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 Guide to UNIX Using Linux Fourth Edition
Chapter 6 Solutions

Answers to the Chapter 6 Review Questions

1. Your organization routinely uses scripts, but as some employees have left, there are scripts that
contain only command lines and no one is certain of their purpose. What steps can be taken to
ensure a way for others to know the purpose of a script?
Answer: c. Require that script writers place comment lines inside the scripts using the #
symbol to begin each comment line.

2. Which of the following shells enables the use of scripts? (Choose all that apply.)
Answer: a. Bash, b. csh, and d. zsh

3. You frequently use the command ls -a and want to save time by just entering l to do the same
thing. Which of the following commands enables you to set your system to view hidden files by
only entering l?
Answer: d. alias l=”ls -a”

4. You have written a script, but when you run it there is an error. Which of the following commands
can you use to debug your script? (Choose all that apply.)
Answer: b. sh -v and d. sh -x

5. You have written a shell program that creates four temporary files. Which of the following
commands can you use to remove these files when the script has completed its work?
Answer: a. trap

6. Which of the following commands works well for menus used in a script? (Choose all that apply.)
Answer: b. case

7. You are currently in the source directory, which is the new directory you have just created for
storing and running your scripts. You want to make certain that the source directory is in your
default path. Which of the following commands enables you to view the current default path
settings?
Answer: d. echo $PATH

8. You have created a script for use by your entire department in a commonly accessed directory.
Only you are able to run the script, which works perfectly. Which of the following is likely to be
the problem?
Answer: b. You did not give all users in your department execute permission for that
script.

9. Your current working directory contains a series of files that start with the word “account”
combined with a, b, c, d, and e, such as accounta, accountb, and so on. Which of the following
commands enables you to view the contents of all of these files? (Choose all that apply.)
Answer: c. more account[a,b,c,d,e]

10. For which of the following logic structures used within a script is fi the final line for that logic
structure? (Choose all that apply.)
Answer: d. if

11. Which of the following are examples of arithmetic or relational operators? (Choose all that apply.)
Answer: a. !, b. <, c. %, and d. *

1
12. You have created a series of scripts that use the same environment variables. However, when you
run these scripts, some of them do not seem to recognize the environment variables you have set.
What is the problem?
Answer: a. You need to use the export command so these variables have global use.

13. You have spent the last two hours creating a report in a file and afterwards you use cat to create a
new file. Unfortunately the new file name you used was the same as the name you used for the
report, and now your report is gone. What should you do next time to prevent this from
happening?
Answer: b. Enter the command, set -o noclobber before you start.

14. You have remotely logged into a computer running UNIX or Linux, but you are not certain about
which operating system you are using. However, when you display the contents of the
______________ variable it shows which operating system you are using.
Answer: d. OSTYPE

15. What command can you use to view the environment and configuration variables already
configured on your system?
Answer: c. printenv

16. Which of the following are valid expressions? (Choose all that apply.)
Answer: a. let x=5*9, b. let x=y+10, c. let m=12/4, and d. let r=128-80

17. When you type for wood maple spruce oak pine at the command line and then press Enter, what
should you type next at the > prompt?
Answer: a. do

18. You want to store a long listing of your files in a variable called myfiles. Which of the following
commands enables you to do this?
Answer: c. myfiles=`ls –l`

19. What error is in the following script code?

case “selection” in
“i.”) ./listscript ;;
“ii”) ./numberscript ;;
“iii”) ./findscript ;;
esac

Answer: b. There should be a dollar sign in front of selection, as in “$selection”

20. You are working with a colleague on a script called value that updates several files. You want to
test the script, but not update the files. Which of the following commands can you use?
Answer: d. sh -n value

21. You only have to enter the name of a script to have it run, such as entering myscript. What setting
enables you to do this?
Answer: d. You have placed the directory from which you run the scripts in your PATH
variable.

22. What would you expect to find in the HOME environment variable?
Answer: The HOME environment variable identifies the path name for the user’s home
directory.

23. What is the difference between a compiler and an interpreter?

2
 Answer: A compiler takes code from a program language, such as C or C++ and converts
the code into machine language instructions in a separate file to be executed later. An
interpreter takes commands or code, such as from a script and translates them into
executable instructions that run on the spot.

24. What command would you use to place the cursor in row 10 and column 15 on the screen or in a
terminal window?
Answer: Use the command tput cup 10 15.

25. What is the purpose of a login script?

Answer: The login script runs each time you log into your account and can include
commands, such as aliases and the set -o noclobber command, that take effect as soon as
the script runs and that last for the duration of the login session. (unless they are manually
changed by the user later during the login session).

Hands-On Projects Tips and Solutions for Chapter 6

Project 6-1
In this project, students view a listing of their environment variables.

In Step 2, a sampling of variables that students might record are:

▪ HOSTNAME
▪ SHELL
▪ TERM
▪ HISTSIZE
▪ USER
▪ SESSION_MANAGER
▪ MAIL
▪ PATH
▪ INPUTRC
▪ PWD
▪ LANG
▪ HOME
▪ LOGNAME.

Project 6-2
This project enables students to learn how to assign a shell variable, how to view the contents of a
variable, how to use double quotes and single quotes when manipulating shell variables, and how to
use backquotes to execute a command and store the result in a shell variable.

Project 6-3
In this project, students practice using the let command with constants and with a shell script variable
so they become familiar with this capability before they build more advanced scripts in later projects in
this chapter.

At this point, if you have students who are out of practice using basic mathematical and algebraic
concepts, you might spend a classroom session reviewing variables, expressions, and so on.

3
Project 6-4
In this project, students learn to export a shell variable to make it universally accessible as an
environment variable.

Project 6-5
For this project, students learn how to determine the contents of the PATH environment variable and
then how to add the current working directory to the PATH variable so they can execute scripts
without using the ./ characters.

Project 6-6
In this project, students create a short script to demonstrate sequential logic and to get additional
practice in using the let command as well as building expressions using constants, variables, and
arithmetic operators.

Project 6-7
Students use if statement decision logic in this project. In the first set of steps they create a script using
a basic if statement and in the second set of steps they modify their script to include an if statement
nested within an if statement.

Project 6-8
In this project, students first create a shell script containing a for loop that prints the names of six users
on individual lines. Next, students learn how to execute the same for loop logic directly from the
command line.

In Step 4 of the second set of steps, students should see the following list displayed to the screen:
▪ john
▪ ellen
▪ tom
▪ becky
▪ eli
▪ jill

Project 6-9
For this project, students practice using the brackets wildcard format to run a for loop.

Project 6-10
For this project, students create two scripts to practice using the while statement. The first script uses a
simple while statement to guess the favorite color and the second script is a more complex data input
form.

Project 6-11
This project enables students to practice using case logic in a simple script. They will learn much more
about using case logic in upcoming projects.

4
Project 6-12
In this project, students first practice the tput command from the command line to get an instant idea of
how the command works. In the second set of steps, students create a simple menu that runs via a shell
script.

Project 6-13
For this project, students use the sh -u and sh -v commands to learn about debugging. By now, students
will have likely made some mistakes in creating scripts and will understand the importance of these
commands. Because shell scripts are now getting more complex, it is important for students to have
this tool available from this point on.

Project 6-14
In this project, students learn how to create an alias. Consider using this project as an opportunity to
discuss aliases that you like to use in your work or that you have incorporated into a login script.

Project 6-15
This project is the first in a series of projects in which students create a telephone list application that
simulates one that might be used in an organization. In the first set of steps, students make sure they
have a source subdirectory in which to store their application files. Next, they create a beginning menu
application.

