THE CRUELTY OF TUMWAH.
It was the seventh year since the great drought. Choflo, headman,
sorcerer and oracle of the Cantanas, scanned the brassy sky and smote his
breast with clenched fists.
"Tumwah is angry," he muttered to the members of the tribe who were
huddled in a cowering group several paces to his rear. "The heavens tell
me so; the curling leaves whisper the sickening message. Yesterday I saw
the nest of a partridge; where there should have been four eggs there
were six, for in this manner the knowing bird provides against the
coming destruction, hoping that of the larger brood some one will
survive. Five of her young may die but one will remain to carry on her
species."
"And today," Oomah, youngest but most fearless of the hunters panted, "I
pursued a she-pig in the forest. Three young were running at her heels
instead of two."
"The signs do not lie," Choflo returned. "Look! See how the sand in the
islands and on the riverbank is cracking! Tumwah is angry. Soon his
fiery breath will sweep the green earth, parching the vegetation,
searing our flesh and leaving death and destruction in its wake. Long
days of suffering are coming."
No one spoke. But the Indians looked heavenward with terror in their
eyes and trembled more violently than before.
"We must try to ward off the catastrophe; and failing in that, we must
prepare for the worst. Let the corrals be well stocked with turtles and
fill the calabashes with the oil of their eggs. A sacrifice must be made
to Tumwah. Tonight, a crocodile shall be killed and eaten in his honor.
Everyone must partake of it. And if the God of Drought be pleased with
the offering a sign from heaven will show itself. If it displeases
him--woe to all living things that walk the earth."
The group dissolved itself. The people silently went to their shelters
of palm-leaves dotting the sandbar that extended far out into the river.
* * * * *
Warruk, the Jaguar, was no longer a cub. Four seasons of rain had come
and gone since his advent into the world in the hollow cottonwood in the
windfall. The erstwhile kitten, playing in the entrance to the cavity
that had proved an irresistible attraction to Myla, the monkey, and to
her sorrow, had grown into a creature of great size and powerful build,
capable of more than holding his own with any other denizen of the
jungle. Seen from a distance his coat was of a glossy, jet black color;
but a close inspection would have revealed a regular pattern of rosettes
similar to that marking the coats of his tawny brethren. The spots were
very faint, however, like the watermarks on paper.
In the forest he reigned supreme, fearing nothing but feared by all; the
same was true in the pantenales. Where the interlocking branches of the
trees formed a canopy that shut out the moonlight he moved like a
specter in the blackness. In the open country his shadowy form was
equally inconspicuous. Quick and terrible were his attacks. Like an
avalanche he descended upon his victims, seemingly from nowhere, but
with a violence and ferocity that bore down and crushed and rent all at
the same time, and with a suddenness that prevented escape or
resistance.
So far Warruk had not ventured into the lower regions of the pantenal
country--that vast world of marshlands, swampy forest islands and pampas
bordering the great river compared to which the streams he had been
accustomed to frequent in the upper reaches were but rippling brooks.
Suma, his mother, had warned him against the region below her own
well-defined hunting grounds. Once, exactly seven years before, while
the world writhed and baked in the throes of the last great drought she
had been compelled to venture into the unknown land. The streams and
lagoons had dried; those of the animals that did not perish outright
migrated, and Suma had followed the living stream as a matter of
self-preservation for, without food and water, life could not be
sustained. But the venture had proved painful in at least one respect
for men dwelt along the border of the master river, and in the very
first encounter with them Suma had suffered the loss of one ear--neatly
shorn from her head by the broad, bamboo blade of a Cantana arrow. She
was glad to escape even with such sacrifice; but she never forgot the
injury. The haunts of the man-creatures were avoided thereafter, as well
as their trails and everything else that savored of them. This dread she
had tried to impart to her offspring.
In the height of his powers, Warruk was ready to ignore the warning.
