Lieutenant1 Francis Augustus Tibbetts of the Houssas was at some disadvantage with his chief and friend. Lieutenant F. A. Tibbetts might take a perfectly2 correct attitude, might salute3 on every possible occasion that a man could salute, might click his heels together in the German fashion (he had spent a year at Heidelberg), might be stiffly formal and so greet his superior that he contrived4 to combine a dutiful recognition with the cut direct, but never could he overcome one fatal obstacle to marked avoidance--he had to grub with Hamilton.
Bones was hurt. Hamilton had behaved to him as no brother officer should behave. Hamilton had spoken harshly and cruelly in the matter of a commission with which he had entrusted6 his subordinate, and with which the aforesaid subordinate had lamentably7 failed to cope.
Up in the Akasava country a certain wise man named M'bisibi had predicted the coming of a devil-child who should be born on a night when the moon lay so on the river and certain rains had fallen in the forest.
And this child should be called "Ewa," which is death; and first his mother would die and then his father; and he would grow up to be a scourge8 to his people and a pestilence9 to his nation, and crops would wither10 when he walked past them, and the fish in the river would float belly11 up in stinking12 death, and until Ewa M'faba himself went out, nothing but ill-fortune should come to the N'gombi-Isisi.
Thus M'bisibi predicted, and the word went up and down the river, for the prophet was old and accounted wise even by Bosambo of the Ochori.
It came to Hamilton quickly enough, and he had sent Bones post-haste to await the advent14 of any unfortunate youngster who was tactless enough to put in an appearance at such an inauspicious moment as would fulfil the prediction of M'bisibi.
And Bones had gone to the wrong village, and that in the face of his steersman's and his sergeant's protest that he was going wrong. Fortunately, by reliable account, no child had been born in the village, and the prediction was unfulfilled.
"Otherwise," said Hamilton, "its young life would have been on your head."
"Yes, sir," said Bones.
"I didn't tell you there were two villages called Inkau," Hamilton confessed, "because I didn't realize you were chump enough to go to the wrong one."
"No, sir," agreed Bones, patiently.
"Naturally," said Hamilton, "I thought the idea of saving the lives of innocent babes would have been sufficient incentive15."
"Naturally, sir," said Bones, with forced geniality16.
"I've come to one conclusion about you, Bones," said Hamilton.
"Yes, sir," said Bones, "that I'm an ass17, sir, I think?"
Hamilton nodded--it was too hot to speak.
"It was an interestin' conclusion," said Bones, thoughtfully, "not without originality--when it first occurred to you, but as a conclusion, if you will pardon my criticism, sir, if you will forgive me for suggestin' as much--in callin' me an ass, sir: apart from its bein' contrary to the spirit an' letter of the Army Act--God Save the King!--it's a bit low, sir." And he left his superior officer without another word. For three days they sat at breakfast, tiffin and dinner, and neither said more than:
"May I pass you the bread, sir?"
"Thank you, sir; have you the salt, sir?"
Hamilton was so busy a man that he might have forgotten the feud18, but for the insistence19 of Bones, who never lost an opportunity of reminding his No. 1 that he was mortally hurt.
One night, dinner had reached the stage where two young officers of Houssas sat primly20 side by side on the verandah sipping21 their coffee. Neither spoke5, and the seance might have ended with the conventional "Good night" and that punctilious22 salute which Bones invariably gave, and which Hamilton as punctiliously23 returned, but for the apparition24 of a dark figure which crossed the broad space of parade ground hesitatingly as though not certain of his way, and finally came with dragging feet through Sanders' garden to the edge of the verandah.
It was the figure of a small boy, very thin; Hamilton could see this through the half-darkness.
The boy was as naked as when he was born, and he carried in his hand a single paddle.
"O boy," said Hamilton, "I see you."
"Wanda!" said the boy in a frightened tone, and hesitated, as though he were deciding whether it would be better to bolt, or to conclude his desperate enterprise.
"Come up to me," said Hamilton, kindly25.
