登陆注册
5633500000041

第41章

I ran from the graveyard and called aloud at the top of my voice, but no answer came. Meanwhile the native was more profitably engaged in tracing their spoor. He followed it for about a hundred yards till he came to a clump of mimosa bush that was situated between the stream and the ancient marble quarries just over the waterfall, and at the mouth of the ravine. Here he stopped, and I heard him give a startled cry. I rushed to the spot, passed through the trees, and saw this. The little open space in the centre of the glade had been the scene of a struggle. There, in the soft earth, were the marks of three pairs of human feet--two shod, one naked--Stella's, Tota's, and /Hendrika's/.

Nor was this all. There, close by, lay the fragments of the two dogs--they were nothing more--and one baboon, not yet quite dead, which had been bitten in the throat by the dogs. All round was the spoor of numberless baboons. The full horror of what had happened flashed into my mind.

My wife and Tota had been carried off by the baboons. As yet they had not been killed, for if so their remains would have been found with those of the dogs. They had been carried off. The brutes, acting under the direction of that woman-monkey, Hendrika, had dragged them away to some secret den, there to keep them till they died--or kill them!

For a moment I literally staggered beneath the terror of the shock.

Then I roused myself from my despair. I bade the native run and alarm the people at the kraals, telling them to come armed, and bring me guns and ammunition. He went like the wind, and I turned to follow the spoor. For a few yards it was plain enough--Stella had been dragged along. I could see where her heels had struck the ground; the child had, I presumed, been carried--at least there were no marks of her feet. At the water's edge the spoor vanished. The water was shallow, and they had gone along in it, or at least Hendrika and her victim had, in order to obliterate the trail. I could see where a moss-grown stone had been freshly turned over in the water-bed. I ran along the bank some way up the ravine, in the vain hope of catching a sight of them. Presently I heard a bark in the cliffs above me; it was answered by another, and then I saw that scores of baboons were hidden about among the rocks on either side, and were softly swinging themselves down to bar the path. To go on unarmed as I was would be useless. Ishould only be torn to pieces as the dogs had been. So I turned and fled back towards the huts. As I drew near I could see that my messenger had roused the settlement, for natives with spears and kerries in their hands were running up towards the kraals. When Ireached the hut I met old Indaba-zimbi, who wore a very serious face.

"So the evil has fallen, Macumazahn," he said.

"It has fallen," I answered.

"Keep a good heart, Macumazahn," he said again. "She is not dead, nor is the little maid, and before they die we shall find them. Remember this, Hendrika loves her. She will not harm her, or allow the babyans to harm her. She will try to hide her away from you, that is all.""Pray God that we may find her," I groaned. "The light is going fast.""The moon rises in three hours," he answered; "we will search by moonlight. It is useless to start now; see, the sun sinks. Let us get the men together, eat, and make things ready. /Hamba gachla/. Hasten slowly, Macumazahn."As there was no help, I took his advice. I could eat no food, but Ipacked some up to take with us, and made ready ropes, and a rough kind of litter. If we found them they would scarcely be able to walk. Ah!

if we found them! How slowly the time passed! It seemed hours before the moon rose. But at last it did rise.

Then we started. In all we were about a hundred men, but we only mustered five guns between us, my elephant roer and four that had belonged to Mr. Carson.

同类推荐
  • 医经溯洄集

    医经溯洄集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 医学发明

    医学发明

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 洞真黄书

    洞真黄书

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 辨症玉函

    辨症玉函

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛说白衣金幢二婆罗门缘经

    佛说白衣金幢二婆罗门缘经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 染梦江湖

    染梦江湖

    古人以博弈二字形容人世间的阴谋,算计,较量。博,乃六博棋,奕,即为围棋。漫漫云端之上,曾有两位翩翩公子,下了一盘天外之局。围棋,十九横,十九纵,三百六十一位,便阅尽了世间纷争离愁。江湖,在于国与国之间,在于人与人之间,在于,你我之间。
  • 蠡测汇钞

    蠡测汇钞

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 一剑侠行

    一剑侠行

    简介:天下行事,各为其主,各寻其利,迷茫在这世界上,生命的意义在乎生死间,长生于生死刹那后,谁又能永远保证自己是生的一方,或择长寂中待得新生……【唯一正版书群】483553633欢迎大家免费加入。(本书分上中下三册,目前上册已完,中册正在着手书写中……希望喜欢的朋友能收藏与推荐,另本人学渣一枚,武侠难写,不好勿喷,欢迎在书评活跃发言,谢谢。)
  • 岗厦14号

