Witch-Doctors Part 37

The thirst which afflicted Birnier rendered him oblivious of his G.o.dhood and of the sacred office of Mungongo who was dutifully busy upon his knees blowing up the sacred fires from the ember which he had carried; so that at a summons to bring water he was both embarra.s.sed and awed, for the presence of the High Priest intensified his natural terror of breaking any of the meshes of the tabu. At the second imperative demand Bakahenzie soothed the angry G.o.d by commanding a slave to run to fetch water from without. But even then Birnier had the parched felicity of waiting while the High Priest solemnly exorcised the gourd of water which, as all food, could not be permitted to pa.s.s the lips of the King-G.o.d without the prescribed incantations.

However, within quite a reasonable time the sacred prisoner was accommodated with the possession of his goods, magic and culinary. The bungalow of the Kommandant, Birnier gathered, was to be converted into the temple after the ceremony of purification, and the idol was to stand in front in the place occupied by its predecessor at the coronation of the late Kawa Kendi.

All that day were Bakahenzie and Marufa and the wizards working hard at the various ceremonies of purification of those who had slain, the consecration of the Holy Hill, and the exorcising of the evil spirits attached thereto by the residence of the Son-of-the-Earthquake. Meanwhile Birnier and Mungongo were left to themselves within the enclosure to listen to the chanting and thrumming of the drums. Birnier had much to do in compiling his notes and reflections; Mungongo nothing save to prepare their meals and attend the Sacred Fires.

Exactly what had happened Birnier did not know and could not extract from Bakahenzie, who adopted his usual effective method of ignoring every direct question. Before they had left the place in the forest he had informed Birnier that the commands of the spirit of Tarum through the magic ear had been performed, but with what restrictions, modifications, or embroideries, Birnier had no means of ascertaining. His definite knowledge was that Zalu Zako, together with other chiefs and a vast crowd of warriors, were to remain in the forest where zu Pfeiffer was to be led into ambush by the power of the magic which he had sent, the American flag, an idea which certainly tickled Birnier's sense of humour considerably, particularly as it appealed to him, if successful, as an ideal case of poetic justice.

That zu Pfeiffer's fort had fallen was obvious, although what the disposition of his forces had been and of how the a.s.sault had been carried, Birnier had no idea. But of one thing he was reasonably sure, and that was that his a.n.a.lysis of zu Pfeiffer's reactions and the psychological effect upon the natives of having the idol reinstated in the Place of Kings, had been entirely correct. After all, as he admitted with a smile, zu Pfeiffer's system of native psychology had been based on the same fundamental principles as his own except that he had not reckoned with the unknown quant.i.ty, the equal intelligence working against him and able to discount his moves, plus heavier artillery in the form of an emotional broadside, the possibility of which rather naturally had never occurred to him.

An item which worried Birnier was that he had no means, and could hope for none apparently, of discovering whether and to what extent his orders through the phonograph had been carried out regarding the treatment of the white men. Their fate at the hands of the Wongolo, particularly after the merciless ma.s.sacres inflicted by zu Pfeiffer, would scarcely bear imagining. From the fact of the instant and apparently easy success of the a.s.sault on the forts, he did not doubt that zu Pfeiffer, who had been foolish enough to be lured into dividing his forces, was doomed to defeat.

In this instance he would not have any of the advantages of his triumphal entry into the country; would not be able to accomplish a surprise attack, and the weakening of the native moral by ma.s.sacre and the downfall of the idol; in fact he had these very forces against him: for the success of their first venture, their overwhelming numbers in the forest, the exaltation of fanaticism excited by the restoration of their tribal G.o.d, practically tacked a label of suicide upon his military actions.

