Chapter 28 - Attack of the cruel Vadassi
After a quiet night, they resumed their journey, going up the river. The water was always deep and the two banks showed no sign of varying.
At noon the lifeboat found itself in front of huts.
«Halt!» Kaj shouted.
It was too late to back down. Some men were fishing on the shore and greeted them with deafening clamor.
«Are they Vadassi?»
«Yes, Mr. Blake.»
«Won't it already be that terrible chief's village?» Jody was seriously worried when he saw him.
«No, that's further away.»
The lifeboat rolled near a pier made of tree trunks. Two dozen savages had gathered, curious. They were all short, with short noses and large mouths with thick lips, small, horizontal eyes.
The young ones were pleasant enough to look at, while the elderly were ugly, thin, with swollen bellies and were all naked. As weapons they had a few bows with jagged wooden arrows and sticks with fire-hardened points.
Kai, who knew their language a little, offered him some cookies, then asked to speak to the boss.
«He's about to come with the tribe sorcerer. Here he comes.»
A small squad had come out of a hut and were advancing towards the river. Two natives carried a gura, a bizarre musical instrument, which makes melodious sounds like a violin. Then came a third player who hit a piece of hollowed out tree, making a lot of noise. Followed by the tribe's sorcerer, a little man just four feet tall, his body smeared with monster designs and his hair braided with feathers and animal bones, adorned with necklaces of white shells.
Last came the chief, a man taller than his subjects, of a darker hue, swaggering in an old red cloak and having a tiger's tail tied around his neck.
Kaj went down to the dock carrying a bottle of brandy, followed by Blake who, as a precaution, had armed himself with two double-barreled rifles, while Jody remained to guard the lifeboat.
«We are friends.» Kaj told him «Take and drink.»
The savage with a stroke of his stick decapitated the bottle, then began to kiss it eagerly.
«This liqueur is better than the other.» he said after having emptied it more than half.
«Other!» Kaj exclaimed «Did someone offer you another bottle?».
«Yes, yesterday morning. Men who mounted a fire boat, similar to yours.» answered the savage.
«Were they white men?»
«Only one.»
«Could him be some Englishman assigned to explore the river?» Blake asked.
Kaj tried to question him, but he was too busy sipping the brandy. However, the chief granted him a guide, thanks to the payment of an ax, a very precious weapon.
After exchanging some junk with fruit and chickens, a few hours later the three resumed their journey. The guide was a scarred warrior, ugly as a monkey and not at all reassuring, who wore a black panther tail.
«Here is a companion who inspires no confidence in me.» Jody said.
The steamboat, with the supply of wood, had resumed its course, going up the river with considerable speed.
Even that day passed without meeting any living being. The woods were populated by monkeys. Evening was about to fall and they were heading for the shore to camp, when the savage shouted, pointing to a cluster of banana trees.
«What's wrong?» Blake looked at Kaj who questioned the native.
«Sonar.»
«He says there's a bear in there.» Kaj explained.
«Are they very dangerous?"
«Not too much.»
«Then let's not let him escape. The trotters of those animals are not to be despised. Quick, down, Jody!»
Blake and Kaj took their carbines and leapt into the bushes. The bear must have noticed their presence. They heard a faint hiss and saw a shadow slide quickly through a colossal cluster of bamboos.
«Have you seen, Kaj?»
«Yes, a man fled in front of us and shot us an arrow.»
Almost at the same instant they heard a second hiss and saw another shadow flee into the thicket.
«Devil!» Blake exclaimed «These aren't bears.».
«Could we have been ambushed?» Kaj asked, throwing himself behind a tree trunk.
«Come on then.» Blake said as they resumed their march.
On the island of Ceylon, plants arise as if by magic, intertwining branches and roots and after a few years forming an almost impenetrable wood, which will serve as a refuge for many wild beasts.
After advancing for a while, they stopped in front of a wall of trees, which had grown so tightly that they prevented their passage.
«It's impossible to go on.» Blake announced. «We should slide like snakes and with the danger of being surprised. Let's go back, it is not prudent to stay here too long. We will go and camp on the opposite bank.».
«Shut up, Mr. Blake, I thought I heard a branch break. I know that certain tribes of Vadassi make use of poisoned arrows and I would not like to receive one.»
They had just turned around when there was a faint hiss in the air. Blake instinctively bent his head and saw an arrow pass overhead and fired in that direction.
A hoarse cry followed the shot, followed by a groan.
«You hit someone.» Kaj said.
