who appeared to be very much impressed. The war-doctor's appearance was
startling enough. He was an elderly man of hideous aspect. On his head
he wore a high cap of baboon skin. Slung around his neck, waist,
elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles were all sorts of extraordinary
things--cowrie and tortoise-shells, teeth and claws of various beasts
of prey, strips of skin from all kinds of animals, inflated gall
bladders, bones, and pieces of wood. In his hand he carried a bag made
by cutting the skin of a wild cat around the neck, and then tearing it
off the body as one skins an eel. Out of this he drew a long, living,
green snake (inusbwa, the boom-slang), which he hung over his shoulder,
where it began to coil about, darting out its forked tongue.
As Shasha advanced quivering towards Vooda in short, abrupt springs,
all the things hanging about him clashed and rattled together. He bent
down and beat the ground with the palms of his hands and the soles of
his feet, making the while a low rumbling in his throat, the apple of
which worked up and down. His eyes glared and his nostrils dilated.
The snake hissed, and wound itself round his neck and limbs. The whole
audience appeared to be struck with superstitious dread.
Shasha suddenly drew himself straight up, and chanted in a sing-song
voice, rattling his charms at every period:
"I am the ruler of the baboons and the master of the owls. I talk to
the wild cat in the hush. I call Tikoloshe (a water spirit) out of the
river in the night-time and ask him questions. I make sickness do my
bidding on men and cattle. I drive it away when I like. I can bring
blight to the crops, and stop the milk of cows. I can, by my magic
medicines, find out the wicked ones who do these things. I alone can
look upon Icanti (a fabulous serpent) and not die. I know the mountain
where Impandulu (the Lightning Bird) builds its nest. I can make men
invulnerable in battle with my medicines, and I can cause the enemies
of my Chief to run like a bush-buck pursued by dogs."
The speech ended, Shasha again bowed down, quivering and contorting,
beat the ground with his hands and the soles of his feet and then
sprang aside into the darkness.
Sololo looked at Vooda as though he would say, "What do you think of
that; is he not a most terribly potent war-doctor?" All the other men
looked extremely terrified.
Dead silence reigned for a few moments, and then Vooda spoke:
"O Chief, the magic of your war-doctor is indeed dreadful to behold,
but, believe me, the magic of U-Sessellodes and Indabeni is stronger,
and I can prove it."
This caused a murmur of incredulity and indignation. The magic
paraphernalia of the war-doctor rattled ominously in the gloom.
"U-Sessellodes," continued Vooda, "has found the Lightning Bird sitting
upon its nest, and plucked its feathers; he has discovered how to make
water burn, and he has robbed the cave of Icanti of its eggs, which he
can strew over the land to hatch in the sun, and produce snakes that
will kill all who see them. These secrets he has taught to Indabeni,
and Indabeni has taught them to me so that I might warn you, and having
warned, prove the truth of my words."
At this a loud "ho, ho," accompanied by a rattling noise, was heard
from the war-doctor. Sololo laughed sarcastically. Several of the
audience did the same. Then Sololo said:
"Are we children, to believe these things?"
"My Chief," said Vooda, impressively, "you are not a child, neither is
Indabeni; as you know,--nor is the potent war-doctor, nor are any of
these great men (madoda roakulu) that I see around me. For that
matter, neither am I a child. I have said that I can prove my words,
and I say so again."
"Prove them, then," said Sololo.
"Three things will I do to show the magic of U-Sessellodes, which he
has taught to Indabeni--I will show you a feather of the Lightning
Bird, I will make water burn like dry wood, and I will produce some of
the eggs of Icanti and make them, when touched with fire, hatch into
young serpents before your eyes."
There was not a breath of wind. Vooda seized a small firebrand, and
stepped a few yards away from the fire. He held the firebrand in his
left hand, and put his right into one of the pockets of his tunic.
This pocket contained a quantity of loose lycopodium powder. He filled
his hand with this, waved it over his head several times, and then
projected the handful of powder high into the air with a sweeping
throw. Then he slowly lifted the firebrand, and as the cloud of powder
descended, it ignited with a silent, blinding flash. A loud "Mawo" from
the spectators greeted the success of the experiment.
The war-doctor gave a harsh laugh and shouted that there was no magic
in the business, and that the Lightning Bird's plumage was still intact
so far as Vooda was concerned; he, the war-doctor, knew how the thing
was done, and would presently explain. Sololo and the others murmured
amongst themselves.
"Now," said Vooda, "I will make water burn with a bright flame like dry
wood."