During that day Bakahenzie, evidently too busy with the duties of his office, did not come near to him. But that evening, in order to ensure as far as possible obedience to his orders through the mouth of the oracle, Birnier caused Mungongo to chant further instructions into the phonograph commanding that the Son-of-the-Earthquake was to be brought alive to receive judgment from the Unmentionable One through the Incarnation, the son of the Lord-of-many-Lands. Whether this would work or not Birnier of course could not know. Already had he discovered that n.o.body could control the complicated machinery of the native tabu any more than any one statesman could manage always any vast political machine; indeed he, as many others, might more than conceivably be ground up by the gargantuan engine with whose starting lever he had played. All he could do had been done; nothing remained but to adopt Marufa's favourite maxim: "wait and see."

In the evening Mungongo, who had at length been persuaded to project his eyes beyond the sacred ground even if he would not his feet, reported that much chanting and drumming indicated that the warriors, or a great number of them, had departed, evidently to reinforce the troops of Zalu Zako or with the object of taking zu Pfeiffer in the rear: a fact which made Birnier a little uneasy lest the news of the fall of the station might bring zu Pfeiffer to his senses and cause him to return, in which case the position might prove to be somewhat uncomfortable.

However, the night pa.s.sed to the soft thrumming of the drums. At dawn appeared Bakahenzie as solemnly as usual. He began by demanding that the "pod of the soul" of Tarum should be prepared to listen to him. Birnier observed a slight increase in the domineering manner and realized more keenly that unless he checked that tendency the worthy High Priest would become altogether unmanageable.

Birnier commanded Mungongo to bring forth the instrument and reproduced for Bakahenzie's benefit the oration of the previous night. Bakahenzie listened solemnly, grunted acquiescence, and again made his request.

Birnier refused abruptly. Again Bakahenzie grunted acceptance which caused Birnier to speculate upon what move the wily doctor had in mind. However, after the usual starting of false trails, he announced that the consecration of the idol would take place that day and began to instruct the new G.o.d in his divine duties. That there was something unusual in the form, either exaggerated or curtailed, Birnier gathered from Bakahenzie's method of expounding the rites; and the solution came in the announcement, just before leaving, that as soon as the Son-of-the-Earthquake had been "eaten up," that he, Bakahenzie, would summon the craft and the people to the Harvest Festival.

The form of the statement again drew Birnier's attention to the fact that Bakahenzie was a.s.suming the reins of power far too fast for his satisfaction; that unless he contrived to put on the curb he would never attain the goal of a beneficent agent nor be able to satisfy his professional curiosity.

However, when he had gone, Birnier began anew to question Mungongo regarding the reputed ceremonies of the festival, but beyond the fact that it was an occasion allied to the Christian-Pagan festival of a kind of thanksgiving for the harvest and sacrifice to the G.o.d which involved the ceremony of the marriage of the Bride of the Banana, Mungongo knew nothing.

In the afternoon Birnier was required to preside at the consecrating of the ground and the setting up of the idol. But all he had to do was to squat silently in front of the new temple and before Bakahenzie and the group of the cult, while the concourse of the other wizards and the few chiefs that were not away grunted a belly chorus upon the levee without.

The ceremony was disappointing as ceremonies go, for beyond the stewing in the great calabash of a magic concoction with which to anoint the hole for the feet of the idol, the doorposts of the temple and the House of Fires, to the accompaniment of the usual chanting and drumming, it was ended by a dance, with Bakahenzie as the premier danseur.

After his evening meal of boiled chicken, goat flesh and milk, Birnier squatted in the doorway of his new quarters smoking. He had no lights as his store of carbide was finished. Before leaving for the forest to carve the Incarnation of the new Unmentionable One, he had had the forethought to despatch a messenger to a certain village on the great lake to intercept his carriers with goods and the mail for which he had sent after escaping from the n.o.ble son of Banyala; he had already informed Bakahenzie of the coming of a fresh stock of magic and impressed upon him that great precaution must be taken to ensure that it came directly to him, lest contact with strangers should offend the spirits. Bakahenzie had a.s.sented in his usual non-committal manner, a manner that was beginning to get upon Birnier's nerves.

