CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
A BATTLE ON LAKE TANGANYIKA.
The ship had risen about one hundred feet from the ground, and herengines had just completed a single revolution, when the black pall ofmurky cloud suddenly burst apart on the south-western horizon, revealinga broad patch of livid coppery-looking sky behind it; and at the samemoment a low moaning sound became audible in the breathless air. A dullsmoky grey veil of vapour seemed at the same time to overspread the moredistant features of the landscape in that quarter, and through it thebaronet and his three companions, who had now rejoined him, saw thetrees and foliage of the most remote clumps of bush bowing themselvesalmost to the ground before some mighty invisible force. The moaningsound rapidly increased in power and volume, the cloud of vapour rusheddown toward them with appalling speed; the long billowy grass wasflattened down to the earth, as if under the pressure of a heavy roller;the successive clumps of bush were seen to yield one after the other tothe resistless power of the hurricane, and the air in that directiongrew dark with the leaves and branches which were torn from the trees.
"Raise the ship higher. Lift her above the power of the hurricanealtogether if you have still time to do so," shouted the professor inSir Reginald's ear, as the roar of the approaching tornado thundered intheir ears with almost deafening intensity.
"No," shouted back the baronet; "I am going to try the experiment ofseeing how she will bear the stroke of the gale. Hold on tight all ofyou!"
And as he spoke he sent the engines ahead at full speed, and drove theship forward right in the teeth of the hurricane.
The next instant, with an appalling burst of sound, the gale was uponthem. Contrary to their expectations, there was scarcely anyperceptible shock, but the ship's speed was rapidly checked much as isthe speed of an express train when the brakes are suddenly andpowerfully applied, and in some six seconds, though the engines werestill going ahead at their utmost speed, the progress of the _FlyingFish_ over the ground was as effectually checked as though she had beenlying at anchor.
Meanwhile the air was one vast volume of awful sound, and thick with theclouds of dust, and tufts of grass, and leaves, and hurtling brancheswhich were being whirled furiously along upon the wings of the tornado,so that the inmates of the pilot-house could neither hear each otherspeak nor see any object beyond a quarter of a mile away on either side.This lasted for perhaps three minutes, when the wind suddenly lulled,and the ship at once began to forge rapidly ahead. The lull lastedperhaps half a minute, and then ensued a repetition of all that had gonebefore, excepting that perhaps the wind was not _quite_ so strong as atthe first outburst. But it was of longer duration, the secondinstalment of the gale lasting fully half an hour, after which the windgradually dropped to a gentle breeze, the sky cleared, the sunreappeared in all his wonted splendour, and the air resumed its usualtransparency.
But what a sight was now presented to the view of the travellers; what ascene of devastation was that which lay outspread around them! The longgrass was pressed so flat to the ground that it would scarcely haveafforded cover to the smallest animal; stately trees were lyingprostrate, either uprooted altogether, or their massive trunks snappedshort off, whilst others still retained their upright position indeed,but stood denuded of every branch. Other trees again, whilst lessmutilated as to their branches, retained only a few straggling leaveshere and there, and the same thing applied to those dense patches ofcreeper-like tangled growth known as "bush," the upper portions of whichpresented merely a bristling array of leafless twigs. And in some spotscould be seen huge clumps of "bush" which had been torn bodily out ofthe ground and swept remorselessly along for perhaps miles of distance.
But the strangest sight of all was presented by the animals. From aheight of one thousand feet, to which the _Flying Fish_ had by this timerisen, a very wide extent of the plateau below could be surveyed, and onthis in every direction could be seen the wild creatures of the forest,the jungle, and the plain, many of them suffering from injuries more orless severe, received during the progress of the tornado, and all ofthem exhibiting unmistakable and in some instances surprising evidencesof demoralisation and terror. Deer and antelopes of various species laycrouched upon the ground palpably quivering with fear, or limpedpainfully about on three legs, the fourth being doubtless injuredthrough the creature having been hurled violently to the ground, orstruck by some falling branch. The lion and his mate could be seen hereand there wandering harmlessly and aimlessly to and fro in the midst ofhundreds of creatures which on ordinary occasions would afford them awelcome prey, but which were now too completely overcome with terror tonotice their presence. In one place a fine elephant lay prostrate, hismassive spine apparently broken by the fall of an enormous tree, thetrunk of which had pinned him to the ground; and in another, an immenseassemblage of animals of the most mixed and antagonistic species wereseen huddled promiscuously together under the lee of an immense belt ofbush, where they seemed to have found a shelter from which they wereevidently still afraid to venture.
