Tu-Kila-Kila came up in his grandest panoply1. The great umbrella, with the hanging cords, rose high over his head; the King of Fire and the King of Water, in their robes of state, marched slowly by his side; a whole group of slaves and temple attendants, clapping hands in unison2, followed obedient at his sacred heels. But as soon as he reached the open space in front of the huts and began to speak, Felix could easily see, in spite of his own agitation3 and the excitement of the moment, that the implacable god himself was profoundly frightened. Last night’s storm had, indeed, been terrible; but Tu-Kila-Kila mentally coupled it with Felix’s attitude toward himself at their last interview, and really believed in his own heart he had met, after all, with a stronger god, more powerful than himself, who could make the clouds burst forth4 in fire and the earth tremble. The savage5 swaggered a good deal, to be sure, as is often the fashion with savages6 when frightened; but Felix could see between the lines, that he swaggered only on the familiar principle of whistling to keep your courage up, and that in his heart of hearts he was most unspeakably terrified.
“You did not do well, O King of the Rain, last night,” he said, after an interchange of civilities, as becomes great gods. “You have put out even the sacred flame on the holy hearth7 of the King of Fire. You have a bad heart. Why do you use us so?”
“Why do you let your people offer human sacrifices?” Felix answered, boldly, taking advantage of his position. “They are hateful in our sight, these cannibal ways. While we remain on the island, no human life shall be unjustly taken. Do you understand me?”
Tu-Kila-Kila drew back, and gazed around him suspiciously. In all his experience no one had ever dared to address him like that. Assuredly, the stranger from the sun must be a very great god—how great, he hardly dared to himself to realize. He shrugged8 his shoulders. “When we mighty9 deities10 of the first order speak together, face to face,” he said, with an uneasy air, “it is not well that the mere11 common herd12 of men should overhear our profound deliberations. Let us go inside your hut. Let us confer in private.”
They entered the hut alone, Muriel still clinging to Felix’s arm, in speechless terror. Then Felix at once began to explain the situation. As he spoke13, a baleful light gleamed in Tu-Kila-Kila’s eye. The great god removed his mulberry-paper mask. He was evidently delighted at the turn things had taken. If only he dared—but there; he dared not. “Fire and Water would never allow it,” he murmured softly to himself. “They know the taboos14 as well as I do.” It was clear to Felix that the savage would gladly have sacrificed him if he dared, and that he made no bones about letting him know it; but the custom of the islanders bound him as tightly as it bound themselves, and he was afraid to transgress16 it.
“Now listen,” Felix said, at last, after a long palaver17, looking in the savage’s face with a resolute18 air: “Tu-Kila-Kila, we are not afraid of you. We are not afraid of all your people. I went out alone just now to rescue that child, and, as you see, I succeeded in rescuing it. Your people have wounded me—look at the blood on my arms and chest—but I don’t mind for wounds. I mean you to do as I say, and to make your people do so, too. Understand, the nation to which I belong is very powerful. You have heard of the sailing gods who go over the sea in canoes of fire, as swift as the wind, and whose weapons are hollow tubes, that belch19 forth great bolts of lightning and thunder? Very well, I am one of them. If ever you harm a hair of our heads, those sailing gods will before long send one of their mighty fire-canoes, and bring to bear upon your island their thunder and lightning, and destroy your huts, and punish you for the wrong you have ventured to do us. So now you know. Remember that you act exactly as I tell you.”
Tu-Kila-Kila was evidently overawed by the white man’s resolute voice and manner. He had heard before of the sailing gods (as the Polynesians of the old school still call the Europeans); and though but one or two stray individuals among them had ever reached his remote island (mostly as castaways), he was quite well enough acquainted with their might and power to be deeply impressed by Felix’s exhortation20. So he tried to temporize21. “Very well,” he made answer, with his jauntiest22 air, assuming a tone of friendly good-fellowship toward his brother-god. “I will bear it in mind. I will try to humor you. While your time lasts, no man shall hurt you. But if I promise you that, you must do a good turn for me instead. You must come out before the people and give me a new fire from the sun, that you carry in a shining box about with you. The King of Fire has allowed his sacred flame to go out in deference23 to your flood; for last night, you know, you came down heavily. Never in my life have I known you come down heavier. The King of Fire acknowledges himself beaten. So give us light now before the people, that they may know we are gods, and may fear to disobey us.”
