Bab Bab 7 · OOLANGA

. OOLANGA

Mr. Salton had an appointment for six o'clock at Liverpool. When he had

driven off, Sir Nathaniel took Adam by the arm.

"May I come with you for a while to your study? I want to speak to you

privately without your uncle knowing about it, or even what the subject

is. You don't mind, do you? It is not idle curiosity. No, no. It is

on the subject to which we are all committed."

"Is it necessary to keep my uncle in the dark about it? He might be

offended."

"It is not necessary; but it is advisable. It is for his sake that I

asked. My friend is an old man, and it might concern him unduly--even

alarm him. I promise you there shall be nothing that could cause him

anxiety in our silence, or at which he could take umbrage."

"Go on, sir!" said Adam simply.

"You see, your uncle is now an old man. I know it, for we were boys

together. He has led an uneventful and somewhat self-contained life, so

that any such condition of things as has now arisen is apt to perplex him

from its very strangeness. In fact, any new matter is trying to old

people. It has its own disturbances and its own anxieties, and neither

of these things are good for lives that should be restful. Your uncle is

a strong man, with a very happy and placid nature. Given health and

ordinary conditions of life, there is no reason why he should not live to

be a hundred. You and I, therefore, who both love him, though in

different ways, should make it our business to protect him from all

disturbing influences. I am sure you will agree with me that any labour

to this end would be well spent. All right, my boy! I see your answer

in your eyes; so we need say no more of that. And now," here his voice

changed, "tell me all that took place at that interview. There are

strange things in front of us--how strange we cannot at present even

guess. Doubtless some of the difficult things to understand which lie

behind the veil will in time be shown to us to see and to understand. In

the meantime, all we can do is to work patiently, fearlessly, and

unselfishly, to an end that we think is right. You had got so far as

where Lilla opened the door to Mr. Caswall and the negro. You also

observed that Mimi was disturbed in her mind at the way Mr. Caswall

looked at her cousin."

"Certainly--though 'disturbed' is a poor way of expressing her

objection."

"Can you remember well enough to describe Caswall's eyes, and how Lilla

looked, and what Mimi said and did? Also Oolanga, Caswall's West African

servant."

"I'll do what I can, sir. All the time Mr. Caswall was staring, he kept

his eyes fixed and motionless--but not as if he was in a trance. His

forehead was wrinkled up, as it is when one is trying to see through or

into something. At the best of times his face has not a gentle

expression; but when it was screwed up like that it was almost

diabolical. It frightened poor Lilla so that she trembled, and after a

bit got so pale that I thought she had fainted. However, she held up and

tried to stare back, but in a feeble kind of way. Then Mimi came close

and held her hand. That braced her up, and--still, never ceasing her

return stare--she got colour again and seemed more like herself."

"Did he stare too?"

"More than ever. The weaker Lilla seemed, the stronger he became, just

as if he were feeding on her strength. All at once she turned round,

threw up her hands, and fell down in a faint. I could not see what else

happened just then, for Mimi had thrown herself on her knees beside her

and hid her from me. Then there was something like a black shadow

between us, and there was the nigger, looking more like a malignant devil

than ever. I am not usually a patient man, and the sight of that ugly

devil is enough to make one's blood boil. When he saw my face, he seemed

to realise danger--immediate danger--and slunk out of the room as

noiselessly as if he had been blown out. I learned one thing, however--he

is an enemy, if ever a man had one."

"That still leaves us three to two!" put in Sir Nathaniel.

"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 out

anything yet regarding the negro? I am anxious to be posted regarding

him. 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 not

official; but hearsay must guide us at first. You know my man

Davenport--private secretary, confidential man of business, and general

factotum. He is devoted to me, and has my full confidence. I asked him

to stay on board the _West African_ and have a good look round, and find

out what he could about Mr. Caswall. Naturally, he was struck with the

aboriginal savage. He found one of the ship's stewards, who had been on

the regular voyages to South Africa. He knew Oolanga and had made a

study of him. He is a man who gets on well with niggers, and they open

their hearts to him. It seems that this Oolanga is quite a great person

in the nigger world of the African West Coast. He has the two things

which men of his own colour respect: he can make them afraid, and he is

lavish 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--but

neither does that matter. Briefly, this is his history. He was

originally a witch-finder--about as low an occupation as exists amongst

aboriginal savages. Then he got up in the world and became an Obi-man,

which gives an opportunity to wealth _via_ blackmail. Finally, he

reached the highest honour in hellish service. He became a user of

Voodoo, which seems to be a service of the utmost baseness and cruelty. I

was told some of his deeds of cruelty, which are simply sickening. They

made me long for an opportunity of helping to drive him back to hell. You

might think to look at him that you could measure in some way the extent

of his vileness; but it would be a vain hope. Monsters such as he is

belong to an earlier and more rudimentary stage of barbarism. He is in

his way a clever fellow--for a nigger; but is none the less dangerous or

the less hateful for that. The men in the ship told me that he was a

collector: some of them had seen his collections. Such collections! All

that was potent for evil in bird or beast, or even in fish. Beaks that

could break and rend and tear--all the birds represented were of a

predatory kind. Even the fishes are those which are born to destroy, to

wound, to torture. The collection, I assure you, was an object lesson in

human malignity. This being has enough evil in his face to frighten even

a strong man. It is little wonder that the sight of it put that poor

girl 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. As

he 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 by

hands. Their skins seemed damp and sticky, and they were covered all

over with ants and other insects. They looked loathsome, so after a

glance, he passed on.

A little later, when his steps took him, naturally enough, past the

entrance to Mercy Farm, he was passed by the negro, moving quickly under

the trees wherever there was shadow. Laid across one extended arm,

looking like dirty towels across a rail, he had the horrid-looking

snakes. He did not seem to see Adam. No one was to be seen at Mercy

except a few workmen in the farmyard, so, after waiting on the chance of

seeing 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 the

box with the mongoose was kept, and took it with him, intending to finish

at the Mound of Stone what he had begun the previous morning with regard

to the extermination. He found that the snakes were even more easily

attacked than on the previous day; no less than six were killed in the

first half-hour. As no more appeared, he took it for granted that the

morning's work was over, and went towards home. The mongoose had by this

time become accustomed to him, and was willing to let himself be handled

freely. Adam lifted him up and put him on his shoulder and walked on.

Presently he saw a lady advancing towards him, and recognised Lady

Arabella.

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 a

state of the wildest fury, with every hair standing on end, jump from his

shoulder and run towards Lady Arabella. It looked so furious and so

intent 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; the

mongoose jumped at her in a furious attack. Adam rushed forward with his

stick, the only weapon he had. But just as he got within striking

distance, the lady drew out a revolver and shot the animal, breaking his

backbone. Not satisfied with this, she poured shot after shot into him

till the magazine was exhausted. There was no coolness or hauteur about

her now; she seemed more furious even than the animal, her face

transformed with hate, and as determined to kill as he had appeared to

be. Adam, not knowing exactly what to do, lifted his hat in apology and

hurried on to Lesser Hill.