Author: Henryk Sienkiewicz
Category: Nonfiction
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wounded, and I have a hope that he willfall. In any case he will weaken through loss of blood, and if heshould rush at Saba, Saba will be able to run away. Yes! he may returnduring the night, but he surely will return."
Although he said this, he did not greatly believe his own words, for heremembered what he had read of the extraordinarily revengeful nature ofthe African buffalo, which, though heavily wounded, will run about in acircuit and lie in ambush near a path over which the hunter goes andafterwards attack him unexpectedly, pin him on its horns, and toss himinto the air. Something similar might happen to Saba; not to speak ofother dangers which threatened him on the return to the camp during thenight.
In fact night soon fell. Kali and Mea put up a zareba, built a fire,and prepared supper. Saba did not return.
Nell became more and more worried and finally began to cry.
Stas with difficulty persuaded her to lie down, promising her that hewould wait for Saba, and as soon as the day should break, he himselfwould search for the dog and bring him back. Nell indeed entered thetent, but at intervals she put out her little head from under itsfolds, asking whether the dog had not returned. Sleep overcame her onlyafter midnight, when Mea came out to relieve Kali, who watched the fire.
"Why does the daughter of the moon weep?" the young negro asked Stas,when both lay down on the saddle-cloths. "Kali does not want that."
"She is sorry for Saba, whom the buffalo has surely killed."
"But perhaps he did not kill him," replied the black boy.
After this they became silent and Stas fell into a deep sleep. It wasstill dark, however, when he awoke, for the chill began to incommodehim. The fire was partly extinct. Mea, who was to watch the fire, dozedand after a time had ceased throwing fuel upon the flames.
The saddle-cloth on which Kali slept was unoccupied.
Stas himself threw brushwood onto the fire, after which he shook thenegress and asked:
"Where is Kali?"
For a time she stared at him unconsciously; afterwards coming to hersenses, she said:
"Kali took Gebhr's sword and went beyond the zareba. I thought hewanted to cut more brushwood, but he did not return at all."
"Did he go long ago?"
"Long."
Stas waited for some time, but as the negro did not return, heinvoluntarily propounded to himself the question:
"Did he run away?"
And his heart was oppressed by the disagreeable feeling which humaningratitude always arouses. Why! he had interceded for this Kali anddefended him when Gebhr vented his rage upon him for whole days, andafterwards he had saved the slave's life. Nell was always kind to himand had wept over his unhappy lot, and both treated him in the bestpossible manner. Now he ran away! He himself had said that he did notknow in which direction the Wahima settlements were situated, andthough he would be unable to find them, he nevertheless ran away. Stasagain recollected those "African Travels" in Port Said, and thenarratives of travelers about the stupidity of negroes, who, throwingaway packages, run away although in their escape they are threatened byinevitable death. In fact, Kali, having as his only weapon Gebhr'sSudanese sword, must die of starvation, or if he did not fall againinto the captivity of the dervishes would become the prey of wildanimals.
Ah! Ingrate and fool!
Stas then began to meditate over this;--how far more difficult andvexatious the journey without Kali would be for them, and how muchheavier the work. To water the horses and fetter them for the night, topitch the tent, build zarebas, watch during the journey that none ofthe supplies and packets with things were lost, to flay and dress theslain animals, all this for want of the young negro was to fall uponhim and he admitted in his soul that as to some of these employments,flaying the hides of animals, for instance, he did not have theslightest knowledge.
"Ha! it will be hard," he said, "but necessary."
In the meantime the sun emerged from beyond the horizon and, as usuallyhappens in the tropics, in a moment it was day. Somewhat later thewater for bathing, which Mea had prepared during the night for thelittle lady, began to splash, which meant that Nell had risen and wasdressing herself. In fact, she soon appeared, already dressed, with acomb in her hand and her hair still unkempt.
"And Saba?" she asked.
"He has not come yet."
The lips of the little girl at once began to quiver.
