"Speak freely and without fear, O Lobelalatutu!" answered Dick. "Tell
us your trouble; and it may be that we shall, as you say, be able to
point the way to deliverance."
"Then--but first let the light be extinguished," said the king, pointing
to the hurricane lamp suspended from the pole of the tent. "It may be
that some of my people, standing yonder in the shadow, hoping to behold
some wonder, may see me with you, and, though they might not recognise
me, disguised as I am, I would rather that no man should know that you
have been secretly visited this night."
"Right!" answered Dick in English. "I see your point, old chap, and out
goes the `glim'." And so saying he took down the lamp, opened, and
extinguished it.
"It is well," approved the king, with a sigh of relief. "Now can I talk
without fear of discovery." He paused for a moment, considering how he
should begin, then said: "As we talked to-day, O Healer of
Sicknesses!"--the native word for this expression (soon abbreviated to
"Healer") forthwith became Dick's name among the Makolo from that
moment--"you said that you knew what happened to M'Bongwele, the king
who ruled before me, and also how I came to be made king in his stead.
Know you also the story of Seketulo, whom the Four Spirits made king in
M'Bongwele's stead when they first came among the Makolo?"
"Yes, we know," answered Dick. "We know that M'Bongwele was dethroned
and banished by the four Spirits because of his barbarous and iniquitous
rule, and that Seketulo was made king in his stead. We know also that,
after a time, M'Bongwele secretly returned from exile, and, aided by
certain powerful chiefs, slew Seketulo and reinstated himself as King of
the Makolo. And, finally, we know that when the four Spirits revisited
this country in their great glittering ship that flies through the air,
they again deposed M'Bongwele and hanged him and his chief witch doctor
from the bough of a tree, because, despite their previous warning, they
persisted in their evil-doing. And in M'Bongwele's place they made you,
Lobelalatutu, King of the Makolo."
"It is even so, O Healer!" assented the king. "The tale, as you tell
it, is the truth; and now I know of a verity that, possessing this
knowledge, you are like unto the Spirits themselves, to be trusted, even
as they were; therefore will I, without fear, unfold to you the tale of
my present trouble. It was the dissatisfaction of certain chiefs with
Seketulo's system of government, as prescribed to him by the four
Spirits, that made M'Bongwele's secret return and his resumption of the
throne possible. Seketulo was instructed to govern the Makolo justly
and humanely, to put a stop to the oppression of the people by the
chiefs, and, above all, not to make war upon the neighbouring nations
save in self-defence. It was this last restriction that occasioned the
greatest discontent among certain of the chiefs; because, the Makolo
being a powerful and warlike nation, we were generally victorious when
we went to war, and the greater part of the spoils went to the chiefs,
who thus increased their riches as often as we made raids upon our
neighbours. But under Seketulo's rule all this was altered, and we were
obliged to be content with such wealth as we already possessed; hence
the discontent and all that followed upon it. Now, since I became king,
I have endeavoured to govern my people even as Seketulo did; and for a
long time things have gone very well with us; the number of the Makolo,
no longer kept down by war, has greatly increased, as also has our
prosperity; for now that war is no longer part of its policy the nation
has devoted itself to agriculture and the breeding of cattle, our herds
have greatly multiplied, new villages have sprung up, fresh land has
every year been brought under cultivation, and all have enough, and more
than enough, to satisfy their wants. But of late I have suspected that,
despite our steadily increasing prosperity, all is not well with us. I
have detected signs of discontent not only among the chiefs, but among
the people themselves; there have been murmurs that the long peace which
we have enjoyed is converting the Makolo into a nation of women who will
soon lose the capacity for fighting; our neighbours are growing insolent
and aggressive; and--worst sign of all--those chiefs who most boldly
support me in my determination to continue to rule in accordance with
the tenets laid down by the four Spirits, are rapidly dying off, one
after the other, by some mysterious disease."
"Phew! I say, that looks very fishy, doesn't it, Dick?" exclaimed
Grosvenor, when the king had concluded his story. "Smacks of conspiracy
and secret murder--eh, what?"
