direction in which they were proceeding it was quite probable that they
would ultimately reach the Zaire, and in that case not actually arrive
at S. Paul de Loanda; but that would be immaterial, as they would be
sure of finding help anywhere in the colonies of Lower Guinea.
On finding himself on the river-bank, Dick's first thought had been to
embark upon one of the floating islands that are continually to be seen
upon the surface of the African streams, but it happened that Hercules
during one of his rambles found a native boat that had run adrift. It
was just the discovery that suited their need. It was one of the long,
narrow canoes, thirty feet in length by three or four in breadth, that
with a large number of paddles can be driven with immense velocity, but
by the aid of a single scull can be safely guided down the current of a
stream.
Dick was somewhat afraid that, to elude observation, it would be
necessary to proceed only by night, but as the loss of twelve hours out
of the twenty-four would double the length of the voyage, he devised
the plan of covering the canoe with a roof of long grass, supported by
a horizontal pole from stem to stern, and this not only afforded a
shelter from the sun, but so effectually concealed the craft,
rudder-scull and all, that the very birds mistook it for one of the
natural islets, and red-beaked gulls, black -arringhas- and grey and
white kingfishers would frequently alight upon it in search of food.
Though comparatively free from fatigue, the voyage must necessarily be
long, and by no means free from danger, and the daily supply of
provisions was not easy to procure. If fishing failed, Dick had the one
gun which Hercules had carried away with him from the ant-hill, and as
he was by no means a bad shot, he hoped to find plenty of game, either
along the banks or by firing through a loophole in the thatch.
The rate of the current, as far as he could tell, was about two miles
an hour, enough to carry them about fifty miles a day; it was a speed,
however, that made it necessary for them to keep a sharp look-out for
any rocks or submerged trunks of trees, as well as to be on their guard
against rapids and cataracts.
Dick's strength and spirits all revived at the delight of having Mrs.
Weldon and Jack restored to him, and he assumed his post at the bow of
the canoe, directing Hercules how to use the scull at the stern. A
litter of soft grass was made for Mrs. Weldon, who spent most of her
time lying thoughtfully in the shade. Cousin Benedict was very
taciturn; he had not recovered the loss of the manticora, and frowned
ever and again at Hercules, as if he had not yet forgiven him for
stopping him in the chase. Jack, who had been told that he must not be
noisy, amused himself by playing with Dingo.
The first two days passed without any special incident. The stock of
provisions was quite enough for that time, so that there was no need to
disembark, and Dick merely lay to for a few hours in the night to take
a little necessary repose.
The stream nowhere exceeded 150 feet in breadth. The floating islands
moved at the same pace as the canoe, and except from some unforeseen
circumstance, there could be no apprehension of a collision. The banks
were destitute of human inhabitants, but were richly clothed with wild
plants, of which the blossoms were of the most gorgeous colours; the
asclepiae, the gladiolus, the clematis, lilies, aloes, umbelliferae,
arborescent ferns and fragrant shrubs, combining on either hand to make
a border of surpassing beauty. Here and there the forest extended to
the very shore, and copal-trees, acacias with their stiff foliage,
bauhinias clothed with lichen, fig-trees with their masses of pendant
roots, and other trees of splendid growth rose to the height of a
hundred feet, forming a shade which the rays of the sun utterly failed
to penetrate.
[Illustration: Hercules could leave the boat without much fear of
detection.]
Occasionally a wreath of creepers would form an arch from shore to
shore, and on the 27th, to Jack's great delight, a group of monkeys was
seen crossing one of these natural bridges, holding on most carefully
by their tails, lest the aerial pathway should snap beneath their
weight. These monkeys, belonging to a smaller kind of chimpanzee, which
are known in Central Africa by the name of -sokos-, were hideous
creatures with low foreheads, bright yellow faces, and long, upright
ears; they herd in troops of about ten, bark like dogs, and are much
dreaded by the natives on account of their alleged propensity to carry
off young children; there is no telling what predatory designs they
might have formed against Master Jack if they had spied him out, but
Dick's artifice effectually screened him from their observation.
Twenty miles further on the canoe came to a sudden standstill.
"What's the matter now, captain?" cried Hercules from the stern.
"We have drifted on to a grass barrier, and there is no hope for it, we
shall have to cut our way through," answered Dick.
"All right, I dare say we shall manage it," promptly replied Hercules,
leaving his rudder to come in front.
The obstruction was formed by the interlacing of masses of the tough,
glossy grass known by the name of -tikatika-, which, when compressed,
affords a surface so compact and resisting that travellers have been
known by means of it to cross rivers dry-footed. Splendid specimens of
lotus plants had taken root amongst the vegetation.
As it was nearly dark, Hercules could leave the boat without much fear
of detection, and so effectually did he wield his hatchet that, in two
hours after the stoppage, the barrier was hewn asunder, and the light
craft resumed the channel.
