CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.
I remembered the advice of Brace, and submitted, with as good grace as I could, to the hospitalities of his black majesty. I drank a portion of his rum, and even appeared jolly! He seemed greatly pleased with my behaviour, and evidently esteemed me a good bargain; though the slave-captain had screwed him far above his original offer. His first bid had been a fair exchange--man for man, or man for boy--a black for a white, and he must have been strongly bent on the purchase to have given six to one!
What could he intend me for?--a slave to wait upon him? hand him his food when he should feel inclined to eat? his rum when he desired to drink? fan the mosquitoes off him when he was asleep? and amuse him when awake? Was this the sort of life for which he had designed me? or was he going to promote me to some higher employ? make me his private secretary or clerk? his prime minister, perhaps? marry me to one of his dark-skinned daughters? make a prince of me?
From the hospitable manner in which he began his treatment of me, I really had thought, that if I continued to please him, he would give me an easy life of it. I had heard of such cases, where white men had become the favourites of negro princes, and had been placed in offices of high trust; and, perhaps, such would have been my destiny, had I remained with King Dingo Bingo.
But even had I been a.s.sured of the best of treatment--even had I been promised the highest office in his kingdom--the throne itself, with the handsomest of his daughters for my queen--I should have held on to my intention of running away from him all the same, and returning to the barque. It was certainly no Elysium to fly to--perhaps from the fire into the frying-pan; but still there was the hope that my life on board the _Pandora_ would not be of long continuance, and even there, under the protection of Brace, they had of late treated me less cruelly.
As for King Dingo Bingo, I felt a loathing in his company that I cannot describe. I felt a presentiment of some terrible evil, and I was resolved, if I did not succeed in reaching the barque, to run away from him all the same and try my fortune in the woods. Yes; notwithstanding its lions and other fierce brutes, I was determined to escape to the forest and live as I best might, or die if I could not live.
There was a thought in my mind. I had heard them talk of the English factory farther up the coast--fifty miles farther. I might succeed in getting there. An Englishman was its chief.
True, they said he was a friend of King Dingo--a partner in fact--and from what had transpired I had reason to believe that this was but too true. Still he was an Englishman. Surely he would not give me up-- surely he dared not. I thought, too, of the cruiser. She would protect, she would not give me up; but, on the contrary, would have blown his black majesty to the skies for making such a demand. If I could only make known my situation--but how was that to be done?
Impossible! By the morrow"s sun she would be he longer on the coast.
She would be gone in pursuit of the _Pandora_--perhaps within another hour!
I was loathing the presence of the negro king, who appeared trying, in his rude manner, to be agreeable. He plied me with rum, and I pretended to drink it. I could not understand his talk, though a few English words, and those of the most vulgar in our language, were familiar enough after my voyage in the _Pandora_. But his majesty was by this time so drunk that even his own people could with difficulty understand him; and every moment he was yielding more and more to the potent spirit.
I joyed at observing this--it would help my purpose. I joyed to see him stagger over the floor, and still more when he stumbled against a sort of couch-bed and fell heavily upon it.
The next moment he was sound asleep--a deep, drunken sleep. His snore was music to my ears--though it resembled the dying snort of a prize ox.
At this moment I heard across the river the clacking of the windla.s.s, and the rough rasping of the anchor chain as it was drawn through the iron ring of the hawse-hole.
Most of the royal attendants were out upon the bank to witness the departure of the barque, just visible through the dim twilight.
I waited a few minutes longer, lest I should set forth too soon, and, therefore, be pursued and overtaken before I could get down to the mouth of the river. I knew that the barque would move but slowly--the stream was narrow and curved in several places, and therefore she could not use her sails. She would drop down by the force of the current, and I could easily keep up with her.
The attendants of the king were in no way suspicious of my intentions.
