Angola at that time was the scene of a large negro-traffic, and as the caravans3 principally wended their way towards the interior, the Portuguese4 authorities at Loanda and Benguela had practically no power to prevent it. The barracks on the shore were crowded to overflowing5 with prisoners, the few slave-ships that managed to elude7 the cruisers being quite inadequate8 to embark9 the whole number for the Spanish colonies to America.
Kazonndé, the point whence the caravans diverge10 to the various parts of the lake district, is situated11 three miles from the mouth of the Coanza, and is one of the most important lakonis, or markets of the province. The open marketplace where the slaves are exposed for sale is called the chitoka.
All the larger towns of Central Africa are divided into two distinct parts; one occupied by the Arab, Portuguese, or native merchants, and containing their slave-barracks; the other being the residence of the negro king, often a fierce drunken potentate12, whose rule is a reign13 of terror, and who lives by subsidies14 allowed him by the traders.
The commercial quarter of Kazonndé now belonged to
[Illustration: Adjoining the commercial quarter was the royal residence.]
José Antonio Alvez. It was his largest dépôt, although he had another at Bihé, and a third at Cassangé, where Cameron subsequently met him. It consisted of one long street, on each side of which were groups of flat-roofed houses called tembés, built of rough earth, and provided with square yards for cattle. The end of it opened into the chitoka, which was surrounded by the barracks. Above the houses some fine banyan-trees waved their branches, surmounted15 here and there by the crests16 of graceful17 palms. There was at least a score of birds of prey18 that hovered19 about the streets, and came down to perform the office of public scavengers. At no great distance flowed the Loohi, a river not yet explored, but which is supposed to be an affluent20 or sub-affluent of the Congo.
Adjoining the commercial quarter was the royal residence, nothing more nor less than a collection of dirty huts, extending over an area of nearly a square mile.
Some of these huts were unenclosed; others were surrounded by a palisade of reeds, or by a hedge of bushy figs21.
In an enclosure within a papyrus22 fence were about thirty huts appropriated to the king's slaves, another group for his wives, and in the middle, almost hidden by a plantation23 of manioc, a tembé larger and loftier than the rest, the abode24 of the monarch25 himself.
He had sorely declined from the dignity and importance of his predecessors26, and his army, which by the early Portuguese traders had been estimated at 20,000, now numbered less than 4000 men; no longer could he afford, as in the good old time, to order a sacrifice of twenty-five or thirty slaves at one offering.
His name was Moené Loonga. Little over fifty, he was prematurely27 aged6 by drink and debauchery, and scarcely better than a maniac28. His subjects, officers, and ministers, were all liable to be mutilated at his pleasure, and noses and ears, feet and hands, were cut off unsparingly whenever his caprice so willed it. His death would have been a cause of regret to no one, with the exception, perhaps, of Alvez, who was on very good terms with him. Alvez, moreover, feared that in the event of the present king's death, the succession of his chief wife, Queen Moena, might be disputed, and that his dominions29 would be invaded by a younger and more active neighbour, one of the kings of Ukusu, who had already seized upon some villages dependent on the government of Kazonndé, and who was in alliance with a rival trader named Tipo-Tipo, a man of pure Arab extraction, from whom Cameron afterwards received a visit at Nyangwé.
To all intents and purposes Alvez was the real sovereign of the district, having fostered the vices30 of the brutalized king till he had him completely in his power. He was a man considerably31 advanced in years; he was not (as his name might imply) a white man, but had merely assumed his Portuguese title for purposes of business; his true name was Kendélé, and he was a pure negro by birth, being a native of Dondo on the Coanza. He had commenced life as a slave-dealer's agent, and was now on his way towards becoming a first-class trader; that is to say, he was a consummate32 rascal33 under the guise34 of an honest man. He it was whom Cameron met at the end of 1874 at Kilemba, the capital of Urua, of which Kasongo is chief, and with whose caravan he travelled to Bihé, a distance of seven hundred miles.
It was midday when the caravan entered Kazonndé. The journey from the Coanza had lasted thirty-eight days, more than five weeks of misery35 as great as was within human power to endure. Amidst the noise of drums and coodoo-horns the slaves were conducted to the marketplace. The soldiers of the caravan discharged their guns into the air, and old Alvez' resident retinue36 responded with a similar salute37. The bandits, than which the soldiers were nothing better, were delighted to meet again, and would celebrate their return by a season of riot and excess.
The slaves, reduced to a total of about two hundred and fifty, were many of them almost dead from exhaustion38; the forks were removed from their necks, though the chains were still retained, and the whole of them were driven into barracks that were unfit even for cattle, to await (in company with 1200 to 1500 other captives already there) the great market which would be held two days hence.