Project 6-16
Students will need a data file with some practice data already in it for testing their application as they
go along. In this project, they delete the former versions of the corp_phones files created for practice in
Chapter 4 to make sure that they are starting with known data. Then they create a new corp_phones file
in their source directory. This project also helps ensure that students begin with some familiarity of the
data. Note that to ensure they start fresh, there are some differences between the contents of this file
and the files they created in Chapter 4.

It is common for application developers to use practice data files with a few known data entries when
they develop an application. Consider holding a discussion about why these files are important and
discuss practice data files you may have used when you have developed applications for an
organization.

Project 6-17
In this project, students edit the phmenu script so that it can call applications..

Project 6-18
For this project, students again edit the phmenu script to be able to print raw data to view for
verification of the data.

Project 6-19
For this project, students create and test the phlist1 script to display a listing of telephone number
information. This script can be run from the phmenu script as well.

5
 Project 6-20
In this project, students create the phoneadd script from which to add new records to the corp_phones
file.

Discovery Exercises
1. Use two different commands to display the contents of the HOME variable

Answer: Type printenv HOME and press Enter. Also, type echo $HOME and press Enter.

2. Assign the variable t the value of 20. Next, assign the variable s the value of t+30. Finally, display
the contents of t and s to verify you have correctly defined these variables.
Answer: Type t=20 and press Enter. Next, type let s=t+30 and press Enter. To verify the
contents of t type echo $t and press Enter. Next to verify the contents of s type echo $s
and press Enter.

3. Make the s variable you assigned in Exercise 2 an environment variable and use the command to
verify it is recognized as an environment variable.

Answer: Type export s and press Enter. Next, type printenv or printenv s and press Enter
to verify that s is now recognized as an environment variable.

4. Switch to your source directory. Display the contents of the PATH variable. Next, use the
command to add your current working directory to the PATH variable.

Answer: Type cd source and press Enter. Next, type echo $PATH or printenv PATH and
press Enter. Finally, type PATH=$PATH:. and press Enter.

5. After completing Exercise 4, run the phmenu program in the easiest way.

Answer: Because the source directory is now in the path, you simply type phmenu and
press Enter.

6. Create a variable called iam and assign the results of the whoami command to it. Display the
contents of the variable to verify your results.

Answer: Type iam=`whoami` and press Enter. Next, type echo $iam and press Enter.

7. Change back to your home directory, if you are not in it. Use the set command to set up your
working environment to prevent you from overwriting a file.

Answer: Type set -o noclobber and press Enter.

8. Create an alias called var that displays your environment variables.

Answer: Type alias var=” printenv” and press Enter.

9. At the command line use a for loop that uses the variable sandwiches and then displays a line at a
time the following sandwiches: chicken, ham, hummus, tomato.

Answer: Type the following at the command line:

for sandwiches in chicken ham hummus tomato <Enter>

6
 >do <Enter>
>echo $sandwiches <Enter>
>done <Enter>

10. Create a script that uses case logic to have someone guess your favorite sandwich, such as tuna.

Answer: The lines of code in the script should be, for example:
echo -n "Guess my favorite sandwich: "
read guess
case “$guess” in
“tuna”) echo “Tuna is my favorite sandwich” ;;
* ) echo “Nope, actually I like tuna” ;;
esac

11. Display the contents of .bashrc file. Next, use the vi editor to edit that file and put in an alias so
that every time you type list you see a long file listing of a directory.

Answer: Make sure you are in your home directory (enter pwd and then enter cd if you
are not in your home directory). Type less .bashrc and press Enter (or students can use
more or cat) to see the contents of the .bashrc file. Next, use vi or Emacs to place the line
alias list=”ls –l” under the # User specific aliases and functions section in the file.

12. Use a command to simulate how you would troubleshoot a problem with the sandwich script you
created in Exercise 10.

Answer: Type sh -x sandwich or sh -v sandwich and press Enter.

13. What is wrong with the following lines of code?

While [ “$value” = “100” ; do
Echo “That’s a large number.” read value
fi

Answer: 1) there should be a closing bracket after “100”, 2) Echo should not have an
initial capital letter, 3) there should be a semicolon on the second line to separate
number.” and read value, and the third line should have done instead of fi.

14. Use the let command to store the value 1024 in the variable ram. Display the contents of ram.

Answer: Type let ram=1024 and press Enter. Next, type echo $ram and press Enter.

15. Temporarily change your home directory environment variable to /home and then use one
command to go to your home directory. Change the home directory environment variable back to
your regular home directory and switch to it.

Answer: Type HOME=”/home” and press Enter. Next, type cd and press Enter. To go
back to the default, type HOME=”/home/username” and press Enter. Next, type cd and
press Enter

16. Use the tput command to clear the screen and then to place the cursor in row 7, column 22:

Answer: Type tput clear and press Enter. Next type tput cup 7 22 and press Enter.

17. Write a script that creates the following menu:

Soup Menu
==========

7
 (t)omato
(b)ean
(s)quash
Select a soup … (q) to quit

Answer: Here is some example code:

loop=y
while [ "$loop" = y ]
do
clear
tput cup 3 12; echo "Soup Menu"
tput cup 4 12; echo "========="
tput cup 6 9; echo "(t)omato"
tput cup 7 9; echo "(b)bean”"
tput cup 8 9; echo "(s)squash"
tput cup 10 9; echo "Select a soup … (q) to quit”
tput cup 11 9
read choice || continue
done

18. List all of the signal numbers and designations for the trap command. What is the designation for
signal 31?

Answer: Type trap -l and press Enter. The designation for signal 31 is SIGSYS.

19. Modify your script from Exercise 17 so that there is a beep when the menu is ready to take the
user’s input.

Answer: Use the line near the end as follows:

tput cup 10 9; echo -e "Select a soup … (q) to quit \a”

20. Is there a command that you can use to prevent shell variables from being assigned new values? If
so, what is it?

Answer: Yes. Use the readonly command in the Bash shell.

8
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should wait until it is over. If we have to wait we had better wait
here in this giant tree than under a tent or anywhere else.”
As Nell always acquiesced in Stasch’s plans, she assented now,
especially as she was delighted with the plan of remaining near the
elephant and living in the tree. She began at once to think how she
could arrange the rooms, how furnish them, and how they would
then invite each other to “five o’clocks” and dinners. Finally they
both became merry, and Nell immediately wanted to take a look at
the new house, but Stasch, who had learned day by day from
experience to be cautious, prevented her from proceeding in too
great haste.
“Before we take possession of the house,” said he, “we must beg the
present inhabitants, if there are any there, kindly to depart.”
After this he ordered Mea to throw several lighted branches, which
being green smoked profusely, into the interior of the tree. It was
well he did so, for the giant tree was indeed inhabited, and by
tenants whose hospitality could not be depended upon.
 CHAPTER VI
The tree had two openings, a large one half a yard from the ground,
and a smaller one, somewhere about the height of the first story of
a town house. Hardly had Mea thrown the burning branches into the
lower one than large bats began to fly out of the top one, and,
blinded by the sun, they circled around the tree, screaming as loud
as they could. But the real master of the house soon wriggled out of
the lower opening, and it proved to be an enormous boa-constrictor,
which, though apparently still half asleep, had devoured the
remnants of its last feast, and not until the smoke reached its
nostrils had it awakened and sought safety. At the sight of this iron-
colored body squirming out of the smoking tree-hollow, uncoiling
itself like an enormous spring, Stasch picked Nell up in his arms and
started to run away with her in the direction of the open wilderness.
The reptile, itself frightened by the smoke and fire, did not follow
them, but wended its way through the grass and the piles of
baggage and disappeared very swiftly in the direction of the gorge,
to hide itself in the crevices of the rocks. The children regained their
courage. Stasch set Nell on the ground, hurried to fetch his rifle, and
then ran in the direction of the gorge after the snake. Nell followed
close behind. After going a short distance they beheld such an
extraordinary sight that they both stood rooted to the ground. High
above the gorge the body of the snake appeared for an instant,
wriggled in the air, then fell to the ground. After a while it appeared
a second time, then fell down again. When the children reached the
edge of the ravine they saw to their surprise that their new friend,
the elephant, was playing with the snake, and after having thrown it
in the air twice, he was now stamping on its head with his feet,
which resembled blocks of wood. Having finished this performance,
he lifted the still squirming body with his trunk; this time he did not
throw it into the air, but right into the waterfall. Then he swayed
from side to side, fanned himself with his ears, and began to fix his
eyes on Nell, and at last put out his trunk toward her, as if
demanding a reward for his heroic and sensible deed.

