“Thou hast seen, O my brother magician, that at the will of my finger upon that which is made but of spear-heads that the voice of Tarum hath spoken, the voice which is but the mocking voice of Marufa amid the trees of the forest?”
“Ough!”
“Dost thou not know that he who knows the ways of rocks, who can make pieces of spear into that which will say and do that which he wills, is a greater magician than he who must needs go unto the rocks to be mocked?”
“Thou art the greatest of magicians, O son of the [pg 250] Lord-of-many-Lands,” responded Bakahenzie in a burst of eloquence. “For thou hast entrapped the spirits of rocks and spears to do thy bidding.”
“O God!” sighed the professor, “what is the use of language?”
Chapter 24
A favourite panacea for the results of a stupid action is the sentiment of martyrdom. When MYalu persisted in bitter reproaches to Yabolo and Sakamata the first retorted that the punishment was the result of having committed the sacrilege of kidnapping the sacred Bride of the Banana. Then MYalu considered that not only had he been trapped by one of his own people whom he had deserted, but to add insult to injury he felt he was not understood. Neither Yabolo nor Sakamata, as Bakahenzie, could comprehend a chief and a warrior making such a fuss over a girl. That the confiscation of MYalu’s property was an insult they both agreed, but biassed by both fear of Eyes-in-the-hands and their own interests, they were disposed to pretend that after all such a small matter as the abduction of a girl could be overlooked when committed by the follower of such a powerful god and magician, as expedience is so often the father of a dispensation. Yet nevertheless in Yabolo, if not in Sakamata, whose hatred of the tribal craft was deep in ratio to the degeneracy of his native code, the outrage upon Bakuma as the Bride of the Banana, while an act of dangerous sacrilege when performed by a Wongolo, violated the half suppressed traditions and kindled a spark of bitter resentment ready to flare up against Eyes-in-the-hands or Sakamata; but being a diplomatist, he concealed that anger, even from himself to a certain degree.
Upon MYalu’s arrival in the guest-house to find that Bakuma had been taken, his passion had nearly led to his instant destruction, for he had desired to run amok among the grinning askaris. Afterwards, when the efforts of his friends and the hungry points of bayonets had cooled his ardour, he had wanted to rush straight to Eyes-in-the-hands who, according to Sakamata employed as master of ceremony at the daily audiences, would instantly restore Bakuma to him and visit a terrible punishment upon the evil-doer. But the august presence could not be approached so casually: petition must be made in orthodox form and the royal pleasure awaited meekly.