At length, having seen enough to afford them a tolerably clear idea ofthe destruction wrought by the storm, the professor suggested theretracing of their steps with the object of again finding, if possible,the troop of unicorns. The ship was accordingly put about, and in ashort time the spot was reached on which still lay the carcasses of theleopard and the female unicorn. Here she was again brought temporarilyto the ground in order that the party might secure the two skins, whichwas done; but the hide of the unicorn was so dreadfully lacerated by theclaws of the leopard that the professor was plunged into the lowestdepths of chagrin and despondency. The pursuit of the lost animals wasnow once more taken up; the ship rising to a height of five thousandfeet into the air and then going ahead dead slow in the direction takenby the unicorns, the four gentlemen, armed with their most powerfultelescopes, posting themselves in advantageous positions on deck andminutely examining every yard of the ground over which they passed.This method of proceeding was continued until nightfall without result;and it then became evident that the animals of which they were inpursuit had somehow eluded them.
"Well," said the professor, endeavouring to put a good face upon hisdisappointment, as, the ship having been carefully brought to earth andsecurely moored for the night, the party left the pilot-house and wentbelow to take their evening bath previous to dinner, "it isdisappointing, but it cannot be helped. Perhaps we shall be fortunateenough to encounter them or others to-morrow as we wend our waysouthward. And, _a propos_ of our next destination, I have a suggestionwhich I should like to make, and which I will lay before you when wemeet at the dinner-table."
Accordingly, when they had fairly settled down to the meal that evening,Sir Reginald called upon the scientist for his suggestion or proposal.
"I must preface it," said von Schalckenberg, "by informing you that Ihave again been diving into my lamented friend's note-book, which I maysay _en passant_ is the most remarkable volume I have ever come across.And in it I find, under the heading of `Africa,' a most clever andscholarly disquisition on `the site of ancient Ophir,' the place fromwhich it is recorded that David obtained gold for the building ofSolomon's temple. I need not inflict upon you the various arguments andauthorities which are cited in the endeavour to identity the position ofthis most interesting spot; suffice it to say, that I am morallyconvinced I can lay my finger upon it on the map. The principal, indeedI may say the _only_ reasons why the region has never yet been exploredare, first, its extreme difficulty of access except by sea; andsecondly, the fact that all recorded attempts to penetrate it have beenthwarted by the inhabitants, who are a most jealous, warlike, and savagerace of people. _We_, however, are fortunately possessed ofexceptional, or I should rather say unique, means of approach to thisunknown country; and my suggestion is that we should--"
"Do it," interrupted the baronet. "Most certainly we _will_, my dearsir, and I am exceedingly obliged to you for the proposal. Theadventure will doubtless possess a piquant f
lavouring of danger aboutit, but I presume that will scarcely be regarded by any of us as adrawback?" glancing across the table to the colonel and Mildmay.
"Scarcely," echoed Lethbridge lazily, as he held his glass of wine upcritically to the light.
"Did you say `danger?'" laughed Mildmay. "This craft of yours is soconfoundedly safe, Sir Reginald, that upon my word I have almostforgotten what danger is; so if you really think you can find a placewhere we may once more come within hail of it, pray take us therewithout loss of time. For my part, I am becoming positively effeminate,and unless I can speedily have a chance of getting my head broken Ishall be utterly ruined for `the service' when I go back to it."
"So be it," said the baronet. "Ancient Ophir is our next destination;and we will start to-morrow morning. You, professor, I know will notshrink from danger when the solving of so interesting a question isconcerned."
"Ah, ah! try me," laughed the professor joyously--"try me, my friend,and you shall see."
Accordingly, on the following morning after breakfast a generaladjournment was made to the pilot-house, where, with map and chartspread out before them, and the professor's treasured volume beside themfor reference, the probable site of ancient Ophir was at lengthdefinitely located; when the course and distance were ascertained, and astart made.
Being anxious to see as much as possible of the country during theirpassage over it, a low rate of speed--averaging about twenty miles perhour--was maintained; the day's journey beginning at six o'clock in themorning, and terminating at the same hour in the evening, when a haltwas called and the ship brought to earth for the night.