“At the sight of the boa-constrictor squirming out of the smoking

tree-hollow, uncoiling itself like an enormous spring, Stasch picked
up Nell in his arms and started to run away.”

Nell immediately ran toward the tent and returned with a quantity of
wild figs, a few of which she threw to him. He picked them up
carefully and swallowed one after another. Those that fell into deep
crevices he picked up by blowing into the cracks with such force that
stones the size of one’s fist flew into the air along with the figs. The
children showed their appreciation of these tricks by laughing and
clapping their hands. Nell repeatedly brought more food, and every
time she threw a fig down she maintained that he was quite tame
now, and that it would be safe for her to go down to him.
“Do you see, Stasch, now we shall have a protector—for he is afraid
of nothing in the wilderness, not even of a lion or a snake, or a
crocodile. Besides, he is very good—and surely he ought to be fond
of us.”
“If he should become tame,” said Stasch, “so that I might leave you
in his care, I would not be afraid to go off hunting, for I could not
find a better protector for you in the whole of Africa.”
After a while he continued:
“It is a fact that the elephants of Africa are wilder, but I have read
that the Asiatic ones, for instance, have a peculiar weakness for
children. In India there has never been a case of an elephant hurting
a child, and when one of these animals becomes enraged, as
sometimes happens, children are sent to appease it.”
“So you see, you see!”
“At any rate, you were right in preventing me from killing him.”
Thereupon Nell’s eyes shone with joy. Standing on tip-toe, she laid
both hands on Stasch’s shoulders, and leaning her head back and
looking into his eyes, she asked:
“I behaved as if I were—how old? Tell me! As if I were—how old?”
And he answered:
“At least seventy.”
“You do nothing but joke.”
“Well, be angry! be angry! But who will release the elephant?”
On hearing this Nell clung to him like a young kitten.
“You!—and I shall love you very much for it, and so will he.”
“I have already thought about it,” said Stasch; “but it will be a very
troublesome thing to do. I shall not do it now, but only when we are
ready to continue our journey.”
“Why?”
“For this reason: because if I should release him before he is quite
tame and before he has got used to us, he would immediately run
away.”
“Oh! he will not leave me.”
“Do you think he is as fond of you as I am?” replied Stasch
somewhat impatiently.
All further conversation was interrupted by the approach of Kali, who
brought the slain zebra with its young one, which had been bitten to
death by Saba. It was a lucky thing for the bulldog that he had
followed Kali, and had therefore not been present at the routing out
of the snake, for the dog would have followed it, and had he come
within its reach would have been squeezed to death in its coils long
before Stasch could have come to the rescue. He received a box on
the ears from Stasch for having torn to pieces the young zebra, but
he did not seem to take this very much to heart, for he did not even
put in his tongue, which had been hanging out ever since he came
from the chase.
Meanwhile Stasch gave Kali to understand that he intended to
arrange a dwelling-place in the tree, and told him what had
happened when smoking out the tree-trunk, and what the elephant
had done to the snake. The thought of living in the giant tree, which
not only served as a protection against the rain, but also against wild
animals, pleased the negro very much, but, on the other hand, the
elephant’s behavior did not at all meet with his approval.
“The elephant is stupid,” said he, “and therefore he threw the ‘nioka’
(snake) into the rushing waters, but Kali knows that ‘nioka’ is very
good to eat, and so he will fish it out of the water and roast it, for
Kali is clever—and a donkey.”
“Yes, you are a donkey, all right,” answered Stasch. “You surely do
not want to eat a snake.”
“Nioka is good,” said Kali.
And pointing to the dead zebra, he added:
“Better than this nyama.”
Then they both walked toward the baobab-tree and began to
arrange the house. Kali took a flat stone, the shape of a large sieve,
from the bank of the river, laid it down inside the tree-trunk, and put
more and more burning wood on it, taking care that the rotten wood
in the inside of the tree did not catch fire, which would have set the
entire tree ablaze. He said that he did this so that nothing could bite
the “Great Man” and the little “Bibi.” It was soon apparent that this
was no unnecessary precaution, for no sooner had the wreaths of
smoke filled the interior of the tree and rushed out than all kinds of
vermin began to creep out of the broken bark—black and cherry-
colored beetles, plum-sized hairy spiders, caterpillars covered with
finger-long prickly hairs, and all sorts of horrible poisonous vermin,
whose bite might even cause death. From what was taking place on
the exterior of the trunk, it could readily be imagined that many
similar insects were meeting their fate in the clouds of smoke within,
and the insects which fell to the grass from the bark and the lower
branches were unmercifully killed with stones by Kali, who all the
time stared fixedly at the two openings in the hollow trunk as if
afraid that some strange creature would appear at any minute.
“Why do you look like that?” asked Stasch; “do you believe that
there is another snake hidden in the tree?”
“No; Kali is afraid of ‘Msimu.’ ”
“What’s that, ‘Msimu’?”
“Evil spirit.”
“Have you ever seen a Msimu?”
“No, but Kali has heard the dreadful noise made by Msimu in the
sorcerers’ huts.”
“So your sorcerers are not afraid of him?”
“The sorcerers fully believe in him; they enter our huts and tell us
that Msimu is angry, and the negroes bring them bananas, honey,
pombe (a beer made from a certain plant), eggs and meat, with
which to propitiate Msimu.”
Stasch raised his eyebrows.
“I should think it would be delightful to be one of your sorcerers. But
could this snake have been Msimu?”
Kali shook his head.
“If this had been so the elephant would not have killed Msimu, but
Msimu would have killed the elephant. Msimu is dead.”
A weird crackling sound suddenly interrupted him. From the lower
cavity in the tree came a strange-looking cloud of red dust; after
which the crackling became louder.
Kali at once prostrated himself on his face and began to scream in
terror:
“Aka! Msimu! Aka! Aka! Aka!”
At first Stasch drew back, too, but he soon regained his composure,
and when Nell and Mea came running up he explained the probable
cause to them.
“It is most likely,” he said, “that layers of mold, loosened by the
heat, have fallen down and smothered the fire. But Kali believes it
was Msimu. Mea shall pour water into the cavity, for if the fire is not
smothered and the mold should ignite, it might burst out and the
whole tree be consumed.”
Stasch saw that Kali still lay prostrate in terror, repeating “Aka! Aka!”
so he picked up his rifle, shot into the cavity, then touched the boy
with the butt of the gun and said:
“Your Msimu is shot. Don’t be frightened.”
Kali raised himself a little, but remained on his knees.
“O great, great sir! Is the master not even afraid of Msimu?”
Stasch’s reply was a laugh.
After a while the negro became calm, and sat down to the meal
prepared by Mea. It was very evident that his momentary fright had
not affected his appetite, for in addition to a substantial helping of
smoked meat he ate the raw liver of the young zebra, not to
mention the wild figs, quantities of which grew on a neighboring
sycamore. Then he and Stasch returned to the tree, where there
was still plenty of work to be done, for it took more than two hours
to take out the mold and ashes, the burned bats, the piles of roasted
beetles, and other large insects.
Stasch wondered how the bats could have lived in such close
proximity to the snake, but he concluded that the monster either
disdained such small prey or could not reach it, being unable to
uncoil itself inside the tree. The heat had caused the layers of mold
to break off, and thus cleaned out the interior very thoroughly.
Stasch was delighted to see this, for the cavity was as spacious as a
large room, and would be big enough not only to shelter four
persons, but ten. The lower opening formed a door; the upper, a
window; and consequently it was neither dark nor stuffy in the giant
tree. Stasch decided to divide the interior into two rooms by means
of the tent canvas; one of these he intended for Nell and Mea and
the other for himself, Kali, and Saba. The tree was not decayed at
the top, therefore no rain could penetrate it, and in order to make it
completely waterproof it was only necessary to raise and prop the
bark slightly over both openings, so as to form two gutters. They
decided to strew the floor inside with sun-dried sand from the bank
of the stream, and to cover this with a padding of dry moss.
This was very hard work, especially for Kali, for he had also to
smoke the meat, water the horses, and supply food for them all, as
well as for the elephant, who continually reminded them of it by
trumpeting. But the young negro set to work with great zest and