They observed that I appeared well pleased with my new situation. No doubt most of them envied me my good fortune, and it is probable I was looked upon as the "new favourite." It was not likely I should run away from such splendid prospects--not likely indeed! Such an idea never entered the mind of one of the sable gentlemen who surrounded me; and as soon as his majesty fell asleep, I was left free to go about wherever I pleased. Just then it pleased me to skulk backward behind the great barrac.o.o.n, and a little further still into the thick woods beyond. For this point I took a diagonal line that led me back to the river bank again--only at a considerable distance below the "factory"--and, having now got beyond earshot of the negro crew, and altogether out of their sight, I advanced as rapidly down the bank as the brushwood would permit me.
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.
I had observed before starting, that the barque had got up her anchor and was slowly gliding down stream. At intervals I turned a little out of my way and came close to the edge of the water, to make sure that she was not getting ahead of me; and then I would glide back into the path, which ran parallel with the stream, but at several yards" distance from the bank.
Guiding myself thus, I advanced at about the same rate as the vessel was going, and every now and then had her under my eye through the openings in the trees.
I had no difficulty in making her out, for, contrary to the wish of the slave-captain, the night was a bright one, with a clear moon coursing through a sky that was without a single cloud.
Slowly as sailed the barque, it was just as much as I could do to keep up with her. Had the path been open there would have been no difficulty--but there was in reality no path at all, only a track made by wild animals, which here and there was closed up above with trailing vines and creeping plants, that stretched from tree to tree and hindered my rapid advance. Though beasts could go under these natural bridges without impediment, a human being had to crouch under or climb over, and all this required time. There were so many of these obstructions that I was greatly delayed by them, and found it just as much as I could do to keep square with the vessel constantly moving onward. I knew that I must get a good way ahead of her, so as to choose a place for taking to the water and swimming out to her as she pa.s.sed down. As the river grew wider near its mouth I was likely to have a long swim for it.
Several times I was terrified by the appearance of wild beasts, whose forms I could just distinguish in the obscurity that reigned under the shadows of the trees. I saw several kinds, and some of immense size that went crashing through the underwood as I came suddenly upon them.
These must have been either rhinoceroses or the large hippopotamus--I could not tell which under the shadows--but whichever they were, they ran off at my approach. I might have feared them more than I did, had it not been that a greater fear was upon me. I feared to hear the voices of King Dingo Bingo and his black guards behind me. I feared this more than anything; and at intervals I stopped upon the path and listened.
But indeed they would need to have been near for me to have heard them.
The forest was filled with other sounds, and only a very loud noise could have been heard above the general chorus. There was the shrill chirrup of cicadas and tree-crickets, the hoa.r.s.e croaking of toads and frogs--some of these as loud as the routing of a bull--there was screaming of cats, the barking of jackals, and the chattering and howling of monkeys. A perfect chorus of discordant sounds produced by the barque moving down the river, and no doubt partially by my own pa.s.sage through the underwood. One kind set the other a-going, and the alarm and consequent noises proceeding from it spread to a far distance through the forest.
I thought it less probable that I should be followed through the woods, than down the stream itself. When missed, a canoe was most likely to be brought into requisition--perhaps the royal galley itself, with his majesty to guide the pursuit. They would remember that I had disappeared just at the moment the barque weighed anchor, and would suspect that I had gone aboard at once. It was far more likely, therefore, the search would be made upon the water, and the pursuers would paddle their craft directly for the barque. Under this belief I gave uneasy glances up the river, whenever I could command a view of it.
As yet no pursuers appeared.
Another consideration troubled me. The Kroomen had gone to the river"s mouth to watch the movements of the cruiser and report whether she had launched any boats. Now these fellows were entirely in the interest of King Dingo. They might see me as I swam to the barque, and, taking me into their boat, carry me back to the factory. They had been present when the bargain was made, and knew all about it. I must, therefore, look out for their boat and avoid it.
With such thoughts and resolves pa.s.sing through my mind, I once more marked the progress of the vessel and, diving into the underwood, kept on.
At length I reached a point where there was a bend in the river. It was not far from its mouth. Beyond this place the stream widened into a sort of bay.
It would not do for me to go beyond. I should have too long a swim for it; besides, the barque was about being got under sail--her canvas was already loose; and once the sails were sheeted home, they would catch the wind and carry her rapidly through the water--so rapidly that I might not be able to get aboard.
