CHAPTER XXVI
Turning the Tables
Samba at once led the way in a different direction from that latelyfollowed by Jack, saying that he would explain his presence as theywent along.
Jack had hardly reached the tent to which he had been decoyed byElbel's messenger before Samba knew that his uneasy feeling wasjustified; his master had fallen into a trap. Stealing up close behindLofembi he had plunged his knife into the man's back, and dashed intothe forest. He had no difficulty in escaping from the spot; but thereport of the rifle fired after him had reached Elbel's camp below thefort, and Samba found that he had to make a very wide detour to avoidthe enemy's scouts. But he managed at last to get into the fort, andimplored Barney to send out a party to rescue his captain. Barney wasmuch distressed by the news, but resolutely refused to throw away livesand risk the safety of the fort in a forlorn hope of that kind. Allthat he would do was to allow Samba, with three other men, Makoko,Lianza, and Lingombela, to follow up Mr. Martindale and Jack, andrescue them if any chance occurred; if not, to see what became of them.
But the four had great difficulty in getting out of the fortundetected; the enemy's vigilance appeared to be doubled, and a fullday elapsed before they were able to set off in the track of theprisoners. Failing to overtake the party in the forest before theyembarked on the canoes, they had had to cover on foot the long distancefor which the Askari were able to use the river, though they shortenedthe journey to some extent by cutting straight across country when theriver wound.
At last, when Samba had all but given up hope, they saw a party of tenAskari coming towards them from down the river. Samba did not suspectat first that these men were connected with those he sought. Butkeeping well out of sight he tracked them to a spot where a canoe wasconcealed, and then he guessed at once that the men had been sent backto fetch a canoe left behind for want of sufficient carriers. It wouldbe easy to keep ahead of this party, burdened as they were with thevessel; so Samba and his three companions pushed on, and soon came upontracks of Mr. Martindale and Jack. They had noticed the newly-madegrave with its stone cairn: it had puzzled them, and they did not knowit was a grave until Samba pointed out that the litter had ceased to beused: there were no longer the marks of four men walking always at thesame distance apart; they then concluded that the elder Inglesa haddied.
They came by and by to the place where the party had re-embarked.Samba's only hope of overtaking them now was that they would certainlywait at some part of their journey until they were caught up by theother canoe; and it seemed to him that his expectation was borne outwhen, scouting ahead of the three, he sighted in the dusk a long canoelying under the opposite bank in charge of three Askari. He ran backto his companions and told them to hide in the bush; then he returnedto the spot, and from a safe concealment prepared to wait and watch.Night fell: the river was too broad for him to see across it; butpresently he heard the sound of men approaching the canoe, and soonafterwards voices. Then all was silent. He kept up his watch for sometime, half expecting to hear the sound of paddles; but concluding fromthe continued silence that the men would not move till the morning, hewent to sleep in a tree.
Waking before dawn, he resumed his watch. In the early morning he saweleven men land and make off in two parties into the forest, leavingthree men on guard. Instantly he jumped to the conclusion thatLokolobolo had escaped; and a daring scheme suggested itself to him.Returning to his friends, he told them what he had seen, and what heproposed. The four immediately set about building a light raft ofbamboos and cane "tie," and when it was finished they carried it somedistance along the bank launched it out of sight of the men in chargeof the canoe' and punted themselves across to the other side. An hourlater only one man remained in the enemy's canoe, and he was a prisoner.
Jack forbore to inquire what had become of the others; Samba merelysaid that their ammunition had been spoilt by the water. Samba and hiscompanions were Congo natives; free from the restraining influence ofthe white man, it would be scarcely surprising if they took theopportunity of paying off some of the wrongs they had suffered at thehands of the Askari.
From the prisoner Samba learnt the whole history of the party since thetime it left Elbel in the forest. Tying the man up, Samba and hiscompanions at once set to work to find the trail of the fugitive, andof the men who had gone in pursuit. In the morning light it was easyto a practised scout like Samba to find what he sought. He soondiscovered that the two parties of Askari had failed to track theirquarry, and were going haphazard through the forest. He himself thenstarted to follow Jack up, and his three companions went forth to thecanoe to await the return of the enemy. It was unlikely that the twobands would appear at the same time. If they returned separately, thethree scouts in ambush would only have to deal with six men or fivemen, as the case might be. They were still waiting.
What would they do, asked Jack, when the enemy came back?
"Fire upon them from behind the trees," replied Samba. "Three men willcertainly be killed; are not the scouts Makoko, Lianza, and Lingombela,three of the best marksmen in Ilombekabasi? If the two or the threemen left do not run away, they will fight them. If they run away, theywill follow them up and fire at them from behind trees."