Then, too, the sun now shone with an unusual brilliancy; fiery tongues
from the sky seemed to lap up the water in the lakes and marshes,
leaving nothing but vast areas of cracked and peeling mudflats
sprinkled with brown, withered reeds that were a pitiful reminder of the
waving expanses of green where the red-headed blackbirds had trilled
their cheery song.
The drying-up process was gradual, yet swift. The crocodiles sensed its
coming and buried themselves deep in the mud to æstivate until the
coming of the rainy season; also the lung-fishes, queer little creatures
resembling tadpoles, which could live week after week under the hard
crust with only a pinhole in the surface through which to breathe.
As the water receded, the finny tribe proper imprisoned in the
landlocked bodies became more and more crowded. They struggled in
frantic masses, churning up the mud from the bottom so that the liquid
in which they swam was thick and black. The smaller ones attacked one
another savagely tearing at fin and tail; and the larger devoured their
mutilated remains in the mad struggle to prolong life. But there came
the day of complete annihilation when there was not water enough left
to support the survivors; they slid feebly through the mire, threw
themselves clear of it onto the sun-baked mudflats surrounding it, and
then died.
The hordes that perished were numberless. And the stench of the decaying
masses that dotted the country for hundreds upon hundreds of miles hung
over the pantenales like a pall.
Tumwah was indeed angry! His fiery breath had indeed swept the green
earth, parching and devastating it. And Warruk, even if the urge to
explore and to conquer new fields were not impelling him, fled the
scenes of desolation and guided by instinct made for the broad river
where food and water must be abundant.
Both by day and by night he travelled, stopping for a short rest only
during the early morning hours. Nor was he alone. Others of the larger
creatures, terrified, hungry and thirsty were heading in the same
direction, and of them he took a heavy toll.
The first sight of green trees fringing the horizon beyond the
seemingly endless expanse of brown came as a blessed relief. Upon
reaching it, Warruk found it a veritable oasis in the desert. The
vanguard of the unusual migration had already reached the spot and it
teemed with life.
The forest island covered many acres. There were deep, black pools in
the unbroken shade; stealthy deer, tapirs, peccaries, and agoutis moved
like shadows among the columnar trunks. A stream led from it into the
distance that appeared greener and still more cheerful. Overhead, in the
gnarled branches and leafy boughs were scores of snowy birds, egrets
that had chosen the place for a nesting site. Some of them squatted on
frail stick platforms; others sat motionless on the tips of the
branches. Steady streams were coming and going constantly, resembling
giant snowflakes that glistened and twinkled as the white wings fanned
the air.
Warruk looked at them longingly for, to him a bird was a bird, and he
remembered the tender partridges of more bountiful days. However, there
were other creatures to supply his fare and for a week he revelled in
the abundance.
Then the desire to push further and further into the unknown again came
with an overwhelming insistency and he turned his face eastward where
the grass was greener and low clouds hung like garlands of red and gold
upon the horizon.
The stream of birds from the rookery was flying in the same direction.
Soon he discovered its goal--a marsh of considerable extent which was
the feeding-ground. Numbers of the long-legged egrets were wading in the
shallow water, stopping now and then to dart their long, sharp bills
into the throngs of fish dashing about their feet. Others stood
motionless on the margin, like statuettes hewn out of purest marble;
though seemingly dozing, they were very much on the alert as Warruk
discovered when he tried to stalk one of them. He could never approach
closer than a dozen good paces before the bird flapped away to the
other side of the marsh, so after repeated trials he gave up the attempt
and continued his journey.
The country beyond the marsh grew constantly greener and of a more
cheerful character and the air of mystery surrounding the unknown
deepened as he ventured further from the oasis. But life was not so
abundant and the animals living under conditions varying little from the
normal were more wary. So, after a few days of wandering and exploration
Warruk returned to the spot so densely populated by the creatures that
had fled before the drought. They were there still; in fact, many
newcomers had been added to their number. As before, they moved
noiselessly in the deep shadows and drank of the black water in the
silent pools. But something about the place had changed. It differed in
some respect from the haven of a few days before. Warruk sensed the
change but at first could not discover what it was further than to note
an offensive odor that penetrated into even the most hidden recesses.