The pagazis, after delivering their loads of ivory, would only stay to receive their payment of a few yards of calico or other stuff, and would then depart at once to join some other caravan.
On being relieved from the forks which they had carried for so many weary days, Tom and his companions heartily39 wrung40 each other's hands, but they could not venture to utter one word of mutual41 encouragement. The three younger men, more full of life and vigour42, had resisted the effects of the fatigue43, but poor old Tom was nearly exhausted44, and had the march been protracted45 for a few more days he must have shared Nan's fate and been left behind, a prey to the wild beasts.
Upon their arrival all four were packed into a narrow cell, where some food was provided, and the door was immediately locked upon them.
The chitoka was now almost deserted46, and Dick Sands was left there under the special charge of a havildar: he lost no opportunity of peering into every hut in the hope of catching47 a glimpse of Mrs. Weldon, who, if Hercules had not misinformed him, had come on hither just in front.
But he was very much perplexed48. He could well understand that Mrs. Weldon, if still a prisoner, would be kept out of sight, but why Negoro and Harris did not appear to triumph over him in his humiliation49 was quite a mystery to him. It was likely enough that the presence of either one or the other of them would be the signal for himself to be exposed to fresh indignity50, or even to torture, but Dick would have welcomed the sight of them at Kazonndé, were it only as an indication that Mrs. Weldon and Jack51 were there also.
It disappointed him, too, that Dingo did not come back. Ever since the dog had brought him the first note, he had kept an answer written ready to send to Hercules, imploring52 him to look after Mrs. Weldon, and to keep him informed of everything. He began to fear that the faithful creature must be dead, perhaps perished in some attempt to reach himself; it was, however, quite possible that Hercules had taken the dog in some other direction, hoping to gain somedépôt in the interior.
But so thoroughly53 had Dick persuaded himself that Mrs. Weldon had preceded him to Kazonndé that his disappointment became more and more keen when he failed to discover her. For a while he seemed to yield to despair, and sat down sorrowful and sick at heart.
Suddenly a chorus of voices and trumpets54 broke upon his ear; he was startled into taking a new interest in what was going on.
"Alvez! Alvez!" was the cry again and again repeated by the crowd.
Here, then, was the great man himself about to appear. Was it not likely that Harris or Negoro might be with him?
Dick stood erect55 and resolute56, his eye vivid with expectation; he felt all eagerness to stand face to face with his betrayers; boy as he was, he was equal to cope with them both.
The kitanda, which came in sight at the end of the street, was nothing more than a kind of hammock covered by a faded and ragged57 curtain. An old negro stepped out of it. His attendants greeted him with noisy acclamations.
This, then, was the great trader, José Antonio Alvez.
Immediately following him was his friend Coïmbra, son of the chief Coïmbra of Bihé, and, according to Cameron, the greatest blackguard in the province. This sworn ally of Alvez, this organizer of his slave-raids, this commander, worthy58 of his own horde59 of bandits, was utterly60 loathsome61 in his appearance, his flesh was filthily62 dirty, his eyes were bloodshot, his skin yellow, and his long hair all dishevelled. He had no other attire63 than a tattered64 shirt, a tunic65 made of grass, and a battered66 straw hat, under which his countenance67 appeared like that of some old hag.
Alvez himself, whose clothes were like those of an old Turk the day after a carnival68, was one degree more respectable in appearance than his satellite, not that his looks spoke69 much for the very highest class of African slave-dealers. To Dick's great disappointment, neither Harris nor Negoro was among his retinue.
Both Alvez and Coïmbra shook hands with Ibn Hamish, the leader of the caravan, and congratulated him on the success of the expedition. Alvez made a grimace70 on being told that half the slaves had died on the way, but on the whole he seemed satisfied; he could meet the demand that at present existed, and would lose no time in bartering71 the new arrival for ivory or hannas, copper72 in the shape of a St. Andrew's cross, the form in which the metal is exported in Central Africa.
After complimenting the havildars upon the way in which they had done their work, the trader gave orders that the porters should be paid and dismissed. The conversations were carried on in a mixture of Portuguese and native idioms, in which the African element abounded73 so largely that a native of Lisbon would have been at a loss to understand them. Dick, of course, could not comprehend what was said, and it was only when he saw a havildar go towards the cell in which Tom and the others were confined, that he realized that the talk was about himself and his party.
When the negroes were brought out, Dick came close up, being anxious to learn as much as he could of what was in contemplation. The old trader's eyes seemed to brighten as he glanced upon the three strapping74 young men who, he knew, would soon be restored to their full strength by rest and proper food. They at least would get a good price; as for poor old Tom, he was manifestly so broken down by infirmity and age, that he would have no value in the market.
