Chapter 12 Chapter 12 The Grave

The Balsac expedition left Kadu with six porters hired in the small village.Despite the recent spookiness of events, they happily move on.All were cheered up by the prospect of a noble, even heroic deed to be built.Thankfully, nothing is lost now.The six Europeans and Tongale were all on horseback, and Mary sat on the back of Tongale's mount, and they had weapons for self-defense and barters with the natives. There was nothing to stop their rapid progress, for even the slow-moving donkeys had been sold.In order to accelerate the speed of travel, it took a lot of money.A large shipment was left for the mayor of Kadu in return for his hospitality.

Except for Jeanna.Buxton left one tent outside, and did not take the rest.There are still 500 kilometers to go, and it will take about 15 to 20 days.At the beginning of this section of the journey, people were very happy. The energetic porters worked very hard and walked 140 kilometers in five days.At noon on February 28, we passed Shamapo. This is great!Floras said to his friend Samberling.Today is March 2nd. who knows!Says Samblin, we're not done yet! Hey!exclaimed Floras, it was all the same anyway.This time we have a tailwind!I'm sure we'll walk up to Cooper like an easy chair this time, with no more thrills.However, this is not pleasant for a journalist.Huh, our manager!He cut himself off abruptly, watching his horse howl, and the horse stumbled.

what happened?asked Balsac. My horse, Floras explained, had been stumbling this morning for some reason and needed to be checked. Before he finished speaking, the horse stopped suddenly and neighed.Floras had just sprung from the horse when the beast fell to the ground.After a while, I died. I should have walked on crutches, Amy Jay, a horseman turned walker.Floras said piteously that it was too early to say good things, and it hurt him, that's all. Dong Galle's horse was given over to a journalist.Jana.Buxton places Mary on his back.After a delay of two hours, they resumed their journey.

At night, they stopped and camped next to a small village along the road.There is a small hill where you can look around.Evidently, this convenience had already been taken advantage of by other travelers.Judging from the footprints, a large team once stopped here, and they also had horses.who is thisIs it black or white?Floras picked up a button from the ground and showed it to his companions.This is a sign of civilization, which blacks rarely have. The wormwood that has been trampled has straightened its waist.That is to say, that group of people stayed here at least twelve days ago.Since the expedition did not encounter them, it can be concluded that they were heading west.This means that it is impossible to meet them in the future.

Nothing special happened on March 3rd.But on the evening of the 4th, Balsac's mount also fell down, and Amijie.Floras's is exactly the same. After examining the dead horse, Dr. Shadolei whispered to Floras: Horses are poisoned. How can this be?The journalists cried out, who will poison our horses?Someone hired by Kadu?impossible!It will do them no good to make things difficult for us. I accuse no one, but I speak the truth and the symptoms are indisputable.My medical knowledge could never be so poor.Please tell this to your companions, except Miss Buxton, for the time being.I thought it would keep her from getting upset.

Of course, Floras agreed.But, doctor, can't you give another explanation for the incident?Did our horses eat poisonous weeds? Not only is it possible, the doctor said, but it's obvious.The question is: Was the feed accidentally adulterated with poisonous weeds?Or is someone making a conspiracy? It was then decided to keep the five remaining horses under stricter surveillance than ever before.At rest, in order that no one should approach these horses, one of the Europeans, or Tongale, always guarded them.Thanks to these precautionary measures, there was no accident for two consecutive days, and everyone was a little relieved.

On the evening of March 6, the expedition team approached a village called Yaho.No sooner had they approached the wall than the village erupted in furious roars, and even many muskets fired at them.If you don't count the deviant behavior of the natives of Gogono, this is the first time that the expedition team has received such treatment. Balsac decided to negotiate with the residents of the village.They hoisted a white flag on a twig, but this sign of peace was met with more miserable howls and a rain of bullets.The expedition team appointed Dong Galle and two porters as negotiators and shouted at them, but the villagers didn't listen to them at all, and only responded with stones and bullets. Obviously, they would never establish any relationship with outsiders. relation.

