Part 18 (1/2)
”The baffled priest, livid with rage, looked round for another weapon.
Half a dozen of the men who had arrived upon the ground with him, uttered a wild yell, and pressed forward with brandished clubs and spears. Barton and I, placed ourselves by Rokoa's side, the former handing me one of his pistols. All was tumult and confusion. The outbreak had been so sudden and unexpected, and what I have just related had pa.s.sed so rapidly, that the bystanders had not yet recovered from the first shock of astonishment and terror. Of the women, some shrieked and fled from the spot, others threw themselves between us and the armed natives, or invoked the interference of their brothers and friends for our protection. Only a few, even of the men, seemed to partic.i.p.ate in the feeling of hostility against us.
”But however inferior in number, the party of our foes far surpa.s.sed that of our friends in resolution and energy. Foremost among them were the priest and the hard-featured chief, who had been so deeply incensed by what he regarded as the wanton insults offered him by Barton. A number of the young men also, whose anger and jealousy had been aroused by his sudden popularity, and the attention which had been paid us, sided zealously with the priest and his party, and joined in the clamour against us.
”Meanwhile, Mowno, at Olla's entreaty, strove to calm the tumult, and to pacify the leader and instigator of it; but his authority was fiercely spurned, and our good-natured protector quailed before the fury of the vindictive old man. As yet, however, our enemies, conscious that the sympathies of a large number of the bystanders were with us, had offered us no actual violence, confining themselves to menacing cries and gestures, by which they seemed to be striving to work themselves up to the requisite pitch of excitement. This was likely to be speedily attained under the influence of the fierce exhortations and contagious fury of the priest. Some of the young men, in fact, now commenced a sort of covert attack, by throwing stones and fragments of wood at us from the outskirts of the crowd, and Barton was struck violently in the mouth by one of these missiles, by which his lip was badly cut. In the midst of all the excitement and tumult, Rokoa stood, with the outward appearance at least, of perfect composure. Neither the ravings of the priest, nor the menacing att.i.tude of 'Catiline,' nor the brandished weapons of their followers, deprived him of his coolness and presence of mind. He steadily confronted them with an unblenching eye, grasping the club of which he had possessed himself, in readiness to meet the attack, which he at the same time did nothing, by look or gesture, to provoke.
His calm intrepidity, while it seemed temporarily to restrain our enemies, served also to rea.s.sure and steady Barton and myself; and endeavouring to emulate his self-possession, we stood ready to act as circ.u.mstances should indicate, looking to him for the example.”
Here Arthur paused, as if about to suspend his narrative. Johnny, who was now broad awake, and listening eagerly, waited patiently a few moments, expecting him to recommence. Finding, however, that he did not do so, he at length asked him to ”go on.”
”It is getting quite late,” answered Arthur; ”see, those three bright stars which were high in the heavens when we first sat down here, are now on the very edge of the horizon, about to sink behind the ocean. As we expect to be up, and on our way to Castle-hill before sunrise to-morrow. I think we should now go to rest.”
”If we do,” replied Johnny, ”I am sure I shall not be able to sleep; I shall be thinking of that terrible old priest, and trying to guess how you escaped at last.”
”I judge,” said Browne, ”that you are pretty nearly at the end of your adventures in Angatan, so pray let us have the remainder now.”
”Do so,” added Morton, ”and set Johnny's mind at rest, or he will be dreaming of cannibals and cannibal-priests all night, and disturbing us by crying out in his sleep.”
”I think it's quite likely,” said Johnny, shaking his head in a threatening manner; ”I feel just now very much as if I should.”
”Since that is the case,” said Arthur, ”I suppose I must 'go on,' in self-defence; and as I believe that twenty minutes will suffice for what remains, I will finish it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
THE FLIGHT.
TE VEA--THE VICTIM FOR SACRIFICE--THE ESCAPE AND PURSUIT--THE PRIEST'S AMBUSH.
”For life, for life, their flight they ply, And shriek, and shout, and battle-cry, And weapons waving to the sky, Are maddening in their rear.”
”While the party hostile to us, thus stood hesitating, but to all appearance rapidly approaching a point where all hesitation would cease, Olla, with tears streaming down her cheeks, besought us to fly to her husband's house, where, she seemed to imagine, we should necessarily be safe from violence. But though no one yet laid hands on us, we were surrounded on all sides, and could not with any certainty distinguish friends from foes; and the first movement on our part to escape, would probably be the signal for an instant and general attack by the priest and his followers. We thought, therefore, that our best hope of safety lay in maintaining a firm but quiet att.i.tude, until Mowno, and those disposed to protect us, could make their influence felt in our behalf.
