found a mighty organization at work from the Zambesi to the
Cape. The great tribes were up to their necks in the conspiracy,
and all manner of little sects had been taken in. I have sat at
tribal councils and been sworn a blood brother, and I have
used the secret password to get knowledge in odd places. It
was a dangerous game, and, as I have said, I had my
adventures, but I came safe out of it - with my knowledge.
'The first thing I found out was that there was a great deal
of wealth somewhere among the tribes. Much of it was in
diamonds, which the labourers stole from the mines and the
chiefs impounded. Nearly every tribe had its secret chest, and
our friend Laputa had the use of them all. Of course the
difficulty was changing the diamonds into coin, and he had to
start I.D.B. on a big scale. Your pal, Henriques, was the chief
agent for this, but he had others at Mozambique and Johannesburg,
ay, and in London, whom I have on my list. With the
money, guns and ammunition were bought, and it seems that
a pretty flourishing trade has been going on for some time.
They came in mostlyoverland through Portuguese territory,
though there have been cases of consignments to Johannesburg
houses, the contents of which did not correspond with the
invoice. You ask what the Governments were doing to let this
go on. Yes, and you may well ask. They were all asleep. They
never dreamed of danger from the natives, and in any case it
was difficult to police the Portuguese side. Laputa knew our
weakness, and he staked everything on it.
'my first scheme was to lay Laputa by the heels; but no
Government would act on my information. The man was
strongly buttressed by public support at home, and South
Africa has burned her fingers before this with arbitrary arrests.
Then I tried to fasten I.D.B. on him, but I could not get my
proofs till too late. I nearly had him in Durban, but he got
away; and he never gave me a second chance. For five months
he and Henriques have been lying low, because their scheme
was getting very ripe. I have been following them through
Zululand and Gazaland, and I have discovered that the train is
ready, and only wants the match. For a month I have never
been more than five hours behind him on the trail; and if he
has laid his train, I have laid mine also.'
Arcoll's whimsical, humorous face had hardened into grimness,
and in his eyes there was the light of a fierce purpose.
The sight of him comforted me, in spite of his tale.
'But what can he hope to do?' I asked. 'Though he roused
every Kaffir in South Africa he would be beaten. You say he is
an educated man. He must know he has no chance in the long run.'
'I said he was an educated man, but he is also a Kaffir. He
can see the first stage of a thing, and maybe the second, but no
more. That is the native mind. If it was not like that our
chance would be the worse.'
'You say the scheme is ripe,' I said; 'how ripe?'
Arcoll looked at the clock. 'In half an hour's time Laputa
will be with 'Mpefu. There he will stay the night. To-morrow
morning he goes to Umvelos' to meet Henriques. To-morrow
evening the gathering begins.'
'One question,' I said. 'How big a man is Laputa?'
'The biggest thing that the Kaffirs have ever produced. I
tell you, in my opinion he is a great genius. If he had been
white he might have been a second Napoleon. He is a born
leader of men, and as brave as a lion. There is no villainy he
would not do if necessary, and yet I should hesitate to call him
a blackguard. Ay, you may look surprised at me, you two
pragmatical Scotsmen; but I have, so to speak, lived with the
man for months, and there's fineness and nobility in him. He
would be a terrible enemy, but a just one. He has the heart of
a poet and a king, and it is God's curse that he has been born
among the children of Ham. I hope to shoot him like a dog in
a day or two, but I am glad to bear testimony to his greatness.'
'If the rising starts to-morrow,' I asked, 'have you any of
his plans?'
He picked up a map from the table and opened it. 'The first
rendezvous is somewhere near Sikitola's. Then they move
south, picking up contingents; and the final concentration is to
be on the high veld near Amsterdam, which is convenient for
the Swazis and the Zulus. After that I know nothing, but of
course there are local concentrations along the whole line of
the Berg from Mashonaland to Basutoland. Now, look here.
To get to Amsterdam they must cross the Delagoa Bay
Railway. Well, they won't be allowed to. If they get as far,
they will be scattered there. As I told you, I too have laid my
train. We have the police ready all along the scarp of the Berg.
