Thus he came upon the trail of The Sheik's band as it traveled down river from the point where The Sheik had captured Meriem to his own stockaded village. Korak pretty well knew who it was that had passed, for there were few in the great jungle with whom he was not familiar, though it had been years since he had come this far north. He had no particular business, however, with the old Sheik and so he did not propose following him—the further from men he could stay the better pleased he would be—he wished that he might never see a human face again. Men always brought him sorrow and misery2.
The river suggested fishing and so he dawdled3 upon its shores, catching4 fish after a fashion of his own devising and eating them raw. When night came he curled up in a great tree beside the stream—the one from which he had been fishing during the afternoon—and was soon asleep. Numa, roaring beneath him, awoke him. He was about to call out in anger to his noisy neighbor when something else caught his attention. He listened. Was there something in the tree beside himself? Yes, he heard the noise of something below him trying to clamber upward. Presently he heard the click of a crocodile's jaws5 in the waters beneath, and then, low but distinct: "By George! The beggar nearly got me." The voice was familiar.
Korak glanced downward toward the speaker. Outlined against the faint luminosity of the water he saw the figure of a man clinging to a lower branch of the tree. Silently and swiftly the ape-man clambered downward. He felt a hand beneath his foot. He reached down and clutched the figure beneath him and dragged it up among the branches. It struggled weakly and struck at him; but Korak paid no more attention than Tantor to an ant. He lugged6 his burden to the higher safety and greater comfort of a broad crotch, and there he propped7 it in a sitting position against the bole of the tree. Numa still was roaring beneath them, doubtless in anger that he had been robbed of his prey8. Korak shouted down at him, calling him, in the language of the great apes, "Old green-eyed eater of carrion," "Brother of Dango," the hyena9, and other choice appellations10 of jungle opprobrium11.
The Hon. Morison Baynes, listening, felt assured that a gorilla12 had seized upon him. He felt for his revolver, and as he was drawing it stealthily from its holster a voice asked in perfectly13 good English, "Who are you?"
Baynes started so that he nearly fell from the branch.
"My God!" he exclaimed. "Are you a man?"
"What did you think I was?" asked Korak.
"A gorilla," replied Baynes, honestly.
Korak laughed.
"Who are you?" he repeated.
"I'm an Englishman by the name of Baynes; but who the devil are you?" asked the Hon. Morison.
"They call me The Killer14," replied Korak, giving the English translation of the name that Akut had given him. And then after a pause during which the Hon. Morison attempted to pierce the darkness and catch a glimpse of the features of the strange being into whose hands he had fallen, "You are the same whom I saw kissing the girl at the edge of the great plain to the East, that time that the lion charged you?"
"Yes," replied Baynes.
"What are you doing here?"
"The girl was stolen—I am trying to rescue her."
"Stolen!" The word was shot out like a bullet from a gun. "Who stole her?"
"The Swede trader, Hanson," replied Baynes.
"Where is he?"
Baynes related to Korak all that had transpired15 since he had come upon Hanson's camp. Before he was done the first gray dawn had relieved the darkness. Korak made the Englishman comfortable in the tree. He filled his canteen from the river and fetched him fruits to eat. Then he bid him good-bye.
"I am going to the Swede's camp," he announced. "I will bring the girl back to you here."
"I shall go, too, then," insisted Baynes. "It is my right and my duty, for she was to have become my wife."
Korak winced16. "You are wounded. You could not make the trip," he said. "I can go much faster alone."
"Go, then," replied Baynes; "but I shall follow. It is my right and duty."
"As you will," replied Korak, with a shrug17. If the man wanted to be killed it was none of his affair. He wanted to kill him himself, but for Meriem's sake he would not. If she loved him then he must do what he could to preserve him, but he could not prevent his following him, more than to advise him against it, and this he did, earnestly.
And so Korak set out rapidly toward the North, and limping slowly and painfully along, soon far to the rear, came the tired and wounded Baynes. Korak had reached the river bank opposite Malbihn's camp before Baynes had covered two miles. Late in the afternoon the Englishman was still plodding18 wearily along, forced to stop often for rest when he heard the sound of the galloping19 feet of a horse behind him. Instinctively20 he drew into the concealing21 foliage22 of the underbrush and a moment later a white-robed Arab dashed by. Baynes did not hail the rider. He had heard of the nature of the Arabs who penetrate23 thus far to the South, and what he had heard had convinced him that a snake or a panther would as quickly befriend him as one of these villainous renegades from the Northland.
When Abdul Kamak had passed out of sight toward the North Baynes resumed his weary march. A half hour later he was again surprised by the unmistakable sound of galloping horses. This time there were many. Once more he sought a hiding place; but it chanced that he was crossing a clearing which offered little opportunity for concealment24. He broke into a slow trot—the best that he could do in his weakened condition; but it did not suffice to carry him to safety and before he reached the opposite side of the clearing a band of white-robed horsemen dashed into view behind him.
