Part 12 (2/2)
”Eating the dead mother!” I exclaio that, for a certain sacred reason, the body of the Mother of the Flohen she dies, ed to the holy food”
”But the White Devil neither dies nor is eaten?” I said
”No, as I have told you, he never dies It is he who causes others to die, as if you go to Pongo-land doubtless you will find out,” Babeht I too-land and its white devil alone Then I remembered how Brother John stood in reference to this ned myself to fate As it proved it, I mean Fate, was quite equal to the occasion The very next ain
”Lords, lords,” he said, ”a wonderful thing has happened! Last night we spoke of the Pongo and now behold! an eo is here; it arrived at sunrise”
”What for?” I asked
”To propose peace between their people and the Mazitu Yes, they ask that Bausi should send envoys to their town to arrange a lasting peace As if anyone would go!” he added
”Perhaps soht dare to,” I answered, for an idea occurred to o to see Bausi”
Half an hour later ere seated in the king's enclosure, that is, Stephen and I were, for Brother John was already in the royal hut, talking to Bausi As ent a feords had passed between us
”Has it occurred to you, John,” I asked, ”that if you really wish to visit Pongo-land here is perhaps what you would call a providential opportunity Certainly none of these Mazitu will go, since they fear lest they should find a pero Well, you are a blood-brother to Bausi and can offer to play the part of Envoy Extraordinary, with us as the ht of it, Allan,” he replied, stroking his long beard
We sat down a councillors, and presently Bausi careeted us, ordered the Pongo envoys to be adht-coloured ular and Semitic features, ere clothed in white linen like Arabs, and wore circles of gold or copper upon their necks and wrists
In short, they were i persons, quite different fro about their appearance which chilled and repelled me I should add that their spears had been left outside, and that they saluted the king by folding their arnified fashi+on
”Who are you?” asked Bausi, ”and what do you want?”
”I aeyes, ”the Accepted-of-the-Gods, who, in a day to coo people, and these are ifts of friendshi+p which are without, by the desire of the holy Motoht that the Kalubi was the priest of your Gods,” interrupted Bausi
”Not so The Kalubi is the King of the Pongo as you are the King of the Mazitu The Moto of the spirits and the Mouth of the Gods”
Bausi nodded in the African fashi+on, that is by raising the chin, not depressing it, and Ko to your honour You can kill , since there are others waiting to becoo that I should wish to kill ers and eat them?” asked Bausi, with sarcaso envoys winced a little
”King, you are o only eat those whoious rite Why should they who have cattle in plenty desire to devour runted Bausi, ”but there is one here who can tell a different story,” and he looked at Babeled uncomfortably
Komba also looked at him with his fierce eyes
”It is not conceivable,” he said, ”that anybody should wish to eat one so old and bony, but let that pass I thank you, King, for your promise of safety I have come here to ask that you should send envoys to confer with the Kalubi and the Motoed between our peoples”
”Why do not the Kalubi and the Motombo come here to confer?” asked Bausi
”Because it is not lawful that they should leave their land, O King Therefore they have sent me who am the Kalubi-to-coenerations It began so long ago that only the Moto which he has froo people owned all this land and only had their sacred places beyond the water Then your forefathers ca their women to wife Now, say the Motombo and the Kalubi, in the place of war let there be peace; where there is but barren sand, there let corn and flowers grow; let the darkness, wherein ht in which they can sit in the sun holding each other's hands”
”Hear, hear!” I muttered, quite moved by this eloquence But Bausi was not at all moved; indeed, he seemed to view these poetic proposals with the darkest suspicion
”Give up killing our people or capturing them to be sacrificed to your White Devil, and then in a year or te may listen to your words that are smeared with honey,” he said ”As it is, we think that they are but a trap to catch flies Still, if there are any of our councillors willing to visit your Moto the risk of whatever may happen to them there, I do not forbid it Now, O ether, but one by one, and be swift, since to the first that speaks shall be given this honour”
