After marching about half an hour he stopped abruptly1 and said, with a heavy sigh,—“I hope we haven’t missed our way?”
“Hope not sir, but it looks like as if we had.”
“I’ve bin2 so took up thinkin’ o’ that accursed traffic in human bein’s that I’ve lost my reckonin’. Howsever, we can’t be far out, an’, with the sun to guide us, we’ll—”
He was stopped by a loud halloo in the woods, on the belt of the swamp.
It was repeated in a few seconds, and Antonio, who, with Jumbo, had followed his master, cried in an excited tone—
“Me knows dat sound!”
“Wot may it be, Tony?” asked Disco.
There was neither time nor need for an answer, for at that moment a ringing cry, something like a bad imitation of a British cheer, was heard, and a band of men sprang out of the woods and ran at full speed towards our Englishmen.
“Why, Zombo!” exclaimed Disco, wildly.
“Oliveira!” cried Harold.
“Masiko! Songolo!” shouted Antonio and Jumbo.
“An’ José, Nakoda, Chimbolo, Mabruki!—the whole bun’ of ’em,” cried Disco, as one after another these worthies3 emerged from the wood and rushed in a state of frantic4 excitement towards their friends—“Hooray!”
“Hooroo-hay!” replied the runners.
In another minute our adventurous5 party of travellers was re-united, and for some time nothing but wild excitement, congratulations, queries6 that got no replies, and replies that ran tilt7 at irrelevant8 queries, with confusion worse confounded by explosions of unbounded and irrepressible laughter not unmingled with tears, was the order of the hour.
“But wat! yoos ill?” cried Zombo suddenly, looking into Disco’s face with an anxious expression.
“Well, I ain’t ’xac’ly ill, nor I ain’t ’xac’ly well neither, but I’m hearty9 all the same, and werry glad to see your black face, Zombo.”
“Ho! hooroo-hay! so’s me for see you,” cried the excitable Zombo; “but come, not good for talkee in de knees to watter. Fall in boy, ho! sholler ’ums—queek mash10!”
That Zombo had assumed command of his party was made evident by the pat way in which he trolled off the words of command formerly11 taught to him by Harold, as well as by the prompt obedience12 that was accorded to his orders. He led the party out of the swamp, and, on reaching a dry spot, halted, in order to make further inquiries13 and answer questions.
“How did you find us, Zombo?” asked Harold, throwing himself wearily on the ground.
“Yoos ill,” said Zombo, holding up a finger by way of rebuke14.
“So I am, though not so ill as I look. But come, answer me. How came you to discover us? You could not have found us by mere15 chance in this wilderness16?”
“Chanz; wat am chanz?” asked the Makololo.
There was some difficulty in getting Antonio to explain the word, from the circumstance of himself being ignorant of it, therefore Harold put the question in a more direct form.
“Oh! ve comes here look for yoo, ’cause peepils d’reck ’ums—show de way. Ve’s been veeks, monts, oh! days look for yoo. Travil far—g’rong road—turin bak—try agin—fin’ yoo now—hooroo-hay!”
“You may say that, indeed. I’d have it in my heart,” said Disco, “to give three good rousin’ British cheers if it warn’t for the thoughts o’ that black-hearted villain17, Marizano, an’ his poor, miserable18 slaves.”
“Marizano!” shouted Chimbolo, glaring at Harold.
“Marizano!” echoed Zombo, glaring at Disco.
Harold now explained to his friends that the slave-hunter was close at hand—a piece of news which visibly excited them,—and described the cruelties of which he had recently been a witness. Zombo showed his teeth like a savage19 mastiff, and grasped his musket20 as though he longed to use it, but he uttered no word until the narrative21 reached that point in which the death of the poor captive was described. Then he suddenly started forward and said something to his followers22 in the native tongue, which caused each to fling down the small bundle that was strapped23 to his shoulders.
“Yoo stop here,” he cried, earnestly, as he turned to Harold and Disco. “Ve’s com bak soon. Ho! boys, sholler ’ums! queek mash!”
No trained band of Britons ever obeyed with more ready alacrity24. No attention was paid to Harold’s questions. The “queek mash” carried them out of sight in a few minutes, and when the Englishmen, who had run after them a few paces, halted, under the conviction that in their weak condition they might as well endeavour to keep up with race-horses as with their old friends, they found that Antonio alone remained to keep them company.
“Where’s Jumbo?” inquired Harold.
“Gon’ ’way wid oders,” replied the interpreter.
Examining the bundles of their friends, they found that their contents were powder, ball, and food. It was therefore resolved that a fire should be kindled25, and food prepared, to be ready for their friends on their return.
“I’m not so sure about their return,” said Harold gravely. “They will have to fight against fearful odds26 if they find the slavers. Foolish fellows; I wish they had not rushed away so madly without consulting us.”
The day passed; night came and passed also, and another day dawned, but there was no appearance of Zombo and his men, until the sun had been up for some hours. Then they came back, wending their way slowly—very slowly—through the woods, with the whole of the slave-gang, men, women, and children, at their heels!
“Where is Marizano?” inquired Harold, almost breathless with surprise.
“Dead!” said Zombo.
“Dead?”
“Ay, dead, couldn’t be deader.”
“And his armed followers?”
“Dead, too—some ob ums. Ve got at um in de night. Shotted Marizano all to hatoms. Shotted mos’ ob um follerers too. De res’ all scatter27 like leaves in de wind. Me giv’ up now,” added Zombo, handing his musket to Harold. “Boys! orrer ums! mees Capitin not no more. Now, Capitin Harol’, yoos once more look afer us, an’ take care ob all ums peepil.”
Having thus demitted his charge, the faithful Zombo stepped back and left our hero in the unenviable position of a half broken-down man with the responsibility of conducting an expedition, and disposing of a large gang of slaves in some unknown part of equatorial Africa!
Leaving him there, we will proceed at once to the coast and follow, for a time, the fortunes of that archvillain, Yoosoof.
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1
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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2
bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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3
worthies
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| 应得某事物( worthy的名词复数 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征 | |
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4
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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5
adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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6
queries
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| n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问 | |
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7
tilt
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| v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜 | |
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8
irrelevant
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| adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的 | |
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9
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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10
mash
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| n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情 | |
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11
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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12
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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13
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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14
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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15
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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16
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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17
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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18
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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19
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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20
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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21
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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22
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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23
strapped
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| adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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24
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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25
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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26
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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27
scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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