industry arranging their new abode. The reason for his industry was
discovered by Stasch that very day.
“If the Great Man and Bibi,” said he, with his hands on his hips, “are
to live in the tree, Kali will not have to build a large hedge for the
night, and so he will have nothing to do in the evening.”
“So you like being idle, eh?” said Stasch.
“Kali is a man, and so he likes to be idle, for only women should
work.”
“And yet you see that I work for Bibi.”
“But, on the other hand, Bibi will have to work for the Great Man
when she grows up—and should she refuse, the Great Man will
surely beat her.”
At the very thought of this Stasch sprang up and cried angrily:
“You fool, do you know what ‘Bibi’ is?”
“I don’t know,” answered the frightened boy.
“Bibi is—is—a good Msimu.”
At this Kali fairly staggered.
On finishing his work he walked shyly up to Nell, prostrated himself
on his face before her, and began in a beseeching, if not a
frightened voice, to repeat:
“Aka! Aka! Aka!”
And the “good Msimu” looked at him wonderingly with her lovely
sea-green eyes, for she could not understand what had happened,
and what was the matter with Kali.
 CHAPTER VII
The new dwelling-place, which Stasch had named “Cracow,” was all
ready for them in three days. Most of the baggage had been placed
in “the men’s room,” and even before the house was ready the four
youngsters were well sheltered there during a severe storm. The
rainy season had now set in in earnest. This rain is not like our long
autumnal storms, when the sky is covered over with lowering clouds
and the monotonous, dreary weather lasts for weeks. Here the
dense clouds which water the earth so plentifully are dissipated by
the wind several times a day. Then the sun shines again as though
just emerging from a bath and floods the cliffs, the stream, the
trees, and the entire jungle with its golden light. One can almost see
the grass grow. The foliage on the trees is luxuriant, and before one
fruit drops off another is forming. The excessive moisture in the air
makes it so transparent that even far-off objects stand out distinctly
and one can see to a great distance. On the horizon there are
beautiful rainbows, the colors of which are always reflected in the
waterfall.
During the short dawn and the twilight the sky shone and reflected a
thousand bright colors more wonderful than the children had ever
seen even in the Libyan desert. The clouds hanging down nearest
the water were cherry-colored, and the higher regions, better
lighted, looked like seas of purple and gold, and the small, puffy
clouds shone alternately like rubies, amethysts, and opals. At night,
in the intervals between showers, the moon converted the dewdrops
hanging on the leaves of the acacias and mimosas into diamonds,
and the tropical light shone much more brilliantly through the fresh,
transparent air than at other seasons of the year.
Under the waterfall, in the swamps formed by the stream, the
croaking of frogs and the melancholy concert of toads rang out, and
the fireflies, like shooting stars, flitted through the bamboo bushes
from one bank to the other.
When the clouds again hid the starry sky and it began to rain, the
night became pitch dark, and inside the tree it was as dark as a
cellar. To remedy this Stasch got Mea to melt some fat taken from
the slain animals, and out of a tin can be made a lamp, which he
hung under the upper opening that the children called a window.
The light from this window could be seen afar off through the
darkness, and while it frightened away the wild animals, it attracted
bats and night birds, so that finally Kali had to put up a kind of a
curtain of thorns, like the one with which he closed the lower
opening for the night. In the daytime, between showers, if the
weather were fine, the children would leave “Cracow” and wander
over the entire strip of land. Stasch would hunt gazels, antelopes,
and ostriches, herds of which often appeared on the banks of the
lower stream, and Nell would visit her elephant, which at first only
trumpeted when he wanted some food, but later began trumpeting
when he felt lonesome for his little friend. He always greeted her
with signs of joy, and at once began to prick up his large ears
whenever he heard her voice or step even far away.
One day when Stasch was out hunting and Kali was fishing above
the waterfall, Nell decided to go to the rock which blocked the gorge
to see if Stasch had done anything to remove it. Mea, who was busy
preparing the mid-day meal, did not notice her departure. On her
way Nell picked a peculiar kind of begonia,[23] which grew in large
quantities between the crevices of the rock; she approached the
slope over which they had formerly ridden out of the gorge, and
walked till she came to the rock. The large boulder had broken off
the side of the cliff, and barred the mouth of the ravine as before,
but Nell noticed that there was still enough room between it and the
wall of the cliff for even a grown person to get through easily. She
hesitated a while and then passed through, gaining the opposite
side. But there was still another bend, which had to be passed
before reaching the broad mouth of the gorge, enclosed by the
waterfall. Nell began to consider what she should do. “I will go only
a little farther; then I will look from behind a rock and take a peep at
the elephant; he will not spy me, and then I shall turn back.” So she
crept forward until she reached the place where the gorge suddenly
widened into a small, deep valley, and then she saw the elephant.
He stood with his back toward her, his trunk in the water, taking a
drink. This encouraged her, and keeping close to the wall of the cliff,
she walked a few steps, bending forward a little more; just then the
giant beast, who was going to take a bath, turned his head, saw the
little girl and immediately started toward her.
Nell was thoroughly frightened, but having no time to retreat, she
made her very prettiest courtesy, and then extending her hand in
which she held the begonias, said in a rather trembling voice:
“Good morning, dear elephant! I know you will not hurt me, and so I
have come here to say good-day to you—I have only these little
flowers——”
The colossus approached, put out his trunk and took from Nell’s
fingers the blossoms, but no sooner had he put them in his mouth
than he let them drop, for evidently he did not like the taste of the
stringy leaves or the flowers. Nell now saw directly above her his
trunk, which resembled an enormous black snake; it stretched and
contracted, touched her little hands one at a time, then her arms,
and at last it hung down and began to swing from side to side.
“I knew you would not hurt me,” repeated the girl, although still
somewhat frightened.
The elephant flapped his huge ears, alternately extended and
contracted his trunk, and gave the grunt of satisfaction that he
always did when the girl approached the edge of the ravine.
Just as Stasch had once faced the lion, so now these two (Nell and
the elephant) stood face to face—he, a monster resembling a house
or a rock, and she a tiny crab that he, even if not angry, but merely
careless, might trample under foot.
But the careful beast did not move an inch, and seemed delighted at
beholding his little visitor.
Nell gradually took courage; at last, raising her eyes and looking up
as if to a high roof, she timidly extended her hand and asked:
“May I stroke your trunk?”
The elephant did not understand English, but he immediately knew
what she meant from the motion of her hand, and pushed the end
of his two-yard-long nose into the palm of her hand. Nell began to
stroke the trunk, at first only with one hand and very carefully, then
with both, and at last she threw both arms around it and clung to it
with childish confidence.
The elephant moved from one foot to the other, and grunted with
satisfaction.
Soon after, winding his trunk around the fragile body of the girl, he
lifted her high and began gently to swing her from side to side.
“More! More!” cried Nell, delighted.
This game lasted quite a while; the girl, who now had entire
confidence in the elephant and was no longer afraid, thought of
another plan, for on reaching the ground again she tried to climb up
the foreleg of the elephant, as though climbing up a tree, or hid
behind him, and asked him if he could find her. During these pranks
she noticed that in the elephant’s feet, especially in its hind feet,
there were a great many thorns, which the powerful animal was not
able to extract, because, in the first place, he could not reach his
hind legs readily with his trunk, and secondly, because he evidently
was afraid of wounding the finger which forms the end of the trunk,
and without which he would lose all his dexterity. Nell did not know
that thorns in the feet torment Indian elephants, and especially their
cousins in the African jungles, which mostly consist of prickly plants.
Her sympathies were aroused for the kindly giant, and squatting
down near one of his feet, she began to pull out the large thorns
and then the small ones, chattering incessantly and assuring the
elephant that she would not let a single one remain. He understood
very well what was the matter, and bending his knee, he plainly
