XXII.

As Meriem struggled with Malbihn, her hands pinioned to her sides by

his brawny grip, hope died within her. She did not utter a sound for

she knew that there was none to come to her assistance, and, too, the

jungle training of her earlier life had taught her the futility of

appeals for succor in the savage world of her up-bringing.

But as she fought to free herself one hand came in contact with the

butt of Malbihn’s revolver where it rested in the holster at his hip.

Slowly he was dragging her toward the blankets, and slowly her fingers

encircled the coveted prize and drew it from its resting place.

Then, as Malbihn stood at the edge of the disordered pile of blankets,

Meriem suddenly ceased to draw away from him, and as quickly hurled her

weight against him with the result that he was thrown backward, his

feet stumbled against the bedding and he was hurled to his back.

Instinctively his hands flew out to save himself and at the same

instant Meriem leveled the revolver at his breast and pulled the

trigger.

But the hammer fell futilely upon an empty shell, and Malbihn was again

upon his feet clutching at her. For a moment she eluded him, and ran

toward the entrance to the tent, but at the very doorway his heavy hand

fell upon her shoulder and dragged her back. Wheeling upon him with the

fury of a wounded lioness Meriem grasped the long revolver by the

barrel, swung it high above her head and crashed it down full in

Malbihn’s face.

With an oath of pain and rage the man staggered backward, releasing his

hold upon her and then sank unconscious to the ground. Without a

backward look Meriem turned and fled into the open. Several of the

blacks saw her and tried to intercept her flight, but the menace of the

empty weapon kept them at a distance. And so she won beyond the

encircling _boma_ and disappeared into the jungle to the south.

Straight into the branches of a tree she went, true to the arboreal

instincts of the little mangani she had been, and here she stripped off

her riding skirt, her shoes and her stockings, for she knew that she

had before her a journey and a flight which would not brook the burden

of these garments. Her riding breeches and jacket would have to serve

as protection from cold and thorns, nor would they hamper her over

much; but a skirt and shoes were impossible among the trees.

She had not gone far before she commenced to realize how slight were

her chances for survival without means of defense or a weapon to bring

down meat. Why had she not thought to strip the cartridge belt from

Malbihn’s waist before she had left his tent! With cartridges for the

revolver she might hope to bag small game, and to protect herself from

all but the most ferocious of the enemies that would beset her way back

to the beloved hearthstone of Bwana and My Dear.

With the thought came determination to return and obtain the coveted

ammunition. She realized that she was taking great chances of

recapture; but without means of defense and of obtaining meat she felt

that she could never hope to reach safety. And so she turned her face

back toward the camp from which she had but just escaped.

She thought Malbihn dead, so terrific a blow had she dealt him, and she

hoped to find an opportunity after dark to enter the camp and search

his tent for the cartridge belt; but scarcely had she found a hiding

place in a great tree at the edge of the _boma_ where she could watch

without danger of being discovered, when she saw the Swede emerge from

his tent, wiping blood from his face, and hurling a volley of oaths and

questions at his terrified followers.

Shortly after the entire camp set forth in search of her and when

Meriem was positive that all were gone she descended from her hiding

place and ran quickly across the clearing to Malbihn’s tent. A hasty

survey of the interior revealed no ammunition; but in one corner was a

box in which were packed the Swede’s personal belongings that he had

sent along by his headman to this westerly camp.

Meriem seized the receptacle as the possible container of extra

ammunition. Quickly she loosed the cords that held the canvas covering

about the box, and a moment later had raised the lid and was rummaging

through the heterogeneous accumulation of odds and ends within. There

were letters and papers and cuttings from old newspapers, and among

other things the photograph of a little girl upon the back of which was

pasted a cutting from a Paris daily—a cutting that she could not read,

yellowed and dimmed by age and handling—but something about the

photograph of the little girl which was also reproduced in the

newspaper cutting held her attention. Where had she seen that picture

before? And then, quite suddenly, it came to her that this was a

picture of herself as she had been years and years before.

Where had it been taken? How had it come into the possession of this

man? Why had it been reproduced in a newspaper? What was the story that

the faded type told of it?

Meriem was baffled by the puzzle that her search for ammunition had

revealed. She stood gazing at the faded photograph for a time and then

bethought herself of the ammunition for which she had come. Turning

again to the box she rummaged to the bottom and there in a corner she

came upon a little box of cartridges. A single glance assured her that

they were intended for the weapon she had thrust inside the band of her

riding breeches, and slipping them into her pocket she turned once more

for an examination of the baffling likeness of herself that she held in

her hand.

