章节正文
me half-witted, and indeed before long I began to be of the
same opinion myself. I told him that I meant to sleep the night
here, and go back in the morning to Blaauwildebeestefontein,
and then to Pietersdorp for stores. By-and-by I could see that
he had ceased to pay any attention to what I said. I was clearly
set down in his mind as a fool. Instead he kept looking at
Colin, who was lying blinking in the doorway, one wary eye
cocked on the stranger.
'You have a fine dog,' he observed.
'Yes,' I agreed, with one final effort of mendacity, 'he's fine
to look at, but he has no grit in him. Any mongrel from a kraal
can make him turn tail. Besides, he is a born fool and can't
find his way home. I'm thinking of getting rid of him.'
Laputa rose and his eye fell on the dog's back. I could see
that he saw the lie of his coat, and that he did not agree
with me.
'The food was welcome, Baas,' he said. 'If you will listen to
me I can repay hospitality with advice. You are a stranger
here. Trouble comes, and if you are wise you will go back to
the Berg.'
'I don't know what you mean,' I said, with an air of cheerful
idiocy. 'But back to the Berg I go the first thing in the
morning. I hate these stinking plains.'
'It were wise to go to-night,' he said, with a touch of menace
in his tone.
'I can't,' I said, and began to sing the chorus of a ridiculous
music-hall song-
'There's no place like home - but
I'm afraid to go home in the dark.'
Laputa shrugged his shoulders, stepped over the bristling
Colin, and went out. When I looked after him two minutes
later he had disappeared.
CHAPTER IX
THE STORE AT UMVELOS'
I sat down on a chair and laboured to collect my thoughts.
Laputa had gone, and would return sooner or later with
Henriques. If I was to remain alive till morning, both of them
must be convinced that I was harmless. Laputa was probably
of that opinion, but Henriques would recognize me, and I had
no wish to have that yellow miscreant investigating my character.
There was only one way out of it - I must be incapably
drunk. There was not a drop of liquor in the store, but I found
an old whisky bottle half full of methylated spirits. With this I
thought I might raise an atmosphere of bad whisky, and for
the rest I must trust to my meagre gifts as an actor.
Supposing I escaped suspicion, Laputa and Henriques
would meet in the outhouse, and I must find some means of
overhearing them. Here I was fairly baffled. There was no
window in the outhouse save in the roof, and they were sure to
shut and bolt the door. I might conceal myself among the
barrels inside; but apart from the fact that they were likely to
search them before beginning their conference, it was quite
certain that they would satisfy themselves that I was safe in
the other end of the building before going to the outhouse.
Suddenly I thought of the cellar which we had built below
the store. There was an entrance by a trap-door behind the
counter, and another in the outhouse. I had forgotten the
details, but my hope was that the second was among the
barrels. I shut the outer door, prised up the trap, and dropped
into the vault, which had been floored roughly with green
bricks. Lighting match after match, I crawled to the other end
and tried to lift the door. It would not stir, so I guessed that
the barrels were on the top of it. Back to the outhouse I went,
and found that sure enough a heavy packing-case was standing
on a corner. I fixed it slightly open, so as to let me hear, and
so arranged the odds and ends round about it that no one
looking from the floor of the outhouse would guess at its
existence. It occurred to me that the conspirators would want
seats, so I placed two cases at the edge of the heap, that they
might not be tempted to forage in the interior.
This done, I went back to the store and proceeded to rig
myself out for my part. The cellar had made me pretty dirty,
and I added some new daubs to my face. My hair had grown
longish, and I ran my hands through it till it stood up like a
cockatoo's crest. Then I cunningly disposed the methylated
spirits in the places most likely to smell. I burned a little on
the floor, I spilt some on the counter and on my hands, and I
let it dribble over my coat. In five minutes I had made the
room stink like a shebeen. I loosened the collar of my shirt,
and when I looked at myself in the cover of my watch I saw a
specimen of debauchery which would have done credit to a
Saturday night's police cell.
