Courage, True Hearts Part 51

"Goo-goo!" said the king.

Duncan shook his head as he sat on a block of wood near to him, and just where he could get a good look of his sable countenance.

"He say," Carrambo interpreted, "no goo-goo, no stoly."

But Duncan was firm. Savages are very like children in some of their ways, and Duncan knew it. He s.h.i.+fted the bottle farther back therefore.

"No story, no goo-goo. Tell him that, Carrambo."

The fat king grinned, slapped one of his wives, grinned again, and began to talk.

As translated by the Somali, the story ran somewhat as follows:--

"I king now. My fadder he king once. My fadder fadder he king befo'; my fadder fadder fadder he king too. 'Twas when fadder fadder fadder king. De boys all in de bush one day, make much fine spolt. Shoot de monkey fo' eat; shoot de lion and de spot-cat (leopard) all wid bow and arrow. Some dey kill wid spear.

"Plesantly, all as soon as nuffin, plenty much noise and shout in de bush. Den fire-sticks flash and plenty thunder, and one, two, tlee, nine, ten (the king was counting on his fingers and could go no further) ob my fadder's fadder's fadder's poor people lie down and bleed red, and die. But dis not all. De king's people fight, and many mo' all kill and bleeding, and so de king make peace.

"De white men dey take many wives away, den take de country, and de king he king no mo'. All de same he not conquer. Plaps he take revenge one day. You see plenty soon.

"Well, de white men wid de thunder-sticks, they build big big house--big, big, stlong, stlong, all de same as you young gemmans lib in now. So dey settle down and lib heah.

"Dey go spolt plenty in de bush, and kill much wild beast. Sometimes de wild beast--ha, ha!--kill dey, and chew up foh tlue.

"But all de same de white folks stay one two year. Dey gadder much gla.s.s stone--"

"These," said Duncan, "were evidently diamonds."

"Were they like these?" said Frank, taking the splendid diamond from his pocket and holding it up.

"All same, all same, de king say," cried Carrambo.

"Dey go heah and dere all ober de mountain to seek fo' de gla.s.s stone, and many dey find and buly."

"Bury," cried Duncan, showing some little excitement. "Ask him, Carrambo, where the gla.s.s was buried. Wait a minute though," he added.

"Frank, give him another nutful of goo-goo."

Frank did as he was told. Carrambo put the question, and the king's eyes sparked.

"What does he say, Carrambo?"

"He says de debbil guard the gla.s.s stones, and if he tell any white man where they lie, den de debbil take he plenty quick."

The king was offered a whole bottle of goo-goo if he would only divulge the secret, but he was obdurate.

"No, no, no," said Carrambo. "He say de debbil no catchee he foh many many long year yet."

Then his majesty proceeded with the story.

"De white men now begin to dig holes in the earf. Dey want to make hole for bad men to come up throo, and cut all de throats of my fadder's fadder's fadder's pore people.

"De ole ole king he fink, 'I no can stand dis no mo'." "Den one night in de dark folest he gadder his people togedder.

"He 'splain to dem all 'bout de big hole. 'Plaps,' he say, 'eben to-mollow de bad white debbils come up out ob de hole, and catchee us foh tlue.'

"And de ole king's people shake wid anger.

"'Kill, kill, kill, and eat the fire-stick men!' dey cly.

"Dey shake moh and moh wid anger, den de ole king say, 'Vely well, all kill'.

"Dat night, out on de plain de moon he s.h.i.+ne. De moon hab one big led (red) face. He look down, he smile and laugh. 'Kill, kill!' he seem to say. 'Kill de white debbils and dair wives, kill de white piccaninnies too. Make much fine bobbery, much fine kill. I not tell.'

"But de white men dat night say, 'O, de black cannibal not come dis night. Too much moon!' So dey dlink goo-goo, and moh and moh goo-goo.

Den dey sing--ha, ha!--den dey sleep.

"De moon he smile all de same. And the black man wid plenty spear and knife lie quiet in de bush.

"But the king cly now, and all at once de savage jump up.

"Plenty much branch ob tree dey cut.

"Plenty much fire.

"Den wid gleat stones de door fly all bloken, and de white men come out to fight.

"But too much goo-goo--he, he, he!--and dey fall and fall all in one big heap. Much blood. Much kick and scream!

"Not one alibe now, only de white women and de piccaninnies.

"Ha, ha, ha, how de king do laugh. My fadder, fadder, fadder, dat is.

"But now all de women am drag out, and all de piccaninny. Der troats--"

"Horrible!" cried Duncan. "We will have no more. Give the old pig of a king more goo-goo and let him go and sleep it off. I have never heard, Frank, of a more diabolical ma.s.sacre in my life."

Said Carrambo now: "What foh you open again de old debbil pits? Some night dey people rise and murder you tree pooh souls all same as dey kill and eat de odder white folks long, long ago. Carrambo know well.

Dese sabages not hab de debbil pits open. Oh, no!"

"There is much truth," said Duncan, "in what Carrambo says. It would be a pity to leave this land of gold and diamonds without knowing for certain whether the mines are worth working; but I move that we leave the devil pits alone for a time until we try to reclaim these savages just a little."

"I should reclaim them off the face of the earth," said Frank.

"That is impossible, and were it not, we should only be reducing ourselves to their level. That is not the doctrine of Jesus Christ."

So the "debbil pits", much to the joy of the king, were partially refilled. But just as they were shovelling in the earth, brave broad-shouldered Duncan struck something with his wooden spade.

"Hillo!" he cried, "what have we here?"

Frank and Conal rushed up to see.