showed that there were thorns in the soles of his feet between the
hoofs protecting the toes, and these thorns were even more painful
than the others.
Meanwhile Stasch had returned from hunting, and at once asked
Mea where the little lady was.
On receiving the answer that she was probably in the tree, he was
just going to look inside when he thought he heard her voice in the
gorge. To make sure, he immediately sprang to the edge and looked
down. He was so frightened at what he saw that the blood nearly
froze in his veins. The girl was seated at the feet of the colossus,
and the latter stood so quiet that but for the movements of his trunk
and ears one might have thought him hewn out of stone.
“Nell!” screamed Stasch.
Earnestly engaged in what she was doing, she answered him
cheerfully:
“In a minute! In a minute!”
The boy, who was not accustomed to postpone action when in
danger, picked up his rifle with one hand, while with the other he
grasped a dried liana stem, twisted both legs around it, and in a
second swung himself down to the level of the narrow pass.
The elephant flapped his ears uneasily, but at this instant Nell arose,
put her arms around his trunk and cried hastily, “Elephant, don’t be
frightened; that’s Stasch!”
Stasch at once saw that Nell was in no danger, but even then his
legs shook under him and his heart beat violently. But before he
recovered from his fright he mumbled in an angry but sad voice:
“Nell, Nell, how could you do that?”
She began to excuse herself, saying she had done nothing wrong
after all, for the elephant was kind and quite tame now, and she had
only intended to take a closer look at him and then go back, but he
had detained her by playing with her and carefully swinging her, and
that if Stasch liked he would swing him, too. As she spoke these
words she lifted the end of his trunk with one hand, and drawing it
toward Stasch, she waved the other hand from side to side, saying:
“Elephant, rock Stasch, too!”
The intelligent animal guessed from her movements what she
wanted, and in a second Stasch was grasped by the belt and swung
through the air. Seeing him looking so angry and at the same time
swinging through the air struck her as so comical, that she laughed
till the tears ran down her cheeks, and clapping her hands, she
repeated as before:
“Elephant, swing Stasch, too!”
It was utterly impossible to maintain a severe demeanor and preach
morality while hanging to the end of an elephant’s trunk and being
involuntarily swung to and fro with clock-like regularity, so the boy at
last laughed too. After a while, noticing that the trunk was moving
more slowly, and that the elephant intended to put him down, a new
idea seized him, and when near one of the elephant’s large ears he
held on to it, and swinging himself onto the beast’s head, seated
himself on his neck.
“Aha!” he cried, as he glanced down at Nell, “he shall know that he
has to obey me.”
And with the look of a lord and master he began to feel around the
head of the beast.
“Good!” cried Nell from below, “but how will you get down?”
“That’s very easy,” answered Stasch.
Dropping his legs down over the elephant’s head, he fastened them
around the trunk and slid down as from a tree.
“That’s the way I shall get down.”
Now they both began to pull the remaining thorns out of the
elephant’s foot, and he submitted very patiently to the operation.
Meanwhile the first drops of rain had begun to fall, so Stasch
decided to take Nell back to “Cracow” at once. But an unexpected
obstacle stood in their way, for the elephant would on no account
part with her, but turned her round with his trunk and drew her
toward him. The situation began to be serious, and on account of
the obstinacy of the animal their happy play was in danger of ending
badly. The boy did not know what to do, for it was now raining
harder and a bad storm threatened. Both retreated a short distance
toward the opening, but they had only taken a few steps when the
elephant followed them.
At last Stasch planted himself between Nell and the animal, looked
severely at him, and whispered to Nell:
“Don’t run away, but retire slowly and with measured step toward
the narrow passage.”
“And you, Stasch?” asked the little girl.
“Return!” he repeated energetically; “for otherwise I shall have to
shoot the elephant.”
At this threat she obeyed, especially as she now completely trusted
the elephant, and she felt sure that on no account would he hurt
Stasch.
The boy stood four feet away from the giant, his eyes riveted on
him. Several minutes elapsed, then the situation became decidedly
dangerous. The elephant’s ears moved backwards and forwards
several times, and he had a peculiar twinkle in his little eyes; he
raised his trunk suddenly.
Stasch turned pale.
“Death!” he thought.
But the colossus as suddenly turned to the wall of the narrow pass,
where he was accustomed to see Nell, and began to trumpet more
sadly than ever before.
Stasch now advanced toward the passage, and on the opposite side
of the rock he found Nell, who would not return to the tree alone.
The boy felt inclined to say to her: “See what you have done! A little
more and I should have perished, and you would have been to
blame.” But this was not the time to reproach her, for the rain had
become a storm, and it was necessary to get home as quickly as
possible. Nell was quite wet, notwithstanding that Stasch had
wrapped her in his own coat.
When inside the tree Stasch ordered the negress to change Nell’s
clothes immediately. He released Saba, who had been tied up in the
men’s room for fear he would scent the game and frighten it away;
then Stasch began to hunt through all the clothing and baggage
once more, in hopes of finding a small dose of quinine which might
have been overlooked. But he found nothing. There only remained a
little white powder in a corner of the bottom of the vessel which the
missionary in Khartum had given him, but so little that it was hardly
enough to whiten the tip of one’s finger. He therefore decided to
pour boiling water into the receptacle and give this water to Nell to
drink.
As soon as the storm subsided and the sun had come out again, he
left the tree to look at the fish caught by Kali. The negro had caught
about ten with a wire, which he had used for a line. Most of them
were small, but there were three a foot long, with silver spots, and
of very light weight. Mea, who had grown up on the banks of the
blue Nile, and knew about the fish, said that these were very good
to eat, and that at night they jump high out of the water. While
cleaning them it was found that they were so light because they had
large air bladders inside them. Stasch took one of these little skins,
which was the size of a large apple, and showed it to Nell.
“Look,” said he, “this was inside the fish. A pane for our window
could be made from a quantity of these bladders.” And he pointed to
the upper opening in the tree.
Then he thought for a minute and added:
“And something else.”
“What?” asked Nell, very curious.
“Kites.”
“Like those you used to fly in Port Said? Oh, good! Make some like
them!”
“I will; I will make the small frames out of thin strips of bamboo, and
use these bladders instead of paper. They will be lighter and better
than paper and the rain will not penetrate them. Such a kite will fly
very high, and in a strong wind it will fly—Heaven knows where.”
Then he suddenly tapped his forehead.
“I have an idea!”
“What is it?”
“You will see. As soon as my plan is formed you shall know all about
it. And now the elephant is trumpeting so loud we can’t hear
ourselves talk.”
In fact, the elephant trumpeted so loudly and continuously because
he was lonesome for Nell, and perhaps for both children, that it
shook the whole gorge and the neighboring trees.
“If we let him see us,” said Nell, “it may quiet him.” So they walked
toward the gorge. But Stasch, quite taken up with his new idea,
began to mutter to himself:
“Nell Rawlison and Stanislaus Tarkowski, from Port Said, who have
escaped from the hands of the Dervishes, are to be found——”
And taking breath, he asked himself:
“Yes, yes, but where shall I say—where?”
“What, Stasch?”
“Nothing, nothing! I have it now: ‘They can be found a month’s
journey away to the east of the blue Nile—and beg for immediate
assistance.’ When there is a north or west wind I will send up
twenty, fifty, one hundred of such kites, and you, Nell, will help me
to stick them together.”
“Kites?”
“Yes, and I tell you this much—they may be of more service to us
than even ten elephants.”
Meanwhile they had reached the edge of the precipice, and once
more the colossus began to move from one foot to the other, to
shake himself, to prick up his ears, and as soon as Nell went away
for a minute he began trumpeting again. At last the girl explained to
the “dear elephant” that they could not always stay with him, for
they had to sleep, eat, work, and attend to household duties in
“Cracow.” He was only pacified when she threw down to him the
food Kali had prepared for him, but in the evening the trumpeting
began again. That night the children named him the “King,” for Nell
insisted that before he entered the gorge he must have been the
king over all the elephants of Africa.