No matter what the reason for this behavior was, these explorers had no way of getting rations anyway, so they had to sleep outside the village for one night and continue their journey the next morning.At this time, there were only two days of rations, but fortunately, nothing particularly alarming happened. The expedition team had left Kadu for more than 300 kilometers, and the attitude of the natives in the village in front of them might be better than that of Huo. some? On March 7th a third horse fell, like the first two. We are so tightly guarded, who can secretly come and poison our horses?Floras asked the doctor.

Not quite sure, replied Dr. Sartore. I think the poison was given before we left Kadu, that night when our guards deserted.The fact that the horses fell one after the other can only show a difference in their constitution.Undoubtedly, it is also related to the difference in the amount of administration. Now we are three walkers, four riders, what fun!Amijay.Floras said. On the morning of March 8, everyone moved on with anxiety.Either way, the outlook is pretty bleak.The powerful adversaries the expedition wanted to get rid of would poison their horses before fleeing.This shows how deep the enemy's hatred for them is, and the reason for this hatred is unknown.On the other hand, the rations were only perfunctory for one day.If they did not come across a village before dark, they would starve.

Before walking for an hour, a group of mud houses appeared in the distance.The explorers slowed down a little bit, guessing what kind of treatment is waiting for them?There is a wide field in front of me, but I can't see what is in the distance.The village was deathly silent, and the fields were desolate and desolate.All they saw was a green meadow and some dark spots on the path. Balsac and his companions walked towards the village.Before walking a kilometer, I smelled a disgusting rancid smell.After walking a few more steps, I came to a black spot seen in the distance.They couldn't help taking a few steps back. It turned out that the black spot was a half-bent black body.They counted ten such bodies on the road to the village.

