CHAPTER XII--BENEE ENTRENCHED--SAVAGE REVELS IN THE FOREST
The trench in which he found himself was far higher than was necessary,and fronted by huge stones. It was evidently the work of human hands,but by what class of people erected Benee could not imagine.
He could spare a few boulders anyhow, so, while the enemy was still farbelow, he started first one, then another, and still another, on acruise down the mountain-side and on a mission of death.
These boulders broke into scores of large fragments long before theyreached the savages, two of whom were struck, one being killed outright.
And Benee knew his advantage right well, and, taking careful aim nowwith his repeating-rifle--a sixteen-shooter it was,--he fired.
He saw the bullet raise the dust some yards ahead of the foe, who pausedto gaze upwards in great amazement.
But next shot went home, for Benee had got the range, and one of thefive threw up his hands with a shriek, and fell on his face, to rise nomore.
Rendered wild by the loss of their companions, the others drew theirknives and made a brave start for Benee's trench.
But what could poor savages do against the deadly fire of civilizedwarfare. When another of their number paid the penalty of his rashness,the other three took fright and went racing and tumbling down the hillso quickly that no more of Benee's shots took effect.
Roland had given Benee a field-glass before he started, and through thishe watched the flying figures for many a mile, noting exactly the waythey took, and determining in his own mind to choose a somewhatdifferent route, even though he should have to make a wide detour.
He started downhill almost immediately, well-knowing that thesedark-skinned devils would return reinforced to seek revenge.
He knew, moreover, that they could follow up a trail, so he did all inhis power to pick out the hardest parts of this great moorland on whichto walk.
He came at last to a stream. It was very shallow, and he plunged in atonce.
This was indeed good luck, and Benee thought now that Peggy's God, whopaints the sky at sunrise, was really looking after him. He could baulkhis pursuers now, or, at least, delay them. For they would not be ableto tell in which direction he had gone.
So Benee walked in the water for three miles. This walk was really aleaping run. He would have gone farther, but all at once the streambecame very rapid indeed, and on his ears fell the boom of a waterfall.
So he got on shore with all haste.
But for five miles on from the foot of the leaping, dashing, foaminglinn, the stream was flanked by acres of round, smooth boulders.
These could tell no tale. On these Benee would leave no trail. Heleapt from one to the other, and was rejoiced at last to find that theyled him to a forest.
This was indeed a grateful surprise, so he entered the shade at once.
Benee, after his exciting fight and his very long run, greatly neededrest, so he gathered some splendid fruit and nuts, despite thechattering and threatened attacks of a whole band of hideous baboons,and then threw himself down under the shade of a tree in a small gladeand made a hearty meal.
He felt thirsty now. But as soon as there was silence once more in theforest, and even the parrots had gone to sleep in the drowsy noontideheat, he could hear the rush of water some distance ahead.
He got up immediately and marched in the direction from which the soundcame, and was soon on the pebbled shore of another burn.
He drank a long, sweet draught of the cool, delicious water, and feltwondrously refreshed.
And now a happy thought occurred to him.
Sooner or later he felt certain the savages would find his trail. Theywould track him to this stream and believe he had once again tried tobreak the pursuit by wading either up or down stream.
His plan was, therefore, to go carefully back on his tracks and resthidden all day until, foiled in their attempt to make him prisoner, theyshould return homeward.
This plan he carried into immediate execution, and in a thicket, quitescreened from all observation, he laid him down.
He was soon fast asleep.
But in probably a couple of hours' time he sat cautiously up, and,gently lifting a branch, looked forth.
For voices had fallen on his ear, and next minute there went filing paston his trail no fewer than fifteen well-armed warriors.
They stopped dancing and shouting at the tree where Benee had sat downto feed, then, brandishing their broad knives, dashed forward to thestream.
They had evidently gone up the river for miles, but finding no trail onthe other bank returned to search the down-stream.
In his hiding-place Benee could hear their wild shouts ofvengeance-deferred, and though he feared not death, right well he knewthat neither his rifle nor revolvers could long protect him against suchdesperate odds as this.
There was now peace once more, and the shades of evening--the shorttropical gloaming--were falling when he heard the savages returning.
He knew their language well.
It was soon evident that they did not mean to go any farther that night,for they were quite tired out.
They were not unprovided with food and drink such as it was, andevidently meant to make themselves happy.
A fire was soon lit in the glade, and by its glare poor Benee, lying lowthere and hardly daring to move a limb, could see the sort of savages hewould have to deal with if they found him.