[23] Begonia Johnstoni.

 CHAPTER VIII
During the days that followed, when it did not rain, Nell spent most
of her time with King, who now made no objection to her going
away, because he found that she returned frequently during the day.
Kali, who was afraid of elephants, was very much surprised at this,
but at last they convinced him that the great and good “Msimu” had
bewitched the giant, and he too began to visit it. King was kindly
disposed to him and also to Mea; but Nell was the only one who
could do what she liked with him, and a week later she ventured to
take Saba along with her. Stasch felt very much relieved, for without
worry he now could leave Nell in the care of—or, as he expressed
himself, “under the trunk” of—the elephant, go hunting, and
sometimes even take Kali along without feeling any anxiety. He felt
certain that the animal would not now leave them under any
circumstances, and he began to ponder as to how he could release
King from his imprisonment.
He had long ago fully decided on his plan of action; but the sacrifice
it demanded was so great that he considered a long while before
attempting it, and even then put it off from day to day. As he had no
one else with whom to talk the matter over, he finally decided to
confide his plans to Nell, although he still looked upon her as a child.
“The rock could be blasted,” said he, “but that would mean the
destruction of a great many cartridges, for the bullets would have to
be removed, and the powder poured out until enough was obtained.
This I would put into the deep crevice in the middle of the rock,
cover it up, and light it. The rock would then be blown to pieces, and
we could let King out.”
“But suppose that were to make a dreadful noise—wouldn’t he be
frightened?”
“Then let him be frightened!” replied Stasch quickly. “That is the
least thing that worries me. Nell, it really is not worth while talking
seriously to you.”
Nevertheless he continued talking, or rather thinking aloud:
“If too little powder be used the rock will not split, and the powder
will be wasted, and yet if enough be put in there will not be much
left over; besides, if it were to explode prematurely we might be
killed. Then what would be left to hunt with, what to defend us with
in case of an attack? You know quite well that if I had not had this
rifle and these cartridges we should long since have lost our lives,
either when in Gebhr’s hands or from starvation. We are lucky, too,
in having horses, for by ourselves we could not carry either the
baggage or the cartridges.”
Thereupon Nell put out her forefinger and said very emphatically:
“If I tell King to do it, he will carry everything.”
“What burdens will he have to carry; we have very few things left.”
“Nevertheless, he will protect us——”
“But he can not shoot game with his trunk as I can with my rifle.”
“Well, we can eat figs and the large pumpkin-like fruits that grow on
the trees, and Kali can catch fish.”
“Yes, as long as we stay near a stream. We must stay here and wait
until the rainy season is over, for these continual showers are sure to
give you the fever. Remember that we must continue our journey
later, and we may possibly strike a desert.”
“Like the Sahara?” asked Nell, much alarmed.
“No; but one without streams and fruit-trees and acacias and
mimosas. In a place like that one can only live on game. King would
find grass, and I antelopes, but if I have nothing to shoot them with
King could not capture them.”
Stasch certainly had reason to be worried, for now that the elephant
was tame and had become so well acquainted with them, it would
not be right to desert him and leave him to starve; on the other
hand, releasing him meant losing most of the ammunition and
certainly risking death.
And so Stasch put the work off from day to day, every evening
repeating to himself: “Perhaps I may think of some other way to-
morrow.”
Meanwhile other troubles came upon them.
In the first place Kali had been terribly tortured by bees when he
went far down the stream after a rather small gray-green bird, a so-
called bee-hawk, well known in Africa. The black boy had been too
lazy to smoke the bees out, and although he returned with some
honey, he was so stung and swollen that an hour later he became
unconscious. The “good Msimu,” with Mea’s assistance, drew out the
poisonous stings, and then quickly made him poultices of wet mud.
But toward morning it seemed as though the poor negro would die.
Fortunately, good care and a strong constitution triumphed, but it
was ten days before he regained his usual health.
In the second place, something had gone wrong with the horses.
Stasch, who was obliged to tie them up and lead them to water
during Kali’s illness, discovered that they were beginning to get very
lean. This certainly was not caused by insufficient food, for the grass
was very luxuriant after the rain, making very good pasture. And yet
the horses dwindled before his eyes. A few days later their hair
began to fall out, their eyes had lost their brilliancy, and a thick slime
ran from their nostrils. Finally they refused to graze, and drank a
great deal, as though consumed by fever. When Kali saw them they
were nothing but skin and bones, and he knew at once what was
the matter.
“Tsetse!” said he, turning to Stasch. “They must die!”
Stasch knew what this meant, for in Port Said he had often heard of
an African fly called “tsetse,” which is such a terrible plague in
certain places that in districts permanently infected with it the
negroes own no cattle, for where circumstances favor its multiplying
it destroys animals in no time. Horses, cattle, and donkeys which
have been bitten by the tsetse-fly pine and die in a few days.
Animals inhabiting these districts know the danger that threatens
them, for entire herds of cattle, on hearing the buzzing near their
watering-places, are so frightened that they stampede in every
direction.
Stasch’s horses had been stung by these flies, and not only the
horses, but the donkey, too. Kali rubbed them daily with a plant that
smelled like an onion, which he found in the jungle. He said that the
smell of it would drive away the “tsetse”; but notwithstanding all his
efforts the horses continued to grow thinner. Stasch was terrified
when he thought of what would happen if all the animals were to
die. How could Nell, the rugs, the tent, the cartridges, and the
crockery be taken along? There were so many things that at best
King was the only one who could carry them. But to release King
would mean sacrificing two-thirds of the gunpowder.
Further and greater troubles were now heaped on Stasch’s head, like
the clouds in the heavens, which rained down incessantly in the
jungle. And at last came the greatest misfortune, the one before
which everything else seemed as nothing—the fever.
 CHAPTER IX
One day at table, just as Nell was putting a small piece of smoked
meat into her mouth, she drew back suddenly, as if disgusted, and
said:
“I can’t eat anything to-day.”
Stasch, who had found out from Kali where the bees were, and had
smoked them out daily and taken the honey, was certain that the
child had eaten too much of the sweets, and therefore he paid no
further attention to her loss of appetite. But presently she arose and
began to run quickly round and round the campfire, each time
making larger circles.
“Don’t go too far away,” called the boy to her; “something might
happen to you.”
But he was not afraid of any harm coming to her, for the presence of
the elephant, whom the wild animals scented, and his trumpeting,
that reached their keen, attentive ears, kept them at a respectful
distance. This afforded protection to them as well as their horses,
because even the most ferocious beasts of prey in the jungle, such
as lions, panthers, and leopards, do not care to come in contact with
an elephant, or in too close proximity to his tusks and trunk.
As the girl continued running faster and faster around the fire,
Stasch followed her and asked:
“Nell, you little moth, why do you run around the fire like that?”
