"The sahibs must dismount here", said Hassan shortly afterwards, and
following to the ground our guide, we began to climb the mountain path
which stretched before us. The ascent was exceedingly steep, and several
times we stopped to rest after pushing our way through the tangled
masses which almost hid the path, which was itself cut here and there
apparently through the rocky strata. When we had reached about
three-fourths of our journey Hassan stopped and pointed out to us one of
the thatched roofs of a hut, which seemed in the distance scarcely
noticeable until his keen eyesight discovered it. The village, we found,
lay a little to the left of the mountain path, for on nearing the summit
we found ourselves passing through a peculiar avenue of trees
interspersed with long bamboo poles. From the tops of the latter there
were stretched across the approach strong, rough-looking cords, which
supported various uncouth emblems, and among which were large triangles,
circles, and stars, cut apparently out of the stems of huge bamboos.
After traversing this avenue for nearly three hundred yards we saw the
tree trunks which Hassan had mentioned, and which were deeply scarred
with cabalistic messages to the fierce Nat, which we could not of course
understand. Affixed to some of the trees farther on we saw a number of
spears and dahs mingled with shorter weapons, the latter being made of
some species of hard wood, and close to them we observed the skulls of
several large animals, one of which we judged was that of an elephant.
[Illustration: "THE AVENUE."]
In spite of the fact that the village was a large one, the buildings
were of a very primitive construction, being made of bamboos with
thatched coverings, reaching almost to the piles on which the huts were
placed. We did not observe any openings made to serve as windows, the
only ones noticeable being those by which the Kachyens entered, placed
above a bamboo ladder, which seemed to, serve instead of steps. Although
the sun had scarcely set, the village was wrapped in a strange silence,
the sound of our footsteps alone being heard. The smoke that seemed to
be forcing its way through stray holes in the thatch amply convinced us,
however, that the inhabitants were within doors, and, turning to our
Arab guide, I asked him if he could distinguish among the many huts the
one in which we expected to find the Maw-Sayah. He seemed a little
uncertain at first, but after wandering through the village together we
returned, and then Hassan, who had been very observant the whole time,
pointed to one of the rudely-constructed huts and said:--
"I think that is the one into which we seek to enter; it is situated
according to the position in which the Kachyen said it was, and,
besides, it bears a strange proof of the story which ye have listened to
with such ill-concealed disbelief."
"Why do you think that is the hut, Hassan?" I asked, for, to my eyes, no
difference between that and the others close to it was distinguishable.
"If the sahib will look at the bamboo ladder and observe it carefully,
he will see that it is unlike the others round," said the Arab.
"I suppose you refer to these deep scratches upon it, don't you,
Hassan?" asked Denviers, as he pointed to some marks, a few of which
were apparently fairly recent.
"The sahib guesses rightly," answered our guide. "You will remember that
the Kachyen stated to me that the Nat is accustomed to obtain its victim
now from the abode of the Maw-Sayah; those marks, then, have been made
by it when it dragged its human prey out of the hut." We gazed curiously
at the marks for a few minutes, then Denviers broke the silence by
asking the Arab why it was that the Nat made marks at all.
"I should have thought that such a powerful spirit could prevent such
evidences of its presence becoming observed," he continued. "My respect
for it is certainly not increased by seeing those deep scars; they seem
to be made by something which has sharp claws."
"That is because of the shape which it has assumed, sahib," said the
Arab, "for the Nats have wondrous powers----"
"Very likely, Hassan," interposed Denviers; "I suppose they can do
exactly what they like, can they not?" I was much surprised at the limit
which was, however, placed upon their powers by our guide, for he
responded quickly:--
"Not altogether, sahib. There is one thing that a Nat cannot do,
according to the reports of these Kachyens, and that is, they are unable
to move in a direction which is not straight, and hence they are careful
to avoid rough ground, where tangled masses and boulders bar their
progress, so they usually frequent the open avenues, such as the one
which we have just passed through. The symbols above it and the writings
and weapons are all for the Nat's benefit."
