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Allan Quatermain-Part4_H.Rider Haggard(1856-1925)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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and the other two Wakwafis. As our course lay upstream, we had

to keep four paddles at work in each canoe, which meant that



the whole lot of us, except Good, had to row away like galley-slaves;

and very exhausting work it was. I say, except Good, for, of



course, the moment that Good got into a boat his foot was on

his native heath, and he took command of the party. And certainly



he worked us. On shore Good is a gentle, mild-mannered man,

and given to jocosity; but, as we found to our cost, Good in



a boat was a perfect demon. To begin with, he knew all about

it, and we didn't. On all nautical subjects, from the torpedo



fittings of a man-of-war down to the best way of handling the

paddle of an African canoe, he was a perfect mine of information,



which, to say the least of it, we were not. Also his ideas of

discipline were of the sternest, and, in short, he came the royal



naval officer over us pretty considerably, and paid us out amply

for all the chaff we were wont to treat him to on land; but,



on the other hand, I am bound to say that he managed the boats admirably.

After the first day Good succeeded, with the help of some cloth



and a couple of poles, in rigging up a sail in each canoe, which

lightened our labours not a little. But the current ran very



strong against us, and at the best we were not able to make more

than twenty miles a day. Our plan was to start at dawn, and



paddle along till about half-past ten, by which time the sun

got too hot to allow of further exertion. Then we moored our



canoes to the bank, and ate our frugal meal; after which we ate

or otherwise amused ourselves till about three o'clock, when



we again started, and rowed till within an hour of sundown, when

we called a halt for the night. On landing in the evening, Good



would at once set to work, with the help of the Askari, to build

a little 'scherm', or small enclosure, fenced with thorn bushes,



and to light a fire. I, with Sir Henry and Umslopogaas, would

go out to shoot something for the pot. Generally this was an



easy task, for all sorts of game abounded on the banks of the

Tana. One night Sir Henry shot a young cow-giraffe, of which



the marrow-bones were excellent; on another I got a couple of

waterbuck right and left; and once, to his own intense satisfaction,



Umslopogaas (who, like most Zulus, was a vile shot with a rifle)

managed to kill a fine fat eland with a Martini I had lent him.



Sometimes we varied our food by shooting some guinea-fowl, or

bush-bustard (paau) -- both of which were numerous -- with a



shot-gun, or by catching a supply of beautiful yellow fish, with

which the waters of the Tana swarmed, and which form, I believe,



one of the chief food-supplies of the crocodiles.

Three days after our start an ominousincident occurred. We



were just drawing in to the bank to make our camp as usual for

the night, when we caught sight of a figure standing on a little



knoll not forty yards away, and intensely watching our approach.

One glance was sufficient -- although I was personally unacquainted



with the tribe -- to tell me that he was a Masai Elmoran, or

young warrior. Indeed, had I had any doubts, they would have



quickly been dispelled by the terrified ejaculation of 'Masai!'

that burst simultaneously from the lips of our Wakwafi followers,



who are, as I think I have said, themselves bastard Masai.

And what a figure he presented as he stood there in his savage



war-gear! Accustomed as I have been to savages all my life,

I do not think that I have ever before seen anything quite so



ferocious or awe-inspiring. To begin with, the man was enormously

tall, quite as tall as Umslopogaas, I should say, and beautifully,



though somewhat lightly" target="_blank" title="ad.轻微地；细长的">slightly, shaped; but with the face of a devil.

In his right hand he held a spear about five and a half feet



long, the blade being two and a half feet in length, by nearly

three inches in width, and having an iron spike at the end of



the handle that measured more than a foot. On his left arm was

a large and well-made elliptical shield of buffalo hide, on which



were painted strange heraldic-looking devices. On his shoulders

was a huge cape of hawk's feathers, and round his neck was a



'naibere', or strip of cotton, about seventeen feet long, by

one and a half broad, with a stripe of colour running down the



middle of it. The tanned goatskin robe, which formed his ordinary

attire in times of peace, was tied lightly round his waist, so



as to serve the purposes of a belt, and through it were stuck,

on the right and left sides respectively, his short pear-shaped



sime, or sword, which is made of a single piece of steel, and

carried in a woodensheath, and an enormous knobkerrie. But



perhaps the most remarkable feature of his attire consisted of




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