He recognized by the dialect that the visitor had come a long way, as indeed he had, for his old canoe was pushed up amongst the elephant grass a mile away from headquarters, and he had spent three days and nights upon the river. He came up, an embarrassed and a frightened lad, and stood twiddling his toes on the unaccustomed smoothness of the big stoep.
"Where do you come from, and why have you come?" asked Hamilton.
"Lord, I have come from the village of M'bisibi," said the boy; "my mother has sent me because she fears for her life, my father being away on a great hunt. As for me," he went on, "my name is Tilimi-N'kema."
"Speak on, Tilimi the Monkey," said Hamilton, "tell me why the woman your mother fears for her life."
The boy was silent for a spell; evidently he was trying to recall the exact formula which had been dinned26 into his unreceptive brain, and to repeat word for word the lesson which he had learned parrotwise.
"Thus says the woman my mother," he said at last, with the blank, monotonous27 delivery peculiar28 to all small boys who have been rehearsed in speech, "on a certain day when the moon was at full and the rain was in the forest so that we all heard it in the village, my mother bore a child who is my own brother, and, lord, because she feared things which the old man M'bisibi had spoken she went into the forest to a certain witch doctor, and there the child was born. To my mind," said the lad, with a curious air of wisdom which is the property of the youthful native from whom none of the mysteries of life or death are hidden, "it is better she did this, for they would have made a sacrifice of her child. Now when she came back, and they spoke to her, she said that the boy was dead. But this is the truth, lord, that she had left this child with the witch doctor, and now----" he hesitated again.
"And now?" repeated Hamilton.
"Now, lord," said the boy, "this witch doctor, whose name is Bogolono, says she must bring him rich presents at the full of every moon, because her son and my brother is the devil-child whom M'bisibi has predicted. And if she brings no rich presents he will take the child to the village, and there will be an end."
Hamilton called his orderly.
"Give this boy some chop," he said; "to-morrow we will have a longer palaver29."
He waited till the man and his charge were out of earshot, then he turned to Bones.
"Bones," he said, seriously, "I think you had better leave unobtrusively for M'bisibi's village, find the woman, and bring her to safety. You will know the village," he added, unnecessarily, "it is the one you didn't find last time."
Bones left insubordinately and made no response.
* * * * *
II
Bosambo, with his arms folded across his brawny30 chest, looked curiously31 at the deputation which had come to him.
"This is a bad palaver," said Bosambo, "for it seems to me that when little chiefs do that which is wrong, it is an ill thing; but when great kings, such as your master Iberi, stand at the back of such wrongdoings, that is the worst thing of all, and though this M'bisibi is a wise man, as we all know, and indeed the only wise man of your people, has brought out this devil-child, and makes a killing32 palaver, then M'ilitani will come very quickly with his soldiers and there will be an end to little chiefs and big chiefs alike."
"Lord, that will be so," said the messenger, "unless all chiefs in the land stand in brotherhood33 together. And because we know Sandi loves you, and M'ilitani also, and that Tibbetti himself is as tender to you as a brother, M'bisibi sent this word saying, 'Go to Bosambo, and say M'bisibi, the wise man, bids him come to a great and fearful palaver touching34 the matter of several devils. Tell him also that great evil will come to this land, to his land and to mine, to his wife and the wives of his counsellors, and to his children and theirs, unless we make an end to certain devils.'"
Bosambo, chin on clenched35 fist, looked thoughtfully at the other.
"This cannot be," said he in a troubled voice; "for though I die and all that is wonderful to me shall pass out of this world, yet I must do no thing which is unlawful in the eyes of Sandi, my master, and of the great ones he has left behind to fulfil the law. Say this to M'bisibi from me, that I think he is very wise and understands ghosts and such-like palavers36. Also say that if he puts curses upon my huts I will come with my spearmen to him, and if aught follows I will hang him by the ears from a high tree, though he sleeps with ghosts and commands whole armies of devils; this palaver is finished."
The messenger carried the word back to M'bisibi and the council of the chiefs and the eldermen who sat in the palaver house, and old as he was and wise by all standards, M'bisibi shivered, for, as he explained, that which Bosambo said would he do. For this is peculiar to no race or colour, that old men love life dearer than young.
