From the folds of his loin cloth the messenger was dutifully extracting something wrapped up in a banana leaf, which he handed to the interpreter as he finished the message:
“And by his slave he sendeth that which is mighty magic; such magic that he who toucheth it shall trumpet like unto a wounded cow elephant.”
“He says, Bwana,” continued the interpreter glibly, “that he sends to the mighty Eater-of-Men a small present,” and with the words the corporal [pg 274] guilelessly proffered the small package. Zu Pfeiffer took it and tore off the covering.…
Then was the magic of the new King-god of the Unmentionable One made manifest to all men, and particularly a group of chiefs hiding in a small thicket beneath the hill, for indeed did the Son-of-the-Earthquake trumpet like unto a wounded cow elephant at the sight of an ivory disc on which was written:
“Amantes—Amentes!”
Chapter 27
All day at Fort Eitel had been stir and bustle, the blare of trumpets and the barking of sergeants, white and black. Long lines of women and slaves streamed in from the surrounding countryside bearing loads of corn and bananas. In the half-made parade ground at the foot of the hill of Kawa Kendi, half a company of Wongolo whom zu Pfeiffer had conscripted from the chiefs, stumbled and ran in awkward squads. In the hut of the Wongolo chiefs squatted Yabolo among the rest, silently observing the preparations for the punitive expedition which Sakamata had informed them was being prepared in response to the insolent challenge of the white man who had allied himself with the “rebels.” But over them, as well as every Wongolo in and about the place, was a sullen air not of defiance but of expectant listening.
In the mess hut a nervous Bakunjala prepared the table for dinner, the whites of his eyes rolling at every sound of zu Pfeiffer’s voice from the marquee adjoining. Never in his experience, nor in that of other servants or soldiers, had the demon so utterly possessed the dread Eater-of-Men as since the receipt of some terrible magic sent to him by the white man. Opinion was divided as to whether this white man was the one who had been arrested and sent to the coast with [pg 276] Corporal Inyira or whether he was a brother; some said that the magic leaf which the messenger had brought was the soul of the white man, others maintained that it was the incarnation of Bakra, which explained why the Eater-of-Men was so entirely possessed. Had he not screamed? they demanded, which clearly proved, as everybody knew, the dreadful agony as the ghost entered into the body.