________________________________________________
_ On the morrow Leonard woke early from a troubled sleep, for his fever
would scarcely let him rest. But, early as it was, the woman Soa had
been up before him, and on coming out of the cave the first thing that
he saw was her tall shape bending over a little fire, whereon a gourd
was boiling, the contents of which she stirred from time to time.
"Good morning to you, White Man," she said; "here is that which shall
cure you of your sickness as I promised to do;" and she lifted the
gourd from the fire.
Leonard took it and sniffed at the liquor, which smelt abominably.
"It is more likely to poison me, mother," he said.
"No, no," she answered with a smile; "drink half of it now and half at
midday, and the fever shall trouble you no more."
So soon as the stuff was cool enough Leonard obeyed, though with a
doubting heart.
"Well, mother," he said, setting the gourd down with a gasp, "if
nastiness is any proof of virtue your medicine should be good."
"It is good," she answered gravely; "many have been dragged from the
edge of death by it."
And here it may be stated, whether it was owing to Soa's medicine or
to other causes, that Leonard began to mend from that hour. By
nightfall he felt a different man, and before three days were over he
was as strong as he had ever been in his life. But into the
ingredients of the draught he never found the courage to inquire, and
perhaps it was as well.
Shortly after he had taken his dose Leonard observed Otter walking up
the hill, bearing a huge lump of meat upon his shoulders.
"The old woman has brought us luck," said the dwarf as he loosed
himself from his burden. "Once more the bush is full of game; scarcely
had I reached it when I killed a young koodoo, fat, ah! fat, and there
are many of them about."
Then they prepared breakfast, and ate it, and when the meal was done
once more they talked.
"Mother," began Leonard, "last night you asked me to undertake a great
venture, and promised a reward in payment. Now, as you said, we
Englishmen will do much for gold, and I am a poor man who seeks
wealth. You demand of me that I should risk my life; now tell me of
its price."
The woman Soa looked at him awhile, and answered:
"White Man, have you ever heard of the People of the Mist?"
"No," he said, "that is, except in London. I mean that I know nothing
of such a people. What of them?"
"This: I, Soa, am one of that people. I was the daughter of their
head-priest, and I fled from them many many years ago, because I was
doomed to be offered up as a sacrifice to the god Jal, he who is
shaped like the Black One yonder," and she pointed to Otter.
"This is rather interesting," said Leonard; "go on."
"White Man, that people is a great people. They live in a region of
mist, upon high lands beneath the shadow of the tops of snow
mountains. They are larger than other men in size, and very cruel, but
their women are fair. Now of the beginning of my people I know
nothing, for it is lost in the past. But they worship an ancient stone
statue fashioned like a dwarf, and to him they offer the blood of men.
Beneath the feet of the statue is a pool of water, and beyond the pool
is a cave. In that cave, White Man, he dwells whom they adore in
effigy above, he, Jal, whose name is Terror."
"Do you mean that a dwarf lives in the cave?" asked Leonard.
"No, White Man, not a dwarf, but a holy crocodile which they name the
Snake, the biggest crocodile in the whole world, and the oldest, for
he has dwelt there from the beginning. It is this Snake that devours
the bodies of those who are offered to the Black One."
"As I remarked before," said Leonard, "all this is very romantic and
interesting, but I cannot see that there is much profit to be made out
of it."
"White Man, the lives of men are not the only things which the priests
of the Children of the Mist offer to their god; they offer also such
toys as /this/, White Man," and suddenly she unclosed her hand and
exhibited to Leonard's astonished gaze a ruby, or what appeared to be
a ruby, of such size and so lovely a colour, that his eyes were
dazzled when he looked at it. The gem, though roughly polished, was
uncut, but its dimensions were those of a small blackbird's egg, it
was of the purest pigeon-blood colour, without a flaw, and worn almost
round, apparently by the action of water. Now, as it chanced, Leonard
knew something of gems, although unhappily he was less acquainted with
the peculiarities of the ruby than with those of most other stones.
Thus, although this magnificent specimen might be a true stone, as
indeed appeared to be the case, it was quite possible that it was only
a spinel, or a garnet, and alas! he had no means of setting his doubts
at rest.
"Do your people find many of these pebbles, Soa?" he asked, "and if
so, where do they find them?"
"Yes, White Man, they find many, though few of such a size as this.
They dig them out of a dry river-bed in some spot that is known to the
priests only, and with them other beautiful stones of a blue colour."
"Sapphires probably," said Leonard to himself: "they generally go
together."