"Yes," agreed Dick; "I must confess that it undoubtedly has a look of
that kind of thing about it." Then, turning to Lobelalatutu, he asked:
"How long is it since the chiefs who support you began to sicken and
die; and how many have already passed along the Dark Path?"
"It is now nearly three moons since 'Mtatu, my most trustworthy chief,
died; and since then five others have travelled along the same Dark
Road," answered the king. "And now a seventh, 'Nkuni, lies sick in his
hut with the same symptoms as the others. Three nights and two days has
he thus lain."
"And how long does the sickness usually last?" asked Dick, his
professional instincts being at once aroused.
"They usually die on the seventh day after the sickness declares
itself," answered the king.
"Good!" responded Dick. "Then your friend is in no immediate danger;
and to-morrow, when we present ourselves before you with our gifts, I
will see him, and it may be that I shall be able to save his life. Have
you aught further to tell us?"
"No," answered the king. "I have now told all. But I fear that all
these things portend evil to me, and, perchance, the end of my reign and
life. It is for this reason that I have visited you to-night in secret;
for I hoped that if a conspiracy is growing up against me you might be
able to name the conpirators to me. That is all the help I ask," he
finished grimly.
"Yes," answered Dick; "I have no doubt that if we could ascertain the
identity of the conspirators--if any--you could be safely trusted to do
the rest. Well, we will see what can be done to help you. Must you
really go? Well, good night! Take care of yourself; or, in other
words, _hamba gahli_."
As the tall, dark figure of Lobelalatutu strode away down the slight
slope, upon the summit of which the tent was pitched, and melted into
the shadows, Grosvenor turned to his companion, who had now re-seated
himself, and said:
"It seems to me, friend Dick, that we have arrived upon the scene at the
psychological moment--eh, what? If our friend Lobelalatutu's suspicions
have any better foundation than his own imagination, it strikes me that
we are on the eve of exciting times. What say you?"
"I say yes to that, most emphatically," responded Dick. "For, don't
make any mistake, Phil, the king's imagination is not running away with
him; the death of six chiefs in quick succession, followed by the
serious illness of a seventh, is something more than mere coincidence;
it means conspiracy, followed by ghastly, blood-curdling tragedy--unless
we can contrive by some means to discover the identity of the
conspirators in time. As for those unfortunate chiefs, I have not the
slightest doubt that they have been removed by poison--some secret and
comparatively slow but deadly poison, and I intend to make it my first
business to discover what that poison is, and its antidote--if I can.
The chances are, however, that I shall fail, for almost all the savage
peoples possess a great deal more knowledge of drugs, and especially of
poisons, than we civilised folk are aware of, or are inclined to credit
them with; and if poison is really being employed, it will almost
certainly be something of which I have no knowledge. Still, we shall
see. And you may be sure that I shall use my very best efforts to
succeed, and also to discover the details of the conspiracy which
Lobelalatutu suspects; for, should it succeed, we shall find ourselves
in an exceedingly awkward predicament."
"Why--how do you mean?" demanded Grosvenor.
"How do I mean?" repeated Dick. "Why, in a few words, I mean this, that
so long as Lobelalatutu lives and continues to govern this people we are
reasonably safe. But if he should happen to be deposed, and murdered,
the new king will most probably sacrifice us both to his fetish as a
sort of thank-offering for his success. Twig?"
"Of course I do," answered Grosvenor. "I had never thought of that; but
it seems likely enough, now that you come to mention it. It appears to
me that our first business must be to straighten out matters, for our
own sakes as well as for that of Lobelalatutu. Poor chap! Here is he,
a despot, with absolute power over the life of every one of his
subjects; you would naturally suppose that such a man would have nothing
to fear, wouldn't you? Yet, like other monarchs, he seems liable at any
moment to become the victim of secret intrigue, and lose his crown and
his life together. I thought the poor chap looked worried when we
called upon him to-day. The Bard was right--`Uneasy lies the head that
wears a crown', be the head that of a civilised monarch or a savage."