Even as Samba spoke there came through the trees a sound as of distantfiring. Samba quickened his steps; for an hour or more his master andhe plunged through the forest, the boy halting every now and then tolisten intently. At length whispering "Nkakayoko!"[1] he laid his handon Jack's sleeve and gave a low call like the rough scratching sound ofa forest beetle. It was answered from the right hand. Striking offsharply in that direction he led the way through a thin copse, and in afew moments the two stood at the brink of the river beside the canoe.Samba looked keenly around, whispered "Mpiko!"[2] and pointed to a lowbushy tree close at hand. For a second or two Jack could see nothingbut green: but then through the dense foliage he caught the glint of arifle barrel, and behind it--yes, a black face. The man came out witha low chuckle of amusement. It was Makoko. "Bolotsi o!" he said. Hisforest craft had been too much for Lokolobolo.
Suddenly Samba held up his hand in warning. They listened; it musthave been the flight of a forest bird.
"What was the firing?" asked Samba in a low voice.
"The killing of five men," replied Makoko.
Jack caught the last words, "Bant'atanu!" and started.
"Where are they?" he asked.
"Gone to feed the crocodiles. Three first, then two."
Again Samba raised his hand. All listened intently. Jack heardnothing; but Samba whispered, "They come!" and plucked him by thesleeve. All three hid among the trees. Two men came out from theother side--they were Lianza and Lingombela.
"They are coming--six men," said Lianza in answer to Samba's question."Quickly! they heard the shots."
"We must shoot again from behind the trees," said Samba.
But Jack could not bear the idea of shooting down the unsuspectingwretches in cold blood.
"Perhaps we can make them surrender," he whispered.
"Lako! lako!" said the negroes indignantly.
"Yes; we will try."
Makoko and the other two men grumbled, but Samba silenced them.
"It is Lokolobolo's order," he said.
He offered Jack his Mauser, but Jack refused it with a smile, takingone of the Albinis which had been removed from the canoe. With thefour he concealed himself behind the bushes. He had already noticedthat all traces of the recent incidents had been carefully obliterated.
A few minutes later six Askari came from the thick wall of bush. Theystarted and looked at one another when they saw the canoe unguarded.Then they called their comrades. Receiving no answer, they began todiscuss the strange disappearance of the three men who had been left incharge. With a sign to Samba to follow him, Jack came out from behindhis bush. The men ceased their chatter; their jaws dropped, theystared at their late captive in blank amazement. He spoke to the
mquietly, Samba translating.
"I was hiding: I come to save you from being killed. Your eightcomrades are already dead. If one of you lifts his hand, he is a deadman. Behind the bushes my men wait ready to shoot you. Listen! Theywill answer when I call. You will see how hopeless it is to resist.Makoko!"
"Em'one!"
"Lingombela!"
"Em'one!"
"Lianza!"
"Em'one!"
"Lay down your rifles," continued Jack, "and beg for mercy."
There was but a moment's hesitation, then one of the men sullenlyobeyed, and the rest, one after another, followed his example. AtJack's call the three scouts came from their hiding-place. Two of themcovered the Askari with their rifles, while the third collected thesurrendered Albinis and placed them in the canoe.
How Jack's position had altered! An hour or two ago he was a fugitive,practically unarmed, with nearly a score of Askari hunting him down.Now he was in command of four scouts fully armed, and in possession ofa canoe and half a dozen prisoners, who had proved themselves on thejourney down to be expert paddlers. But, as Samba reminded him, he hadstill to deal with the ten Askari who had been sent back to fetch thesecond canoe. They must be on their way down stream: perhaps they werenear at hand. Something must be done with them. To let them pass, orto leave them behind, would be equally unwise; they would almostcertainly follow up Jack and his party, perhaps find a means of sendingword to Elbel in time to cut them off from the fort. The safety ofhimself and his men demanded that this second band should be disposedof.
To deal with them as he had dealt with the six would not be easy. Theywould come by water, not by land. He did not wish to kill them. Whatother course was open to him?
He remembered that the Askari had spoken of an old camping-place alittle below the spot on which they stood. This had doubtless beenfixed as the rendezvous of the whole party. The prisoners would knowits exact locality. With a little luck, he thought, all the ten mightbe captured unharmed. He got Samba to question the sullen men. Yes,they knew the camping-ground.
"Then they must paddle us to it," said Jack.
