'I see,' said Henriques. 'What about the purification you
mentioned?'

I had missed this before and listened earnestly.
'The vows we take in the holy place bind us till we are

purged of them at Inanda's Kraal. Till then no blood must be
shed and no flesh eaten. It was the fashion of our forefathers.'

'Well, I think you've taken on a pretty risky job,' Henriques
said. 'You propose to travel a hundred miles, binding yourself

not to strike a blow. It is simply putting yourself at the mercy
of any police patrol.'

'There will be no patrol,' Laputa replied. 'Our march will
be as secret and as swift as death. I have made my

preparations.'
'But suppose you met with opposition,' the Portugoose

persisted, 'would the rule hold?'
'If any try to stop us, we shall tie them hand and foot, and

carry them with us. Their fate will be worse than if they had
been slain in battle.'

'I see,' said Henriques, whistling through his teeth. 'Well,
before we start this vow business, I think I'll go back and settle

that storekeeper.'
Laputa shook his head. 'Will you be serious and hear me?

We have no time to knife harmless fools. Before we start for
Ntabakaikonjwa I must have from you the figures of the

arming in the south. That is the one thing which remains to
be settled.'

I am certain these figures would have been most interesting,
but I never heard them. My feet were getting cramped with

standing on the bricks, and I inadvertently moved them. The
bricks came down with a rattle, and unfortunately in slipping

I clutched at the trap. This was too much for my frail prop,
and the door slammed down with a great noise.

Here was a nice business for the eavesdropper! I scurried
along the passage as stealthily as I could and clambered back

into the store, while I heard the sound of Laputa and Henriques
ferreting among the barrels. I managed to throttle Colin

and prevent him barking, but I could not get the confounded
trap to close behind me. Something had jammed in it, and it

remained half a foot open.
I heard the two approaching the door, and I did the best

thing that occurred to me. I pulled Colin over the trap, rolled
on the top of him, and began to snore heavily as if in a

drunken slumber.
The key was turned, and the gleam of a lantern was thrown

on the wall. It flew up and down as its bearer cast the light
into the corners.

'By God, he's gone,' I heard Henriques say. 'The swine was
listening, and he has bolted now.'

'He won't bolt far,' Laputa said. 'He is here. He is snoring
behind the counter.'

These were anxious moments for me. I had a firm grip on
Colin's throat, but now and then a growl escaped, which was

fortunately blended with my snores. I felt that a lantern was
flashed on me, and that the two men were peering down at the

heap on the half-opened trap. I think that was the worst
minute I ever spent, for, as I have said, my courage was not so

bad in action, but in a passive game it oozed out of my fingers.
'He is safe enough,' Laputa said, after what seemed to me

an eternity. 'The noise was only the rats among the barrels.'
I thanked my Maker that they had not noticed the other

trap-door.
'All the same I think I'll make him safer,' said Henriques.

Laputa seemed to have caught him by the arm.
'Come back and get to business,' he said. 'I've told you I'll

have no more murder. You will do as I tell you, Mr Henriques.'
I did not catch the answer, but the two went out and locked

the door. I patted the outraged Colin, and got to my feet with
an aching side where the confounded lid of the trap had been

pressing. There was no time to lose for the two in the outhouse
would soon be setting out, and I must be before them.

With no better light than a ray of the moon through the
window, I wrote a message on a leaf from my pocket-book. I

told of the plans I had overheard, and especially I mentioned
Dupree's Drift on the Letaba. I added that I was going to the

Rooirand to find the secret of the cave, and in one final
sentence implored Arcoll to do justice on the Portugoose. That

was all, for I had no time for more. I carefully tied the paper
with a string below the collar of the dog.

Then very quietly I went into the bedroom next door - the
side of the store farthest from the outhouse. The place was

flooded with moonlight, and the window stood open, as I had
left it in the afternoon. As softly as I could I swung Colin over

the sill and clambered after him. In my haste I left my coat
behind me with my pistol in the pocket.

Now came a check. My horse was stabled in the shed, and
that was close to the outhouse. The sound of leading him out

would most certainly bring Laputa and Henriques to the door.
In that moment I all but changed my plans. I thought of

slipping back to the outhouse and trying to shoot the two men
as they came forth. But I reflected that, before I could get

them both, one or other would probably shoot me. Besides, I
had a queer sort of compunction about killing Laputa. I

understood now why Arcoll had stayed his hand from murder,
and I was beginning to be of his opinion on our arch-enemy.

Then I remembered the horses tied up in the bush. One of
them I could get with perfect safety. I ran round the end of

the store and into the thicket, keeping on soft grass to dull my
tread. There, tied up to a merula tree, were two of the finest

beasts I had seen in Africa. I selected the better, an Africander
stallion of the blaauw-schimmel, or blue-roan type, which is

famous for speed and endurance. Slipping his bridle from the
branch, I led him a little way into the bush in the direction of

the Rooirand.
Then I spoke to Colin. 'Home with you,' I said. 'Home, old

man, as if you were running down a tsessebe.'*
*A species of buck, famous for its speed.

