Chapter V: Trying to Establish Communications with the Natives

Notwithstanding the hostile tribe was in front of them to the south, the boys went around the place with perfect safety, as they knew their protecting guns were sufficient guarantees to prevent a close approach.

What would the night bring forth? What steps would be taken by their enemies? All awaited anxiously the condition of the captive Kurabu. It was evident from the Saboro’s expression that there was no love between the two. It is remarkable how soon the news of any event travels from one to the other. It seems to be an instinct.

The wounded Saboro knew at the first attack, which the Kurabus made on his tribe at the stream, that some hostile act had been committed, which brought on the fight, although John had not informed him, and during the entire time the savage had been out of sight of the warring parties.

John kept up his continual questioning with the Saboro, and made good progress during the day. Gradually some little sparks of common intelligence would appear, and the morning fight seemed to have a stimulating effect on him. He was not so reserved. It probably began to dawn on him that the intention of his captors was not hostile to the natives.

“Harry, have you the picture of the boys, which you took from one of the other tribes?” asked John.

Harry went to the shop and soon returned with it. Holding it before the Saboro, he tried to get him to understand that some of the boys were on the island, and inquired if he knew anything about them.

SAVAGE HEADDRESS]

The moment his eyes caught the picture he started, and nodded his head affirmatively. John then pointed to the Kurabu and then to the boys in the picture, but at this he shook his head. This was sufficiently intelligent to inform them that the boys, if captives, were not in possession of either of the tribes.

The Professor then produced one of the headdresses which they had taken from one of the warriors in the first day’s fight, two months before, and by the same sort of pantomimic language the Saboro nodded his head affirmatively.

“We are getting along splendidly,” said John enthusiastically. “We know where the boys are, at least.”

For the first time the Saboro addressed the Kurabu, who shook his head as he proceeded. What were they talking about? John arrested the attention of the Saboro, and drawing the picture of a bearded man, showed it to him. The answer of the Saboro was a startling one as he held up three fingers.

“I wish we could get him out to the boathouse, to see whether he recognizes the lifeboat.” This proposal of John told them the purpose of the inquiry in that direction.

“Before doing that let us proceed with the inquiry as far as we can, and, if possible, get the Saboro to inform his fellow captive that our mission is to get the white men and the boys, and that we have no other object in view.”

It was interesting to watch the eyes of the savages as they sat at the evening meal. They were supplied with knives and forks, which they eyed curiously.

“Do you suppose this is the first time they ever had an opportunity to use forks?” asked Tom, laughing. “I know the fellows who got us never used anything like that!”

“They used knives to convey the food to the mouth, did they not?” queried the Professor.

“Well, our limited acquaintance brought us only among those who ate with the forks and knives which nature furnished them,” added Ralph.

“When were forks first invented?” asked George, with a grin.

_Fig. 5._ _Primitive Forks._]

“They were introduced into England early in the sixteenth century, but were known in Italy before that time. Certain English writers, traveling in the south of Europe, wrote about the curious habit of using tiny little forks, and the new fad was adopted, and the custom was for each person to have his own knife and fork, which he always carried with him. The inns and public places did not serve these articles.”

In the morning the savages were still there, but had moved over toward the river, and were examining, in the distance, the water wheel. What a curiosity it must have been to them. Before leaving on their trip this had been drawn back from the water, so that the cataract was not turning it.

Harry, who was in the shop with Tom, in a spirit of mischief carried out the levers, used for the purpose, and pushed the wheel into place, and as it began to turn with the rushing waters, the entire tribe was set in commotion. Was this some new demon?

The boys enjoyed the effect produced. “Let us hitch up the sawmill and give them an additional lesson in the arts of civilization.”

The belt was attached, and as the saw began to reciprocate a piece of timber was put on the saw carriage and fed into the saw. The effect was startling to their audience, which was heightened when George opened the door of the house, and both boys rushed out to ascertain what the boys were doing.

“What are you doing?” asked Tom.

Harry and Ralph laughed in glee at the commotion, and John and the Professor joined in the sport, when they learned the object of the boys’ enterprise.

“We’re simply trying to entertain our visitors,” shouted Ralph, and the besiegers were simply at their wits’ ends to know what all the hilarity was about.

