Part 24 (1/2)
”Ah! s'pose so,” remarked the trader.
I was struck with the manner in which this was said. There was a tone of affected indifference, such as one a.s.sumes when making a pa.s.sing remark, but at the same time a dark frown rested for one moment on his brow, and he cast a piercing vindictive glance at our guide. Next moment he was smiling blandly and making some humorous remark to Peterkin.
I looked at my companions, but they had evidently not observed this little piece of by-play. It seemed to me so unaccountable, considering that the two men had never met before, that I resolved to watch them. I soon observed that Makarooroo's mirth was forced, that he was in fact acting a part, and I noticed once or twice that he also cast an occasional stealthy and piercing glance at the Portuguese. It afterwards turned out that both men had been acting the same part, and that each had suspected what the other was doing.
When our meal was concluded we prepared to resume our separate routes.
”I goes to de west,” observed the Portuguese, in a casual way, as he buckled on the belt that supported his hunting-knife.
”Indeed! I had understood you to say that you were going south.”
”No; you not have onderstand me. I goes to de west, ver' long way.”
”Then, sir, I wish you a safe and pleasant journey,” said Jack, lifting his cap.
”De same to you, sairs, an' goot plenty of gorillas to you. Farder nord dey be more plenty. Adieu!”
We took off our caps to each other, and saying farewell, we turned away, and soon lost sight of the party.
”Ho! de yaller-faced villain,” exclaimed Makarooroo between his clinched teeth, after we were out of earshot.
”Why, what's wrong, Mak?” inquired Peterkin, in great surprise.
”Ho! noting porteekler,” replied the guide, with an air and tone of sarcasm that quite amused us. ”Hims not go sout', ho no! hims go west, ho yis! Hims advise us to go nort', ho dear! dat bery clibber, bery mush clibber; but we is clibberer, we is, ho! ho! ho!”
Our worthy guide looked so terribly fierce as he uttered this fiendish laugh, that we all came to a stand and gazed at him in surprise; we fancied that something must have deranged his mind.
”Mak,” said Peterkin, ”you are mad. What mean you by such grimaces?”
Pursing his lips tightly, and looking at each of us for a few moments in silence, he finally crossed his arms on his chest, and turning eagerly to Jack, said with extreme volubility--
”Dat rascal! dat tief! Him's no trader, him's slabe-dealer; hims no go west, hims go south; an' w'at for hims go? W'at for hims carry guns so many, eh? Hims go” (here the guide dropped his voice into a whisper of intense bitterness)--”hims go for attack village an' take all peepils away for be slabes. No pay for 'em--tief!--take dem by force.”
”Why, how did you come to know all this,” said Jack, ”or rather to suspect it? for you cannot be sure that you are right.”
”W'at, no can be sure me right? ho, yis, me sartin sure. Me bery clibber. Stop, now. Did him--dat tief!--speak bery mush?”
”Certainly he did, a good deal.”
”Yis, ho! An' did him make _you_ speak bery mush?”
”I rather think he did,” replied Peterkin, laughing at our guide's eagerness.
”Yis, ho! hims did. An' did him ax you plenty question, all 'bout where you go, an' where you come from, an' _de way back_ to village where we be come from? An' did hims say, when him find you was come from _sout_, dat hims was go _west_, though before dat hims hab say dat hims be go _sout_, eh?”
”Certainly,” said Jack, with a thoughtful look, ”he did say all that, and a great deal more to that effect.”
”Yis, ho! hims did. Me know bery well. Me see him. An' me also dood to de n.i.g.g.e.rs what hims do to you. Me talk an' laugh an' sing, _den me ax dem questions_. But dey bery wise; dey no speak mush, but dey manage to speak 'nuff for me. Yis, me bam--bam--eh?”
”Boozle,” suggested Peterkin.