Part 21 (2/2)

”You are grieved, I see,” said Mark, in a tone of profound sympathy which touched his guide's heart.

”Grieved! Yes--verily,” said Laihova, whose broken English was much interlarded with Scriptural words and expressions, ”for does I not see my friends there? But com. They must not know me. It is danger.

Com.”

He led them quickly away from the slave-market, and as they walked along he explained that some of the poor slaves whom they had just seen thus publicly exposed for sale were among the n.o.bles of the land--not only in regard to human rank, but in right of that patent which man can neither give nor take away,--an upright regenerated soul. He further explained, as best he could, that slaves in his land were derived from three or four different sources--namely, captives taken in war; persons condemned to slavery for crime, for political offences, and for religious opinions; people who had been sold for debt, and the descendants of all of these.

They had gradually quitted the market while thus engaged in conversation, and were ascending one of the steeper parts of the city, when their attention was attracted by a shouting not far-off.

Presently they observed a number of men and boys running in and out amongst the houses and the low walls which surrounded them, as if in chase of something. Soon a man was seen to dart along the road they were following. As he drew near they observed that he stumbled as he ran, yet forced the pace and panted violently--like one running for his life. A few moments more and the crowd was close at his heels, pelting him with stones and yelling like wild beasts. The fugitive turned up a narrow lane between high walls, close to where our party stood. He was closely followed by the crowd.

At this point some of the pursuers stopped as if from exhaustion.

”What has he done?” said Laihova to one of these.

”He has been stealing in the market by cutting a lamba.”

It is the practice to carry money tied up in a corner of the lamba, and thieves, by cutting off this corner, sometimes manage to secure the money.

A great cry arose just then, and some of the pursuers came running back.

”He is down,” said one. ”He is dead!” said another.

Now our friend Hockins was one of those men who have at all times an irresistible tendency to take the part of the weak against the strong, without much regard to the cause of battle! He instantly, without a word, ran off at full speed to the rescue. Ebony ran after him from sympathy. Mark Breezy followed from the natural desire to keep by his comrades, and back them up, while Laihova followed--no doubt from good-fellows.h.i.+p!

They soon came upon the poor man, who was completely naked, bruised and bleeding, and surrounded by a crowd of youths, who were deliberately stoning him as if he were a dangerous animal or a mad dog.

With a roar like a lion Hockins went at them. He tripped up some half-dozen big boys, flattened still more the flat noses of some of the men, stretching them flat on their backs, and then, standing astride the fallen man, flourished his enormous fists, and invited the entire population of Antananarivo to ”come on!”

The population refused the invitation and retired.

Ebony was not slow to follow suit, with this variation, that instead of roaring he yelled, and instead of bestriding the fallen man, he gave sudden chase hither and thither, with powerful effect, rendering the rout complete.

Meanwhile Mark attended to the injured man, who seemed to be dead.

Turning him over on his back he discovered, to his inexpressible amazement, that he _was_ no other than their old friend Mamba--the crocodile--whom they had left with his mother and the others in the cave many days before.

”How is it possible,” he exclaimed, while dressing his wounds, ”that he can have arrived at the same time with us, for we started before him and have travelled fast?”

Laihova explained that Mamba was one of the fleetest men in the island, and that he could easily have pa.s.sed them though starting later than they did. But why he had come, and why he had pa.s.sed instead of overtaking and travelling with them, he could not even guess.

As most of poor Mamba's wounds were bruises, and the few cuts were not deep, his four friends raised him and carried him quickly into a neighbouring house, the door of which was immediately shut. Laihova explained that it was the house of a personal friend of his own, who was also a Christian, but secretly, for fear of the Queen.

Here Mamba was sufficiently brought round by Mark's ministrations to be able to sit up and answer questions, but at first he seemed disinclined to speak, and then gave evasive replies.

”Why this secrecy, my friend?” asked Laihova, in the native language.

”If I could answer,” said Mamba, ”there would be no secrecy.”

<script>