The dog seemed puzzled. 'Home,' I said again, pointing
west in the direction of the Berg. 'Home, you brute.'

And then he understood. He gave one low whine, and cast a
reproachful eye on me and the blue roan. Then he turned, and

with his head down set off with great lopes on the track of the
road I had ridden in the morning.

A second later and I was in the saddle, riding hell-for-leather
for the north.

CHAPTER X
I GO TREASURE-HUNTING

For a mile or so I kept the bush, which was open and easy to
ride through, and then turned into the path. The moon was

high, and the world was all a dim dark green, with the track a
golden ivory band before me. I had looked at my watch before

I started, and seen that it was just after eight o'clock. I had a
great horse under me, and less than thirty miles to cover.

Midnight should see me at the cave. With the password I
would gain admittance, and there would wait for Laputa and

Henriques. Then, if my luck held, I should see the inner
workings of the mystery which had puzzled me ever since the

Kirkcaple shore. No doubt I should be roughly treated, tied
up prisoner, and carried with the army when the march began.

But till Inanda's Kraal my life was safe, and before that came
the ford of the Letaba. Colin would carry my message to

Arcoll, and at the Drift the tables would be turned on
Laputa's men.

Looking back in cold blood, it seems the craziest chain of
accidents to count on for preservation. A dozen possibilities

might have shattered any link of it. The password might be
wrong, or I might never get the length of those who knew it.

The men in the cave might butcher me out of hand, or Laputa
might think my behaviour a sufficient warrant for the breach

of the solemnest vow. Colin might never get to
Blaauwildebeestefontein, Laputa might change his route of march,

or Arcoll's men might fail to hold the Drift. Indeed, the other
day at Portincross I was so overcome by the recollection of the

perils I had dared and God's goodness towards me that I built
a new hall for the parish kirk as a token of gratitude.

Fortunately for mankind the brain in a life of action turns
more to the matter in hand than to conjuring up the chances

of the future. Certainly it was in no discomfort of mind that I
swung along the moonlit path to the north. Truth to tell, I was

almost happy. The first honours in the game had fallen to me.
I knew more about Laputa than any man living save Henriques;

I had my finger on the central pulse of the rebellion.
There was hid treasure ahead of me - a great necklace of

rubies, Henriques had said. Nay, there must be more, I
argued. This cave of the Rooirand was the headquarters of the

rising, and there must be stored their funds - diamonds, and
the gold they had been bartered for. I believe that every man

has deep in his soul a passion for treasure-hunting, which will
often drive a coward into prodigies of valour. I lusted for that

treasure of jewels and gold. Once I had been high-minded,
and thought of my duty to my country, but in that night ride

I fear that what I thought of was my duty to enrich David
Crawfurd. One other purpose simmered in my head. I was

devoured with wrath against Henriques. Indeed, I think that
was the strongest motive for my escapade, for even before I

heard Laputa tell of the vows and the purification, I had it in
my mind to go at all costs to the cave. I am a peaceable man at

most times, but I think I would rather have had the Portugoose's
throat in my hands than the collar of Prester John.

But behind my thoughts was one master-feeling, that Providence
had given me my chance and I must make the most of it.

Perhaps the Calvinism of my father's preaching had unconsciously
taken grip of my soul. At any rate I was a fatalist in

creed, believing that what was willed would happen, and that
man was but a puppet in the hands of his Maker. I looked on

the last months as a clear course which had been mapped out
for me. Not for nothing had I been given a clue to the strange

events which were coming. It was foreordained that I should
go alone to Umvelos', and in the promptings of my own fallible

heart I believed I saw the workings of Omnipotence. Such is
our moral arrogance, and yet without such a belief I think that

mankind would have ever been content to bide sluggishly at home.
I passed the spot where on my former journey I had met the

horses, and knew that I had covered more than half the road.
My ear had been alert for the sound of pursuit, but the bush

was quiet as the grave. The man who rode my pony would
find him a slow traveller, and I pitied the poor beast bucketed

along by an angry rider. Gradually a hazy wall of purple began
to shimmer before me, apparently very far off. I knew the

ramparts of the Rooirand, and let my Schimmel feel my knees
in his ribs. Within an hour I should be at the cliff's foot.

