"Hullo! There"s no one here," said Trentham. "Meek understood that he was to wait here until relieved?"
"Yes. He looked a trifle uneasy, but he wouldn"t desert his post.
Surely----"
"They couldn"t resist the temptation, you mean? I hope it"s not so bad as that. Let us see if we can trace the way he "s gone. Here "s his spear on the ground."
"And here are his footprints. By gum, Trentham, look here: a good many European boots have been treading the gra.s.s. They came from the forest, and went back again. Germans, sure!"
"It looks like it. But it"s unaccountable. The natives are too sharp-eared to have been taken by surprise. They ought to have got Meek away in time."
"I "ll be shot if they haven"t gone too! These are prints of bare feet, aren"t they?"
"There "s no doubt about that. They _must_ have been surprised and collared, without a shot fired. This is pretty bad, Hoole."
"I guess they wanted more miners. Wonder they haven"t raided the village long before this."
"I suppose they didn"t think it worth while to come so far from the cove and make an organised raid. Bows and spears wouldn"t be much use against firearms, of course; but the Germans might have lost a few men in a regular attack, and they preferred to snap up small parties here and there."
"Any good going after them?"
"Not an atom. You may be sure they "re armed, and we have--one revolver. Things are in a deuce of a mess, Hoole. If the natives are such poor scouts we stand to lose more of these outposts. We shall have to drop the scheme. And the immediate thing now is to go and bring Grinson back; he "ll be mad at losing Meek. We had better talk things over with him, and see if anything can be done; for the life of me I can"t think what."
Trentham"s contempt of the Papuans" scouting ability was not justified, as he would have known could he have heard and understood what Kafulu had said to his comrades. He had told them that the white men had the fire magic of which they had heard. It was hidden in the stick he showed them. If they would work for the white men, they too would be given sticks like the one he carried, and then they would be the lords of the village. Kafulu was Hahn"s dupe and decoy.
When Grinson heard that his companion of twenty-five years had been captured, his eyes became moist, and at first he seemed incapable of speech. Then his lips were pressed together rigidly; he flung away his spear, s.n.a.t.c.hed out his knife, and cried:
"Which way, sir? Let me get at "em."
"You "d do no good, Grinson," said Trentham. "They "d shoot you down."
"But "tis Ephraim, sir--the lad as has been wi" me all over the seven seas. I can"t fool about and do nothing when my mate is digging coal for those blackguard Germans. I put it to you, young gentlemen----"
"Yes, we understand; but you must see that we three are not in a position to attack goodness knows how many men armed with rifles. We should only be killed or collared too. The sole chance of rescuing Meek----"
"Say the word, sir," said Grinson as Trentham paused.
"Well, I confess I see no chance at the present moment; but at any rate it will be hopeless if we get into the Germans" clutches ourselves.
Some plan may occur to us. Meanwhile let us get back. I "m afraid the chief will be cut up at the loss of more of his men."
With the natives of the outposts they set off towards the village. Long before they reached it there came through the forest a long-drawn mournful howl, or rather a chorus of howls, like the cries of hundreds of dumb animals in pain. e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns broke from the lips of the natives. They looked at one another with expressions of dismay, then set off at a trot, howling as they went.
"They "ve already got wind of it at the village," said Hoole. "Perhaps one or two fellows escaped."
""Tis worse than that, sir," said Grinson. "It means death. I heard the n.i.g.g.e.rs howl like that, the time I was at Moresby. It fair chills your blood, though they "ll laugh like hyenas as soon as the funeral"s over."
Hurrying on, with the horrible sound growing ever louder, they arrived at the village, and found the whole population a.s.sembled in front of the stockade, rocking themselves to and fro, and howling incessantly. Dark looks greeted the white men as they pa.s.sed through the midst of the throng and entered at the open gate. Within, all was silent. No one was to be seen except the medicine-man, who was just issuing from the chief"s house. He stalked slowly through the enclosure and out at the gate. Then the people emerged from their huts, and a number of the elder men formed up in procession and marched slowly into the house.
When they had disappeared, the interpreter came up to Trentham.
"Chief fella, he gone dead," he murmured.