"True for you, my boy," answered Dick. "But are you not beginning to
feel tired? Because, if you are, pray don't stand on ceremony, but turn
in as soon as you like. As for me, I think I will sit up a bit longer
and see if I cannot think this matter out and find a streak of daylight
somewhere."
"Which, I suppose, is a hint that you don't need my company any longer,"
retorted Grosvenor. "All right, old chap, pray don't apologise. I know
I'm a bit of a duffer in such matters as this, so I'll leave you to
thresh it out alone, and turn in for a good night's sleep--eh, what?"
Left to himself, Dick Maitland sat far into the night, considering the
situation unfolded to him by the king; and at length an inspiration came
to him, by following which he thought it possible that he might be able
to clear up the mystery connected with the deaths of Lobelalatutu's most
trusted chiefs, and perhaps discover whether or not there really existed
a conspiracy to overthrow that monarch and restore the barbarous
practices that had made the rule of the last king literally a reign of
terror. Then he turned into his hammock and slept soundly until Mafuta
aroused him at sunrise with the early cup of chocolate which was the
invariable prelude to the business of the day.
The first thing after breakfast the two friends walked to the wagon,
which was outspanned close at hand, and opened the boxes and bales which
contained the various articles which they had brought with them to serve
as presents and media of barter, and from the contents of these they
selected a liberal assortment of gifts for the king, his wives, and the
most important chiefs in His Majesty's immediate entourage. These they
handed over to the care of Mafuta, Jantje, and 'Nkuku the voorlouper;
then, directing the trio to follow them, Dick and Grosvenor mounted
their horses and rode at a foot-pace to the king's village.
The distribution of the gifts proved to be a somewhat lengthy function,
for the articles presented included a considerable number of mechanical
toys, the working of each of which had to be carefully explained to the
recipient; but at length it came to an end, to the apparent satisfaction
of everybody concerned, and then Dick said to the king:
"Your Majesty is aware that I am a healer of sickness; is there any
member of your family, or anyone in whom you are interested, lying sick
at the present moment? Because, if so, I shall be very glad to do what
I can to restore the patient to health."
The king looked doubtfully at Dick for a moment or two, as though not
quite comprehending the drift of the question; then something in the
expression of Maitland's face led to his understanding, and he replied:
"There is no one of my household at present sick, O Healer! but one of
my chiefs--a man named 'Nkuni, who is my friend, lies nigh unto death;
and if you can heal him I shall be grateful to you, for he is very dear
to me. His sickness is the same as that which has already sent six
other chiefs along the Dark Path; and it is of so strange and deadly a
nature that Sekosini, the head witch doctor, can find no cure for it."
As the king thus spoke Dick was keenly watching the faces of the various
persons present, and he noted with something of a thrill that four or
five of the chiefs seemed to exchange stealthy glances of meaning with
each other, and also, despite their assumption of indifference, to
exhibit signs of inward perturbation. But it was no part of his policy
to show that he had observed these things; he therefore responded to the
king:
"Ah, it may be that the sickness from which 'Nkuni is suffering is a
sickness new to this country; and if it should prove to be so it is not
surprising that Sekosini is unable to conquer it. It may be, however,
that it is akin to some of the diseases with which I am acquainted, and
in that case I can save the chief's life. We will go to his hut and see
him even now, if the king will direct someone to conduct us thither."
Lobelalatutu at once turned to one of the chiefs present, and said:
"Ingona, you are 'Nkuni's friend; take these white men to his hut, that
the Healer may see him, and perchance restore to him his health and
strength."
Two minutes later Dick stood in the hut of 'Nkuni, and saw, lying
stretched upon the pallet before him, a man somewhat past the prime of
life who, when in health, must have been a very fine specimen of
manhood. Now, however, he was thin and wasted, his skin was cold yet
dry, his pulse was exceedingly feeble and erratic, and he was in a
terribly exhausted condition, having suffered a severe paroxysm of
abdominal pain shortly after swallowing a draught of milk which had been
administered to him by Sekosini's order. This last fact, together with
several other details respecting the progress of the disease, were
communicated by the man's chief wife, who appeared to be greatly
concerned about him, as was naturally to be expected.
