IN THE VALLEY OF DEATH.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XI, Issue 49, 9 December 1893, Page 496

IN THE VALLEY OF DEATH.

By

FRANK MARRYAT.

HE burning rays of the African sun were ir- , radiating the sluggish waters of the Tonga. ot a c ' ou ‘l waB to 1,6 Been * n t^e K ,ar > n ß ®ky> an d t, * le overpowering scent of the poisonous tropical plants that lined the banks of the river contributed in no small degree to the nauseating effects of the dry and depressing atmosphere. The intense heat, which evoked a most unsavory smell from the muddy and slimy deposits of rotten vegetation that were heaped on either side of the water, bore on its shoulders the seeds of those terrible twin scourges, the yellow fever and the cholera, which made life on that African station anything but a desirable existence. As far as the eye could reach, to the point where the dark river took a sudden turn and was lost to view behind the dense foliage, the waters resembled one broad sheet of molten glass. The palms and brilliant cacti were mirrored in its depths, and the reflection of the brig, which had dropped its anchor about a hundred yards from the shore, stood out in bold relief as though it bad been in a looking glass. But there were living creatures that revelled in the midst of this natural furnace, and could always be found where the mud was heaped highest and the ever growing decay most offensive. These were the alligators, who were never so happy as when wallowing in the foetid garbage, and dozing off to sleep with their snouts only left open to the attacks of the myriads of stinging insects that swarmed above them. These deadly waters were the haunts also ot great ugly sharks, who lay in wait, armed with formidable rows of sharp, merciless fangs, to seize the first unwary victim who chanced to come within their reach. Under the dark leaves of the trees upon its bank, which afforded such a grateful shade and seemed to invite repose, and amidst the rank grass at their roots, lurked venomous snakes, ever ready to dart their forked tongues at the foot that might disturb them, and the thick brushwood and tangled parasites sheltered smooth footed leopards and fierce jungle cats, whose presence might be detected even in the daytime by occasional low angry snarls. When night fell, the herds of hippopotami, or river horses, and the rhinoceri came heavily trampling down every obstacle in their path as they sought the river bank to drink, and woe befall the unhappy native who might be in their way as they crashed through the undergrowth of the forest. Yet even in this deadly climate and amid such dangerous surroundings, the adventurous Englishman had been found bold enough to set up his habitation. On the left side of the river a wharf, rudely constructed by the natives and approached by a steep flight of slippery wooden steps, led up to a bungalow partly shaded by spreading palms or cocoanut trees, and which could boast of being, if nothing else, the only house which harboured Englishmen, ami even white men, for miles and miles around. For the natives of the valley of the Tonga were the ebonyskinned sons ot Africa, whose woolly pate and thick lips clearly betrayed their nationality, and whose treachery and barbarous cruelty stamped them as being the most inhuman and blood thirsty creatures of the universe. Many a heartrending tale could the swarthy labourers employed at the station, relate of the diabolical tortures they had seen inflicted by these fiends upon their innocent victims, and as not a few of them had undergone the horrors of slavery, they bore blue wealds of the merciless lash on their bronzed shoulders, and looked tack with horror to the time of their past servitude. At the time my story opens there sat in the central room of the small station, reclining in an easy chair, with his feet resting on the edge of the mantelpiece, and watching with a sort of sullen indifference the rings of blue smoke that curled upward from his Havana, an Englishman called Jack Fairfield. That his thoughts were not happy was evinced by the sorrowful and downcast expression of a somewhat haggard face for one and-tbirty. That he had battled against and been driven back by the tide of life was made palpable by the deep lines which were furrowed in the corners of his eyes and mouth. For whilst Jack Fairfield satin Africa, his thoughts had travelled back to England as he had known it years before. They had led him to a cottage standing by itself a few yards from the high road. There, under the old porch, nestled in a bower of honeysuckles and clematis, he saw once more in fancy the woman he had loved—the woman he had given up everything for—parents, home, and money—and expatriated himself to that hateful district, where solitude and reflection made the remembrance of the past almost too terrible to bear. How well he could recall the image of the sweet faced, bonny girl who had been ready to swear at the altar to love and obey him, but whose guardians had stepped in between her lover and herselt. They had arranged it all between themselves. He knew that Alice loved him as he loved her, and they had built up with glad hearts their golden castle in the air, so soon to be pulled down to the very earth again. Alice’s father was at sea, trading with his own vessel, the ‘ Tredegar,’ and the maiden aunt could give no definite answer to Jack’s proposal till he returned. So the loveis had a month or two in which to build that castle a few stories higher before it was razed to the ground. The downfall came all too soon. Captain Manley returned from sea. and Jack Fairfield sought an early interview with him. With a light step and heart he entered his presence, confident of success, and told his love tale to Alice’s father. But his reception was very different from what he had anticipated. Half an hour later he stepped into the hall again with a Hushed face and clouded brow, and slamming the door after him, strode across the lawn, never once turning back to look at the house which contained everything he held most dear. Captain Manley had unconditionally refused him his daughter’s

