Part 6 (1/2)
”You lie,” he said ”I never promised you bearers; I have none here”
”Do you mean that you shi+pped theht?” I asked, sweetly
My reader, have you ever taken note of the appearance and proceedings of a toe andsuddenly disturbs it on the prowl? Have you observed how it contorts itself into arched but unnatural shapes, how it swells visibly to almost twice its normal size, how its hair stands up and its eyes flash, and the streae that proceeds froood idea of the effect produced upon Hassan by this re to burst with rage He rolled about, his bloodshot eyes seemed to protrude, he cursed us horribly, he put his hand upon the hilt of the great knife he wore, and finally he did what the to withas cool as a cucu, as it chanced, a little nearer to Hassan than I was, received the full benefit of this rude proceeding My word! didn't it wake hi, and the next second flew at the half-breed like a tiger, landing hiered Hassan, drawing his knife as he did so, but Stephen's left in the eye caused him to drop it, as he dropped himself I pounced upon the knife, and since it was too late to interfere, for the s take their course and held back the Zulus who had rushed up at the noise
Hassan rose and, to do hiht Stephen, as the lighter of the two, in the chest and knocked hie, he was on his feet again Then ensued a really glorious ht with head and fists and feet, Stephen with fists alone Dodging his opponent's rushes, he gave it to hian to tell Once he was knocked over by a hooked one under the jaw, but in the next round he sent the Arab literally flying head over heels Oh! how those Zulus cheered, and I, too, danced with delight Up Hassan ca new tactics, grabbed Stephen round the lishman with his knees and to bite him also, till the pain reot hiripped hile) burst and, at that juncture, Hassan's turban fell over his face, blinding hiripped hiht po position to the ground and held up his hand in token of surrender
”The noble English lord has beatenup a handful of mud, ”or I shove this down your dirty throat”
He seemed to understand At any rate, he bowed till his forehead touched the ground, and apologised very thoroughly
”Now that is over,” I said cheerfully to him, ”so how about those bearers?”
”I have no bearers,” he answered
”You dirty liar,” I exclaie there and says it is full of o and take them for yourself,” he replied, viciously, for he knew that the place was stockaded
Noas in a fix It was all very well to give a slave-dealer the thrashi+ng he deserved, but if he chose to attack us with his Arabs we should be in a poor way Watching uessed ,” he said, his rage returning to him with his breath, ”but God is coe in due time”
The words had not left his lips for one second when froreat gun At this : ”Where is the Bey Hassan?”
”Here,” I said, pointing at hiht his eyes would drop out, for the Bey Hassan was indeed a sight to see Then he gabbled in a frightened voice: ”Captain, an English un for the second ti, but his jaw dropped, and I saw that he had lost exactly three teeth
”That is the Crocodile,” I re Sammy to translate, and as I spoke, produced from my inner pocket a Union Jack which I had placed there after I heard that the shi+p was sighted ”Stephen,” I went on as I shook it out, ”if you have got your wind, would youwith this to the Crocodile out at sea?”
”By George! that's a good idea,” said Stephen, whose jovial face, although swollen, was now again wreathed in s”
But Hassan did not think it at all a good idea
”English lord,” he gasped, ”you shall have the bearers I will go to fetch them”
”No, you won't,” I said, ”you will stop here as a hostage Send that er sped away, this tiht
As he went another er arrived, who also stared amazedly at the condition of his chief
”Bey-if you are the Bey,” he said, in a doubtful voice, for by now the aun to swell and colour, ”with the telescope we have seen that the English man-of-war has sent a boat and boarded the Maria”
”God is great!” ado, who is a thief and a traitor frolish sons of Satan will land here All is finished; nothing is left but flight Bid the people fly into the bush and take the slaves-I mean their servants I will join theh Sammy; ”at any rate, not at present You will come with us”
The miserable Hassan reflected, then he asked: ”Lord Quatermain” (I reot, or ae), ”if I furnish you with the twenty bearers and accompany you for sonal to your country them ashore?”
”What do you think?” I asked of Stephen
”Oh!” he answered, ”I think I'd agree This scoundrel has had a pretty good dusting, and if once the Crocodile people land, there'll be an end of our expedition As sure as eggs are eggs they will carry us off to Zanzibar or so will be gained, for by the tiet here, all these rascals will have bolted, except our friend, Hassan You see it isn't as though ere sure he would be hung He'd probably escape after all International law, subject of a foreign Power, no direct proof-that kind of thing, you know”
”Give an to reflect very deeply
Whilst I was thus engaged several things happened I saenty natives being escorted towards us, doubtless the bearers who had been promised; also I sawfroer arrived, who announced that the Maria was sailing away, apparently in charge of a prize-crew, and that the h to acco a landing upon as, nouese territory Therefore, if anything was to be done, we must act at once
Well, the end of it was that, like a fool, I accepted Stephen's advice and did nothing, always the easiest course and generally that which leads to ed my nalling distance This was subsequent to a conversation with Hans
”Baas,” said that worthy, in his leery fashi+on, ”I think you have et that these yellow devils in white robes who have run aill coain, and that when you return frolish man-of-war had destroyed their town, and their slave-sheds, they one so at the disfigured Hassan, ”we have their captain, and of course youhi , I helped the executioner at Cape Town”
”Get out,” I said, but, nevertheless, I knew that Hans was right
CHAPTER VI
THE SLAVE ROAD
The twenty bearers having arrived, in charge of five or six Arabs ar Hassan with us, also the hunters They were a likely lot of , and evidently, as I could see fro the hair,delivered them, the Arabs, or rather one of them, entered into excited conversation with Hassan As Saathered that they were contean to run away as their companions had done One of them, however, a bolder fellow than the rest, turned and fired atof the bullet, for these Arabs are execrable shots Still his attempt at o scot-free I was carrying the little rifle called ”Intombi,” that hich, as Hans had reaan's kraal many years before Of course, I could have killed the man, but this I did not wish to do Or I could have shot hi, but then we should have had to nurse hiht arm, which was outstretched as he fled, and at about fifty paces put a bullet through it just above the elbow
”There,” I said to the Zulus as I saw it double up, ”that low felloill never shoot at anyone again”
”Pretty, Macumazana, very pretty!” said Mavovo, ”but as you can aim so well, why not have chosen his head? That bullet is half-wasted”
Next I set to work to get into coht, poor devils, that they had been but sold to a new master Here I may explain that they were slaves not ardens Fortunately I found that two of theed to the Mazitu people, who it h they separated froo These h at first not very easily The foundation of it was Zulu, but it had becoes of other tribes whose women the Mazitu had taken to wife
Also there was a man who could speak some bastard Arabic, sufficiently well for Sammy to converse with him
I asked the Mazitus if they knew the way back to their country They answered yes, but it was far off, a full uide us thither, they should receive their freedo that if the other men served us well, they also should be set free e had done with the this information the poor wretches smiled in a sickly fashi+on and looked at Hassan-ben-Mohalowered at thee of Mavovo