Chapter 13
Meriem, again bound and under heavy guard in Kovudoo's own hut, saw
the night pass and the new day come without bringing the momentarily
looked for return of Korak. She had no doubt but that he would
come back and less still that he would easily free her from her
captivity. To her Korak was little short of omnipotent. He embodied
for her all that was finest and strongest and best in her savage
world. She gloried in his prowess and worshipped him for the
tender thoughtfulness that always had marked his treatment of her.
No other within the ken of her memory had ever accorded her the
love and gentleness that was his daily offering to her. Most of
the gentler attributes of his early childhood had long since been
forgotten in the fierce battle for existence which the customs of
the mysterious jungle had forced upon him. He was more often savage
and bloodthirsty than tender and kindly. His other friends of the
wild looked for no gentle tokens of his affection. That he would
hunt with them and fight for them was sufficient. If he growled and
showed his fighting fangs when they trespassed upon his inalienable
rights to the fruits of his kills they felt no anger toward him--only
greater respect for the efficient and the fit--for him who could
not only kill but protect the flesh of his kill.
But toward Meriem he always had shown more of his human side. He
killed primarily for her. It was to the feet of Meriem that he
brought the fruits of his labors. It was for Meriem more than for
himself that he squatted beside his flesh and growled ominously at
whosoever dared sniff too closely to it. When he was cold in the
dark days of rain, or thirsty in a prolonged drouth, his discomfort
engendered first of all thoughts of Meriem's welfare--after she had
been made warm, after her thirst had been slaked, then he turned
to the affair of ministering to his own wants.
The softest skins fell gracefully from the graceful shoulders of
his Meriem. The sweetest-scented grasses lined her bower where
other soft, furry pelts made hers the downiest couch in all the
jungle.
What wonder then that Meriem loved her Korak? But she loved him
as a little sister might love a big brother who was very good to
her. As yet she knew naught of the love of a maid for a man.
So now as she lay waiting for him she dreamed of him and of all
that he meant to her. She compared him with The Sheik, her father,
and at thought of the stern, grizzled, old Arab she shuddered.
Even the savage blacks had been less harsh to her than he. Not
understanding their tongue she could not guess what purpose they
had in keeping her a prisoner. She knew that man ate man, and she
had expected to be eaten; but she had been with them for some time
now and no harm had befallen her. She did not know that a runner
had been dispatched to the distant village of The Sheik to barter
with him for a ransom. She did not know, nor did Kovudoo, that
the runner had never reached his destination--that he had fallen in
with the safari of Jenssen and Malbihn and with the talkativeness
of a native to other natives had unfolded his whole mission to
the black servants of the two Swedes. These had not been long in
retailing the matter to their masters, and the result was that when
the runner left their camp to continue his journey he had scarce
passed from sight before there came the report of a rifle and he
rolled lifeless into the underbrush with a bullet in his back.
A few moments later Malbihn strolled back into the encampment, where
he went to some pains to let it be known that he had had a shot
at a fine buck and missed. The Swedes knew that their men hated
them, and that an overt act against Kovudoo would quickly be carried
to the chief at the first opportunity. Nor were they sufficiently
strong in either guns or loyal followers to risk antagonizing the
wily old chief.
Following this episode came the encounter with the baboons and
the strange, white savage who had allied himself with the beasts
against the humans. Only by dint of masterful maneuvering and
the expenditure of much power had the Swedes been able to repulse
the infuriated apes, and even for hours afterward their camp was
constantly besieged by hundreds of snarling, screaming devils.
The Swedes, rifles in hand, repelled numerous savage charges which
lacked only efficient leadership to have rendered them as effective
in results as they were terrifying in appearance. Time and time
again the two men thought they saw the smooth-skinned body of the
wild ape-man moving among the baboons in the forest, and the belief
that he might head a charge upon them proved most disquieting.
They would have given much for a clean shot at him, for to him they
attributed the loss of their specimen and the ugly attitude of the
baboons toward them.
"The fellow must be the same we fired on several years ago," said
Malbihn. "That time he was accompanied by a gorilla. Did you get
a good look at him, Carl?"