"Where is the vessel from which the milk was drunk?" demanded Dick, when
the woman had told all that she had to tell.
A calabash bowl capable of containing about a quart was produced for his
inspection, and he saw with satisfaction that it had not yet been
washed. The film of milk still clinging to its interior showed that it
had been about half full when offered to the patient, and about a
teaspoonful of milk still remained in the bowl. Of this vessel Dick
instantly took possession, handing it over to Grosvenor, with
instructions not to spill a single drop of its contents on any account.
Then he asked if any medicine had been administered in the milk, and was
answered in the affirmative, a very small calabash bottle being shown
which had contained the drug. Of this also Dick took possession. Next,
having brought his medicine chest with him, in accordance with the plans
which he had made overnight, the young doctor administered a powerful
emetic, then he locked the chest, slipped the key into his pocket, and,
leaving the chest in the hut to obviate the inconvenience of carrying it
to and fro, he gave certain instructions to the chief's wife, and then
requested Ingona to conduct him to the hut of Sekosini, the chief witch
doctor.
This request appeared to fill Ingona with alarm, which he made no
attempt to conceal. He informed Dick that Sekosini was a very great man
indeed, second in power and influence only to Lobelalatutu himself; that
it was not his custom to receive visitors unless permission had first
been asked, the request being invariably accompanied by a present; that
evil invariably befell those who were foolhardy enough to offend him;
and that if he--Ingona--might presume to advise, he would strongly
recommend the white man not to go near him, as Sekosini had always
manifested a peculiarly strong aversion to strangers, and especially to
white men since the two visits of the Spirits of the Winds to the Makolo
country.
All this, however, only tended to strengthen certain suspicions which
Dick had already formed; but he did not express them to Ingona; he
blandly explained to that chief that, having been requested by the king
to use his best endeavours to cure 'Nkuni, he wished to see Sekosini and
consult with him, in order that he might learn as many particulars as
possible respecting the ailment from which 'Nkuni was suffering. This
explanation appeared at least partially to satisfy Ingona, who made no
further attempt to dissuade Dick from his purpose, but, on the contrary,
offered to go forward and prepare Sekosini for the proposed visit. To
this proposal, since it could scarcely interfere with his plans, Dick
cheerfully assented, whereupon Ingona, pointing out the witch doctor's
hut, which stood a good quarter of a mile apart from all others,
hastened toward it at the long, swinging trot which enables the South
African savage to get over the ground so quickly and which he can
maintain for such an incredible length of time.
Dick, meanwhile, accompanied only by Mafuta to act as interpreter,
sauntered slowly on his way, for the double purpose of arranging
mentally the plan of his impending interview with Sekosini, and giving
Ingona time to say whatever he might wish to say to the witch doctor.
It was about a quarter of an hour later that, as Dick and his henchman
approached the witch doctor's hut, Ingona emerged from it with the
gratifying intimation that he had succeeded in inducing Sekosini
graciously to accord the white man an audience. Whereupon the white
man, having suitably expressed the satisfaction which was his at so
great an honour, stooped and passed into the hut, preceded by Ingona and
followed by Mafuta, whose original wholesome fear of wizards had by this
time become completely swamped by his belief in the power of his master
to circumvent the most powerful wizard that ever lived.
The hut of Sekosini afforded no indication of the importance of its
owner, for it was of the same size as, and in all other respects similar
to, the other huts of the ordinary natives, that is, as regarded its
external appearance. Inside, however, there was a very marked
difference; for whereas the ordinary native is content to sleep on the
bare floor, Sekosini was satisfied with nothing less than a bed,
consisting of a quadrangular framework of hardwood supported, at the
height of a foot above the floor, by four stout posts driven firmly into
the ground, the skeleton framework being strapped across and lengthways
by a great number of tightly strained raw-hide thongs upon which were
piled several very valuable karosses, or skin rugs. Also the interior
of the hut was thickly hung with bunches of dried herbs and other
objects, the precise nature of which Dick was at first unable to
determine in the comparative obscurity of the interior, passing at once,
as he did, from the blazing sunshine of the open direct into an interior
which was unilluminated save by such light as penetrated through the
low, narrow entrance.
