章节正文
'Vow of fiddlestick!' I cried. 'Who do you think is the bigger
chief, the Inkulu or Ratitswan? I tell you Ratitswan is now
driving Inkulu before him as a wind drives rotten leaves. It
will be well for you, men of Machudi, to make peace with
Ratitswan and take me to him on the Berg. If you bring me to
him, I and he will reward you; but if you do Inkulu's bidding
you will soon be hunted like buck out of your hills.'
They grinned at one another, but I could see that my words
had no effect. Laputa had done his business too well.
The spokesman shrugged his shoulders in the way the
Kaffirs have.
'We wish you no ill, Baas, but we have been bidden to take
you to Inkulu. We cannot disobey the command of the Snake.'
My weakness was coming on me again, and I could talk no
more. I sat down plump on the ground, almost falling into the
pool. 'Take me to Inkulu,' I stammered with a dry throat, 'I
do not fear him;' and I rolled half-fainting on my back.
These clansmen of Machudi were decent fellows. One of
them had some Kaffir beer in a calabash, which he gave me to
drink. The stuff was thin and sickly, but the fermentation in it
did me good. I had the sense to remember my need of sleep.
'The day is young,' I said, 'and I have come far. I ask to be
allowed to sleep for an hour.'
The men made no difficulty, and with my head between
Colin's paws I slipped into dreamless slumber.
When they wakened me the sun was beginning to climb the
sky, I judged it to be about eight o'clock. They had made a
little fire and roasted mealies. Some of the food they gave me,
and I ate it thankfully. I was feeling better, and I think a pipe
would have almost completed my cure.
But when I stood up I found that I was worse than I had
thought. The truth is, I was leg-weary, which you often see in
horses, but rarely in men. What the proper explanation is I do
not know, but the muscles simply refuse to answer the
direction of the will. I found my legs sprawling like a child's
who is learning to walk.
'If you want me to go to the Inkulu, you must carry me,' I
said, as I dropped once more on the ground.
The men nodded, and set to work to make a kind of litter
out of their knobkerries and some old ropes they carried. As
they worked and chattered I looked idly at the left bank of the
ravine - that is, the left as you ascend it. Some of Machudi's
men had come down there, and, though the place looked sheer
and perilous, I saw how they had managed it. I followed out
bit by bit the track upwards, not with any thought of escape,
but merely to keep my mind under control. The right road
was from the foot of the pool up a long shelf to a clump of
juniper. Then there was an easy chimney; then a piece of good
hand-and-foot climbing; and last, another ledge which led by
an easy gradient to the top. I figured all this out as I have
heard a condemned man will count the windows of the houses
on his way to the scaffold.
Presently the litter was ready, and the men made signs to
me to get into it. They carried me down the ravine and up the
Machudi burn to the green walls at its head. I admired their
bodily fitness, for they bore me up those steep slopes with
never a halt, zigzagging in the proper style of mountain
transport. In less than an hour we had topped the ridge, and
the plateau was before me.
It looked very homelike and gracious, rolling in gentle
undulations to the westernhorizon, with clumps of wood in its
hollows. Far away I saw smoke rising from what should be the
village of the Iron Kranz. It was the country of my own
people, and my captors behoved to go cautiously. They were
old hands at veld-craft, and it was wonderful the way in which
they kept out of sight even on the bare ridges. Arcoll could
have taught them nothing in the art of scouting. At an
incredible pace they hurried me along, now in a meadow by a
stream side, now through a patch of forest, and now skirting a
green shoulder of hill.
Once they clapped down suddenly, and crawled into the lee
of some thick bracken. Then very quietly they tied my hands
and feet, and, not urgently, wound a dirty length of cotton
over my mouth. Colin was meantime held tight and muzzled
with a kind of bag strapped over his head. To get this over his
snapping jaws took the whole strength of the party. I guessed
that we were nearing the highroad which runs from the plateau
down the Great Letaba valley to the miningtownship of
Wesselsburg, away out on the plain. The police patrols must
be on this road, and there was risk in crossing. Sure enough I
seemed to catch a jingle of bridles as if from some company of
men riding in haste.