"Yes," replied Jenssen. "He was not five paces from me when I fired
at him. He appears to be an intelligent looking European--and not
much more than a lad. There is nothing of the imbecile or degenerate
in his features or expression, as is usually true in similar cases,
where some lunatic escapes into the woods and by living in filth
and nakedness wins the title of wild man among the peasants of
the neighborhood. No, this fellow is of different stuff--and so
infinitely more to be feared. As much as I should like a shot at
him I hope he stays away. Should he ever deliberately lead a charge
against us I wouldn't give much for our chances if we happened to
fail to bag him at the first rush."
But the white giant did not appear again to lead the baboons against
them, and finally the angry brutes themselves wandered off into
the jungle leaving the frightened safari in peace.
The next day the Swedes set out for Kovudoo's village bent on
securing possession of the person of the white girl whom Kovudoo's
runner had told them lay captive in the chief's village. How they
were to accomplish their end they did not know. Force was out of
the question, though they would not have hesitated to use it had
they possessed it. In former years they had marched rough shod over
enormous areas, taking toll by brute force even when kindliness or
diplomacy would have accomplished more; but now they were in bad
straits--so bad that they had shown their true colors scarce twice
in a year and then only when they came upon an isolated village,
weak in numbers and poor in courage.
Kovudoo was not as these, and though his village was in a way
remote from the more populous district to the north his power was
such that he maintained an acknowledged suzerainty over the thin
thread of villages which connected him with the savage lords to
the north. To have antagonized him would have spelled ruin for the
Swedes. It would have meant that they might never reach civilization
by the northern route. To the west, the village of The Sheik lay
directly in their path, barring them effectually. To the east the
trail was unknown to them, and to the south there was no trail.
So the two Swedes approached the village of Kovudoo with friendly
words upon their tongues and deep craft in their hearts.
Their plans were well made. There was no mention of the white
prisoner--they chose to pretend that they were not aware that
Kovudoo had a white prisoner. They exchanged gifts with the old
chief, haggling with his plenipotentiaries over the value of what
they were to receive for what they gave, as is customary and proper
when one has no ulterior motives. Unwarranted generosity would
have aroused suspicion.
During the palaver which followed they retailed the gossip of the
villages through which they had passed, receiving in exchange such
news as Kovudoo possessed. The palaver was long and tiresome, as
these native ceremonies always are to Europeans. Kovudoo made no
mention of his prisoner and from his generous offers of guides and
presents seemed anxious to assure himself of the speedy departure
of his guests. It was Malbihn who, quite casually, near the close
of their talk, mentioned the fact that The Sheik was dead. Kovudoo
evinced interest and surprise.
"You did not know it?" asked Malbihn. "That is strange. It
was during the last moon. He fell from his horse when the beast
stepped in a hole. The horse fell upon him. When his men came up
The Sheik was quite dead."
Kovudoo scratched his head. He was much disappointed. No Sheik
meant no ransom for the white girl. Now she was worthless, unless
he utilized her for a feast or--a mate. The latter thought aroused
him. He spat at a small beetle crawling through the dust before
him. He eyed Malbihn appraisingly. These white men were peculiar.
They traveled far from their own villages without women. Yet he knew
they cared for women. But how much did they care for them?--that
was the question that disturbed Kovudoo.
"I know where there is a white girl," he said, unexpectedly. "If
you wish to buy her she may be had cheap."
Malbihn shrugged. "We have troubles enough, Kovudoo," he said,
"without burdening ourselves with an old she-hyena, and as for
paying for one--" Malbihn snapped his fingers in derision.
"She is young," said Kovudoo, "and good looking."
The Swedes laughed. "There are no good looking white women in the
jungle, Kovudoo," said Jenssen. "You should be ashamed to try to
make fun of old friends."
Kovudoo sprang to his feet. "Come," he said, "I will show you that
she is all I say."
