The twins and Ukundo had not long to wait before Paabu returned, as
he had promised, bringing weapons to them. His terror was quite real
when he received Doc's pocket knife in payment of his services, but his
ambition to become a great witch-doctor overcame his fears and it was
a proud, though frightened Paabu, who sneaked away in the darkness,
clutching the big medicine tightly in one grimy paw.
About the village fires the boys could see the natives eating and
drinking, while Intamo, clothed in all the hideous and grotesque finery
of his profession, danced wierdly in the firelight, sprinkling powder
into the various cooking pots and making strange passes above them
with a stick to which was fastened the brush from the tail of a buffalo.
Ukundo told them that Intamo was making medicine to frighten the demons
away from the pots in which Bulala would be cooked on the morrow and
that the real festivities would not commence until the following night.
There was little dancing in the village, that night, and after Intamo
had completed his ceremony, the blacks commenced to retire to their
huts and soon the village street was deserted. All the fires were
banked with the exception of one. The village was quite dark.
The moment was approaching when the boys could make their long deferred
attempt to escape. In low whispers they had been discussing their plans
with Ukundo, all the evening. Now it was only a matter of waiting until
they felt sure that the entire village was asleep.
They had distributed the weapons brought them by Paabu, and the feel
of them in their hands seemed to impart a new courage and almost to
insure the success of their venture.
"Golly!" said Dick, presently. "Don't you suppose they're asleep yet?"
"Better wait a little longer," counselled Doc. "This is our only chance
and we just can't fail."
At that moment they saw a figure emerge from one of the huts and come
toward them.
"There!" said Doc. "What did I tell you?"
The figure approached at a brisk walk and the three hid their weapons
as best they could, putting them on the ground and squatting in front
of them, but keeping them within reach; for there was something
sinister about this silent figure, advancing through the sleeping
village.
The sickly light of a single dying camp fire dimly outlined the
approaching figure, which the waiting captives could see was that of a
large warrior in whose right hand swung a short, heavy knobkerrie.
Who could it be? What was his mission in the dead of night?
He was almost upon them before he perceived them, huddled just outside
the entrance of their hut; his surprise at seeing them there was
evident, for he stopped suddenly with an angry grunt.
"Why are you not in your hut?" he demanded in a hoarse whisper. "Which
is the white boy witch-doctor? I would speak with him."
It was Intamo. The three recognized him simultaneously and knew why he
had come and why he carried the knobkerrie.
"I am he," replied Doc. "What do you want of me?"
The only answer that Intamo made was to leap forward with raised
bludgeon. With a cry of horror, Dick jumped to his feet and sprang
between Intamo and his intended victim. With his short spear grasped
in both hands and held horizontally before him and above his head
he sought to break the force of Intamo's wicked blow. The knobkerrie
crashed upon the stout wood of the spear haft and glanced to one side.
But Intamo with the sweep of a mighty arm brushed the lad aside and
swung his club again.
It was at this instant that a small, panther-like figure, springing
with the agility and ferocity of one of the great jungle cats, launched
itself full upon the breast of Intamo, hurling the witch-doctor to the
ground. Twice a muscular arm rose and fell; twice a dull blade gleamed
for an instant in the fitful firelight, then Ukundo arose from the
prostrate form, but Intamo lay very still where he had fallen.
"Good old Ukundo!" whispered Dick in a broken voice that choked with a
sob, for he knew that Doc had been very near to death.
"Each of you has saved my life," said Doc, "and--O, gee!--I don't know
what to say!"
"Don't say anything," advised Dick. "Anyway, we aren't out of this mess
yet."
"Now we better go," said Ukundo. "Have you made strong medicine against
the jungle demons?"
"Very strong," replied Doc. "You have seen that my medicine is stronger
than Intamo's, for he came here to kill me and instead it was he who
was killed."
"Yes," admitted Ukundo, "I saw!"
As they had previously planned, the three crept stealthily along the
rear of the village huts, keeping close to the palisade. Dick led,
Ukundo followed, and then Doc. They had to move very silently lest they
awaken some of the numerous village curs, whose yapping might easily
arouse the entire village. And so they moved forward very slowly, often
just a few yards at a time, when they would lie quietly for several
minutes. It was slow, nerve-wracking work. The hut in which Bulala was
confined seemed miles away, though in fact it was but a few hundred
feet. At last, however, after what seemed an eternity, they reached it
and while the boys waited behind the hut, Ukundo crept to the front and
crawled inside.
[Illustration: It was slow, nerve-wracking work.]
Again there was a long, long wait. The interminable minutes dragged
slowly by. Not a sound came to their ears from the interior of the hut
for what seemed ages, and then, at last, they heard a faint rustling
within. A few minutes later Ukundo and Bulala crept to their sides.
Bulala was almost overcome by emotion, so certain had he been that
nothing could save him from the horrible fate that awaited him on the
morrow; but his words of gratitude were silenced and a moment later the
four were creeping toward the village gates.
Here they met their serious obstacle. The gates were secured by chains
through which was fastened an old time padlock, such as slavers once
used to secure the chains to the necks of their poor victims. For a
moment it seemed that they were doomed to failure at the very outset of
their attempted break for liberty, but as the boys were examining the
fastenings, Doc almost gave vent to a cry of relief; he had discovered
that, with true native shiftlessness, the Bagalla had fastened the end
of one of the stout chains to a post of the palisade with a bit of
grass rope and as a chain is no stronger than its weakest link, this
proved a very weak chain indeed. A single stroke of Doc's knife severed
the rope and the chain clattered to the ground--an occurrence that
almost proved their undoing for the noise startled a nearby cur into a
frenzy of barking that was quickly taken up by every other dog in the
village until it seemed that a thousand dogs were yapping at the top of
their lungs.
And then the gates stuck as the four put their combined weight against
them in an effort to swing them open. Dick glanced over his shoulder
and saw a warrior emerging from a hut. The fellow, voicing a loud cry
of warning, came running toward them, and in an instant the village
was swarming with fierce blacks, all running with brandished spears.
In a frenzy of hopelessness the four prisoners hurled themselves upon
the sagging barrier, and this time the gates gave way and the quartette
plunged into the outer darkness.
[Illustration: The quartette plunged into outer darkness.]
To cover the distance across the clearing into the black shadows of the
jungle required but a few seconds, for their feet were winged by terror
of the hideous death clutching so close behind to drag them back into
its awful embrace.
A few feet beyond the village gates the Bagalla halted; they had no
medicine to safeguard them against the malign influences of the demons
of the darkness and the jungle.
There they stood, shouting threats and insults at the four fugitives
who stumbled along the crooked jungle trail. But words could neither
harm them, nor bring them back, and presently Galla Galla led his
people back into the village and closed the gates.
"Tomorrow," he said, "when the light first comes faintly through the
forest, we will go forth and bring them back, for they will not go far
tonight where the lions hunt, and the panthers lie in wait above the
trail."