I had gone far enough. I had reached the point where it was best for me to take to the water; and, flinging off my shoes and most of my clothing, I stepped down to the water"s edge and plunged in.
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.
The barque was not yet opposite me; but, by the rate at which she was moving, I calculated she would be so by the time I could arrive in midstream.
Brace had told me to swim for the bows--for he would be there with his rope; while, in case I should not be able to lay hold of it another would be ready at the gangway ports with a second rope. One or other would be sure to haul me in; but it would be better if I could get aboard at the bows, as then I might not be observed either by mate or skipper, and even should his majesty come after me I could be hidden away about the forecastle. The skipper, not knowing I was aboard, would, of course, deny me with a will. I was determined, therefore, to do all I could to get aboard by the bows.
I was an excellent swimmer--not surpa.s.sed by any of the _Pandora"s_ crew, except, perhaps, by Brace himself, who was one of the best in the world. I had practised a great deal in my schooldays in rivers, fresh-water lakes, and the sea itself; and I thought nothing of swimming a mile or more without rest. Crossing from the bank of the river to midstream--a distance of not over two hundred yards--was a mere bagatelle, and I had no apprehension of not being able to accomplish it at my ease.
But although I had no apprehension about my powers of swimming, I was keenly sensible of danger from another source. I had not thought of it before that moment--for the excitement of escaping, and the difficulty of making my way through the underwood, had driven every thought of danger out of my head, except that of being pursued. The peril from behind had prevented me from dwelling upon dangers ahead; and, it was only after I had plunged into the stream, that I became the victim of a keen apprehension. Then, and not till then, did I remember the fate of the unfortunate Dutchman!--then, and not till then, did I think of the crocodiles!
A horrid sensation came over me--a dread feeling of fear. My blood ran cold--far colder than the water of the stream--perhaps at that moment I was within reach of a huge man-eating crocodile? at all events, within sight, for some of these hideous monsters were sure to be near, either by one bank or the other. Indeed, as I was about to plunge in I saw a long dark form by the sh.o.r.e, some twenty yards further down, which I had taken for a floating log. The noise made by my body striking the water had caused it to move. I thought then it was the current; but now, under my keen apprehensions, I thought differently. It was no dead log--it was the motion of a living creature--beyond doubt a huge crocodile!
This conjecture soon became a conviction. A floating log would scarce have settled there, against the sedgy bank, and where there was current enough to carry it onward; it was no log, it was the great lizard itself.
I could not restrain myself from half turning round, and raising my body body high in the water to look back. The clear moonlight gave me every advantage, and I could perceive any object on the water almost as distinctly as by day.
One glance was sufficient to make me aware of my perilous position.
Merciful heaven! my conjecture was too true!--the dead log was no log, but an enormous crocodile!--its hideous shape was plainly seen; its long cloven head and broad scaly back glittered high above the water, and its snout was elevated and turned towards me, as though it was just getting over a surprise, and coming to the knowledge of what sort of creature I was.
Its surprise, however, was soon over, and before I could stretch myself to swim on, I saw it lash the water into foam with its tail--as if to set itself in motion--and the next moment it parted from the bank and came rushing towards me!
Its body was now sunk below the surface, but its blunt, haggard head, and sharp snout were projected high above the water.
I saw all this as I turned round again; and with a feeling of cold horror upon me I swam on.
The barque was now near--her bows were not fifty yards distant, and the crocodile was still more than a hundred behind me. But I well knew that these amphibious monsters can far outswim a man. Through the water they make progress as an otter, and with like rapidity. I felt sure I should be overtaken, and then--
The cold horror continued--I screamed out for help--I continued my cries as I swam on!
I heard voices from the barque, in answer to my cries. I could see forms gliding about the head, and running out upon the b.u.mpkin-shrouds, and along the bowsprit I could distinguish the deep voice of Brace uttering words of encouragement and direction.
I was under the bowsprit-end--I could see no rope--I looked in vain for a rope--none had been thrown to me. Oh, heavens! what was I to do?