"You have, no doubt, brought the water with you in a bottle," said
Shasha, the war-doctor, with a sneer in his voice. He was evidently
thinking of paraffin.
"No, O most potent controller of baboons," said Vooda, "I will, on the
contrary, ask you to get me some water for the purpose, in a vessel of
your own choice."
Shasha went to one of the huts and returned with a small earthen pot
full of water, which he placed on the ground near the fire.
Vooda look the lump of potassium which he had cut into the form of a
large conical bullet, from his pocket, and advanced to where the chief
was sitting. He beckoned to the war-doctor to approach, and then, said:
"This, O chief, and O discourser-with-the-wild-cat, is a new and
wonderful kind of lead which U-Sessellodes has dug out of a hole in the
ground far deeper than any other hole that was ever made. You will
observe that my knife is sharp, and therefore I cut the lead easily.
You may see how the metal shines when newly cut. Now, if a bullet such
as this be shot into a river, the water blazes up and consumes the
land."
"Give it to me that I may examine it," said Shasha.
Vooda handed a small paring of the potassium to the war-doctor, saying;
"Be very careful, O you-whom-the-owls-obey-in-the-dark, because it is
dangerous stuff."
Shasha did exactly what Vooda anticipated--he looked carefully at the
shred of metal, and lifted it to his mouth, meaning to test it with his
teeth. When, however, the potassium touched the saliva, it blazed up,
and the unhappy war-doctor spat it out with a fearful yell. His lips
and tongue were severely burnt. Sololo and the men, who had seen the
flame issuing from Shasha's mouth, were terror-stricken.
Vooda now cut the lump of potassium into several pieces, and these he
dropped into the pot of water. The lumps began to flame brilliantly,
dancing on the top of the water and gyrating across and around. All
the spectators were horribly frightened, and shrank back, their
eyeballs starting, and their lips wide apart.
"Now," said Vooda, who felt that he had practically won the game, "I
will produce the eggs of Icanti, the terrible serpent, and make them
hatch out live snakes. Were I to do this without having other greater
magic ready wherewith to overcome them, the snakes would kill us all.
The only magic stronger than that of Icanti is the magic of the
Lightning Bird, so I will drop a feather plucked by U-Sessellodes from
the tail of Impandulu upon the snakes as they come out of the eggs, and
that will cause them to turn into dust."
Vooda took five large Pharaoh's serpent-eggs out of his pocket and
placed them on a flat stone about a yard from the fire. He then asked
Shasha to approach, warning him to be very careful, as the serpents
might be dangerous. After the experience with the potassium, such a
warning to Shasha was quite a work of supererogation. He came forward
with hesitating steps, and stood behind Vooda, watching.
Vooda had a small quantity of lycopodium powder in his left hand. With
his right he seized a blazing firebrand, and with this he touched each
of the eggs in turn. At once five horrible looking snakes began
uncoiling, blue flame surrounding the spot at which each emerged from
its egg. Vooda then shouted loudly, calling on the name of Impandulu,
and making mystic passes over the coiling horror with his fire-brand.
Stretching forth his left hand, he liberated a small cloud of
lycopodium powder, which ignited with a brilliant flash. At this, all
the spectators leaped to their feet, wildly yelling, and, with the
exception of Sololo, who stood still--although the picture of terror--
disappeared into the surrounding darkness. For some seconds after the
sound of the last footfall had died away, the rattle of Shasha's
charms, as he fled, could be heard.
Vooda approached Sololo:
"My Chief, what word am I to carry to Indabeni?"
"Tell Indabeni that the wrong-doer will be given up to the Magistrate
to choke with a rope. Yet you need not tell him, because the man will
be in the Magistrate's hand before your voice can reach Indabeni's
ear."
And so he was.
Thus was a war averted, and yet neither Vooda nor Teddy Morton ever
received any reward for their distinguished services.
THE END
The Gresham Press Unwin Brothers Chilworth and London
SELECTED LIST OF BOOKS
PUBLISHED BY
MR. T. FISHER UNWIN.
The Autonym Library.
Paper, 1s/6d; cloth, 2s/-.
1. THE UPPER BERTH. By F. MARION CRAWFORO. Second Edition.
2. MAD SIR UCHTRED OF THE HILLS. By S. R. CROCKETT: Third Edition
3. BY REEF AND PALM. By LOUIS BECKE. Preface by the EARL Of PEMBROKE,
and Ed.
4. THE PLAYACTRESS, By S. R. CROCKETT. Third Edition
5. A BACHELOR MAID. By MRS. BURTON HARRISON.
6. MISERRIMA. By G. W. T. OMOND