CHAPTER X
THE CAST OF THE DIE
An hour after the white men"s return, they watched from their hut the funeral procession winding towards the gate. Some of the younger men led the way; then followed four bearers, with the body of the dead chief encased in his sleeping-mat. Behind marched his relatives and the whole of the population of the enclosure, the men wearing towering head-dresses of feathers, the women carrying small branches.
"Shall we follow?" asked Hoole.
"Perhaps the people would like it," replied Trentham.
But when they reached the gate at the tail of the procession they were stopped by the interpreter.
"New chief he say no come alonga," said he. "Me fella people say old chief he die alonga you; all proper mad."
"That accounts for their scowls as we came in," remarked Trentham. "I suppose the medicine-man accuses us of giving the evil eye. But the new chief, whoever he is, evidently doesn"t want us to be pulled to pieces."
"Things are going from bad to worse," said Hoole. "Our news won"t make them better pleased with us. I guess there "ll be trouble."
The death of the chief and the absence of his son had in fact kindled a slumbering spark of revolt in the Papuan community. A chief in New Guinea at no time wields great authority over his tribe, and the prestige of the dominant caste had already fallen low. Authority was a.s.sumed by a cousin of the dead man, but he had no moral qualities to support it. After the funeral, when Trentham reported to him, through the interpreter, the capture of the outpost, his agitation bordered on hysteria. The Papuans already connected their recent misfortunes with the arrival of the white men, who, they declared, were in league with the white men from the ship, and were responsible for the capture of their leader Kafulu and the late chief"s son. The disappearance of the outpost would confirm their dark suspicions, and the fact that Meek also had gone would seem to them proof of collusion.
Trentham offered to relieve the chief of anxiety by quitting the place with his companions, but this suggestion only increased his distress, and it dawned upon Trentham that he was inclined to cling to the white men as upholders of his feebleness. How feeble he was became apparent before Trentham left the house. A number of the Papuans came to the outer gate and demanded an interview with their new chief. On being admitted, their spokesman recounted the disasters that had befallen the tribe since the strangers came, and insisted on the two younger men being given to them for a cannibal feast. Was it not the custom, they asked, within the memory of the elder men, for a sacrifice to be made on the death of a chief? The victims were at hand. As for the fat man who bore the totem mark on his shoulder, they must spare him, but being a white man he must be sent away; let him go into the forest.
The chief was on the point of yielding, in the hope of gaining popularity with his unruly subjects, when one of the elder patricians interposed. The late chief had spared the white men, he said; they were friends of Flanso, who would rightfully have succeeded his father; and if Flanso returned he would certainly vent his wrath on any one who did them harm. This firm stand on the part of a man of weight caused the unstable chief to veer. With an effort to a.s.sume a firm and dignified att.i.tude he dismissed the deputation, who retired in undisguised dissatisfaction and anger.
It was only after they had departed that Trentham learnt from the interpreter what their object had been, and how their request had been received. Watching the scene intently, he had noted the indecision of the chief and the mischief that blazed in the eyes of the Papuans.
"I "m afraid there "s trouble brewing," he said on returning to his hut.
"The new chief"s a man of straw; he "ll give way to the cannibals one of these times, and then----"
"I guess we won"t wait for that," said Hoole. "We should be no worse off in the forest, and I vote we clear out one dark night and take our chance."
"What about Ephraim, sir?" asked Grinson. "I say nothing about you two gentlemen, but only speak for myself, and I swear I won"t leave these "ere parts without Ephraim."
"Sure," said Hoole. "I "m with you all the time. But you "ll allow it requires a little consideration, Grinson, and my proposition is that we all put on our thinking caps and see if we can hit on one of those cunning plots you read of in story-books. I only wish I had a pipe.
Smoke clears the air."
Trentham smiled; Grinson opened his tobacco-box.
"Chewing won"t do the trick, I suppose, sir," he said. "I "ve enough twist for two quids."
"No, no; I "ve never chewed anything hotter than gum," said Hoole.
"Keep your baccy, man. I say, it"s time for our supper. They "re late this evening. Do they keep a fast after a funeral?"
"I fancy I hear "em coming now, sir. Maybe it"s an extra spread."