"Dost thou think thou wilt succeed where valiant men for ages past have failed?" he asked, in a tone of reproach.

"I may fail also," I said. "If thou wilt lead me thither, I will make at least an effort."

The black chief did not reply, but sat silent and motionless, still hugging his knees, and gazing with thoughtful, heavy expression into the fire. Perhaps he was trying to devise some scheme whereby I might be deterred from committing an act which he considered sheer folly. But I was determined to keep the promise I had made to Azala, and seek some explanation of the mystic marks upon our b.r.e.a.s.t.s. It was strange that every tribe--followers of the Prophet and pagans alike--possessed some curious legend regarding the unapproachable country; strange, also, that so many of the quaint beliefs coincided in two facts; namely, the escape of an adventurous spirit and the subsequent disappearance of the cavern.

These legends had apparently been handed down through so many ages that they had now become bound up in the quaint and simple religious belief of the pagans, proving the great antiquity of the original incident or story upon which they were founded.

That some extraordinary mystery was therein hidden, I felt instinctively, and longed for the days to pa.s.s in order to stand before the gigantic rock and examine it closely. Tiamo, much impressed by what Yakul had said, was likewise eager to view the spot; but the chief's declaration that it was the dwelling-place of the Evil Spirit caused him considerable perturbation, for, as a pagan himself, he believed implicitly in the existence of Jinns, and in the One of Evil, which he constantly declared lurked in the most gloomy depths of the Forest of Perpetual Night. Once or twice on our lonely journey he had been terrified at seeing in the darkness some mysterious object moving, but it generally turned out to be a monkey, a leopard, or some other animal startled by our sudden invasion of his domain.

At such times I laughed at his dread of darkness, but I confess that more than once in that weird and terrible wilderness of trees I, myself, had become infected by his abject fear, and stood in readiness to witness some uncanny being advance towards us. Now, however, my little apelike companion expressed a profound belief that the seat of the Evil Spirit was actually beyond the Rock of the Great Sin, and that the story, as related by Yakul, was the most sensible solution of the mystery he had yet heard. I could not reprimand him, because I did not wish to cast doubt upon the belief of the grateful savage who had proved our sincere friend. Therefore I held my peace, declaring that I would express no opinion before I saw the spot.

Yakul laughed when I thus made reply to my slave, and turning to him, said,--

"Thy master acteth with discretion. Ofttimes, we trip in the hurry of the tongue. They are wise who speak not before examining a matter themselves."

"For many moons have we journeyed in search of the Rock of the Great Sin," the dwarf answered, "and, even though I may fear him who dwelleth therein, yet I, like my master, will not be deterred from approaching it closely."

"Then, thy life will pay the penalty of thy rashness," the chief observed, slowly nodding his head to emphasise his words.

"The result of any folly will be upon us alone," Tiamo said, in a resentful tone. "Lead us thither, and leave us to our own devices."

"Such is my intention," answered the chief of the Avejeli. "If thou hadst searched through the Forest of Perpetual Night, thou wouldst not have obtained a guide, even though thou hadst offered him a sack of cowries, or an a.s.s's load of bra.s.s rods."

"Why?" I inquired.

"Because the secret of the existence of the seat of the Evil Spirit in our midst is carefully guarded by the forest tribes, and to lead a stranger thither is an offence punishable by death. Our prophets have for centuries urged upon us the necessity for keeping the whereabouts of the rock secret, declaring that some day a stranger will come from the north, and seek to penetrate the mystery. If the stranger is successful, then the vengeance of the Evil One will descend upon all forest-dwellers in whose keeping the secret remaineth, and sweep them out of existence by means of a terrible scourge of leprosy. Therefore, the tribe of pigmies holding the country near the rock are deadly hostile towards those who approach them, and none, save the Manuyema, have ever been permitted to go near, and even they were all quickly ma.s.sacred by us, not one being spared to spread the news among his compatriots."

