Chapter 26 Diarnot in distress

This "expedition team" composed of sailors trekked hard in the dense jungle, looking for Jenny Potter.The more they walked, the more they felt that the trip would be fruitless. But the sadness of the old man and the disappointed eyes of the young British boy could not make the kind-hearted D'Arnot decide to go back the same way. Maybe, he thought, he could find her body, or her remains.Because he was sure she had been eaten by some animal.Starting from the place where Esmeralda was found, he let the sailors line up and search forward like casting a net.They were sweating and panting, and they trudged slowly through the dense forest tangled with vines.It was only a few miles away by noon.They rested for a while, and after walking a short distance, a sailor found a clearly visible path.

This is a path trodden by elephants.Lieutenant D'Arnot discussed with Professor Porter and Clayton, and decided to search along this path. The trail winds its way northeast through the jungle. The "expedition team" can only advance in column all the way. Diano walked the lieutenant first, and walked quickly, because there were not many vines and foliage on this path.Behind him is Professor Porter.But because he couldn't keep up with the young lieutenant, the distance between the two was a hundred yards.Diannot was walking when suddenly six or seven black warriors blocked his way.

D'Arnot yelled and called the sailors.At this time, the black warriors had surrounded him.Before he could draw a gun, he was tied up and dragged into the jungle. His shout alarmed the soldiers behind him.Seven or eight sailors ran past Professor Porter and ran down the path to rescue their lieutenant. They did not know the reason for the lieutenant's yelling.D'Arnot had only time to warn them of the danger ahead.They had just rushed past the place where Diarnot was kidnapped, when a spear flew towards him and stabbed a sailor, and then, a burst of poisonous arrows shot like locusts.

The soldiers raised their guns and fired indiscriminately at the bushes from which the poisoned arrows had been shot. At this time, the follow-up troops also caught up, and everyone shot at the enemies hidden in the bushes.This was the gunshot heard by Tarzan and Jenny Potter. Lieutenant Carpenter was in the rear, and he ran to the scene of the accident.Having heard a detailed report of the enemy lying ahead, he ordered his soldiers to follow him and advance through the cobweb-like vegetation. In the blink of an eye, they started a hand-to-hand battle with more than fifty black warriors of Kimotoga.Dense poisonous arrows and bullets intertwined into a fire net.

A brutal hand-to-hand combat ensues in the jungle.The grotesque African broadsword clashed violently with the butt of the French rifle.In a short while the blacks scattered into the depths of the woods, leaving the French to count their losses. Four of the twenty sailors were killed, twelve were wounded, and Lieutenant D'Arnot was missing.It soon became dark, and they could not even find the elephant trail they had walked in the afternoon, which made their situation doubly worse. Now I can only camp on the spot and wait for dawn.Lieutenant Carpenter ordered a clearing to be cleared and a ring of bushes built around the bivouac as a barrier.

It took a long time to get this done.They lit a fire in the middle of the open space, and built a deer village by the light of the fire. After the "fortifications" to prevent the attacks of wild animals and savages were built, Lieutenant Carpenter posted sentries around the small campsite, and the rest of them, hungry and tired, fell asleep on the ground. The groans of the wounded were mixed with the howling of the beasts attracted by the voices of people and the fire, making it difficult to sleep.Although the sailors were so sleepy that they couldn't even lift their eyelids, they could only sleep a little.This sad, hungry company lay long through the night, praying, and looking forward to the day.

Those blacks who captured D'Arnot did not wait to take part in the battle that ensued.They dragged the prisoner a little while through the jungle, and then continued along the path, ignoring the bloody battle that was going on. They dragged D'Arnot in a hurry, getting farther and farther away from the people who were fighting, and the sound of gunshots and shouts became smaller and smaller.After walking for a while, Dianot suddenly felt his eyes light up and saw a large open space.Opposite the clearing was a fenced village of shacks with thatched roofs. It was dusk, but the sentry saw the three men at a glance, and recognized one of them as a prisoner before they reached the door.

There was cheering from the fence.A large crowd of women and children swarmed up to meet the three men. Thus, the French officer experienced the most terrible scene that human beings may see on earth-the "courteous treatment" received by white captives in the village of African natives. What escalates this diabolical cruelty and barbarism of the native population is the still crueler brutality inflicted upon them and their kin by the white officers of the cunning hypocrite, King Leopold II of Belgium.These beastly acts are still fresh in their memory, and they are even engraved in their hearts.It was because of the brutality of those whites that they fled the Congo.The tribe that once flourished for a while is left with poor old and weak soldiers.

①Leopold II (Leopold II 1835-1909): King of Belgium, reigned from 1865-1909. They fell on D'Arnot, pinched and bit, beat him with sticks and stones, and clawed at him.The clothes on his body were stripped off, and fists and sticks fell on his naked, trembling flesh mercilessly.D'Arnot said nothing, praying silently, only to die quickly. But the death he prayed for was long overdue.After a while, the warriors drove the women and children away from the captives.To make something more "spectacular" than this In such a scene, they let him survive first.After the first wave of hatred had receded, they shouted, insulted him as much as they wanted, and spat in his face.

