On the following morning the town of Kazonndé presented an aspect of unwonted desolation. Awe-struck at the event of the previous evening, the natives had all shut themselves up in their huts. That a monarch¹ who was to be assumed as of divine origin should perish with one of his ministers by so horrible a death was a thing wholly unparalleled in their experience. Some of the elder part of the community remembered having taken part in certain cannibal preparations, and were aware that the cremation² of a human body is no easy matter, yet here was a case in which two men had been all but utterly³ consumed without any extraneous⁴ application. Here was a mystery that baffled all their comprehension.  
Old Alvez had also retired⁵ to the seclusion⁶ of his own residence; having been warned by Negoro that he would probably be held responsible for the occurrence, he deemed it prudent⁷ to keep in retirement⁸. Meanwhile Negoro industriously⁹ circulated the report that the king's death had been brought about by supernatural means reserved by the great Manitoo solely¹⁰ for his elect, and that it was sacred fire that had proceeded from his body. The superstitious¹¹ natives readily received this version of the affair, and at once proceeded to honour Moené Loonga with funeral rites¹² worthy¹³ of one thus conspicuously¹⁴ elevated to the rank of the gods. The ceremony (which entailed¹⁵ an expenditure¹⁶ of human blood incredible except that it is authenticated¹⁷ by Cameron and other African travellers) was just the opportunity that Negoro required for carrying out his designs against Dick, whom he intended to take a prominent part in it.
 
The natural successor to the king was the queen Moena. By inaugurating the funeral without delay and thus assuming the semblance¹⁸ of authority, she forestalled¹⁹ the king of Ukusu or any other rival who might venture to dispute her sovereignty; and moreover, by taking the reins²⁰ of government into her hands she avoided the fate reserved for the other wives who, had they been allowed to live, might prove somewhat troublesome to the shrew. Accordingly, with the sound of coodoo horns and marimbas, she caused a proclamation to be made in the various quarters of the town, that the obsequies of the deceased monarch would be celebrated²¹ on the next evening with all due solemnity.
 
The announcement met with no opposition²² either from the officials about the court or from the public at large. Alvez and the traders generally were quite satisfied with Moena's assumption of the supremacy²³, knowing that by a few presents and a little flattery they could make her sufficiently²⁴ considerate for their own interests.
 
Preparations began at once. At the end of the chief thoroughfare flowed a deep and rapid brook²⁵, an affluent²⁶ of the Coango, in the dry bed of which the royal grave was to be formed. Natives were immediately set to work to construct a dam by means of which the water should be diverted, until the burial was over, into a temporary channel across the plain; the last act in the ceremonial being to undam the stream and allow it to resume its proper course.
 
Negoro had formed the resolution that Dick Sands should be one of the victims to be sacrificed upon the king's tomb. Thoroughly²⁸ aware as he was that the indignation which had caused the death of Harris extended in at least an equal degree to himself, the cowardly rascal²⁹ would not have ventured to approach Dick under similar circumstances at the risk of meeting a similar fate; but knowing him to be a prisoner bound hand and foot, from whom there could be nothing to fear, he resolved to go to him in his dungeon³⁰-*
 
Not only did he delight in torturing his victims, but he derived³¹ an especial gratification from witnessing the torture.
 
About the middle of the day, accordingly, he made his way to the cell where Dick was detained under the strict watch of a havildar. There, bound with fetters³² that penetrated³³ his very flesh, lay the poor boy; for the last four and twenty hours he had not been allowed a morsel³⁴ of food, and would gladly have faced the most painful death as a welcome relief to his miseries³⁵.
 
But at the sight of Negoro all his energy revived; instinctively³⁶ he made an effort to burst his bonds, and to get a hold upon his persecutor³⁷; but the strength of a giant would have been utterly unavailing for such a design. Dick felt that the struggle he had to make was of another kind, and forcing himself to an apparent composure, he determined³⁸ to look Negoro straight in the face, but to vouchsafe³⁹ no reply to anything he might say.
 
"I felt bound," Negoro began, "to come and pay my respects to my young captain, and to tell him how sorry I am that he has not the same authority here that he had on board the 'Pilgrim.' "
 
Finding that Dick returned no answer, he continued,-
 
"You remember your old cook, captain: I have come to know what you would like to order for your breakfast."
 
Here he paused to give a brutal⁴⁰ kick at Dick's foot, and went on,-
 
"I have also another question to ask you, captain; can you tell me how it was that you landed here in Angola instead of upon the coast of America?"
 
The way in which the question was put more than ever confirmed Dick's impression that the "Pilgrim's" course had been altered by Negoro, but he persevered⁴¹ in maintaining a contemptuous silence.
 
"It was a lucky thing for you, captain," resumed the vindictive⁴² Portuguese⁴³, "that you had a good seaman⁴⁴ on board, otherwise the ship would have run aground on some reef in the tempest, instead of coming ashore⁴⁵ here in a friendly port."
 
[Illustration: "Your life is in my hands!"]
 
Whilst he was speaking, Negoro had gradually drawn⁴⁶ nearer to the prisoner, until their faces were almost in contact. Exasperated⁴⁷ by Dick's calmness, his countenance⁴⁸ assumed an expression of the utmost ferocity, and at last he burst forth⁴⁹ in a paroxysm of rage.
 
"It is my turn now! I am master now! I am captain here! You are in my power now! Your life is in my hands!"
 
"Take it, then," said Dick quietly; "death has no terrors for me, and your wickedness will soon be avenged⁵⁰."
 
"Avenged!" roared Negoro; "do you suppose there is a single soul to care about you? Avenged! who will concern himself with what befalls you? except Alvez and me, there is no one with a shadow of authority here; if you think you are going to get any help from old Tom or any of those niggers, let me tell you that they are every one of them sold and have been sent off to Zanzibar."
 
"Hercules is free," said Dick.
 
"Hercules!" sneered⁵¹ Negoro; "he has been food for lions and panthers long ago, I am only sorry that I did not get the chance of disposing of him myself."
 
"And there is Dingo," calmly persisted Dick; "sure as fate, he will find you out some day."
 
"Dingo is dead!" retorted Negoro with malicious⁵² glee: "I shot the brute⁵³ myself, and I should be glad if every survivor⁵⁴ of the 'Pilgrim' had shared his fate."
 
"But remember," said Dick, "you have to follow them all yourself;" and he fixed⁵⁵ a sharp gaze upon his persecutor's eye.
 
The Portuguese villain⁵⁶ was stung to the quick; he made a dash towards the youth, and would have strangled him upon the spot, but remembering that any such sudden action would be to

Join or Log In! You need to log in to continue reading

Create a new account   I have a account already

	Create an New Account
Email:  (User Name)
Password:	Letters and numbers only. 6-20 characters.
Retype Password:
Screen Name:	Letters and numbers only. 6-50 Characters.
Confirmation Code:	(Please type in the characters in the green image.)

	Login into Your Account
Email:
Password:
	Remember me on this computer.

(Left Keyword <-) Previous: CHAPTER XI. A BOWL OF PUNCH. Back Next: CHAPTER XIII. IN CAPTIVITY. (Right Keyword:->)