hand. He considered her far too young to marry, and severely censured the carelessness of his sister in having permitted the intimacy. And when the Tredegar next put to sea Alice Manley sailed in her. Meanwhile Jack Fairfield had had but one desire—to leave England and his disappointment behind him. So a fortnight from that unhappy moment he was sailing down the Mezsey, en route for the Tonga, having accepted the first situation that fell in his way, and leaving no trace as to where he had taken flight. Two years had passed since then, and though Fairfield and his partner—Budge Martin —had been very prosperous and accumulated considerable wealth, our hero had never lost his somewhat morose and despondent temper, and had given up all ideas of ever becoming a married man. He had believed, however, that he had conquered his passion for Alice Manley, for he had never seen or heard of her since the day he left her father’s presence with an oath upon his lips—and silence or separation generally prove effectual cures for disappointed lovers—but at last he had been forced to confess to himself that he was mistaken. For that morning, bounding into the room, notwithstanding the heat, had come the irrepressible Rudge Martin, knocking over a bamboo chair in his anxiety to reach his partner’s side. • What’s the matter?’ asked Fairfield, testily. • There’s an enemy in the camp !’ cried Rudge. • Niggers !’ exclaimed Fairfield, suddenly rising, for they were obliged to be always on the watch against native treachery. • No, old fellow : worse than that, a great deal! The enemy is a woman!’ • Oh !’ returned Fairfield with indifference, as he resumed his seat. ‘ Black or white, eh ?’ • White, my boy—white as a lily !’ exclaimed Rudge. • I’ve just ferreted her out. She’s aboard that brig which is hauling alongside. Surely you will come down and get an introduction.’ • What should I want an introduction to her for?’ grumbled Fairfield. * I suppose she’s the same as any other woman. The captain’s wife, most likely—fat, fair, and forty.’ ‘ That she isn’t,’ replied his partner ; • she’s his daughter. I’ve found out so much, and she’s single into the bargain. Won’t you come ?’ ‘ No, thank you, Rudge.’ ‘ Well, you are a queer fellow,’ said Rudge, in a tone of disappointment. ‘ Why, the very sight of a woman ought to cheer you up in this beastly hole, instead of which it seems to annoy you, And I’m sure you’d be welcome. I’ve spoken to Captain Manley, and he seems a jolly sort of old fellow.’ • Captain who ?' shouted Jack Fairfield, throwing his cigar away. ‘ Manley, skipper of the Tredegar,’ repeated Rudge, little thinking of the importance of bis information. ‘ Shall we ask them to dinner ?’ Jack stared at him for a few moments as though he had not comprehended his meaning, and then sunk back in his seat, white as ashes. • Shall I give Captain and Miss Manley an invitation to dine with us to day ?’ repeated Rudge, innocently. • No, no ! Certainly not ! I’ll have no strangers here. I don’t want to know them,’ replied Jack, gruffly, in order to hide his emotion. • Very well, my boy, I’m off to dine with them instead, and I give you fair warning I shall make the running.’ And so he had left his friend to chew the bitter cud of reflection, whilst the happy past kept floating before him like a tantalizing dream, and he wondered if Alice had quite forgotten him, and what she would say and think when she heard he was so near. But to subject himself to a second insult from Captain Manley ! That was what he would rather die than undergo. And so he sat, half excited, half despondent, wondering what the day would bring forth for him. Presently there might be heard a faint rustle in the clump of bamboos at the bank of the bungalow, and a lithe figure crept softly across the dried herbage and stealthily ascended the wooden steps which led up to the verandah. It was the figure of a native woman, whose gaudy silken dress and gold bangles contrasted well with her bronzed skin and harmonized with the tropical surroundings. She was clad in a scarlet vest, which displayed part of her ample bosom, and a blue petticoat, which was girt round her loins with a strip of leopard’s skin, and drooped gracefully below her knees. An ivory comb, inlaid with gold and precious stones, adorned her raven hair, and jewels hung from her nose and ears and lips. Glittering in the fieice light, a necklace of tigers’ teeth encircled her throat, and she wore massive rings upon her fingers. This was Una, Queen of the Antes, whose territory was called the Valley of Death, from the awful atrocities which bad been committed there. A queen, invested with regal lights, governing a tribe of hostile natives, and possessing the power to prevent others from trading on the coast or holding any communication with the savages of the interior. All this Jack Fairfield knew well, and he considered it was policy on his part to humour the queen and keep in her majesty’s good graces; and with that end in view, when the dusky sovereign visited the white man which she had been much in the habit of doing lately—he generally paid her a great many unnecessary compliments. And, unfortunately, Queen Una received his flatteiy and his attentions in a different light from what Fairfield intended. He was a handsome man, tall and well made, with a fair skin and blue eyes, and the black queen greatly admired him, and would have liked him for a lover. She thought, too, that he was enamoured of herself, and that some day he would be her lord and govern her domain, and take her to the Big Country she hail heard so much of, where she would palaver with her sister, the White Queen. And she never dreamed