It must be owned that it was with a sense of reluctance that Benedict
felt the boat was again beginning to move forward; the whole voyage
appeared to him to be perfectly uninteresting and unnecessary; not a
single insect had he observed since he left Kazonndé, and his most
ardent wish was that he could return there and regain possession of his
invaluable tin box. But an unlooked for gratification was in store for
him.
Hercules, who had been his pupil long enough to have an eye for the
kind of creature Benedict was ever trying to secure, on coming back
from his exertions on the grass-barrier, brought a horrible-looking
animal, and submitted it to the sullen entomologist.
"Is this of any use to you?"
The amateur lifted it up carefully, and having almost poked it into his
near-sighted eyes, uttered a cry of delight,--
"Bravo, Hercules! you are making amends for your past mischief; it is
splendid! it is unique!"
"Is it really very curious?" said Mrs. Weldon.
"Yes, indeed," answered the enraptured naturalist; "it is really
unique; it belongs to neither of the ten orders; it can be classed
neither with the coleoptera, neuroptera, nor to the hymenoptera: if it
had eight legs I should know how to classify it; I should place it
amongst the second section of the arachnida; but it is a hexapod, a
genuine hexapod; a spider with six legs; a grand discovery; it must be
entered on the catalogue as 'Hexapodes Benedictus.'" Once again
mounted on his hobby, the worthy enthusiast continued to discourse with
an unwonted vivacity to his indulgent ii* not over attentive audience.
Meanwhile the canoe was steadily threading its way over the dark
waters, the silence of the night broken only by the rattle of the
scales of some crocodiles, or by the snorting of hippopotamuses in the
neighbourhood. Once the travellers were startled by a loud noise, such
as might proceed from some ponderous machinery in motion: it was caused
by a troop of a hundred or more elephants that, after feasting through
the day on the roots of the forest, had come to quench their thirst at
the river-side.
[Illustration: It was caused by a troop of a hundred or more elephants.]
But no danger was to be apprehended; lighted by the pale moon that rose
over the tall trees, the canoe throughout the night pursued in safety
its solitary voyage.
CHAPTER XVIII.
AN ANXIOUS VOYAGE.
Thus the canoe drifted on for a week, the forests that for many miles
had skirted the river ultimately giving place to extensive jungles that
stretched far away to the horizon. Destitute, fortunately for the
travellers, of human inhabitants, the district abounded in a large
variety of animal life; zebras, elands, caamas, sported on the bank,
disappearing at night-fall before howling leopards and roaring lions.
It was Dick's general custom, as he lay to for a while in the
afternoon, to go ashore in search of food, and as the manioc, maize,
and sorghum that were to be found were of a wild growth and
consequently not fit for consumption, he was obliged to run the risk of
using his gun. On the 4th of July he succeeded by a single shot in
killing -pokoo-, a kind of antelope about five feet long, with
annulated horns, a tawny skin dappled with bright spots, and a white
belly. The venison proved excellent, and was roasted over a fire
procured by the primitive method, practised, it is said, even by
gorillas, of rubbing two sticks together.
In spite of these halts, and the time taken for the night's rest, the
distance accomplished by the 8th could not be estimated at less than a
hundred miles. The river, augmented by only a few insignificant
tributaries, had not materially increased in volume; its direction,
however, had slightly changed more to the north-west. It afforded a
very fair supply of fish, which were caught by lines made of the long
stems of creepers furnished with thorns instead of fish-hooks, a
considerable proportion being the delicate -sandjtkas-, which when
dried may be transported to any climate; besides these there were the
black -usakas-, the wide-headed -monndés-, and occasionally the little
-dagalas-, resembling Thames whitebait.
[Illustration: He stood face to face with his foe.]
Next day, Dick met with an adventure that put all his courage and
composure to the test. He had noticed the horns of a caama projecting
above the brushwood, and went ashore alone with the intention of
securing it. He succeeded in getting tolerably close to it and fired,
but he was terribly startled when a formidable creature bounded along
some thirty paces ahead, and took possession of the prey he had just
wounded.
It was a majestic lion, at least five feet in height, of the kind
called -káramoo-, in distinction to the maneless species known as the
-Nyassi-lion-. Before Dick had time to reload, the huge brute had
caught sight of him, and without relaxing its hold upon the writhing
antelope beneath its claws, glared upon him fiercely. Dick's presence
of mind did not forsake him; flight he knew was not to be thought of;
his only chance he felt intuitively would be by keeping perfectly
still; and aware that the beast would be unlikely to give up a
struggling prey for another that was motionless, he stood face to face
with his foe, not venturing to move an eyelid. In a few minutes the
lion's patience seemed to be exhausted; with a grand stateliness, it
picked up the caama as easily as a dog would lift a hare, turned round,
and lashing the bushes with its tail, disappeared in the jungle.