We lay still for a little till the scouts came back and reported
the coast clear. Then we made a dart for the road, crossed it,
and got into cover on the other side, where the ground sloped
down to the Letaba glen. I noticed in crossing that the dust of
the highway was thick with the marks of shod horses. I was
very near and yet very far from my own people.
Once in the rocky gorge of the Letaba we advanced with less
care. We scrambled up a steep side gorge and came on to the
small plateau from which the Cloud Mountains rise. After that
I was so tired that I drowsed away, heedless of the bumping of
the litter. We went up and up, and when I next opened my
eyes we had gone through a pass into a hollow of the hills.
There was a flat space a mile or two square, and all round it
stern black ramparts of rock. This must be Inanda's Kraal, a
strong place if ever one existed, for a few men could defend all
the approaches. Considering that I had warned Arcoll of this
rendezvous, I marvelled that no attempt had been made to
hold the entrance. The place was impregnable unless guns
were brought up to the heights. I remember thinking of a story
I had heard - how in the war Beyers took his guns into the
Wolkberg, and thereby saved them from our troops. Could
Arcoll be meditating the same exploit?
Suddenly I heard the sound of loud voices, and my litter
was dropped roughly on the ground. I woke to clear consciousness
in the midst of pandemonium.
CHAPTER XVI
INANDA'S KRAAL
The vow was at an end. In place of the silent army of
yesterday a mob of maddened savages surged around me. They
were chanting a wild song, and brandishing spears and rifles to
its accompaniment. From their bloodshot eyes stared the lust
of blood, the fury of conquest, and all the aboriginal passions
on which Laputa had laid his spell. In my mind ran a fragment
from Laputa's prayer in the cave about the 'Terrible Ones.'
Machudi's men - stout fellows, they held their ground as long
as they could - were swept out of the way, and the wave of
black savagery seemed to close over my head.
I thought my last moment had come. Certainly it had but
for Colin. The bag had been taken from his head, and the
fellow of Machudi's had dropped the rope round his collar. In
a red fury of wrath the dog leaped at my enemies. Though
every man of them was fully armed, they fell back, for I have
noticed always that Kaffirs are mortally afraid of a white man's
dog. Colin had the sense to keep beside me. Growling like a
thunderstorm he held the ring around my litter.
The breathing space would not have lasted long, but it gave
me time to get to my feet. My wrists and feet had been
unbound long before, and the rest had cured my leg-weariness.
I stood up in that fiercecircle with the clear knowledge that
my life hung by a hair.
'Take me to Inkulu,' I cried. 'Dogs and fools, would you
despise his orders? If one hair of my head is hurt, he will flay
you alive. Show me the way to him, and clear out of it.'
I dare say there was a break in my voice, for I was dismally
frightened, but there must have been sufficient authority to
get me a hearing. Machudi's men closed up behind me, and
repeated my words with flourishes and gestures. But still the
circle held. No man came nearer me, but none moved so as to
give me passage.
Then I screwed up my courage, and did the only thing
possible. I walked straight into the circle, knowing well that I
was running no light risk. My courage, as I have already
explained, is of little use unless I am doing something. I could
not endure another minute of sitting still with those fierce eyes
on me.
The circle gave way. Sullenly they made a road for me,
closing up behind on my guards, so that Machudi's men were
swallowed in the mob, Alone I stalked forward with all that
huge yelling crowd behind me.
I had not far to go. Inanda's Kraal was a cluster of kyas
and rondavels, shaped in a half-moon, with a flat space
between the houses, where grew a big merula tree. All around
was a medley of little fires, with men squatted beside them.
Here and there a party had finished their meal, and were
swaggering about with a great shouting. The mob into which
I had fallen was of this sort, and I saw others within the
confines of the camp. But around the merula tree there was a
gathering of chiefs, if I could judge by the comparative quiet
and dignity of the men, who sat in rows on the ground. A few
were standing, and among them I caught sight of Laputa's tall
figure. I strode towards it, wondering if the chiefs would let
me pass.