Harry crawled up on the pile of lumber, and beckoned to the Kurabus, and invited them to come up; but this did not seem to appeal to them. In the effort to get down, the pile fell, and his hand was caught beneath the corners of the rough boards and an ugly flesh wound resulted.

The weather was very warm, and the two bodies, which were lying exposed since the early morning two days before, began decomposition, and the Professor suggested that from a sanitary point of view to say nothing of common humanity, the bodies should be buried as quickly as possible.

The boys secured the picks and shovels, and as they were about to start, the Professor cried out: “Harry, you must not go under any circumstances.”

His manner of saying it and the peremptory tone in which it was uttered was a great surprise to the boys. The savages noticed them as they dug the graves, and reverently interred the two warriors. They watched in silence during the entire proceedings.

During the course of the evening George said: “Why did you refuse to let Harry go with us to-day when we buried the two bodies?”

“It was merely a matter of precaution.”

The boys looked at each other, wondering what he meant. The Professor noticed their looks of astonishment, and he continued:

“Harry injured his hand this morning, and the interment of decaying human bodies is dangerous to anyone likely to come into contact in such a manner that the raw tissues or the blood get a taint of the putrefaction.”

“Is it any more dangerous than to handle putrefied bodies of animals?”

“There is nothing more poisonous to human beings than decayed human flesh. The dissection of human bodies is one of the most dangerous occupations, for the reason that if the dissecting surgeon should cut himself with the dissecting knife, it is almost sure death.

“This knowledge has been made use of in a most wonderful way. You may, probably, know that various serums are used in the form of injections in order to cure malignant diseases. The curious fact is, that the putrefied body of a rabbit, if injected into a live rabbit, will kill the rabbit, but no other species of animal; and so the like, under those conditions, will destroy the like kind.

“Taking advantage of this knowledge, the bacteria of, say, diphtheria, is isolated--that is, separated from the matter in which it grows, and this is allowed to putrefy, and this serum, as it is called, when injected into a patient having diphtheria is virulent in its actions against the diphtheria in the blood of the sufferer, so that the germs of that disease are thereby destroyed.”

The situation at the cataract was now a most peculiar one. How long would the attitude of the savages be kept up? It is true they were not suffering for food, as that was easily obtainable, the large herd of yaks being at their command, and the garden in easy reach.

It was inconceivable that their enemies could hope to starve them into submission. The Professor and John pondered over the situation, and endeavored to explain the apathy of the Kurabus. Not a single hostile movement had been made after the first disastrous attack.

“It seems to be idle to speculate on what their intentions are,” said John. “We cannot afford to be cooped up here, when we should be in the field making some effort to rescue those in danger.”

“Why not make another attempt to get the two fellows into conversation, and let them know, finally, what our purpose is,” was Harry’s suggestion. “If we fail, let us attack them, and show that we are masters of the situation.”

“It is true that inaction on our part may be construed into weakness,” answered the Professor, “and Harry’s plan is certainly better than this sort of business.”

John again took up the questioning with the Saboro, and told him in as simple a manner as possible what to say to the Kurabu, and this information was imparted in detached sections for his easy comprehension.

This process was repeated over and over, until they felt he was fully advised of the meaning of their plans, when John ventured to remark: “We might as well make a trial of the fellow, so if you can make a litter to put him on we will take him out and turn him over to his friends.”

It required but a little labor to get this ready, and the boys, accompanied by John, carried him out and went forward toward the congregated savages. They looked on this proceeding with astonishment. As the little group with the savage approached the band retreated to a respectful distance.

John ordered the litter to be put down, and then by motions to the savages requested them to take him. Before leaving, the Professor had placed a bottle of the fever medicine on the litter, and after John and the boys returned to the house the band rushed up to their wounded comrade, and the first thing that attracted the attention of all was the bottle of medicine.

They gathered around the litter, and, no doubt, plied many questions. For a full half hour this continued, and then the litter was lifted and he was carried off.

“Did you see the inscription I put on the litter?” asked Harry.

“No; what was it?”

_Fig. 6._]

“Friends in the northeast portion of the island ready to help you. Dated, Sunday, June 14, 1912.”

