But they might have had fresh venison steaks for breakfast that morning
instead of the "buck bones stooed," as Dan called his dish, or rather,
tin, for as the party took their seats beneath the wide-spreading tree
where the meal was spread, they were all startled by quite a little
procession winding amongst the trees. At least fifty of the pigmies
were approaching, led by the miniature chief in his bangles and with his
ornamented spear, and ended by four of the little fellows bearing a
neatly woven hurdle upon which lay the doctor's patient, carried
shoulder high.
"Tell them to set him under that tree, Mak," said the doctor--"yonder."
He pointed to the place meant, and had a little difficulty in making
their guide understand.
"I had better make that my surgery, boys," said the doctor, as he
hurriedly finished his breakfast, and moved into the shade where the
black, glossy-skinned little fellows were waiting patiently, ready to
gaze at him with something like awe. They formed a half circle a short
distance away, while he went down on one knee beside the hurdle, Mark
and Dean standing just behind, and Dan, according to the orders he
received, having ready a bowl, a sponge, a can of water, and the
doctor's case, while Sir James seated himself against a tree and Mak,
spear-armed, stood beside him, looking frowning and important, as if
everyone was working under his orders.
"Capital!" said the doctor, as he examined the wound, and then proceeded
to re-dress it, Dan grasping his wants as readily as if he had been a
surgeon's mate on board a man-of-war.
To the surprise of the boys the little patient evinced no sense of pain,
and when the doctor had finished, his face lit up with the nearest
approach to a smile that had been seen upon the countenance of any of
the pigmies.
"Getting on splendidly," said the doctor, patting him on the shoulder.
"There, you may go."
At the word "go," Mak, who had been standing like a black marble statue,
started into life, and a word or two, accompanied by signs, resulted in
the little bearers coming quickly forward, raising the hurdle, and
beginning to move off, followed by the rest of the party, and a few
minutes later they had disappeared amongst the trees.
"Well," said the doctor, "it doesn't seem as if they are dissatisfied
with my treatment."
"No," replied Mark, laughing; "and they seem ready enough to pay your
fees."
"Yes, and I must make haste and get our little friend well, which he
soon will be, for Nature will do the rest; but I don't suppose we shall
see any more of them, for people of such a low grade of civilisation
would probably soon forget. But we must get on. I want to discover
Captain Lawton's ancient city."
"Yes, I want to see that," cried Dean. "One doesn't want to be always
hunting and shooting."
"That's right, Dean. The sooner we are off the better. Oh, here comes
Mak. Let's stir him up again about where the big stones are."
"He will only point with his spear at the forest as if they were there,"
said Mark, "and of course we can't drive the bullocks through."
"No," said Dean; "but he may mean that the old ruins are on the other
side."
"Yes," said the doctor, "and that we can go round, for we are evidently
skirting the edge of this primaeval jungle."
"Skirting the edge!" said Mark, laughing. "Oh, yes--like skirting the
edge of the world, and we shall be coming out some day--some year, I
mean, right on the other side of America. I don't believe there are any
old stones. It's all what-you-may-call-it."
"All what-you-may-call-it, you young sceptic!" said the doctor,
laughing. "Well, what _do_ you call it, for I don't know?"
"Trade--tradesman--trading--trade--"
"'Dition," suggested Dean.
"Yes, that's it--all a tradition. I could only think of hunting a
will-o'-the-wisp."
"I don't think so," said the doctor. "The captain said some of the
hunting parties had seen the great stones in the distance."
"And he said too that they might have been kopjes. And I don't believe
that those who came hunting ever ran against these trees, or saw these
little pigmy chaps, or else they would have talked about it."
"Similar people were seen by some of our travellers, but that was
farther north and more central."
"But I don't see why we should be in such a hurry to get on. We are
very comfortable here," said Mark.
"Why do you say that?" said the doctor, looking at the boy searchingly.
"You have some reason for it?"
"Well," said Mark hesitating, "I should like to see more of these little
people. They amuse me. They are not much bigger than children, and
they are such solemn, stolid little chaps. I don't believe any of them
ever had a good laugh in their lives."
"That's because they never see any sunshine," said Dean sententiously.
"I believe they just have a run outside the forest to stick an arrow or
two into the springboks, and then run into the shade again. It's the
sun makes one want to laugh, and I should be just as serious if I always
lived under those trees."
"Well, I daresay they will bring my patient again to-morrow morning, and
we will wait till then, and afterwards I should propose that we journey
on at once."
"But you said you were going to ask Mak again about where the big stones
are," said Mark, and he signed to the black, who was standing leaning
upon his spear watching them, and now in response to the boy's signal,
came up at once.
"You ask him, my boy," said the doctor, who was carefully examining the
contents of his knapsack and tightening the cork of the little bottle
before rolling it up again in the lint and bandages.
Mark seized the opportunity.