I had trusted for safety to the password, but as it turned out
I owed my life mainly to my horse. For, a mile or so from the

cliffs, I came to the fringes of a great army. The bush was
teeming with men, and I saw horses picketed in bunches, and

a multitude of Cape-carts and light wagons. It was like a
colossal gathering for naachtmaal*1 at a Dutch dorp, but every

man was black. I saw through a corner of my eye that they
were armed with guns, though many carried in addition their

spears and shields. Their first impulse was to stop me. I saw
guns fly to shoulders, and a rush towards the path. The boldest

game was the safest, so I dug my heels into the schimmel and

• rattle [´rætl] n.嘎吱声 (初中英语单词)
• anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)
• throat [θrəut] n.咽喉；嗓子；出入口 (初中英语单词)
• passive [´pæsiv] a.被动的 n.被动性 (初中英语单词)
• collar [´kɔlə] n.衣领；(狗等的)项圈 (初中英语单词)
• moonlight [´mu:nlait] n.&a.月光(的) (初中英语单词)
• softly [´sɔftli] ad.软化地；柔和地 (初中英语单词)
• pistol [´pistl] n.手枪 vt.用手枪射击 (初中英语单词)
• beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)
• running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
• saddle [´sædl] n.鞍子 v.装鞍(于) (初中英语单词)
• mystery [´mistəri] n.神秘；秘密；故弄玄虚 (初中英语单词)
• butcher [´butʃə] n.屠夫，刽子手 (初中英语单词)
• overcome [,əuvə´kʌm] vt.战胜，克服 (初中英语单词)
• goodness [´gudnis] n.优良；美德；精华 (初中英语单词)
• headquarters [´hed,kwɔ:təz] n.总部(署)，司令部 (初中英语单词)
• passion [´pæʃən] n.激情；激怒；恋爱 (初中英语单词)
• coward [´kauəd] n.胆怯者 a.胆小的 (初中英语单词)
• motive [´məutiv] n.动机；主题 a.运动的 (初中英语单词)
• belief [bi´li:f] n.相信；信仰，信条 (初中英语单词)
• pursuit [pə´sju:t] n.追踪；追击；事务 (初中英语单词)
• purple [´pə:pl] n.紫色 a.紫(红)的 (初中英语单词)
• mainly [´meinli] ad.主要地；大体上 (初中英语单词)
• multitude [´mʌltitju:d] n.大群(批)；众多 (初中英语单词)
• addition [ə´diʃən] n.加；加法；附加物 (初中英语单词)
• impulse [´impʌls] n.推动(力)；冲动；刺激 (初中英语单词)
• harmless [´hɑ:mləs] a.无害的，无恶意的 (高中英语单词)
• unfortunately [ʌn´fɔ:tʃunitli] ad.不幸；不朽；可惜 (高中英语单词)
• lantern [´læntən] n.灯笼；提灯 (高中英语单词)
• bearer [´beərə] n.持票人；送信人 (高中英语单词)
• eternity [i´tə:niti] n.永恒，来世，无穷 (高中英语单词)
• thicket [´θikit] n.灌木丛；密集的东西 (高中英语单词)
• endurance [in´djuərəns] n.忍受(耐)；耐力 (高中英语单词)
• bridle [´braidl] n.(马)笼头；束缚 (高中英语单词)
• species [´spi:ʃi:z] n.(生物的)种，类 (高中英语单词)
• roughly [´rʌfli] ad.粗糙地；毛糙地 (高中英语单词)
• recollection [,rekə´lekʃən] n.回忆；追想；记忆力 (高中英语单词)
• parish [´pæriʃ] n.教区(的全体居民) (高中英语单词)
• enrich [in´ritʃ] vt.使丰富；改进 (高中英语单词)
• peaceable [´pi:səbl] a.和平的；安静的 (高中英语单词)
• apparently [ə´pærəntli] ad.显然，表面上地 (高中英语单词)
• binding [´baindiŋ] a.捆绑的 n.捆绑(物) (英语四级单词)
• setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)
• farthest [´fɑ:ðist] ad.&a.最远(的) (英语四级单词)
• trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
• ridden [´ridn] ride 的过去分词 (英语四级单词)
• preservation [,prezə´veiʃən] n.保存；储藏；维护 (英语四级单词)
• warrant [´wɔrənt] n.根据；委任书；权利 (英语四级单词)
• necklace [´neklis] n.项链 (英语四级单词)
• valour [´vælə] n.英勇，勇猛 (英语四级单词)
• gathering [´gæðəriŋ] n.集会，聚集 (英语四级单词)
• stealthily [´stelθili] ad.偷偷地，隐秘地 (英语六级单词)
• discomfort [dis´kʌmfət] n.不适；不安；困难 (英语六级单词)
• moonlit [´mu:n,lit] a.月光普照的 (英语六级单词)
• preaching [´pri:tʃiŋ] n.说教 a.说教的 (英语六级单词)
• puppet [´pʌpit] n.木偶；傀儡 (英语六级单词)
• arrogance [´ærəgəns] n.傲慢；自大 (英语六级单词)
• shimmer [´ʃimə] v.&n.闪烁；微微发光 (英语六级单词)