These people were killed by flower bullets.Dr. Shadorei to Floras. Blossom bullet again?exclaimed Floras. The scene in the village was even more bleak.There are many signs that this place was once a battlefield of brutal fighting.After the battle, the victors burned the village.Balsac and the others found many corpses in the surviving earthen houses. These unfortunate people had been dead for at least ten days.Doctor Sadore said. But who is the executioner of this massacre?exclaimed Samblin. Probably the same group of people whose footprints we found a few days ago!Floras said. Without a doubt, it must be them!Balsac said angrily. We owe it to them to be treated the way we were treated in Yaho not long ago!They wanted to rob Yaho, Floras added, but the village was walled and they couldn't get in, which is why the inhabitants of the village have been constantly on the alert ever since. logical.Doctors agree. But who were these executioners?Jana.Buxton asked, the appearance of these people is too much of a threat to us! Who these people are, I do not know, replied Floras, but I think there is nothing to be afraid of.They had been ten or twelve days ahead of us, and they were on horseback, so there was little chance of us catching them. At night, they slept in the wilderness, and they only had one meal in their ration. They divided the meal in half and saved half for tomorrow morning. On March 9th two villages were encountered.The first one cannot be approached because, like Yaho, the inside of the wall is heavily guarded; the second, although undefended, is empty: the house is burned and destroyed. It is absolutely certain that these people clearly intend to create no man's land in front of us.Balsac said thoughtfully. His discovery made sense.It appears that the men decided to starve the expedition members to death after other unsuccessful attempts to make them back down. Well, Floras said with feigned optimism, we'd come and fight them, and we'd have to get through this no-man's-land anyway.Now it was no more than a hundred and fifty kilometers from Kupo, and it would not take much effort anyway.We use hunting to solve the problem of eating, and we can also eat fried steak! Except for Poseidon who can't use weapons, the rest of the people did as Floras suggested.It is a pity that there is not much game in this area. In one day, only one bustard, two guinea hens and two sand chickens were caught, which could barely feed fourteen people. In the evening, Floras and Doctor Sartore discovered that another group of travelers had once camped in their camp.It seems that the time distance between that group of people and them has shortened, because it hasn't been long since the grass on the ground has been trampled on.While they were discussing this matter, Dong Galle came to call them.It turned out that two horses fell down at once, and first aid was useless. After struggling for a while, the two horses died. In the end, the remaining two horses did not live long. On March 10th, they all died. The porters hired from Kadu were frightened by the constant death, or because they were afraid of starvation?The hunting harvest on March 10 was pitifully small.In any case, they all escaped on the night of March 10th.On the morning of the 11th, only six Europeans, plus Tongale and Mary, stayed at their bivouac.There were no porters, no horses, and nothing to eat. Everyone lost confidence for a moment because of their own weakness and incompetence.Particularly troubled was Jeanne.Buxton.She blamed herself for leading her companions to this desolate place, blamed herself for the misfortune, and begged everyone to forgive. Floras felt compelled to wrestle with everyone's depressed state of mind. What are you talking about?He spoke harshly to Jeanne.cried Buckington.We haven't died yet.Although hunting has not yielded much these days, what does it matter?Tomorrow will definitely be better, what else is there to say? Let's not overlook one thing.Dr. Shadorei chimed in, leaving those six porters, six mouths to eat were missing! In this case, it is simply a wish for a good thing!Floras said conclusively. Thank you, Mr. Floras.Thank you, gentlemen!Jana.Buxton said excitedly, I will never forget your kindness! You're welcome!Floras interrupted her, breakfast had not yet been ordered.We'd better go hunting and eat him, and wait until after dinner for dessert. The escape of the porter made it impossible to take the luggage away.Had to throw away the last tent and all the goods left over from the transaction.From then on, Ranna.Buxton, too, had to sleep in the open air.They don't feel particularly sorry for losing these goods. What's the use of these things when the transaction cannot be carried out? The expedition continued on its journey despite the bleak prospects.On March 12, they passed a village that contained nothing but the dead bodies of Negroes.The doctor found that these poor people died within two days at most. Could it be that this group of executioners is not far ahead?Maybe you can meet them? Despite such an unsettling prospect, they still headed north.What else could they do? Turning back south, through the hostile or burned villages along the way, was certainly impossible.It was best at any cost to reach the banks of the Niger, where they could find support. It was a bleak sight for the exhausted explorers along the way.The walled villages were hostile and inaccessible; the rest were ruined.The reason why the explorers can still survive is due to the gift of fate and chance: sometimes digging a little yam or other edible roots from the desolate fields.Sometimes I shoot game with a gun, sometimes De.Sunberling caught a small fish.Fishing opportunities were least, however, rivers were