The hubbub of my volunteer attendants brought the eyes of
the company round to me. In a second it seemed every man
was on his feet. I could only pray that Laputa would get to me
before his friends had time to spear me. I remember I fixed
my eyes on a spur of hill beyond the kraal, and walked on with
the best resolution I could find. Already I felt in my breast
some of the long thin assegais of Umbooni's men.
But Laputa did not intend that I should be butchered. A
word from him brought his company into order, and the next
thing I knew I was facing him, where he stood in front of the
biggest kya, with Henriques beside him, and some of the
northern indunas. Henriques looked ghastly in the clear morning
light, and he had a linen rag bound round his head and
jaw, as if he suffered from toothache. His face was more livid,
his eyes more bloodshot, and at the sight of me his hand went
to his belt, and his teeth snapped. But he held his peace, and
it was Laputa who spoke. He looked straight through me, and
addressed Machudi's men.
'You have brought back the prisoner. That is well, and your
service will be remembered. Go to 'Mpefu's camp on the hill
there, and you will be given food.'
The men departed, and with them fell away the crowd
which had followed me. I was left, very giddy and dazed, to
confront Laputa and his chiefs. The whole scene was swimming
before my eyes. I remember there was a clucking of hens
from somewhere behind the kraal, which called up ridiculous
memories. I was trying to remember the plan I had made in
Machudi's glen. I kept saying to myself like a parrot: 'The
army cannot know about the jewels. Laputa must keep his loss
secret. I can get my life from him if I offer to give them back.'
It had sounded a good scheme three hours before, but with
the man's hard face before me, it seemed a frail peg to hang
my fate on.
Laputa's eye fell on me, a clear searching eye with a question
in it.
There was something he was trying to say to me which he
dared not put into words. I guessed what the something was,
chief, the Inkulu or Ratitswan? I tell you Ratitswan is now
driving Inkulu before him as a wind drives rotten leaves. It
will be well for you, men of Machudi, to make peace with
Ratitswan and take me to him on the Berg. If you bring me to
him, I and he will reward you; but if you do Inkulu's bidding
you will soon be hunted like buck out of your hills.'
They grinned at one another, but I could see that my words
had no effect. Laputa had done his business too well.
The spokesman shrugged his shoulders in the way the
Kaffirs have.
'We wish you no ill, Baas, but we have been bidden to take
you to Inkulu. We cannot disobey the command of the Snake.'
My weakness was coming on me again, and I could talk no
more. I sat down plump on the ground, almost falling into the
pool. 'Take me to Inkulu,' I stammered with a dry throat, 'I
do not fear him;' and I rolled half-fainting on my back.
These clansmen of Machudi were decent fellows. One of
them had some Kaffir beer in a calabash, which he gave me to
drink. The stuff was thin and sickly, but the fermentation in it
did me good. I had the sense to remember my need of sleep.
'The day is young,' I said, 'and I have come far. I ask to be
allowed to sleep for an hour.'
The men made no difficulty, and with my head between
Colin's paws I slipped into dreamless slumber.
When they wakened me the sun was beginning to climb the
sky, I judged it to be about eight o'clock. They had made a
little fire and roasted mealies. Some of the food they gave me,
and I ate it thankfully. I was feeling better, and I think a pipe
would have almost completed my cure.
But when I stood up I found that I was worse than I had
thought. The truth is, I was leg-weary, which you often see in
horses, but rarely in men. What the proper explanation is I do
not know, but the muscles simply refuse to answer the
direction of the will. I found my legs sprawling like a child's
who is learning to walk.
'If you want me to go to the Inkulu, you must carry me,' I
said, as I dropped once more on the ground.
