Part 8 (2/2)
By this time the shouts of the natives had swelled to double volume as they vehemently implored the aid of the heavenly powers
”There, there,” said Joe, ”they're rather rough in their orders to their good moon and her divine sons”
The doctor, equipped with his travelling round, preceded by Joe, who kept a straight countenance and looked as grave and knowing as the circumstances of the case required He then seated himself at the foot of the ladder in the Arab fashi+on, with his legs crossed under him, and a portion of the crowd collected around him in a circle, at respectful distances
In the e instruious dances, slowly proceeded toward the royal ”tembe,” situated a considerable distance outside of the town It was about three o'clock, and the sun was shi+ning brilliantly In fact, what less could it do upon so grand an occasion!
The doctor stepped along with great dignity, the waganga surrounding hi off the crowd He was soon joined by the natural son of the sultan, a handso to the custooods, to the exclusion of the old itimate children He prostrated hiraciously raised hih shady paths, surrounded by all the luxuriance of tropical vegetation, this enthusiastic procession arrived at the sultan's palace, a sort of square edifice called ititenya, and situated on the slope of a hill
A kind of veranda, formed by the thatched roof, adorned the outside, supported upon wooden pillars, which had so lines of dark-red clay decorated the walls in characters that strove to reproduce the forms of men and serpents, the latter better i of this abode did not rest directly upon the walls, and the air could, therefore, circulate freely, but s there were none, and the door hardly deserved the nauson was received with all the honors by the guards and favorites of the sultan; these were men of a fine race, the Wanyamwezi so-called, a pure type of the central African populations, strong, robust, well-reat number of small tresses, fell over their shoulders, and by means of black-and-blue incisions they had tattooed their cheeks frohtfully distended, held dangling to theum copal They were clad in brilliantly-painted cloths, and the soldiers were armed with the saw-toothed war-club, the bow and arrows barbed and poisoned with the juice of the euphorbiu sabre (also with saw-like teeth), and some small battle-axes
The doctor advanced into the palace, and there, notwithstanding the sultan's illness, the din, which was terrific before, redoubled the instant that he arrived He noticed, at the lintels of the door, some rabbits' tails and zebras' manes, suspended as talismans He was received by the whole troop of his majesty's wives, to the harmonious accords of the ”upatu,” a sort of cymbal made of the bottom of a copper kettle, and to the uproar of the ”kilindo,” a druh, hollowed out from the trunk of a tree, and hammered by the ponderous, horny fists of two jet-black virtuosi
Most of the wohed and chattered e black pipes They see robes that they wore gracefully flung about their persons, and carried a sort of ”kilt” woven froirdles
Six of theh put aside from the rest, and reserved for a cruel fate On the death of the sultan, they were to be buried alive with hi the period of eternal solitude
Dr Ferguson, taking in the whole scene at a rapid glance, approached the wooden couch on which the sultan lay reclining There he saw a ies of every description, and in a condition that left little or nothing to be done The sickness that had afflicted him for so many years was simply perpetual drunkenness The royal sot had nearly lost all consciousness, and all the aain
His favorites and the wo this solemn visit By means of a few drops of powerful cordial, the doctor for a moment reanimated the imbruted carcass that lay before hiiven no sign whatever of life for several hours previously, this symptom was received with a tremendous repetition of shouts and cries in the doctor's honor
The latter, who had seen enough of it by this time, by a rapid motion put aside his too de his steps immediately toward the balloon, for it was now six o'clock in the evening
Joe, during his absence, had been quietly waiting at the foot of the ladder, where the crowd paid hienuine son of the moon, he let them keep on For a divinity, he had the air of a very clever sort of fellow, by no resses, who see at hireeably with them
”Worshi+p me, ladies! worshi+p me!” he said to them ”I'm a clever sort of devil, if I aht hiifts, such as are usually deposited in the fetich huts or ifts consisted of stalks of barley and of ”pombe” Joe considered hi beer, but his palate, although accustoth of the new beverage, and he had to rimace, which his dusky friends took to be a benevolent s their voices in a drawling chant, began to dance around hi, are you?” said he ”Well, I won't be behind you in politeness, and so I'll give you one of my country reels”
So at it he went, in one of the wildest jigs that ever was seen, twisting, turning, and jerking hi with his body, dancing with his knees, dancing with his feet; describing thehi beyond all belief, and, in fine giving his savage ade idea of the style of ballet adopted by the deities in the moon
Then, the whole collection of blacks, naturally as iraces, his leaps and shakes and contortions; they did not lose a single gesticulation; they did not forget an attitude; and the result was, such a pandemonium of movement, noise, and excitement, as it would be out of the question even feebly to describe But, in the very
The latter was co and disorderly throng The chiefs and sorcerers seehly excited They were close upon the doctor's heels, crowding and threatening hiular reaction! What had happened? Had the sultan unluckily perished in the hands of his celestial physician?
Kennedy, fro what had caused it, and the balloon, powerfully urged by the dilation of the gas, strained and tugged at the ropes that held it as though iot as far as the foot of the ladder A superstitious fear still held the crowd aloof and hindered the any violence on his person He rapidly scaled the ladder, and Joe followed hiility
”Not a o the anchor! We'll cut the cord! Followinto the car
”What's happened?” questioned Kennedy, rifle in hand
”Look!” replied the doctor, pointing to the horizon
”Well?” ejaculated the Scot
”Well! thered and lobe of fire in a field of blue! It was she, indeed-she and the balloon!-both in one sky!
Either there were twoscamps, false deities!
Such were the very natural reflections of the crowd, and hence the reaction in their feelings
Joe could not, for the life of hihter; and the population of Kazeh, coh their clutches, set up prolonged howlings, ai, the while, their bows and muskets at the balloon
But one of the sorcerers an to cli the round
Joe leaned out with a hatchet ready ”Shall I cut away?” said he
”No; wait a moment,” replied the doctor
”But this black?”
”We reat deal by that There'll always be ti cliorously that he succeeded in detaching the anchor, and the latter, violently jerked, at that ht the rascal between the lih the air
The stupefaction of the croas indescribable as they saw one of their waganga thus whirled away into space
”Huzza!” roared Joe, as the balloon-thanks to its ascensional force-shot up higher into the sky, with increased rapidity
”He holds on well,” said Kennedy; ”a little trip will do hiood”
”Shall we let this darky drop all at once?” inquired Joe
”Oh no,” replied the doctor, ”we'll let him down easily; and I warrant me that, after such an adventure, the power of the wizard will be enorht of his comrades”
”Why, I wouldn't put it past theh
The Victoria, by this tiht of one thousand feet, and the black hung to the rope with desperate energy He had become completely silent, and his eyes were fixed, for his terror was blended with aht over the town, and far beyond it