It did not seem to matter to Ebo where we went so long as he was with
us. He must have been a man of five-and-thirty, and he was brave as a
lion--as the lion is said to be in the story, for in reality he is a
great sneak--but Ebo seemed to have the heart of a boy. He was ready to
laugh when I did, and sit by me when I was ill or tired, his face full
of sympathy, and no sooner was I better than it was the signal for a
triumphal dance.
Ebo was as happy now as could be. It did not matter to him where we
were going, and he laughed and chattered and pointed out the fish to me
as we skimmed over the shallow water of the coral reefs, sometimes
approaching islands whose names we did not know, and which were
apparently too small to be down in the chart; but whatever temptations
they might hold out my uncle steered right on due north, and on the
evening of the second day there was land stretching east and west as far
as we could see.
"Now, Nat," he cried, "where is your geography? what place is that?"
"I should say it must be New Guinea, uncle," I said.
"Quite right, my boy. Hallo! what's the matter with Ebo?"
That gentleman had been lying down in the bottom of the boat fast asleep
for the past three hours, as he was to sit up and bear me company
through a part of the night; but having woke up and caught sight of the
land he seemed to have become furious.
Having been with us now so long, he had picked up a good many words,
just as we had picked up a good many of his, so that by their help and
signs we got along pretty well. But now it was quite startling to see
his excitement. He seemed so agitated that he could only recollect the
word _no_, and this he kept on repeating as he dashed at me and then
left me, to run to my uncle, seizing the tiller and trying to drag it
round so as to alter the direction of the boat.
"No, no, no, no, no!" he cried. Then pointing to the land he came at
me, caught up his spear, and I thought he was going to kill me, for he
made a savage thrust at me which went right past my arm; dropped the
spear, caught up his club, forced back my head over the gunwale of the
boat, raised his club and made believe to beat me to death, hammering
the boat side with all his might. After this he made a sham attack upon
my uncle, who, however, took it coolly, and only laughed after seeing
the attack upon me, though I had noticed one hand go to his gun when Ebo
made at me with the spear.
After the black had worked himself up into a perspiration, instead of,
as I expected, bursting out laughing, he kept on pointing to the land,
crying, "No, no, no!" and then, "Kill bird, kill man, Nat, mi boy, kill
Ung-kul Dit; kill Ebo. No, no, no!"
"You mean that the savages will kill us if we land?" I said.
"Kill, kill," he cried, nodding his head excitedly, and banging the side
of the boat with his club; "kill, kill, kill. Kill Ebo, kill Nat, mi
boy, kill Ung-kul Dit, kill boat, kill, kill. No, no, no!"
"Well done, Ebo!" cried my uncle laughing. "Your English is splendid.
Good boy."
"Ebo, good boy," cried the black. "No, no, no. Kill, kill."
"They sha'n't kill us, Ebo," said my uncle, taking up his gun and
pointing it at the shore; while, to make his meaning clearer, I did the
same. "Shoot--kill man."
"Shoot! kill!" cried Ebo, who evidently understood, for he picked up his
spear, and thrust with it fiercely towards the shore. "Yes, shoot; kill
man," he continued, nodding his head; but he seemed very much
dissatisfied and gazed intently towards the distant land.
"He seems to know the character of the New Guinea savages, Nat," said
Uncle Dick. "I have always heard that they are a fierce and cruel set,
but we shall soon see whether it is safe to land."
We sailed gently on, for it turned out a glorious moonlight night, and
altering our course a little we were at sunrise within a couple of miles
of what seemed to be a very beautiful country, wooded to the shore, and
rising up inland to towering mountains. Great trees seemed to prevail
everywhere, but we saw no sign of human being.
"The place looks very tempting, Nat," said uncle, "and if we can hit
upon an uninhabited part I expect that we should find some capital
specimens for our cases. Let us see what the place is like."
Ebo tried in his fashion to dissuade us from going farther, and it was
evident that the poor fellow was terrible uneasy as the boat was run in
close to the shore, when all at once about a dozen nude black savages
came running down to the water's edge, making signs to us to land, and
holding up bunches of bright feathers and rough skins of birds.
"They look friendly, Nat," said my uncle.
"Look here; I will land and take them a few presents in beads and brass
wire; we shall soon see if they mean mischief."
"I'll come with you, uncle," I said.
"No; you stop with the boat and keep her afloat. Here are the guns all
ready loaded. I don't suppose there will be any danger; but if there
is, you must pepper the enemy with small shot to keep them back--that
is, of course, if you see them attack me."
"Hadn't I better come, uncle?"
"No; I shall take Ebo. They may be as simple-hearted and friendly as
the others we have met, and this country must be so grand a collecting
ground that I cannot afford to be scared away by what may be false
reports raised by people who have behaved ill to the natives."
He took out a few strings of brightly coloured beads and a little roll
of brass wire, and waved them in the air, when the savages shouted and
kept on making signs to us to land.
We were only about twenty yards from the sandy shore now, and we could
see every expression of face of the New Guinea men, as my uncle threw
one leg over the side and then stood up to his knees in the clear water.
"Kill Ung-kul Dit," said Ebo, clinging to his arm.