Though he asked this in a cheerful voice, he had begun to be
alarmed, and his uneasiness increased as Nell answered:
“I don’t know; I can’t sit still in one place.”
“What’s the matter?”
“I feel so uncomfortable and queer——”
All at once she leaned her head on his shoulder, as if confessing a
fault, and cried out in a voice stifled by tears:
“Stasch, I must be ill.”
“Nell!”
At the same time he laid the palm of his hand on her forehead,
which felt dry and as cold as ice. Then he took her in his arms and
carried her to the camp-fire.
“Are you cold?” he asked on the way.
“Cold and hot, but mostly cold.”
Her teeth began to chatter, and her body was shaking with chills.
Stasch was now convinced that Nell had the fever.
He told Mea to take her at once into the tree, to undress her, and
put her to bed. Then he covered her up with everything he could
find, for he had noticed that in Khartum and Fashoda fever patients
covered themselves up with sheep skins to induce perspiration. He
decided to stay with Nell all night and give her hot water and mead
to drink. At first she did not want to take it. By the light of their
rudely made lamp Stasch noticed the glistening pupils of her eyes.
Soon she began complaining of the heat and shivering at the same
time, although covered with felt rugs and a shawl. Her hands and
forehead were always cold, but if Stasch had only had a slight
knowledge of the symptoms of the fever he would have seen from
her great restlessness that she must have a very high temperature.
He was terrified on noticing that when Mea appeared with hot water
the girl looked at her with astonishment, even with fear, and did not
seem to recognize her at first. But with him she talked rationally, told
him that she could not lie down any longer, and begged him to let
her get up and run about. Then she asked him whether he was
angry with her for being ill, and on his assuring her that this was not
the case she blinked to drive back her tears, and promised that she
would be well the next day.
During this evening, or rather this night, the elephant was
particularly restless and roared incessantly, which set Saba barking
again. Stasch perceived that this excited the patient, and so he left
the tree to quiet the animals. Saba was easily pacified, but it was
more difficult to silence the elephant, and Stasch threw several
melons down to him so as to close his trunk for a while. On his
return he saw by the light of the fire Kali walking in the direction of
the stream and carrying a piece of smoked meat on his shoulder.
“What are you doing, and where are you going?” he asked the
negro.
The black boy stood still, and as Stasch approached he said with an
air of secrecy:
“Kali goes to the other tree to place meat there for the bad Msimu.”
“Why?”
“So the bad Msimu will not kill good Msimu.”
Stasch wanted to reply, but a strange pain pressed like a weight on
his chest, so he only bit his lips and went silently away.
When he returned to the tree Nell had closed her eyes; her hands,
which lay on the felt rug, were trembling very much, but still she
appeared to be dozing. Stasch sat down by her side, and as he was
afraid of awaking her, he remained there motionless for some time.
Mea, who was seated on the other side, toyed all the time with the
little pieces of ivory hanging in her ears in order to keep awake. It
had become very quiet, and only from the lower bed of the stream,
in the direction of the swamp, could the croaking of the frogs and
the mournful tooting of the toads be heard.
Suddenly Nell raised herself up in bed.
“Stasch!”
“Here I am, Nell.”
Then, shaking like a leaf blown by the wind, she eagerly began to
search for his hand and to repeat hastily:
“I’m frightened; I’m frightened! Give me your hand!”
“Don’t be frightened. I’m here with you.”
And he grasped her hand, which now burned like fire, and having no
idea what to do, he began to cover the poor, wretched little hand
with kisses.
“Don’t be frightened, Nell; don’t be frightened.”
Then he gave her a drink of honey mixed with water, which had
become cold. This time Nell drank greedily, and when he tried to
take the cup away from her mouth she held his hands tight. The
cold drink seemed to quiet her.
A long silence ensued. Half an hour later Nell raised herself up
again, and there was a terrible expression of fright in her wide-open
eyes.
“Stasch!”
“What is it, my dear?”
“Why,” she asked in a trembling, uncertain voice, “why do Gebhr and
Chamis walk around the tree and look in at me?”
Stasch suddenly felt as if thousands of ants had taken possession of
him.
“What are you talking about?” he said. “There’s no one here. Kali is
the only one walking around the tree.”
But she stared through the dark opening and cried with chattering
teeth:
“And the Bedouins! Why did you kill them?”
Stasch put his arm around her and pressed her to him.
“You know why! Don’t look over there! Don’t think of it! That
happened long ago.”
“To-day! To-day!——”
This had happened a long time ago, but it always came back to her
like the wave that rolls back upon the shore, and it filled the mind of
the sick child with horror. All attempts to quiet her were unavailing.
Nell’s eyes grew larger and larger. Her heart beat so hard that it
seemed as if it would burst. Then she began to twist and throw
herself around like a fish drawn out of the water, and that condition
lasted till nearly morning. Not until daybreak did her strength give
out and her little head sink back on the pillow.
“I’m weak, weak, weak!” she repeated. “Stasch, I seem to be falling
down some place.” And then she closed her eyes.
At first Stasch was overcome, for he thought she was dead. But this
was only the end of the first paroxysm of this terrible and
treacherous African fever, two attacks of which are as much as a
strong, robust person can stand—for nobody has ever survived a
third attack. Travelers had often described the fever when at Mr.
Rawlison’s house in Port Said, and even more frequently the Catholic
missionaries whom Mr. Tarkowski entertained on their way back to
Europe had told about it. It seems that a second attack comes on
after a few days, and a third, which, if it does not appear within two
weeks, is not fatal, for then it is considered to be the first attack of
another case. Stasch knew that heavy doses of quinine alone could
stop or alleviate the attacks, and he had not a particle of it left.
Seeing that Nell was still breathing, he became somewhat
composed, and began to pray for her. In the meanwhile the sun
appeared from behind the cliffs in the gorge, and it became bright
daylight. The elephant was already demanding his breakfast, and
from the direction of the stream the screams of the water-birds
could be heard. As the boy wanted to shoot some birds to make a
broth for Nell, he took the rifle and walked along the edge of the
stream to a group of high shrubs, in which the birds generally
perched for the night. But he was so exhausted from loss of sleep,
and his mind was so preoccupied with the thought of the girl’s
illness, that he did not see a swarm of birds, walking slowly in single
file, that passed him on their way to drink. Another reason why he
did not see them was that he was constantly praying. He thought of
the deaths of Gebhr and Chamis and the Bedouins, and lifting his
eyes toward heaven, he said in a voice drowned with emotion: “Dear
Lord, I did this for Nell, for Nell; for otherwise it would have been
impossible to have regained our freedom—but if I committed a sin,
punish me, but restore her to health——”
On the way he met Kali, who had gone to see if the wicked Msimu
had eaten the meat he had offered him the day before. The young
negro, who loved the little “Bibi,” prayed for her, too, but in quite a
different way. For he told the wicked Msimu that if “Bibi” recovered
he would bring him a piece of meat every day, but if she died he
would—although he felt frightened and knew he would perish—tear
the wicked Msimu’s skin to shreds and cause him to remember him
forever. But he took courage when he saw that the piece of meat he
