Part 27 (1/2)
”I know Jana was too strong for theainst hiainst us; all we could do was to injure his eye and the tip of his trunk and escape from hienerations, Lord But doubtless as the beginning was, so shall the end be Jana, I think, is near his death and through you”
”I don't know,” I repeated ”Who and what is Jana?”
”Have I not told you that he is an evil spirit who inhabits the body of a huge elephant?”
”Yes, and so did Mart; but I think that he is just a huge elephant with a very bad temper of his own Still, whatever he is, he will take soain by that horrible lake”
”Then you will o to look for Jana, Jana will come to look for you who have hurt hio in all this land, it may happen that you will meet Jana”
”Do you mean to say that the brute comes into the territory of the White Kendah?”
”Yes, Macu his shape comes; I know not which What I do know is that twice in h how he ca there, Hart?”
”Who can say, Lord? Tell h the world and I will answer your question Only I repeat--let those who have harmed Jana beware of Jana”
”And let Jana beware of un in my hand, for I have a score to settle with the beast Now, Hart, there is another an to tell nall I had no tiht he said that she was upon yonder Holy Mount Did I hear aright?”
Instantly Hart's face became like that of a stone idol, impenetrable, impassive
”Either you misunderstood, Lord,” he answered, ”or my brother raved in his fear Wherever she may be, that beautiful lady is not upon the Holy Mount, unless there is another Holy Mount in the Land of Death
Moreover, Lord, as we are speaking of this matter, let me tell you the forest upon that Mount must be trodden by none save the priest of the Child If others set foot there they die, for it is watched by a guardian more terrible even than Jana, nor is he the only one Ask uardian, for I will not answer, and, above all, if you or your comrades value life, let the that it was quite useless to pursue this subject farther at thethat the hailstorm which had smitten the country of the Black Kendah was the worst that I had ever experienced
”Yes,” answered Hart, ”so I have learned That was the first of the curses which the Child, through my mouth, promised to Simba and his people if they molested us upon our road The second, you will re that they have little corn in store and none left to gather, and that most of their cattle are dead of the hail”
”If they have no corn while, as I noted, you have plenty which the storm spared, will not they, who are , attack you and take your corn, Hart?”
”Certainly they will do so, Lord, and then will fall the third curse, the curse of war All this was foreseen long ago, Macuoods you have uns and much powder and lead You shall teach our people how to use those guns, that with them we may destroy the Black Kendah”
”I think not,” I replied quietly ”I came here to kill a certain elephant, and to receive payht the Black Kendah, of whouns are not nall, who perhaps will ask his own price for the use of theainst our will, is, as it chances, our property and we may ask your own price for his life Now, farewell for a while, since you, who are still sick and weak, have talked enough Only before I go, as your friend and that of those with you, I will add one word If you would continue to look upon the sun, let none of you try to set foot in the forest upon the Holy Mount
Wander where you will upon its southern slopes, but strive not to pass the wall of rock which rings the forest round”
Then he rose, bowed gravely and departed, leaving e and Hans returned, bringing me some meat which the former had cooked in an admirable fashi+on I ate of it heartily, and just as they were carrying off the re was very warht be expected in the case of two coain on this side of the grave As I had supposed, he was certain that Hans and I had been cut off and killed by the Black Kendah, as, after ere missed, some of the camelmen asserted that they had actually seen us fall So he went on, or rather was carried on by the rush of the ca impossible to attempt to recover our bodies or even to return, that was the only thing to do, and in due course reached the Town of the Child without further accident Here they rested and mourned for us, till some days later Hart suddenly announced that we still lived, though how he knew this they could not ascertain Then they sallied out and found us, as has been told, in great danger froers who, until we appeared, had not even heard of our existence
I asked what they had done and what information they had obtained since their arrival at this place His ansas: Nothing and none worthThe town appeared to be a small one of not ed in agricultural pursuits and in caathered, for thesettlements on the farther side of the cone-shaped e the only person froe was Hart, who spoke to thelish and told them much what he had told ht only be visited by the priests, since any uninitiated person who set foot there came to a bad end They had not seen any of these priests in the tohere no form of worshi+p appeared to be practised, but they had observed oats up the flanks of the mountain towards the forest
Of ent on upon this norance It was a case of stale nor could they learn anything for themselves He added in a depressed way that the whole business seeun to doubt whether there was any tidings of his lost wife to be gained a the Kendah, White or Black