We now had leisure to observe that the storm had so far passed away that
there were big breaks in the canopy of cloud overhead and away to the
eastward, through which the stars were beginning to show themselves,
affording enough light just to enable us to discern the two banks of the
stream, but not sufficient to betray our presence to an observer at a
greater distance than, say, a quarter of a mile. There was therefore
not much fear of our immediate discovery, since I now learned from Ama
that our starting-point was at least three-quarters of a mile below the
town, while, apart from our own exertions, the swollen current was
sweeping us along at a speed of about six knots. In little more than
ten minutes from the moment of starting we swept out of the tributary
stream into the main river, the current of which was also flowing pretty
rapidly, though not, of course, so swiftly as that of the lesser stream;
and now, as we pushed off into mid-channel, we found time to exchange a
few remarks. For my own part I was anxious to know what had first
suggested to my companion the idea of effecting my rescue, and by what
means, after she had conceived the idea, she had contrived to carry her
plans to a successful issue. I put the question to her; and by way of
reply she related to me the following story:
"From the moment when I first became aware of my father's illness I was
not entirely free from suspicion; and when at length I saw that your
efforts to cure him were only partially successful, and that his
symptoms persistently recurred, I was convinced that there was foul play
somewhere, though why, I could not at first imagine. But when Gouroo
whispered to my father, hinting at your incapacity, and suggesting that
Mafuta should be sent for, my suspicions began to take definite shape,
and, although I was not able to verify those suspicions, I finally made
up my mind that the whole occurrence was the outcome of a plot between
Gouroo and Mafuta--your only enemies--to ruin you. And these suspicions
were confirmed when, after you had been carried away and imprisoned, my
father began to mend, even before the arrival of Mafuta upon the scene,
while it seemed extraordinary to me that the witch-doctor should know so
well the character of my father's ailment, that he was able to bring
with him precisely the right remedies for administration.
"Now, as I told you just now, Dick, I was quite unable to verify my
suspicions, but in my own mind I have not the slightest doubt that
Mafuta gave Gouroo poison of some kind to administer to my father and
make him ill, knowing that you would be summoned to cure him, and
knowing, too, that your failure to cure would result in your
condemnation to a death by torture. I tried to intercede for you, not
once but many times; but my father had suffered horribly, and had been
terribly frightened. He believed that, but for Gouroo's suggestion, you
would have allowed him to die; and he refused to show you any mercy.
Your fate seemed sealed--unless I could contrive a scheme to save you;
but I could think of nothing; and the anticipation of your death made me
feel so utterly wretched, that at last I entreated my father that, if he
would not spare you, he would at least not compel me to witness your
sufferings. He was still dreadfully angry with me for interceding in
your behalf, but I persisted; and at length he told me that if I did not
wish to witness the Customs I might remain at home, and of course I did
so, although I knew that you were not to suffer until to-morrow. I
spent all my time trying to devise some plan for effecting your
deliverance, but could think of none; nevertheless, as soon as everybody
was in the square and the Customs had begun, I went down to the river,
got my canoe ready, and paddled it down to the place where we found it
to-night. And it was while I was returning, and searching for a way to
pass inside the palisade without entering by the gate, that I first saw
the storm working up, and I knew that if it delayed its coming long
enough I might be able to save you. As it happened, circumstances could
scarcely have arranged themselves more favourably; and the result is
that I have now the happiness to have you here with me in safety. Now,
Dick, we must push on as fast as we can, travelling all through the
night, and concealing ourselves and resting during the day; for if we
are to escape it must be by stratagem, and not by strength, or speed."
"Yes," said I; "I can quite understand that if they should take it into
their heads to pursue us--as you seem to think they will--we should have
small chance of running away from one of your big canoes, manned by
forty or fifty paddlers. But where do you propose to take me, Ama?"
"Where do you wish to go, Dick?" demanded my companion, answering one
question with another.
"Why," replied I, "of course I am anxious to get down to the coast
again, and aboard a ship. But I am puzzled to know what is to become of
you when we part."
"_Must_ we part, Dick?" murmured Ama softly. "Cannot I always remain
with you?"