had placed there the day before had disappeared. It might have
been devoured by a jackal, but then Msimu might have taken the
form of a jackal.
Kali told Stasch of this favorable omen, but Stasch only gazed at him
as if he did not understand, and went on his way. While vainly
searching for birds in the shrubbery, he approached the stream. Its
banks were thickly wooded with tall trees, from which hung, like
stockings, nests of the Remizen—pretty little yellow birds with black
wings—and also wasps’ nests, shaped like large roses, and
resembling gray blotting-paper. At one point the stream formed a
fairly broad, swampy plain, which was partly overgrown with
papyrus. In this swampy stretch of land were many flocks of water-
birds. There were storks, like the European ones, and others with
large, thick, hooked beaks; velvety black birds with blood-red feet,
flamingoes, ibises, and white spoon-bills with pink wings and spoon
beaks, cranes with crowns on their heads, and a number of gulls,
variegated or gray as mice, which, like tiny forest sprites, ran to and
fro on their long, thin, straw-like legs.
Stasch shot two large, bright-colored ducks, and walking over dead
white butterflies, which were strewn over the banks by the
thousand, first making sure there were no crocodiles in the ford, he
waded into the water and picked up the game. The shot had
evidently frightened away the birds, for there remained only two
marabous, that stood near the water at a short distance away. They
resembled two old men, with bald heads bowed down on their
shoulders. They did not move. The boy took another look at their
ugly food bags, hanging down on their breasts, then finding that the
wasps were surrounding him, he returned to the camp.
Nell was still asleep, so he gave the ducks to Mea and then stretched
himself out on a felt rug and at once fell into a heavy sleep. He did
not awaken until the afternoon, a little earlier than Nell. The girl felt
somewhat stronger, and being slightly refreshed, she drank some
good, strong broth, arose and left the tree to look at King and the
sun. Only now, by daylight, could be seen the ravages made by the
fever in one night. Nell’s skin was yellow and transparent, her lips
were black, there were large circles under her eyes, and her little
face looked much older. Notwithstanding that she assured Stasch
she felt quite strong, and even though she had drunk a large cup of
soup on awakening, she was hardly able to drag herself to the edge
of the gorge. Stasch was terrified at the thought of the second
attack. He had no medicine, nor anything else to help her.
Meanwhile, there were several heavy showers every day, and this
greatly increased the humidity in the air.
 CHAPTER X
They passed anxious days awaiting the return of the fever, but the
second attack did not appear for a week, and though it was not so
violent as the previous one, Nell felt much weaker after it. She had
become so thin and had lost so much weight that she did not look
like a girl, but rather like the ghost of a girl. The little flame of her
life flickered so feebly that it seemed as if a breath would blow it
out. Stasch realized that death would not have to wait for a third
attack to carry her off, and he expected her death from day to day,
even from hour to hour.
He, too, had become quite thin and dark, for these misfortunes were
more than his bodily and mental strength could stand. Each day as
he looked into Nell’s face he often said to himself, “My reward for
having cherished her as the apple of my eye will be the privilege of
burying her in the jungle!” Why it should have come to this he could
not imagine. At times he reproached himself for not having taken
sufficient care of her, and for not having treated her as kindly as he
should, and then he felt such a pain in his heart that he could have
bitten his fingers for grief. This misfortune was overwhelming.
Nell now slept almost continually, which perhaps saved her life. But
Stasch awakened her several times during the day to give her some
strengthening food. Whenever it was not raining she would beg him
to carry her out into the open air, for she was unable to stand. It
often happened that she went to sleep even as he carried her in his
arms. She knew that she was very ill, and that she might die at any
time. At first, when she was a little better and felt inclined, she
would talk about it to Stasch, all the time crying, for she was afraid
of death.
“I shall never return to papa,” she once said. “But you must tell him
that the thought of it made me very sorry, and ask him to come here
to me.”
“You will return,” answered Stasch.
But he was unable to say any more, for he wanted to cry.
And Nell continued in a scarcely audible and sleepy voice:
“And papa will come here, and you will come back here again, too,
won’t you?” At this thought a smile lit up her tiny, wan face, and
then she whispered still more softly:
“But I am so sorry——”
At the same time she leaned her little head on his shoulder and
began to cry, but he, conquering his own emotion, pressed her to his
heart, and answered quickly:
“Nell, without you I shall not return, and—and in fact I don’t even
know what I should do without you.”
Both became silent, and Nell fell asleep again. Stasch carried her
back to the tree, but hardly had he stepped out of the dwelling than
Kali came running down from the highest point of the neck of land,
gesticulating with his hands, and crying out in an excited and
terrified voice:
“Great Man, Great Man!”
“What do you want?” asked Stasch.
And the negro extended his hand, pointing to the south, and cried,
“Smoke!”
Shading his eyes with the hollow of his hand, Stasch gazed
attentively in the direction indicated, the red light of the setting sun
enabling him to see a column of smoke ascending in the midst of the
jungle between the peaks of two rather high hills.
Kali trembled from head to foot, for he still had a vivid recollection of
their capture by the Dervishes, and he felt sure that the smoke came
from their camp.
At last Stasch also thought that it must come from Smain’s camp,
and so for a moment he was as much frightened as Kali. This was
the climax—to have, in addition to Nell’s deadly illness, the Dervishes
come upon them, to be taken prisoners again, and carried back to
Fashoda or Khartum in the hands of the Mahdi, or under Abdullah’s
whip! If they should be captured Nell would doubtless die the very
first day, and he would be a slave for life. For, even if he were to
escape, what was life, what was freedom without Nell? How could
he look into the eyes of his father or Mr. Rawlison if the Dervishes
were to throw Nell’s body to the hyenas and he could not tell where
her grave was?
Such thoughts shot through his head like lightning. Suddenly he felt
an uncontrollable desire to look at Nell, and he went toward the
tree. On the way he ordered Kali to put out the fire, and forbade him
building it during the night; then he entered the tree.
Nell was not asleep. She felt better, as she immediately told Stasch.
Saba lay at her side and warmed her with his enormous body; she
softly stroked his head and smiled when he tried to catch the little
grains of mold that were flying about in the streak of light which the
last rays of the setting sun threw into the hollow of the tree. She
was evidently in a more cheerful mood than usual, for a little later
she turned to Stasch quite pleased and said:
“Perhaps I may not die after all.”
“You certainly will not die,” answered Stasch, “for as you feel
stronger after the second attack, you will never have a third.”
And she began blinking as if trying to recollect something and then
said:
“If I only had another little bitter powder, like the one that did me so
much good the night after the lion visited us; you remember, don’t
you? Then I should not even think of dying—not even so much——”
And with one of her little fingers she indicated how little she would
be prepared for death in such a case.
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