Every exit from native territory is watched, and the frontier
farmers are out on commando. We have regulars on the
Delagoa Bay and Natal lines, and a system of field telegraphs
laid which can summon further troops to any point. It has all
been kept secret, because we are still in the dark ourselves.
The newspaper public knows nothing about any rising, but in
two days every white household in South Africa will be in a
panic. Make no mistake, Mr Crawfurd; this is a grim business.
We shall smash Laputa and his men, but it will be a fierce
fight, and there will be much good blood shed. Besides, it will
throw the country back another half-century. Would to God I
had been man enough to put a bullet through his head in cold
blood. But I could not do it - it was too like murder; and
maybe I shall never have the chance now.'
'There's one thing puzzles me,' I said. 'What makes Laputa
come up here to start with? Why doesn't he begin with
Zululand?'
'God knows! There's sure to be sense in it, for he does
nothing without reason. We may know to-morrow.'
But as Captain Arcoll spoke, the real reason suddenly flashed
into my mind: Laputa had to get the Great Snake, the necklet
of Prester John, to give his leadershipprestige. Apparently he
had not yet got it, or Arcoll would have known. He started
from this neighbourhood because the fetich was somewhere
hereabouts. I was convinced that my guess was right, but I
kept my own counsel.
'To-morrow Laputa and Henriques meet at Umvelos', probably
at your new store, Mr Crawfurd. And so the ball commences.'
My resolution was suddenly taken.
'I think,' I said, 'I had better be present at the meeting, as
representing the firm.'
Captain Arcoll stared at me and laughed. 'I had thought of
going myself,' he said.
'Then you go to certain death, disguise yourself as you
please. You cannot meet them in the store as I can. I'm there
on my ordinary business, and they will never suspect. If you're
to get any news, I'm the man to go.'
He looked at me steadily for a minute or so. 'I'm not sure
that's such a bad idea of yours. I would be better employed
myself on the Berg, and, as you say, I would have little chance
of hearing anything. You're a plucky fellow, Mr Crawfurd. I
suppose you understand that the risk is pretty considerable.'
'I suppose I do; but since I'm in this thing, I may as well
about him. Presently I found that he preached more than the
gospel. His word was "Africa for the Africans," and his chief
point was that the natives had had a great empire in the past,
and might have a great empire again. He used to tell the story
of Prester John, with all kinds of embroidery of his own. You
see, Prester John was a good argument for him, for he had
been a Christian as well as a great potentate.
'For years there has been plenty of this talk in South Africa,
chiefly among Christian Kaffirs. It is what they call
"Ethiopianism," and American negroes are the chief apostles. For
myself, I always thought the thing perfectlyharmless. I don't
care a fig whether the native missions break away from the
parent churches in England and call themselves by fancy
names. The more freedom they have in their religious life, the
less they are likely to think about politics. But I soon found
out that Laputa was none of your flabby educated negroes
from America, and I began to watch him.
'I first came across him at a revival meeting in London,
where he was a great success. He came and spoke to me about
my soul, but he gave up when I dropped into Zulu. The next
time I met him was on the lower Limpopo, when I had the
pleasure of trying to shoot him from a boat.'
Captain Arcoll took his pipe from his mouth and laughed at
the recollection.
'I had got on to an I.D.B. gang, and to my amazement
found the evangelist among them. But the Reverend John was
too much for me. He went overboard in spite of the crocodiles,
and managed to swim below water to the reed bed at the side.
However, that was a valuable experience for me, for it gave me
a clue.
'I next saw him at a Missionary Conference in Cape Town,
and after that at a meeting of the Geographical Society in
London, where I had a long talk with him. My reputation does
not follow me home, and he thought I was an English publisher
with an interest in missions. You see I had no evidence to
connect him with I.D.B., and besides I fancied that his real
game was something bigger than that; so I just bided my time
and watched.
'I did my best to get on to his dossier, but it was no easy
job. However, I found out a few things. He had been educated
in the States, and well educated too, for the man is a good
scholar and a great reader, besides the finest natural orator I
have ever heard. There was no doubt that he was of Zulu
blood, but I could get no traces of his family. He must come
of high stock, for he is a fine figure of a man.
