Samba: A Story of the Rubber Slaves of the Congo

by Herbert Strang

"Now let's see what he has to say," said Jack, unfolding the paper. "Listen, Barney. 'Having returned with a force sufficient to re-establish law and order in this part of the Congo State, I call upon you instantly to surrender the camp which you have constructed without permission on the territory of the State. The negroes who are with you are subjects of the State, and will be dealt with by me in accordance with the powers that I possess. You, being a foreigner, will be taken to Boma, to be tried under due form of law by the State Courts.'"

"Which means quick murder for the niggers, sorr, and slow murder for you. Don't answer his impidence, sorr."

"Oh, I must answer. We can't let things go by default, and we can go one better than he, Barney. He hasn't copied his letter, you see. It's very lucky I've got a duplicate book; who knows?—these documents may come in handy some day."

He wrote a brief reply, saying that he was not aware there was anything illegal in constructing a suitable camp on ground leased from the Société Cosmopolite; that, on the other hand, the natives who had sought shelter with him complained of treatment which was clearly against all law and justice; and that in these circumstances he proposed to remain where he was. When this note reached Elbel, he read it to the two white men with him, laughed, put it in his pocket-book, then returned with his party down the stream.

"A pretty little farce!" said Jack. "He knew what my answer would be; all he wanted was a chance of examining our defences."

"Sure he didn't get much for his trouble. He'd have to be a deal taller to see much uv us, sorr."

During the rest of the day Elbel was seen in the distance on various sides of the camp making further observations. From a point on the slope above he could overlook part of the enclosure, and what he observed from there through his field-glass evidently gave him food for thought, for before sunset he marched all his men down the stream, followed cautiously by Imbono's scouts. These reported by and by that the enemy had encamped about two miles away. The white men had tents, the natives were cutting branches to form temporary shelters. Foragers had been sent out in all directions. Jack knew that they would do little good. There were no people to harry, all were within his walls, and the crops around the villages had been gathered in. But this dearth was not likely to affect the besiegers for the present; for the scouts reported that some of their canoes had now come up the river loaded with stores.

Jack concluded from the fact of Elbel being in command that the Administration of the Congo State had not yet seen fit to intervene and equip an expedition under regular military officers. The Société Cosmopolite, in fact, an extremely wealthy corporation, had determined to root out this source of disaffection and revolt within its territory. The force commanded by Elbel represented practically the whole military establishment of the Company. He had no doubt received telegraphic authority from Europe to undertake the expedition, and could rely on the ultimate support of the State Government, which meanwhile would prefer the work to be done by the Company's troops rather than magnify the affair by employing its own forces.

It soon became clear to Jack that the lesson of his previous reverse had not been lost on Elbel. For a time, at least, there was to be no repetition of the rushing tactics that had proved so disastrous. Two days passed, and he had made no move. Scouts reported that he was busily engaged in building and fortifying his camp. The site chosen was a good deal nearer to Ilombekabasi than the first night's bivouac. It lay in a hollow somewhat more than half a mile from the cataract—in the face of an equal or inferior enemy, a very dangerous position, commanded, as it was, on almost all sides by the heights around. But it was sheltered from rifle-fire from the fort, and had a good water supply from a brook that fell some distance below into the stream that flanked Jack's settlement. Elbel could afford to ignore its strategical weakness by reason of his greatly superior numbers. For Jack could not occupy the rim of the hollow without drawing most of his men out of the fort, thus leaving it open to attack; and in any case, with only forty-five rifles, he could not do much to endanger a camp held by two hundred.