Work-in-progress
Whatever we tried to do, I knew the inevitability of us confronting the savages ahead of us. We could simply continue as we were or stop and wait for them to come to us. Neither option appealed.
Next to Julienne, Ines burst out, “What do we do?”
“Don’t show fear, dear,” Julienne answered. “We keep going.” I wanted to question her judgement. Surely, we didn’t know who these were. We were not the all-conquering representatives of the British Empire, we were the lucky survivors of an aeronef crash. I’d read about Livingstone’s journey through darkest Africa and his self-confidence in his mission. I’d no equal confidence in what we were doing. Our weakness was only too plain.
Within a few short minutes the group ahead of us was no more than thirty yards away. Given their burly but short physique, they had to be related to those behind us. They wore not cloth, as I’d first assumed but hides, and were barefoot. Most carried stone-tipped spears and knives. One had a stone axe. These were true savages, tribesmen from pre-conquest days, aboriginals. This would complicate matters greatly since they might be hostile. The reverend Peirce had mentioned some of the difficulties of interacting with the natives. We’d only my gun and few extra bullets. And Passepartout’s machete. We didn’t stand a chance.
The hunting party stopped when they reached the road and faced us as we slowly approached them. We halted about ten yards apart. They must have thought us as strange as we thought them. We stood watching each other. I quickly glanced over my shoulder. Those following us were leaving the road and detouring around us to join the others. It suggested peaceful intent, which gave me some hope.
“Maman, aren’t you going to talk to them?”
“Shush, Magali, let’s see what they do.”
Our exchange broke the ice for one of the men raised up a hand in a gesture of peace and said something. It didn’t mean anything to me.
Passepartout imitated the gesture and then whispered at us, “Do what he does.” I copied it as did Julienne and Ines and then after a moment, Magali.
The others in the hunting party repeated the gesture. This was followed by a lot of babbling that might have been Hindustani for all I knew. I’d no ideas as to the language.
“Put the stretcher down,” Julienne commanded in a quiet voice. I was only too happy to comply given both its weight and how tired I was. Julienne took a few steps forward and faced their leader. She pointed at herself and then at use before making several gestures that mimicked what she was seeking. This caused more talk from the natives. Undeterred, Julienne continued her hand signals.
After a bit, the leader waved at her. This caused Julienne to wave back. She then repeated her attempt at sign language. The leader nodded, pointed at a spot beyond the road, and barked something at his companions. They muttered back before shuffling off in the direction they’d been travelling.
Julienne waved at us. “We must follow them.”