Mrs. Weldon gradually recovered her consciousness. Looking around her in amazement2 she caught sight of Dick.
"Dick, is it you?" she muttered feebly.
The lad with some difficulty arose, and took her hand in his, while Jack3 overwhelmed him with kisses.
"And who would have thought it was you, Hercules, that carried us away?" said the child; "I did not know you a bit; you were so dreadfully ugly."
"I was a sort of a devil, you know, Master Jack," Hercules answered; "and the devil is not particularly handsome;" and he began rubbing his chest vigorously to get rid of the white pattern with which he had adorned4 it.
Mrs. Weldon held out her hand to him with a grateful smile.
"Yes, Mrs. Weldon, he has saved you, and although he does not own it, he has saved me too," said Dick.
"Saved!" repeated Hercules, "you must not talk about safety, for you are not saved yet."
And pointing to Benedict, he continued,-
"That's where your thanks are due; unless he had come and informed me all about you and where you were, I should have known nothing, and should have been powerless to aid you."
It was now five days since he had fallen in with the entomologist as he was chasing the manticora, and unceremoniously had carried him off.
As the canoe drifted rapidly along the stream, Hercules briefly5 related his adventures since his escape from the encampment on the Coanza. He described how he had followed the kitanda which was conveying Mrs. Weldon; how in the course of his march he had found Dingo badly wounded; how he and the dog together had reached the neighbourhood of Kazonndé, and how he had contrived6 to send a note to Dick, intending to inform him of Mrs. Weldon's destination. Then he went on to say that since his unexpected rencontre with Cousin Benedict he had watched very closely for a chance to get into the guardeddépôt, but until now had entirely7 failed. A celebrated8 mganga had been passing on his way through the forest, and he had resolved upon impersonating him as a means of gaining the admittance he wanted. His strength made the undertaking9 sufficiently10 easy; and having stripped the magician of his paraphernalia11, and bound him securely to a tree, he painted his own body with a pattern like that which he observed on his victim's chest, and having attired12 himself with the magical garments was quite equipped to impose upon the credulous13 natives. The result of his stratagem14 they had all that day witnessed.
He had hardly finished his account of himself when Mrs. Weldon, smiling at his success, turned to Dick.
"And how, all this time, my dear boy, has it fared with you?" she asked.
Dick said,-
"I remember very little to tell you. I recollect15 being fastened to a stake in the river-bed and the water rising and rising till it was above my head. My last thoughts were about yourself and Jack. Then everything became a blank, and I knew nothing more until I found myself amongst the papyrus16 on the river-bank, with Hercules tending me like a nurse."
"You see I am the right sort of mganga" interposed Hercules; "I am a doctor as well as a conjurer."
"But tell me, Hercules, how did you save him?"
"Oh, it was not a difficult matter by any means," answered Hercules modestly; "it was dark, you know, so that at the proper moment it was quite possible to wade17 in amongst the poor wretches18 at the bottom of the trench19, and to wrench20 the stake from its socket21. Anybody could have done it. Cousin Benedict could have done it. Dingo, too, might have done it. Perhaps, after all, it was Dingo that did it."
"No, no, Hercules, that won't do," cried Jack; "besides, look, Dingo is shaking his head; he is telling you he didn't do it."
"Dingo must not tell tales, Master Jack," said Hercules, laughing.
But, nevertheless, although the brave fellow's modesty22 prompted him to conceal23 it, it was clear that he had accomplished24 a daring feat25, of which few would have ventured to incur26 the risk.
Inquiry27 was next made after Tom, Bat, Actæon, and Austin. His countenance28 fell, and large tears gathered in his eyes as Hercules told how he had seen them pass through the forest in a slave-caravan. They were gone; he feared they were gone for ever.
Mrs. Weldon tried to console him with the hope that they might still be spared to meet again some day; but he shook his head mournfully. She then communicated to Dick the terms of the compact that had been entered into for her own release, and observed that under the circumstances it might really have been more prudent29 for her to remain in Kazonndé.
"Then I have made a mistake; I have been an idiot, in bringing you away," said Hercules, ever ready to depreciate30 his own actions.
"No," said Dick; "you have made no mistake; you could not have done better; those rascals31, ten chances to one, will only get Mr. Weldon into some trap. We must get to Mossamedes before Negoro arrives; once there, we shall find that the Portuguese32 authorities will lend us their protection, and when old Alvez arrives to claim his 100,000 dollars-"
"He shall receive a good thrashing for his pains," said Hercules, finishing Dick's sentence, and chuckling33 heartily34 at the prospect35.
It was agreed on all hands that it was most important that Negoro's arrival at Mossamedes should be forestalled36. The plan which Dick had so long contemplated37 of reaching the coast by descending38 some river seemed now in a fair way of being accomplished, and from the northerly direction in which they were proceeding39 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 embark40 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 rambles41 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 velocity42, but by the aid of a single scull can be safely guided down the current of a stream.
Dick was somewhat afraid that, to elude43 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 concealed44 the craft, rudder-scull and all, that the very birds mistook it for one of the natural islets, and red-beaked gulls45, black arringhas and grey and white kingfishers would frequently alight upon it in search of food.
Though comparatively free from
Join or Log In!
You need to log in to continue reading