"Oh, may my ears never tingle to such another!" groaned I; and as I spoke, the assistants let go their hold on the suspended victim, when—Heaven have mercy on us! horror on horror—one of the lower limbs had been extracted, or cut out from the socket at the hip joint. The struggles of the mutilated carcass continued. Quacco, hearing his name mentioned by the young midshipman, was now alongside of me. I handed him the glass, which it was some time before he could manage. At length, having got the focus, he took a long, long look—he held his breath.
"What is it?" said I, "what dreadful scene is this? For Heaven's sake, serjeant, tell me what is going on yonder?"
He puffed out his breath like a porpoise, and then answered me as coolly as possible, as if it had been no strange sight to him. "Fetish, massa—grand fetish dem make—such fetish as dem make before dem go fight wid one enemy."
"But what was the figure we saw hoisted up on the gibbet-looking apparatus just now?" said I.
"Can't tell," rejoined Quacco, "can't really tell, massa; at first I taught it was man—but dat cry—so wery bitter and sharp like one knife—no, I tink it must have been woman."
"Almighty powers! Do you mean to say that the figure hung up between us and the fire is really and truly a human being?"
"I do," said Serjeant Quacco, with the same sang froid; "I do, massa. What you tink it was?"
I could not tell—I thought at one moment it was a fellow-creature, and at another that it must be impossible, notwithstanding all the hideous tales I had heard of the doings on this coast; but the truth, the horrible truth could no longer be concealed.
"It is only one man or woman prisoner dat dem are cutting in pieces, and trowing into de river." Here I saw with my glass that the other leg of the victim had been severed from the trunk. "But I sall tell you, dat dem intend to attack you dis wery night."
I heard him, but was riveted to my telescope. All struggles had ceased in the dark and maimed carcass, and presently one of the arms was cut away at the shoulder, when the bloody limb fell against the post on one side, and the mangled trunk banged against the upright on the other, and swung round and round it, making the whole engine reel; while, as the drums and shouts grew louder and louder, the other arm was also cut off at the elbow, and down came the mutilated trunk of the sacrifice into the middle of the fire, which for a moment blazed up, and shot forth showers of sparks and bright smoke, then rapidly declined, and in half a minute it was entirely extinguished.