that the white man who was in her power would dare to reject her addresses. Noiselessly moving the grass mat that hung in the doorway, Queen Una peeped into the apartment. Fairfield was lying back in his chair, dreaming of England and his lost love. Her entrance did not disturb him, so she grew bolder, and with agile steps bounded to his side, fawning upon him as a tigress would in the presence of her acknowledged master. Fairchild rose angrily, with a suppressed oath upon his lips. He was in no humour for jest that afternoon, and this unlooked for visit annoyed him. * You very happy see me?’ asked the queen, not at all discomposed by his gestures of annoyance. * Oh, very happy, Una, very happy indeed,’ he rejoined, carelessly; * only, I’m very busy to-day, and you can’t stay.’ ‘Me only stay little while—me come long way to see white man, and bring him present. Me givee you dat,’ said Una, placing a small native talisman in his hand. * Dat keep you well and strong—dat make you lub Una—’ * But Ido love you, Una. I have often told you so,* he said, as he placed the talisman on his mantel-shelf. * Den if you luv me, givee me dat,' replied Una artfully, as she touched a small ring he wore on the little finger of his left hand. It was the only gift that his lost Alice had ever given him, and he had worn it by night and day ever since. The queen’s request, and the recollections it brought with it, overcame nis prudence. ‘ No, no,’ he cried, ‘ I can not give you that Una ! It is a talisman, too ; I must not part with it.’ Queen Una’s brown breast heaved with quicker throbs, and her flashing eyes, which were full of malice and deceit, grew ominously darker at his refusal. ‘ White woman givee you dat?’ she inquired, cunningly. Fail field did not seem to notice the drift of her words. She had recalled his trouble to him, and it was a sort of relief to tell her of it. She was a woman, and might sympathize with him, and he wanted sympathy dreadfully, poor fellow, although he hardly acknowledged it to himself. * Yes, Una,’ he answered, ‘ a white woman gave me that —a white woman whom I loved very dearly. But her people would not give her to me, so I have lived all alone. And to-day I bear she is close to me—in that ship coming into harbour—and yet I dare not see her. Isn’t it hard ?’ ‘ And you lovee dis white gal better dan anybody ?’ said Queen Una. ‘ I love her better than all the world I I would die for her,’ said poor Fairfield, with a suspicious sound like tears in his voice. Slowly and haughtily the Queen of the Antes drew herself away from her. She had come quite prepared to make him an offer of marriage. She had given him the most poweifullove talisman that she possessed, and he turned his back on it, and her ! There was no deception in her looks this time. Her blood was boiling with a desire for revenge. ‘I go,’she said, calmly, with her teeth set. ‘I leavee you with white woman in ship. Nebber you fear. You will see her very soon. Una feel dat. Good-bye, white man, good bye I’ And she sped down the ladder and through the thicket with the agility of a leopard. Failfield was relieved when she was