By this time the sun had gone down, but I thought it better
to kindle no light. It was the night of the full moon - for which
reason, I supposed, Laputa had selected it - and in an hour or
two the world would be lit with that ghostlyradiance. I sat on
the counter while the minutes passed, and I confess I found
the time of waiting very trying for my courage. I had got over
my worst nervousness by having something to do, but whenever
I was idle my fears returned. Laputa had a big night's
work before him, and must begin soon. My vigil, I told myself,
could not be long.
My pony was stalled in a rough shed we had built opposite
the store. I could hear him shaking his head and stamping the
ground above the croaking of the frogs by the Labongo.
Presently it seemed to me that another sound came from
behind the store - the sound of horses' feet and the rattle of
bridles. It was hushed for a moment, and then I heard human
voices. The riders had tied up their horses to a tree and were
coming nearer.
I sprawled gracefully on the counter, the empty bottle in my
hand, and my eyes fixed anxiously on the square of the door,
which was filled with the blue glimmer of the late twilight.
The square darkened, and two men peered in. Colin growled
from below the counter, but with one hand I held the scruff of
his neck.
'Hullo,' I said, 'ish that my black friend? Awfly shorry, old
man, but I've f'nish'd th' whisky. The bo-o-ottle shempty,'
and I waved it upside down with an imbecile giggle.
Laputa said something which I did not catch. Henriques
laughed an ugly laugh.
'We had better make certain of him,' he said.
The two argued for a minute, and then Laputa seemed to
prevail. The door was shut and the key, which I had left in the
lock, turned on me.
I gave them five minutes to get to the outhouse and settle to
business. Then I opened the trap, got into the cellar, and
crawled to the other end. A ray of light was coming through
the partially raised door. By a blessed chance some old bricks
had been left behind, and of these I made a footstool, which
enabled me to get my back level with the door and look out.
My laager of barrels was intact, but through a gap I had left
I could see the two men sitting on the two cases I had provided
for them. A lantern was set between them, and Henriques was
drinking out of a metal flask.
He took something - I could not see what - out of his
pocket, and held it before his companion.
'Spoils of war,' he said. 'I let Sikitola's men draw first blood.
They needed it to screw up their courage. Now they are as
wild as Umbooni's.
Laputa asked a question.
'It was the Dutchmen, who were out on the Koodoo Flats
with their cattle. Man, it's no good being squeamish. Do you
think you can talk over these surly back-veld fools? If we had
not done it, the best of their horses would now be over the
Berg to give warning. Besides, I tell you, Sikitola's men wanted
blooding. I did for the old swine, Coetzee, with my own
hands. Once he set his dogs on me, and I don't forget an injury.'
Laputa must have disapproved, for Henriques' voice grew high.
'Run the show the way you please,' he cried; 'but don't
blame me if you make a hash of it. God, man, do you think
you are going to work a revolution on skim milk? If I had my
will, I would go in and stick a knife in the drunken hog
next door.'
'He is safe enough,' Laputa replied. 'I gave him the chance
of life, and he laughed at me. He won't get far on his road home.'
This was pleasant hearing for me, but I scarcely thought of
myself. I was consumed with a passion of fury against the
murdering yellow devil. With Laputa I was not angry; he was
an open enemy, playing a fair game. But my fingers itched to
get at the Portugoose - that double-dyed traitor to his race. As
I thought of my kindly old friends, lying butchered with their
kinsfolk out in the bush, hot tears of rage came to my eyes.
Perfect love casteth out fear, the Bible says; but, to speak it
reverently, so does perfect hate. Not for safety and a king's
ransom would I have drawn back from the game. I prayed for
one thing only, that God in His mercy would give me the
chance of settling with Henriques.
