Assegai полностью

‘Those lions are good reason for such joy. Graf Otto von Meer-bach, you had better sharpen your assegai. You’re going to need it.’ Leon laughed into the wind. He was sorely tempted to turn back for one more look at those magnificent animals. However, he knew it would be unwise to disturb them again. If they were as cunning and wary as Loikot had said, he might easily drive them from the grassy savannah into the forests of the escarpment where they would be much more difficult to come at.

Let them be, he decided. Let them settle down until I can get mad von Meerbach here to deal with them.

As Leon touched down and let the Bumble Bee roll out on the airstrip below Percy’s Camp, the two Masai were still celebrating the find. When he cut the engines, Loikot shouted joyously, ‘Did I tell you, Manyoro?’ and answered himself immediately: ‘Yes, I told you! But did you believe me, Manyoro? No, you did not! Of the two of us, who is the stupid and stubborn one? Is it me, Manyoro? No, it is not! Which of us is the great hunter and finder of lions? Is it you, Manyoro? No, it is Loikot!’ He adopted a noble and heroic pose, while Manyoro covered his face with his hands in mock-chagrin.

‘You are the greatest tracker in Africa and surpassingly beautiful, Loikot,’ Leon interrupted, ‘but now I have work for you. You must return to your lions and stay with them until I can bring Kichwa Muzuru for the hunt. You must follow them closely, but not so closely that you alarm them and scare them away.’

‘I know those lions. They will not elude me,’ Loikot vowed. ‘I have them in my eye.’

‘When I return and you hear the sound of the engines, you must light a smudge fire. The smoke will guide me to you.’

‘I will have the lions in my eye, and the sound of your engines in my ear,’ Loikot boasted.

Leon turned to Manyoro, ‘Who is the chief of the area in which we found the lions today?’

‘His name is Massana and his manyatta is at Tembu Kikuu, the Place of the Great Elephant.’

‘You must go to him, Manyoro. Tell him there is a bounty of twenty cattle on each of his lions. But tell him that we will bring him a mzungu who will hunt them in the traditional way. Massana must bring together fifty of his morani for the hunt, but the killing will be done by Kichwa Muzuru alone.’

‘I understand, M’bogo, but I do not think Massana will understand. A mzungu hunting a lion with the assegai? It has never been heard of before. Massana will think Kichwa Muzuru is mad.’

‘Manyoro, you and I know that Kichwa Muzuru is indeed as crazy as the wildebeest with snot worms in his brain. But tell Massana not to worry too much about the condition of Kichwa Muzuru’s head. Tell him to consider rather the twenty head of cattle. What do you think, Manyoro? Will Massana help us with the hunt?’

‘For twenty head of cattle Massana would sell all his fifteen wives and their daughters, perhaps his own mother as well. Of course he will help us.’

‘Is there a place close to his manyatta where I can land the aeroplane?’ Leon asked.

Manyoro picked his nose thoughtfully before he replied. ‘There is a dry salt pan close to the village. It is flat and without trees.’

‘Show it to me,’ Leon ordered. They took off again and Manyoro guided him towards it. It was a huge expanse, flat and glaring white, clearly visible from many miles out. As they drew closer a small herd of oryx galloped across it, and Leon saw with relief that their hoofs did not break through the white crust. Some such pans were death traps: often deep, sinking mud, soft as oatmeal porridge and sticky as glue, was concealed beneath the fragile crust. He put the Bumble Bee down gingerly, letting the wheels just touch the surface, prepared to lift her off again if he felt mud grab the undercarriage. When the surface supported her weight he let her settle. He taxied to the edge of the pan, and turned the plane. But he did not shut down the engines. ‘How far is it to the manyatta from here?’ he shouted at Manyoro above the din.

‘It is close.’ Manyoro pointed ahead. ‘Some of the villagers are coming already.’ A small group of women and children were running towards them through the trees.

‘And how far to where we left the lions, O great hunter?’ Leon demanded of Loikot. With his spear he pointed out a small segment of the sky, indicating two hours’ passage of the sun. ‘Good. So, here you are close to the manyatta and the lions. I will leave both of you. Watch for my return. When I come back I will have Kichwa Muzuru with me.’

Leon left the two Masai on the salt and took off again. He circled the pan once before heading back to Nairobi. The Masai waved at him and then he saw them separate: Loikot trotted away to pick up the tracks of the lions, and Manyoro went to meet the women from Massana’s village.