"Quite impossible, my dear girl," answered I hastily, beginning at last
to have some faint suspicion of what was in this savage beauty's
unsophisticated mind. "I owe a duty to my King; and that duty
imperatively demands that I shall return at once to the ship in which I
am serving him--and where, Ama, I may mention, no place could possibly
be found for you. But I do not forget that you have saved my life, Ama;
and therefore, come what will, I will not leave you until you have
formed some definite plan for your own safety and happiness. What did
you think of doing when the time comes for us to part?"
The girl was silent so long that I was obliged to repeat my question
before I could get an answer, and when at length she replied, I feared I
could detect tears in her voice, and could have execrated myself for a
stony-hearted wretch.
"I have never looked so far forward as that," she answered in quavering
tones; "but we need not think of that yet, Dick. When the time comes I
have no doubt that I shall know what to do. And now, we really _must_
cease talking, and push on as fast as we can, or we shall not reach our
place of concealment before the dawn comes to reveal our whereabouts to
our pursuers."
I was not sorry to have the conversation closed, for I wanted a little
time for reflection. It was clear to me that this unsophisticated young
savage had been dominated in her actions by one idea alone, that of
saving me from a death of unspeakable horror; she knew that, in so
doing, she was cutting herself off for ever from her own people, to whom
it would be impossible for her to return; and, in her absolute
simplicity, she had evidently thought that it would be the easiest thing
in the world for her to throw in her lot with mine. How was I to
undeceive her; how make her understand the absolute impossibility of
such a thing? I greatly feared that to convince her of this would be
wholly beyond my power. Yet what was to become of her? I could not
abandon her, alone and unprotected, to her fate; nor could I take her
with me. The problem seemed absolutely insoluble; and at length I came
to the conclusion that the only thing to be done was to leave the issue
to destiny.
Hour after hour we paddled on in absolute silence, making excellent
progress, for the current was running strong in our favour; and at
length, just as the eastern horizon was beginning to pale with the first
hint of dawn, Ama gave the canoe a sheer in toward the eastern bank,
looking anxiously about her as she did so. She was not long in
discovering the landmarks of which she was in search, and a few minutes
later the canoe was threading its tortuous way among a tangled mass of
mangrove roots toward the solid bank of the river, landing upon which,
we drew our light craft bodily up out of the water, concealing her
beneath a broad overhanging mass of foliage which hid her so effectually
that I would defy anybody but ourselves to find her. Then, taking a bow
and quiver of arrows, together with a brace of spears, out of the canoe,
and signing to me to do the same, Ama led the way through the dense
growth bordering the river bank, until we reached an open grassy space
of about twenty acres, sparsely dotted here and there with magnificent
trees; and here Ama signified that we were to camp for the day. She
further mentioned that, as she felt sure her father would have
despatched a party in pursuit of us, which, she expected, would by this
time be, not far behind us, it would be very desirable to keep a watch
for them, since it was important that we should know as much as possible
of their movements; and she accordingly suggested that I should climb a
particularly lofty tree which she indicated, and keep a look-out for
them, while she went off into the forest to seek the wherewithal to
furnish a breakfast. She was very quiet and subdued in her manner, and
I greatly feared that she was feeling deeply mortified and hurt because
I had pointed out the impossibility of her remaining with me after our
arrival at the coast--should we be so fortunate as to get there.
As Ama, taking her bow and arrows, tripped lightly away toward the
forest, I proceeded to shin up the tree, and presently, after some
labour, found myself among its topmost branches, which towered high
above those of all the other trees in the neighbourhood, and--it being
by this time broad daylight--obtained a magnificent view of the
surrounding country, extending for, as I estimated, some forty miles
toward the south and east, while toward the north and west the view was
shut off by high hills, through which the river wound its way. To my
surprise I found that our camping-place was much nearer the river than I
had supposed, and I was thus able to obtain a clear and unobstructed
view of its surface for many miles north and south, except a width of a
few yards on its eastern side, which was shut off by the mangroves and
low scrub which grew along its margin. I most carefully searched the
shining bosom of the stream for signs of our expected pursuers, but saw
none; nor had they hove in sight when, about half an hour later, Ama
returned with some seven or eight wood-pigeons which she had brought
down with her arrows. She did not call to me, or announce her return in
any way, but set to work to mow a circle of about ten feet in diameter
in the long grass; and then, having produced fire by rubbing two pieces
of wood together, she proceeded very carefully to burn off the short
grass left inside the circle, setting fire to it, allowing it to burn
for a few seconds, and then beating it out again with a branch, in order
that the fire might not spread and burn us out, to say nothing of
betraying our presence by the smoke that it would raise.
