We managed by means of Hassan to communicate to the man who was with us
in the boat that we were desperately in need of food, to which he made
some unintelligible response. Hassan pressed the question upon him
again, and then he volunteered to take our boat through the dangerous
reefs which were distinguishable in the clear waters, and to conduct us
to the shore of the island, which we saw was beautifully wooded. He
managed the boat with considerable skill, and when at last we found
ourselves upon land once again, we began to think that, perhaps, after
all, the natives might be friendly disposed towards us.
Our new-found guide entered a slight crevice in the limestone rock, and
came forth armed with a stout spear tipped, as we afterwards found, with
a shark's tooth.
"I suppose we must trust to fortune," said Denviers, as we carefully
followed the black in single file over a surface which seemed to be
covered with a mass of holes.
"We must get food somehow," I responded. "It will be just as safe to
follow this Tamil as to remain on the shore waiting for daybreak. No
doubt, if we did so the news of our arrival would be taken to the tribe
and an attack made upon us. Thank goodness, our pistols are in our belts
after all, although our other weapons went with the rest of the things
which we lost."
[Illustration: "WE SLOWLY FOLLOWED HIM."]
The ground which we were traversing now began to assume more the
appearance of a zigzag pathway, leading steeply downward, however, for
we could see it as it twisted far below us, and apparently led into a
plain. The Tamil who was leading the way seemed to purposely avoid any
conversation with us, and Denviers catching up to him grasped him by the
shoulder. The savage stopped suddenly and shortened his hold upon the
spear, while his face glowed with all the fury of his fierce nature.
"Where does this path lead to?" Denviers asked, making a motion towards
it to explain the information which he desired to obtain. Hassan hurried
up and explained the words which were returned in a guttural tone:--
"To where the food for which ye asked may be obtained."
The path now began to widen out, and we found ourselves, on passing over
the plain which we had seen from above, entering a vast grotto from the
roof of which long crystal prisms hung, while here and there natural
pillars of limestone seemed to give their support to the roof above. Our
strange guide now fastened a torch of some resinous material to the butt
end of his spear and held it high above us as we slowly followed him,
keeping close to each other so as to avoid being taken by surprise.
The floor of this grotto was strewn with the bones of some animal, and
soon we discovered that we were entering the haunt of the Tamil tribe.
From the far end of the grotto we heard the sound of voices, and as we
approached saw the gleam of a wood fire lighting up the scene before us.
Round this were gathered a number of the tribe to which the man
belonged, their spears resting in their hands as though they were ever
watchful and ready to make an attack. Uttering a peculiar bird-like cry,
the savage thus apprised the others of our approach, whereupon they
hastily rose from the fire and spread out so that on our nearing them we
were immediately surrounded.
"Hassan," said Denviers, "tell these grinning niggers that we mean to go
no farther until they have provided us with food."
The Arab managed to make himself understood, for the savage who had led
us into the snare pointed to one of the caverns which ran off from the
main grotto, and said:--
"Sports of the ocean current, which brought ye into the way whence ye
may see the Great Tamil, enter there and food shall be given to ye."
We entered the place pointed out with considerable misgivings, for we
had not forgotten the plot of the Hindu fakir. We could see very little
of its interior, which was only partly lighted by the torch which the
Tamil still carried affixed to his spear. He left us there for a few
minutes, during which we rested on the limestone floor, and, being
unable to distinguish any part of the cavern around us, we watched the
entry closely, fearing attack. The shadows of many spears were flung
before us by the torch, and, concluding that we were being carefully
guarded, we decided to await quietly the Tamil's return. The much-needed
food was at length brought to us, and consisted of charred fragments of
fish, in addition to some fruit, which served us instead of water, for
none of the last was given to us. The savage contemptuously threw what
he had brought at our feet, and then departed. Being anxious to escape,
we ventured to approach again the entrance of the cavern, but found
ourselves immediately confronted by a dozen blacks, who held their
spears in a threatening manner as they glared fiercely at us, and
uttered a warning exclamation.
"Back to the cave!" they cried, and thinking that it would be unwise for
us to endeavour to fight our way through them till day dawned, we
returned reluctantly, and threw ourselves down where we had rested
before. After some time, the Tamil who evidently looked upon us as his
own prisoners entered the cavern, and with a shrill laugh motioned to us
to follow him. We rose, and re-entering the grotto, were led by the
savage through it, until at last we stood confronting a being at whom we
gazed in amazement for some few minutes.