He sniffed the air in all directions; the stench came from overhead.
It was then he noted that the white birds that had made the treetops
their home were no more. Also the lines of twinkling wings linking the
nesting site with the marsh in which they fed were lacking. The place
seemed strangely deserted and unnatural without their hoarse croaks and
flashing bodies among the green leaves.
However, newcomers to the locality had taken their place. Huge, black
birds circled over the forest island. Gaunt, dusky forms sat ghoul-like
on the stick platforms that had been nests filled with impatient,
squealing young birds, or flapped heavily and clumsily through the
branches.
The oasis, now reeking of desolation far more than did the upper country
when Tumwah descended upon it, had been deprived of its attractiveness
and Warruk lost no time in leaving it. He followed the little
watercourse straight to the marsh. And there new experiences awaited
him.
The borders of the reed-dotted water were flecked with white. That much
he saw from a distance. Of course it was the egrets and their presence
here explained their absence in the treetops. But, why were they all so
motionless? Before, he had been unable to approach to within a dozen
paces of them! Now, not one stirred although he was less than half that
distance away and the slight wind that blew ruffled their feathers in a
most peculiar manner. He drew still nearer. Then it dawned upon him that
they were dead. Rafts of fish, also dead, floating on the surface of the
water dotted the edges of the marsh. And, strangest of all, queer
footprints were visible in the mud. They were unlike any Warruk had ever
seen--long, broad, and giving off a strange scent. He sniffed the tracks
and followed them entirely around the marsh to the river. There they
disappeared at the water's edge.
For once the Jaguar broke his rule not to eat anything he had not
killed. The birds for which he had longed were irresistible so,
cat-like, he picked one up in his mouth, carried it away a short
distance, and then, finding it not too rank, ate it. After that he
started to get another one. Like the one he had just eaten, the bird had
been mutilated by some ruthless hand; a part of its back had been torn
away. Warruk started off with the prize in his mouth but before he had
taken many steps a strange feeling came over him. A shudder passed over
his powerful frame and he became violently ill. He dropped the bird he
was carrying and rushing to the stream drank greedily, for a burning
thirst had now taken possession of him; and then followed nausea so
violent that it left him all but lifeless.
How many hours he lay on the bank of the stream, too sick to move, none
can tell; but it was many. Again and again he regained his senses long
enough to lap up water in great gulps and that always seemed, at least
partially, to quench the fire that was consuming him within. When a
measure of relief finally came he crawled weakly from the neighborhood,
determined never to visit it again.
In some manner Warruk connected his predicament with the new tracks in
the mud and the strange scent they conveyed. And he was right, for the
first time in his life he had come upon the trail of man, and upon man's
handiwork in all its most pitiless destructiveness.
What had happened was this: A party of plume hunters had discovered the
feeding-ground of the egrets; had gathered up great quantities of the
imprisoned fish and after poisoning them had redistributed them over the
surface of the water. The birds ate and died. Then the men returned,
stripped the plumes from their luckless victims and departed in their
canoes. The young in the platform nests in the forest island called in
vain for their elders and for the food they brought, at first lustily,
then feebly until they starved to death. Then the vultures came, making
a loathsome feast on the bodies of the little creatures that had
perished so miserably. The work of extermination was complete.
Warruk advanced slowly and cautiously for now he knew that in the
strange country danger lurked--danger of a kind unknown to him and of a
subtle quality. If the creatures whose footprints he had seen and with
whose scent the border of the marsh was redolent could outwit the wary
birds that had always eluded him, what surprise might not they hold in
store for him?
But, there was that insistent urge that bade him advance. And, too,
Tumwah was stretching his devastating hand toward the lower country. The
animals that had found a temporary refuge in the oasis were moving
onward also, for the water in the pools was vanishing and the vegetation
began to droop. Day by day the sun's rays grew more intense until it
seemed they must set the world afire.