At sight of him they shouted in Arabic, which, of course, he could not understand, and then they closed about him, threatening and angry. Their questions were unintelligible25 to him, and no more could they interpret his English. At last, evidently out of patience, the leader ordered two of his men to seize him, which they lost no time in doing. They disarmed26 him and ordered him to climb to the rump of one of the horses, and then the two who had been detailed27 to guard him turned and rode back toward the South, while the others continued their pursuit of Abdul Kamak.
As Korak came out upon the bank of the river across from which he could see the camp of Malbihn he was at a loss as to how he was to cross. He could see men moving about among the huts inside the boma—evidently Hanson was still there. Korak did not know the true identity of Meriem's abductor.
How was he to cross. Not even he would dare the perils28 of the river—almost certain death. For a moment he thought, then wheeled and sped away into the jungle, uttering a peculiar29 cry, shrill30 and piercing. Now and again he would halt to listen as though for an answer to his weird31 call, then on again, deeper and deeper into the wood.
At last his listening ears were rewarded by the sound they craved—the trumpeting32 of a bull elephant, and a few moments later Korak broke through the trees into the presence of Tantor, standing33 with upraised trunk, waving his great ears.
"Quick, Tantor!" shouted the ape-man, and the beast swung him to his head. "Hurry!" and the mighty34 pachyderm lumbered35 off through the jungle, guided by kicking of naked heels against the sides of his head.
Toward the northwest Korak guided his huge mount, until they came out upon the river a mile or more above the Swede's camp, at a point where Korak knew that there was an elephant ford36. Never pausing the ape-man urged the beast into the river, and with trunk held high Tantor forged steadily37 toward the opposite bank. Once an unwary crocodile attacked him but the sinuous38 trunk dove beneath the surface and grasping the amphibian39 about the middle dragged it to light and hurled40 it a hundred feet down stream. And so, in safety, they made the opposite shore, Korak perched high and dry above the turgid flood.
Then back toward the South Tantor moved, steadily, relentlessly41, and with a swinging gait which took no heed42 of any obstacle other than the larger jungle trees. At times Korak was forced to abandon the broad head and take to the trees above, so close the branches raked the back of the elephant; but at last they came to the edge of the clearing where lay the camp of the renegade Swede, nor even then did they hesitate or halt. The gate lay upon the east side of the camp, facing the river. Tantor and Korak approached from the north. There was no gate there; but what cared Tantor or Korak for gates.
At a word from the ape man and raising his tender trunk high above the thorns Tantor breasted the boma, walking through it as though it had not existed. A dozen blacks squatted43 before their huts looked up at the noise of his approach. With sudden howls of terror and amazement44 they leaped to their feet and fled for the open gates. Tantor would have pursued. He hated man, and he thought that Korak had come to hunt these; but the ape man held him back, guiding him toward a large, canvas tent that rose in the center of the clearing—there should be the girl and her abductor.
Malbihn lay in a hammock beneath canopy45 before his tent. His wounds were painful and he had lost much blood. He was very weak. He looked up in surprise as he heard the screams of his men and saw them running toward the gate. And then from around the corner of his tent loomed46 a huge bulk, and Tantor, the great tusker, towered above him. Malbihn's boy, feeling neither affection nor loyalty47 for his master, broke and ran at the first glimpse of the beast, and Malbihn was left alone and helpless.
The elephant stopped a couple of paces from the wounded man's hammock. Malbihn cowered48, moaning. He was too weak to escape. He could only lie there with staring eyes gazing in horror into the blood rimmed49, angry little orbs50 fixed51 upon him, and await his death.
Then, to his astonishment52, a man slid to the ground from the elephant's back. Almost at once Malbihn recognized the strange figure as that of the creature who consorted53 with apes and baboons—the white warrior55 of the jungle who had freed the king baboon54 and led the whole angry horde56 of hairy devils upon him and Jenssen. Malbihn cowered still lower.
"Where is the girl?" demanded Korak, in English.
"What girl?" asked Malbihn. "There is no girl here—only the women of my boys. Is it one of them you want?"
"The white girl," replied Korak. "Do not lie to me—you lured57 her from her friends. You have her. Where is she?"
"It was not I," cried Malbihn. "It was an Englishman who hired me to steal her. He wished to take her to London with him. She was willing to go. His name is Baynes. Go to him, if you want to know where the girl is."
"I have just come from him," said Korak. "He sent me to you. The girl is not with him. Now stop your lying and tell me the truth. Where is she?" Korak took a threatening step toward the Swede.
Malbihn shrank from the anger in the other's face.
"I will tell you," he cried. "Do not harm me and I will tell you all that I know. I had the girl here; but it was Baynes who persuaded her to leave her friends—he had promised to marry her. He does not know who she is; but I do, and I know that there is a great reward for whoever takes her back to her people. It was the only reward I wanted. But she escaped and crossed the river in one of my canoes. I followed her, but The Sheik was there, God knows how, and he captured her and attacked me and drove me back. Then came Baynes, angry because he had lost the girl, and shot me. If you want her, go to The Sheik and ask him for her—she has passed as his daughter since childhood."
"She is not The Sheik's daughter?" asked Korak.
"She is not," replied Malbihn.
"Who is she then?" asked Korak.