Then, when she had at length cleared a sufficient space she lighted her
cooking fire, taking care to use only dry wood, and thus make but little
smoke, after which she proceeded to the margin of the river and brought
back a large lump of damp clay, pieces of which she broke off and
completely encased the birds in, and this she did with considerable
care, I noticed. When she had completed her task, she consigned the
whole to the fire, placing the shapeless lumps in the centre of the
glowing embers, and piling more dry wood on the top, so as to maintain a
brisk blaze. In about half an hour the lumps of clay, baked hard by the
heat, began to crack and break open, when Ama carefully raked them out
of the embers and set them aside. Then, and not until then, did she
hail me, asking whether the expected pursuers were in sight; and upon my
replying in the negative, she informed me that breakfast was ready, and
invited me to come down and partake of it. I felt somewhat curious to
see how Ama's primitive style of cooking would turn out; but it was all
right. We simply broke open the lumps of baked clay with our spears and
took out the birds--minus the skin and feathers, which adhered to the
clay--and, splitting them open, removed the interior organs and devoured
the flesh, which I found done to a turn, and particularly rich and juicy
in flavour. Then, after we had finished eating, Ama again disappeared,
to return shortly afterward with four fine cocoa-nuts, which we opened
with our spear-heads and drank.
"Now, Dick," said Ama, when we had finished our meal, "you need rest
badly, and must have it; therefore compose yourself to sleep near the
fire, where I can watch over you; and I will take your place in the tree
and look out for our pursuers. They will be sure to be along very soon
now; and it is important that I should see upon what plan they are
conducting their search for us. I want them to get well ahead of us
before we resume our journey to-night."
"Yes," said I, "that is all very well, Ama. But what about yourself?
You need rest fully as much as I do--"
"No, I do not," she retorted. "I took plenty of rest yesterday, in
anticipation; while you were exposed all day to the scorching sun and
the flies, and have been awake all night. So please lie down and sleep;
for in any case I must watch the river until our pursuers appear. I
promise you that when they have passed, and I have seen all that I can
of them, I will come down and sleep too."
I attempted to dissuade her from this resolution; but she was in an
obstinate mood, and would not be dissuaded; recognising which, at
length, I gave in; for it was true that I needed rest. Accordingly,
flinging myself down in the long grass, I fell, almost instantly, into a
deep sleep.
It must have been about four o'clock in the afternoon, judging from the
position of the sun, when I awoke to find Ama crouching over the fire,
busily preparing another meal which--even as I rose and stretched myself
luxuriously, feeling immeasurably refreshed and invigorated by my long
sleep--she pronounced ready. As we sat down to partake, of it together,
Ama informed me that one of her father's largest canoes, manned by forty
paddlers, and commanded by a chief whom she had recognised, had passed
slowly down the river about an hour after I had composed myself to rest,
the chief in charge intently scrutinising both banks, as they went,
evidently in search of some indication of our presence, and had finally
passed out of sight to the southward; after which Ama had descended and
taken a few hours' rest. She further stated that, upon awaking, she had
again gone aloft to take another long and careful look round, but had
seen nothing more of our pursuers, and was therefore inclined to believe
that we were now reasonably safe, provided, of course, that we did all
our travelling at night, kept a sharp look-out, and were careful not to
allow ourselves to be fallen in with by other users of the river.
