They must propitiate this king, that was evident, in order to gain his
favour and their eventual liberty, for slaves they now undoubtedly were
to all intents and purposes.
So they set themselves to teach his people to build boats, and sail on
the great lake that occupied the centre of the plain; to make articles
of furniture and household utility generally; to till the ground and to
sow; and lastly, to cook the latter department belonged to Zona, and it
greatly pleased the king. It pleased him also to see his men drilled,
and to witness their deftness in rowing and sailing, but he saw not the
sense of sowing.
"Has not the Great Spirit," he said to Kenneth, "given us the fruits
that grow aloft on the trees, the fish in the water, and the beasts of
the field? what need we of more?"
But days rolled into weeks, and weeks into months. The prospect of
getting out of this king's country, either onward to the gold country,
or back towards the coast, seemed to get less and less bright.
'Ntango's men became good soldiers, adept spearsmen; formerly they could
send an arrow with terrible precision through a kind of blow-pipe into
the breast of a leopard or lion; now they were not afraid to attack
these creatures with the spear alone.
But these better soldiers of the king's were all the better able to
watch their prisoners; there was no end to the king's cunning. Many and
many a plan did Kenneth and his brothers in affliction fall upon to try
to effect their escape, but every one was frustrated.
"No," said the king to Kenneth,--"I love you so much now I cannot part
with you. You must live with me for ever and ever and ever."
This was, indeed, a dark prospect.
A whole year passed away; _the_ one comfort of their lives now rested in
the fact that they were permitted to enjoy each other's company. They
had built quite a splendid bungalow for themselves, and surrounded it
with a beautiful compound and gardens, in which the most delightful
flowers bloomed, and where grew the most delicious fruit. Under other
circumstances their lives would really have been enjoyable. Wild sports
they had also in abundance, and fishing and boating both by lake and on
the river, but on these excursions one hundred of the king's trustiest
spearmen always accompanied them, and their bungalow was surrounded by a
palisade that _they_ did not build, and for ever guarded by sentries
they could not elude.
One good for these poor people Kenneth did effect; he had a
meeting-house built, and therein, Sabbath after Sabbath, he taught them
to read and to pray, just as he had taught good Essequibo.
It was not long before the king found out Kenneth's powers as a
musician, and at first it was hard on Kenneth, for he was kept playing
from morning till night for weeks.
Music lost its power to some extent over the king at length, and
latterly it was but rarely he sent for his musician to play. Nor had
'Ntango much of an ear for melody, for Kenneth manufactured a score of
"chanters" out of pieces of cane, and taught a score of savages to make
an unearthly kind of noise in all kinds of keys; and this pleased the
king quite as much as the flute.
Archie thought of a plan at last to get a brief holiday. The first
intimation of it was given the king by Essequibo. All the white men, he
told him one morning, were ill and dying, and nothing would cure them
but permission to explore the country to the nor'-west, the land where
gold lay.
The king graciously gave his permission, and the expedition, well
guarded, started to prospect for gold. After days and days of toil and
travel they reached the El Dorado.
Disappointment and nothing else. Gold there was, but not for the
gathering; it was deeply imbedded in veins of quartz, and the strongest
machinery would be needed to work it.
Diamonds there were none.
Their gloom increased now. Their hopes of finding fortune had been but
a youthful dream, and had ended in making them prisoners to a wild and
despotic savage.
If there was any one ray now to illuminate their darkness and despair,
it lay in the fact that their visit to the land of darkness had not been
quite in vain; they had sowed the seeds of righteousness, and who could
say what fruit these might not bear in after-times?
They tried now to make the best of their position, and take things as
they came, determined, however, if a chance should arise, to seek safety
in flight at all hazards. The river was not far away, and their boat
and spare ammunition still lay intact and handy.
Nearly two years passed away.
One night they had retired to their bungalow early. It was Archie's
birthday, and they were going to have a big talk about home.
It was long past twelve o'clock before they thought of lying down. Ere
they undressed they went for a walk as usual in their garden, to breathe
the odour of the flowers, which the dews of evening never failed to draw
out.
The moon was high in the heavens, looking like a little burnished shield
in the blue sky, and dimming the light of the thousand twinkling stars.
Suddenly from every direction there arose a muttering startled cry,
which presently increased to a yell. Smoke, too, began to roll across
the sky, increasing every moment, while tongues of flame leaped higher
and higher.
They listened thunderstruck.
"Logobo--Logobo--Logobo!" That was the terrible cry.
"Heaven be praised!" cried Kenneth. "Now, boys, now, _men_, our time
has come for freedom or for death. Follow me!"
He grasped his rifle as he spoke, and rushed out. The sentries had
fled.
The whole village was in flames, and in the lurid glare, hand to hand in
deathly combat, struggled two tribes of savages.
It was no business of our heroes, however. They rushed onwards through
the _melee_, and in a very short time had reached and shouldered their
boat.
One hour after, the din of the conflict was muffled in the distance,
miles away, and Kenneth and his companions were safe on the river.
They were not free yet, however. Swiftly down the river they sped,
racing onwards at all hazards. Daylight found them far away, but not
safe. All the country they passed through gave token of the march into
the interior of the Logobo men. The villages by the banks were
fire-blackened ruins, swollen corpses floated here and there, and
half-charred spars.
A week of fearful toil and anxiety, during which they had more
adventures and hair-breadth escapes than I could describe in a goodly
volume, brought them to the edge of the Logobo land. And here redoubled
caution was needed. They could not rush it, as they had done the other
part of the river. They must resort to their old tactics of hiding by
day and pursuing their way adown the unknown river in the silence of
night.
But three days of this work had almost set them free. It was the very
last day of their hiding, and near sunset. They had determined to start
early, and were longing for six o'clock and speedy darkness. Lower and
lower went the sun. Already the gloom of the short twilight was
settling down on the still forest, and beasts of prey were beginning to
wake up, and yawn--and a fearful sound it is to listen to--when suddenly
into the clearing where they stood strutted a Logobo savage in war
array.
The yell he gave awakened a thousand others on every side. The whole
forest was alive with savages apparently.
"Ping, ping," from Archie's revolver, and down dropped the Logobo
warrior.
"Quick, men, quick," cried Kenneth, "to boat, to boat!"
Ah! none too soon; hardly had they launched their frail craft and
embarked, ere a flight of spears came from the bush, and poor Essequibo
fell.
The gathering darkness favoured them, and they were soon beyond the
reach of danger.
Two hours after, the moon had risen; its rays brightened the woods and
rocks and sparkled on the river.
Poor Keebo lay in the bottom of the boat across Zona's knee, his face
upturned to the sky.
His life was ebbing fast away.
Near him knelt Kenneth, holding his cold hand.
"I'se goin', good-bye," murmured the dying lad. "I'se goin' to de
land--ob sunshine. I see poor mudder soon."
"Keebo," said Kenneth, "you know me?"
"Ess, dear Massa Kennie."
"Now, say after me. O Lord!"
"`O Lor'!'"
"Receive poor Keebo's soul."
"`Poor Keebo's soul.'"
"For the blessed Jesu's sake."
"`De bressed Jesu's sake.'"
There was just one little painful quiver of the limbs, then a gentle
soughing sigh, and--Keebo was gone.