'Very soon I found it was no good following him in his
excursions into civilization. There he was merely the educated
Kaffir; a great pet of missionary societies, and a favourite
speaker at Church meetings. You will find evidence given by
him in Blue-Books on native affairs, and he counted many
members of Parliament at home among his correspondents. I
let that side go, and resolved to dog him when on his
evangelizing tours in the back-veld.
'For six months I stuck to him like a leech. I am pretty good
at disguises, and he never knew who was the broken-down old
Kaffir who squatted in the dirt at the edge of the crowd when
he spoke, or the half-caste who called him "Sir" and drove his
Cape-cart. I had some queer adventures, but these can wait.
The gist of the thing is, that after six months which turned my
hair grey I got a glimmering of what he was after. He talked
Christianity to the mobs in the kraals, but to the indunas* he
told a different story.'
*Lesser chiefs.
Captain Arcoll helped himself to a drink. 'You can guess
what that story was, Mr Crawfurd. At full moon when the
black cock was blooded, the Reverend John forgot his Christianity.
He was back four centuries among the Mazimba sweeping
down on the Zambesi. He told them, and they believed
him, that he was the Umkulunkulu, the incarnated spirit of
Prester John. He told them that he was there to lead the
African race to conquest and empire. Ay, and he told them
more: for he has, or says he has, the Great Snake itself, the
necklet of Prester John.'
Neither of us spoke; we were too occupied with fitting this
news into our chain of knowledge.
Captain Arcoll went on. 'Now that I knew his purpose, I set
myself to find out his preparations. It was not long before I
found a mighty organization at work from the Zambesi to the
Cape. The great tribes were up to their necks in the conspiracy,
and all manner of little sects had been taken in. I have sat at
tribal councils and been sworn a blood brother, and I have
used the secret password to get knowledge in odd places. It
was a dangerous game, and, as I have said, I had my
adventures, but I came safe out of it - with my knowledge.
'The first thing I found out was that there was a great deal
of wealth somewhere among the tribes. Much of it was in
diamonds, which the labourers stole from the mines and the
chiefs impounded. Nearly every tribe had its secret chest, and
our friend Laputa had the use of them all. Of course the
difficulty was changing the diamonds into coin, and he had to
start I.D.B. on a big scale. Your pal, Henriques, was the chief
agent for this, but he had others at Mozambique and Johannesburg,
ay, and in London, whom I have on my list. With the
money, guns and ammunition were bought, and it seems that
a pretty flourishing trade has been going on for some time.
They came in mostlyoverland through Portuguese territory,
though there have been cases of consignments to Johannesburg
houses, the contents of which did not correspond with the
invoice. You ask what the Governments were doing to let this
go on. Yes, and you may well ask. They were all asleep. They
never dreamed of danger from the natives, and in any case it
was difficult to police the Portuguese side. Laputa knew our
weakness, and he staked everything on it.
'my first scheme was to lay Laputa by the heels; but no
Government would act on my information. The man was
strongly buttressed by public support at home, and South
Africa has burned her fingers before this with arbitrary arrests.
Then I tried to fasten I.D.B. on him, but I could not get my
proofs till too late. I nearly had him in Durban, but he got
away; and he never gave me a second chance. For five months
he and Henriques have been lying low, because their scheme
was getting very ripe. I have been following them through
Zululand and Gazaland, and I have discovered that the train is
ready, and only wants the match. For a month I have never
been more than five hours behind him on the trail; and if he
has laid his train, I have laid mine also.'
Arcoll's whimsical, humorous face had hardened into grimness,
and in his eyes there was the light of a fierce purpose.
The sight of him comforted me, in spite of his tale.
'But what can he hope to do?' I asked. 'Though he roused
every Kaffir in South Africa he would be beaten. You say he is
an educated man. He must know he has no chance in the long run.'
'I said he was an educated man, but he is also a Kaffir. He
can see the first stage of a thing, and maybe the second, but no
more. That is the native mind. If it was not like that our
chance would be the worse.'
'You say the scheme is ripe,' I said; 'how ripe?'