    岗厦14号

    吴君,女,中国作协会员。曾获首届中国小说双年奖、广东新人新作奖。长篇小说《我们不是一个人类》被媒体评为2004年最值得记忆五部长篇之一。出版多本中篇小说集。根据其中篇小说《亲爱的深圳》改编的电影已在国内及北美地区发行放映。
  • 捡个校草带回家

    捡个校草带回家

    路见不平拔刀相助,爱财如命的杨一一上演了一场美女救英雄之后,家里就多了一个拖油瓶,原本想要仗着自己是房东,可劲的欺负消遣人家的,不料,却被对方扮猪吃老虎,从此陷入了暗无天日之中。斩她桃花,灭她情人。封去她所有的退路,只留下通向他怀抱的那一条最终的情深爱恋之路。
  • 追妻无门:女boss不好惹

    追妻无门:女boss不好惹

    青涩蜕变,如今她是能独当一面的女boss,爱了冷泽聿七年,也同样花了七年时间去忘记他。以为是陌路,他突然向他表白,扬言要娶她,她只当他是脑子抽风,他的殷勤她也全都无视。他帮她查她父母的死因,赶走身边情敌,解释当初拒绝她的告别,和故意对她冷漠都是无奈之举。突然爆出她父母的死居然和冷家有丝毫联系,还莫名跳出个公爵未婚夫,扬言要与她履行婚约。峰回路转,破镜还能重圆吗? PS:我又开新文了,每逢假期必书荒,新文《有你的世界遇到爱》,喜欢我的文的朋友可以来看看,这是重生类现言,对这个题材感兴趣的一定要收藏起来。
  • 再苦也要笑一笑(畅销精读本)

    再苦也要笑一笑(畅销精读本)

    人生总有不如意,悲也是过,喜也是过;人生总有不快乐,哭也是过,也是过。因此,在遭遇痛苦和挫折时我们要微笑着面对,不抱怨生活的不公与磨难。当你看过世间的繁华,阅尽世事,你就会幡然明白:生活的四季不可能只有春天,人生再苦也要笑靥如花。本书内容涉及生活的方方面面,通过一些发人深省的故事,精辟地分析了再苦也要笑一笑的人生智慧,帮助我们从苦难中成长,从逆境中奋起,从而战胜痛苦与不幸,找到快乐,享受生命。
  • 养只宠物是大佬

    养只宠物是大佬

    明明只是一个简单的重生复仇故事,可是,新交的朋友是黑客界大佬,就连养的宠物都会说话…
  • 平安

    平安

    本稿以第一人称我(《民情调查》杂志社记者)的叙述角度,讲述在一次采访中结识并成为好友的农民平安圆进城梦的故事。他40岁时要到大城市西京谋生,想在城市买一套房子。他先后跑过运输,蹭三轮车,在小区农贸市场卖菜,卖钢碳煤,做木炭生意,卖烤串,做煤炭生意。
  • 情有不甘

    情有不甘

    他是功成名就的名律师,她是平淡无奇的落魄孤女。遇到傅其深,是温思凉这辈子的劫难。那年,她父亲身亡无家可归,他在大雨中抱起她将她带回了家中,他温柔地抵着她的额头轻语:“思凉,以后我来照顾你。”她看着他漆黑的眸子心莫名安定,用力点头。他因恩师照顾她十年,可是,一切的平静都因她心中萌芽的感情而被打破。“傅其深,我不要你和别的女人结婚!”她向来温顺,可当他要和别人结婚时,她倔强地如同浑身长满刺的刺猬一样。情人节,她准备好了惊喜在家等了他一晚,却等到了他深夜带着真正的情人回家。她眼眶通红地看着他:“为什么要带别的女人回家?为什么不回家陪我过节?”他只是冷笑,不似当年的温柔:“思凉,你从来不是我的情人,更不是亲人!”每一次她都咄咄相逼,而他总是恪守位置步步后退。她绝望地看着他:“你为什么不能爱我?”“我只答应替你父亲照顾你,没有义务爱你。而且,我们相差十二岁。”————————他结婚当天,她遭遇车祸。医院醒来,对上的却是他凉薄的脸:“这又是你的苦肉计?”当她最终决定黯然退出,嫁给深爱她的男人的时候,他却步步紧逼:“温思凉,只要是个男人你就敢嫁?!”她冷笑扬眉:“傅其深,我这辈子只爱过你一个人。可你不爱我。所以,嫁给谁都一样。”