It took Dick some little time to recover himself sufficiently to return
to the canoe. On arriving, he said nothing of the peril to which he had
been exposed, but heartily congratulated himself that they had means of
transport without making their way through jungles and forests.
As they advanced, they repeatedly came across evidences that the
country had not been always, as now it was, utterly devoid of
population; more than once, they observed traces which betokened the
former existence of villages; either some ruined palisades or the
-débris- of some thatched huts, or some solitary sacred tree within an
enclosure would indicate that the death of a chief had, according to
custom, made a native tribe migrate to new quarters.
If natives were still dwelling in the district, as was just probable,
they must have been living underground, only emerging at night like
beasts of prey, from which they were only a grade removed.
Dick Sands had every reason to feel convinced that cannibalism had been
practised in the neighbourhood, Three times, as he was wandering in the
forest, he had come upon piles of ashes and half-charred human bones,
the remnants, no doubt, of a ghastly meal, and although he mentioned
nothing of what he had seen to Mrs. Weldon, he made up his mind to go
ashore as seldom as possible, and as often as he found it absolutely
necessary to go, he gave Hercules strict directions to push off into
mid-stream at the very first intimation of danger.
A new cause of anxiety arose on the following evening, and made it
necessary for them to take the most guarded measures of precaution. The
river-bed had widened out into a kind of lagoon, and on the right side
of this, built upon piles in the water, not only was there a collection
of about thirty huts, but the fires gleaming under the thatch, made it
evident that they were all inhabited. Unfortunately the only channel of
the stream flowed close under the huts, the river elsewhere being so
obstructed with rocks that navigation of any kind was impossible.
Nothing was more probable than that the natives would have set their
nets all across the piles, and if so, the canoe would be sure to be
obstructed, and an alarm must inevitably be raised. Every caution
seemed to be unavailing, because the canoe must follow the stream;
however, in the lowest of whispers Dick ordered Hercules to keep clear
as much as he could of the worm-eaten timber. The night was not very
dark, which was equally an advantage and a disadvantage, as while it
permitted those on board to steer as they wanted, it did not prevent
them from being seen.
The situation became more and more critical. About a hundred feet
ahead, the channel was very contracted; two natives, gesticulating
violently, were seen squatting on the pilework; a few moments more and
their voices could be heard; it was obvious that they had seen the
floating mass; apprehending that it was going to destroy their nets,
they yelled aloud and shouted for assistance; instantly five or six
negroes scrambled down the piles, and perched themselves upon the
cross-beams.
On board the canoe the profoundest silence was maintained. Dick only
signalled his directions to Hercules, without uttering a word, while
Jack performed his part by holding Dingo's mouth tightly closed, to
stop the low growlings which the faithful watch-dog seemed resolved to
make; but fortunately every sound was overpowered by the rushing of the
stream and the clamour of the negroes, as they hurriedly drew in their
nets. If they should raise them in time, all might be well, but if, on
the other hand, the canoe should get entangled, the consequences could
hardly fail to be disastrous. The current in its narrow channel was so
strong that Dick was powerless either to modify his course or to
slacken it.
Half a minute more, and the canoe was right under the woodwork, but the
efforts of the natives had already elevated the nets so that the
anticipated danger was happily escaped; but it chanced that in making
its way through the obstacle, a large piece of the grass-thatch got
detached. One of the negroes raised a sudden shout of alarm, and it
seemed only too probable that he had caught a sight of the travellers
below and was informing his companions. This apprehension, too, was
only momentary; the current had changed almost to a rapid, and carried
the canoe along with such velocity that the lacustrine village was
quickly out of sight.
"Steer to the left!" cried Dick, finding that the riverbed had again
become clear.
A stiff pull at the tiller made the craft fly in that direction.
Dick went to the stern, and scanned the moonlit waters. All was
perfectly still, no canoe was in pursuit; perhaps the natives had not
one to use; but certain it was that when daylight dawned no vestige of
an inhabitant was to be seen. Nevertheless Dick thought it prudent for
a while to steer close under the shelter of the left-hand shore.
[Illustration: Instantly five or six negroes scrambled down the piles.]
By the end of the next four days the aspect of the country had
undergone a remarkable change, the jungle having given place to a
desert as dreary as the Kalahari itself. The river appeared
interminable, and it became a matter of serious consideration how to
get a sufficiency of food. Fish was scarce, or at least hard to catch,
and the arid soil provided no means of sustenance for antelopes, so
that nothing was to be gained from the chase. Carnivorous animals also
had quite disappeared, and the silence of the night was broken, not by
the roar of wild beasts, but by the croaking of frogs in a discordant
chorus, which Cameron has compared to the clanking of hammers and the
grating of files in a ship-builder's yard.