"Every year they dig them," she went on, "and the biggest of those
that are found in their digging they bind upon the brow of her who is
to be offered as a wife to the god Jal. Afterwards, before she dies,
they take the gem from her brow and store it in a secret place, and
there in that secret place are hidden all those that have been worn by
the victims of countless years. Moreover the eyes of Jal are made of
such stones, and there are others.
"This is the legend of my people, White Man, that Jal, God of Death
and Evil, slew his mother, Aca, in the far past. There where the
stones are found he slew her, and the red gems are her blood, and the
blue gems are her tears which she shed praying to him for mercy.
Therefore the blood of Aca is offered to Jal, and so it shall be
offered till Aca comes again to drive his worship from the land."
"A nice bit of mythology, I am sure," said Leonard. "Our old friends
the Darkness and the Dawn in an African shape, I suppose. But listen
to me, mother. This stone, if it is genuine, is worth many ounces of
gold, but there are other stones so like it that none who are not
learned can tell the difference, and if it be one of these it is of
little value. Still it may happen that this, and the others of which
you speak, are true rubies; at any rate I should be willing to take my
chance of that. But now, tell me, what is your plan? This is a very
pretty story, and the rubies may be there, but how am I to get them?"
"I have a plan, White Man," she answered. "If you will help me, I
offer to give you that stone, which I have borne hidden about me for
many years, tellings its story to none, no, not even to Mavoom. I
offer to give it to you now if you will promise to attempt the rescue
of my mistress, for I know by your eyes that if once you promise you
will not desert the quest;" and she paused, looking at him keenly.
"Very well," said Leonard, "but considering the risks the price does
not seem quite good enough. As I told you, this stone may be worth
nothing: you must make a better bid, mother."
"Truly, White Man, I have judged you well," answered Soa with a sneer;
"also you are wise: little work for little wage. Listen now, this is
the pay I proffer you.
"If you succeed, and the Shepherdess is saved alive from the grip of
the Yellow Devil, I promise this on her behalf and on my own: that I
will guide you to the land of the People of the Mist, and show you a
way to win for yourself all those other countless stones that are
hidden there."
"Good," said Leonard, "but why do you promise on behalf of your
mistress and yourself? What has she got to do with it?"
"Without her nothing can be done, White Man. This people is great and
strong, and we have no force with which to conquer them in war. Here
craft must be your spear."
"You must speak more clearly, Soa. I cannot waste time in guessing
riddles. How will you conquer this people by craft, and what has Miss
Rodd, whom you name the Shepherdess, to do with the matter?"
"That you shall learn by-and-by, after you have rescued her, White
Man; till then my lips are shut. I tell you that I have a plan, and
this must be enough, for more I will not say. If you are not content,
let me go to seek help elsewhere."
Leonard thought a moment, and seeing that she was determined not to be
more explicit, said:
"Very well, then. And now how am I to know that your mistress will
fall in with this scheme?"
"I answer for her," said Soa, "she will never go back upon my word.
Look you, White Man, it is not for a little thing that I would have
told you this tale. If you journey to the land of the People of the
Mist, I must go with you, and there, should I be discovered, my death
waits me. I tell you the tale, or some of it, and I offer you the
bribe because I see that you need money, and I am sure that without
the chance of winning money you will not hazard your life in this
desperate search. But I love my mistress so well that I am ready to
hazard mine; ay, I would give six lives, if I had them, to save her
from the shame of the slave. Now, White Man, we have talked enough; is
it a bargain?"
"What do you say, Otter?" asked Leonard, thoughtfully pulling at his
beard, "you have heard all this wonderful tale and you are clever."
"Yes, Baas," said the dwarf, speaking for the first time, "I have
heard the tale, and as for being clever, perhaps I am and perhaps I am
not. My people said that I was clever, and that is one of the reasons
why they would not have me for a chief. If I had been clever only,
they could have borne it, they said, or if I had been ugly only, but
being both ugly and clever I was no chief for them. They feared lest I
should rule them too well and make all the people to be born ugly
also. Ah! they were fools; they did not understand that it wants
someone cleverer than I to make people so ugly."
"Never mind all that," said Leonard, who understood however that the
dwarf was talking thus in order to give himself time to think before
he answered. "Show me your mind, Otter."
"Baas, what can I say? I know nothing of the value of that red stone.