Two weeks later Warruk reached the margin of the great river that wound
its sluggish way through a strip of forested country hugging its banks.
But, mighty stream though it was, it had not been spared the wrath of
Tumwah's onslaught. Where ordinarily a wide expanse of water greeted the
eye, stretching in a ruffled, brown sheet to the dimly outlined fringe
of palms on the distant bank, there was now a series of sun-baked
sandbars several miles wide and many, many miles long. The river, still
of imposing width, flowed through a channel in the center of the sandy
wastes but bore little resemblance to its former awe-inspiring grandeur.
Flocks of gulls and skimmers flew shrieking and wheeling in masses
overhead or ran excitedly over the sand. Crocodiles, too, were in
evidence, for here there were water and food so there was not the need
to bury themselves in the mud and in a semi-conscious condition await
the coming of a friendlier season, as did their fellows in the inland
country.
It was indeed a new and strange world veiled with an impenetrable air of
mystery and romance.
At night the stars glimmered with an uncanny brightness. The vast
sandbanks, heretofore peopled only by the shrieking birds and rows of
crocodiles, assumed a different and even more animated appearance. For,
with nightfall turtles in legion forsook their abode on the muddy
river-bottom and sought the hot sand to lay their eggs. The shuffle of
their feet and the scraping of their heavy shells was audible some
distance away in a muffled conglomeration of sounds. They moved rather
rapidly for such cumbersome creatures and made quickly for the highest
points in the sandy wastes where with much effort a hole was scooped and
the eggs deposited; then the excavation was neatly filled. The turtles
hurried back to the water to remain in the depths of the muddy river
until the following year.
Warruk looked in amazement at the seething mass of life.
"_Ca-urgh, ca-urgh, ca-urgh, urgh, urgh, urgh_," a gruff, coughing roar
pierced the still night air from near the deep channel and Warruk's
muscles tensed as he listened to the sound. It was the voice of one of
his kind. An instant later his own voice rang loud and sharp in answer
to the challenge and he started across the crumbling sand toward the
water. In the distance a dark form loomed up, motionless as a statue and
Warruk too stopped the moment he beheld the stranger. Then the latter
raised his head skyward and again the roar, savage, spiteful and
bespeaking rage shattered the air. What right had this newcomer to
intrude on his hunting-ground?
Warruk noted the smaller size of the resentful one; also that his coat
was, of course, spotted. He listened patiently until the roar had ended.
Then, with a mighty bellow he strode slowly toward his challenger.
The latter stood his ground for a moment. But suddenly he perceived the
color of the intruder and that one look was all that was required.
Without taking a second he dashed to the river, plunged into the water
and swam for the other side. Members of his tribe, of his own spotted
color he feared not and was ready to battle with at any time. But, when
the apparition of a _black_ individual appeared he retreated
frantically, relinquishing his choice feeding-ground without a show of
resentment or any desire to question the newcomer's status.
So it had been always. The other jaguars shunned Warruk because they
feared him. And being thus made an outcast intensified the black one's
naturally savage and truculent disposition.
Warruk hurled a bellow of ridicule after the fugitive and then turned
his attention to the food bedecking the sand.
One blow on the head was sufficient to end the earthly career of the
largest turtle but the bony armor encasing the body was not so easy to
dispose of; it required a number of powerful strokes of the great, armed
paws to crush the plates or break them apart and thus make accessible
the flesh within.
Those nights on the sandflats flanking the great silent river were full
of alluring enchantments. Never had the moon shed such velvety, silvery
light; never had the stars flashed with such supernatural brightness;
nor had meteorites drawn such lines of fiery brilliance across the
heavens.
The days were hot. In fact, the sun seemed to dart out tongues of fire
that threatened to lap up all the water in the mighty river. But,
throughout the night a gentle breeze stirred near the border of the
stream reviving the life that gathered at the haven of refuge and
plenty.
