The long, weary-looking fellow came up, looked sadly from one to the
other, nodding to his companions shortly, and then, turning to the boys,
"Very sorry, gentlemen," he said slowly; "your rifle, Mr Mark. Just
heard from Sir James."
"Yes, it's a nuisance, Dunn. Haven't seen it, I suppose?"
"No, sir, no," replied the man, with a sigh. "Haven't stood it up
against a rock or a tree--"
"There, there, stop that. We have gone all over it, and found out where
it's gone."
"Found--out, sir?"
"Yes; we think some of the blacks have come in the night, crept in and
stolen it."
"Ah!" ejaculated the man, almost animatedly.
"Hullo! Do you know anything about it?" cried Mark.
"My ponies--two nights--uneasy," said the man, very slowly.
"And you got up in the night to see if there were any beasts about?"
cried Mark excitedly. "Oh, do go on! Make haste."
"Yes," continued Dunn, more deliberately than ever. "Coming back--
dark--fancied I saw something crawling.--Jumped aside.--Like baboon."
"That was it, Brown, safe. Dan and I saw one too. Now, what's to be
done?"
"Shoot," said the man laconically.
"Oh, we don't want to kill them."
"Small shot," said Brown softly.
"Pepper," said Dean.
Brown nodded.
"Well, we are not going to try that," cried Mark. "Here, you go and
fetch the two blacks. You are quite good friends now."
Brown nodded, hurried off, and returned in a few minutes with the pair
he had sought, who came up with their eyes hard at work gazing
searchingly from one to the other and looking as if they expected to be
called to account for some misdoing.
"They think you are going to bully them, Mark," whispered Dean. "Tell
them it is all right."
Mark, who was seated upon an ancient block of stone that had fallen from
the wall, sprang to his feet so suddenly that the pigmy took flight on
the instant, and Mak was following him, when Mark sprang to him and
caught him by the arm.
"What are you going to do, stupid?" he cried. "I wasn't going to hit
you. It's all right. Sit down. Here--_pious_--_cooey_!" he cried.
"_Pig, tchig, tchig, tchig, tchig_!" cried Dean; and the dwarf turned to
glance back as he ran.
"Tell him it's all right, Mak. We want to talk to you," said Mark.
"There sit down, and he will come."
The big black hesitated a moment, and then slowly squatted.
"I say, Dean, a guilty conscience needs no accuser! Look at him in
front. He's been having something since breakfast. Pig! Pig! Mak,
call him."
The Ulaka looked doubtingly at the speaker, and then gave utterance to a
low, soft call which made the pigmy cease running and stop as if in
doubt. Mak called again, and the little fellow turned, to stand
watching him, when Mak called once more and he came slowly back, Mark
talking to him the while as if he were a little child that he wanted to
encourage, and smiling as he held out his hand, in which after a little
more hesitation and searching gazing in Mark's eyes, he laid his own.
What followed was for the main part in pantomime, first one and then
another of the English party trying to make the Illaka understand what
had happened and what was required of them, a good quarter of an hour
being expended over this, with the black staring at them stolidly the
whole time, till Mark gave up in disgust and disappointment.
"It's no use," he said. "They can't understand a word we have said, or
make out one of our signs."
"Oh, I don't know, sir," said Buck.
"But he seems so stupid," cried Mark.
"That's his way, sir," said Dan. "He can do better than that. You
a'n't seen so much of him as we have. What do you say, messmate Brown?"
"Not stupid, sir," said Brown drily; and he pointed to the pigmy, who
had been crouching in the sand, nursing his bow, and slowly polishing
the handle of his spear. "Pig Illaka," said the horse keeper; and he
pointed at the little fellow, who looked up at him quickly and then
began to polish his spear handle more energetically with a handful of
very fine sand.
Mak uttered a low grunt, sprang up with flashing eyes, looked sharply
round at the party, and then as if quite transformed, he sprang at the
dwarf and gave him a quick light flip upon the shoulder with his open
hand.
"I thought so, gentlemen. He's been sucking it in all along. Now then,
you shall see what you shall see," said Buck.
The minute before the pigmy had squatted in front of them deliberately
polishing his spear handle, but as if suddenly inspired by his big
companion's burst of energy, he sprang up, strung his bow, placed the
nock of an arrow upon the twisted sinew which held his weapon in a state
of tension, and then bending forward he stood watching the movements of
Mak, who stuck his spear into the earth, and then after fixing the pigmy
with a fierce look, began to crawl slowly and cautiously in and out
amongst the bushes as if trying to steal a march upon the camp.
