these impertinent strangers dead.
The witchdoctor himself glared at them with a look of savage hate. He had to look up to meet Hal’s eyes, for the boy was taller than he by a good twelve inches. But he had a knife, and Hal was unarmed. The witchdoctor screamed with fury and raised his knife. Hal seized his arm, gave it a sharp twist, and the knife fell to the ground.
‘I want to see your chief,’ Hal said.jay:
The wizard looked blank, understanding no English. Toto translated into Swahili. The witchdoctor replied angrily.
‘He says you can’t see the chief. The chief is very ill.’
Hal looked about. One hut was larger than the others. That would be the chief’s home. He pressed through the crowd and entered the open door of the hut. Toto was close behind him, and Roger with the leopard in his arms. The witchdoctor and the villagers followed, and the hut was suddenly full.
On a straw pallet lay the chief. He raised his hand in a weak gesture of greeting.
‘My friend,’ he said in English.
‘If we are friends,’ Hal replied, ‘why did you let them steal our leopard?’
It was his plan,’ the chief said, glancing at the witchdoctor, ‘not mine. I knew nothing of it until they brought the leopard to the village. It should not have been done. We remember that you killed the man-eater that was killing our children. We are grateful.’
‘It was a strange way to show gratitude,’ Hal said.
‘That is true,’ the headman admitted. ‘But my people are not so bad as you think. They wanted to save my life. That feeling was greater than their gratitude.’ ‘They were about to kill our pet.’ ‘I tried to stop them. But a chief’s word is not strong when he is near death. Then the witchdoctor takes the power. Perhaps I did not try hard enough to stop them.
After all, I wanted to live. Perhaps our witchdoctor is right. Perhaps eating the heart of an animal that grows strong will make me grow strong. You are a good man. You would not want me to die if I could be saved by the death of an animal.’
Hal smiled and pressed the chief’s hand.
‘Of course I don’t want you to die. But how can you believe this nonsense? How could a leopard’s heart help you? You are educated. You know the new things, you even speak English. And yet you give in to this foolish old superstition.’
The chief closed his eyes and said gently, ‘Not all the old things are wrong. Not all the new things are true. You also have superstitions.’
Hal felt like a small boy being gently reproved by his father.
‘Indeed we do have our superstitions,’ he said. ‘We have much to learn, and we can learn a great deal from the people of Africa. Still -1 might have something in this black box that would help you.’
‘What is that?’
‘A medicine kit. I’m no doctor - but we often have to doctor each other on these trips. You seem to have a fever. May I take your temperature?’
A slight nod was his only answer. But when he opened the kit and took out the thermometer, the witchdoctor began to jabber violently.
‘He says,’ Toto translated, ‘that he knows this thing. It is full of poison and will kill the chief.’
The headman spoke sharply to the witchdoctor, then took the thermometer and put it into his own mouth.
Hal took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from the headman’s face. He put his fingers on the sick man’s pulse, watching the second hand of his watch. When he removed the thermometer and looked at the reading, he said:
‘No wonder you feel uncomfortable with a temperature of 103 and a ninety pulse. How long has this been going on?’
‘Since midnight.’
‘And before that?’
‘Headache. Chills. Shivering. I thought I would shake apart. They told me the air was warm, but to me it was icy cold.’
‘And your appetite?’
The chief turned his head away with a disgusted expression on his face.
‘I cannot bear the thought of eating. That is what sickened me most - the idea of
The witchdoctor himself glared at them with a look of savage hate. He had to look up to meet Hal’s eyes, for the boy was taller than he by a good twelve inches. But he had a knife, and Hal was unarmed. The witchdoctor screamed with fury and raised his knife. Hal seized his arm, gave it a sharp twist, and the knife fell to the ground.
‘I want to see your chief,’ Hal said.jay:
The wizard looked blank, understanding no English. Toto translated into Swahili. The witchdoctor replied angrily.
‘He says you can’t see the chief. The chief is very ill.’
Hal looked about. One hut was larger than the others. That would be the chief’s home. He pressed through the crowd and entered the open door of the hut. Toto was close behind him, and Roger with the leopard in his arms. The witchdoctor and the villagers followed, and the hut was suddenly full.
On a straw pallet lay the chief. He raised his hand in a weak gesture of greeting.
‘My friend,’ he said in English.
‘If we are friends,’ Hal replied, ‘why did you let them steal our leopard?’
It was his plan,’ the chief said, glancing at the witchdoctor, ‘not mine. I knew nothing of it until they brought the leopard to the village. It should not have been done. We remember that you killed the man-eater that was killing our children. We are grateful.’
‘It was a strange way to show gratitude,’ Hal said.
‘That is true,’ the headman admitted. ‘But my people are not so bad as you think. They wanted to save my life. That feeling was greater than their gratitude.’ ‘They were about to kill our pet.’ ‘I tried to stop them. But a chief’s word is not strong when he is near death. Then the witchdoctor takes the power. Perhaps I did not try hard enough to stop them.
After all, I wanted to live. Perhaps our witchdoctor is right. Perhaps eating the heart of an animal that grows strong will make me grow strong. You are a good man. You would not want me to die if I could be saved by the death of an animal.’
Hal smiled and pressed the chief’s hand.
‘Of course I don’t want you to die. But how can you believe this nonsense? How could a leopard’s heart help you? You are educated. You know the new things, you even speak English. And yet you give in to this foolish old superstition.’
The chief closed his eyes and said gently, ‘Not all the old things are wrong. Not all the new things are true. You also have superstitions.’
Hal felt like a small boy being gently reproved by his father.
‘Indeed we do have our superstitions,’ he said. ‘We have much to learn, and we can learn a great deal from the people of Africa. Still -1 might have something in this black box that would help you.’
‘What is that?’
‘A medicine kit. I’m no doctor - but we often have to doctor each other on these trips. You seem to have a fever. May I take your temperature?’
A slight nod was his only answer. But when he opened the kit and took out the thermometer, the witchdoctor began to jabber violently.
‘He says,’ Toto translated, ‘that he knows this thing. It is full of poison and will kill the chief.’
The headman spoke sharply to the witchdoctor, then took the thermometer and put it into his own mouth.
Hal took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from the headman’s face. He put his fingers on the sick man’s pulse, watching the second hand of his watch. When he removed the thermometer and looked at the reading, he said:
‘No wonder you feel uncomfortable with a temperature of 103 and a ninety pulse. How long has this been going on?’
‘Since midnight.’
‘And before that?’
‘Headache. Chills. Shivering. I thought I would shake apart. They told me the air was warm, but to me it was icy cold.’
‘And your appetite?’
The chief turned his head away with a disgusted expression on his face.
‘I cannot bear the thought of eating. That is what sickened me most - the idea of
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