"And the elephant's skull?" asked Denviers, irreverently. "What is that
put up for?" The Arab, however, had an explanation ready, for he
promptly replied:--
"That indicates where the supplies of food are to be found when the Nat
requires any." Denviers turned to me for a moment as he said:--
"I should have thought it a good plan, then, to have put it upon the hut
of this Maw-Sayah whom we are about to interview. See that your weapons
are in good order, Harold, we may soon need them." Giving a cautious
look at my belt and the weapons thrust into it, I followed Denviers, who
had mounted the short bamboo ladder, and was endeavouring to obtain
admission to the hut. We heard a harsh sound within, then the cry of
someone apparently terror-stricken, and a moment afterwards we had
pushed past the Maw-Sayah, who by no means was willing to allow us to
enter the rude dwelling.
The single room, which seemed to constitute the hut, was extremely low
and bare of furniture entirely. A few bamboos were spread in one part of
it, while at the far end was a fire, the light from which was partly
obscured by the smoke, which almost suffocated us, so thickly did it
roll up and then spread through the hut. Near the door stood a man
scarcely clothed, upon whose face we saw a look of the most abject
terror, for, as we surmised, the noise of our entry was mistaken by him
for the approach of the fell thing to which he was condemned by the
Maw-Sayah. We moved towards the latter as he threw himself down by the
fire, which he had only left to see who it was that came unbidden to the
hut where to enter was the preceding event to death. He was clothed in a
long blue strip of linen, which wound round his waist and covered his
body, partly leaving his dark chest uncovered. His features were stamped
with an appearance of supreme cunning, his oblique eyes reminding us of
a Chinaman, while the fierce look in them as they glared at us from
either side of an aquiline nose, which betrayed his Burmese descent, did
not increase our confidence in the man as he stretched out his bony
hands over the fire as if for warmth, although outside the hut we had
found the heat almost insupportable.
"What do ye seek?" he demanded, as he looked into our faces in turn and
seemed astonished at our strange features.
"We are travellers who wished to see a Kachyen village," responded
Denviers, "and we further desired to see some of its inhabitants; but
as none were visible we entered this hut, even against your will. Where
are the people who dwell here?" The man whom my companion addressed
pointed to the Kachyen near the doorway, as he responded:--
"There is one of them, and in a short time even he will never be seen
again."
[Illustration: "WHAT DO YE SEEK?"]
"Can you give us food?" hazarded Hassan, in order to get the man to
continue his conversation, for the Arab evidently was expecting that the
Nat would soon arrive upon the scene. The Maw-Sayah rose and pointed to
the entrance as he cried:--
"That way ye came, that way shall ye depart. Food for ye I have not, nor
would I give it if I had." I turned to Denviers and said in a low
tone:--
"What shall we do, Frank? I don't think our opportunity of seeing what
may transpire will be as good within the hut as without it. Whatever the
solution is to this affair, if we are outside we shall see this Kachyen
dragged away, and may further watch the approach of whatever caused
those strange marks which we observed."
"One thing is clear," said my companion, "we will attempt to save this
intended victim, at all events. I expect that if we tried we could get
him away easily enough, but that plan would not be of much service. We
must attack this being, whatever it is, with which this Maw-Sayah is
leagued. How I should like to hand him over as a victim instead of that
trembling captive by the door. It shows to what extent this juggler has
acquired power over this tribe, for I notice that his captive is
unbound, and is certainly a much finer built man than the other."
"It wants less than an hour to dusk, sahibs," said Hassan, who had
listened carefully to our remarks; "if we were to station ourselves a
little away from the hut we could see what took place, and if the Nat
were mortal we might attack it."
Denviers shrugged his shoulders at the Arab's supposition as he
responded:--
"There is little doubt, Hassan, that the Nat would smart if that keen
blade of yours went a little too near it, but I think your plan is a
good one, and we will adopt it, as it falls in with what has already
been said." We gave a final look at the crafty face of the man who was
still seated by the fire, and then brushing past the captive we made for
the open village again.
"I feel sorry for this Kachyen," said Denviers. "He will have a dreadful
five minutes of it, I expect; but it is our only way of preventing, if
possible, such an affair from occurring again." On leaving the hut we
stationed ourselves almost opposite to it, and then began to keep watch.
What we should see pass up the avenue we could only surmise, but our
suppositions certainly did not lead us to imagine in the faintest degree
the sight which before long was destined to completely startle us.