Warruk was now master of all. He strode across the sandy wastes with
majestic steps and swaying head. None questioned his position or
disputed his way. And when, as sometimes happened, a challenging cry
rang out across the water from some distant inlet and his own hoarse
voice was raised in answer to the roar, it was never repeated. News
travels fast in the wilderness, and in a mysterious way. And his
presence was known far and wide and he was avoided accordingly. So he
went his way, feasting on the turtles and their eggs which he soon
learned to dig out of their hiding places, and on the fish that came up
into the shallow water to spawn and which were so easy to catch.
Then, one night the great thrill of his life came. Far, far down the
river Warruk saw a light. Was it possible that one of the stars had
fallen from overhead to take up its abode on the earth? Had one of the
streamers of fire that criss-crossed the sky landed on the sand to
flicker out its life?
No! The stars above flashed as insolently as ever and their piercing
shafts of light were of a steel-blue color; the meteorites still
streaked their orange-red trails across the curtain of black. But this
light in the distance, growing constantly brighter, was a deep red. It
was different from anything he had ever seen. It seemed to beckon to him
and for many minutes he stood gazing at it, trying to fathom its
meaning.
If Warruk had only known! The bright light might be said to represent
his own star at its zenith. He had reached the parting of the ways. In
the height of his development and powers he could either maintain his
supremacy of the wilderness for years to come or risk everything in
battle with creatures of superior intelligence who possessed a high
degree of cunning, who fought unfairly and of whom he knew nothing. What
hope of survival had he, or any of the inhabitants of the wilderness in
such unequal combat?
Warruk looked steadfastly at the light flickering on the riverbank, far,
far away. He turned his gaze in the other direction where lay the untold
miles of untrodden wastes that were his kingdom, to have and to hold so
long as he chose. He faced the river; the turtle battalions were
emerging from the water as before, causing scarcely a ripple. Again he
looked at the fire, took a few steps toward it, halted, sniffed the air,
and checked a roar that welled up in his throat. He had reached a
decision.
If there were new worlds to conquer he would invade them, fearless,
determined and confident. He reckoned not on man, the unknown, and had
he known it is not improbable but that he should have acted exactly as
he did. For, what is all life but a game of chance? And what is chance
but a disguise for opportunity?
The first steps toward the fire had been taken. The die had been cast.
Fate had stepped into Warruk's life and while luring him onward, baited
with the promise of adventure the hard path that lay ahead.
Daylight was just breaking when the black Jaguar reached the vicinity of
the blaze. The fire, replenished throughout the hours of darkness, had
guided him unerringly on his way; but with the coming of dawn it had
been allowed to dwindle down until nothing remained but a bed of embers
and even these died when the sun shot over the horizon.
The place reeked of an uncommon though not unknown odor and the sand was
trodden into paths by long, broad feet. Once before he had come upon the
same tracks and scent; and it came to him in a flash that it had been
along the border of the marsh and near the stream flowing out of it
where the dead egrets lay in heaps and rows, their feathers ruffled by
the wind. And the recollection also came of the illness he had suffered
as the result of eating of the birds. The creatures that could work such
havoc among the shy egrets and the after-effects of whose presence was
violent sickness, were not to be taken too lightly and Warruk felt a
distrust of the insidious power they must possess.
He circled the place, once, twice, in search of further clues to the
strange inhabitants. They were not lacking in the form of heaps of
turtle shells, bones, feathers, fish scales and numerous other objects.
But, of the creatures themselves he saw nothing. His keen ears, however
caught the sound of deep breathing that came from a group of
leaf-thatched shelters dotting the sand.
Warruk lingered about the encampment until the sun was well above the
treetops. Then he entered the edge of the thick cover bordering the flat
stretch where the strange creatures dwelt and which was the beginning
of the forest. The wind, blowing the sand before it in rippling waves,
soon filled the imprints of his massive feet and obliterated all trace
of his visit. And this was on the very night following the gathering of
the Indians when Choflo, headman, had announced that the wrath of
Tumwah, God of Drought, was about to descend upon the land.