Far away both to the east and west the outlines of hills could be
faintly discerned, but the shores on either hand were perfectly flat
and devoid of trees. Euphorbias, it is true, grew in considerable
numbers, but as they were only of the oil-producing species, and not
the kind from which cassava or manioc is procured, they were useless in
an alimentary point of view.
Dick was becoming more and more perplexed, when Hercules happened to
mention that the natives often eat young fern-fronds and the pith of
the papyrus, and that before now he had himself been reduced to the
necessity of subsisting on nothing better.
"We must try them," said Dick.
Both ferns and papyrus abounded on the banks, and a meal was prepared,
the sweet soft pith of the papyrus being found very palatable. Jack in
particular appeared to enjoy it extremely, but it was not in any way a
satisfying diet.
Thanks to Cousin Benedict, a fresh variety in the matter of food was
found on the following day. Since the discovery of the "Hexapodes
Benedictus" he had recovered his spirits, and, having fastened his
prize safely inside his hat, he wandered about, as often as he had a
chance, in his favourite pursuit of insect-hunting. As he was rummaging
in the long grass, he put up a bird which flew but a very short
distance. Benedict recognized it by its peculiar note, and, seeing Dick
take his gun to aim at it, exclaimed,--
"Don't fire, don't fire! that bird will be worth nothing for food among
five of us."
"It will be dinner enough for Jack," said Dick, who, finding that the
bird did not seem in a hurry to make its escape, delayed his shot for a
moment, without intending to be diverted from his purpose of securing
it.
"You mustn't fire," insisted Benedict, "it is an indicator; it will
show you where there are lots of honey."
Aware that a few pounds of honey would really be of more value than a
little bird, Dick lowered his gun, and in company with the entomologist
set off to follow the indicator, which seemed, by alternately flying
and stopping, to be inviting them to come on, and they had but a little
way to go before they observed several swarms of bees buzzing around
some old stems hidden amongst the euphorbias. Notwithstanding
Benedict's remonstrances against depriving the bees of the fruits of
their industry, Dick instantly set to work, and without remorse
suffocated them by burning dry grass underneath. Having secured a good
amount of honey, he left the comb to the indicator as its share of the
booty, and went back with his companion to the canoe.
The honey was acceptable, but it did not do much to alleviate the
cravings of hunger.
Next day it happened that they had just stopped for their accustomed
rest, when they observed that an enormous swarm of grasshoppers had
settled at the mouth of a creek close by. Two or three deep they
covered the soil, myriads and myriads of them adhering to every shrub.
"The natives eat those grasshoppers," said Benedict, "and like them
too."
The remark produced an instant effect; all hands were busied in
collecting them, and a large supply was quickly gathered: the canoe
might have been filled ten times over.
Grilled over a slow fire, they were found to be very palatable eating,
and, spite of his qualms of conscience, Benedict himself made a hearty
meal.
But although the gnawings of absolute hunger were thus assuaged, all
the travellers began to long most anxiously for the voyage to come to
an end. The mode of transit indeed might be less exhausting to the
bodily powers than a land march would have been, but the excessive heat
by day, the damp mists at night, and the incessant attacks of
mosquitoes, all combined to render the passage extremely trying. There
was no telling how long it would last, and Dick was equally uncertain
whether it might end in a few days, or be protracted for a month. The
direction which the stream was taking was itself a subject of
perplexity.
A fresh surprise was now in store.
As Jack, a few mornings afterwards, was standing at the bow peering
through an aperture in the grass canopy above him, he suddenly turned
round and cried,--
"The sea! the sea!"
Dick started forwards, and looked eagerly in the same direction.
A large expanse of water was visible in the horizon, but after having
surveyed it for a moment or two, he said,--
"No, Jack, it is not the sea, it is a great river; it is running west,
and I suppose this river runs into it. Perhaps it is the Zaire."
"Let us hope it is," said Mrs. Weldon earnestly.
Most cordially did Dick Sands re-echo her words, being well aware that
at the mouth of that river were Portuguese villages, where a refuge
might assuredly be found.
For several succeeding days the canoe, still concealed by its covering,
floated on the silvery surface of this new-found stream. On either side
the banks became less arid, and there seemed everything to encourage
the few survivors of the "Pilgrim" to believe that they would soon see
the last of the perils and toils of their journey.
They were too sanguine. Towards three o'clock on the morning of the
18th, Dick, who was at his usual post at the bow, fancied he heard a
dull rumbling towards the west. Mrs. Weldon, Jack, and Benedict were
all asleep. Calling Hercules to him, he asked him whether he could not
hear a strange noise. The night was perfectly calm, and not a breath of
air was stirring. The negro listened attentively, and suddenly, his
eyes sparkling with delight, exclaimed,--
"Yes, captain, I hear the sea!"