The men nodded, and set to work to make a kind of litter
out of their knobkerries and some old ropes they carried. As
they worked and chattered I looked idly at the left bank of the
ravine - that is, the left as you ascend it. Some of Machudi's
men had come down there, and, though the place looked sheer
and perilous, I saw how they had managed it. I followed out
bit by bit the track upwards, not with any thought of escape,
but merely to keep my mind under control. The right road
was from the foot of the pool up a long shelf to a clump of
juniper. Then there was an easy chimney; then a piece of good
hand-and-foot climbing; and last, another ledge which led by
an easy gradient to the top. I figured all this out as I have
heard a condemned man will count the windows of the houses
on his way to the scaffold.
Presently the litter was ready, and the men made signs to
me to get into it. They carried me down the ravine and up the
Machudi burn to the green walls at its head. I admired their
bodily fitness, for they bore me up those steep slopes with
never a halt, zigzagging in the proper style of mountain
transport. In less than an hour we had topped the ridge, and
the plateau was before me.
It looked very homelike and gracious, rolling in gentle
undulations to the westernhorizon, with clumps of wood in its
hollows. Far away I saw smoke rising from what should be the
village of the Iron Kranz. It was the country of my own
people, and my captors behoved to go cautiously. They were
old hands at veld-craft, and it was wonderful the way in which
they kept out of sight even on the bare ridges. Arcoll could
have taught them nothing in the art of scouting. At an
incredible pace they hurried me along, now in a meadow by a
stream side, now through a patch of forest, and now skirting a
green shoulder of hill.
Once they clapped down suddenly, and crawled into the lee
of some thick bracken. Then very quietly they tied my hands
and feet, and, not urgently, wound a dirty length of cotton
over my mouth. Colin was meantime held tight and muzzled
with a kind of bag strapped over his head. To get this over his
snapping jaws took the whole strength of the party. I guessed
that we were nearing the highroad which runs from the plateau
down the Great Letaba valley to the miningtownship of
Wesselsburg, away out on the plain. The police patrols must
be on this road, and there was risk in crossing. Sure enough I
seemed to catch a jingle of bridles as if from some company of
men riding in haste.
We lay still for a little till the scouts came back and reported
the coast clear. Then we made a dart for the road, crossed it,
and got into cover on the other side, where the ground sloped
down to the Letaba glen. I noticed in crossing that the dust of
the highway was thick with the marks of shod horses. I was
very near and yet very far from my own people.
Once in the rocky gorge of the Letaba we advanced with less
care. We scrambled up a steep side gorge and came on to the
small plateau from which the Cloud Mountains rise. After that
I was so tired that I drowsed away, heedless of the bumping of
the litter. We went up and up, and when I next opened my
eyes we had gone through a pass into a hollow of the hills.
There was a flat space a mile or two square, and all round it
stern black ramparts of rock. This must be Inanda's Kraal, a
strong place if ever one existed, for a few men could defend all
the approaches. Considering that I had warned Arcoll of this
rendezvous, I marvelled that no attempt had been made to
hold the entrance. The place was impregnable unless guns
were brought up to the heights. I remember thinking of a story
I had heard - how in the war Beyers took his guns into the
Wolkberg, and thereby saved them from our troops. Could
Arcoll be meditating the same exploit?
Suddenly I heard the sound of loud voices, and my litter
was dropped roughly on the ground. I woke to clear consciousness
in the midst of pandemonium.
CHAPTER XVI
INANDA'S KRAAL
The vow was at an end. In place of the silent army of
yesterday a mob of maddened savages surged around me. They
were chanting a wild song, and brandishing spears and rifles to
its accompaniment. From their bloodshot eyes stared the lust
of blood, the fury of conquest, and all the aboriginal passions
on which Laputa had laid his spell. In my mind ran a fragment
from Laputa's prayer in the cave about the 'Terrible Ones.'
Machudi's men - stout fellows, they held their ground as long
as they could - were swept out of the way, and the wave of
black savagery seemed to close over my head.
I thought my last moment had come. Certainly it had but
for Colin. The bag had been taken from his head, and the
fellow of Machudi's had dropped the rope round his collar. In
a red fury of wrath the dog leaped at my enemies. Though
every man of them was fully armed, they fell back, for I have
noticed always that Kaffirs are mortally afraid of a white man's
dog. Colin had the sense to keep beside me. Growling like a
thunderstorm he held the ring around my litter.