As she stood thus in vain endeavor to fathom this inexplicable mystery

the sound of voices broke upon her ears. Instantly she was all alert.

They were coming closer! A second later she recognized the lurid

profanity of the Swede. Malbihn, her persecutor, was returning! Meriem

ran quickly to the opening of the tent and looked out. It was too late!

She was fairly cornered! The white man and three of his black henchmen

were coming straight across the clearing toward the tent. What was she

to do? She slipped the photograph into her waist. Quickly she slipped a

cartridge into each of the chambers of the revolver. Then she backed

toward the end of the tent, keeping the entrance covered by her weapon.

The man stopped outside, and Meriem could hear Malbihn profanely

issuing instructions. He was a long time about it, and while he talked

in his bellowing, brutish voice, the girl sought some avenue of escape.

Stooping, she raised the bottom of the canvas and looked beneath and

beyond. There was no one in sight upon that side. Throwing herself upon

her stomach she wormed beneath the tent wall just as Malbihn, with a

final word to his men, entered the tent.

Meriem heard him cross the floor, and then she rose and, stooping low,

ran to a native hut directly behind. Once inside this she turned and

glanced back. There was no one in sight. She had not been seen. And now

from Malbihn’s tent she heard a great cursing. The Swede had discovered

the rifling of his box. He was shouting to his men, and as she heard

them reply Meriem darted from the hut and ran toward the edge of the

_boma_ furthest from Malbihn’s tent. Overhanging the _boma_ at this

point was a tree that had been too large, in the eyes of the

rest-loving blacks, to cut down. So they had terminated the _boma_ just

short of it. Meriem was thankful for whatever circumstance had resulted

in the leaving of that particular tree where it was, since it gave her

the much-needed avenue of escape which she might not otherwise have

had.

From her hiding place she saw Malbihn again enter the jungle, this time

leaving a guard of three of his boys in the camp. He went toward the

south, and after he had disappeared, Meriem skirted the outside of the

enclosure and made her way to the river. Here lay the canoes that had

been used in bringing the party from the opposite shore. They were

unwieldy things for a lone girl to handle, but there was no other way

and she must cross the river.

The landing place was in full view of the guard at the camp. To risk

the crossing under their eyes would have meant undoubted capture. Her

only hope lay in waiting until darkness had fallen, unless some

fortuitous circumstance should arise before. For an hour she lay

watching the guard, one of whom seemed always in a position where he

would immediately discover her should she attempt to launch one of the

canoes.

Presently Malbihn appeared, coming out of the jungle, hot and puffing.

He ran immediately to the river where the canoes lay and counted them.

It was evident that it had suddenly occurred to him that the girl must

cross here if she wished to return to her protectors. The expression of

relief on his face when he found that none of the canoes was gone was

ample evidence of what was passing in his mind. He turned and spoke

hurriedly to the head man who had followed him out of the jungle and

with whom were several other blacks.

Following Malbihn’s instructions they launched all the canoes but one.

Malbihn called to the guards in the camp and a moment later the entire

party had entered the boats and were paddling up stream.

Meriem watched them until a bend in the river directly above the camp

hid them from her sight. They were gone! She was alone, and they had

left a canoe in which lay a paddle! She could scarce believe the good

fortune that had come to her. To delay now would be suicidal to her

hopes. Quickly she ran from her hiding place and dropped to the ground.

A dozen yards lay between her and the canoe.

Up stream, beyond the bend, Malbihn ordered his canoes in to shore. He

landed with his head man and crossed the little point slowly in search

of a spot where he might watch the canoe he had left at the landing

place. He was smiling in anticipation of the almost certain success of

his stratagem—sooner or later the girl would come back and attempt to

cross the river in one of their canoes. It might be that the idea would

not occur to her for some time. They might have to wait a day, or two

days; but that she would come if she lived or was not captured by the

men he had scouting the jungle for her Malbihn was sure. That she would

come so soon, however, he had not guessed, and so when he topped the

point and came again within sight of the river he saw that which drew

an angry oath from his lips—his quarry already was half way across the

river.

Turning, he ran rapidly back to his boats, the head man at his heels.

Throwing themselves in, Malbihn urged his paddlers to their most

powerful efforts. The canoes shot out into the stream and down with the

current toward the fleeing quarry. She had almost completed the

crossing when they came in sight of her. At the same instant she saw

them, and redoubled her efforts to reach the opposite shore before they

should overtake her. Two minutes’ start of them was all Meriem cared

for. Once in the trees she knew that she could outdistance and elude

them. Her hopes were high—they could not overtake her now—she had had

too good a start of them.