"Bogolono, you shall bring the child," he said, turning to one who sat at his side, string upon string of human teeth looped about his neck and his eyes circled with white ashes, "and it shall be sacrificed according to the custom, as it was in the days of my fathers and of their fathers."
They chose a spot in the forest, where four young trees stood at corners of a rough square. With their short bush knives they lopped the tender branches away, leaving four pliant37 poles that bled stickily. With great care they drew down the tops of these trees until they nearly met, cutting the heads so that there was no overlapping38. To these four ends they fastened ropes, one for each arm and for each ankle of the devil child, and with other ropes they held the saplings to their place.
"Now this is the magic of it," said M'bisibi, "that when the moon is full to-night we shall sacrifice first a goat, and then a fowl39, casting certain parts into the fire which shall be made of white gum, and I will make certain marks upon the child's face and upon his belly, and then I will cut these ropes so that to the four ends of the world we shall cast forth40 this devil, who will no longer trouble us."
That night came many chiefs, Iberi of the Akasava, Tilini of the Lesser41 Isisi, Efele (the Tornado) of the N'gombi, Lisu (the Seer) of the Inner Territories, but Lilongo[12] (as they called Bosambo of the Ochori), did not come.
[Footnote 12: "Lilongo" is from the noun "balongo"--blood, and means literally42 "he-who-breaks-blood-friendships."--E. W.]
* * * * *
III
Bones reached the village two hours before the time of sacrifice and landed a force of twenty Houssas and a small Maxim43 gun. The village was peaceable, and there was no sign of anything untoward44. Save this. The village was given over to old people and children. M'bisibi was an hour--two hours--four hours in the forest. He had gone north--east--south--none knew whither.
The very evasiveness of the replies put Bones into a fret45. He scouted46 the paths and found indications of people having passed over all three.
He sent his gun back to the _Zaire_, divided his party into three, and accompanied by half a dozen men, he himself took the middle path.
For an hour he trudged47, losing his way, and finding it again. He came upon a further division of paths and split up his little force again.
In the end he found himself alone, struggling over the rough ground in a darkness illuminated48 only by the electric lamp he carried, and making for a faint gleam of red light which showed through the trees ahead.
M'bisibi held the child on his outstretched hands, a fat little child, with large, wondering eyes that stared solemnly at the dancing flames, and sucked a small brown thumb contentedly49.
"Behold50 this child, oh chiefs and people," said M'bisibi, "who was born as I predicted, and is filled with devils!"
The baby turned his head so that his fat little neck was all rolled and creased51, and said "Ah!" to the pretty fire, and chuckled52.
"Even now the devils speak," said M'bisibi, "but presently you shall hear them screaming through the world because I have scattered53 them," and he made his way to the bowed saplings.
Bones, his face scratched and bleeding, his uniform torn in a dozen places, came swiftly after him.
"My bird, I think," said Bones, and caught the child unscientifically.
Picture Bones with a baby under his arm--a baby indignant, outraged54, infernally uncomfortable, and grimacing55 a yell into being.
"Lord," said M'bisibi, breathing quickly, "what do you seek?"
"That which I have," said Bones, waving him off with the black muzzle56 of his automatic Colt. "Tomorrow you shall answer for many crimes."
He backed quickly to the cover of the woods, scenting57 the trouble that was coming.
He heard the old man's roar.
"O people ... this white man will loose devils upon the land!"
Then a throwing spear snicked the trunk of a tree, and another, for there were no soldiers, and this congregation of exorcisers were mad with wrath58 at the thought of the evil which Tibbetti was preparing for them.
"Snick!"
A spear struck Bones' boot.
"Shut your eyes, baby," said Bones, and fired into the brown. Then he ran for his life. Over roots and fallen trees he fell and stumbled, his tiny passenger yelling desperately59.
"Oh, shut up!" snarled60 Bones, "what the dickens are you shouting about--hey? Haven't I saved your young life, you ungrateful little devil?"
Now and again he would stop to consult his illuminated compass. That the pursuit continued he knew, but he had the dubious61 satisfaction of knowing, too, that he had left the path and was in the forest.