After a while, they rushed to the middle of the village and tied Diarnot firmly to the thick pillar.From this pillar, no one has ever walked down alive. The women went home to fetch pots and water.Others start piles of fire.They intended to eat some of it and dry the rest for later enjoyment.Because it is estimated that when other warriors come back, they will bring back more prisoners. This human feast did not start right away because they were waiting for the warriors who were still fighting the whites in the jungle.It was not until very late, when people returned to the village, that the "dance of death" began around the doomed officer.

D'Arnot was in pain, exhausted, and in a semi-comatose state. He slowly picked up his heavy eyelids and looked at what seemed to be a hallucination caused by his own insanity, or it would end after a while A terrible nightmare. That ferocious face painted in all kinds of colors, that big mouth with thick lips, those yellow teeth that are bruised and pointed, those evil eyes that are twisted and twisted, the shiny naked body, the cruel spear... There was no doubt that he must be dreaming. The circle of savage, dancing, whirling warriors drew closer and closer to him.A spear stabbed him sharply in the arm.A sharp pain and warm blood trickling down his arm brought him back to the horrible reality.He knew he was in a desperate situation. One shot, another shot.He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said nothing. He was a soldier in France, and he wanted to tell these people how an officer and a civilized man should face death. Tarzan doesn't need anyone to explain, he understands what the gunshots in the distance mean.With Jenny Potter's affectionate kiss still hot on his lips, he flew with incredible agility, swinging branches through the dense forest, towards the village of Mubonga. He was not interested in that encounter.He knew that the battle would be over soon.He cannot help those who have been beaten to death; those who have fled do not need his help. What he worried about were those prisoners who were neither killed nor escaped. He knew that he would find them on the big pillar in the middle of Mubenga village. Taishan had seen Mumotoga's warriors returning from the north with captives many times. Then, watching the flickering flames, always around that terrible pillar, the same feast was spread. He knew, too, that they never took too long to strike up a feast. He reckoned that even if he arrived now, he might only be able to avenge the dead. He runs fast.As the night wore on, a beautiful tropical moon lit up the dizzying path through the undulating branches of the treetops. Presently he saw in the distance, to the right of the road he was taking, a bonfire flickering.Tarzan, ignorant of the fact that the sailors had landed, thought it must be the fire that Professor Porter and Clayton had lit before they were attacked by the blacks. Taishan believed deeply in his forest knowledge, so he did not deviate from his "established route".He was about half a mile away from the fire, speeding by.In fact, it was a bonfire the French had kindled in their bivouac. In just a few minutes, Taishan came to Mubenjia's village.Ah, it's not too late!Or is it too late?He couldn't tell for a while.Because the man tied to the pillar was motionless.The black warriors were prodding him with spears. Tarzan knew their habits.The fatal blow had not yet struck the victim.He could even say with absolute certainty how far their dance had progressed. After a while, Kimotoka's sharp blade will cut off one of the victim's ears. This will mark the end of the dance.Then, in the blink of an eye, there was only a pile of severed, writhing flesh and blood. Life is not completely gone, and death will be God's only grace. That post was forty feet from the nearest tree.Tarzan coiled his rope.Suddenly, above the devilish din of the dancing negroes, there was a terribly defiant roar of an ape. The dancing stopped abruptly, and the blacks stood there like stones. The noose whistled sharply over the negro's head, but the fire flickered and there was no sign of it. D'Arnot opened his eyes, and saw a big black man standing in front of him, as if suddenly slapped by an invisible giant palm, and fell to the ground on his back. While struggling, he screamed, rolled from side to side, and quickly disappeared under the dense shade of trees. The blacks all seemed to be possessed by demons, watching this scene that was so frightening. In the blink of an eye, the black man appeared under the tree again, then flew straight up into the air, and disappeared without a trace among the thick branches and leaves.The black people screamed desperately in fright, and ran frantically towards the gate of the village. Only Diarnot was left. He was a brave man, but when he heard the strange cry that sounded in the air just now, his hair stood on end in fright. When the desperately writhing black man rose into the air with a mysterious force and disappeared among the dense branches and leaves of the big tree, Diadot felt a chill rising from his spine to the top of his head, just like the god of death rising from the black Rise from the grave and touch his skin with cold wet, slippery fingers. D'Arnot looked at the big tree that had swallowed the black man, and heard the rustling sound among the branches and leaves. The branches swayed, as if a human body was falling from the tree. Then, with a splash, the Negro fell to the ground and lay there motionless. Then, a white guy jumped out of the tree. D'Arnot saw this young giant with well-proportioned limbs come out from the shade of the tree, and under the bright light of the fire, he walked towards him quickly. What will this mean?Who is he?No doubt he could bring only new torment and devastation. D'Arnot waited, his eyes fixed on the strange man who was walking towards him.And this person's frank and clear eyes did not dodge or hesitate under his gaze. D'Arnot calmed down a little, but still had no hope, although he felt intuitively that such a face would not conceal a cruel heart. Tarzan said nothing, and cut the Frenchman's rope.D'Arnot was covered in cuts and bruises, lost a lot of blood, and almost fell to the ground.Taishan quickly supported him. Dianot felt as if he had left the ground, had a feeling of flying, and then lost consciousness.