Malbihn, urging his men onward with a stream of hideous oaths and blows

from his fists, realized that the girl was again slipping from his

clutches. The leading canoe, in the bow of which he stood, was yet a

hundred yards behind the fleeing Meriem when she ran the point of her

craft beneath the overhanging trees on the shore of safety.

Malbihn screamed to her to halt. He seemed to have gone mad with rage

at the realization that he could not overtake her, and then he threw

his rifle to his shoulder, aimed carefully at the slim figure

scrambling into the trees, and fired.

Malbihn was an excellent shot. His misses at so short a distance were

practically non-existent, nor would he have missed this time but for an

accident occurring at the very instant that his finger tightened upon

the trigger—an accident to which Meriem owed her life—the providential

presence of a water-logged tree trunk, one end of which was embedded in

the mud of the river bottom and the other end of which floated just

beneath the surface where the prow of Malbihn’s canoe ran upon it as he

fired. The slight deviation of the boat’s direction was sufficient to

throw the muzzle of the rifle out of aim. The bullet whizzed harmlessly

by Meriem’s head and an instant later she had disappeared into the

foliage of the tree.

There was a smile on her lips as she dropped to the ground to cross a

little clearing where once had stood a native village surrounded by its

fields. The ruined huts still stood in crumbling decay. The rank

vegetation of the jungle overgrew the cultivated ground. Small trees

already had sprung up in what had been the village street; but

desolation and loneliness hung like a pall above the scene. To Meriem,

however, it presented but a place denuded of large trees which she must

cross quickly to regain the jungle upon the opposite side before

Malbihn should have landed.

The deserted huts were, to her, all the better because they were

deserted—she did not see the keen eyes watching her from a dozen

points, from tumbling doorways, from behind tottering granaries. In

utter unconsciousness of impending danger she started up the village

street because it offered the clearest pathway to the jungle.

A mile away toward the east, fighting his way through the jungle along

the trail taken by Malbihn when he had brought Meriem to his camp, a

man in torn khaki—filthy, haggard, unkempt—came to a sudden stop as the

report of Malbihn’s rifle resounded faintly through the tangled forest.

The black man just ahead of him stopped, too.

“We are almost there, Bwana,” he said. There was awe and respect in his

tone and manner.

The white man nodded and motioned his ebon guide forward once more. It

was the Hon. Morison Baynes—the fastidious—the exquisite. His face and

hands were scratched and smeared with dried blood from the wounds he

had come by in thorn and thicket. His clothes were tatters. But through

the blood and the dirt and the rags a new Baynes shone forth—a

handsomer Baynes than the dandy and the fop of yore.

In the heart and soul of every son of woman lies the germ of manhood

and honor. Remorse for a scurvy act, and an honorable desire to right

the wrong he had done the woman he now knew he really loved had excited

these germs to rapid growth in Morison Baynes—and the metamorphosis had

taken place.

Onward the two stumbled toward the point from which the single rifle

shot had come. The black was unarmed—Baynes, fearing his loyalty had

not dared trust him even to carry the rifle which the white man would

have been glad to be relieved of many times upon the long march; but

now that they were approaching their goal, and knowing as he did that

hatred of Malbihn burned hot in the black man’s brain, Baynes handed

him the rifle, for he guessed that there would be fighting—he intended

that there should, for he had come to avenge. Himself, an excellent

revolver shot, would depend upon the smaller weapon at his side.

As the two forged ahead toward their goal they were startled by a

volley of shots ahead of them. Then came a few scattering reports, some

savage yells, and silence. Baynes was frantic in his endeavors to

advance more rapidly, but there the jungle seemed a thousand times more

tangled than before. A dozen times he tripped and fell. Twice the black

followed a blind trail and they were forced to retrace their steps; but

at last they came out into a little clearing near the big _afi_—a

clearing that once held a thriving village, but lay somber and desolate

in decay and ruin.

In the jungle vegetation that overgrew what had once been the main

village street lay the body of a black man, pierced through the heart

with a bullet, and still warm. Baynes and his companion looked about in

all directions; but no sign of living being could they discover. They

stood in silence listening intently.

What was that! Voices and the dip of paddles out upon the river?