* * * * *
The crocodile had been slain by the hunters and its skin removed with
much ceremony. The head, with its leering expression and long rows of
peg-like teeth was raised on a pole in the center of the encampment. The
flesh of the reptile was roasted at night. A great fire was kindled and
as the flames mounted skyward they threw a red glow upon the dusky faces
of the Indians. Not in seven years had such a huge fire been made and
its glare could be seen many miles up and down the river, in regions
never penetrated by the watch or cooking fires. It was this light that
Warruk had seen as he patrolled his beat and that had lured him from
the country he knew to the region inhabited by ruthless man.
After the thick sections of white flesh had been roasted until they
resembled charcoal they were raked out with long poles. Everyone partook
in silence--grim silence that was ominous. And after a while Choflo
danced a sacred dance around the fire. He wore an anklet of dried seeds
that rattled above his right foot; as he stepped over the sand in rhythm
with the music of a wind instrument made of a long-necked calabash, and
the thrumming of a snake-skin drum played by two assistants, he called
upon Tumwah to look down upon them and to pity their unhappy plight.
Then both dancer and feasters went quietly to their shelters and the
fire was allowed to die down.
Daylight, as always, came with an appalling suddenness and soon the sun
was high in the heavens with searing rays that transfixed the earth as
relentlessly as before. Tumwah had not taken note of the sacrifice. He
was more than angry; he was enraged, for his onslaught was more
terrible than ever. Even at this early hour the heat-waves danced and
quivered in the still air in a blinding, confusing manner.
The men departed from the camping site while the day was young. They
pushed their long, narrow, dugout canoes into the water, clambered
aboard, took up the short paddles and pushed to the other side which had
not, as yet, been despoiled of its buried treasures. There they fell to
work probing the sand with sharpened sticks and when it yielded easily
to the thrust they dug with their hands until the pocket containing the
oblong, tough-skinned eggs had been uncovered. These they gathered into
baskets to be emptied into the canoes so fast as they were filled. All
day long they toiled giving not a thought to the women and children who
had been left behind.
Warruk, from his place of concealment in the border of the thick jungle
had not for a moment taken his eyes from the human habitations. He had
seen the men emerge from the shelters and paddle away. And he marvelled
at the strange creatures that were taller than any of the animals of the
forest or plain and that walked on two feet. He felt no antagonism
toward them, no desire to attack or slay. He was overawed, for he could
not comprehend them and that filled him with a burning curiosity to know
more about them, to see them at closer range.
So long as the queer creatures were present in numbers he dared not show
himself for he well remembered his experience with the peccary herd
whose strength lay in numbers.
The long awaited opportunity came toward mid-afternoon. From the
collection of huts, crackling and warping in the heat came a solitary
form. It was not unlike the others that had appeared earlier in the day
except that it was very much smaller and seemed to walk with uncertain
steps.
The little man-creature faltered to the shady side of one of the
shelters and sat down. Then it began to dig in the sand and toss
handfuls of it up into the air.
Warruk watched with glowing eyes. Here was his opportunity. Almost
before he knew it he had slipped out of the thick cover and was gliding
shadow-like across the sandbar. So silent and so stealthy were his
movements that the child was not aware of his approach, and even when he
halted and crouched low not more than ten paces away his presence still
was unsuspected.
In his turn, the Jaguar was so interested, so fascinated by the child
that he was oblivious to all else. Had he been suffering from hunger his
intentions might have been different. But with food so plentiful, the
thought of attack had not even occurred to him.
Mata, mother of the child soon missed her offspring and went in search
of it. She suppressed a scream of terror as she took in the scene of the
great, black beast apparently about to spring and dashed back into the
shelter for the long, keen-bladed knife that was always kept handy for
any emergency. Without thought of danger to herself she flew at Warruk
as only a mother can in defense of her young. The _machete_ was
upraised and flashed in the sunlight. It was not until this occurred
that the mighty cat became conscious of her presence, so absorbed had he
been. At the same time a streak of fire shot through his shoulder where
the point of the knife slashed its way through skin and muscle. He gave
one cry of pain and surprise, leaped to one side, and turning bounded
away to the forest. The Indian gathered up her little one and fled into
the hut. Her screams now brought out the others who had remained at
home, among them Choflo, and as they rushed from the low doorways they
had just time enough to see the black form disappear into the thicket.
