Part 14 (2/2)

A furious bellow was the reply, followed by a still more furious charge.

Ebony had forgotten that an ox ”end on” and head up is tall and not long!

Happily, in stepping back he tripped, and the animal went right over him. But the alarm had been given, and a sudden thundering of feet told that the entire herd had taken to flight, while the shouting and cries of the hunters, added to the confused roaring, showed that there was now no need for concealment.

When the muster-roll was called it was found that n.o.body was missing or hurt, though several had to tell of narrow escapes, especially John Hockins, whose account of Ebony's exploit formed, at the feast that followed, subject of interesting converse and much comment during the brief intervals of relaxation between beef-steaks and marrow-bones.

Daylight revealed the fact that somewhere between thirty and forty animals had been killed outright, besides a dozen or so which, having been fatally wounded, were afterwards followed up and some of them secured.

But daylight also brought a large party of men from a distant village with a pressing invitation to Voalavo and his men to pay them a visit, and a possibly disinterested offer to a.s.sist him in the consumption of the cattle which he had slain; for it chanced that several young men of this village were encamped in the woods that night near the spot where the hunters attacked the cattle. Knowing full well what was being done, these youths hurried home to tell what was going on. The head-man of the village was on good terms with Voalavo at the time, besides being a distant relative. Hence the message and the invitation.

As our happy-go-lucky chief was out in what may be termed a larky state of mind, and had nothing particular to do, he accepted the invitation.

The meat was slung to bamboo poles, hoisted on the shoulders of his men, and away they went over the plains to pay this visit. Happily the village lay on the way to the capital, so that the guide and his party could still accompany them without losing ground.

The plain over which they pa.s.sed was a very wide one, seeming to extend to the very base of the distant mountains of the interior, but our travellers were mistaken in their ideas about it. The plain was itself part of the mountain region into which they had already advanced, but by so gradual an ascent that they had scarcely perceived the rise in the land--a deception which was increased somewhat by the frequent descents they had to make when pa.s.sing over ridges.

On the way Hockins pushed up alongside of Ravonino, who was walking beside Mark.

”Ravvy,” said the seaman, (for to this had he at last curtailed the guide's name), ”where do these fellows fall in wi' the iron to make their spearheads and other things?”

”In the earth,” answered the guide.

”What! D'ee mean to say that you manufacture your own iron in them parts?”

”Of course we do. Think you that no people can work in iron except the British? We have plenty iron ore of good quality in the island. One of our mountains is so full of ore that we call it the iron mountain. It is named in our language the mountain of Ambohimiangavo.”

”An' how d'ee work the ore o' this Am-Ambo-bo-bominable-avo mountain?”

asked the sailor.

”We smelt it, of course. We break the lumps of ore into smallish bits and spread them on charcoal, layer and layer about, in a hollow in the ground. This is covered over with a top-dressing of stone and clay.

Then we set it on fire and keep the blast going with wooden bellows, till the metal is melted and runs in a ma.s.s to the bottom of the hole.

This we break into smaller pieces, purify them with more fire, and run them into bars convenient for use. Our bellows,” continued the guide, ”are not like yours, with two boards and leather between. The rats would soon make short work with these. They are two cylinders formed from the trunk of a tree, with a piston in each, packed with coa.r.s.e cloth, and having valves. An old musket-barrel carries the air to the furnace, and, by pumping them time about, the blow is kept going continuously.”

”Why, how do _you_ come to know so much about valves, pistons, cylinders, and such like?” asked Mark.

”You forget that my father was an Englishman,” returned the guide, ”and, besides being a trader, was a sort of Jack-of-all-trades. He taught me many things about which the kinsfolk of my mother know very little. You must not suppose that because some of us are only half-civilised we can do nothing neatly or well. Many of our men are skilful workers in metal, and we owe much of our power in that way to English missionaries, who brought Christian mechanics to the capital. There is hardly anything in the shape of wrought iron-work that we cannot execute if we have a model or pattern. We can work also in copper and bra.s.s. But it is not only in metals that we can work fairly well--indeed _very_ well, if we are to take the word of some of your own countrymen who have seen and judged our work--we are also pretty good at pottery and cabinet-making. As you have seen, we can weave good cloth of cotton and silk, and some of our ingenious men have even tried their hands at clock-making and musical instruments.”

”From what you say, Madagascar will soon become a great country, I should think,” said Mark, somewhat amused as well as interested by the evident enthusiasm of the guide.

Ravonino shook his head. ”My country might become great,” he returned, ”but there are some things much against her. The system of forced service to the government instead of taxes is one. This tends to repress ingenuity, for the cleverer and more ingenious a man is the more will be demanded of him, both by the government and his own feudal superior. Then the love of strong drink is too common among us; and last, as well as most serious, great mult.i.tudes of our people have no regard at all for their Maker.”

”Why, Ravonino,” said Mark, with something of a smile, ”from the way you speak of `our' people and `my' country, I fear you think more of your Malagasy than your English extraction.”

For a few moments the guide was silent. At length he said, slowly, ”England has indeed done us a service that we can never repay. She has sent us the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ. She is also the land of my father, and I reverence my father. He was very kind and good to me.

But this is the land of my _mother_! I am a man of Madagascar.”

It was evident from the expressive features of Ebony, who had joined them, that he heartily approved of this maternal preference, but the gravity of the guide's countenance, no less than his pathetic tones, prevented his giving the usual candid vent to his ever-ready opinion.

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