The breathing space would not have lasted long, but it gave
me time to get to my feet. My wrists and feet had been
unbound long before, and the rest had cured my leg-weariness.
I stood up in that fiercecircle with the clear knowledge that
my life hung by a hair.
'Take me to Inkulu,' I cried. 'Dogs and fools, would you
despise his orders? If one hair of my head is hurt, he will flay
you alive. Show me the way to him, and clear out of it.'
I dare say there was a break in my voice, for I was dismally
frightened, but there must have been sufficient authority to
get me a hearing. Machudi's men closed up behind me, and
repeated my words with flourishes and gestures. But still the
circle held. No man came nearer me, but none moved so as to
give me passage.
Then I screwed up my courage, and did the only thing
possible. I walked straight into the circle, knowing well that I
was running no light risk. My courage, as I have already
explained, is of little use unless I am doing something. I could
not endure another minute of sitting still with those fierce eyes
on me.
The circle gave way. Sullenly they made a road for me,
closing up behind on my guards, so that Machudi's men were
swallowed in the mob, Alone I stalked forward with all that
huge yelling crowd behind me.
I had not far to go. Inanda's Kraal was a cluster of kyas
and rondavels, shaped in a half-moon, with a flat space
between the houses, where grew a big merula tree. All around
was a medley of little fires, with men squatted beside them.
Here and there a party had finished their meal, and were
swaggering about with a great shouting. The mob into which
I had fallen was of this sort, and I saw others within the
confines of the camp. But around the merula tree there was a
gathering of chiefs, if I could judge by the comparative quiet
and dignity of the men, who sat in rows on the ground. A few
were standing, and among them I caught sight of Laputa's tall
figure. I strode towards it, wondering if the chiefs would let
me pass.
The hubbub of my volunteer attendants brought the eyes of
the company round to me. In a second it seemed every man
was on his feet. I could only pray that Laputa would get to me
before his friends had time to spear me. I remember I fixed
my eyes on a spur of hill beyond the kraal, and walked on with
the best resolution I could find. Already I felt in my breast
some of the long thin assegais of Umbooni's men.
But Laputa did not intend that I should be butchered. A
word from him brought his company into order, and the next
thing I knew I was facing him, where he stood in front of the
biggest kya, with Henriques beside him, and some of the
northern indunas. Henriques looked ghastly in the clear morning
light, and he had a linen rag bound round his head and
jaw, as if he suffered from toothache. His face was more livid,
his eyes more bloodshot, and at the sight of me his hand went
to his belt, and his teeth snapped. But he held his peace, and
it was Laputa who spoke. He looked straight through me, and
addressed Machudi's men.
'You have brought back the prisoner. That is well, and your
service will be remembered. Go to 'Mpefu's camp on the hill
there, and you will be given food.'
The men departed, and with them fell away the crowd
which had followed me. I was left, very giddy and dazed, to
confront Laputa and his chiefs. The whole scene was swimming
before my eyes. I remember there was a clucking of hens
from somewhere behind the kraal, which called up ridiculous
memories. I was trying to remember the plan I had made in
Machudi's glen. I kept saying to myself like a parrot: 'The
army cannot know about the jewels. Laputa must keep his loss
secret. I can get my life from him if I offer to give them back.'
It had sounded a good scheme three hours before, but with
the man's hard face before me, it seemed a frail peg to hang
my fate on.
Laputa's eye fell on me, a clear searching eye with a question
in it.