seldom encountered on their journeys, and they were often tormented by thirst, for the wells along the way were almost invariably filled up.The savage enemy who opposed the expedition team with great precision did not spare them at all. Even so, they were not discouraged, and under the scorching sun, they dragged forward with difficulty.Fatigue and hunger were growing, and they had to slow down their progress, but they still marched tenaciously, one step at a time, to the north.Not afraid of fatigue, not afraid of hunger, not afraid of dry lips and tongue. The two Negroes accepted the test with astonishing tenacity.Accustomed to a life of hardship and hardship, they seemed to be able to bear the torments of their circumstances better than Europeans, and their loyalty was impressive. I'm not too hungry.Don Galle gave Mary what little edible he found. Mary accepted Don Galle's gift, but passed it on to Janna.Buxton, who in turn puts this in the common stock. It seems that Jana.Buxton had less stamina than others in enduring the trials of fate, but that was not what she grieved about.She never expects that there will be no difficulties in this long journey, but she is tenaciously advancing in the face of difficulties.Although she was thin and tired, her energy was strong, and her mind was always thinking of the predetermined goal.But the closer she got to her destination, a mood of melancholy and restlessness, against her will, grew more and more distinctly.What would Cooper's grave tell her?Will she go back empty-handed? Amijay.What Floras experienced was a different kind of uneasiness.Little thought of his companions on this point.This mood was born on March 12th.That day, they passed through a village that seemed to have been destroyed the day before.From this day on, he was sure that someone was watching them secretly.These gangsters were peeping in the bushes, and followed step by step the gradually weakening expedition team.As Floras always maintained a high level of vigilance, he found many evidences to confirm his doubts: during the day, he found traces of people camping not long ago, faintly heard gunshots, and the sound of horses galloping in the distance; at night, he found whispers, subtle The sound of footsteps, the shadow of a person who is not very clear in the dark.All this, he did not disclose to his companions, and he asked Dong Galle to keep silent, because he also noticed these phenomena, and they were satisfied with their high vigilance. Due to many difficulties, the expedition team could not reach the destination on schedule.It was not until March 23rd that they reached a place not far from Kupo.The exhausted travelers were still seven or eight kilometers away from Kupo.But according to Dong Galle, George.Buxton's grave is just two kilometers away. Floras then thought it necessary to inform his companions of his fears.So, he recounted his discoveries during the day and night, and expressed his conviction that it is impossible for the villain in the dark to be unaware of their every move. Listen to me, Floras added, and I can assure you: our enemies are the ones with whom we have had a lot of dealings.I'm absolutely sure that the group consisted of exactly twenty blacks and three whites.Moreover, one of them was exactly like our well-dressed friend, the so-called Lieutenant Lacourt. And maybe you're right, Floras.But that doesn't change our situation, admits Barsac. I disagree with that statement, Floras retorted.The reason why I haven't told you for so long is that I don't want to make you feel an extra psychological burden in vain.How can you say it doesn't matter?However, in any case, our purpose is about to be achieved.This time, to tell you the truth, I would like to deceive them once, so that these people do not understand our intentions. why is that?asked Balsac. I do not know either.Floras said.It occurred to me that it would be to the advantage of Miss Buxton that, until she had completed her inspection of her brother's grave, the object of her visit had better be kept secret. I agree with Floras.Jana.Buxton agreed, maybe these guys will attack us tomorrow morning, and we will be killed.Who knows?After walking so far and coming to this place, I am not reconciled if I do not achieve my goal.Mr. Floras is quite right in thinking: we must get rid of this gang of villains.But unfortunately, no way has been found so far. It couldn't be easier, Floras explained.I imagine their vigilance relaxed a bit when we stopped to camp.Our usual habits should reassure them that wherever they stop in the evening, they will find us there next morning.Regarding this point, I don't think they will doubt it.Therefore, while it is dark now, we should leave here one by one without making a sound.Walk in a certain direction and gather at a predetermined location.Although there is not a large number of troops following us, it would be a great disaster if we directly ran into the well-dressed so-called Lieutenant Lacourt. Opinion was adopted.They agreed to go in the same direction, and the destination was a forest one kilometer away.Tongale was the first to start, followed by Ranna.Buxton, and then Mary.The rest of the Europeans also moved one by one, Floras last. The transfer went smoothly.Two hours later, six Europeans and two Negroes joined at the edge of the woods.For better concealment, they walked through the woods. Another half hour of rapid march was carried out.At this time Dong Galle stopped suddenly, and according to him, he had come to the place where Captain Buxton's rebel forces had been wiped out.It was dark now, and he couldn't give Jeanna exactly.Buxton pointed out the specific location and had to wait for dawn.Everyone rested for a few hours, only Janna didn't