Dick shook his head and answered,--
"It is not the sea, Hercules."
"Not the sea!" cried the negro, "then what can it be?"
"We must wait till daybreak," replied Dick, "and meanwhile we shall
have to keep a sharp look-out."
Hercules returned to his place, but only to continue listening with
ever-increasing curiosity. The rumbling perceptibly increased till it
became a continued roar.
With scarcely any intervening twilight night passed into day. Just in
front, scarcely more than half a mile ahead, a great mist was hanging
over the river; it was not an ordinary fog, and when the sun rose, the
light of the dawn caused a brilliant rainbow to arch itself from shore
to shore.
In a voice so loud that it awoke Mrs. Weldon, Dick gave his order to
Hercules to steer for the bank:--
"Quick, quick, Hercules! ashore! ashore! there are cataracts close
ahead!"
And so it was. Within little more than a quarter of a mile the bed of
the river sank abruptly some hundred feet, and the foaming waters
rushed down in a magnificent fall with irresistible velocity. A few
minutes more and the canoe must have been swallowed in the deep abyss.
CHAPTER XIX.
AN ATTACK.
The canoe inclined to the west readily enough; the fall in the
river-bed was so sudden that the current remained quite unaffected by
the cataract at a distance of three hundred yards.
On the bank were woods so dense that sunlight could not penetrate the
shade. Dick was conscious of a sad misgiving when he looked at the
character of the territory through which they must necessarily pass. It
did not seem practicable by any means to convey the canoe below the
falls.
As they neared the shore, Dingo became intensely agitated. At first
Dick suspected that a wild beast or a native might be lurking in the
papyrus, but it soon became obvious that the dog was excited by grief
rather than by rage.
"Dingo is crying," said Jack; "poor Dingo!" and the child laid his arms
over the creature's neck.
The dog, however, was too impatient to be caressed; bounding away, he
sprang into the water, swam across the twenty feet that intervened
between the shore, and disappeared in the grass.
In a few moments the boat had glided on to a carpet of confervas and
other aquatic plants, starting a few kingfishers and some snow-white
herons. Hercules moored it to the stump of a tree, and the travellers
went ashore.
There was no pathway through the forest, only the trampled moss showed
that the place had been recently visited either by animals or men.
[Illustration: Upon the smooth wood were two great letters in dingy
red.]
Dick took his gun and Hercules his hatchet, and they set out to search
for Dingo. They had not far to go before they saw him with his nose
close to the ground, manifestly following a scent; the animal raised
his head for a moment, as if beckoning them to follow, and kept on till
he reached an old sycamore-stump. Having called out to the rest of the
party to join them, Dick made his way farther into the wood till he got
up to Dingo, who was whining piteously at the entrance of a dilapidated
hut.
The rest were not long in following, and they all entered the hut
together. The floor was strewn with bones whitened by exposure.
"Some one has died here," said Mrs. Weldon.
"Perhaps," added Dick, as if struck by a sudden thought, "it was
Dingo's old master. Look at him! he is pointing with his paw."
The portion of the sycamore-trunk which formed the farther side of the
hut had been stripped of its bark, and upon the smooth wood were two
great letters in dingy red almost effaced by time, but yet plain enough
to be distinguished.
"S. V.," cried Dick, as he looked where the dog's paw rested; "the same
initials that Dingo has upon his collar. There can be no mistake. S. V."
A small copper box, green with verdigris, caught his eye, and he picked
it up. It was open, but contained a scrap of discoloured paper. The
writing upon this consisted of a few sentences, of which only detached
words could be made out, but they revealed the sad truth only too
plainly.
"Robbed by Negoro--murdered--Dingo--help--Negoro guide--120 miles from
coast--December 3rd, 1871--write no more.
"S. VERNON."
Here was the clue to a melancholy story. Samuel Vernon, under the
guidance of Negoro, and taking with him his dog Dingo, had set out on
an exploration of a district of Central Africa; he had taken a
considerable quantity of money to procure the necessary supplies on the
way, and this had excited the cupidity of his guide, who seized the
opportunity, whilst they were encamping on the banks of the Congo, to
assassinate his employer, and get possession of his property. Negoro,
however, had not escaped; he had fallen into the hands of the
Portuguese, by whom he was recognized as an agent of the slave-dealer
Alvez, and condemned to spend the rest of his days in prison. He
contrived after a while to make his escape, and, as has been already
mentioned, found his way to New Zealand, whence he had returned by
securing an engagement on board the "Pilgrim." Between the time when he
was attacked by Negoro and the moment of his death, Vernon had managed
to write the few brief lines of which the fragments still survived, and
to deposit the document in the box from which the money had been
stolen, and by a last effort had traced out his initials in blood upon
the naked wood which formed the wall of the hut. For many days Dingo
watched beside his master, and throughout that time his eyes were
resting so perpetually upon the two crimson letters in front of him,
that mere instinct seemed to fasten them indelibly on his memory.