As he smoked, staring up at the great moon over the sinister head of the idol framed in the green light, he observed that the day after the next would be the full moon, the Harvest Moon, the time of the yearly festival.

Then, by a coincidence which sometimes seems to have a telepathic basis as explanation, he heard a curious soft sound from apparently behind the hut.

Mungongo, squatting near his Sacred Fires in the immobile manner of the native, heard the sound too. Again a sibilant whisper, almost like the hiss of a snake, brought a "Clk" of astonishment to Mungongo's lips. He rose swiftly and disappeared behind the hut. Another m.u.f.fled exclamation of astonishment aroused Birnier's curiosity. He followed, to find Mungongo leaning over the palisade as if speaking to some one.

"Ehh!" murmured a familiar voice. "'Tis Moonspirit!"

With a grunt of horror Mungongo turned upon Birnier and began to push him away, gasping: "She is accursed! If the evil of her eyes rest upon thee thou art sick unto death!"

"The devil take you!" muttered Birnier, angry at the touch of force; then recollecting that the tabu forbade alien eyes to gaze on his sacred body upon which the world depended, he realized that Mungongo was trying to save him. He held him off by the arms, saying: "Be quiet, thou fool! Hath not my magic shown thee that I am above all magic?"

Mungongo appeared to consider that there was some truth in the statement and at any rate it gave him something to think about. He stood pa.s.sively but as if momentarily expecting Birnier, magic or no, to melt before his eyes. Bending over the fence Birnier saw the slender form of Bak.u.ma crouched against the earth.

"What dost thou here, O little one?" he whispered, for of course he knew nothing of her fate after the abduction by MYalu.

So horror-struck at her own temerity in approaching the person of the King-G.o.d was she that she dared not raise her eyes as she stuttered:

"A demon hath driven the bird of my soul into the net of thy wrath."

"Still the black wings in thy breast, O Bak.u.ma," said Birnier, trying to soothe the child. "Come thou within and show thy father thy bosom."

"Ehh! Ehh!" gasped Bak.u.ma, quivering in greater panic than ever.

Aware of the danger Birnier stooped, took her by the arms and lifted her over the palisade, remarking the violent trembling of the frail little body whose limbs seemed like candles.

"Come thou," said Birnier, moving towards the hut.

But she cowered where he had dumped her, covering her eyes with her hands so that she gazed not upon the sacred body. Mungongo stood like a tree, the whites of terrified eyes glimmering in the moonlight. Birnier picked up the girl and carried her into the hut, followed by a quaking Keeper of the Sacred Fires.

"Go, thou fool," commanded Birnier, "and watch that none approaches!"

Mungongo gasped. But he obeyed. "Now, little one," continued Birnier, "bare thy bosom that I may know how to make the magic of healing."

Squatting on the threshold, her emaciated arms still covering her eyes, Bak.u.ma strove to obey. At length she faltered out the story of her double abduction. The capture by the askaris had made but little difference to her, for, as she phrased it, the beak of her soul was like unto the mouth of the crocodile. Her captor had thrust her into a hut in the village together with some other female captives, but as the man had had to continue his military duties, night had fallen before he returned, by which time she had bribed some of the women, whose captivity was not as loathsome to them as the pride of their race should have made it, with a powerful charm which Birnier had given her, a nickel-plated razor-strop.

She had escaped. But more fearful of her doom as the Bride of the Banana than she was of MYalu or the askaris, she had hidden in the forest, living upon wild fruit and roots. Then had she heard the drums announcing the return of the Unmentionable One, and aware that Moonspirit had gone into the forest to seek Him, had guessed that he was triumphant. Away in the jungle she had heard the sound of the rejoicing at the homecoming of the King-G.o.d; had hesitated, and at last she had come to Moonspirit, in spite of his divinity, in the fluttering hope of aid, driven by a demon to break another tabu, the same demon which urges so many to break magic circles-the subconscious love motive.