Then he heard a faint shot, and another, and another, and grinned.
His pursuers had stumbled upon a party of Houssas.
From sheer exhaustion62 the baby had fallen asleep. Babies were confoundedly heavy--Bones had never observed the fact before, but with the strap63 of his sword belt he fashioned a sling64 that relieved him of some of the weight.
He took it easier now, for he knew M'bisibi's men would be frightened off. He rested for half an hour on the ground, and then came a snuffling leopard65 walking silently through the forest, betraying his presence only by the two green danger-lamps of his eyes.
Bones sat up and flourished his lamp upon the startled beast, which growled67 in fright, and went scampering68 through the forest like the great cat that he was.
The growl66 woke Bones' charge, and he awoke hungry and disinclined to further sleep without that inducement and comfort which his nurse was in no position to offer, whereupon Bones snuggled the whimpering child.
"He's a wicked old leopard!" he said, "to come and wake a child at this time of the night."
The knuckle69 of Bones' little finger soothed70 the baby, though it was a poor substitute for the nutriment it had every right to expect, and it whimpered itself to sleep.
Lieutenant Tibbetts looked at his compass again. He had located the shots to eastward71, but he did not care to make a bee-line in that direction for fear of falling upon some of the enemy, whom he knew would be, at this time, making their way to the river.
For two hours before dawn he snatched a little sleep, and was awakened72 by a fierce tugging73 at his nose. He got up, laid the baby on the soft ground, and stood with arms akimbo, and his monocle firmly fixed74, surveying his noisy companion.
"What the dooce are you making all this row about?" he asked indignantly. "Have a little patience, young feller, exercise a little _suaviter in modo_, dear old baby!"
But still the fat little morsel75 on the ground continued his noisy monologue76, protesting in a language which is of an age rather than of a race, against the cruelty and the thoughtlessness and the distressing77 lack of consideration which his elder and better was showing him.
"I suppose you want some grub," said Bones, in dismay; and looked round helplessly.
He searched the pocket of his haversack, and had the good fortune to find a biscuit; his vacuum flask78 had just half a cup of warm tea. He fed the baby with soaked biscuit and drank the tea himself.
"You ought to have a bath or something," said Bones, severely79; but it was not until an hour later that he found a forest pool in which to perform the ablution.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, as near as he could judge, for his watch had stopped, he struck a path, and would have reached the village before sundown, but for the fact that he again missed the path, and learnt of this fact about the same time he discovered he had lost his compass.
Bones looked dismally80 at the wide-awake child.
"Dear old companion in arms," he said, gloomily, "we are lost."
The baby's face creased in a smile.
"It's nothing to laugh about, you silly ass," said Bones.
IV
"Master, of our Lord Tibbetti I do not know," said M'bisibi sullenly81.
"Yet you shall know before the sun is black," said Hamilton, "and your young men shall find him, or there is a tree for you, old man, a quick death by _Ewa_!"
"I have sought, my lord," said M'bisibi, "all my hunters have searched the forest, yet we have not found him. A certain devil-pot is here."
He fumbled82 under a native cloth and drew forth Bones' compass.
"This only could we find on the forest path that leads to Inilaki."
"And the child is with him?"
"So men say," said M'bisibi, "though by my magic I know that the child will die, for how can a white man who knows nothing of little children give him life and comfort? Yet," he amended83 carefully, since it was necessary to preserve the character of the intended victim, "if this child is indeed a devil child, as I believe, he will lead my lord Tibbetti to terrible places and return himself unharmed."
"He will lead you to a place more terrible," said M'ilitani, significantly, and sent a nimble climber into the trees to fasten a block and tackle to a stout84 branch, and thread a rope through.
It was so effective that M'bisibi, an old man, became most energetically active. _Lokali_ and swift messengers sent his villages to the search. Every half-hour the Hotchkiss gun of the _Zaire_ banged noisily; and Hamilton, tramping through the woods, felt his heart sink as hour after hour passed without news of his comrade.