I fancy I missed some of the conversation, being occupied
with my own passion. At any rate, when I next listened the
two were deep in plans. Maps were spread beside them, and
Laputa's delicateforefinger was tracing a route. I strained my
ears, but could catch only a few names. Apparently they were
to keep in the plains till they had crossed the Klein Labongo
and the Letaba. I thought I caught the name of the ford of the
latter; it sounded like Dupree's Drift. After that the talk
became plainer, for Laputa was explaining in his clear voice.
The force would leave the bush, ascend the Berg by the glen
of the Groot Letaba, and the first halt would be called at a
place called Inanda's Kraal, where a promontory of the high-
veld juts out behind the peaks called the Wolkberg or Cloud
Mountains. All this was very much to the point, and the names
sunk into my memory like a die into wax.
'Meanwhile,' said Laputa, 'there is the gathering at
Ntabakaikonjwa.* It will take us three hours' hard riding to
get there.'
**Literally, 'The Hill which is not to be pointed at'.
Where on earth was Ntabakaikonjwa? It must be the native
name for the Rooirand, for after all Laputa was not likely to
use the Dutch word for his own sacred place.
'Nothing has been forgotten. The men are massed below the
cliffs, and the chiefs and the great indunas will enter the Place
of the Snake. The door will be guarded, and only the password
will get a man through. That word is "Immanuel," which
means, "God with us."'
'Well, when we get there, what happens?' Henriques asked
with a laugh. 'What kind of magic will you spring on us?'
There was a strong contrast between the flippant tone of the
Portugoose and the grave voice which answered him.
'The Keeper of the Snake will open the holy place, and
bring forth the Isetembiso sami.* As the leader of my people,
I will assume the collar of Umkulunkulu in the name of our
God and the spirits of the great dead.'
*Literally, 'Very sacred thing'.
'But you don't propose to lead the march in a necklace of
rubies,' said Henriques, with a sudden eagerness in his voice.
Again Laputa spoke gravely, and, as it were, abstractedly. I
heard the voice of one whose mind was fixed on a far horizon.
'When I am acclaimed king, I restore the Snake to its
Keeper, and swear never to clasp it on my neck till I have led
my people to victory.'
same opinion myself. I told him that I meant to sleep the night
here, and go back in the morning to Blaauwildebeestefontein,
and then to Pietersdorp for stores. By-and-by I could see that
he had ceased to pay any attention to what I said. I was clearly
set down in his mind as a fool. Instead he kept looking at
Colin, who was lying blinking in the doorway, one wary eye
cocked on the stranger.
'You have a fine dog,' he observed.
'Yes,' I agreed, with one final effort of mendacity, 'he's fine
to look at, but he has no grit in him. Any mongrel from a kraal
can make him turn tail. Besides, he is a born fool and can't
find his way home. I'm thinking of getting rid of him.'
Laputa rose and his eye fell on the dog's back. I could see
that he saw the lie of his coat, and that he did not agree
with me.
'The food was welcome, Baas,' he said. 'If you will listen to
me I can repay hospitality with advice. You are a stranger
here. Trouble comes, and if you are wise you will go back to
the Berg.'
'I don't know what you mean,' I said, with an air of cheerful
idiocy. 'But back to the Berg I go the first thing in the
morning. I hate these stinking plains.'
'It were wise to go to-night,' he said, with a touch of menace
in his tone.
'I can't,' I said, and began to sing the chorus of a ridiculous
music-hall song-
'There's no place like home - but
I'm afraid to go home in the dark.'
Laputa shrugged his shoulders, stepped over the bristling
Colin, and went out. When I looked after him two minutes
later he had disappeared.
CHAPTER IX
THE STORE AT UMVELOS'
I sat down on a chair and laboured to collect my thoughts.
Laputa had gone, and would return sooner or later with
Henriques. If I was to remain alive till morning, both of them
must be convinced that I was harmless. Laputa was probably
of that opinion, but Henriques would recognize me, and I had
no wish to have that yellow miscreant investigating my character.
There was only one way out of it - I must be incapably
drunk. There was not a drop of liquor in the store, but I found
an old whisky bottle half full of methylated spirits. With this I
thought I might raise an atmosphere of bad whisky, and for
the rest I must trust to my meagre gifts as an actor.