“Where did you get the date?”

“Well that date is as good as any. We know it is about a year and a half after we landed here, and that will be pretty good notice if any of our boys get hold of it.”

The Professor and John heard the conversation with amusement, and the former inquired: “What was your object in putting it ‘Sunday’?”

“I thought that would be a good time to date a message of that kind.”

All laughed at Harry’s smartness in thinking of putting a message on the litter, as by that means it might fall into the way of some one in distress.

John was especially amused and remarked: “Harry was absolutely right. I know it is Sunday to-day, and there is an invariable rule by which it can be proven, wherever you are, and whatever time you awaken, without ever asking the question of anyone.”

This was certainly an interesting thing, and the boys crowded around John. “Let us know the method.”

“What we all understand by Sunday is the Sabbath, or day of rest. Among Christians their Sabbath is on Sunday; the Greeks have theirs on Monday; the Persians on Tuesday; the Assyrians on Wednesday; Egyptians on Thursday; the Turks on Friday; and the Jews on Saturday. With this understanding you may be sure to strike the right day in some particular creed. It is the only day of the week about which there is any question.”

The besieging party was still in position as night fell, but when the sun rose in the morning they were nowhere in sight, and John, beckoning to Ralph, took their guns and set out on an exploring expedition to the southwest. They went eight miles in the direction of the falls, and failed to find more than the traces of the trail which they had left.

It was a relief to learn this, as it now enabled them to perfect the plans for a more determined invasion of the country inhabited by their would-be enemies.

Their wagon equipment was found satisfactory in every respect, and John suggested that it might be well to postpone the trip for a little time, in order that he might perfect the means of communication with the captive Saboro, and he set about diligently to perfect the talk.

In some respects he was more intelligent than the chief who had escaped them five weeks before. He grasped the sign language more acutely, but he was not as adept at imparting the information to John. On the whole, however, this was not a disadvantage, but in less than a week he had learned some words which delighted him, and when he was able to move about, John took him to the workshop and showed the different things which were made, and was afterwards directed to the laboratory.

His face became a ghastly sight when he saw the skeletons, and glanced in fear at the Professor. Probably he inferred that he was reserved for that fate. It was a gruesome thing even for the savage that he was. It was a shock, coming as it did after the humane treatment he had received.

The Professor and John looked at each other and smiled at his trepidity, and the former, taking up the bones of one who had a bullet-perforated skull, showed it to him, and thus sought to explain the manner of the death.

For several days afterwards his eyes kept up their shifting glances, and he ever afterwards avoided the laboratory. As in the case of Chief, the workshop interested him, and he would sit for hours before the turning water wheel and marvel at it.

Unlike Chief, the firearms attracted him beyond measure. His eyes would be fixed on them whenever they were within reach of his vision, and the antics of Angel amused him, as he strutted about with the imitation weapon.

“It should be a part of his education to know that we are able to make these wonderful things, as it will impress him, and if he should take leave of us in the same unceremonious way that Chief did we will have the satisfaction of knowing that he will carry the wonderful stories to his people.” This was the Professor’s view of the matter, and all agreed and acted on the suggestion.

Harry turned out some trinket for him, and presented a small mirror. This amused him, and he treasured the little metal balls, and Harry made some of them in his presence. During all this exhibition, the boys, as well as John, talked to him and explained the different objects in words.

But there was grim determination now in the minds of all to make a trip which would land them in the heart of the savage country. The various wanderings had fitted them for the task. They knew their own power, and appreciated the weaknesses of their enemies.

It is true they had not, so far, an opportunity to withstand a determined charge, and were not sure but the slightest success on the part of a large body of warriors might materially change the situation.

John was particularly insistent. “You know what Kipling calls the ‘white man’s burden’ is imposed on us. We have a duty to not only rescue the white men, but to rescue the natives as well. We have a wonderful field here, if we are true to ourselves. We may not be any too wise in finding a way of reaching them successfully, but sooner or later our efforts must win.”

The Professor and the boys applauded the position John had taken, and Harry, who was always an enthusiast in the matter of rescue work responded: “Speaking for myself, and for the boys as well, we are with you to the end, whatever the result may be.”