On the fourth day of this part of their journey, shortly after effectingtheir morning's start, they came within sight of an immense lake; and aslight deviation from their prescribed course was made in order that athorough examination of it might be effected. A long range of hills,which had been sighted on the previous day, lay on their left hand; and,on clearing the southern spurs of these, they found that another largebody of water lay beyond or to the eastward of them; a river connectingthe two lakes, afterwards identified by them as lakes Albert Nyanza andTanganyika. Rising in the air to a height of about ten thousand feet,they slowly traversed the latter from its northern extremity, reachingits widest part--which they estimated to be about sixty miles across--atmid-day.
And here a most exciting scene presented itself. An hour previously adark mass had been sighted near the western shore of the lake, whichmass had at first been taken for an island; but, on a nearer approach,the supposed island had resolved itself into an immense fleet of canoes,in number about three hundred, manned by from four to twenty men ineach, rapidly making its way toward the western shore. So large aconcourse of craft, coupled with the fact that the crews wereelaborately "got up" with paint, feathers, and skins, and were wellprovided with bows and arrows, spears, shields, and clubs--to saynothing of a few very antiquated-looking muskets which the travellers'glasses revealed here and there--seemed to point to the conclusion thata hostile expedition was afoot, or, rather, afloat; and the explorersresolved upon a temporary pause in order to watch the course of events.
The natives were so intent upon their paddling that--facing forward asthey all were, with the _Flying Fish_ somewhat in their rear and nearlya mile above them--not one of them seemed to have detected the nearvicinity of the aerial ship; and the fleet diligently pursued its courselandward, the short broad-bladed paddles moving to the time of a deep,sonorous, but somewhat monotonous song, which, issuing as it did fromthe throats of probably quite two thousand warriors, was distinctlyaudible on board the _Flying Fish_, and really had quite an impressiveeffect.
The flotilla had reached within about four miles of the shore, and of atolerably extensive native settlement built thereon on both sides of ariver which at that point emptied itself into the lake, when a suddenconfused beating of drums and blowing of horns seemed to indicate thatthe menaced tribe had at last become awakened to the unpleasant factthat an invasion of their territory was imminent. The summons wasresponded to with very commendable celerity, the men swarming out of thesettlement like ants out of an ant-heap; and in less than ten minutesnearly a hundred canoes were launched and manned, and advancing boldlyto meet the enemy, whilst the laggards pushed off by twos and threes assoon afterwards as they could get down to the beach, all making the moststrenuous efforts to join the main body.
To the observers on board the _Flying Fish_ it seemed that the attackedparty had made a grave mistake in thus taking to their canoes andadvancing in them to meet the enemy; the colonel's impression being thatthey would have done better if they had awaited their foes on the beachand harassed them during their attempt to effect a landing. But it soonbecame evident that the threatened tribe knew perfectly well what theywere about, their canoes being larger and steadier than those of theiropponents, and their method of handling them greatly superior.
The opposing forces encountered each other at a distance of about twomiles from the western shore of the lake, when a simultaneous dischargeof arrows was poured in by both sides, after which the two fleetsclosed, and a most determined and sanguinary battle commenced. Theinvaders outnumbered their opponents nearly in the proportion of two toone; yet the latter not only gallantly held their own, but actuallyappeared now and then to gain some slight temporary advantage. Spearswere thrown and arrows were shot by hundreds; the heavily-knobbed war-clubs were wielded with untiring activity and terrible effect; and,occasionally, a flash and a faint puff of smoke followed by a reporttold that one of the ancient muskets had been brought into play. Theshouting of commands, the cries of anguish or defiance, the shrieks ofthe wounded, and the yells of triumph united in the creation of a mostdeafening din; and that it was not noise only, but work as well, wasspeedily manifested by the numerous bodies, splashing and struggling inthe agonies of death, or floating quiescent on the surface of the lake.
"How stubbornly the rascals fight!" remarked Lethbridge at last, whenthe battle had been hotly raging for fully three-quarters of an hourwithout yielding to either side any decided advantage. "I wonder whatthe quarrel is all about?"
