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A village ten miles to the east had, during the last few weeks, suspended rubber payments, gone arrear in taxes, the villagers running off into the forest and hiding from their hateful work. "What caused the trouble?" asked Berselius. "God knows," replied Meeus. "It may blow over it may have blown over by this, for I have had no word for two days; anyhow, to-morrow I will walk over and see.
The Taurus Mountains extend from the west side of the Mare Serenitatis, near Le Monnier and Littrow, in a north-westerly direction towards Geminus and Berselius, bordering the west side of the Lacus Somniorum. They are a far less remarkable system than any of the preceding, and consist rather of a wild irregular mountain region than a range.
"Elephant smell," he replied, when Adams asked him what was the matter; then, turning, he shouted some words in the native back to Berselius, and tramped on beside Adams, his nose raised to the wind, of which each puff brought the scent stronger. Adams could smell nothing, but the savage could tell that right ahead there were elephants; close up, too, yet not a sign of them could be seen.
The great change in his companion stood as a barrier between him and the loathing he would have felt if Berselius had been still himself. The great man had fallen, and was now very low. That vision of him in his madness by the Silent Pools had placed him forever on a plane above others. God had dealt with this man very visibly, and the hand of God was still upon him.
Meeus spoke to the people in their own tongue, telling them not to be afraid, and when the tents were erected he and Berselius and Adams, sitting in the shelter of the biggest tent, faced the seven villagers, all drawn up in a row and backed by the eleven soldiers in their red fez caps.
He turned to Berselius, who was sleeping. The delirium had passed, and he was breathing evenly and well. There was hope for him yet hope for his body if not for his mind. The first thing to be done was to bury Meeus. And now came the question, How would the soldiers take the death of the Chef de Poste? They knew nothing of it yet.
To step aside from a thing even for a hundred yards in this terrible place was to lose it; even the rubber collectors, from whom the forest holds few secrets have, in these thick places, to blaze a trail by breaking branches, tying lianas and marking tree trunks. "True," said Berselius in a weary voice, "we have lost even that." "No matter," said Adams, "we have got a guide.
They talked of the expedition, but Verhaeren showed little knowledge of the work and no enthusiasm. The Belgians of the Congo have no feeling for sport. They never hunt the game at their doors, except for food. When they had discussed matters, Verhaeren led the way out for Berselius to inspect his arrangements. The porters were called up.
If Berselius had been taken off that track and placed a few miles away, he would have been as lost as Adams. They wheeled to the north, following in their leader's footsteps. That afternoon, late, they camped by the same pool near which Berselius had shot the rhinos. Adams, to make sure, walked away to where the great bull had fought the cow before being laid low by the rifle of the hunter.
He guessed the truth about his own case, and he gave a succinct account of the accident and the loss of memory following it. "This is due to the result of the injury, is it not?" said Berselius, pointing to his left arm when he had finished. "I am afraid so," said TThénard, who knew his patient, and that plain speaking would be best. "Some pressure?" "So I imagine."
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