close her eyes all night, what will be the future of the day? It was less than six o'clock, and everyone had already woken up.Dong Galle looked around, and everyone watched him excitedly. There!Dong Galle finally yelled, pointing to a solitary tree. After a few minutes, everyone was under the tree and was digging quickly at the designated spot in Tongale, although there was no sign of any grave there.The loess was sharply dug open by a knife, held up with hands, and a large pit was soon dug out. Notice!The news reporter suddenly exclaimed, this is the bone Excited Jana.Buxton nearly fell and the doctor held her up. They began to carefully clear the grave.A torso emerged, or to be precise, a skeleton that was still quite complete.Around the hands, there are several pieces of cloth embroidered with golden patterns, which are the marks of dignity.In the pile of bones, I found a leather bag, which was in tatters due to the years.Opening the purse, there was one thing in it: Jeanna gave it to her brother George.Buxton's letter. Two lines of hot tears welled up from the girl's eyes. Doctor, I beg you, she said in a trembling voice.Would you please examine my unfortunate brother's body? At your service, Miss Buxton, replied the doctor excitedly. He leaned over the grave and examined the remains of the deceased in detail using various forensic procedures.After the inspection, his facial expression became serious and he seemed very excited. I am Chadolet, Doctor of Medicine from the University of Paris.he declared solemnly.Everyone listened quietly.The following points can be proved: First, the George I have examined and identified by Miss Buxton as her brother.The skeleton of Buxton's body does not have any wounds caused by bullets; second, the original living person of this skeleton was killed by a knife; third, the fatal wound was stabbed from top to bottom with a dagger The one that went in, penetrated the left shoulder blade, and the point of the knife pierced the upper part of the heart; fourth, this is the murder weapon I got out of the stuck bone. Killed with a knife?Zhanna, who was very excited, said, breaking down in tears. Killed with a knife, I'm sure.Dr. Sadoley repeated. And from behind! from behind. That is to say, George is innocent!Jana.cried Buxton, breaking into tears. The question of your brother's guilt is beyond my knowledge, Miss Buxton.On this subject, said the doctor mildly, I have not the courage to pass judgment as I have confirmed my test results.But I think it is quite probable that your brother was not killed in battle as people have imagined so far, but was stabbed to death from the back of him, which is fully confirmed by the results of my examination.Moreover, the murderer is not a soldier of the regular army, because this dagger is not a military weapon. Thank you, doctor.Jana said.By this time she had calmed down a little.The preliminary results of my excursion have given me hope. One more request, will the doctor please write down the results of the tests?Did the other gentlemen ask you to be a witness? Everyone expressed their willingness to do for Jeanna.Miss Buxton at your service.Amijay.Floras wrote a record, signed by Dr. Sartore and all present.Then everyone handed the record sheet and the murder weapon dug from the grave to Jeanna.Buxton. Jeanne took the murder weapon and shuddered.The dagger was covered with a thick layer of rust.Most likely, there was blood.On the handle of the ivory dagger, some writing can be faintly seen. You see, gentlemen, said Jeanne, the murderer's name was once engraved on this ivory handle. Too bad it's so rusty!Floras sighed, no, wait a minute, there is a letter i here, it seems to be the letter I here. That doesn't solve the problem, Balsac said. Or maybe that was enough to find the murderer.Jana.said Buxton gravely. Tongale took George.Buxton's bones were reburied in the loess, and they all left the lonely and desolate grave for Cooper.But I couldn't walk three or four kilometers, so I had to stop.Because Zhanna's legs were weak and she had no strength, she had to rest for a while. too excited.the doctor explained. Also from being hungry, Floras added.Well, brother Sunberling, we mustn't starve your niece to death.Even if you say she is your aunt, I don't believe it anyway.Let's go hunting! Unfortunately, there is very little game in this area.I had a little luck in the evening and caught two bustards and a sandgrouse.It's been a good meal for explorers for a long time.Thus, the plan to reach Cooper that night had to be abandoned, and they decided to spend the last night in the open air. Exhausted, and convinced that they had left the enemy behind, they lowered their guard that night.In this way, none of them noticed the strange phenomenon that happened at night.A few faint fires flickered in the east, and immediately a bright fireball appeared in the west.Although there were no mountains in the wilderness, those fireballs were bright on high places, and slowly the faint fire in the east and the bright fireball in the west came together and merged in the place where the explorers slept. Suddenly, the explorers were awakened by the same roar heard near Kangkang.But the roar was closer and more deafening than anything ever heard.Just as they opened their eyes, the will-o'-the-wisps like searchlights rushed towards them from all directions, less than a hundred meters away from them.They were trying to figure out what was going on when suddenly a group of people appeared from the darkness and knocked them down in an instant. In the darkness, a man asked roughly in French: Are you all ready, brethren? After a moment of silence, he called out again: If anyone dares to move, I will make his head explode.OK, let's go!