Chapter 29 - The huge elephants
The night passed without the natives trying to attack them. But before the darkness vanished, they saw numerous groups hiding among the reeds.
«What, then, were those enemies waiting for? Dawn perhaps?» Jody asked.
Already towards the east, the darkness gave way to a beautiful pink light.
As the light shone on the river as well, a cry of amazement and anger escaped Blake's lips.
«It is he, the village chief! With his sorcerer. Ah! Rogue! He's the one who organized the betrayal.»
The chief was holding a cinnamon branch, their white flag. Kaj stood up with a finger on the trigger of the rifle.
«What do you want?» he asked him.
«Stop you, because you haven't paid me the right of transit.»
«You could have asked when we stopped at your village, idiot! What are you asking?»
«The boat that smokes».
Kaj replied with a roar of laughter:
«You are crazy! How would we continue the journey?»
«With your legs.» replied the boss «If you don't give it to me spontaneously, I will take it away from you by force and then, I will kill you all. Adikar wants this and I will obey his orders.»
«Send us Adikar!»
Speaking those words, the pearl fisherman abruptly aimed his rifle, letting go of the two charges. He missed his head and hit the sorcerer, who rolled down the shore without uttering a single cry, disappearing into the waters.
Immediately horrible screams arose among the bushes and about fifty Vadassis appeared as if by magic.
«Down, Kaj!» Blake yelled.
A cloud of arrows hissed across the river, planting itself on the shelters and crossing the tent in several places.
«We could have waited a bit and negotiated.» Blake said.
«It would have been a waste of time, sir. Let's continue the battle or we won't leave anymore.»
«I'm ready. Jody, are there any savages on your side?»
«I see some crawling on all fours.»
The Vadassis had gone back to hiding in the bushes, yet they saw themselves crawling to approach the river.
A few minutes passed, then the arrows started hissing again. They came in good numbers, from time to time a shrill scream warned them that not all shooting were lost.
The village chief reappeared on the river bank, holding the ax he had been given as a gift.
«Here, villain!» Blake yelled, hitting him in the chest. He stood for a moment, his eyes wide open, then he abandoned himself and disappeared swept away by the current.
Two balls whistled in Blake's ears.
«Who is shooting at us?» shouted him «Kaj do you think the Vadassis have guns?»
«Impossible, sir.»
A third detonation boomed.
«They are hidden in the woods, sir. Do you see that puff of smoke floating in there?»
«Throw Kaj in there!» They fired four shots at the cloud of smoke.
At the first blow, the savages had fled like antelopes. Ten minutes of that fire was enough to rid not only the river but also the shore of those adversaries.
«So who do you think they are, Kaj?»
«I already told you, they don't know about firearms.»
«Whites?»
«I don't think so, but we are on guard and withdraw without being seen.»
Still remaining behind the crates, they took refuge near the tent.
The morning passed without the natives returning to the attack. They had not, however, abandoned the opposite bank, because from time to time a few woolly heads appeared above the bushes, only to disappear soon after.
«What are they waiting for the night?» asked Blake, who was beginning to worry.
«And will we be here waiting for them again?» Kaj asked. «Jody, do we have a lot of coal?» «A ton at least.»
«Would you be able to start the car without being shot?»
«I'll throw two crates in front of me and hide behind me.»
«As soon as the sun goes down, get ready to give us a good run. We will go full steam ahead, making a hellfire.»
«Well, Mr. Blake.»
Even in the afternoon there were no alarms, they were preparing for a night attack.
Around eight, Jody crawled to the lifeboat and, taking advantage of the darkness, climbed aboard, lighting the oven. Meanwhile, Kaj had dismantled the tent to be ready to embark.
Half an hour later, Jody sensed that the car was under pressure and the lifeboat ready to leave.
«Forward!»
The lifeboat broke away from the tip of the earth and launched into the river as they took cover behind the crates. At the same moment the natives who had approached while swimming under the water surrounded the boat, firing furious shots against the edges, but the shots made them back off.
«Accelerate, Jody!» Blake yelled as he unloaded the rifle.
«The oven is full of charcoal and I roast happily.»
That furious ride lasted a couple of hours, then Jody slowed down.
«We are already far enough, Kaj probes the river. And you, Jody, always burn coal as long as we have any.»
«We won't find enough water before tomorrow night» Kaj warned.
The lifeboat continued to sail all night, devouring nearly the entire supply of coal. The next day it stopped very far from the place of the attack, where there were only immense thickets.
The savages were no longer to be feared and the three friends, who could rest undisturbed, then after having made a large supply of dry wood, resumed the journey.
The bottom rose everywhere and gradually narrowed.
«We are at the end of our journey» Kaj warned.
In fact, three hours later the boat ran aground a few steps from the right bank. The whole river was cluttered with aquatic plants that did not allow the passage.
«It's over!» Jody announced. «We need to put some steam in our feet. How far are we from that famous convent Kaj?»
«Four days of travel. We will arrive for the great processions, which the King of Candy will probably attend with his court. You will see an impressive sight.»
«Is the country we will have to cross deserted?» Blake asked.
«We will find only beasts, sir.»
«I prefer them to the Vadassis. Up, let's disembark and secure our lifeboat.»
«And where, sir?»
«We will bury the engine and sink the hull among the aquatic grasses. I suppose you have no intention of becoming a monk.»
«I would not have undertaken such a journey.»
The woods seemed to have no end and certainly inhabited by wild animals. The three friends unloaded their weapons and ammunition, and threw the crates, already almost empty, into the river.
«Tomorrow evening we will reach the shores of Lake Kalawewe and in three or four days we will climb the great Senkgalla Nanara range.»
«It is fine; we have breakfast and then set off.» Jody said.
That first march wasn't supposed to last long though. They had not yet traveled a couple of miles when they saw themselves cut off by some huge masses that had occupied the shore.
«What are they? Rhinos perhaps?» Blake asked.
«No, elephants.» Kaj answered «Let's try to scare them with a shotgun.»
«What if they charge us instead?»
«We'll jump into the river.»
«Come and do not let yourself be seen. You, Jody, stay here with the spare guns and the tent. We will be enough.»
There were a dozen elephants, all gigantic in shape and, strangely, devoid of tusks. Lined up on the shore, they babies and then they watered each other to cool off.
«They are koes-cops.» Kaj warned «They don't have fangs like the others, yet they are the most dangerous and a trifle is enough to make them furious.»
«Then they won't flee when they hear our shots.»
«On the contrary, they will throw themselves upon us,» replied the pearl fisherman with concern.
«Let's look for some other passage.» Blake suggested.
«It's impossible, sir. The forest here is so dense that it doesn't allow passage.»
«These animals are capable of wasting us several hours.»
«Mr. Will, crawl through those thorny bushes and hide and I'll go provoke them.»
«They will crush you.»
The intrepid fisherman found downwind, so as not to be heard by the koes-cops, aimed his rifle and aimed at the animal closest to the shoulder joint, one of the most delicate points.
A few moments later, two shots rang out in the trees and Kaj threw himself off the shore, seeking refuge among the reeds, while the animals, instead of fleeing, rushed to the place where they had seen the flame flash.
They passed like a hurricane, knocking down everything in their path and roaring frightfully, furiously waving their trunks, then disappeared into the middle of the forest.
Kaj, happy with his success, immediately went up the shore, but suddenly stopped, pale: another enormous mass, gigantic, had suddenly appeared on the edge of the wood, a few steps away from the unfortunate fisherman.
It was another elephant, but not a koes-cops, because it had superb tusks. Maybe a lonely old man, bad and very dangerous., Who take it out on everyone. He stared at him, swaying his trunk and blowing noisily, ready to attack.
Kaj, without taking his eyes off, loaded the rifle and put himself on guard. A furious roar warned him, he raised his rifle but as he was about to fire he heard a detonation in the direction of the thorny bushes.
Blake, aware of the dangerous situation, had unloaded the rifle, creating a diversion. The elephant, struck somewhere, shook its head as if it wanted to chase away a boring fly, let out its war cry and charged with frightening impetus.
Kaj unloaded the rifle at random, then rushed through the reeds, almost all disappearing in the mud. The elephant in turn had entered the river, raising an immense splash of muddy water.
The fisherman had not lost his head, however, quickly crossed the reeds, regained the shore and ran, at full speed, towards the thick thorn bush that served as Blake's hiding place.
«Down and don't fire» Kaj said quickly. The elephant, not having found its enemy, was. Believing that his opponent was still hidden in the reeds, he kept rummaging among the plants, blowing violently.
«You touched it on the back; don't you see how it gets wet? Wash the blood that comes out.»
Suddenly he stopped abruptly and raised his trunk.
«You hear us, the air has changed direction and we are no longer downwind. Mr. Blake.»
The pachyderm let out a long trumpeting, then quickly headed for them.
«Fire!» Kaj yelled. The elephant reared like a horse, then, instead of falling, ran.
The elephant bowed its huge head, reached by more shots, then approached the shore walking painfully, crashed to the ground and rolled into the water, raising a real wave. «Is dead!» Kaj shouted.