For a full minute he stood, mute and motionless, waiting for his eyes to
accustom themselves to the change; then the various objects of the
interior gradually began to reveal themselves to him with increasing
distinctness, and he found himself face to face with a thin, wizened,
shrunken creature of apparently incredible age, without a particle of
hair on head or face, but with a pair of eyes that glowed like
carbuncles within their cavernous sockets. He was seated cross-legged
upon the floor, was absolutely naked, save for a necklace of snake skin,
and was toying with an enormous green _mamba_--one of the most deadly of
South African snakes--that lay coiled between his legs with its cruel,
vindictive eyes fixed immovably upon the visitor. Beside Sekosini stood
Ingona, apparently impassive, but his quick, irregular breathing
betrayed the fact that he was labouring under a considerable amount of
excitement. As for the witch doctor, his face wore a smile of
concentrated malice, as though he anticipated something in the nature of
a conflict with this audacious white _mfana_ and was already exulting in
the prospect of a quick and overwhelming victory.
Suddenly he fixed his eyes intently upon Dick's, and said, in soft,
sibilant tones:
"Well, _'mlungu_, what want ye with Sekosini?"
It was the moment and the opportunity for which Dick had been waiting.
Gazing intently into the eyes of the savage, in the peculiar manner that
he had learned from Humphreys, the young doctor suddenly concentrated
his will upon the effort to bring his foe--for as such he intuitively
recognised Sekosini--under subjugation. For a moment the strangely
contrasted pair gazed at each other, and then some strange sensation
experienced by the witch doctor seemed to warn him of what was
happening. But it was too late; Dick had caught him unawares, and so
absolutely instantaneous was the hypnotic method which Humphreys had
taught his pupil that before Sekosini could offer any effective
resistance his will had completely succumbed to Dick's, and he was in
the latter's power. In response to Dick's unspoken thought he said:
"Ask what you will, and I will answer."
"You hear?" demanded Dick, turning his gaze for a moment upon Ingona.
"I hear," answered Ingona, unsuspectingly meeting Dick's gaze as he
replied, and in that moment he, too, was brought under the young
doctor's influence. For a few seconds longer Dick kept his unwinking
gaze steadfastly fixed upon the chief, mentally commanding him to forget
everything that he might see and hear during the interview; and then he
again turned his attention to the witch doctor. He recalled to mind a
declaration of Humphreys' upon which the latter had laid great stress:
"The spoken word, where you can use it, is always more potent than the
unspoken, but whether it is understood or not is really a minor matter;
it is the emphasis, the insistence which is conveyed by speech, added to
the will power employed, that renders the operator absolutely
irresistible." As it was of the utmost importance that Sekosini should
remain completely under his influence until the whole affair was brought
to an end, he now once more sent his compelling gaze into the unblinking
eyes of the ancient savage, and finally said to him, in English:
"Henceforth, until I release you, your will is mine; you will think and
act only as I direct. You understand?"
"I understand, and will obey," answered Sekosini.
"Good!" returned Dick. "Now I command you to tell me the absolute
truth. Know you anything relative to the sickness from which the chief
'Nkuni is suffering, or the sickness from which 'Mtatu and the other
five chiefs died?"
"Yes," answered Sekosini--and the answer in nowise surprised Dick; "I
know all. 'Nkuni is slowly dying of poison administered by me, the same
poison that sent 'Mtatu and the other five chiefs along the Dark Path.