Supposing I escaped suspicion, Laputa and Henriques
would meet in the outhouse, and I must find some means of
overhearing them. Here I was fairly baffled. There was no
window in the outhouse save in the roof, and they were sure to
shut and bolt the door. I might conceal myself among the
barrels inside; but apart from the fact that they were likely to
search them before beginning their conference, it was quite
certain that they would satisfy themselves that I was safe in
the other end of the building before going to the outhouse.
Suddenly I thought of the cellar which we had built below
the store. There was an entrance by a trap-door behind the
counter, and another in the outhouse. I had forgotten the
details, but my hope was that the second was among the
barrels. I shut the outer door, prised up the trap, and dropped
into the vault, which had been floored roughly with green
bricks. Lighting match after match, I crawled to the other end
and tried to lift the door. It would not stir, so I guessed that
the barrels were on the top of it. Back to the outhouse I went,
and found that sure enough a heavy packing-case was standing
on a corner. I fixed it slightly open, so as to let me hear, and
so arranged the odds and ends round about it that no one
looking from the floor of the outhouse would guess at its
existence. It occurred to me that the conspirators would want
seats, so I placed two cases at the edge of the heap, that they
might not be tempted to forage in the interior.
This done, I went back to the store and proceeded to rig
myself out for my part. The cellar had made me pretty dirty,
and I added some new daubs to my face. My hair had grown
longish, and I ran my hands through it till it stood up like a
cockatoo's crest. Then I cunningly disposed the methylated
spirits in the places most likely to smell. I burned a little on
the floor, I spilt some on the counter and on my hands, and I
let it dribble over my coat. In five minutes I had made the
room stink like a shebeen. I loosened the collar of my shirt,
and when I looked at myself in the cover of my watch I saw a
specimen of debauchery which would have done credit to a
Saturday night's police cell.
By this time the sun had gone down, but I thought it better
to kindle no light. It was the night of the full moon - for which
reason, I supposed, Laputa had selected it - and in an hour or
two the world would be lit with that ghostlyradiance. I sat on
the counter while the minutes passed, and I confess I found
the time of waiting very trying for my courage. I had got over
my worst nervousness by having something to do, but whenever
I was idle my fears returned. Laputa had a big night's
work before him, and must begin soon. My vigil, I told myself,
could not be long.
My pony was stalled in a rough shed we had built opposite
the store. I could hear him shaking his head and stamping the
ground above the croaking of the frogs by the Labongo.
Presently it seemed to me that another sound came from
behind the store - the sound of horses' feet and the rattle of
bridles. It was hushed for a moment, and then I heard human
voices. The riders had tied up their horses to a tree and were
coming nearer.
I sprawled gracefully on the counter, the empty bottle in my
hand, and my eyes fixed anxiously on the square of the door,
which was filled with the blue glimmer of the late twilight.
The square darkened, and two men peered in. Colin growled
from below the counter, but with one hand I held the scruff of
his neck.
'Hullo,' I said, 'ish that my black friend? Awfly shorry, old
man, but I've f'nish'd th' whisky. The bo-o-ottle shempty,'
and I waved it upside down with an imbecile giggle.
Laputa said something which I did not catch. Henriques
laughed an ugly laugh.
'We had better make certain of him,' he said.
The two argued for a minute, and then Laputa seemed to
prevail. The door was shut and the key, which I had left in the
lock, turned on me.
I gave them five minutes to get to the outhouse and settle to
business. Then I opened the trap, got into the cellar, and
crawled to the other end. A ray of light was coming through
the partially raised door. By a blessed chance some old bricks
had been left behind, and of these I made a footstool, which
enabled me to get my back level with the door and look out.
My laager of barrels was intact, but through a gap I had left
I could see the two men sitting on the two cases I had provided
for them. A lantern was set between them, and Henriques was
drinking out of a metal flask.