Arcoll looked at the clock. 'In half an hour's time Laputa
will be with 'Mpefu. There he will stay the night. To-morrow
morning he goes to Umvelos' to meet Henriques. To-morrow
evening the gathering begins.'
'One question,' I said. 'How big a man is Laputa?'
'The biggest thing that the Kaffirs have ever produced. I
tell you, in my opinion he is a great genius. If he had been
white he might have been a second Napoleon. He is a born
leader of men, and as brave as a lion. There is no villainy he
would not do if necessary, and yet I should hesitate to call him
a blackguard. Ay, you may look surprised at me, you two
pragmatical Scotsmen; but I have, so to speak, lived with the
man for months, and there's fineness and nobility in him. He
would be a terrible enemy, but a just one. He has the heart of
a poet and a king, and it is God's curse that he has been born
among the children of Ham. I hope to shoot him like a dog in
a day or two, but I am glad to bear testimony to his greatness.'
'If the rising starts to-morrow,' I asked, 'have you any of
his plans?'
He picked up a map from the table and opened it. 'The first
rendezvous is somewhere near Sikitola's. Then they move
south, picking up contingents; and the final concentration is to
be on the high veld near Amsterdam, which is convenient for
the Swazis and the Zulus. After that I know nothing, but of
course there are local concentrations along the whole line of
the Berg from Mashonaland to Basutoland. Now, look here.
To get to Amsterdam they must cross the Delagoa Bay
Railway. Well, they won't be allowed to. If they get as far,
they will be scattered there. As I told you, I too have laid my
train. We have the police ready all along the scarp of the Berg.
Every exit from native territory is watched, and the frontier
farmers are out on commando. We have regulars on the
Delagoa Bay and Natal lines, and a system of field telegraphs
laid which can summon further troops to any point. It has all
been kept secret, because we are still in the dark ourselves.
The newspaper public knows nothing about any rising, but in
two days every white household in South Africa will be in a
panic. Make no mistake, Mr Crawfurd; this is a grim business.
We shall smash Laputa and his men, but it will be a fierce
fight, and there will be much good blood shed. Besides, it will
throw the country back another half-century. Would to God I
had been man enough to put a bullet through his head in cold
blood. But I could not do it - it was too like murder; and
maybe I shall never have the chance now.'
'There's one thing puzzles me,' I said. 'What makes Laputa
come up here to start with? Why doesn't he begin with
Zululand?'
'God knows! There's sure to be sense in it, for he does
nothing without reason. We may know to-morrow.'
But as Captain Arcoll spoke, the real reason suddenly flashed
into my mind: Laputa had to get the Great Snake, the necklet
of Prester John, to give his leadershipprestige. Apparently he
had not yet got it, or Arcoll would have known. He started
from this neighbourhood because the fetich was somewhere
hereabouts. I was convinced that my guess was right, but I
kept my own counsel.
'To-morrow Laputa and Henriques meet at Umvelos', probably
at your new store, Mr Crawfurd. And so the ball commences.'
My resolution was suddenly taken.
'I think,' I said, 'I had better be present at the meeting, as
representing the firm.'
Captain Arcoll stared at me and laughed. 'I had thought of
going myself,' he said.
'Then you go to certain death, disguise yourself as you
please. You cannot meet them in the store as I can. I'm there
on my ordinary business, and they will never suspect. If you're
to get any news, I'm the man to go.'
He looked at me steadily for a minute or so. 'I'm not sure
that's such a bad idea of yours. I would be better employed
myself on the Berg, and, as you say, I would have little chance
of hearing anything. You're a plucky fellow, Mr Crawfurd. I
suppose you understand that the risk is pretty considerable.'