Quitting his watch one day, perhaps to pacify his hunger, the dog
wandered to the coast, where he was picked up by the captain of the
"Waldeck," afterwards to be transferred to the very ship on which his
owner's murderer had been engaged as cook.
All throughout this time poor Vernon's bones had been bleaching in the
African forest, and the first resolution of Dick and Mrs. Weldon was to
give the residue of his remains some semblance of a decent burial. They
were just proceeding to their task when Dingo gave a furious growl, and
dashed out of the hut; another moment, and a terrible shriek made it
evident that he was in conflict with some dread antagonist.
Hercules was quickly in pursuit, and the whole party followed in time
to witness the giant hurl himself upon a man with whom already Dingo
was in mortal combat.
[Illustration: The dog was griping the man by the throat]
The dog was griping the man by the throat, the man was lifting his
cutlass high above the head of the dog.
That man was Negoro. The rascal, on getting his letter at Kazonndé,
instead of embarking at once for America, had left his native escort
for a while, and returned to the scene of his crime to secure the
treasure which he had left buried at a little distance in a spot that
he had marked. At this very moment he was in the act of digging up the
gold he had concealed; some glistening coins scattered here and there
betrayed his purpose; but in the midst of his labours he had been
startled by the dashing forward of a dog; another instant, and the dog
had fixed itself upon his throat, whilst he, in an agony of
desperation, had drawn his cutlass and plunged it deep into the
creature's side.
Hercules came up at the very climax of the death-struggle.
"You villain! you accursed villain! I have you now!" he cried, about to
seize hold of his victim.
But vengeance was already accomplished. Negoro gave no sign of life;
death had overtaken him on the very scene of his guilt. Dingo, too, had
received a mortal wound; he dragged himself back to the hut, lay down
beside the remains of his master, and expired.
The sad task of burying Vernon's bones, and laying his faithful dog
beside them having been accomplished, the whole party was obliged to
turn their thoughts to their own safety. Although Negoro was dead, it
as very likely that the natives that he had taken with him were at no
great distance, and would come to search for him.
A hurried conference was held as to what steps had best be taken. The
few words traceable on the paper made them aware that they were on the
banks of the Congo, and that they were still 120 miles from the coast.
The fall just ahead was probably the cataract of Memo, but whatever it
was, no doubt it effectually barred their farther progress by water.
There seemed no alternative but that they should make their way by one
bank or the other a mile or two below the waterfall, and there
construct a raft on which once again they could drift down the stream.
The question that pressed for immediate settlement was which bank it
should be. Here, on the left bank, would be the greater risk of
encountering the negro escort of Negoro, while as to the farther shore
they could not tell what obstacles it might present.
Altogether Mrs. Weldon advocated trying the other side, but Dick
insisted upon crossing first by himself to ascertain whether an advance
by that route were really practicable.
"The river is only about 100 yards wide," he urged; "I can soon get
across. I shall leave Hercules to look after you all."
Mrs. Weldon demurred for a while, but Dick seemed resolute, and as he
promised to take his gun and not to attempt to land if he saw the least
symptom of danger, she at last consented, but with so much reluctance
that even after he had entered the canoe she said,--
"I think, Dick, it would be really better for us all to go together."
"No, Mrs. Weldon, indeed, no; I am sure it is best for me to go alone;
I shall be back in an hour."
"If it must be so, it must," said the lady.
"Keep a sharp look-out, Hercules!" cried the youth cheerily, as he
pushed off from the land.
The strength of the current was by no means violent, but quite enough
to make the direction of Dick's course somewhat oblique. The roar of
the cataract reverberated in his ears, and the spray, wafted by the
westerly wind, brushed lightly past his face, and he shuddered as he
felt how near they must have been to destruction if he had relaxed his
watch throughout the night.
It took him hardly a quarter of an hour to reach the opposite bank, and
he was just preparing to land when there arose a tremendous shout from
about a dozen natives, who, rushing forward, began to tear away the
canopy of grass with which the canoe was covered.
Dick's horror was great. It would have been greater still if he had
known that they were cannibals. They were the natives settled at the
lacustrine village higher up the river. When the piece of thatch had
been knocked off in passing the piles a glimpse had been caught of the
passengers below, and aware that the cataract ahead must ultimately
bring them to a standstill, the eager barbarians had followed them
persistently day by day for the last eight days.
Now they thought they had secured their prize, but loud was their yell
of disappointment when on stripping off the thatch they found only one
person, and that a mere boy, standing beneath it.
Dick stood as calmly as he could at the bow, and pointed his gun
towards the savages, who were sufficiently acquainted with the nature
of fire-arms to make them afraid to attack him.