He took something - I could not see what - out of his
pocket, and held it before his companion.
'Spoils of war,' he said. 'I let Sikitola's men draw first blood.
They needed it to screw up their courage. Now they are as
wild as Umbooni's.
Laputa asked a question.
'It was the Dutchmen, who were out on the Koodoo Flats
with their cattle. Man, it's no good being squeamish. Do you
think you can talk over these surly back-veld fools? If we had
not done it, the best of their horses would now be over the
Berg to give warning. Besides, I tell you, Sikitola's men wanted
blooding. I did for the old swine, Coetzee, with my own
hands. Once he set his dogs on me, and I don't forget an injury.'
Laputa must have disapproved, for Henriques' voice grew high.
'Run the show the way you please,' he cried; 'but don't
blame me if you make a hash of it. God, man, do you think
you are going to work a revolution on skim milk? If I had my
will, I would go in and stick a knife in the drunken hog
next door.'
'He is safe enough,' Laputa replied. 'I gave him the chance
of life, and he laughed at me. He won't get far on his road home.'
This was pleasant hearing for me, but I scarcely thought of
myself. I was consumed with a passion of fury against the
murdering yellow devil. With Laputa I was not angry; he was
an open enemy, playing a fair game. But my fingers itched to
get at the Portugoose - that double-dyed traitor to his race. As
I thought of my kindly old friends, lying butchered with their
kinsfolk out in the bush, hot tears of rage came to my eyes.
Perfect love casteth out fear, the Bible says; but, to speak it
reverently, so does perfect hate. Not for safety and a king's
ransom would I have drawn back from the game. I prayed for
one thing only, that God in His mercy would give me the
chance of settling with Henriques.
I fancy I missed some of the conversation, being occupied
with my own passion. At any rate, when I next listened the
two were deep in plans. Maps were spread beside them, and
Laputa's delicateforefinger was tracing a route. I strained my
ears, but could catch only a few names. Apparently they were
to keep in the plains till they had crossed the Klein Labongo
and the Letaba. I thought I caught the name of the ford of the
latter; it sounded like Dupree's Drift. After that the talk
became plainer, for Laputa was explaining in his clear voice.
The force would leave the bush, ascend the Berg by the glen
of the Groot Letaba, and the first halt would be called at a
place called Inanda's Kraal, where a promontory of the high-
veld juts out behind the peaks called the Wolkberg or Cloud
Mountains. All this was very much to the point, and the names
sunk into my memory like a die into wax.
'Meanwhile,' said Laputa, 'there is the gathering at
Ntabakaikonjwa.* It will take us three hours' hard riding to
get there.'
**Literally, 'The Hill which is not to be pointed at'.
Where on earth was Ntabakaikonjwa? It must be the native
name for the Rooirand, for after all Laputa was not likely to
use the Dutch word for his own sacred place.
'Nothing has been forgotten. The men are massed below the
cliffs, and the chiefs and the great indunas will enter the Place
of the Snake. The door will be guarded, and only the password
will get a man through. That word is "Immanuel," which
means, "God with us."'
'Well, when we get there, what happens?' Henriques asked
with a laugh. 'What kind of magic will you spring on us?'
There was a strong contrast between the flippant tone of the
Portugoose and the grave voice which answered him.
'The Keeper of the Snake will open the holy place, and
bring forth the Isetembiso sami.* As the leader of my people,
I will assume the collar of Umkulunkulu in the name of our
God and the spirits of the great dead.'
*Literally, 'Very sacred thing'.
'But you don't propose to lead the march in a necklace of
rubies,' said Henriques, with a sudden eagerness in his voice.
Again Laputa spoke gravely, and, as it were, abstractedly. I
heard the voice of one whose mind was fixed on a far horizon.
'When I am acclaimed king, I restore the Snake to its
Keeper, and swear never to clasp it on my neck till I have led
my people to victory.'