"He may yet return," said Stas. "You remember that on the desertsometimes he was not seen for two days, and afterwards he alwaysovertook us."
"You said that you would go and search for him."
"I cannot."
"Why, Stas?"
"I cannot leave you in the ravine alone with Mea."
"And Kali?"
"Kali is not here."
Stas was silent, not knowing whether to tell her the whole truth; butas the matter could not be concealed he thought it best to divulge itat once.
"Kali took Gebhr's sword," he said, "and in the night went away; I donot know where. Who knows whether he has not run away? The negroesoften do that, even to their own destruction. I am sorry for him--Buthe may understand that he has acted like a fool and--"
Further words were interrupted by Saba's joyful barking which filledthe whole ravine. Nell threw the comb on the ground and wanted to rushout to meet him. She was prevented, however, by the thorns of thezareba.
Stas, with the greatest haste, began to scatter them about, but beforehe had opened a passage Saba appeared and after him Kali, as shiny andwet from the dew as if after the greatest rain.
Immense joy possessed both children, and when Kali, out of breath fromfatigue, came inside the enclosure, Nell flung her white hands aroundhis black neck and hugged him with all her strength.
And he said:
"Kali did not want to see the 'bibi' cry, so Kali found the dog."
"Good boy, Kali!" answered Stas, slapping him on the shoulders. "Didyou not fear in the night that you would meet a lion or a panther?"
"Kali feared, but Kali went," answered the boy.
These words gained still more the hearts of the children. Stas, atNell's request, took out from one of the small pieces of luggage astring of glass beads with which they had been provided by the Greek,Kaliopuli, on their departure from Omdurman; with it he decoratedKali's splendid throat; while the latter, overjoyed with the gift,glanced at once with pride at Mea and said:
"Mea has no beads and Kali has, for Kali is 'the great world.'"
In this manner was the devotion of the black boy rewarded. On the otherhand Saba received a sharp rebuke, from which, for the second time inNell's service, he learned that he was perfectly horrid, and that if heonce more did anything like that he would be led by a string like apuppy. He heard this, wagging his tail in quite an equivocal manner.Nell, however, claimed that it could be seen from his eyes that he wasashamed and that he certainly blushed; only this could not be seenbecause his mouth was covered with hair.
After this followed breakfast, consisting of excellent wild figs and arump of venison. During the breakfast Kali related his adventures,while Stas interpreted them in English for Nell who did not understandthe Kiswahili language. The buffalo, as it appeared, fled far. It wasdifficult for Kali to find the tracks as it was a moonless night.Fortunately, rain had fallen two days before and the ground was not toohard; in consequence of this the heavy animal's hoofs left deepimprints upon it. Kali sought them with the aid of his toes and walkeda long distance. The buffalo finally fell and must have dropped dead asthere was no sign of a fight between him and Saba. When Kali found themSaba already had devoured the greater part of the fore quarter of thebuffalo, and although he was fully sated he would not permit theapproach of two hyenas and about a dozen of jackals, which stoodwaiting until the more powerful rapacious creature finished his feastand left. The boy complained that the dog also growled at him, but hethen threatened him with the anger of the "great master" and the"bibi," after which he grabbed him by the collar and dragged him fromthe buffalo, and did not let go of him until
they reached the ravine.
With this ended the narrative of Kali's nocturnal adventures, afterwhich all in good humor mounted their horses and proceeded on theirjourney.
One alone, long-limbed Mea, though quiet and meek, gazed with envy atthe young negro's necklace and Saba's collar, and with sorrow in herheart thought:
"Both of them are 'the great world,' and I have only a brass ring onone leg."
III
During the following three days they rode continuously in the ravineand always upwards. The days were as a rule scorching, the nightsalternately cool or sultry; the rainy season was approaching. Frombeyond the horizon here and there emerged clouds, white as milk butdeep and heavy. At the sides could already be seen stripes of rain anddistant rainbows. Towards the morning of the third