Chapter 27 - Danger along the Kalawa river
The island of Ceylon does not have very important waterways, so the Kalawa is a modest river and is not very rich in water, especially during the hot season.
The lifeboat purchased by the mandah had a very low bottom, despite the weight of the engine, the coal, the provisions, and the three men who mounted it.
Jody, although wounded, had immediately resumed his duties as a driver and Blake as a helmsman. Kaj had moved forward to watch the course. The banks of the river were covered with thickets.
Huge figs pushed their trunks into the water, dropping their aerial roots; then groups of coconut trees, breadfruit trees, sagoro, the sugar palm, betel palm and clusters of pepper plants appeared.
Very few birds whistled, instead many monkeys made a frenzied noise, abusing their impunity, laughing on the faces of the three friends and even allowing themselves to sprinkle them with fruit and pieces of bark.
On the sandbars, on the other hand, from time to time large crocodiles, with enormous mouths, could be seen closing, hurrying to dive before Blake or Kaj had time to grab the carbines
«If all the enemies we meet on this river are here, they won't bother us much.»
«Slowly, Mr. Blake» replied Kaj «We have not yet reached the territories where Adikar rules.»
«Who is he?»
«The most powerful leader of the Vadassi.»
«A dangerous man?»
«He's the Napoleon of Ceylon. It's an interesting story.»
«Can you tell us? The lifeboat doesn't need our arms, does it, Jody?»
«The engine snores gleefully and coal abounds.»
«It is said…» Kaj said «… that many years ago a French ship, battered by storms, crashed against the bar of the Kalawa. The banks of the river were occupied by a small tribe of Vadassi who obeyed a leader called Adikar, young, ambitious and courageous, famous for his cruelty.».
«What happened to the shipwrecks?» Jody asked, more concerned with himself than with the story.
«Adikar plundered their ship and in return offered the shipwrecked lands, huts and cattle, provided they taught them how to fight like white men. One day the little chief, who had already learned a little of the French language, surprised them while they were talking about the great emperor of the French and asked him who that famous warrior was.»
«So he thought he would become like him, right?» Blake asked.
«In fact, he got this idea. Shortly thereafter he declared war on neighboring tribes, building a strong kingdom, as populous as Candy's. He therefore believed himself to be omnipotent.»
«He also massacred many English colonists» confirmed Blake «he massacred without sparing either women or children.».
«And now?» Jody asked.
«Now Adikar is a little chief, unable to compete with white men, and lives in a village on the banks of this river. He is very old by now and also blind, yet he is still very much feared.»
While they chatted, the steamboat continued to go up the river at a slow speed, so as not to consume too much coal. The two banks always appeared deserted. They were still far from the region inhabited by those warlike savages.
At about five in the afternoon the lifeboat passed a colossal tamarind, the trunk of which was covered with human skulls, nailed to the bark with long thorns.
«Is it a Vadassi cemetery?» Blake asked in amazement.
«You are deceived, Mr. Blake» Kaj replied. «That tree reminds you of a new cruelty from Adikar.»
«Then they will be heads of enemies.»
«Not even: they are skulls of his subjects.»
«Look there, I see a second tree also carpeted with human heads. And I see many more beyond» Jody noted.
«Of the thousands of skulls, reminiscent of the death of that cruel leader's mother.»
«But what have they done to deserve this end?»
«I don't know if rightly or wrongly, after founding that vast kingdom, he was accused of poisoning his mother. He gathered his bands, went to his maternal abode and when he saw his mother exhale her last breath, he tore his clothes and uttered such screams as to frighten everyone.»
«And then?» Jody asked.
«The next day, after performing the funeral dances, Adikar had a large number of slaves killed. In the evening seven thousand warriors lay lifeless on the village square. All those heads were nailed to the trunks of the trees along the river. Fifty girls, chosen from among the most beautiful, were placed to guard the body.»
«What if he did the same of us to watch over some wife's grave?» Blake asked with a shiver.
«Adikar won't dare so much anymore» Kaj replied. «He's been keeping away from white men for years.»
The sun was about to set, they pulled over to find a place to camp. The two banks were always covered by colossal trees and they decided to spend the night on a small islet.