Poor kid! commented Birnier to himself as he regarded the pitiful cowering form. We haven't gotten the nuptial torches for you yet, but we will, by G.o.d!... Give me thine ear, O little one.... But as he talked to her, soothing the terror by promises of mightier magic, came Mungongo crying in a terrified whisper that Bakahenzie was claiming audience. At the back of the next room of the bungalow, built upon a plan of the one in Ingonya, was a bathroom, and into that was Bak.u.ma hurried and bidden to lie as quiet as a crocodile.

CHAPTER 29

Bakahenzie had come to announce that the certain magic "things," which a messenger had brought from the white man's country, had arrived. Although he could not expect an answer to his letter to Lucille in Europe, there might be others; and such an event as the receipt of a mail once in six months is apt to be exciting. Birnier forgot his role for the moment, leaped to his feet preparatory to rus.h.i.+ng out to meet the runner, but a grunt from Bakahenzie and an alarmed cry from Mungongo were just in time to prevent him from jeopardizing the stability of the world and all that he had won by violating the tabu by stepping beyond the sacred ground.

Other G.o.ds and emperors have indeed wrecked empires through a lesser aberration. Even realization of the penalty was scarcely enough to hobble his impatient legs, for the very suggestion of what the mail represented melted the fetters of this native world as wax in the sun.

Indeed more effort of will was required to return to his G.o.d-like throne upon the camp-bed, and to amble through the etiquette which discussion of such an important matter demanded, than to carry the idol on his back through the forest and bear the sound thras.h.i.+ng to boot. Then as a further test, Bakahenzie slowly developed a dictum that the magic things could not be permitted to enter the sacred enclosure until they had been disinfected from the mult.i.tude of evil eyes through which they must have pa.s.sed. At that the G.o.d came near to swearing or weeping, he did not know which.

But as he fumed inwardly he recollected that at any moment Zalu Zako and his troops might return; or if the battle had gone the other way, then zu Pfeiffer; in the former case the excitement would still further delay the goods and mail, and the latter event might entail the complete loss. As well as the growing irritation caused by Bakahenzie's interminable list of tabus was the necessity of proclaiming, or rather gaining, his authority before he could be of any a.s.sistance either to Bak.u.ma, the white men or himself. Indeed he had been waiting the arrival of these goods to secure the subjection of Bakahenzie to his will. He determined that the trial should be now. Merely to demand would, he felt, arouse the obstinacy of the chief witch-doctor, who would never, unless compelled by force or cunning, give up the reins of power which to him was the _raison d'etre_ of his life. Birnier must attack through the line of least resistance.

With the carriers bearing the mail was a case of "imprisoned stars"

(rockets) and a special cinema outfit, so that Birnier felt that he could afford to explode the last manifestation of magic which remained to him.

After a judicious interval, he said to Bakahenzie:

"O son of Maliko, is not my tongue the tongue of the Unmentionable One?"

"He who knoweth all things knoweth that which is white," retorted Bakahenzie.

"Verily. Therefore do thou cause to be brought that which is come, that which the fingers of the Unmentionable One are hungry to touch. Thou knowest his power of magic. Therefore are the evil eyes of the mult.i.tude but dry leaves in the wind of his breath."

"Indeed thy words are white, O son of the Lord-of-many-Lands."

"Depart then that the hunger of His fingers may be appeased."

"The drums speak not yet of the eating up of Eyes-in-the-hands. Hath not the ear of the spirit of Tarum spoken upon these matters?" inquired Bakahenzie in his favourite dialectical manner.

"The spirit of Tarum hath naught to say to thee," replied Birnier, "but the fingers of Tarum will to make thee to itch even as his fingers."

Birnier called to Mungongo who brought and placed at his feet a fairly powerful electric battery. Bakahenzie eyed the box; curiosity was keenly awakened. He stared interestedly when Birnier raised the lid. Taking the handles he said: