Chapter IX. The Store at Umvelos'

Prester John

by John Buchan

I sat down on a chair and laboured to collect my thoughts. Laputa
had gone, and would return sooner or later with Henriques. If I was
to remain alive till morning, both of them must be convinced that I
was harmless. Laputa was probably of that opinion, but Henriques
would recognize me, and I had no wish to have that yellow miscreant
investigating my character. There was only one way out of it - I must
be incapably drunk. There was not a drop of liquor in the store, but
I found an old whisky bottle half full of methylated spirits. With
this I thought I might raise an atmosphere of bad whisky, and for the
rest I must trust to my meagre gifts as an actor.

Supposing I escaped suspicion, Laputa and Henriques would meet
in the outhouse, and I must find some means of overhearing them.
Here I was fairly baffled. There was no window in the outhouse save
in the roof, and they were sure to shut and bolt the door. I might
conceal myself among the barrels inside; but apart from the fact that
they were likely to search them before beginning their conference, it
was quite certain that they would satisfy themselves that I was safe
in the other end of the building before going to the outhouse.

Suddenly I thought of the cellar which we had built below the
store. There was an entrance by a trap-door behind the counter, and
another in the outhouse. I had forgotten the details, but my hope
was that the second was among the barrels. I shut the outer door,
prised up the trap, and dropped into the vault, which had been
floored roughly with green bricks. Lighting match after match, I
crawled to the other end and tried to lift the door. It would not
stir, so I guessed that the barrels were on the top of it. Back to
the outhouse I went, and found that sure enough a heavy packing-case
was standing on a corner. I fixed it slightly open, so as to let me
hear, and so arranged the odds and ends round about it that no one
looking from the floor of the outhouse would guess at its existence.
It occurred to me that the conspirators would want seats, so I placed
two cases at the edge of the heap, that they might not be tempted to
forage in the interior.

This done, I went back to the store and proceeded to rig myself
out for my part. The cellar had made me pretty dirty, and I added
some new daubs to my face. My hair had grown longish, and I ran my
hands through it till it stood up like a cockatoo's crest. Then I
cunningly disposed the methylated spirits in the places most likely
to smell. I burned a little on the floor, I spilt some on the
counter and on my hands, and I let it dribble over my coat. In five
minutes I had made the room stink like a shebeen. I loosened the
collar of my shirt, and when I looked at myself in the cover of my
watch I saw a specimen of debauchery which would have done credit to
a Saturday night's police cell.

By this time the sun had gone down, but I thought it better to
kindle no light. It was the night of the full moon - for which
reason, I supposed, Laputa had selected it - and in an hour or two
the world would be lit with that ghostly radiance. I sat on the
counter while the minutes passed, and I confess I found the time of
waiting very trying for my courage. I had got over my worst
nervousness by having something to do, but whenever I was idle my
fears returned. Laputa had a big night's work before him, and must
begin soon. My vigil, I told myself, could not be long.

My pony was stalled in a rough shed we had built opposite the
store. I could hear him shaking his head and stamping the ground
above the croaking of the frogs by the Labongo. Presently it seemed
to me that another sound came from behind the store - the sound of
horses' feet and the rattle of bridles. It was hushed for a moment,
and then I heard human voices. The riders had tied up their horses
to a tree and were coming nearer.

I sprawled gracefully on the counter, the empty bottle in my
hand, and my eyes fixed anxiously on the square of the door, which
was filled with the blue glimmer of the late twilight. The square
darkened, and two men peered in. Colin growled from below the
counter, but with one hand I held the scruff of his neck.

'Hullo,' I said, 'ish that my black friend? Awfly shorry, old
man, but I've f'nish'd th' whisky. The bo-o-ottle shempty,' and I
waved it upside down with an imbecile giggle.

Laputa said something which I did not catch. Henriques laughed
an ugly laugh.

'We had better make certain of him,' he said.

The two argued for a minute, and then Laputa seemed to prevail.
The door was shut and the key, which I had left in the lock, turned
on me.

I gave them five minutes to get to the outhouse and settle to
business. Then I opened the trap, got into the cellar, and crawled
to the other end. A ray of light was coming through the partially
raised door. By a blessed chance some old bricks had been left
behind, and of these I made a footstool, which enabled me to get my
back level with the door and look out. My laager of barrels was
intact, but through a gap I had left I could see the two men sitting
on the two cases I had provided for them. A lantern was set between
them, and Henriques was drinking out of a metal flask.

He took something - I could not see what - out of his pocket,
and held it before his companion.

'Spoils of war,' he said. 'I let Sikitola's men draw first
blood. They needed it to screw up their courage. Now they are as
wild as Umbooni's.

Laputa asked a question.

'It was the Dutchmen, who were out on the Koodoo Flats with
their cattle. Man, it's no good being squeamish. Do you think you
can talk over these surly back-veld fools? If we had not done it,
the best of their horses would now be over the Berg to give warning.
Besides, I tell you, Sikitola's men wanted blooding. I did for the
old swine, Coetzee, with my own hands. Once he set his dogs on me,
and I don't forget an injury.'

Laputa must have disapproved, for Henriques' voice grew high.

'Run the show the way you please,' he cried; 'but don't blame me
if you make a hash of it. God, man, do you think you are going to
work a revolution on skim milk? If I had my will, I would go in and
stick a knife in the drunken hog next door.'

'He is safe enough,' Laputa replied. 'I gave him the chance of
life, and he laughed at me. He won't get far on his road home.'

This was pleasant hearing for me, but I scarcely thought of
myself. I was consumed with a passion of fury against the murdering
yellow devil. With Laputa I was not angry; he was an open enemy,
playing a fair game. But my fingers itched to get at the Portugoose
- that double-dyed traitor to his race. As I thought of my kindly
old friends, lying butchered with their kinsfolk out in the bush, hot
tears of rage came to my eyes. Perfect love casteth out fear, the
Bible says; but, to speak it reverently, so does perfect hate. Not
for safety and a king's ransom would I have drawn back from the game.
I prayed for one thing only, that God in His mercy would give me the
chance of settling with Henriques.

I fancy I missed some of the conversation, being occupied with
my own passion. At any rate, when I next listened the two were deep
in plans. Maps were spread beside them, and Laputa's delicate
forefinger was tracing a route. I strained my ears, but could catch
only a few names. Apparently they were to keep in the plains till
they had crossed the Klein Labongo and the Letaba. I thought I
caught the name of the ford of the latter; it sounded like Dupree's
Drift. After that the talk became plainer, for Laputa was explaining
in his clear voice. The force would leave the bush, ascend the Berg
by the glen of the Groot Letaba, and the first halt would be called
at a place called Inanda's Kraal, where a promontory of the high-
veld juts out behind the peaks called the Wolkberg or Cloud
Mountains. All this was very much to the point, and the names sunk
into my memory like a die into wax.

'Meanwhile,' said Laputa, 'there is the gathering at
Ntabakaikonjwa.* It will take us three hours' hard riding to get
there.'

*Literally, 'The Hill which is not to be pointed
at'.

Where on earth was Ntabakaikonjwa? It must be the native name
for the Rooirand, for after all Laputa was not likely to use the
Dutch word for his own sacred place.

'Nothing has been forgotten. The men are massed below the
cliffs, and the chiefs and the great indunas will enter the Place of
the Snake. The door will be guarded, and only the password will get
a man through. That word is "Immanuel," which means, "God with
us."'

'Well, when we get there, what happens?' Henriques asked with a
laugh. 'What kind of magic will you spring on us?'

There was a strong contrast between the flippant tone of the
Portugoose and the grave voice which answered him.

'The Keeper of the Snake will open the holy place, and bring
forth the Isetembiso sami.* As the leader of my people, I will assume
the collar of Umkulunkulu in the name of our God and the spirits of
the great dead.'

*Literally, 'Very sacred thing'.

'But you don't propose to lead the march in a necklace of
rubies,' said Henriques, with a sudden eagerness in his voice.

Again Laputa spoke gravely, and, as it were, abstractedly. I
heard the voice of one whose mind was fixed on a far horizon.

'When I am acclaimed king, I restore the Snake to its Keeper,
and swear never to clasp it on my neck till I have led my people to
victory.'

'I see,' said Henriques. 'What about the purification you
mentioned?'

I had missed this before and listened earnestly.

'The vows we take in the holy place bind us till we are purged
of them at Inanda's Kraal. Till then no blood must be shed and no
flesh eaten. It was the fashion of our forefathers.'

'Well, I think you've taken on a pretty risky job,' Henriques
said. 'You propose to travel a hundred miles, binding yourself not
to strike a blow. It is simply putting yourself at the mercy of any
police patrol.'

'There will be no patrol,' Laputa replied. 'Our march will be
as secret and as swift as death. I have made my preparations.'

'But suppose you met with opposition,' the Portugoose persisted,
'would the rule hold?'

'If any try to stop us, we shall tie them hand and foot, and
carry them with us. Their fate will be worse than if they had been
slain in battle.'

'I see,' said Henriques, whistling through his teeth. 'Well,
before we start this vow business, I think I'll go back and settle
that storekeeper.'

Laputa shook his head. 'Will you be serious and hear me? We
have no time to knife harmless fools. Before we start for
Ntabakaikonjwa I must have from you the figures of the arming in the
south. That is the one thing which remains to be settled.'

I am certain these figures would have been most interesting, but
I never heard them. My feet were getting cramped with standing on
the bricks, and I inadvertently moved them. The bricks came down
with a rattle, and unfortunately in slipping I clutched at the trap.
This was too much for my frail prop, and the door slammed down with a
great noise.

Here was a nice business for the eavesdropper! I scurried along
the passage as stealthily as I could and clambered back into the
store, while I heard the sound of Laputa and Henriques ferreting
among the barrels. I managed to throttle Colin and prevent him
barking, but I could not get the confounded trap to close behind me.
Something had jammed in it, and it remained half a foot open.

I heard the two approaching the door, and I did the best thing
that occurred to me. I pulled Colin over the trap, rolled on the top
of him, and began to snore heavily as if in a drunken slumber.

The key was turned, and the gleam of a lantern was thrown on the
wall. It flew up and down as its bearer cast the light into the
corners.

'By God, he's gone,' I heard Henriques say. 'The swine was
listening, and he has bolted now.'

'He won't bolt far,' Laputa said. 'He is here. He is snoring
behind the counter.'

These were anxious moments for me. I had a firm grip on Colin's
throat, but now and then a growl escaped, which was fortunately
blended with my snores. I felt that a lantern was flashed on me, and
that the two men were peering down at the heap on the half-opened
trap. I think that was the worst minute I ever spent, for, as I have
said, my courage was not so bad in action, but in a passive game it
oozed out of my fingers.

'He is safe enough,' Laputa said, after what seemed to me an
eternity. 'The noise was only the rats among the barrels.' I thanked
my Maker that they had not noticed the other trap-door. 'All the same
I think I'll make him safer,' said Henriques.

Laputa seemed to have caught him by the arm.

'Come back and get to business,' he said. 'I've told you I'll
have no more murder. You will do as I tell you, Mr Henriques.'

I did not catch the answer, but the two went out and locked the
door. I patted the outraged Colin, and got to my feet with an aching
side where the confounded lid of the trap had been pressing. There
was no time to lose for the two in the outhouse would soon be setting
out, and I must be before them.

With no better light than a ray of the moon through the window,
I wrote a message on a leaf from my pocket-book. I told of the plans
I had overheard, and especially I mentioned Dupree's Drift on the
Letaba. I added that I was going to the Rooirand to find the secret
of the cave, and in one final sentence implored Arcoll to do justice
on the Portugoose. That was all, for I had no time for more. I
carefully tied the paper with a string below the collar of the
dog.

Then very quietly I went into the bedroom next door - the side
of the store farthest from the outhouse. The place was flooded with
moonlight, and the window stood open, as I had left it in the
afternoon. As softly as I could I swung Colin over the sill and
clambered after him. In my haste I left my coat behind me with my
pistol in the pocket.

Now came a check. My horse was stabled in the shed, and that
was close to the outhouse. The sound of leading him out would most
certainly bring Laputa and Henriques to the door. In that moment I
all but changed my plans. I thought of slipping back to the outhouse
and trying to shoot the two men as they came forth. But I reflected
that, before I could get them both, one or other would probably shoot
me. Besides, I had a queer sort of compunction about killing Laputa.
I understood now why Arcoll had stayed his hand from murder, and I
was beginning to be of his opinion on our arch-enemy.

Then I remembered the horses tied up in the bush. One of them I
could get with perfect safety. I ran round the end of the store and
into the thicket, keeping on soft grass to dull my tread. There,
tied up to a merula tree, were two of the finest beasts I had seen in
Africa. I selected the better, an Africander stallion of the
blaauw-schimmel, or blue-roan type, which is famous for speed and
endurance. Slipping his bridle from the branch, I led him a little
way into the bush in the direction of the Rooirand.

Then I spoke to Colin. 'Home with you,' I said. 'Home, old
man, as if you were running down a tsessebe.'*

*A species of buck, famous for its speed.

The dog seemed puzzled. 'Home,' I said again, pointing west in
the direction of the Berg. 'Home, you brute.'

And then he understood. He gave one low whine, and cast a
reproachful eye on me and the blue roan. Then he turned, and with
his head down set off with great lopes on the track of the road I had
ridden in the morning.

A second later and I was in the saddle, riding hell-for-leather
for the north.