Baynes ran across the dead village toward the fringe of jungle upon the

river’s brim. The black was at his side. Together they forced their way

through the screening foliage until they could obtain a view of the

river, and there, almost to the other shore, they saw Malbihn’s canoes

making rapidly for camp. The black recognized his companions

immediately.

“How can we cross?” asked Baynes.

The black shook his head. There was no canoe and the crocodiles made it

equivalent to suicide to enter the water in an attempt to swim across.

Just then the fellow chanced to glance downward. Beneath him, wedged

among the branches of a tree, lay the canoe in which Meriem had

escaped. The Negro grasped Baynes’ arm and pointed toward his find. The

Hon. Morison could scarce repress a shout of exultation. Quickly the

two slid down the drooping branches into the boat. The black seized the

paddle and Baynes shoved them out from beneath the tree. A second later

the canoe shot out upon the bosom of the river and headed toward the

opposite shore and the camp of the Swede. Baynes squatted in the bow,

straining his eyes after the men pulling the other canoes upon the bank

across from him. He saw Malbihn step from the bow of the foremost of

the little craft. He saw him turn and glance back across the river. He

could see his start of surprise as his eyes fell upon the pursuing

canoe, and called the attention of his followers to it.

Then he stood waiting, for there was but one canoe and two men—little

danger to him and his followers in that. Malbihn was puzzled. Who was

this white man? He did not recognize him though Baynes’ canoe was now

in mid stream and the features of both its occupants plainly

discernible to those on shore. One of Malbihn’s blacks it was who first

recognized his fellow black in the person of Baynes’ companion. Then

Malbihn guessed who the white man must be, though he could scarce

believe his own reasoning. It seemed beyond the pale of wildest

conjecture to suppose that the Hon. Morison Baynes had followed him

through the jungle with but a single companion—and yet it was true.

Beneath the dirt and dishevelment he recognized him at last, and in the

necessity of admitting that it was he, Malbihn was forced to recognize

the incentive that had driven Baynes, the weakling and coward, through

the savage jungle upon his trail.

The man had come to demand an accounting and to avenge. It seemed

incredible, and yet there could be no other explanation. Malbihn

shrugged. Well, others had sought Malbihn for similar reasons in the

course of a long and checkered career. He fingered his rifle, and

waited.

Now the canoe was within easy speaking distance of the shore.

“What do you want?” yelled Malbihn, raising his weapon threateningly.

The Hon. Morison Baynes leaped to his feet.

“You, damn you!” he shouted, whipping out his revolver and firing

almost simultaneously with the Swede.

As the two reports rang out Malbihn dropped his rifle, clutched

frantically at his breast, staggered, fell first to his knees and then

lunged upon his face. Baynes stiffened. His head flew back

spasmodically. For an instant he stood thus, and then crumpled very

gently into the bottom of the boat.

The black paddler was at a loss as to what to do. If Malbihn really

were dead he could continue on to join his fellows without fear; but

should the Swede only be wounded he would be safer upon the far shore.

Therefore he hesitated, holding the canoe in mid stream. He had come to

have considerable respect for his new master and was not unmoved by his

death. As he sat gazing at the crumpled body in the bow of the boat he

saw it move. Very feebly the man essayed to turn over. He still lived.

The black moved forward and lifted him to a sitting position. He was

standing in front of him, his paddle in one hand, asking Baynes where

he was hit when there was another shot from shore and the Negro pitched

head-long overboard, his paddle still clutched in his dead fingers—shot

through the forehead.

Baynes turned weakly in the direction of the shore to see Malbihn drawn

up upon his elbows levelling his rifle at him. The Englishman slid to

the bottom of the canoe as a bullet whizzed above him. Malbihn, sore

hit, took longer in aiming, nor was his aim as sure as formerly. With

difficulty Baynes turned himself over on his belly and grasping his

revolver in his right hand drew himself up until he could look over the

edge of the canoe.

Malbihn saw him instantly and fired; but Baynes did not flinch or duck.

With painstaking care he aimed at the target upon the shore from which

he now was drifting with the current. His finger closed upon the

trigger—there was a flash and a report, and Malbihn’s giant frame

jerked to the impact of another bullet.

But he was not yet dead. Again he aimed and fired, the bullet

splintering the gunwale of the canoe close by Baynes’ face. Baynes

fired again as his canoe drifted further down stream and Malbihn

answered from the shore where he lay in a pool of his own blood. And

thus, doggedly, the two wounded men continued to carry on their weird

duel until the winding African river had carried the Hon. Morison

Baynes out of sight around a wooded point.