Making sure that the holes he had cut in the canoe had beensufficiently caulked to allow of a short passage without danger, Jackembarked with all the men, and in a quarter of an hour reached thecamping-ground. It was about a hundred yards back from the oppositebank, pretty well hidden from the river. A few rough grass shelters,somewhat tumbledown, and traces of former encampments, showed that itwas a frequent place of call for parties going up or down. When allhad landed, Jack sent Makoko and Lianza along the bank up the river tolook for the oncoming of the Askari, who, though they must necessarilyhave moved slowly while carrying the canoe, would no doubt make rapidprogress when once more afloat. The six Askari looked a little hopefulwhen they saw the two scouts leave; but Samba damped their spirits atonce when he told them that at the slightest sign of revolt they wouldbe shot without mercy. To make things sure, and prevent the scheme hehad in mind from being foiled, Jack ordered the men to be bound handand foot, which was very quickly done by Samba and Lingombela with thestripped tendrils of climbing plants.
It was dark before the scouts returned. They reported that the Askarihad camped for the night some distance up stream, and would certainlyarrive early next morning. Jack arranged that when the canoe shouldcome in sight, only himself and two of his prisoners would be visiblein the centre of the camp. The Askari would suppose that the rest ofthe party were out foraging--taking, as the custom is with the troopsof the Free State and the Concessions, what they pleased from the blacksubjects of King Leopold, and paying nothing, except perhaps blows, inreturn. The newcomers, not expecting any change in the relations oftheir comrade with the white prisoner, would march unconcernedly intocamp. Jack was pretty confident that if things came to this point, hewould succeed in making the men surrender without fighting.
In the early morning the Askaris' paddling song was heard as they camedown the river. The singing ceased; there was a shout; and Jackordered the captured Askari by his side to call an answering greeting.Then the party came in sight, eight men in a straggling lineapproaching up the path. The remaining two had evidently been leftbehind to tie up the canoe.
The first man addressed a chaffing remark to the Askari with Jack, andthen asked where the rest of the party were. The men pointed vaguelyto the forest; their comrades were, in fact, there, gagged and securelybound to the trees. Half a dozen rifles were stacked in the middle ofthe camping ground, the newcomers placed theirs close by, and thenbegan to chatter about trifles in the African's way.
Meanwhile Jack was keeping a keen eye on the men. The two capturedAskari were obviously ill at ease. There were the rifles within a fewyards of them, yet they dared not move towards them, for they knew thatin the shelter of the trees behind stood Samba with the three scoutsready to shoot them down. They replied briefly to their comrades'questions; and then, in obedience to instructions given by Jackpreviously, suggested that the newcomers should go to a cane-brake afew yards down stream, and bring back a supply of canes for buildingshelters like those already erected; there were not sufficient for thewhole party. The men moved off. No sooner had they disappeared thanSamba and the three men came from behind the trees, removed all therifles into the huts, and all except Samba stationed themselves inhiding on the side of the encampment opposite to that through which theAskari had just gone. Samba remained with Jack.
In a quarter of an hour the men returned. To their amazement the whiteprisoner went forward to meet them. Through Samba he spoke to them.
"It will not be necessary for you to build the huts."
"Why? What does the white man mean by talking to us? And who are you?"
Samba did not reply to their questions: he waited for the next wordsfrom Jack.
"There are enough empty huts here!"
"How can that be? There are ten of us, and fifteen before. The hutswill not hold half of us; and who are you?"
"The fifteen are dead, or taken prisoners."
The men gaped, unable to appreciate the full import of the news. Theydropped their loads of cane and looked at the boy in astonishment.
"What do you mean? What has happened? Who are you?"
"Tell them, Samba."
"I am Samba, the servant of Lokolobolo. I came down the river withother servants of Lokolobolo. We fell upon your comrades and scatteredthem like the leaves of the forest. We have the rifles--your rifles."
The men gave a startled glance to where the stacks of arms had been.Jack thought they paled beneath their dusky skin.
"See!" continued Samba, "if Lokolobolo lifts his hand you will all beshot. His men are there, behind the trees. You have no rifles. Ofwhat good are knives against guns? You will be even as the men who areshort with their rubber. You will be shot down before you can strike ablow. No; do not move," he said quickly, as the men appeared inclinedto make a dash for the forest. "You cannot run so fast as the bullets.You know that, you men who shoot boys and women as they flee from you.Throw down your knives at Lokolobolo's feet, if you wish to live!"
The man who had acted as spokesman for his comrades obeyed without aword. The rest were but little behind him. At a sign from Jack,Makoko and the others came from their place of hiding, and tied thefeet of the prisoners, in such a way that while they could walk withshort steps, they were unable to run. In a few moments the two menleft at the canoe were similarly disposed of.