The supply of food which Ama had provided for our afternoon meal was so
bountiful that, when we had finished, enough remained to furnish us with
a good substantial meal about the middle of the night. Our wants for
the next few hours were consequently supplied, we had therefore no need
to do anything further than just to wait for nightfall and then resume
our voyage; which we did, passing the intervening time in chatting
together and discussing the various precautions which we must take in
order to elude our pursuers, who, by the way, were now several miles
ahead of us. We remained where we were until close upon sunset, when I
again climbed our look-out tree and carefully scanned the whole surface
of the river, as far as the eye could reach. There was nothing of an
alarming character in sight, and therefore, as soon as I had descended
to the ground, we both set out for the spot where we had hidden our
canoe, launched her, and made our way out through the labyrinth of
mangrove roots to the margin of the river, where we lay _perdu_ until
the darkness had completely fallen, when we boldly pushed off into the
strength of the current, and steadily pursued our way. I soon found
that travelling down-stream, with the current in our favour, was a very
different matter from travelling up-stream against it; and within the
next twenty-four hours I was able to estimate that we were now
proceeding about three times as rapidly as was the case when I was
making the upward journey. I calculated, therefore, that a full week
ought to suffice us to reach the sea. And then what was to become of
poor Ama, my gentle and loving companion? Alas, destiny was soon to
answer that question, and most tragically, too, had we but known it.
Thanks to Ama's foresight and admirable judgment, our progress down the
river was uneventful. We travelled during the night, resting and
refreshing ourselves during the day, and never again saw a sign of our
pursuers, nor indeed of anybody else, for our journey was begun when the
moon was past her third quarter, and rose late; and Ama explained that
the natives of that region never travelled through the darkness, if they
could possibly avoid it.
It was on the sixth day of our journey that, having landed as usual at
the first sign of dawn, we were resting in a secluded and shady spot
after having partaken of an excellent and substantial breakfast. I had
been sound asleep for some hours, for the sun was well past the
meridian, when I was startled into sudden and complete wakefulness, and
sprang up with the sensation that I had heard Ama screaming and calling
upon me for help.
I glanced at the spot where she had lain, a short distance from me. She
was not there; and I at once concluded that, having awakened before me,
she had gone off into the forest to obtain the wherewithal for our mid-
day meal. I listened intently, but the silence of noontide had fallen,
and everything was deathly still; there was not the faintest zephyr to
stir the foliage; and even the very insects that so persistently attack
one in the African jungle seemed to be indulging in a mid-day siesta.
Yet I could not divest my mind of the conviction that my abrupt
awakening had been caused by a cry for help from Ama having reached my
ears; and, seizing my weapons, I set out in search of her. The "form"
in the grass where she had lain was plain enough to the sight, as also
were her tracks in the direction of the forest, and these I followed for
some distance without much difficulty, coming out at length into an open
glade, through which a tiny streamlet made its way. And here, among an
outcrop of immense granite rocks, I came upon the signs of a tragedy.
The long grass was disturbed and beaten down, as though a desperate
struggle had taken place; the ground was smeared and splashed with
blood; and in the midst of it lay one of Ama's spears, and the broken
shaft of the other. And, leading away from this, there was a broad,
blood-stained trail, as though a body had been dragged along through the
grass and over some rocky ground, further on, toward another and much
bigger outcrop of rock. It was not difficult to read the signs: Ama,
intent upon her hunting, had been surprised and overpowered by some
ferocious beast; and now all that remained was for me to follow and
rescue the unfortunate girl, or avenge her death. I accordingly fitted
to my bow the stoutest arrow in my quiver, and dashed forward in a fury
of rage and grief, absolutely reckless of consequences to myself, and
animated by but one impulse--the determination to slay the beast,
whatever it might be, that had wrought this evil to my faithful and
gentle companion.
For a hundred yards or more the trail led over uneven rocky ground
toward an immense rock, upon rounding which I found myself face to face
with, and within half-a-dozen yards of, a splendid full-grown male
leopard who was crouching over poor Ama's motionless body, snarling
savagely as he strove with his claws to remove a broken spear, the head
of which was buried deep in his neck. As I rounded the rock and came in
sight of him he rose to his feet, with his two front paws on Ama's body,
and bared his great fangs at me in a hideous grin, as he gave utterance
to a snarling growl that might well have struck terror to the boldest.