There was something he was trying to say to me which he
dared not put into words. I guessed what the something was,
- reward [ri´wɔ:d]
n.&v.报答；报酬；奖赏 (初中英语单词) - weakness [´wi:knis] n.虚弱；弱点，缺点 (初中英语单词)
- throat [θrəut] n.咽喉；嗓子；出入口 (初中英语单词)
- beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)
- rarely [´reəli] ad.难得；非凡地 (初中英语单词)
- explanation [,eksplə´neiʃən] n.解释；说明；辩解 (初中英语单词)
- learning [´lə:niŋ] n.学习；学问；知识 (初中英语单词)
- ascend [ə´send] v.登；上升；追溯 (初中英语单词)
- gracious [´greiʃəs] a.和蔼可亲的；任慈的 (初中英语单词)
- western [´westən] a.西的；西方的 (初中英语单词)
- horizon [hə´raizən] n.地平线；范围；视野 (初中英语单词)
- meadow [´medəu] n.草地；牧场 (初中英语单词)
- meantime [´mi:ntaim] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)
- valley [´væli] n.谷；河谷；流域 (初中英语单词)
- highway [´haiwei] n.公路，大道 (初中英语单词)
- advanced [əd´vɑ:nst] a.先进的；高级的 (初中英语单词)
- thereby [´ðeəbai] ad.因此，由此 (初中英语单词)
- conquest [´kɔŋkwest] n.赢得；获得；占领地 (初中英语单词)
- collar [´kɔlə] n.衣领；(狗等的)项圈 (初中英语单词)
- fierce [fiəs] a.残忍的；强烈的 (初中英语单词)
- circle [´sə:kəl] n.圆圈 v.环绕；盘旋 (初中英语单词)
- knowing [´nəuiŋ] a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词)
- running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
- endure [in´djuə] vt.忍耐，忍受；坚持 (初中英语单词)
- cluster [´klʌstə] n.一串 v.群集；丛生 (初中英语单词)
- comparative [kəm´pærətiv] a.比较的 n.匹敌者 (初中英语单词)
- dignity [´digniti] n.尊严，尊贵；高官显贵 (初中英语单词)
- standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
- resolution [,rezə´lu:ʃən] n.决心；坚决；果断 (初中英语单词)
- scheme [ski:m] n.计划；阴谋，诡计 (初中英语单词)
- rotten [´rɔtn] a.腐烂的；腐朽的 (高中英语单词)
- decent [´di:sənt] a.体面的，正派的 (高中英语单词)
- perilous [´periləs] a.危险的；冒险的 (高中英语单词)
- litter [´litə] n.杂乱 v.乱丢 (高中英语单词)
- plateau [´plætəu] n.高原；平稳；托盘 (高中英语单词)
- cautiously [´kɔ:ʃəsli] ad.小心地；谨慎地 (高中英语单词)
- hurried [´hʌrid] a.仓促的，慌忙的 (高中英语单词)
- mining [´mainiŋ] n.采矿；矿业 (高中英语单词)
- roughly [´rʌfli] ad.粗糙地；毛糙地 (高中英语单词)
- hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)
- strode [strəud] stride的过去式 (高中英语单词)
- volunteer [,vɔlən´tiə] n.志愿者 v.自愿做 (高中英语单词)
- ghastly [´gɑ:stli] a.苍白的；可怕的 (高中英语单词)
- saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
- disobey [,disə´bei] v.不服从；不听命令 (英语四级单词)
- sickly [´sikli] a.多病的；病态的 (英语四级单词)
- upwards [´ʌpwədz] ad.=upward (英语四级单词)
- ravine [rə´vi:n] n.沟壑；深谷 (英语四级单词)
- township [´taunʃip] n.乡；区 (英语四级单词)
- jingle [´dʒiŋgəl] v.(使)叮当响 (英语四级单词)
- heedless [´hi:dlis] a.不注意的，不留心的 (英语四级单词)
- considering [kən´sidəriŋ] prep.就...而论 (英语四级单词)
- accompaniment [ə´kʌmpənimənt] n.伴随物；伴奏(唱) (英语四级单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- parrot [´pærət] n.鹦鹉；应声虫 (英语四级单词)
- spokesman [´spəuksmən] n.发言人 (英语六级单词)
- fermentation [,fə:men´teiʃən] n.发酵；骚动 (英语六级单词)
- fitness [fitnis] n.适合；健康 (英语六级单词)
- sullenly [´sʌlənli] ad.不高兴地 (英语六级单词)
- departed [di´pɑ:tid] a.已往的；已故的 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
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