Malbihn and Jenssen rose to follow him and as they did so their
eyes met, and Malbihn slowly drooped one of his lids in a sly
wink. Together they followed Kovudoo toward his hut. In the dim
interior they discerned the figure of a woman lying bound upon a
sleeping mat.
Malbihn took a single glance and turned away. "She must be a
thousand years old, Kovudoo," he said, as he left the hut.
"She is young," cried the savage. "It is dark in here. You cannot
see. Wait, I will have her brought out into the sunlight," and he
commanded the two warriors who watched the girl to cut the bonds
from her ankles and lead her forth for inspection.
Malbihn and Jenssen evinced no eagerness, though both were fairly
bursting with it--not to see the girl but to obtain possession
of her. They cared not if she had the face of a marmoset, or the
figure of pot-bellied Kovudoo himself. All that they wished to
know was that she was the girl who had been stolen from The Sheik
several years before. They thought that they would recognize her
for such if she was indeed the same, but even so the testimony of
the runner Kovudoo had sent to The Sheik was such as to assure them
that the girl was the one they had once before attempted to abduct.
As Meriem was brought forth from the darkness of the hut's interior
the two men turned with every appearance of disinterestedness to
glance at her. It was with difficulty that Malbihn suppressed an
ejaculation of astonishment. The girl's beauty fairly took his
breath from him; but instantly he recovered his poise and turned
to Kovudoo.
"Well?" he said to the old chief.
"Is she not both young and good looking?" asked Kovudoo.
"She is not old," replied Malbihn; "but even so she will be a
burden. We did not come from the north after wives--there are more
than enough there for us."
Meriem stood looking straight at the white men. She expected nothing
from them--they were to her as much enemies as the black men. She
hated and feared them all. Malbihn spoke to her in Arabic.
"We are friends," he said. "Would you like to have us take you
away from here?"
Slowly and dimly as though from a great distance recollection of
the once familiar tongue returned to her.
"I should like to go free," she said, "and go back to Korak."
"You would like to go with us?" persisted Malbihn.
"No," said Meriem.
Malbihn turned to Kovudoo. "She does not wish to go with us," he
said.
"You are men," returned the black. "Can you not take her by force?"
"It would only add to our troubles," replied the Swede. "No,
Kovudoo, we do not wish her; though, if you wish to be rid of her,
we will take her away because of our friendship for you."
Now Kovudoo knew that he had made a sale. They wanted her. So he
commenced to bargain, and in the end the person of Meriem passed
from the possession of the black chieftain into that of the two
Swedes in consideration of six yards of Amerikan, three empty brass
cartridge shells and a shiny, new jack knife from New Jersey. And
all but Meriem were more than pleased with the bargain.
Kovudoo stipulated but a single condition and that was that the
Europeans were to leave his village and take the girl with them as
early the next morning as they could get started. After the sale
was consummated he did not hesitate to explain his reasons for
this demand. He told them of the strenuous attempt of the girl's
savage mate to rescue her, and suggested that the sooner they got
her out of the country the more likely they were to retain possession
of her.
Meriem was again bound and placed under guard, but this time in
the tent of the Swedes. Malbihn talked to her, trying to persuade
her to accompany them willingly. He told her that they would return
her to her own village; but when he discovered that she would rather
die than go back to the old sheik, he assured her that they would
not take her there, nor, as a matter of fact, had they had an
intention of so doing. As he talked with the girl the Swede feasted
his eyes upon the beautiful lines of her face and figure. She had
grown tall and straight and slender toward maturity since he had
seen her in The Sheik's village on that long gone day. For years
she had represented to him a certain fabulous reward. In his
thoughts she had been but the personification of the pleasures and
luxuries that many francs would purchase. Now as she stood before
him pulsing with life and loveliness she suggested other seductive
and alluring possibilities. He came closer to her and laid his
hand upon her. The girl shrank from him. He seized her and she
struck him heavily in the mouth as he sought to kiss her. Then
Jenssen entered the tent.
"Malbihn!" he almost shouted. "You fool!"
Sven Malbihn released his hold upon the girl and turned toward his
companion. His face was red with mortification.