The destruction of these men is preliminary to the destruction of the
king, of whose method of government I and others disapprove. I might
have destroyed Lobelalatutu alone; but if the chiefs whom I have
destroyed had been allowed to live it would assuredly have led to
trouble, therefore have I destroyed them first. When 'Nkuni dies the
chiefs who think as I do will be strong enough to act without fear of
opposition, and we shall be able to destroy Lobelalatutu and restore the
system which prevailed when M'Bongwele reigned, the system by which the
chiefs and the witch doctors were able to acquire much wealth instead of
living, as we do now, in comparative poverty."
"Then," demanded Dick, "do I understand that under Lobelalatutu's rule
you have not a sufficiency to meet all your wants?"
"I have a sufficiency, yes," answered Sekosini; "but I would have much
more than that. I would have wealth, great wealth, and, above all,
power, the power that the witch doctors wielded in M'Bongwele's time.
True, I have much power even now; but it is as nothing to the power that
was wielded by Mtusa, the chief witch doctor whom the accursed Spirits
of the Winds sent along the Dark Path with M'Bongwele, the king."
"I see," said Dick meditatively. "And are there any others concerned
with you in this precious scheme of yours to remove Lobelalatutu?"
"Yes," answered Sekosini, "there are Ingona, Lambati, Mapela, Moroosi,
Amakosa, N'Ampata, and Sekukuni, all chiefs."
"Quite a formidable little crowd," mused Dick, as he drew forth his
pocket book to make a few notes. "Just repeat those names again--
slowly, if you please," he commanded.
Sekosini did so, and Dick noted down the names very carefully, so that
there should be no mistake, for some of the native names are quite
embarrassingly similar in sound.
"Now," resumed Dick, when he had done this, "to return to 'Nkuni. What
is the poison that you have been administering to him?"
"It is a decoction of the leaves of the plant that hangs immediately
over your head," answered Sekosini.
Dick reached up and touched a thick branch depending from the roof of
the hut. "This?" he asked.
Sekosini assented, and Dick took down the branch and examined it. It
seemed quite an ordinary shrub to all appearance. He handed it over to
Mafuta for safekeeping.
"Next question," said Dick. "Is there an antidote to this particular
poison?"
"Oh yes!" answered the witch doctor cheerfully; "I never use a poison
that has no antidote, because it is sometimes desirable to alter one's
plans at the last moment."
"Quite so," assented Dick; "and I am going to alter your plans with
regard to 'Nkuni straight away. Where is your antidote, and how is it
prepared?"
"It is contained in those roots," answered Sekosini, pointing to a
bundle of bulb-like objects also suspended from the roof. "The method
of preparation is simple. A root is taken, cleaned from the adhering
soil, and boiled in water until it is soft enough to crush between the
fingers. Then the liquid is allowed to cool and strained through cloth.
This liquid is of a dark colour, almost black. To administer it, add
enough water to stain it very pale yellow, and let the patient drink as
he will; the more he drinks the quicker will be his cure."
"Excellent! I shall easily remember that," murmured Dick. Then,
addressing the witch doctor, he said:
"That is all I want to know at present. Now, remain here until I summon
you to the presence of the king. Mafuta, take these roots, and we will
be going."
Two hours later he had prepared a sufficient quantity of the antidote to
fill an eight-ounce medicine bottle; and as the stuff was exceedingly
strong, he believed that this ought to be nearly, or quite, sufficient
to effect a complete cure. Armed with this, he made his way to 'Nkuni's
hut, and was gratified to find that the emetic had been productive of
very satisfactory results, the pain being greatly eased, while the
temperature of the body had become almost normal. He now administered a
good stiff dose of the antidote, and left the bottle containing it in
charge of the patient's wife, giving her the most minute instructions
respecting its administration. This done, he proceeded to the enclosed
part of the village containing the king's house and its dependencies,
and informed the sentries at the gate of the palisade that he desired to
report personally to the king the state of the chief 'Nkuni, from whose
hut he had just come. The sentries had already received orders to admit
the white men whenever they should present themselves, and in a few
minutes Dick found himself standing in the presence of Lobelalatutu.