Here Malbihn saw his chance. Possibly he could make use of his knowledge after all—it might even buy back his life for him. He was not so credulous58 as to believe that this savage59 ape-man would have any compunctions about slaying61 him.
"When you find her I will tell you," he said, "if you will promise to spare my life and divide the reward with me. If you kill me you will never know, for only The Sheik knows and he will never tell. The girl herself is ignorant of her origin."
"If you have told me the truth I will spare you," said Korak. "I shall go now to The Sheik's village and if the girl is not there I shall return and slay60 you. As for the other information you have, if the girl wants it when we have found her we will find a way to purchase it from you."
The look in the Killer's eyes and his emphasis of the word "purchase" were none too reassuring62 to Malbihn. Evidently, unless he found means to escape, this devil would have both his secret and his life before he was done with him. He wished he would be gone and take his evil-eyed companion away with him. The swaying bulk towering high above him, and the ugly little eyes of the elephant watching his every move made Malbihn nervous.
Korak stepped into the Swede's tent to assure himself that Meriem was not hid there. As he disappeared from view Tantor, his eyes still fixed upon Malbihn, took a step nearer the man. An elephant's eyesight is none too good; but the great tusker evidently had harbored suspicions of this yellow-bearded white man from the first. Now he advanced his snake-like trunk toward the Swede, who shrank still deeper into his hammock.
The sensitive member felt and smelled back and forth63 along the body of the terrified Malbihn. Tantor uttered a low, rumbling64 sound. His little eyes blazed. At last he had recognized the creature who had killed his mate long years before. Tantor, the elephant, never forgets and never forgives. Malbihn saw in the demoniacal visage above him the murderous purpose of the beast. He shrieked65 aloud to Korak. "Help! Help! The devil is going to kill me!"
Korak ran from the tent just in time to see the enraged66 elephant's trunk encircle the beast's victim, and then hammock, canopy and man were swung high over Tantor's head. Korak leaped before the animal, commanding him to put down his prey unharmed; but as well might he have ordered the eternal river to reverse its course. Tantor wheeled around like a cat, hurled Malbihn to the earth and kneeled upon him with the quickness of a cat. Then he gored67 the prostrate68 thing through and through with his mighty tusks69, trumpeting and roaring in his rage, and at last, convinced that no slightest spark of life remained in the crushed and lacerated flesh, he lifted the shapeless clay that had been Sven Malbihn far aloft and hurled the bloody70 mass, still entangled71 in canopy and hammock, over the boma and out into the jungle.
Korak stood looking sorrowfully on at the tragedy he gladly would have averted72. He had no love for the Swede, in fact only hatred73; but he would have preserved the man for the sake of the secret he possessed74. Now that secret was gone forever unless The Sheik could be made to divulge75 it; but in that possibility Korak placed little faith.
The ape-man, as unafraid of the mighty Tantor as though he had not just witnessed his shocking murder of a human being, signalled the beast to approach and lift him to its head, and Tantor came as he was bid, docile76 as a kitten, and hoisted77 The Killer tenderly aloft.
From the safety of their hiding places in the jungle Malbihn's boys had witnessed the killing78 of their master, and now, with wide, frightened eyes, they saw the strange white warrior, mounted upon the head of his ferocious79 charger, disappear into the jungle at the point from which he had emerged upon their terrified vision.
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1
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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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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3
dawdled
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| v.混（时间）( dawdle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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lugged
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| vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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hyena
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| n.土狼，鬣狗 | |
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appellations
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| n.名称，称号( appellation的名词复数 ) | |
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opprobrium
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| n.耻辱，责难 | |
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gorilla
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| n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手 | |
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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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killer
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| n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者 | |
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15
transpired
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| （事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生 | |
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16
winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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18
plodding
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| a.proceeding in a slow or dull way | |
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19
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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21
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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22
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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24
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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26
disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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28
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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29
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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32
trumpeting
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| 大声说出或宣告（trumpet的现在分词形式） | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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lumbered
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| 砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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sinuous
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| adj.蜿蜒的，迂回的 | |
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amphibian
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| n.两栖动物；水陆两用飞机和车辆 | |
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40
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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41
relentlessly
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| adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断 | |
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42
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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43
squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；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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44
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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45
canopy
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| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
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46
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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47
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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48
cowered
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 ) | |
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49
rimmed
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| adj.有边缘的，有框的v.沿…边缘滚动；给…镶边 | |
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50
orbs
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| abbr.off-reservation boarding school 在校寄宿学校n.球，天体，圆形物( orb的名词复数 ) | |
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51
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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52
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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53
consorted
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| v.结伴( consort的过去式和过去分词 )；交往；相称；调和 | |
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54
baboon
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| n.狒狒 | |
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55
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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56
horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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57
lured
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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58
credulous
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| adj.轻信的，易信的 | |
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59
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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60
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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61
slaying
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| 杀戮。 | |
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62
reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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63
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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64
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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65
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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66
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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67
gored
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| v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破( gore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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69
tusks
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| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
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70
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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71
entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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73
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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74
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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75
divulge
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| v.泄漏(秘密等)；宣布，公布 | |
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76
docile
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| adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的 | |
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77
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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78
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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79
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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