That night pandemonium reigned in camp. The men built another great fire
and chanted prayers for deliverance while the women squatted in the
outer circle with swaying bodies and raised their voices in loud
lamentations mingled with praises for the valiant Mata who had dared
attack and repel the savage animal.
As for Choflo, he sat silently on one side throughout the demonstration
and consulted the contents of his charm-bag. There were the teeth of
crocodiles, pebbles worn round and smooth in the riverbed and a tuft of
snowy feathers taken from the shoulders of a luckless egret. Finally he
arose and raising his hands commanded all to be silent.
"Tumwah has not been pleased with our offering. He is more angry than
before," he announced in a sepulchral voice. "My magic tells me so. The
terrible god has sent a Black Phantom from the lower world to haunt us
and to render our lives more miserable. Dark and filled with forebodings
is the season that has descended upon us."
His hearers rocked to and fro and smote their breasts in unison with the
sorcerer.
"We must bring a greater sacrifice. Twenty turtles must be offered to
Tumwah. Then, and only then will he recall the evil spirit that lurks in
our midst. Otherwise we shall perish."
Without a word of complaint or remonstrance the men boarded their
canoes and pushed out into the river, for the turtles were kept in
corrals on the other side. When they returned, long after, the
creatures, their feet bound together, were heaped on the fire to which
the women had added bundles of driftwood. And as the struggling turtles
slowly expired the men danced about the fire to the sounds of hissing
flesh and crackling embers.
"Now go!" Choflo commanded after the flames had spent their fury. "Go to
your shelters. I alone will remain to study the heavens and read the
pleasure of the god."
But no sooner had the dancers departed than Choflo too entered his hut
to sleep.
The path was now open to Warruk. He had watched the fire and the dancing
but there was no longer awe in his heart for the man-creatures. A savage
rage and the desire for revenge had taken its place. His shoulder pained
him frightfully from the cut inflicted by Mata. Why had he been attacked
when his intentions had been of the friendliest? All the other creatures
of the wilderness respected his position and these too should have
their lesson. He would show them the savagery of which he was capable.
Never again would he trust man; he was cruel and unfair. Two experiences
had taught him that--first the poisoned bird and now the unprovoked
attack. Hereafter he would match his cunning with the man-creatures and
if necessary, it would be a battle to the bitter end. Vast as the
wilderness was, it was too small to harbor both the man-creatures and
himself.
Warruk glided out upon the sand so silently and stealthily that he was
like a shadow flowing over the ground. Straight as an arrow he went,
retracing his steps of the previous afternoon and in a few minutes he
stood before the entrance of Mata's shelter. None stirred inside but his
ears caught the sound of deep breathing. There was no hesitation, no
indecision. One quick bound and he had entered. His nose guided him to
the guilty one; a step in the right direction and his long, white fangs
had closed on Mata's shoulder and he began dragging her to the doorway.
Loud shrieks came from the terrified woman. She clutched wildly at her
assailant and at the poles of the hut but her strength was as nothing
compared to the power that held her in its grip. And the Jaguar,
forgetful of all else in this moment of triumph felt a savage exultation
in the anticipation of devouring his victim and thus proving that after
all he was master of all that walked the earth.
The encampment had been aroused by the cries and was in a turmoil. Men
rushed to the heap of smouldering embers, seized thick branches still
glowing at one end and waved them aloft until they burst into flame.
Others held spears and arrows in their hands, and came running to the
rescue of the woman.
At first Warruk paid no heed to the mob but when a flaming brand was
flung into his face, burning him painfully, he was compelled to
relinquish his victim. But he did not retreat; instead, he drew himself
up to his full height and faced his attackers.