"Then, in acting as our guide, thou art running a risk of death?" I exclaimed, in surprise.

The chief nodded a.s.sent, adding: "It is the only means by which I can repay thee for giving me my life."

"If our efforts are satisfactory, thou wilt a.s.suredly receive ample reward," I said.

"I want none," he replied. "But bring not upon our people the doom that hath so long been prophesied," he added, with earnest fervency.

"I may be the stranger whose coming hath been foretold," I observed, laughing.

El-Sadic, the dwarf, grinned from ear to ear, and rubbed his thighs, while Yakul moved uneasily, and, taking up a stick, slowly stirred the fire.

"I trust not," he said, in a harsh tone. "It would be better that I had died where the murderers of Tippu-Tib bound me, than I should be instrumental in leading the destroyer of our race unto victory."

"Destroyer of thy race!" I echoed. "I have no desire to destroy either the pigmies of the forest, or the stalwart dwellers of the river banks.

My campaign is not one of conquest, but of curiosity. In searching for the rock I am but redeeming a pledge to the woman I love. Therefore, have no fear as to my intentions;" and laughing again, I added, "Whatever may occur, thou wilt a.s.suredly be remembered."

"But the prophecy, it is--"

"Heed it not, be it what it may," I urged, interrupting him. "Be thou our guide, and give us thy protection through the country of the pigmies. a.s.suredly wilt thou be fitly rewarded."

"I take no reward from one to whom I owe so much," he answered, proudly.

For a few moments he hesitated, then added: "I have promised to direct thy footsteps unto the mysterious region of the Evil One, and will do so, notwithstanding the prophecy. The pledge of Yakul is never broken.

Therefore, trust in me, and within twelve days thine eyes shall be gladdened by the sight of the gloomy rock for which thou hast so long searched."

I thanked him, a.s.suring him that by such an action he would repay my small service a thousandfold, and he accepted my expressions of pleasure with that calm dignity which had held him exalted above all others of his tribe.

"Then let us rest," he said. "To-morrow we must retrace our steps one march, and then strike in the direction of the sunrise. Yakul shall lead thee, but if thine adventurous expedition shouldst cost thee thy life, let it not be upon my head, for already have I given thee full warning of the dangers that must beset thee."

"Thou art exonerated from every blame, O my friend," I answered. "Of our own free desire we go forward unto the Land of the Myriad Mysteries, and we are ready that the consequences rest with us."

"Well hast thou spoken, O master," my slave exclaimed. "Wheresoever thou seekest for truth, there also will I bear thee company."

"Then let us refresh ourselves by sleep, and let us proceed at sunrise,"

said the chief of the Avejeli; and soon afterwards, having made couches of leaves, we stretched ourselves around the embers of our fire, the flickering of which cast weird, grotesque shadows upon the boles of the giants of the forest.

How long I slept I have no knowledge, but the crackling of wood awakened me. Opening my eyes quickly, without moving, I saw the flames had sunk and sleep had stolen over my two companions. Tiamo lay on his side, his hand on his _jambiyah_ at his waist, while Yakul snored and rolled as if he did not like the ground to lie upon. The single ember that blazed threw its light upon some dark bushes within my line of sight.

Suddenly I thought I detected a small object moving in the deep shadow, and strained my eyes into the gloom. Yes! I was not deceived! Another dark form moved, then another and another, and as one crept out on tiptoe from the thick undergrowth, I saw it was a tiny, half-naked dwarf, wearing a curious square head-dress, advancing noiselessly, a small poisoned arrow held in his bow ready to fly at the first sign of our awakening.

The one creeping towards us did so with evil intent, for there was a keen, murderous look in his tiny, beadlike eyes. During the first few moments of this discovery I remained spellbound, allowing our adversaries to creep forward until within two spears' length of us.

Then I sent up a loud shout of alarm that rang through the great forest and came back again with strange, almost sepulchral echo.

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.

ON THE HORIZON.