I do not know whether this woman, of whom my heart tells me no good,
speaks truth or lies about a distant people who live in a fog and
worship a god shaped as I am. None have ever worshipped me, yet there
may be a land where I should be deemed worthy of worship, and if so I
should like to travel in that land. But as to the rescue of this
Shepherdess from the Nest of the Yellow Devil, I do not know how it
can be brought about. Say, mother, how many of the men of Mavoom were
taken prisoners with your mistress?"
"Fifty of them perchance," answered Soa.
"Well now," went on the dwarf, "if we could loose those men and if
they are brave we might do something, but there are many /if's/ about
it, Baas. Still if you think the pay is good enough we can try. It
will be better than sitting here, and it does not matter what happens.
Every man to his fate, Baas, and fate to every man."
"A good motto," said Leonard. "Soa, I take your offer, though I am a
fool for my pains. And now, with your leave, we will put the matter
into writing so that there may be no mistake about it afterwards. Get
a little blood from the buck's flesh, Otter, and mix gunpo water with
it; that will do for ink if we add some hot water."
While the dwarf was compounding this ominous mixture Leonard sought of
paper. He could find none; the last had been lost when the hut was
blown away on the night of his brother's death. Then he bethought him
of the prayer-book which Jane Beach had given him. He would not use
the fly-leaf, because her name was on it, so he must write across the
title-page. And thus he wrote in small, neat letters with his mixture
of blood and gunpowder straight through the /Order of Common
Prayer/:--
"/Agreement between Leonard Outram and Soa,
the native woman./
"I. The said Leonard Outram agrees to use his best efforts to
rescue Juanna, the daughter of Mr. Rodd, now reduced to a state of
slavery and believed to be in the power of one Pereira, a slave-
dealer.
"II. In consideration of the services of the said Leonard Outram,
the said Soa delivers to him a certain stone believed to be a
ruby, of which the said Leonard Outram hereby acknowledges the
receipt.
"III. Should the rescue be effected, the said Soa hereby agrees, on
behalf of herself and the said Juanna Rodd, to conduct the said
Leonard Outram to a certain spot in central South Eastern Africa,
inhabited by a tribe known as the People of the Mist, there to
reveal to him and to help him to gain possession of the store of
rubies used in the religious ceremonies of the said tribe.
Further, the said Soa agrees, on behalf of the said Juanna Rodd,
that she, the said Juanna, will accompany her upon the journey,
and will play among the said People of the Mist any part that may
be required of her as necessary to the success of this
undertaking.
"IV. It is mutually agreed that these enterprises be prosecuted
until the said Leonard Outram is satisfied that they are
fruitless.
"Signed in the Manica Mountains, Eastern Africa,
on the ninth day of May 18--."
When he had finished this document, perhaps one of the most remarkable
that were ever written since Pizarro drew up his famous agreement for
the division of the prospective spoils of Peru, Leonard read it aloud
and laughed heartily to himself. It was the first time that he had
laughed for some months. Then he translated it to his companions, not
without complaisancy, for it had a truly legal sound, and your layman
loves to affect the lawyer.
"What do you think of that, Otter?" he asked when he had finished.
"It is fine, Baas, very fine," answered the dwarf. "Wonderful are the
ways of the white man! But, Baas, how can the old woman promise things
on behalf of another?"
Leonard pulled his beard reflectively. The dwarf had put his finger
upon the weak spot in the document. But he was saved the necessity of
answering by Soa herself, who said quietly, "Have no fear, White Man;
that which I promise in her name, my mistress will certainly perform,
if so be that you can save her. Give me the pen that I may make my
mark upon the paper. But first do you swear upon the red stone that
you will perform what you undertake in this writing."
So Leonard laughed, swore, and signed, and Soa made her mark. Then
Otter affixed his, as witness to the deed, and the thing was finished.
Laughing again at the comicality of the transaction, which indeed he
had carried out more by way of joke than for any other reason, Leonard
put the prayer-book in his pocket and the great ruby into a division
of his belt. The old woman watched the stone vanish with an expression
of triumph on her face, then she cried exultingly:
"Ah! White Man, you have taken my pay, and now you are my servant to
the end. He who swears upon the blood of Aca swears an oath indeed,
and woe be to him if he should break it."
"Quite so," answered Leonard; "I have taken your pay and I mean to
earn it, so we need not enter into the matter of the blood of Aca. It
seems to me more probable that our own blood will be in question
before all is said and done. And now we had better make ready to
start." _
Read next: CHAPTER VIII - THE START
Read previous: CHAPTER VI - THE TALE OF SOA
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