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Aieeeeeeeeeee!
A grey forest rat hath swallowed my heart!
My thighs have been scratched by a poisonous thorn!
Aieeeeeeeeeee!"
As the last quiver of the wail blended with the anthem of the forest came from a figure squatted above the ford of the river, his spear a blue flame in the moonlight, an answer:
"My love hath been taken by a greater than I!
Her flesh will be tasted by a hungrier mouth!
Her flesh which is sweeter than honey and wine!
Her flesh which is softer than a newly born kid!
Ough! My spear is bent!
My love hath been taken by a greater than I!
Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s will be pillowed by a much broader chest!
Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s which do swell like a tender young gourd!
Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s which are as firm as the meat of the plum!
Ough! My spear is bent!"
And answered Bak.u.ma's wail:
"Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
"My love hath been taken by a greater than I!
Her chines will be gripped by a far fiercer hand!
Her chines which are smoother than elephants' tusks!
Her chines which are as plump as the breast of a fowl!
Ough! My spear is bent!
Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
My love hath been taken by a greater than I!
Her eyes will be touched by longer fingers than mine!
Her eyes which are like unto moons veiled by rain!
Her eyes which are like the starlit river at dawn!
Ough! My spear is bent!
Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
My love hath been taken by a greater than I!
Her scent will be drunk by nostrils broader than mine!
Her scent which is pungent and sweet like the smoke!
Her scent which slakes thirst more than driest of beer!
Ough! My spear is bent!
Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
My love hath been taken by a greater than I!
Her breath will be sipped by a thirstier throat!
Her breath which is hotter than the flame of a fire!
Her breath which makes more drunken than enemies' blood!
Ough! My spear is bent!
Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
My love hath been taken by a greater than I!
Her voice will be heard by ears mightier than mine!
Her voice which is like unto burbling beer!
Her voice which is gentler than the rustle of fronds!
Ough! My spear is bent!
Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
A slight breeze stirred gently the trees. The crickets shrilled their perpetual chorus. A crocodile flopped in the river. Dogs yapped from a village down the river. Again Bak.u.ma lifted up her voice:
"Mightier than elephants was the tread of my man!
Keener than a leopard was the flash of his eye!
Stronger than an oak tree was the strength of his arm!
Swifter than lightning was the stroke of his spear!
Enemies died!
Taller than the wine palm was the height of my man!
Broader than the temple was the span of his chest!
More graceful than antelope was the carriage of him!
More slender than saplings was the build of his legs!
Women lamented!
Sweeter than warm honey was the scent of my man!
Whiter than a spear flash was the gleam of his teeth!
Fiercer than scorpions was the grip of his hand!
Smooth and like stone was--"
A gale of yells and shots destroyed the song of Bak.u.ma like a foot crus.h.i.+ng a flower.
Zalu Zako leaped to his feet and stood for a moment listening intently.
Across the river some strange beast spat spears of red flames. A little farther down another beast coughed violently like a hippopotamus. The sky seemed falling. Such volumes of sound he had never heard before.
As he raced with the speed of a koodoo through the plantation he saw the glow of fire ahead and heard the moan of some terrible monster near him.
He leaped five feet in the air as the world appeared to crack in half beside him. He felt a sting like a brand of fire in his shoulder, but he ran on towards the village from whence fled dim figures on all sides amid shouts and screams and wailing.
Several huts were already blazing. The leviathan coughed and moaned again and once more the earth seemed to crash to pieces near him. Appalled and bewildered, choking with rage, he reached the outer enclosure where his fellow warriors were shouting and yelling that the white G.o.ds were attacking. Bakahenzie, gun in hand, was bidding them charge they knew not what. Then out of the clutter of the village broke line upon line of yelling figures clothed in uniform. Screaming the battle-cry, the warriors charged, led by Zalu Zako, Bakahenzie, and Kawa Kendi, who in the excitement had dashed from the enclosure. Howls and yells were drowned in the spiteful crackle and cough. Warriors were mown like weeds under a sickle. Scarce a hundred scrambled inside the enclosure at the rallying call from Bakahenzie.
Again came a short rush of those uniformed figures; again scarlet spears pierced the green moonlight like a hailstorm; small red flames rippled in a line resembling a forest fire as the soldiers charged through and over the palisade. Hand to hand was the fighting, spear and sword against bayonet and rifle around the idol, the askaris outyelling the warriors.
The temple was on fire. In the light of the flames they saw a tall figure in white with a glow of fire in his mouth and magic eyes upon his hands, eyes which flashed rays of scarlet and blue as he cut and hacked at the base of the idol....
"Tarum hath come!" screamed some one, and as the cry was taken up, the Unmentionable One tottered and crashed to the ground.
They fled, Zalu Zako, Bakahenzie and those that were left.
CHAPTER 12