A second blazing torch was hurled in his direction and he dashed it
aside with a blow of his massive paw. Then came a spear, the point
barely penetrating the skin of his flank. Warruk turned with a snarl and
crunched the shaft between his teeth. Blazing clubs and spears were now
falling in a shower; with a terrible roar he charged through the barrage
of missiles into the midst of the yelling group, striking to right and
to left. The men, panic-stricken, dropped their weapons and fled to
their shelters. When none was in sight the great cat voiced his victory
in a series of cries and grunts that made the very ground tremble. He
_was_ lord of the wilderness; even the man-creatures with all their
wiles and cunning had acknowledged his supremacy and had departed
precipitously, leaving him in possession of the field. Another savage
roar of triumph and he strode majestically to the forest.
It was several hours before the terrified Indians dared leave the
security of their shelters and then only at the imperious summons of
Choflo's voice. Three fires were hastily kindled and between them the
council sat feeling sure that neither beast nor demon would dare brave
the blazing barrier.
"Again our offering has been spurned by Tumwah," Choflo moaned, "and now
I know the reason why. A spirit of evil has escaped from the place of
darkness and is ravaging the earth; it has entered the body of a
monstrous tiger and has changed it into a black demon, a Black Phantom
whose very appearance is enough to strike terror to the bravest heart.
Twice has he made onslaughts on us. Who can tell what may next occur!"
"It is indeed a spirit from the world of darkness," Sagguk panted, his
superstitious fancy encouraged by Choflo's words. Sagguk had thrown the
spear that grazed Warruk's flank. "For, did I not thrust my spear full
into his heart so that the blood gushed out in a crimson torrent? Yet
the demon turned, grasped the shaft in his teeth and drew it out without
sign of pain."
"And my arrows bounded off his neck and shoulders as from the horny
back of a turtle," another added. "The phantom bears a charmed life. Our
weapons cannot harm this monster from the other world that has come to
destroy us."
"Listen!" Choflo commanded. "Thus have I solved the mystery. Tumwah is
not angry with us. He is angry with this evil spirit which is usurping
his power on earth. Therefore, by drying up the land and the water
Tumwah hopes to destroy the great tiger so that the demon must leave the
dead body and return to the place of blackness from which it escaped,
even if in so doing all others that live must perish in the battle. To
save ourselves we must kill the Black Phantom."
"But, have we not seen how useless our weapons are against this
monster?" Sagguk interposed.
"True. But I will prepare a charmed arrow with a poisoned point. Someone
must go to seek out the lair of the great tiger that harbors the evil
spirit and slay it."
"Is it not true, all-knowing one," Yaro, who was of great age ventured
to inquire, "that he who slays a tiger, possessed of an evil spirit
though it be, shall come under a spell? And that the spell shall not be
broken until his nearest of kin shall have forfeited his life in
atonement for the deed?"
"It is true. But what is one life compared to the lives of all of us?
Better that one die than all. But the honor that shall fall upon the
slayer will be great for, even as he sends the charmed arrow crashing on
its mission of beneficent destruction knowing that in so doing he is
sacrificing the life of his most beloved, he shall also know that he is
the savior of the race."
Choflo paused so that his words might have their full effect. Then he
continued. "Now go!" he commanded, rising. "And let no man look toward
the entrance of his shelter, for before the sun rises the Great Spirit
will decide. A white feather resting in the sand before the doorway will
announce the selection of the honored one, who must pursue and slay the
Black Phantom. The responsibility will be great, for upon the success
or failure of the chosen one will depend not only the survival of the
race but of all life on earth."
Once again the group dissolved itself. And as the frightened people
huddled in their huts the voice of Choflo, raised in incantations and
accompanied by the rattle of charms floated out over the still night
air. After a time the sounds were hushed.
The silence was ominous. The suspense was awful. Now as never before did
terror enter the hearts of the Indians cowering and trembling in their
dark hovels. The white feather was on its way to announce the fateful
selection of the Great Spirit as interpreted by Choflo, headman,
sorcerer and oracle of the simple-minded Cantanas.