'What's the meaning of this, Grinson?' asked Trentham.
'Ignorance, sir--just ignorance, poor heathens!' replied the boatswain, cocking his thumb towards the village. 'That there airy plane sailed over a while ago, and the savages all did a bunk, screeching like one o'clock, though I roared myself black in the face telling 'em 'twas only a sort o' bird. 'Twas no good; like as I 've seed cows and sheep bolt with their tails up from a railway train. They was scared stiff, there 's no mistake; and I 'spect they 're hiding their heads somewhere.'
'And Meek?'
'I sent Ephraim straight into our hut, sir, and seeing as how the whole place was left undefended, like, I took up my station here. Germans, sir?' he added in a whisper, winking towards the prisoners.
'Yes; their machine came down. We 'll leave them in your charge, as we want to take a gang back to bring in the machine. You had no trouble on the way home?'
'Not a bit, sir, except that they 've no notion whatever of the proper way of marching--more like a lot of colts they was; but there, I hadn't the heart to correct 'em, they was so uncommon pleased to be free again.'
The party had not interrupted their march. Grinson had picked up his spears and fallen in step beside Trentham. As they passed along the path, from behind the huts and the midst of the plantations native heads appeared one by one, and when the timorous people recognised their young chief they came bounding out with yells of delight, until by the time the inner enclosure was reached the whole population had joined the procession. At the gate the patricians were assembled, headed by the temporary chief. They welcomed Flanso with some show of dignity, and conducted him to the chief's house, bowing low as he entered the doorway. The two prisoners were placed under guard in an empty hut, and then Trentham hurried after Flanso, and with the aid of the interpreter explained the course of action which had been arranged between himself and Hoole during the homeward march.
Trentham found himself contending with the natives' absolute incomprehension of the value of time. Flanso was already occupied in discussing with his elders the details of his approaching installation. No western monarch could have been more deeply absorbed in the ceremonies that were to inaugurate his reign. The hardships from which he had been rescued, the dangers that still threatened him and his people, seemed to have vanished from his mind, and it was only by dint of patience and pertinacity that Trentham succeeded in capturing his attention.
He pointed out that the Germans, enraged at the loss of their prisoners, would certainly seek to regain them, and also to wreak vengeance upon the community; nor would their animus be lessened when they discovered that their airmen had fallen into the enemy's hands.
'Chief say Toitsche fella no belongina find out that,' said the interpreter, after an interruption from Flanso. 'Black fella belongina eat white fella chop-chop.'