Impassive and motionless, the one whom we faced rested upon a curiously
carved throne of state. One hand of the monarch held a spear, the butt
end of which rested upon the ground, while the other hung rigidly to his
side. But the glare which came from the torches which several of the
Tamils had affixed to their spears revealed to us no view of the face of
the one sitting there, for, over it, to prevent this, was a hideous
mask, somewhat similar to that which exorcists wear in many Eastern
countries. The nose was perfectly flat, from the sides of the head large
ears protruded, huge tusks took the place of teeth, while the leering
eyes were made of some reddish, glassy substance, the entire mask
presenting a most repulsive appearance, being evidently intended to
strike terror into those who beheld it. The strangest part of the scene
was that one of the Tamils stood close by the side of the masked
monarch, and seemed to act as interpreter, for the ruler never spoke,
although the questions put by his subject soon convinced us that we were
likely to have to fight our way out of the power of the savage horde.
"The Great Tamil would know why ye dared to land upon his sacred
shores?" the fierce interpreter asked us. Denviers turned to Hassan, and
said:--
"Tell the Great Tamil who hides his ugly face behind this mask that his
treacherous subject brought us, and that we want to leave his shores as
soon as we can." Hassan responded to the question, then the savage
asked:--
"Will ye present your belts and weapons to the Great Tamil as a peace
offering?" We looked at the savage in surprise for a moment, wondering
if he shrewdly guessed that we had anything valuable concealed there. We
soon conjectured rightly that this was only a ruse on his part to disarm
us, and Hassan was instructed to say that we never gave away our weapons
or belts to friends or foes.
"Then the Great Tamil orders that ye be imprisoned in the cavern from
which ye have come into his presence until ye fulfil his command," said
the one who was apparently employed as interpreter to the motionless
ruler. We signified our readiness to return to the cave, for we thought
that if attacked there we should have enemies only in front of us,
whereas at that moment we were entirely surrounded. The fierce guards as
they conducted us back endeavoured to incite us to an attack, for they
several times viciously struck us with the butts of their spears, but,
following Denviers' example, I managed to restrain my anger, waiting for
a good opportunity to amply repay them for the insult.
[Illustration: "THE GREAT TAMIL."]
"What a strange ruler, Harold," said Denviers, as we found ourselves
once more imprisoned within the cave.
"He made no attempt to speak," I responded; "at all events, I did not
hear any words come from his lips. It looked like a piece of
masquerading more than the interrogation of three prisoners. I wonder if
there is any way of escaping out of this place other than by the
entrance through which we came."
"We may as well try to find one," said Denviers, and accordingly we
groped about the dim cave, running our hands over its roughened sides,
but could discover no means of egress.
"We must take our chance, that is all," said my companion, when our
efforts had proved unsuccessful. "I expect that they will make a strong
attempt to disarm us, if nothing worse than that befalls us. These
savages have a mania for getting possession of civilized weapons. One of
our pistols would be to them a great treasure."
"Did you notice the bones which strewed the cavern when we entered?" I
interrupted, for a strange thought occurred to me.
"Hush! Harold," Denviers whispered, as we reclined on the hard granite
flooring of the cave. "I don't think Hassan observed them, and there is
no need to let him know what we infer from them until we cannot prevent
it. There is no reason why we should hide from each other the fact that
these savages are evidently cannibals, which is in my opinion the reason
why they lure vessels upon the reefs here. I noticed that several of
them wore bracelets round their arms and ankles, taken no doubt from
their victims. I should think that in a storm like the one which drove
us hither, many vessels have drifted at times this way. We shall have to
fight for our lives, that is pretty certain; I hope it will be in
daylight, for as it is we should be impaled on their spears without
having the satisfaction of first shooting a few of them."
"Sahibs," said Hassan, who had been resting at a little distance from
us, "it will be best for us to seek repose in order to be fit for
fighting, if necessary, when these savages demand our weapons."
"Well, Hassan," said Denviers, "you are better off than we are. True we
have our pistols, but your sword has never left your side, and I dare
say you will find plenty of use for it before long."
"If the Prophet so wills," said the Arab, "it will be at the service of
the Englishmen. I rested for many hours on the boat before we reached
this land, and will now keep watch lest any treachery be attempted by
these Tamils." We knew that under the circumstances Hassan's keen sense
of hearing would be more valuable than our own, and after a slight
protest agreed to leave him to his self-imposed task of watching while
we slept. He moved close to the entrance of the cave, and we followed
his example before seeking repose. Hassan made some further remark, to
which I do not clearly remember responding, the next event recalled
being that he awoke us from a sound sleep, saying:--
"Sahibs, the day has dawned, and the Tamils are evidently going to
attack us." We rose to our feet and, assuring ourselves that our pistols
were safe in our belts, we stood at the entrance of the cave and peered
out. The Tamils were gathering round the spot, listening eagerly to the
man who had first brought us into the grotto, and who was pointing at
the cave in which we were and gesticulating wildly to his companions.