"It is difficult to say," answered the professor, who seemed to considerthe question as addressed to himself; "it may be a simple case of tribalanimosity; it may be an attack of retaliation; or it may be a slave-hunting expedition. It is pretty sure to be one or the other of thosethree, but it is impossible to say which."
"Well," remarked Mildmay, "whatever the cause of the fight, mysympathies are all with the weaker side. Cannot we help the poorwretches a little? A shot or two from our rifles--"
"Would ensure to either party a victory," interrupted the baronet."Yes; that is quite true. But how can we tell which party--if either--is fighting in the cause of right and justice? We cannot take the partof either the aggressors or the defenders without a certain lurkingdoubt that in so doing we may perhaps be unwittingly giving aid andencouragement to the evil-doer. My sympathies are, like yours, on theside of the defenders; but I am afraid we must let them fight it outunaided."
And fight it out they did in the most gallant manner, the invadedbaffling all attempts on the part of the invaders to get even a smallportion of their force between them and the shore; and finally, by whatlooked like a last supreme and desperate effort, putting the foe toflight, and pursuing him triumphantly and persistently in his retreat,harassing his rear, cutting off and capturing stragglers, and in everypossible way worrying and annoying him so thoroughly that, to those onboard the _Flying Fish_, it looked unlikely in the extreme that theattack, whether provoked or not, would ever be repeated.
The combatants had evidently been far too busy to notice theextraordinary apparition floating in the sky above them; but just as thebattle was about to commence a crowd of women and children, with a fewdecrepit old men, had assembled on the beach, seemingly to watch theconflict; and on bringing the telescopes to bear on these it soon becameapparent, by their gestures and cries of amazement, that they had
seenthe ship.
"Yes," said the professor, peering through his telescope, "they see usundoubtedly, but they can detect neither form nor details. The sun isimmediately behind them, you will observe; consequently, as it isshining full upon our burnished hull, those people, in the position theynow occupy, will be able to see nothing but a shapeless blaze ofdazzling effulgence, which they will doubtless take as an outwardmanifestation of their particular deity's favour, and an indication thathe is present to crown their cause with victory."
And indeed there was plenty of evidence to support this singularopinion, for the people, though evidently astonished beyond measure,manifested delight rather than fear at what they saw, stretching outtheir hands, palms upward, by way of greeting and salute, whilst manywere seen to hurry away to the village and back, bringing with themofferings of fruit, goats, and fowls, which they ranged in a line ("inorder to make the most of them," as Mildmay suggested) along the marginof the lake. The proffered offering was, however, unaccepted, and, thebattle being over, the _Flying Fish_ resumed her course along the centreline of the lake, reaching its southern extremity in time to select ahalting-place before sunset.
The fourth day following found them within easy distance of theirdestination; and the disappointment of the travellers, arising from thefact that no more unicorns had been seen, was to a very great extentswallowed up in curiosity as to what lay before them. Shortly aftereffecting their morning's start the fertile region over which they hadhitherto been travelling came abruptly to an end, and they foundthemselves passing over an arid sandy desert, utterly destitute of eventhe feeblest suggestion of vegetation, without a trace of water or evenof moisture, and of course with no sign of a living creature anywhereupon it. So uninteresting a region offered no temptation for loiteringor dalliance, and the speed of the ship was accordingly increased toabout sixty miles an hour over the ground, the pace being maintaineduntil two o'clock in the afternoon, when a low range of rockyprecipitous hills was reached, beyond which fertility and life once moreresumed their sway. The travellers computed the stretch of desert overwhich they had passed as being fully three hundred miles in extent, andthey could therefore fully understand the difficulty--not to sayimpossibility--of approaching Ophir, at all events from a north-westerlydirection. Speed was now once more reduced, the ship gently glidingthrough the hot afternoon air at the rate of about eighteen knots, overa somewhat rugged, well-wooded country, watered by numerous streams,with native villages dotted here and there along the banks, in the midstof well-cultivated maize and tobacco fields, with an occasional patch ofsugar-cane. Large herds of cattle were also frequently passed, and itsoon became evident that to the natives in charge of these, and indeedto the inhabitants generally, the apparition of the aerial ship wasproductive of a vast amount of curiosity, excitement, and wonder. Thesenatives appeared to possess the same power or gift attributed to theMontenegrins, namely, that of projecting the voice for incredibledistances through the air; and it was speedily apparent that the arrivalof the monster aerial visitant to the country was being orallytelegraphed forward in the direction of her course. Mounted men wereseen dashing madly along until they reached some eminence favourablysituated for the exercise of their powers, when, dismounting, themessenger would raise his hands to his lips, and, in a peculiar high-pitched tone of voice which seemed to have the power of penetrating theair for an immense distance, send his message echoing forward over hilland dale, to be instantly caught up and repeated by another. So smartlywas this novel system of telegraphy performed, that the message actuallyoutsped the ship, and the travellers found the inhabitants of everyvillage along their route awaiting _en masse_ their appearance, whichwas instantly greeted with loud shouts of astonishment. At one villageor settlement, which, from its size, appeared to be of more thanordinary importance, they found, in addition to the general inhabitants,a squadron of about fifty mounted warriors awaiting them, fully armedwith bow, spear, and shield, and upon the appearance of the _FlyingFish_ these troops most pluckily ranged themselves directly across hercourse and prepared to treat her to a shower of arrows.