They, however, confined their efforts to feeble expostulations and entreaties; and perhaps it was unreasonable to expect them to engage in a deadly conflict with their own neighbours, relatives, and personal friends, in the defence of mere strangers like ourselves. They could not even restrain the younger and more violent portion of the rabble from carrying on the species of desultory warfare, from which Barton had already suffered; on the contrary, the stones and other missiles, thrown by persons on the outskirts of the crowd, fell continually thicker and faster. At length Rokoa received a staggering blow on the back of the head, from a clod of earth, thrown by some one who had stolen round behind the rock for that purpose, and who immediately afterwards disappeared in the throng.
”'How much longer are we to endure this?' cried Barton. 'Must we stand here and suffer ourselves to be murdered by these cowardly attacks? Let us shoot a couple of them, and make a rush for the sh.o.r.e.'
”But a moment's reflection was enough to show the utter hopelessness of such an attempt. However much the natives might be astounded for an instant by the discharge of fire-arms, all fear and hesitation would vanish upon our taking to flight. Our backs once turned would be the mark for a score of ready spears; and except perhaps for Rokoa, whose speed was extraordinary, there would be scarcely the possibility for escape. Still it was evident that the audacity of our enemies was steadily increasing, though their attacks were as yet covert and indirect, and, as I knew that Rokoa would not hesitate to retaliate upon the first open a.s.sailant, in which case we should be ma.s.sacred upon the spot, we might soon be compelled to adopt even so desperate a suggestion, as the only alternative of instant death.
”At this critical moment, I noticed a sudden movement of surprise or alarm, on the outskirts of the crowd. A group, directly in front of us, no longer giving us their exclusive attention, began to whisper among themselves, glancing and pointing towards the rising ground in our rear, while a half suppressed and shuddering exclamation of 'Te Vea! Te Vea!'
was heard among the people. Turning round, and looking where all eyes were now directed, I saw a tall native, with a peculiar head-dress of feathers, and a small basket of cocoa-nut-leaflets in his hand, running rapidly towards us. His appearance seemed to awaken in those around us, emotions of terror or aversion, strong enough to swallow up every other feeling, for, no sooner was he perceived, than all thought of prosecuting further the present quarrel, appeared to be abandoned. The priest, alone, evinced none of the general uneasiness or dread, but, on the contrary, a gleam of exultation lighted up his hard and discoloured countenance. The people made way to the right and left, as the new-comer drew near, and a number of them slunk away into the forest or to their homes. The stranger proceeded directly towards Mowno, and taking a small parcel wrapped in leaves, from the basket which he carried, delivered it to him: then, without pausing an instant, or uttering a word, he pa.s.sed on, taking his way at a rapid pace straight through the village. Mowno received the parcel with a reluctant and gloomy air, though it seemed to consist of nothing but a rough stone, wrapped in the leaves of the sacred miro. For several minutes he stood holding it in his hand, like one deprived of consciousness. Several of those who appeared to be the princ.i.p.al persons present, among whom were Catiline and the priest, now approached him, and they began to hold a whispered consultation, in the course of which the priest frequently pointed towards Rokoa, as though speaking of him. Mowno seemed to be resisting some proposal urged by the others, and spoke in a more decisive and resolute manner than I had thought him capable of a.s.suming.
The discussion, whatever was its subject, soon became warm and angry: the voices of Catiline and the priest were raised, and even threatening.
Every moment I expected to see Mowno relinquish his opposition; but he remained firm, and at last, with the air of one resolved to put an end to further debate, he said--
”'No! it shall not be either of the strangers; it shall be Terano: he is an evil man, and it will be well when he is gone.' Then speaking to two of those who stood near him, he said, 'Go quickly to Terano's house, before he sees the messenger and hides himself in the mountains,'
whereupon they seized their spears, and immediately set off in the direction of the village.
”Olla now renewed her entreaties for us to leave the spot, and go with her to the house; and Mowno,--by a quick gesture, meant to be seen only by us, indicated his wish to the same effect. Rokoa nodded to me to comply, and we followed Olla as she bounded lightly through the grove, no one offering to oppose our departure. But the priest's restless eye was upon us, and had we set off in the direction of the sh.o.r.e, we should not have been permitted to escape, without an attempt on his part to prevent it. As it was, he appeared to give some direction to those about him, and four or five young men followed us at a distance, keeping us in sight, and taking care that they were always in such a position as to enable them to intercept us in any attempt to recross the island.
After having dogged us to Mowno's house and seen us enter, they withdrew into the forest out of sight, where they probably remained on the watch.
Rokoa now proceeded to select from Mowno's store of weapons, a club, of more formidable weight and size, than that which he had wrested from the priest, and requested Barton and myself to follow his example.