“Only on one condition,” Felix answered, sternly; for he felt he had Tu-Kila-Kila more or less in his power now, and that he could drive a bargain with him. Why, he wasn’t sure; but he saw Tu-Kila-Kila attached a profound importance to having the sacred fire relighted, as he thought, direct from heaven.
“What condition is that?” Tu-Kila-Kila asked, glancing about him suspiciously.
“Why, that you give up in future human sacrifices.”
Tu-Kila-Kila gave a start. Then he reflected for a moment. Evidently, the condition seemed to him a very hard one. “Do you want all the victims for yourself and her, then?” he asked, with a casual nod aside toward Muriel.
Felix drew back, with horror depicted24 on every line of his face. “Heaven forbid!” he answered, fervently25. “We want no bloodshed, no human victims. We ask you to give up these horrid26 practices, because they shock and revolt us. If you would have your fire lighted, you must promise us to put down cannibalism27 altogether henceforth in your island.”
Tu-Kila-Kila hesitated. After all, it was only for a very short time that these strangers could thus beard him. Their day would come soon. They were but Korongs. Meanwhile, it was best, no doubt, to effect a compromise. “Agreed,” he answered, slowly. “I will put down human sacrifices—so long as you live among us. And I will tell the people your taboo15 is not broken. All shall be done as you will in this matter. Now, come out before the crowd and light the fire from Heaven.”
“Remember,” Felix repeated, “if you break your word, my people will come down upon you, sooner or later, in their mighty fire-canoes, and will take vengeance28 for your crime, and destroy you utterly29.”
Tu-Kila-Kila smiled a cunning smile. “I know all that,” he answered. “I am a god myself, not a fool, don’t you see? You are a very great god, too; but I am the greater. No more of words between us two. It is as between gods. The fire! the fire!”
Tu-Kila-Kila replaced his mask. They proceeded from the hut to the open space within the taboo-line. The people still lay all flat on their faces. “Fire and Water,” Tu-Kila-Kila said, in a commanding tone, “come forward and screen me!”
The King of Fire and the King of Water unrolled a large square of native cloth, which they held up as a screen on two poles in front of their superior deity30. Tu-Kila-Kila sat down on the ground, hugging his knees, in the common squatting31 savage fashion, behind the veil thus readily formed for him. “Taboo is removed,” he said, in loud, clear tones. “My people may rise. The light will not burn them. They may look toward the place where Tu-Kila-Kila’s face is hidden from them.”
The people all rose with one accord, and gazed straight before them.
“The King of Fire will bring dry sticks,” Tu-Kila-Kila said, in his accustomed regal manner.
The King of Fire, sticking one pole of the screen into the ground securely, brought forward a bundle of sun-dried sticks and leaves from a basket beside him.
“The King of the Rain, who has put out all our hearths32 with his flood last night, will relight them again with new fire, fresh flame from the sun, rays of our disk, divine, mystic, wonderful,” Tu-Kila-Kila proclaimed, in his droning monotone.
Felix advanced as he spoke to the pile, and struck a match before the eyes of all the islanders. As they saw it light, and then set fire to the wood, a loud cry went up once more, “Tu-Kila-Kila is great! His words are true! He has brought fire from the sun! His ways are wonderful!”