Mrs. Weldon with the others, in their eagerness to watch Dick's
movements, had remained standing upon the shore of the river, and at
this instant were caught sight of by one of the natives, who pointed
them out to his companions. A sudden impulse seized the whole of them,
and they sprang into the canoe; there seemed to be a practised hand
amongst them, which caught hold of the rudder-oar, and the little craft
was quickly on its way back.
Although he gave up all as now well-nigh lost, Dick neither moved nor
spoke. He had one lingering hope yet left. Was it not possible even now
that by sacrificing his own life he could save the lives of those that
were entrusted to him?
When the canoe had come near enough to the shore for his voice to be
heard, he shouted with all his might,--
"Fly, Mrs. Weldon; fly, all of you; fly for your lives!"
But neither Mrs. Weldon nor Hercules stirred; they seemed rooted to the
ground.
"Fly, fly, fly!" he continued shouting.
But though he knew they must hear him, yet he saw them make no effort
to escape. He understood their meaning; of what avail was flight when
the savages would be upon their track in a few minutes after?
A sudden thought crossed his mind. He raised his gun and fired at the
man who was steering; the bullet shattered the rudder-scull into
fragments.
The cannibals uttered a yell of terror. Deprived of guidance, the canoe
was at the mercy of the current, and, borne along with increasing
speed, was soon within a hundred feet of the cataract.
The anxious watchers on the bank instantly discerned Dick's purpose,
and understood that in order to save them he had formed the resolution
of precipitating himself with the savages into the seething waters.
Nothing could avail to arrest the swift descent. Mrs Weldon in an agony
of despair waved her hands in a last sad farewell, Jack and Benedict
seemed paralyzed, whilst Hercules involuntarily extended his great
strong arm that was powerless to aid.
Suddenly the natives, impelled by a last frantic effort to reach the
shore, plunged into the water, but then movement capsized the boat.
Face to face with death, Dick lost nothing of his indomitable presence
of mind. Might not that light canoe, floating bottom upwards, be made
the means for yet another grasp at life? The danger that threatened him
was twofold, there was the risk of suffocation as well as the peril of
being drowned; could not the inverted canoe be used for a kind of float
at once to keep his head above water and to serve as a screen from the
rushing air? He had some faint recollection of how it had been proved
possible under some such conditions to descend in safety the falls of
Niagara.
Quick as lightning he seized hold of the cross-bench of the canoe, and
with his head out of water beneath the upturned keel, he was dashed
down the furious and well-nigh perpendicular fall.
The craft sank deep into the abyss, but rose quickly again to the
surface. Here was Dick's chance, he was a good swimmer, and his life
depended now upon his strength of arm.
It was a hard struggle, but he succeeded. In a quarter of an hour he
had landed on the left hand bank, where he was greeted with the joyful
congratulations of his friends, who had hurried to the foot of the fall
to assure themselves of his fate.
[Illustration: The bullet shattered the rudder scull into fragments]
The cannibals had all disappeared in the surging waters. Unprotected in
their fall, they had doubtless ceased to breathe before reaching the
lowest depths of the cataract where their lifeless bodies would soon be
dashed to pieces against the sharp rocks that were scattered along the
lower course of the stream.
CHAPTER XX.
A HAPPY REUNION.
Two days after Dick's marvellous deliverance the party had the good
fortune to fall in with a caravan of honest Portuguese ivory-traders on
their way to Emboma, at the mouth of the Congo. They rendered the
fugitives every assistance, and thus enabled them to reach the coast
without further discomfort.
This meeting with the caravan was a most fortunate occurrence, as any
project of launching a raft upon the Zaire would have been quite
impracticable, the river between the Ntemo and Yellala Falls being a
continuous series of cataracts. Stanley counted as many as sixty-two,
and it was hereabouts that that brave traveller sustained the last of
thirty-one conflicts with the natives, escaping almost by a miracle
from the Mbelo cataract.
Before the middle of August the party arrived at Emboma, where they
were hospitably received by M. Motta Viega and Mr. Harrison. A steamer
was just on the point of starting for the Isthmus of Panama; in this
they took their passage, and in due time set foot once more upon
American soil.
Forthwith a message was despatched to Mr. Weldon, apprising him of the
return of the wife and child over whose loss he had mourned so long On
the 25th the railroad deposited the travellers at San Francisco, the
only thing to mar their happiness being the recollection that Tom and
his partners were not with them to share their joy.
Mr. Weldon had every reason to congratulate himself that Negoro had
failed to reach him. No doubt he would have been ready to sacrifice the
bulk of his fortune, and without a moment's hesitation would have set
out for the coast of Africa, but who could question that he would there
have been exposed to the vilest treachery? He felt that to Dick Sands
and to Hercules he owed a debt of gratitude that it would be impossible
to repay; Dick assumed more than ever the place of an adopted son,
whilst the brave negro was regarded as a true and faithful friend.