The lifeboat was about to land when Kaj, who was at the bow scanning the bottom, motioned for Jody to stop the car.
«Is there no water?» asked Blake, holding the tiller handle.
«I saw bubbles rising from the bottom.» Kaj answered with a frown.
«What does it mean?»
«Crocodiles, Mr. Blake.»
«They won't dare attack us.»
«Eh! Who knows!»
He had just said those words when the lifeboat struck sharply, causing Kaj and Jody to fall.
«Are there any hippos in this river?» Blake asked «Yet I have never heard that in Asia there are animals of this kind.».
«There are some huge crocodile, Mr. Blake» Kay concluded.
They hunched over the edges, watching the water intently as the engineer picked up a harpoon placed near the firearms. It was a kind of spear, with a very long and serrated blade to produce more terrible wounds.
«If I touch him with this, I'll make him pass forever the urge to bother us.» Jody said.
The water, after the collision suffered by the lifeboat, had become so turbid that you could not see the bottom. The animal must have lifted the mud with a few powerful flicks of its tail.
«Do you see anything, Kaj?» Blake asked, cocking his carbine.
«No, sir» he replied, keeping cautiously behind the edge.
Suddenly two huge jaws emerged abruptly, reaching quickly towards Blake, who was bent over the water. Jody, holding the harpoon raised, struck a furious blow between the gaping jaws, breaking a few teeth of the crocodile and lacerating his palate.
The beast gave a kind of bellow, vomited a jet of blood and dived promptly, disappearing from all eyes.
«Has he had enough?» Jody asked «I've never seen such a gigantic crocodile in the rivers of India.»
«Neither do I» Blake confirmed «it must be at least eight meters long.»
«He will return to the attack. Those monsters have hard skin» Kaj announced. «If it attacked us it means that it's very hungry.»
«Give the propeller a shot, Jody, and we'll reach the islet» said Blake. «On land we can face him with less danger.»
«It's quickly done and ...»
He had not finished the sentence yet, when Jody felt himself spill on Blake who was behind him. The lifeboat was lifted and thrown impetuously to its side. The men who mounted it rolled over each other.
Almost at the same instant there was a long creak in the planking of the lifeboat and a plank was torn off in one blow. The giant crocodile had reappeared and was trying to smash the boat, too weak to resist those teeth, they are as solid as steel.
Blake had promptly risen and abandoned the rifle to take up a heavy ax, a weapon better suited for dealing with those dangerous reptiles covered in bony scales, so large they could withstand even the balls of the best rifles.
Meanwhile, the situation was becoming terrible, because the crocodile, furious at the wound he received, always shook the lifeboat as if it were a twig, even if it was loaded. Its huge teeth had already crossed another plank and crumbled it.
Kaj was holding a carbine and jumped on the crates to avoid being grinded by the monster's teeth and fired in the direction of an eye. The ball shattered part of the bone box, without penetrating the brain mass. It was a very serious wound, but not enough to bring down such an animal.
«Mr. Blake! Jody! Watch!» Kaj shouted, reloading the weapon.
«Take!» bellowed Blake, lifting the ax and letting it drop with a sharp blow on the crocodile's skull. At the same instant a second shot rang out, Kaj. He had again discharged the weapon into the beast's gaping jaws, making him swallow the bullet, the smoke.
The injured crocodile vibrated mightily with its tail, then let itself sink.
«Why, what teeth! He went through a board as if it were a simple sheet of paper!» Blake observed.
«Damage I'll repair soon» Jody said.
«We land.» Kaj said.
The three men reached the islet and jumped ashore, having secured the lifeboat with a rope. Having gone around that strip of land and making sure there were no cobras among the grasses, they set up camp.
«I'll try to get some Brahmin ducks while you're setting up dinner» said Blake.
«I'll take you, Mr. Blake, Jody can cook for himself.»
They took two shotguns and, after killing a few ducks, were preparing to return to the camp, when he thought he saw a human shadow slipping through the bushes.
«A man?» asked Blake, who had cocked the rifle.
«It seemed to me.» answered the pearl fisherman.
«That someone is spying on us?»
«It may be some vadasso looking for game. We will leave early tomorrow morning. However, we are well open.»