They were fierce-looking beyond conception. Most of them had longmatted hair, and the ears of some carried the hideous pelele. The lobeof each ear is pierced when the individual is but a boy, and isgradually stretched until it is a mere strip of skin capable ofsupporting a bone or wooden, grooved little wheel twice as large as adollar. The stretched lobe of the ear fits round this like the tyreround a bicycle wheel.
The faces of these men, although wild-looking, were not positivelyill-favoured, though the mouths were large and sensual. But if everdevil lurked in human eyes it lurked in theirs.
They wore blankets, and some had huge chains of gold and silver nuggetsround their necks.
Their arms were now piled, or, more correctly speaking, they weretrundled down in a heap by the tree.
While most of them lay with their feet to the now roaring fire, a spacewas left for the cook, who cleverly arranged a kind of gipsydouble-trident over the clear embers and commenced to get ready themeal.
The uprights carried cross pieces of wood, and on these both fish andflesh were laid to broil, while large yams and sweet-potatoes wereplaced in the ashes to roast.
By the time dinner was cooked the night was dark enough, but the glimmerof the firelight lit up the savages' faces and cast Rembrandtesqueshadows far behind.
It was a weird and terrible scene, but it had little effect on Benee,who had often witnessed tableaux far more terrifying than this.
Then the orgie commenced. They helped themselves with their fingers andtore the fish and flesh off with their splendid teeth.
Huge chattees of chicaga, a most filthy but intoxicating beer, now madetheir appearance. It was evident enough that these men were used tobeing on the war-path and hunting-field.
The wine or beer is made in a very disgusting manner, but itsmanufacture, strangely enough, is not confined to Bolivia. I have seenmuch the same liquor in tropical Africa, made by the Somali Indians, andin precisely the same way.
The old women or hags of the village are assembled at, say, a chief'shouse, and large quantities of cocoanuts and various other fruits areheaped together in the centre of a hut, as well as large, tub-likevessels and chattees of water.
Down the old and almost toothless hags squat, and, helping themselves tolumps of cocoa-nut, &c., they commence to mumble and chew these, now andthen moistening their mouths with a little water, the juice is spit outinto calabashes, and when these are full of the awful mess they areemptied into the big bin.
It is a great gala-day with these hideous old hags, a meeting that theytake advantage of not
only for making wine but for abusing theirneighbours.
How they cackle and grin, to be sure, as their mouths work to and fro!How they talk and chatter, and how they chew! It is chatter and chew,chew and chatter, all the time, and the din they make with teeth andtongues would deafen a miller.
When all is finished, the bins are left to settle and ferment, and inthree days' time, the supernatant liquor is poured off and forms thewine called chicaga.
Had anyone doubted the intoxicating power of this vilest of all viledrinks, a glance at the scene which soon ensued around the fire wouldspeedily have convinced him.
Benee lay there watching these fiends as they gradually merged from onephase of drunkenness to another, and fain would he have sent half adozen revolver bullets into the centre of the group, but his lifedepended on his keeping still.
The savages first confined themselves to merry talking, with coarsejokes and ribaldry, and frequent outbursts of laughter. But when theyhad quaffed still more, they must seize their knives and get up todance. Round and round the blazing fire they whirled and staggeredthrough the smoke and through it again, with demoniacal shouts and awfulyells, that awakened echoes among the forest wild beasts far and near.
Then they pricked their bodies with their knives till the blood ran, andwith this they splashed each other in hideous wantonness till faces andclothes were smeared in gore.
All this could but have one ending--a fight.
Benee saw one savage stabbed to the heart, and then the orgie became afierce battle.
Now was Benee's time to escape.
Yet well he knew how acute the power of hearing is among the Boliviansavages. One strange noise, even the crackle of a bush, and thefighting would end in a hunt, and he would undoubtedly lose his life.
But he wriggled and crawled like a snake in the grass until twenty yardsaway, and now he moved cautiously, slowly off.
Soon the glare of the fire among the high trees was seen no more, andthe yelling and cries were far behind and getting more and moreindistinct every minute.
Benee refreshed himself at the stream, pulled some food from his pocket,and ate it while he ran.
He knew, however, that after fighting would come drowsiness, and thathis late entertainers would soon be fast asleep, some of their headspillowed, perhaps, on the dead body of their murdered comrade.
If there be in all this world a more demonish wretch than man is in astate of nature, or when--even among Christians--demoralized by drink, Iwish to get hold of a specimen for my private menagerie. But thecreature should be kept in a cage by itself. I would not insult mymonkeys with the companionship of such a wretch, should it be man orbeast.