I think I never heard a denser silence than that which followed this invitation Each of the indunas looked at his neighbour, but not one of thele word
”What!” exclaimed Bausi, in affected surprise ”Do none speak? Well, well, you are lawyers and eneral, Babeo-land when I was young, taken by the hair of my head, to leave an eye there and that I do not wish to visit it again walking on the soles of my feet”
”It see to act as envoys, if there is to be talk of peace between us, the Motombo and the Kalubi must come here under safe conduct”
”I have said that cannot be, O King”
”If so, all is finished, O Komba Rest, eat of our food and return to your own land”
Then Brother John rose and said: ”We are blood-brethren, Bausi, and therefore I can speak for you If you and your councillors are willing, and these Pongos are willing, I and my friends do not fear to visit the Motombo and the Kalubi, to talk with them of peace on behalf of your people, since we love to see new lands and new races ofalloill you accept us as a to name his own ambassadors,” answered Komba ”Yet the Kalubi has heard of the presence of you white lords in Mazitu-land and bade me say that if it should be your pleasure to accoive you welcome Only when the matter was laid before the Motombo, the oracle spoke thus: ”'Let the white men come if come they will, or let the with thereat or small, whereof the land has heard, that vomit smoke with a noise and cause death from afar They will not need theiven to theo they will be safe, unless they offer insult to the God'”
These words Ko eyes fixed upon hts it hid As I heard thee sank into o-land that we ht kill this Great White Devil that threatened his life, which, I took it, was a htful brute without firearms? My un is my father, my mother, my wife and all my other relatives I do not stir from here without it”
”Then, white lord,” answered Komba, ”you will do well to stop in this place in theit with you to Pongo-land, you will be killed as you set foot upon the shore”
Before I could find an answer Brother John spoke, saying: ”It is natural that the great hunter, Macumazana, should not wish to be parted from hich to him is as a stick to a lame un, who kill nothing that God ed insects I aht save this in my hand,” and he pointed to the butterfly net that leaned against the fence behind hiht that I saw his eyes glea which I explained everything to Stephen, showing that the thing wasman's mulish obstinacy came in
”I say, you know, Quatero alone, or at least I can't It's anotheraside the fact that I ed him Of course, it was ridiculous, but an uneasy fear took me lest this Komba should in so ”What's up? Oh! I see, but the beggar can't understand English Well, putting aside everything else, it isn't the gaoes, I'll go too, and indeed if he doesn't go, I'll go alone”
”You unutterable young ass,” Iwhite lord says he wishes in our country?” asked the cold Komba, ith diabolical acuteness had read so in his face
”He says that he is a harmless traveller ould like to study the scenery and to find out if you have any gold there,” I answered
”Indeed Well, he shall study the scenery and we have gold,” and he touched the bracelets on his ariven as much as he can carry away But perchance, white lords, you would wish to talk this matter over alone Have we your leave to withdrahile, O King?”
Five reat house” with Bausi hiuo, and so did I Babeo would be madness, as he so
Brother John replied sweetly that he certainly intended to avail himself of this heaven-sent opportunity to visit one of the few reh which he had not yet wandered Stephen yawned and fanned himself with a pocket-handkerchief, for the hut was hot, and re come so far after a certain rare flower he did not eetah,” said Bausi at last, ”that you have so from me Still, I am minded to hold you here by force”
”If you do, it will break our brotherhood,” answered Brother John ”Seek not to knohat I would hide, Bausi, but wait till the future shall declare it”
Bausi groaned and gave in Babeeetah and Wazela were bewitched, and that I, Macumazana, alone retained my senses
”Then that's settled,” exclaio, and you, Quatermain, will stop here to look after the hunters and the stores”
”Young man,” I replied, ”do you wish to insult e, too! If you two are going, I shall come also, if I have to do so mother-naked But let e I can command, that I consider you a brace of confounded lunatics, and that if the Pongo don't eat you, it will be e I should be dragged aht some unknown brute with my bare hands! Well, we can only die once-that is, so far as we know at present”