«Arrow of the Vadassi and moreover poisoned.» observed Kaj looking at the arrow «The bone is covered with a kind of mastic, made up of poison extracted from snakes and mixed with the milk of some plant.».
«My dear Kaj, let's go, before some arrows hit us.»
A quarter of an hour later they reached the shore. Seeing them appear, Jody immediately joined them asking them who they had fired at.
«There's something down here that worries me.» he said. «Mr. Blake, I fear a betrayal. Let's go now.».
«Could the village chief have to do with this ambush?» Blake asked.
«I wouldn't be surprised, sir. Let's get away immediately and look for a refuge, possibly on some islet.» Jody suggested.
The boat took off again, keeping a distance from both sides of which. If there had been savages hiding in the bushes that covered the banks, they certainly would not have remained so calm.
The boat had already passed a great curve, when metal strikes echoed through the trees that seemed to be produced by a hammer striking a slab.
«Where does this noise come from?» Blake asked.
«It's a bird, a kind of plover.» Kaj answered. «Hear the notes of the scarlet troughs, they look like harps, they answer the plovers.».
«I say that neither the scarlet troughs nor the plovers have anything to do with it here!»
«You can fool yourself, Jody.» Kaj said.
«No. Listen carefully, I tell you that some blacks correspond between the two banks.»
«Let's look for an islet soon, Mr. Blake. We don't want to camp on the banks.»
«Speed up a little, Jody.» Blake commanded.
The signals were gone. No plover, no trogo had appeared on the banks, a clear sign that Jody was right.
Night had fallen. Huge bats began to emerge among the trees as the lifeboat advanced very quickly, but no islets appeared near the right bank. They were about to anchor in the middle of the river when they saw a tip of land further ahead.
«We will camp there.» Blake pointed «If the savages want to attack us, we'll shoot them easily.».
The lifeboat came to a smooth stop on that tip, covered with tall banana trees and bamboo. Jody and Kaj quickly set up dinner, made a large collection of wood to keep the fire all night, then lay down next to Blake who had lit his pipe
«Let's fall asleep as late as possible.» Kaj warned «I'm not calm. I know the cruelty of the Vadassis.».
«I hope they will leave us alone.» Jody said worriedly.
They waited until midnight, then seeing no one appear towards the shore, Jody retreated to the tent, promising to set up the four in the morning shift.
The moon was about to disappear in the midst of a thick cloud when Blake saw the pearl fisherman appear.
«Do You have some news?»
«Yes. I could swear I saw a bright spot shine on the opposite bank and then go out immediately.»
«So we're spied on?»
«I suspect it, sir.»
«What are they waiting for to attack us?»
«Here's what I don't know. If they don't take advantage of the darkness, I don't know when they could act.»
A mournful cry, like that of a wolf, was heard towards the opposite bank.
«Do you think it's a signal?» Blake asked.
«I am convinced of it. Eh! Did I tell you?» A shrill, mocking laugh broke the silence of the night, vibrating for some time in the darkness. Kaj was sure of his thoughts.
In the lifeboat there were eight crates containing provisions, spare clothes, various tools and various objects, as well as three mattresses and some barrels. The two disembarked everything and built a kind of trench around the tent, enough to put them under cover from the arrows.
«Come on now» said Blake, who seemed satisfied with the job. «Let's go around the tip, my friend. You proceed from right to left.»
The pearl fisherman and the sailor, having armed the carbines, carried out the exploration, meeting halfway.
«Nothing?»
«I heard a thud, towards the opposite bank.»
«Then a man must have jumped into the water.��
«As long as it wasn't a crocodile.»
Blake pushed towards the shore and looked out at the river, but the shadow cast by the plants was thick.
«Did you see anything?»
«No.» Blake replied.
«Yet it is impossible that I was deceived.»
At that same moment the sad scream was heard for the second time, and almost immediately on the opposite bank they could vaguely see shadows descending through the bushes.
«Wake up Jody right away, those rascals. they try to surprise us.» Blake ordered.
«They will come swimming, being as agile as fish.»
They reached the barricade, put out the fire and woke the driver.
«Come on, my boy, arm the rifle. We can be attacked on both sides.»
The natives had ceased to signal, but on the opposite bank the reeds could be heard stirring and human shadows could be seen advancing towards the river.
«They're trying to see if we're awake. Will there be many?» Jody said.
«That's what I'm afraid of» replied the pearl fisherman.
��He's fine, let's get ready to shoot them.»