"Here, Mak," he cried, "big stones? Where?"
The black turned at once and pointed with his spear in the direction of
the forest.
"There, I told you so!" said Mark. Then to the black, "Well, go on;
show the way."
Mak, who evidently understood, swung himself half round, and now pointed
right along to the edge of the forest.
"That's clear enough, Mark," said the doctor. "He means we have to go
round, keeping to the edge and along the open plain where the bullocks
can trek."
"Buck Denham--trek!" cried Mak, nodding his head, and using his spear to
indicate the direction.
"Big stones," said the doctor, and he now pointed along the edge of the
forest.
"Mak find," said the black, nodding his head vigorously.
"Oh, it's evident enough," said the doctor quietly. "He knows what we
want, and some day will guide us there. Well, we have plenty of time,
boys, and I suppose you are in no hurry to get back to the manor?"
"No, no, of course not; but I do want to see that little fellow again."
Mark had his desire fulfilled the next morning at daybreak, when instead
of the numerous procession, the little chief, as they considered him,
appeared, accompanied only by the four bearers with the patient and four
others well loaded with twice as many big turkey-like birds, one of
which showed the way in which they had been obtained, for a broken arrow
projected from its back.
The game was handed over to the white foreloper, who bore the birds off
to the fire to begin plucking them, the two keepers joining him to
quicken the task, while the bearers set down the hurdle beneath the
tree, and quite as a matter of course Dan appeared with the tin bowl and
a bucket of water. Mark hurriedly fetched the doctor's knapsack and
helped over the dressing of the wound, watching the while the change
which had come over the little patient who lay seriously and fixedly
gazing at Mark, while, as soon as the task was completed he stretched
out his uninjured arm so that he could touch Mark's hand. As on the
previous morning Mak stood like a spear-armed sentry till all was over,
uttered a word or two like an order, and the pigmy party marched back to
the edge of the forest and disappeared.
"Well, Mark," said the doctor, who had been very observant, "I suppose
that touch meant `Thank you and good-bye.' But he might have paid me
the same compliment. However, he evidently considers you to be the
chief."
"No, he could not have done that," said Mark. "Old Mak shows them all
that he considers himself the black boss."
The doctor laughed.
"But I say," said Mark eagerly, "did you notice that little chief?"
"Yes," said the doctor. "I did notice it, and was going to speak about
it. He was quite a dandy this morning, with his black ostrich feather
and his brass wire band round his forehead. He looked quite smart. He
must be the chief."
"But I say, doctor, is that brass wire?"
"Of course; the same as his bangles and the rings about his ankles.
What else could it be? One thing's very plain. There are ostriches up
here somewhere, and these people set store by their feathers. Now do
you see what it means?"
"Yes," said Mark, "that the chief wears one and that none of the others
do."
"I didn't mean that," said the doctor. "I meant that they evidently
traded with dealers who come up the country here and use coils of brass
wire as their current coin to exchange with the natives."
"Coils of brass wire which they cut in lengths, I suppose, to deal with
these little blacks."
"That's quite right, my boy; but what are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking," said Mark, "that if these traders came right up here
and dealt with the pigmies we should have heard about it."
"Might or might not," said the doctor.
"Yes," said Mark, who seemed very thoughtful, "and I might or might not
be right if I said that I believe it isn't brass but gold."
"What!" cried the doctor. "Nonsense!"
Mark seemed as if he did not hear the doctor's contemptuous words, while
his cousin, startled by Mark's suggestion, now said eagerly, "And there
are those two bits like ferrules about the chiefs spear. They are not
brass wire."
"No," said the doctor, "but they might be thicker pieces beaten out into
ferrules. But really, boys, you have started a curious train of
thought. I hardly noticed the bangles; I was so much occupied with the
little fellow's wound. It might be what you say. I wish you had spoken
before. It is a most interesting suggestion. Well, it isn't worth
while to go after them, and we will examine them closely to-morrow
morning."
"But you said that we were going away to-day," said Mark.
"Yes," replied the doctor, "but we are not obliged, and--really, this is
interesting. It opens up quite a train of thought. Here, we will talk
it over with Sir James at breakfast."
It was talked over quietly during the meal, and the party stayed that
day, while the next morning both boys were awake before daylight and on
the look out, with Mak, for the coming of the little strangers. But
there was no sign of the tiny black chief and his men.
"They won't come," said Mark impatiently, "and we have let the chance
slip by of finding out something very interesting."
"But we don't want to find out anything about gold," said Dean, with a
ring of contempt in his words.
"No," said Mark, "but I should have liked to have found out that it was
gold, all the same. Well," continued the boy, "that little chap has
done with the doctor, and there will be no more bandaging."
"And no more of those big birds, unless we shoot them ourselves," said
Dean.
"Wrong!" cried Mark excitedly. "Here they are!"