'I suppose I do; but since I'm in this thing, I may as well
- presently [´prezəntli]
ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词) - argument [´ɑ:gjumənt] n.辩论；争论；论证 (初中英语单词)
- politics [´pɔlitiks] n.政治(学)；政治活动 (初中英语单词)
- valuable [´væljuəbəl, -jubəl] a.有价值的，贵重的 (初中英语单词)
- conference [´kɔnfərəns] n.讨论(会)；会谈 (初中英语单词)
- civilization [,sivilai´zeiʃən] n.文明，文化 (初中英语单词)
- parliament [´pɑ:ləmənt] n.议(国)会 (初中英语单词)
- conquest [´kɔŋkwest] n.赢得；获得；占领地 (初中英语单词)
- wealth [welθ] n.财富，财产 (初中英语单词)
- mostly [´məustli] ad.主要地；多半；通常 (初中英语单词)
- contents [´kɔ:ntents] n.容纳物；要旨 (初中英语单词)
- scheme [ski:m] n.计划；阴谋，诡计 (初中英语单词)
- fasten [´fɑ:sən] v.扎牢；闩住；钉牢 (初中英语单词)
- fierce [fiəs] a.残忍的；强烈的 (初中英语单词)
- beaten [´bi:tn] beat 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- genius [´dʒi:niəs] n.天才(人物)；天赋 (初中英语单词)
- hesitate [´heziteit] vi.犹豫，踌躇 (初中英语单词)
- concentration [,kɔnsən´treiʃən] n.集中，专心 (初中英语单词)
- convenient [kən´vi:niənt] a.方便的 (初中英语单词)
- system [´sistəm] n.系统，体系，制度 (初中英语单词)
- bullet [´bulit] n.子弹 (初中英语单词)
- resolution [,rezə´lu:ʃən] n.决心；坚决；果断 (初中英语单词)
- disguise [dis´gaiz] vt.假装；隐瞒 n.伪装 (初中英语单词)
- suspect [´sʌspekt, sə´spekt] v.怀疑；觉得 n.嫌疑犯 (初中英语单词)
- steadily [´stedili] ad.坚定地；不断地 (初中英语单词)
- saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
- perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)
- harmless [´hɑ:mləs] a.无害的，无恶意的 (高中英语单词)
- reverend [´revərənd] a.可尊敬的 (高中英语单词)
- missionary [´miʃənəri] a.传教(士)的 n.传教士 (高中英语单词)
- mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)
- correspond [,kɔri´spɔnd] vi.符合；相当；通信 (高中英语单词)
- napoleon [nə´pəuljən] n.拿破仑 (高中英语单词)
- nobility [nəu´biliti, nə-] n.高贵；贵金属性 (高中英语单词)
- testimony [´testiməni] n.证明；证据；表明 (高中英语单词)
- amsterdam [´æmstədæm] n.阿姆斯特丹 (高中英语单词)
- summon [´sʌmən] vt.召集；号召 (高中英语单词)
- leadership [´li:dəʃip] n.领导(能力) (高中英语单词)
- apparently [ə´pærəntli] ad.显然，表面上地 (高中英语单词)
- hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)
- embroidery [im´brɔidəri] n.刺绣(品) (英语四级单词)
- revival [ri´vaivəl] n.苏醒；复活；复兴 (英语四级单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- overboard [´əuvəbɔ:d] ad.向船外；到水中 (英语四级单词)
- geographical [dʒi:ə´græfik(ə)l] a.地理(学)的 (英语四级单词)
- reputation [repju´teiʃən] n.名誉；名声；信誉 (英语四级单词)
- orator [´ɔrətə] n.演说者；雄辩家 (英语四级单词)
- resolved [ri´zɔlvd] a.决心的；坚定的 (英语四级单词)
- ammunition [,æmju´niʃən] n.军火，弹药 (英语四级单词)
- portuguese [,pɔ:tʃu´gi:z] a.葡萄牙的 n.葡萄牙人 (英语四级单词)
- arbitrary [´ɑ:bitrəri] a.任意的；专断的 (英语四级单词)
- humorous [´hju:mərəs] a.富于幽默的，诙谐的 (英语四级单词)
- gathering [´gæðəriŋ] n.集会，聚集 (英语四级单词)
- prestige [pres´ti:ʒ] n.威望，威信；声望 (英语四级单词)
- fitting [´fitiŋ] a.适当的 n.试衣 (英语六级单词)
- overland [´əuvə,lænd, ,əuvə´lænd] a.陆上的 ad.陆上 (英语六级单词)
- fineness [´fainnis] n.美好；细微；优雅 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
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