In a few words of broken English, which Alvez had picked up from some of his agents, he ironically gave them all a welcome.
"Glad to see you!" he said, with a diabolical75 grin.
Tom knew what he meant, and drew himself up proudly.
"We are free men!" he protested, "free citizens of the United States!"
"Yes, yes!" replied Alvez, grinning, "you are Americans; very glad to see you!"
"Very glad to see you!" echoed Coïmbra, and walking up to Austin he felt his chest and shoulders, and then proceeded to open his mouth in order to examine his teeth.
Some soldiers made a dash and seized the young negro, evidently ready to make him pay dearly for his temerity77; but Alvez was by no means willing to have any injury done to his newly-acquired property, and called them off. He hardly attempted to conceal78 his amusement at Coïmbra's discomfiture79, although the blow had cost him one of his front teeth.
After he had recovered somewhat from the shock, Coïmbra stood scowling80 at Austin, as if mentally vowing81 vengeance82 on some future occasion.
Dick Sands was now himself brought forward in the custody83 of a havildar. It was clear that Alvez had been told all about him, for after scanning him for a moment, he stammered84 out in his broken English,-
"Ah! ah! the little Yankee!"
"Yes," replied Dick; "I see you know who I am. What are you going to do with me and my friends?"
"Yankee! little Yankee!" repeated the trader, who either did not or would not comprehend the meaning of Dick's question.
Dick turned to Coïmbra and made the same inquiry85 of him; in spite of his degraded features, now still farther disfigured by being swollen86 from the blow, it was easy to recognize that he was not of native origin. He refused to answer a word, and only stared again with the vicious glare of malevolence87.
Meanwhile, Alvez had begun to talk to Ibn Hamish. Dick felt sure that they intended to separate him from the negroes, and accordingly took the opportunity of whispering a few words to them.
"My friends, I have heard from Hercules. Dingo
[Illustration: With a yell and a curse, the American fell dead at his feet.]
brought me a note from him, tied round his neck. He says Harris and Negoro have carried off Mrs. Weldon, Jack, and Mr. Benedict. He did not know where. Have patience, and we will find them yet."
"And where's Nan?" muttered Tom, in a low voice.
"Dead," replied Dick, and was about to add more, when a hand was laid upon his shoulder, and a voice that he knew too well exclaimed,-
"Well, my young friend, how are you? I am glad to see you again."
He turned round quickly. Harris stood before him.
"Where is Mrs. Weldon?" asked Dick impetuously.
"Ah, poor thing!" answered Harris, with an air of deep commiseration88.
"Poor little fellow!" said Harris, in the same mournful tone.
These insinuations, that those in whose welfare he was so deeply interested had succumbed90 to the hardships of the journey, awoke in Dick's mind a sudden and irresistible91 desire for vengeance. Darting92 forwards he seized the cutlass that Harris wore in his belt, and plunged93 it into his heart.
With a yell and a curse, the American fell dead at his feet.
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1
caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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dealers
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| n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者 | |
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caravans
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| （可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队） | |
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Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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elude
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| v.躲避，困惑 | |
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inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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diverge
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| v.分叉，分歧，离题，使...岔开，使转向 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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potentate
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| n.统治者；君主 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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subsidies
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| n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 ) | |
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surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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affluent
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| adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的 | |
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figs
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| figures 数字，图形，外形 | |
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papyrus
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| n.古以纸草制成之纸 | |
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plantation
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| n.种植园，大农场 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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predecessors
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| n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身 | |
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prematurely
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| adv.过早地，贸然地 | |
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maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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dominions
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| 统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图 | |
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vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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consummate
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| adj.完美的；v.成婚；使完美 [反]baffle | |
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rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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retinue
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| n.侍从；随员 | |
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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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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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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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indignity
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| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
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51
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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52
imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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trumpets
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| 喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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filthily
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| adv.污秽地，丑恶地，不洁地 | |
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attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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carnival
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| n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演 | |
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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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70
grimace
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| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
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bartering
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| v.作物物交换，以货换货( barter的现在分词 ) | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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abounded
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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strapping
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| adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式 | |
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75
diabolical
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| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
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76
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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77
temerity
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| n.鲁莽，冒失 | |
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78
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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79
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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80
scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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81
vowing
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式） | |
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82
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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83
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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84
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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85
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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86
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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87
malevolence
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| n.恶意，狠毒 | |
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88
commiseration
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| n.怜悯，同情 | |
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89
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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90
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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91
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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92
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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93
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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