"Then Caswall slunk out, much as the nigger had done. When he had gone,Lilla recovered at once."
"Now," said Sir Nathaniel, anxious to restore peace, "have you found outanything yet regarding the negro? I am anxious to be posted regardinghim. I fear there will be, or may be, grave trouble with him."
"Yes, sir, I've heard a good deal about him--of course it is notofficial; but hearsay must guide us at first. You know my manDavenport--private secretary, confidential man of business, and generalfactotum. He is devoted to me, and has my full confidence. I asked himto stay on board the _West African_ and have a good look round, and findout what he could about Mr. Caswall. Naturally, he was struck with theaboriginal savage. He found one of the ship's stewards, who had been onthe regular voyages to South Africa. He knew Oolanga and had made astudy of him. He is a man who gets on well with niggers, and they opentheir hearts to him. It seems that this Oolanga is quite a great personin the nigger world of the African West Coast. He has the two thingswhich men of his own colour respect: he can make them afraid, and he islavish with money. I don't know whose money--but that does not matter.They are always ready to trumpet his greatness. Evil greatness it is--butneither does that matter. Briefly, this is his history. He wasoriginally a witch-finder--about as low an occupation as exists amongstaboriginal savages. Then he got up in the world and became an Obi-man,which gives an opportunity to wealth _via_ blackmail. Finally, hereached the highest honour in hellish service. He became a user ofVoodoo, which seems to be a service of the utmost baseness and cruelty. Iwas told some of his deeds of cruelty, which are simply sickening. Theymade me long for an opportunity of helping to drive him back to hell. Youmight think to look at him that you could measure in some way the extentof his vileness; but it would be a vain hope. Monsters such as he isbelong to an earlier and more rudimentary stage of barbarism. He is inhis way a clever fellow--for a nigger; but is none the less dangerous orthe less hateful for that. The men in the ship told me that he was acollector: some of them had seen his collections. Such collections! Allthat was potent for evil in bird or beast, or even in fish. Beaks thatcould break and rend and tear--all the birds represented were of apredatory kind. Even the fishes are those which are born to destroy, towound, to torture. The collection, I assure you, was an object lesson inhuman malignity. This being has enough evil in his face to frighten evena strong man. It is little wonder that the sight of it put that poorgirl into a dead faint!"
Nothing more could be done at the moment, so they separated.
Adam was up in the early morning and took a smart walk round the Brow. Ashe was passing Diana's Grove, he looked in on the short avenue of trees,and noticed the snakes killed on the previous morning by the mongoose.They all lay in a row, straight and rigid, as if they had been placed byhands. Their skins seemed damp and sticky, and they were covered allover with ants and other insects. They looked loathsome, so after aglance, he passed on.
A little later, when his steps took him, naturally enough, past theentrance to Mercy Farm, he was passed by the negro, moving quickly underthe trees wherever there was shadow. Laid across one extended arm,looking like dirty towels across a rail, he had the horrid-lookingsnakes. He did not seem to see Adam. No one was to be seen at Mercyexcept a few workmen in the farmyard, so, after waiting on the chance ofseeing Mimi, Adam began to go slowly home.
Once more he was passed on the way. This time it was by Lady Arabella,walking hurriedly and so furiously angry that she did not recognise him,even to the extent of acknowledging his bow.
When Adam got back to Lesser Hill, he went to the coach-house where thebox with the mongoose was kept, and took it with him, intending to finishat the Mound of Stone what he had begun the previous morning with regardto the extermination. He found that the snakes were even more easilyattacked than on the previous day; no less than six were killed in thefirst half-hour. As no more appeared, he took it for granted that themorning's work was over, and went towards home. The mongoose had by thistime become accustomed to him, and was willing to let himself be handledfreely. Adam lifted him up and put him on his shoulder and walked on.Presently he saw a lady advancing towards him, and recognised LadyArabella.
Hitherto the mongoose had been quiet, like a playful affectionate kitten;but when the two got close, Adam was horrified to see the mongoose, in astate of the wildest fury, with every hair standing on end, jump from hisshoulder and run towards Lady Arabella. It looked so furious and sointent on attack that he called a warning.
"Look out--look out! The animal is furious and means to attack."
Lady Arabella looked more than ever disdainful and was passing on; themongoose jumped at her in a furious attack. Adam rushed forward with hisstick, the only weapon he had. But just as he got within strikingdistance, the lady drew out a revolver and shot the animal, breaking hisbackbone. Not satisfied with this, she poured shot after shot into himtill the magazine was exhausted. There was no coolness or hauteur abouther now; she seemed more furious even than the animal, her facetransformed with hate, and as determined to kill as he had appeared tobe. Adam, not knowing exactly what to do, lifted his hat in apology andhurried on to Lesser Hill.
CHAPTER VIII--SURVIVALS
At breakfast Sir Nathaniel noticed that Adam was put out about something,but he said nothing. The lesson of silence is better remembered in agethan in youth. When they were both in the study, where Sir Nathanielfollowed him, Adam at once began to tell his companion of what hadhappened. Sir Nathaniel looked graver and graver as the narrationproceeded, and when Adam had stopped he remained silent for severalminutes, before speaking.
"This is very grave. I have not formed any opinion yet; but it seems tome at first impression that this is worse than anything I had expected."
"Why, sir?" said Adam. "Is the killing of a mongoose--no matter bywhom--so serious a thing as all that?"
His companion smoked on quietly for quite another few minutes before hespoke.
"When I have properly thought it over I may moderate my opinion, but inthe meantime it seems to me that there is something dreadful behind allthis--something that may affect all our lives--that may mean the issue oflife or death to any of us."
Adam sat up quickly.
"Do tell me, sir, what is in your mind--if, of course, you have noobjection, or do not think it better to withhold it."
"I have no objection, Adam--in fact, if I had, I should have to overcomeit. I fear there can be no more reserved thoughts between us."
"Indeed, sir, that sounds serious, worse than serious!"
"Adam, I greatly fear that the time has come for us--for you and me, atall events--to speak out plainly to one another. Does not there seemsomething very mysterious about this?"
"I have thought so, sir, all along. The only difficulty one has is whatone is to think and where to begin."
"Let us begin with what you have told me. First take the conduct of themongoose. He was quiet, even friendly and affectionate with you. Heonly attacked the snakes, which is, after all, his business in life."
"That is so!"
"Then we must try to find some reason why he attacked Lady Arabella."
"May it not be that a mongoose may have merely the instinct to attack,that nature does not allow or provide him with the fine reasoning powersto discriminate who he is to attack?"
"Of course that may be so. But, on the other hand, should we not satisfyourselves why he does wish to attack anything? If for centuries, thisparticular animal is known to attack only one kind of other animal, arewe not justified in assuming that when one of them attacks a hithertounclassed animal, he recognises in that animal some quality which it hasin common with the hereditary enemy?"
"That is a good argument, sir," Adam went on, "but a dangerous one. Ifwe followed it out, it would lead us to believe that Lady Arabella is asnake."
"We must be sure, before going to such an end, that there is no point asyet unconsidered which would account for the unknown thing which puzzlesus."