Tu-Kila-Kila, from his point of vantage behind the curtain, strove to improve the occasion with a theological lesson. “That is the way we have learned from our divine ancestors,” he said, slowly; “the rule of the gods in our island of Boupari. Each god, as he grows old, reincarnates33 himself visibly. Before he can grow feeble and die he immolates34 himself willingly on his own altar; and a younger and a stronger than he receives his spirit. Thus the gods are always young and always with you. Behold35 myself, Tu-Kila-Kila! Am I not from old times? Am I not very ancient? Have I not passed through many bodies? Do I not spring ever fresh from my own ashes? Do I not eat perpetually the flesh of new victims? Even so with fire. The flames of our island were becoming impure36. The King of Fire saw his cinders37 flickering38. So I gave my word. The King of the Rain descended39 in floods upon them. He put them all out. And now he rekindles40 them. They burn up brighter and fresher than ever. They burn to cook my meat, the limbs of my victims. Take heed41 that you do the King of the Rain no harm as long as he remains42 within his sacred circle. He is a very great god. He is fierce; he is cruel. His taboo is not broken. Beware! Beware! Disobey at your peril43. I, Tu-Kila-Kila, have spoken.”
As he spoke, it seemed to Felix that these strange mystic words about each god springing fresh from his own ashes must contain the solution of that dread44 problem they were trying in vain to read. That, perhaps, was the secret of Korong. If only they could ever manage to understand it!
Tu-Kila-Kila beat his tom-tom twice. In a second all the people fell flat on their faces again. Tu-Kila-Kila rose; the kings of Fire and Water held the umbrella over him. The attendants on either side clapped hands in time to the sacred tom-tom. With proud, slow tread, the god retraced45 his steps to his own palace-temple; and Muriel and Felix were left alone at last in their dusty enclosure.
“Tu-Kila-Kila hates me,” Felix said, later in the day, to his attentive46 Shadow.
“Of course,” the young man answered, with a tone of natural assent47. “To be sure he hates you. How could he do otherwise? You are Korong. You may any day be his enemy.”
“But he’s afraid of me, too,” Felix went on. “He would have liked to let the people tear me in pieces. Yet he dared not risk it. He seems to dread offending me.”
“Of course,” the Shadow replied, as readily as before. “He is very much afraid of you. You are Korong. You may any day supplant48 him. He would like to get rid of you, if he could see his way. But till your time comes he dare not touch you.”
“When will my time come?” Felix asked, with that dim apprehension49 of some horrible end coming over him yet again in all its vague weirdness50.
The Shadow shook his head. “That,” he answered, “it is not lawful51 for me so much as to mention. I tell you too far. You will know soon enough. Wait, and be patient.”
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1
panoply
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| n.全副甲胄，礼服 | |
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unison
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| n.步调一致，行动一致 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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7
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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8
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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9
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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deities
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| n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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14
taboos
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| 禁忌( taboo的名词复数 )； 忌讳； 戒律； 禁忌的事物（或行为） | |
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taboo
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| n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止 | |
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transgress
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| vt.违反，逾越 | |
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palaver
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| adj.壮丽堂皇的；n.废话，空话 | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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belch
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| v.打嗝，喷出 | |
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exhortation
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| n.劝告，规劝 | |
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temporize
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| v.顺应时势；拖延 | |
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jauntiest
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| adj.心满意足的样子，洋洋得意的( jaunty的最高级 ) | |
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deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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cannibalism
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| n.同类相食；吃人肉 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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31
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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hearths
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| 壁炉前的地板，炉床，壁炉边( hearth的名词复数 ) | |
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reincarnates
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| v.赋予新形体，使转世化身( reincarnate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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immolates
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| vt.宰杀…作祭品（immolate的第三人称单数形式） | |
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35
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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impure
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| adj.不纯净的，不洁的；不道德的，下流的 | |
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cinders
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| n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道 | |
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38
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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40
rekindles
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| v.使再燃( rekindle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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41
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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42
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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44
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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45
retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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46
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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47
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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48
supplant
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| vt.排挤；取代 | |
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49
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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50
weirdness
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| n.古怪，离奇，不可思议 | |
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51
lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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