第61章
I cannot describe my own sensations, for I believe I was half mad with triumph and excitement.I must not forget to mention that I, too, fell to the ground, but fortunately well within the square.Iwas greatly astonished to behold the glee of the spectators--but, then, the keynote of their character is an intense love of deeds of prowess, especially such deeds as provide exciting entertainment.
The vanquished chief sprang to his feet before I did, and ere Icould realise what was happening, he dashed at me as I was rising and dealt me a terrible blow in the mouth with his clenched fist.
As he was a magnificently muscular savage, the blow broke several of my teeth and filled my mouth with blood.My lips, too, were very badly cut, and altogether I felt half stunned.The effect upon the audience was astounding.The warriors leaped to their feet, highly incensed at the cowardly act, and some of them would actually have speared their chief then and there had I not forestalled them.I was furiously angry, and dexterously drawing my stiletto from its sheath so as not to attract attention, Istruck at my opponent with all my force, burying the short, keen blade in his heart.He fell dead at my feet with a low, gurgling groan.As I withdrew the knife, I held it so that the blade extended up my forearm and was quite hidden.This, combined with the fact that the fatal wound bled mainly internally, caused the natives to believe I had struck my enemy dead by some supernatural means.The act was inevitable.
You will observe that by this time I would seize every opportunity of impressing the blacks by an almost intuitive instinct; and as the huge savage lay dead on the ground, I placed my foot over the wound, folded my arms, and looked round triumphantly upon the enthusiastic crowd, like a gladiator of old.
According to law and etiquette, however, the nearest relatives of the dead man had a perfect right to challenge me, but they did not do so, probably because they were disgusted at the unfair act of my opponent.I put the usual question, but no champion came forward;on the contrary, I was overwhelmed with congratulations, and even offers of the chieftainship.I am certain, so great was the love of fair-play among these natives, that had I not killed the chief with my stiletto, his own people would promptly have speared him.
The whole of this strange tragedy passed with surprising swiftness;and I may mention here that, as I saw the chief rushing at me, Ithought he simply wanted to commence another round.His death was actually an occasion for rejoicing in the tribe.The festivities were quickly ended, however, when I told the warriors that Iintended leaving the camp with the two girls in the course of another day or so, to return to my friends in the King Leopold Ranges.In reality it was my intention to make for my own home in the Cambridge Gulf district.The body of the chief was not eaten (most likely on account of the cowardice he displayed), but it was disposed of according to native rites.The corpse was first of all half-roasted in front of a huge fire, and then, when properly shrivelled, it was wrapped in bark and laid on a kind of platform built in the fork of a tree.
The girls were kept in ignorance of the fatal termination of the wrestling match, as I was afraid it might give them an unnecessary shock.After twelve or fourteen days in the camp, we quietly took our departure.Our party consisted of the two girls, who were nearly frantic with excitement over their escape; Yamba, and myself--together with the friendly warriors who had so opportunely come to my assistance.
We had not gone far, however, before the girls complained of sore feet.This was not surprising, considering the burning hot sand and the rough country we were traversing, which was quite the worst I had yet seen--at any rate, for the first few days' march after we got out of the level country in the King's Sound region.I, therefore, had to rig up a kind of hammock made of woven grass, and this, slung between two poles, served to carry the girls by turns, the natives acting as bearers.But being totally unused to carrying anything but their own weapons, they proved deplorably inefficient as porters, and after a time, so intolerable to them did the labour become, the work of carrying the girls devolved upon Yamba and myself.Gladys, the younger girl, suffered most, but both were weak and footsore and generally incapable of much exertion.Perhaps a reaction had set in after the terrible excitement of the previous days.Soon our escort left us, to return to their own homes; and then Yamba and I had to work extremely hard to get the girls over the terribly rough country.
Fortunately there was no need for hurry, and so we proceeded in the most leisurely manner possible, camping frequently and erecting grass shelters for our delicate charges.Food was abundant, and the natives friendly.