“We will look at these comrades of ours,” said James Langdon, as they turned to depart. “Ah, our friend, the white fool, struck true and well. The man is stunned. It will be hours before he recovers. Who will wait with him?”
“And risk the coming of this man’s friends? None of us,” came the answer. “Let him lie, and if he escapes, then he is fortunate. Besides, he has comrades to keep him company.”
He pointed to three others who had been struck down by the stake, and at once the half-caste bent over them.
“They are all hit badly, but will regain their senses, I think,” he said calmly. “Well, let them lie there and recover while we push on. What of this one, though?”
“Dead!” replied the man who had answered his first question. “I saw him thrown against the tree, and heard the crash. His back is broken and also his head. He will never recover.”
“Then fling him into the river and let us be going. After all, he played for a stake, and would have had the bulk of the reward for this fool’s capture. But he bungled it. His fingers should have gripped the neck, for then they could not have been so easily grasped. It is a lesson to us all. Fling him in and pick up your burden.”
None of the men seemed to think that there was anything remarkably inhuman in their action, for to these Ashantis human life was very cheap indeed, and kindness and mercy almost unknown qualities. While a man was alive and possessed of full strength he was a comrade to be respected, for he could take care of himself. Dead, however, or badly injured, he was a nuisance, a positive burden, to be rid of at the first moment; to be robbed and deserted, or to be flung into the nearest stream like a dog. Without a thought, therefore, they picked up the man who had played his part so well and flung him with a loud splash into the stagnant stream. Then, without a second look at their unconscious fellows, they turned, picked up the pole, and went off through the forest in the wake of James Langdon.
When Dick regained his senses an hour later his first feeling was one of extreme anguish in both hands and feet, and very soon the pain caused his scattered wits to return, and led him to discover the cause of his trouble. He was suffering tortures, so much so that the agony swamped all thought of his miserable condition as a captive. He struggled, and begged to be set down.
“Cut his legs adrift, then,” said James Langdon, brutally. “Now place him on his feet and make a creeper fast to his hands. Better still, lash them behind his back instead of in front; then two of you can hold the end of the creeper.”
They threw their prisoner on the ground and cut both lashings. Then they swung him over on to his face and tied his hands behind, making a long creeper fast to the lashing. A moment later they picked him up and placed him on his feet. He staggered and fell at once, his limbs doubling up beneath him.