Cousin Benedict, it must be owned, failed to share for long the general
joy. After giving Mr. Weldon a hasty shake of the hand, he hurried off
to his private room, and resumed his studies almost as if they had
never been interrupted. He set himself vigorously to work with the
design of producing an elaborate treatise upon the "Hexapodes
Benedictus" hitherto unknown to entomological research. Here in his
private chamber spectacles and magnifying-glass were ready for his use,
and he was now able for the first time with the aid of proper
appliances to examine the unique production of Central Africa.
A shriek of horror and disappointment escaped his lips. The Hexapodes
Benedictus was not a hexapod at all. It was a common spider. Hercules,
in catching it, had unfortunately broken off its two front legs, and
Benedict, almost blind as he was, had failed to detect the accident.
His chagrin was most pitiable, the wonderful discovery that was to have
exalted his name high in the annals of science belonged simply to the
common order of the arachnidæ The blow to his aspirations was very
heavy; it brought on a fit of illness from which it took him some time
to recover.
For the next three years Dick was entrusted with the education of
little Jack during the intervals he could spare from the prosecution of
his own studies, into which he threw himself with an energy quickened
by a kind of remorse.
"If only I had known what a seaman ought to know when I was left to
myself on board the 'Pilgrim,'" he would continually say, "what misery
and suffering we might have been spared!"
So diligently did he apply himself to the technical branches of his
profession that at the age of eighteen he received a special
certificate of honour, and was at once raised to the rank of a captain
in Mr. Weldon's firm.
Thus by his industry and good conduct did the poor foundling of Sandy
Hook rise to a post of distinction. In spite of his youth, he commanded
universal respect; his native modesty and straightforwardness never
failed him, and for his own part, he seemed to be unconscious of those
fine traits in his character which had impelled him to deeds that made
him little short of a hero.
His leisure moments, however, were often troubled by one source of
sadness; he could never forget the four negroes for whose misfortunes
he held himself by his own inexperience to be in a way responsible.
Mrs. Weldon thoroughly shared his regret, and would have made many
sacrifices to discover what had become of them. This anxiety was at
length relieved.
Owing to the large correspondence of Mr. Weldon in almost every quarter
of the world, it was discovered that the whole of them had been sold in
one lot, and that they were now in Madagascar. Without listening for a
moment to Dick's proposal to apply all his savings to effect their
liberation, Mr. Weldon set his own agents to negotiate for their
freedom, and on the 15th of November, 1877, Tom, Bat, Actæon, and
Austin awaited their welcome at the merchant's door. It is needless to
say how warm were the greetings they received.
Out of all the survivors of the "Pilgrim" that had been cast upon the
fatal coast of Africa, old Nan alone was wanting to complete the
number. Considering what they had all undergone, and the perils to
which they had been exposed, it seemed little short of a miracle that
she and poor Dingo should be the only victims.
High was the festivity that night in the house of the Californian
merchant, and the toast, proposed at Mrs. Weldon's request, that was
received with the loudest acclamation was
"DICK SANDS, THE BOY CAPTAIN!"
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.
,
706
,
,
707
,
.
708
709
'
,
710
711
.
712
713
.
714
,
715
,
716
.
717
718
,
719
,
,
.
720
721
,
722
.
,
,
723
?
724
,
725
;
726
727
?
728
729
.
730
731
-
,
732
,
733
-
.
734
735
,
736
.
'
,
,
737
.
738
739
,
.
740
,
741
,
742
.
743
744
[
:
]
745
746
.
747
,
748
749
750
.
751
752
753
754
755
.
756
757
.
758
759
760
'
761
-
762
,
.
763
,
764
.
765
766
,
767
768
,
769
.
-
,
770
771
-
,
772
.
773
774
,
775
.
.
.
776
;
777
,
778
.
779
780
.
,
781
782
,
783
784
.
785
786
.
787
.
788
,
'
789
,
790
?
791
792
;
,
793
.
794
795
,
,
796
.
.
,
797
,
798
.
799
"
800
"
.
801
-
,
802
803
.
804
805
.
806
.
.
,
807
,
,
808
,
,
.
809
,
810
811
812
;
813
.
814
815
816
817
,
818
.
819
820
"
821
'
,
'
"
,
"
822
!
"
823
824
825
826
,
827
.
'
.
828
829
830
.
,
831
;
832
,
,
833
834
.
835
836
,
,
837
;
838
.
839
.
,
840
.
841
.
842
843
.
844
,
845
,
.
846
'
847
,
.
848
,
,
,
,
,
,
849
'
.
850
.
851
852
"
"
853
,
854
.
,
855
,
856
.
857
858
859
,
,
.
'
,
860
861
862
"
,
!
"
863
864
.
865