And now Jack was in command of four armed scouts and sixteen unarmedprisoners. He at once decided to make use of the Askari as paddlers.One canoe would be sufficient; he would sink the vessel in which he haddug the holes. With sixteen men expert in the use of the paddle, hewould make a rapid journey up stream.
He was about to give the order to start when it suddenly occurred tohim that it would be well to assure himself first that the coast wasclear. So far he had seen no natives either on river or on land sincehe left Elbel, save those of
his own party and the band coming up withammunition. The riverine villages had all been deserted, and thetributary down which he had travelled was at all times littlefrequented. But it seemed very unlikely that many more days shouldpass without his seeing a stranger, and when he began to think on theselines, he wondered whether perhaps Elbel himself might not haveoccasion for sending messengers down stream, and whether the party theyhad met conveying stores to Elbel's force might not be returning.Having escaped by such wonderful good fortune, it would be sheer follyto throw away his chances of getting back to Ilombekabasi by any wantof caution. Accordingly he sent Makoko up the river and Samba down theriver to do a little preliminary scouting.
About midday Samba came running back in a state of great excitement.He had run so fast that his legs were trembling, and sweat poured fromhis body. Not an hour's paddling distant, he had seen a smoke-boat anda large number of canoes coming up the river. He had never seen somany boats before, and they were crowded with men. And on thesmoke-boat there were white men.
"At last!" ejaculated Jack. This, he supposed, was the Captain VanVorst, of whom Elbel had spoken, coming up with regular troops of theState. Whoever was in command, the flotilla could portend no good toJack or Ilombekabasi, and he saw at once that he must give up the ideaof using the Askaris' canoe. He could certainly travel faster than theexpedition, which must go at the pace of its slowest cargo boats; butscouting or foraging parties of the enemy might push on ahead and sighthim on one of the long stretches of the river; and his men could bedescried from a long distance as they made the portage. Pursuit andcapture would then be almost certain.
His mind was instantly made up. His journey to the fort must be a landmarch, and it must be begun in all haste. He quickly gave his orders.The canoes were unloaded, and the stores and ammunition given to theAskari to carry. The vessels were then scuttled and sunk, and thewhole party plunged into the forest, after a time taking a coursealmost the same as that which Samba had followed on his solitaryjourney. But before they had gone far, Jack, not disposed to leave theneighbourhood without getting more exact particulars of the advancinghost, went back with Samba, leaving the rest of the party to continuetheir march.
Samba rapidly wormed his way through the forest back to the river bank.They reached a position, whence, unseen themselves, they could commanda long reach of the river. There they waited.
Soon they heard the regular beat of the steamer's paddles; then thesongs of the canoe-boys. By and by a steam launch came into view rounda bend of the river. It was crowded. Far away as it was as yet, Jackcould easily distinguish the white-clad figures of three Europeans ondeck, amid a crowd of negroes in the tunic, pantaloons, and fez of theState troops. Clearly it was as he had feared. The Concession hadfollowed the usual course, when the rapacity of its officials hadprovoked a revolt too formidable to be coped with by its own forces,and had called in the aid of the regular army. As canoe after canoeappeared in the wake of the steamer, Jack could not help a feeling ofdismay at the size of the force arrayed against him. His spirits sanklower and lower as he watched. By the time the steamer came abreast ofhis hiding-place, the flotilla filled the whole of the stretch of riveropen to his view. In the still air, amid the songs and chatter of thenatives, he could hear the laughter of the Europeans as they passed.He knew that only a portion of the men in this armada were fightingmen; the rest were paddlers and carriers, not part of the combatantforce. But a rough attempt to count the men bearing rifles gave him atleast three hundred, and he started as he saw in one canoe what wasclearly the shield of a machine gun. Captain Van Vorst, if it was he,undoubtedly meant business. Before the last canoe had passed theirhiding-place Jack and Samba started to overtake their party. Theformer was deep in thought.
"We must reach the fort before them," he said.
"They go very slow," was Samba's reply.
"Yes, and the carrying of all their stores and canoes up the rapidswill take many days. But we must hurry as fast as we can."
"Much chicotte for the paddlers," said Samba, with a grin.
Jack did not reply. He could not adopt the barbarous methods of theenemy; but he had not the heart to dash Samba's very natural hopes ofpaying back to the Askari something of what they had dealt to thecarriers on the way down. Short of thrashing them he would urge themto their utmost speed. What difficulties he might meet with inregaining the fort he did not stop to consider. The thought of Barneyholding his own there--had he been able to hold his own?--and of thelarge reinforcements coming to support Elbel, was a spur to activity.Ilombekabasi and its people were in danger; and the post of dangerdemanded the presence of Lokolobolo.
[1] Immediately.
[2] There.