But my heart was so full of rage and grief at the dreadful sight before
me that there was no room in it for any other emotion, and, halting
short in my tracks, I gazed the brute steadfastly in the eye, as I
slowly raised my bow and drew the arrow to its head. Never in my life
had I felt more deadly cool and self-possessed than I did then as I
aimed steadily at the animal's right eye; I felt that I _could not_
miss; nor did I; for while we thus stood motionlessly staring at each
other, I released the string, and the next instant the great lithe beast
sprang convulsively into the air, with the butt of my arrow protruding
from his eye and the point buried deep in his brain. As he fell back,
and struggled writhing upon the ground, moaning horribly for a few
seconds ere his great limbs straightened out in death, I dashed forward,
and, seizing poor Ama's body, drew it out of reach of the beast's claws.
But a single glance sufficed to show me that the unfortunate girl was
beyond the reach of further hurt. Yes, she was quite dead, this gentle,
faithful, savage girl who, in return for a comparatively slight service,
had unhesitatingly abandoned home, kindred, everything, to save me from
a cruel and lingering death; and now the only thing that I could do to
show my gratitude was to make sure that no further violence should be
offered to her remains.
My first impulse was to carry the body down to where the soil was
softer, and there dig a grave for it; but while I was considering this
plan, it occurred to me that, with no more efficient tool than a spear
to serve as a shovel, it would be practically impossible for me to bury
the body deep enough to protect it from the jackals and hyaenas; and I
therefore determined that, instead of burying it, I would burn it.
There was an abundance of fallen boughs and twigs in the adjacent jungle
to enable me to build a funeral pyre; and I should have the melancholy
satisfaction of actually watching the reduction of the body to
impalpable ashes. I therefore took all that remained of poor Ama in my
arms and carried it to the top of a bare rocky plateau close at hand,
upon which I intended to build my pyre, and then diligently set to work
to collect the necessary wood.
It took me the remainder of the day to collect as much dry and
combustible material as I considered would be needful to accomplish the
complete incineration of the body, and to build the pyre; but it was
done at last; and then, once more raising the corpse in my arms, I
gently placed it on the top. Then, making fire, as I had seen Ama do,
by rubbing two pieces of wood together, I ignited a torch and thrust it
deep into the heart of the pyre, through an opening which I had left for
the purpose. The dry leaves and grass which I had arranged as kindling
material instantly caught fire, and in a few minutes the flames were
darting fiercely upward through the interstices, and wreathing
themselves about the corpse. Then, placing myself to windward, clear of
the smoke, I knelt down on the hard rock and--I am not ashamed to admit
it--prayed earnestly that God would have mercy upon the soul of the
simple, unsophisticated, savage maiden who had lost her life while
helping me to save my own. I was doing a most imprudent thing to linger
by the side of the pyre, for the smoke, in the first place, and the
light of the flames when it fell dark, could scarcely have failed to
attract to the spot any savages who might have been in the
neighbourhood, when my plight would probably have been as bad as ever;
but at that moment my sorrow at the loss of my companion overcame every
other feeling, and, for the moment at least, I was quite indifferent as
to what befell me. As it happened, no one came near me, and I remained,
unmolested, watching the fire until it had burnt itself out, leaving no
trace of the body that had been consumed.
Meanwhile, since I was almost naked, and was hoping soon to find myself
once more among civilised people, it occurred to me that the skin of the
leopard which had wrought this dire tragedy might be of use to me as
material out of which to fashion some sort of a garment; and, therefore,
while the flames of the pyre were still blazing brilliantly I utilised
their light to enable me to strip the pelt off the great carcase. When
the fire had entirely died down, and I had satisfied myself that there
was nothing left of poor Ama to be desecrated by fang of beast or beak
of bird, I sorrowfully retired from the fatal spot, carrying the
leopard's skin with me, and making my way with some difficulty to the
place where the canoe lay concealed, sprang in and shoved off.