- doorway [´dɔ:wei]
n.门口 (初中英语单词) - welcome [´welkəm] a.受欢迎的；可喜的 (初中英语单词)
- chorus [´kɔ:rəs] n.合唱；齐声 v.合唱 (初中英语单词)
- liquor [´likə] n.酒类；(溶)液 (初中英语单词)
- atmosphere [´ætməsfiə] n.大气；空气；气氛 (初中英语单词)
- suspicion [sə´spiʃən] n.怀(猜)疑；嫌疑 (初中英语单词)
- conceal [kən´si:l] vt.藏；隐瞒 (初中英语单词)
- beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)
- conference [´kɔnfərəns] n.讨论(会)；会谈 (初中英语单词)
- cellar [´selə] n.地窑，地下室 (初中英语单词)
- slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)
- collar [´kɔlə] n.衣领；(狗等的)项圈 (初中英语单词)
- supposed [sə´pəuzd] a.想象的；假定的 (初中英语单词)
- confess [kən´fes] vt.供认；坦白；承认 (初中英语单词)
- waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)
- rattle [´rætl] n.嘎吱声 (初中英语单词)
- drunken [´drʌŋkən] a.喝醉的；常醉的 (初中英语单词)
- passion [´pæʃən] n.激情；激怒；恋爱 (初中英语单词)
- traitor [´treitə] n.叛徒，卖国贼 (初中英语单词)
- delicate [´delikət] a.精美的；微妙的 (初中英语单词)
- ascend [ə´send] v.登；上升；追溯 (初中英语单词)
- pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)
- sacred [´seikrid] a.神圣的；庄严的 (初中英语单词)
- contrast [´kɔntrɑ:st] n.对比 v.使对比(照) (初中英语单词)
- keeper [´ki:pə] n.管理人；看守；保管人 (初中英语单词)
- gravely [´greivli] ad.庄重地，严肃地 (初中英语单词)
- restore [ri´stɔ:] vt.(使)恢复；修复 (初中英语单词)
- hospitality [,hɔspi´tæliti] n.好客，殷勤 (高中英语单词)
- harmless [´hɑ:mləs] a.无害的，无恶意的 (高中英语单词)
- roughly [´rʌfli] ad.粗糙地；毛糙地 (高中英语单词)
- cunningly [´kʌniŋli] ad.狡猾地；精巧地 (高中英语单词)
- counter [´kauntə] n.计算者；柜台；计算机 (高中英语单词)
- kindle [´kindl] v.点燃；(使)激动 (高中英语单词)
- anxiously [´æŋkʃəsli] ad.挂念地；渴望地 (高中英语单词)
- lantern [´læntən] n.灯笼；提灯 (高中英语单词)
- hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)
- apparently [ə´pærəntli] ad.显然，表面上地 (高中英语单词)
- eagerness [´i:gənis] n.渴望；热忱 (高中英语单词)
- lighting [´laitiŋ] n.照明，发光 (英语四级单词)
- radiance [´reidjəns] n.发光；光彩；辐射 (英语四级单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- gracefully [´greisfuli] ad.优美地，斯文地 (英语四级单词)
- glimmer [´glimə] n.&vi.闪光 (英语四级单词)
- upside [´ʌpsaid] n.上边，上段，上部 (英语四级单词)
- partially [´pɑ:ʃəli] ad.部分地；局部地 (英语四级单词)
- blessed [´blesid] a.享福的；神圣的 (英语四级单词)
- warning [´wɔ:niŋ] n.警告；前兆 a.预告的 (英语四级单词)
- gathering [´gæðəriŋ] n.集会，聚集 (英语四级单词)
- necklace [´neklis] n.项链 (英语四级单词)
- forage [´fɔridʒ] n.饲料 v.搜寻(粮草) (英语六级单词)
- ghostly [´gəustli] a.鬼的；朦胧的 (英语六级单词)
- intact [in´tækt] a.未动过的，完整的 (英语六级单词)
- forefinger [´fɔ:,fiŋgə] n.食指 (英语六级单词)
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