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Updated: May 26, 2025
"You are the first chief ever I heard take that weight upon his shoulders," said Mr. Hume, with admiration he could not restrain. "Why don't you resign?" said Compton. "Haw!" "Let some one else be chief." Muata's nostrils quivered in disgust. "Wow! I am a chief, and the son of a chief. Who is there to take my place?" "But you were a long time away."
Oh, here they come, I suppose," as half of Muata's body-guard detached themselves and advanced towards the palm-tree. "Shall we go down?" said Compton, rising. "Sit still, my lad. No chief ever hurries; and, you understand, we are all chiefs." "Are we, though?" "We take rank with Muata, if he is the head chief; not out of pride, you understand, but out of policy. So just keep cool.
He broke into a kind of chant. "Ye may hear the laughter of the little ones. There are no such at the door of Muata's hut, for a man cannot take unto himself wives and keep his arm strong to cast the spear, his eyes clear to follow the trail, and his heart strong to face the dangers that come out of the forest. "Ye hear the voice of the young men and maidens singing in the dance.
"This," said the old man, solemnly, placing his finger on Muata's breast, "is he they call the River Wolf, the son of the wise woman, the warrior who will follow the track of the man-eaters." "What know ye of the wise woman?" demanded the chief.
Those men are keeping a close watch on us." "I know it," said Compton. "You do, eh?" "That Zanzibar boy was spying on us last night before you came, and he tried to get us to bribe him to free Muata." "I hope you were not so foolish as to fall into the trap?" said the hunter, sharply. "I kicked him out of the place," said Compton. "I told Venning you were playing a game for Muata's life."
"He must hate us very much to pursue us so relentlessly," said Venning, when he had heard the story. "He is not bothering about us," said Mr. Hume. "I take it that he has heard of Muata's hiding-place, this Garden of Rest, and wants it for his own use. Now, lads, is this to be our quarrel? There is no call upon us to interfere, and we should escape a lot of trouble if we did not interfere.
"Ye," he said, addressing them, "will stay here with the women; and if it chance that the enemy prevail, take the women and the flocks to the foot of the rocks above, where the white men were. O Inkosikase! Muata's mother came forward, armed with spear, and behind her came other women carrying bows and arrows. "These men, O mother, will stay by the kraal.
"Give me the beetles, and you can have the gorillas. Let's hope we shall have a real rest in this wonderful place." "Won't be much rest while Hassan is around," said Compton; "but we'll have the pull of him if we can get there first." "Without his knowledge," added the hunter. "The advantage of a surprise is everything in native warfare, as you have gathered in listening to Muata's yams."
Muata's people were gathered on the tableland where stood the new village, watching the sinking of the river, as unaccountable to them as had been the swift rising in the night that had cut them off and marked them out as easy victims to the men in the canoes, which Hassan, in his great cunning, had brought up to complete his plan for the complete destruction of the community.
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