gone. He had taken but little notice of her words and she worried him. He was instinctively conscious that she had wished him joy, and that no joy was possible for him, and the knowledge made him irritable and anxious to be alone. The next day a number of petty chiefs arrived at the station to exchange their palm oil, ebony and ivory for the general cargo of bright coloured stuffs, useless muskets and glass beads Captain Manley had brought out with him, and Rudge Martin had his bands full to attend to them, receiving no help from Fairfield, whose fit of despondency had increased to such a degree that he preferred to remain shut up in his own room. A thousand times he asked himself should he run the gauntlet of another insult at Captain Manley’s hands, and dare all things only to see Alice and find out whether she still cared for him. But that entailed going on board the ‘ Tredegar,’ and he had not the courage to do it. Rudge must surely have mentioned his name before the skipper and his daughter, and if they had wished to renew their acquaintance with him they were quite able to do so. But as he was listening moodily at dinner-time to the comical tales Rudge related to him concerning the antics of the native chiefs, who bad nearly blown off their own arms and legs in their attempts to fire the guns they had bartered for, a sudden commotion was heard in the verandah, and Captain Manley in a terrible state of excitement made his appearance before them. * What’s the matter, sir ?’ inquired Rudge Martin, as he caught sight of him. * Matter enough !’ cried Manley. ‘My daughter is missing. She left the ship this evening to take a stroll along the banks ot the river, and I'll lay anything, she’s been carried off by some of these accursed blacks.’ * Alice missing ? God help us I’ exclaimed Jack Fairfield, in a voice of distress. Captain Manley turned to him in amazement. •You here I’ he said quickly. *1 beard the name of Fail field, but had no idea it was the same man I had known in England. Have you any authority, any power ? Can you help me in this terrible extremity ?’ ‘ If Miss Manley has really been taken prisoner, and any one can help you, sir, Jack Fairfield will, said Rudge, heartily ; * why, he knows every step of the ground, and the queen of the tribe into the bargain.’ ‘Yes; and she shall answer to me for this outrage ! exclaimed Fairfield, with a clinched hand, as he remembered their late interview. ‘ This is the doing of that she-devil, Rudge, you may depend on it. We must rescue Miss Manley from her clutches,’ he continued, vehemently, •or die. Captain, get all your men together, and bring as much ammunition as you can carry, whilst Martin and I collect our little gang. We must hurry up or we may be too late.’ ‘Mr Fairfield, bow can I thank you sufficiently?’ cried the father, with tears standing in his eyes. ‘ Only rescue my poor girl from these devils and you shall have whatever you may ask from me. She has suffered more than enough since 1 parted her from you.’ ‘ You have given me fresh courage, Captain Manley, but we must stay for nothing now. Alice's safety depends on our dispatch.’