"I tell you this, lord," said the headman, who accompanied him, "that I think Tibbetti is dead and the child also. For this wood is filled with ghosts and savage85 beasts, also many strong and poisonous snakes. See, lord!" He pointed86.
They had reached a clearing where the grass was rich and luxuriant, where overshadowing branches formed an idealic bower87, where heavy white waxen flowers were looped from branch to branch holding the green boughs88 in their parasitical89 clutch. Hamilton followed the direction of his eyes. In the middle of the clearing a long, sinuous90 shape, dark brown, and violently coloured with patches of green and vermillion, that was swaying backward and forward, hissing91 angrily at some object before it.
"Good God!" said Hamilton, and dropped his hand on his revolver, but before it was clear of his holster, there came a sharp crack, and the snake leapt up and fell back as a bullet went snip-snapping through the undergrowth. Then Hamilton saw Bones. Bones in his shirtsleeves, bareheaded, his big pipe in his mouth, who came hurriedly through the trees pistol in hand.
"Naughty boy!" he said, reproachfully, and stooping, picked up a squalling brown object from the ground. "Didn't Daddy tell you not to go near those horrid92 snakes? Daddy spank93 you----"
Then he caught sight of the amazed Hamilton, clutched the baby in one hand, and saluted94 with the other.
"Baby present and correct, sir," he said, formally.
* * * * *
"What are you going to do with it?" asked Hamilton, after Bones had indulged in the luxury of a bath and had his dinner.
"Do with what, sir?" asked Bones.
"With this?"
Hamilton pointed to a crawling morsel who was at that moment looking up to Bones for approval.
"What do you expect me to do, sir?" asked Bones, stiffly; "the mother is dead and he has no father. I feel a certain amount of responsibility about Henry."
"And who the dickens is Henry?" asked Hamilton.
Bones indicated the child with a fine gesture.
"Henry Hamilton Bones, sir," he said grandly. "The child of the regiment," he went on; "adopted by me to be a prop13 for my declining years, sir."
"Heaven and earth!" said Hamilton, breathlessly.
He went aft to recover his nerve, and returned to become an unseen spectator to a purely95 domestic scene, for Bones had immersed the squalling infant in his own india-rubber bath, and was gingerly cleaning him with a mop.
收听单词发音 |
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lieutenant
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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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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entrusted
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lamentably
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scourge
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pestilence
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wither
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| vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡 | |
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belly
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stinking
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| adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透 | |
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prop
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| vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山 | |
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advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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incentive
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| n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机 | |
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geniality
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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feud
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| n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇 | |
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insistence
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| n.坚持；强调；坚决主张 | |
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primly
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| adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
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sipping
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 ) | |
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punctilious
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punctiliously
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apparition
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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dinned
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| vt.喧闹（din的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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palaver
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brawny
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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palavers
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| n.废话，空话( palaver的名词复数 )v.废话，空话( palaver的第三人称单数 ) | |
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pliant
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| adj.顺从的；可弯曲的 | |
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overlapping
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| adj./n.交迭（的） | |
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fowl
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| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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maxim
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| n.格言，箴言 | |
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untoward
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| adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的 | |
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fret
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| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
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scouted
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| 寻找，侦察( scout的过去式和过去分词 )； 物色（优秀运动员、演员、音乐家等） | |
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trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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contentedly
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| adv.心满意足地 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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creased
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的过去式和过去分词 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹； 皱皱巴巴 | |
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52
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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grimacing
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| v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的现在分词 ) | |
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muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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scenting
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| vt.闻到（scent的现在分词形式） | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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strap
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| n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎 | |
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sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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leopard
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| n.豹 | |
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growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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scampering
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的现在分词 ) | |
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knuckle
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| n.指节；vi.开始努力工作；屈服，认输 | |
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soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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monologue
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| n.长篇大论，（戏剧等中的）独白 | |
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distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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Amended
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| adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词 | |
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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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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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bower
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| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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parasitical
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| adj. 寄生的(符加的) | |
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sinuous
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| adj.蜿蜒的，迂回的 | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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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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spank
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| v.打，拍打(在屁股上) | |
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saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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