"Now is our time to create a wholesome impression of our invincibilityupon these fellows," remarked the baronet, and hurrying to the pilot-house he caused the ship to sink well within range of the projectedsalute.
In an instant every bow was drawn to its utmost tension, a second or twosufficed the warriors to steady their aim, and then, with a simultaneous_twang_ of bowstrings, the fifty arrows sped through the air, and,rattling harmlessly against the ship's gleaming hull, glanced off andfell to the earth again. The baronet smartly raised the fore end of thetiller, and, obedient to her helm, the _Flying Fish_ made a sudden swoopearthward in the direction of the audacious cavalry, who, alreadydisconcerted at the utter failure of their attack, at once wheeled shortabout, and, with piercing yells of terror, took headlong flight,jostling and overthrowing each other without the least compunction intheir frantic eagerness to escape.
"There," remarked the baronet, as, steadying the helm, the ship oncemore soared to her former elevation, "I hope that will suffice toconvince them that we are not to be attacked with impunity. If not, weshall be compelled to read them a sharper lesson."
After that no further attempt at molestation was ventured upon, theinhabitants simply congregating in close proximity to the doors of theirhuts to see the ship go past, watching her stately progress in silent,awestruck wonder, and obviously holding themselves ready for an instantdive beneath the fancied shelter of their thatched roofs in the event ofany hostile demonstration on the part of the Mysterious Visitant.
At about half-past five in the evening the hilly character of thecountry gave place to that of a wide-stretching level plain, thicklyovergrown with long rank grass, with occasional isolated clumps of bush,and here and there a tall feathery palm, or a grove of wild plantains orbamboo. The faint grey glimmer of the sea appeared on the utmost vergeof the distant horizon, and certain huge shapeless irregularities in theextreme distance gradually revealed themselves as the colossal remainsof what must at one time have been a city of extraordinary extent andmagnificence. The ship was brought to earth and secured exactly at sixo'clock, at a distance of some eight or nine miles from the sea, and thetravellers then found themselves surrounded on all sides by giganticruined walls, arches, columns, erect and overturned, huge fragments ofpediments, shattered entablatures, ruined capitals, splinteredpedestals, and crumbling mutilated statues of men and animals, all ofcolossal proportions, the buildings being of a massive but ornate andimposing style of architecture, quite unknown to civilisation. The shiphad found a resting-place as nearly as possible in the centre of theruins, which extended all round her for a distance of nearly threemiles, the eastern half being all aglow with the golden radiance of thesunset, whilst the western half loomed up black, imposing, and solemnlymysterious against the clear orange of the evening sky.
"Well," said the professor, as the party slowly paced the deck, watchingin almost silent rapture the swiftly changing glories of the dying day,the rapid but exquisite gradations of tint on the mouldering ruins whichaccompanied the fading light, and the almost instantaneous appearance ofthe stars in the darkening heavens--"well, I am equally surprised anddelighted at the result of our resolve to come hither. Here we findourselves in the very heart of savagedom surrounded by the vast remainsof a remote but civilised and evidently highly cultivated race; andthough at present we have nothing more than the merest surmise to helpus to their identification, I have little doubt that the result of ourexplorations and investigations will be to satisfy us that we have invery deed found in these ponderous ruins the remains of Ancient Ophir."