CHAPTER XV
URASO CAPTURED BY THE BEREES. WELCOMED BY THE PROFESSOR
The Professor and his party halted within the boundaries of the Osagas’ territory. The next day the principal village would be reached. This was the day before the last incident recorded in the previous chapter.
When they approached the vicinity of the village, it was only too apparent that the warriors had gone, and it was but the work of a few minutes to surround it, to find the women, children and the aged and infirm, huddled together in the various huts, in consternation at what must be their fate.
They were gathered together, and the Professor addressed them through Ralsea: “We have not come here to make war on you, and you will be left here. We want to be your friends. Tell us where your warriors have gone.”
An old man came forward and said: “You look like a white man who took our chief Uraso and killed him. We felt bitter, and agreed with the Kurabus to find you and be revenged. But the Saboros wanted to go, too, and that would be too many to take the white man’s things, and before we knew it the Saboros and the Kurabus went to find you.”
“Who told you that the white man had killed Uraso?”
“When the Kurabus and the Osagas had a fight in the north moons ago the white man took Uraso. The Osagas sent scouts all over the land, and found where the white man had his village, and could not see Uraso, and they knew he had been sacrificed. This was confirmed when, after the white man had captured one of the wounded Kurabus, and set him free, because the Kurabu said that he was not in the village.”
“I am the man,” said the Professor, “who took Uraso; we did not kill him, as we do not believe in killing captives. We cured him, and gave him a repa (a bolo), and he ran away from us.”
The old man listened with astonishment as Ralsea translated the words. Then turning to the sub-chief, he asked whether the white man had many warriors. The Professor understood, and without waiting for Ralsea to interpret the question, answered:
“We have many, many times more people than you have in all this land, and we have wonderful reckas (weapons), but we want to be friends, and not enemies.”