"What the devil are you trying to do?" growled Jenssen. "Would
you throw away every chance for the reward? If we maltreat her we
not only couldn't collect a sou, but they'd send us to prison for
our pains. I thought you had more sense, Malbihn."
"I'm not a wooden man," growled Malbihn.
"You'd better be," rejoined Jenssen, "at least until we have
delivered her over in safety and collected what will be coming to
us."
"Oh, hell," cried Malbihn. "What's the use? They'll be glad enough
to have her back, and by the time we get there with her she'll be
only too glad to keep her mouth shut. Why not?"
"Because I say not," growled Jenssen. "I've always let you
boss things, Sven; but here's a case where what I say has got to
go--because I'm right and you're wrong, and we both know it."
"You're getting damned virtuous all of a sudden," growled Malbihn.
"Perhaps you think I have forgotten about the inn keeper's daughter,
and little Celella, and that nigger at--"
"Shut up!" snapped Jenssen. "It's not a matter of virtue and you
are as well aware of that as I. I don't want to quarrel with you,
but so help me God, Sven, you're not going to harm this girl if I
have to kill you to prevent it. I've suffered and slaved and been
nearly killed forty times in the last nine or ten years trying to
accomplish what luck has thrown at our feet at last, and now I'm
not going to be robbed of the fruits of success because you happen
to be more of a beast than a man. Again I warn you, Sven--" and
he tapped the revolver that swung in its holster at his hip.
Malbihn gave his friend an ugly look, shrugged his shoulders, and
left the tent. Jenssen turned to Meriem.
"If he bothers you again, call me," he said. "I shall always be
near."
The girl had not understood the conversation that had been carried
on by her two owners, for it had been in Swedish; but what Jenssen
had just said to her in Arabic she understood and from it grasped
an excellent idea of what had passed between the two. The expressions
upon their faces, their gestures, and Jenssen's final tapping of
his revolver before Malbihn had left the tent had all been eloquent
of the seriousness of their altercation. Now, toward Jenssen she
looked for friendship, and with the innocence of youth she threw
herself upon his mercy, begging him to set her free, that she might
return to Korak and her jungle life; but she was doomed to another
disappointment, for the man only laughed at her roughly and told
her that if she tried to escape she would be punished by the very
thing that he had just saved her from.
All that night she lay listening for a signal from Korak. All about
the jungle life moved through the darkness. To her sensitive ears
came sounds that the others in the camp could not hear--sounds that
she interpreted as we might interpret the speech of a friend, but
not once came a single note that reflected the presence of Korak.
But she knew that he would come. Nothing short of death itself
could prevent her Korak from returning for her. What delayed him
though?
When morning came again and the night had brought no succoring Korak,
Meriem's faith and loyalty were still unshaken though misgivings
began to assail her as to the safety of her friend. It seemed
unbelievable that serious mishap could have overtaken her wonderful
Korak who daily passed unscathed through all the terrors of the
jungle. Yet morning came, the morning meal was eaten, the camp
broken and the disreputable safari of the Swedes was on the move
northward with still no sign of the rescue the girl momentarily
expected.
All that day they marched, and the next and the next, nor did Korak
even so much as show himself to the patient little waiter moving,
silently and stately, beside her hard captors.
Malbihn remained scowling and angry. He replied to Jenssen's friendly
advances in curt monosyllables. To Meriem he did not speak, but
on several occasions she discovered him glaring at her from beneath
half closed lids--greedily. The look sent a shudder through her.
She hugged Geeka closer to her breast and doubly regretted the
knife that they had taken from her when she was captured by Kovudoo.
It was on the fourth day that Meriem began definitely to give up
hope. Something had happened to Korak. She knew it. He would
never come now, and these men would take her far away. Presently
they would kill her. She would never see her Korak again.
On this day the Swedes rested, for they had marched rapidly and
their men were tired. Malbihn and Jenssen had gone from camp to
hunt, taking different directions. They had been gone about an
hour when the door of Meriem's tent was lifted and Malbihn entered.
The look of a beast was on his face.