And in ten minutes from that time the plucky little band was ready to start. All told, they numbered but five-and-

twenty. Five and-twenty started to attempt to rescue a woman, while they stood every chance of being ovei whelmed and completely annihilated by as many hundreds. There were eight white men from the ‘Tredegar,’ and two from the station, with fifteen blacks all well armed with rifles, revolvers, and boarding pikes. But what a meagre army to lead into the field ! Four men were kept aboard the brig, with orders to haul into the stream and see that the sails were loosed and the cables ready tor slipping. And then the brave little band dashed fearlessly into the jnngle, on their road to the Valley of Death. All that night they pushed on through the thorny thickets which kept their hands scratched and bleeding ; through the dense undergrowth which brushed against their faces, making them smart with pain ; crossing fords

and deep rivulets, where sharp crags, hidden by the black waters, tore their flesh and left them struggling ankle deep in the stinking mud, till just before day break they halted to reconsider the plan of campaign. Fortunately outposts had been stationed in case of alarm, for before the fatigued men had had any rest the forward sentry reported that he could hear a confused noise, like the chatter of many voices, and could also make out the smoke of a fire not very distant from the spot on which they had baited for their consultation. To reconnoitre was their next movement, and they discovered that in the centre of a clearing, bounded by the river on one side and an almost impenetrable thicket of palms and yua trees on the other, were assembled some hundreds of natives, with Queen l T na seated in their midst. This was the court of the celebrated Valley of Death, the name alone of which was sufficient to strike terror into the hearts of those who heard it. At the feet of the queen, bound hand and foot with strong swathes

of grass, lay Alice Manley, more dead than alive, as she contemplated the dreadful fate before her. She could not understand their language, but she knew she was at the mercy of a horde of bloodthirsty savages, and she expected nothing less than a cruel death. Had she known the doom that had been pronounced upon her she would have swooned with fear. Queen Una’s commands were that the white woman was to be flayed alive, her eyes were to be gouged out, and (after other injuries, too horrible to describe, had been inflicted on her) she was to be roasted before a slow fire until she died. As Jack Fairfield saw Alice lying there, bound and helpless, in the hands of her enemy, be vowed to rescue her or to die by her side, and Captain Manley and Budge Martin had the greatest difficulty to restrain him from rushing headlong in the midst of savages, to be pierced by a hun-

dred spears and poisoned arrows. • My Alice !’ he exclaimed ; ‘ my darling unforgotten girl. Oh, Captain Manley, if you but knew—’ ‘ Hush, hush my boy, I do know. These two last days have opened my eyes to much that I never saw before. Your courage and intrepidity and faith—her silent, patient suffering. 1 never thought how great they both were. God forgive me for having kept you two asunder, lint now believe me, Fairfield, she is yours.’ • Mine in death,’ he muttered. ■ Don’t say that, Jack. It’s not like you to lose heart,’ cried Budge, cheerily. • Ah, Budge, you have never had such a stake at issue. But in life or in death she shall yet be mine—my peerless Alice. Come, boys I’ he continued, as he dashed his band across his eves, • to your places, and without a sound.* Hastily forming their plan of attack they resolved to win the game by stratagem. A few of their party were

to steal round under cover of the dense foliage to the further side of the enemy and tire a volley into their midst and then retreat, forming a semi-circle. The other half of the little band would then repeat the tactic, which would make the natives believe they were greater in number than they really were, and both sides, meeting in the centre opposite the river, were to make a determined stand against them, whilst Jack Fairfield, with two sturdy shell backs, was to attempt the rescue of Alice Mtnley. Without the least warn ing the first volley re echoed through the stillness of the learning air and titshed upon the startled assembly. Queen Una leaped to her feet and tried to gain the entrance of her leafy palace, but before she and hjr attendants had time to turn in another direction a second report thundered at their backs, leaving many of their number to bite the