Four days later I arrived at the mouth of the river, without further
adventure, and was fortunate enough to find a fine slashing brigantine
flying French colours riding at anchor there. It did not need a second
look at her to tell me that she was a slaver; but beggars must not be
choosers. I could not afford to wait about for the arrival of a more
honest craft, at the risk of being again seized and carried off by the
natives, and therefore, putting a bold face upon it, I paddled alongside
and, with my leopard-skin wrapped round me petticoat-fashion, climbed up
the side and inquired for the skipper. It appeared that he was ashore
at the moment making arrangements for the shipment of a cargo of slaves
on the next day; but the chief mate was aboard, and upon representing
myself to him as a shipwrecked Englishman who had been carried away
captive into the interior, and had just effected my escape, he gave me
permission to remain, saying that he had no doubt Captain Duquesne would
receive me if I were willing to work my passage to Martinique. This was
not at all what I wanted; but even Martinique was better than King
Banda's town, and I therefore consented. Some hours later the captain
returned, and upon my repeating to him the yarn which I had spun to the
mate he not only very readily consented to my working my passage, but
also offered me two excellent suits of clothes, two shirts, two pairs of
stockings, a pair of shoes, and a worsted cap in exchange for my
leopard-skin, which offer I gladly accepted; and that night found me
domiciled in the forecastle of _L'Esperance_ as one of her crew.
My companions, although a sufficiently lawless lot, were nevertheless
genial enough among themselves, and--let me do them justice--made me
heartily welcome among them. Naturally enough, having heard that I had
been a captive among the savages, they insisted upon my relating to them
my adventures; and this inaugurated an evening of yarn-spinning in the
forecastle, the incidents related having reference for the most part to
the slave-trade. There was one grizzled old scoundrel, in particular,
nicknamed--appropriately enough, no doubt--"Red Hand," who was full of
reminiscence and anecdote; and by-and-by, when the grog had been
circulating for some time, he made mention of the names _Virginia_ and
_Preciosa_, at which I pricked up my ears; for I remembered at once that
those were the names of the two slavers that our own and the American
Government were so anxious to lay by the heels, and which had hitherto
baffled all our efforts and laughed at our most carefully laid plans.
Not altogether to my surprise, I now learned that the _Virginia_ and the
_Preciosa_ were one and the same craft, manned by two complete crews--
one American and one Spanish--and furnished with duplicate sets of
papers. Thus, if by any chance she happened to be overhauled by a
British ship, she hoisted American colours, her American skipper,
officers, and crew showed themselves, and her American set of papers was
produced, the result being that she went free, although she might have a
full cargo of slaves on board--for the British were not authorised to
interfere with American slavers. And, in like manner, if an American
cruiser happened to fall in with her, she showed Spanish colours,
mustered her Spanish crew on deck, and produced her Spanish papers for
inspection if she were boarded, there being no treaty between America
and Spain for the suppression of slavery. What she did if she happened
to encounter a French cruiser I did not learn; apparently such an
accident had not yet happened, she being a remarkably fast sailer while
the French cruisers were notoriously slow-coaches. This was a most
valuable piece of information for me to get hold of, and I carefully
laid it away in the storehouse of my memory for use when occasion should
serve.
On the following morning we began to ship our cargo of slaves--three
hundred and forty of them; and that same night, about an hour before
sunset, we weighed and stood out to sea, securing a good offing by means
of the land-breeze which sprang up later on, and finally bore away for
Cape Palmas. As it happened, the weather was light and fine, and our
progress was consequently slow, Cape Palmas not being sighted until our
sixth day out. Here Captain Duquesne secured an excellent departure by
means of three carefully taken bearings of the cape, observed at
intervals of two hours, by means of which he was able to establish our
position on the chart with the utmost accuracy; and, this done, we held
on a westerly course, the skipper's intention being not to haul up to
the northward until he had arrived at the meridian of 20° west
longitude, lest he should fall in with any of the cruisers of the Slave
Squadron. But, as luck would have it, the weather fell still lighter at
sunset on our ninth day out; and on the following morning at daybreak we
found ourselves becalmed within three miles of a British cruiser, which
promptly lowered her boats and despatched them to overhaul us; and by
breakfast-time I had the pleasure of finding myself once more under the
British flag, our captor proving to be the corvette _Cleopatra_, by the
captain and officers of which I was most kindly received when I had
related to them my strange story. The prize was promptly provided with
a prize crew and sent into Sierra Leone in command of the third
lieutenant, and I was given a passage in her. Four days later we
arrived at our destination; and, to my great joy, among the vessels at
anchor in the harbour I recognised the _Eros_. I pointed her out to the
prize master; and he, good-hearted fellow that he was, kindly let me
have a boat to go on board her as soon as our own anchor was down.