He kept this up till he was quite hidden from the eyes of those who
watched his movements, and then suddenly burst into sight again,
maintaining his body bent nearly double as if intending to keep himself
hidden from anyone at the camp, and ran swiftly back, to stop short,
almost touching the two boys.
"Well," said Dean softly, "I don't see much in this."
"Wait a bit," whispered his cousin. "I think I do. There! See?"
And now it was as if the white party were non-existent and Mak were
playing his part solely for the pigmy's amusement, for he stepped
lightly up to him as if he were carrying something in his hands, which
he was holding out for him to see. Then making believe to thump one end
of it down and holding it with one hand, he began to dance round it,
grinning with delight, stooping down from time to time to kiss it, and
hug it to his breast, and ending by making belief to load it. Then
dropping on one knee, he drew trigger, uttered a sharp ejaculation to
simulate a report, and then crouching behind a block of stone he went
through the loading movements again, advanced, retreated, advanced
again, shading his eyes with one hand, and then dropped flat on his
chest and crawled out of sight behind a heap of stones.
"Well, has he done?" said Dean, in a whisper.
Mark held up his hand, and directly after the black reappeared from
quite another direction, raising himself slowly from behind another
block of stone, resting an imaginary rifle upon the top, before taking
aim again and firing, dropping out of sight, but only to reappear once
more and repeat his tactics, after which he sprang up, waving the
fancied weapon and went through what was meant for a dance of triumph
over the death of an enemy.
This ended as it were one part of his performance, but it was only to be
followed directly after by the careful handling and petting of the
rifle, which he bore now in his arms to where the pigmy was still
watching his every movement and looking more excited than the big black,
as he leaned forward, his face full of animation and his eyes sparkling,
while Mak seemed to be expatiating in silence upon all the merits of the
wonderful weapon that he had secured.
He pointed here and pointed there, and then seemed to be laying it upon
a stone and drawing back to admire it, stepping backward for some
distance, approaching it again, patting it from end to end, and then
going back to the pigmy, to touch him on the back and point at the top
of the stone.
This done, he took hold of his little black companion's spear, stuck it
up in the sand, smiling at it with contempt, and then toppled it over
with a kick, before snatching the pigmy's bow and arrow, pointing at
them with his face screwed up in token of disgust, before throwing these
with similar expressions of contempt to that with which he had treated
the spear, some little distance away upon the ground.
Then he paused to rest his cheek upon his left hand and stood gazing
with a ridiculous look of sublime satisfaction at the top of the stone
with its suppositious rifle, towards which he advanced upon the tips of
his toes, pretended to lift it off, and bore it once more to the pigmy,
laid it before him and knelt down to begin talking to him in a low,
smothered tone.
It was evident that the difference of their dialect was sufficient to
make the pigmy reply from time to time with eager questions, which made
his companion repeat himself with some show of annoyance, frowning
angrily, till the pigmy nodded his head quickly, showing that he grasped
his companion's meaning.
This lasted pretty well ten minutes, after which the pigmy picked up his
weapons, Mak repossessed himself of his spear, and then turning to those
who had been intently watching him all through, he gave them a heavy nod
and then marched off without a word.
"Well, ought we to clap our hands?" said Mark.
"No, don't," said Dean. "Look there; Pig's going off too;" for the
little fellow took a couple of steps towards him, nodded his head, and
then followed Mak.
"I say, all of you, what does this mean--that Mak has been trying to
show little Pig that the rifle has been stolen, and that he is going to
try and find it and get it back?" said Mark.
"I don't know enough about these people to say, sir," replied Buck.
"Sometimes I seemed to make out that that was what it meant; at other
times it looked as if he was only making a fool of himself, just
capering about like a dancing doll in a show. What do you say, Dan?"
"Same as you do, messmate. I just got a bit here and there."
"That's right," said Brown, with one of his usual sighs. "He has been
telling Pig, as you call him, that a rifle has been stolen, and that
they have got to get it back."
"Do you feel sure he means that?" asked Mark.
"Quite," said Brown confidently, "and we shan't see them again till they
have got it."
"Then you think they will get it?"
Brown shook his head, and was silent for a few moments.
"If they get it we shall see them again; if they don't, we shan't."
"Ashamed to show their faces eh, messmate?" asked Dan.
"No--the others too much for them."
"Then we may be sending them to their death. Here, I don't like this,
Dean. I am sure father would rather that we lost the rifle. Here,
let's call them back. Come on!"