dust. Amazed and startled by this unexpected onslaught the savages made for the centre of the brushwood, which was their only chance of beating a retreat, but they were met there by another shower of leaden bullets directed by experienced hands, and a cheer such as only Englishmen bent on victory can send forth from their lungs. Using their revolvers with the utmost advantage—thrusting the black rascals back with their boarding pikes and thrashing them down with the butt ends of their rilles—the attacking party completely routed their opponents (who were quite ignorant of their paltry number), and the savages lied into the jungle, leaving the trailers to gain a signal victory. Then it was thatJaek Fairfield, unable to retrain himself any longer, rushed forward and clasped Alice Manley in his arms. At the sight of her unforgotten lover the poor girl could bear up no longer, but closing her eyes fainted dead away upon his breast. It took but a few moments to release her from the cruel throngs that had cut

into her tender flesh, and then, raising her in his strong clasp, Fairfield hire her to a place of comparative safety. As her eyes opened to consciousness again, and she saw her father and Jack Fairfield gazing at her, and felt the warm pressure of her lover’s lips, she reddened like a rose in June. ‘Oh, Jack! is it possible, or am I dreaming? I heard that you were here, dear, but to see you and my father thus—' ‘lt is all right, my darling,' cried Jack. ‘Thank God that you are safe and that you are to be my wife.* ‘ Father !’ said Alice, wondenngly. *lt is true, my dear child. I know that you love him, and I promised hpn that if he saved your life that I would give you to him.’ ‘Oh, I am so happy,’ murmured Alice, as she closed her eyes again. But much as Jack would have liked to remain by her side, this was no time for sentiment, and so leaving her in the charge of one of the sailors, the rest of the party returned to the place of the attack. Honest Budge Martin, who had fought as pluckily as the rest, had been wounded by a spear, and had to be borne on the shoulders of four blacks, who proceeded to convey him, with the rest, in the direction of the station But Queen Una was not going to suffer such an easy conquest, and after the first rebuff, she mustered her warriors to be avenged. Bravely the little English gang retraced their steps, worn out as they were, and encumbered with a weak woman and a helpless man, yet every moment, drawing closer and closer, they could hear the beating of the tom toms and the savage yells of their pursuers. Queen Una had given her soldiers full license to murder and to loot, and they were determined to beat the English back into the town, to demolish the station and the shipping, and to put every creature they could capture to the torture. When at last, exhausted and worn ont, the Europeans reached the bungalow, the natives (headed by their war-like queen) were not four hundred yards behind them. To attempt to make a stand against such numbers was out of the question. It would have been simply to sacrifice their own lives and those dependent on them, so with the most marvellous alacrity they made for the boats and pushed off for the Tredegar.’ Jack Fairfield alone remained behind with two of his trustiest men. Then, at the very last moment, fighting their way hand to hand through a dozen or more bloodthirsty niggers, they jumped into the boat and rowed off, whilst arrows and spears fell thick around them. The warriors of Queen Una sent forth a wild shout of despair when they were convinced of the safety of their white opponents, which was almost immediately succeeded by a tremendous report and an unearthly yell, mingled with agonizing shrieks and groans, as their arms, legs and heads were scattered to the four winds of heaven. Jack Fairfield and his companions had remained behind to lay and ignite a small train of powder, and the magazine had blown up, destroying the coveted stores with itself, and completely devastating the station and all that belonged to it. The Queen of the Antes had been baulked of her revenge upon her lover, and that night she closed her eyes in death, as she had been struck by a stray bullet from the brig as she stood inciting her followers to fresh exertions. But when the first shock was over, and Rudge was pronounced to be out of danger, how happy they all were on board the ‘ Tredegar,’ as she plowed the waves on her way home to England. Captain Manley made no further objections to Jack Fairfield as a son-in-law, and he and Alice were in the seventh heaven of delight. They have been married for several years now, and settled in the old country, but Jack has not yet given over relating the story of his dangerous friendship with the swarthy Queen Una, and his adventures in the Valley of Death.