Instantly the tiny people of the Wamb.u.t.ti, none of whom reached higher than my waist, scampered back into the undergrowth, startled by my unearthly yells, but at the same moment Yakul jumped to his feet in alarm, an arrow in his bow.

"Why hast thou given warning?" he cried, glancing at me. "What hideous shape hath frightened thee?"

"See! in yonder bushes, the pigmies are lurking," I gasped in alarm, pointing to the spot where they had concealed themselves.

"How didst thou detect their presence?" he inquired.

"I watched them."

Turning towards the thick bushes, the savage chieftain shouted some words in a tongue unknown to me, and next second the impish little denizens of the forest depths sprang from their hiding-places, and recognising their friend, came crowding around, dancing and greeting us effusively.

Briefly Yakul explained our position. His eyes were fire; his pa.s.sion for his slaughtered and enslaved race, and his pa.s.sion for revenge, were as the lode-star of his life. After consultation, the hunters of the Wamb.u.t.ti relit our fire by rubbing two sticks together, and squatted around it, laughing and chattering in their strange language until the grey light, glimmering through the tall trees, told us that dawn had come. Times innumerable had the Avejeli a.s.sisted the dwarfs against the raiding dwellers on the gra.s.slands and on the river banks. The yellow-complexioned pigmies, dwelling as they do deep in the impenetrable depths of the boundless Forest of Perpetual Night, are formidable enemies, for they conceal themselves so cleverly that their arrows and spears pierce the intruder before he is aware of their presence. As hunters, these little-known men stand first among the pagan tribes of Central Africa, and in return for food and bark-cloth supply the neighbouring tribes with quant.i.ties of ivory, and the deadliest of arrow poisons. Their complexions are much lighter than the dwellers by the river or on the plains, and their villages are mere collections of tiny huts that appear like little straw-covered mounds placed in the centre of a forest clearing.

At first our weird little friends seemed inclined to regard me with considerable distrust, but on Yakul's a.s.surance that I was no ally of Tippu-Tib's, their distrust gave place to curiosity as to my purpose in travelling through the forest. Yakul reminded them of the promise of a.s.sistance they had many times given him, and told them of my mission; whereupon, after consultation with their headman, they consented--not, however, without some reluctance--to guide us towards the Land of the Myriad Mysteries; and after re-arranging their elephant-trap into which we had fallen, our fire was extinguished and we struck camp, turning our faces in a north-easterly direction. Through a great, gloomy tract of primeval forest, where the foliage was so dense that scarcely a ray of light could struggle through to illuminate our weary footsteps, we pa.s.sed over marshy ground, where poisonous vapours hung undisturbed by the faintest breath of air, and where neither animals nor birds could live; on over the decaying vegetation of centuries; on, day after day, now scrambling over fallen giants of the forest, and ever and anon sinking knee-deep in quagmires of foetid slime. Often we struck an elephant track which a.s.sisted us, but were always compelled to leave it very soon in order to continue our course. Thus through many dreary hours we pressed forward in the dull, dispiriting gloom.

Confident in the knowledge that each bivouac brought us nearer the spot for which I searched, I heeded neither fatigue nor peril, and judge my satisfaction, joy and eagerness, when at last we suddenly emerged from the forest gloom into the blessed light of day. Halting, I inhaled the first invigorating breath of pure air I had breathed for many weeks.

The dwarfs raising their hands above their heads, gave vent to some cabalistic utterances; then, trembling with fear, stood, not daring to proceed further into the country forbidden. Yakul called us to witness that our friends had guided us in the right path, and Tiamo, turning to me, cried excitedly in Arabic,--

"Of a verity, O master, soon will our eyes be delighted at the sight of the great rock. The chief Yakul is a.s.suredly as sincere a friend as if he had made blood brotherhood with thee."

Facing towards the holy Ka'aba, I thanked Allah for his deliverance, and recited the Testification with some verses from the book of Everlasting Will.