"No, no! Come," replied my uncle.
Ebo's club was already in his _lingouti_, and picking up his spear he
too leaped into the water, while I sat down in the boat with the barrel
of my gun resting on the gunwale as the sail flapped and the boat rocked
softly to and fro.
The people seemed to be delighted as my uncle waded in; but I noted that
they carefully avoided wetting their own feet, keeping on the dry sand
talking eagerly among themselves; and though I looked attentively I
could see no sign of arms.
So peaceful and good-tempered did they all look that I was completely
thrown off my guard, and wondered how Ebo could be so cowardly as to
keep about a yard behind my uncle, who walked up to them fearlessly, and
held out his hand with a string of beads.
The New Guinea men chattered and seemed delighted, holding out their
hands and catching eagerly at the beads, snatching them from the giver's
hands, and asking apparently for more.
I saw Uncle Dick sign to them that he wanted some of their birds in
exchange.
They understood him, for they held out two or three skins, and he
advanced a step to take them; but they were snatched back directly, and,
as if by magic, the savages thrust their hands behind them, and in an
instant each man was flourishing a war-club.
It all seemed to happen in a moment, and my heart seemed to stand still
as I saw one treacherous savage, over six feet high, strike my uncle
over the head with his club, my poor uncle falling as if he had been
killed.
It was now that I saw why Ebo had held back behind my uncle, and it was
fortunate that the faithful fellow had followed the guidance of his own
reason. For as, in the midst of a tremendous shouting and yelling, the
tall savage bent forward to again strike my uncle I saw Ebo's lance
point strike him in the throat, and he went down.
This checked the savages for an instant, long enough to enable the black
to stoop down and get a good grip of Uncle Dick's collar with his left
hand, while with his right he kept making darts with his spear at the
yelling savages who kept striking at him with their clubs.
So tremendous and so true were Ebo's thrusts that I saw another great
black go down, and a couple more run yelling back towards the dense
cover from which they had come; but Ebo was in a very critical position.
My uncle was heavy, and the black had hard work to drag him over the
sand towards the boat, and keep his enemies at bay.
It was now that I saw what a brave warrior and chief our follower must
be; but I also saw how his enemies had formed a half circle and were
trying to get behind him and cut him off from the boat.
For the first few moments I had felt helpless; then I had determined to
leap over and go to their help; then I saw that I was best where I was,
and took aim, ready to fire at the first chance, for I could do nothing
at first for fear of injuring my friends. And besides, a horrible
feeling of compunction had come upon me at the thought of having to fire
at men--fellow creatures--and I shrank from drawing trigger.
At last, though, I saw that further hesitation would be fatal. Ebo was
making a brave defence, and had wounded several of his assailants as he
dragged my uncle to the water's edge. Another step and he could have
waded, easily dragging my uncle over the water, but his enemies had made
a savage dash, and one of the boldest had got hold of his spear.
Another moment and he would have been struck down, when, hesitating no
longer, I took quick aim and fired right into the thick of the black
group as far on one side of my uncle as I could.
As the report rang out, and the stinging shot hissed and scattered,
injuring several, they uttered fierce yells and separated for a moment,
giving me a better chance to fire again, and I did with such effect that
the savage who was dragging at Ebo's spear loosed his hold, turned, and
ran for his life.
It was a golden moment for our black friend, who made a couple of darts
with his freed weapon, and then backing rapidly drew my uncle through
the water towards the boat.
The savages were staggered by the shot from my gun. Many were wounded,
but they were trifling small shot-wounds, which only infuriated them as
they saw their prey escaping, and with a rush they came tearing through
the water, whirling their clubs above their heads and yelling furiously.
My blood was up now, and in those brief moments I saw our fate, that of
being massacred by these treacherous ruthless wretches, to whom we had
made offerings of peace and good-will. I seemed to see our battered
boat, and then friends at home waiting for news of those who had sailed
out here on a peaceful expedition, news that would never come; and a
curious pang came over me as I felt that I must save Uncle Dick and his
brave defender if I could.
I had already picked up my uncle's loaded double gun, and there were two
rifles also loaded ready to my hand, so, taking careful aim now at the
foremost of the savage crew just as they were pressing Ebo hard, I
fired.
I could not see for a moment for the smoke, but as it parted I saw that
the men were close enough now for the shot to have much more serious
effect. Two had fallen, but after a moment's hesitation the others made
a fresh rush, which I met with another shot, which checked them again;
but though another man fell, and half a dozen more were streaming with
blood, they only seemed the more infuriate and again came on.
I did not even then like to use the fatal rifles, but found time to cram
in a couple more cartridges, and by this time Ebo had dragged my uncle
to the boat, stooped, lifted him in, and then with one hand upon the
gunwale kept shoving her off, backing and wading, and thrusting with his
spear at the fierce wretches who came on more savagely than ever.
The boat moved slowly, but I was hot with excitement now, and I fired
once at a savage who was striking at Ebo, then at a group, and then
there was a dull heavy thud as a war-club that had been thrown with
clever aim struck me full in the forehead, and I fell senseless in the
bottom of the boat.