第60章

A piece of ground about twenty feet square was lightly marked out by the blacks with their waddies, and the idea was that, to accomplish a throw, the wrestler had to hurl his opponent clean outside the boundary.We prepared for the combat by covering our bodies with grease; and I had my long hair securely tied up into a kind of "chignon" at the back of my head.My opponent was a far bigger man than myself, but I felt pretty confident in my ability as a trick wrestler, and did not fear meeting him.What I did fear, however, was that he would dispute the findings of the umpires if they were in my favour, in which case there might be trouble.I had a shrewd suspicion that the chief was something of a coward at heart.He seemed nervous and anxious, and I saw him talking eagerly with his principal supporter.As for myself, Iconstantly dwelt upon the ghastly plight of the two poor girls.Iresolved that, with God's help, I would vanquish my huge enemy and rescue them from their dreadful position.I was in splendid condition, with muscles like steel from incessant walking.At length the warriors squatted down upon the ground in the form of a crescent, the chiefs in the foreground, and every detail of the struggle that followed was observed with the keenest interest.

I was anxious not to lose a single moment.I felt that if Ithought the matter over I might lose heart, so I suddenly bounded into the arena.My opponent was there already--looking, I must say, a little undecided.

In a moment his huge arms were about my waist and shoulders.It did not take me very long to find out that the big chief was going to depend more upon his weight than upon any technical skill in wrestling.He possessed none.He first made a great attempt to force me upon my knees and then backwards; but I wriggled out of his grasp, and a few minutes later an opening presented itself for trying the "cross-buttock" throw.There was not a moment to be lost.Seizing the big man round the thigh I drew him forward, pulled him over on my back, and in the twinkling of an eye--certainly before I myself had time to realise what had happened--he was hurled right over my head outside the enclosure.The spectators--sportsmen all--frantically slapped their thighs, and Iknew then that I had gained their sympathies.My opponent, who had alighted on his head and nearly broken his neck, rose to his feet, looking dazed and furious that he should have been so easily thrown.When he faced me for the second time in the square he was much more cautious, and we struggled silently, but forcefully, for some minutes without either gaining any decided advantage.Oddly enough, at the time I was not struck by the dramatic element of the situation; but now that I have returned to civilisation I DO see the extraordinary nature of the combat as I look back upon those dreadful days.

Just picture the scene for yourself.The weird, unexplored land stretches away on every side, though one could not see much of it on account of the grassy hillocks.I, a white man, was alone among the blacks in the terrible land of "Never Never,"--as the Australians call their terra incognita; and I was wrestling with a gigantic cannibal chief for the possession of two delicately-reared English girls, who were in his power.Scores of other savages squatted before us, their repulsive faces aglow with interest and excitement.Very fortunately Bruno was not on the spot.I knew what he was of old, and how he made my quarrels his with a strenuous energy and eagerness that frequently got himself as well as his master into serious trouble.Knowing this, I had instructed Yamba to keep him carefully away, and on no account let him run loose.

Fully aware that delays were dangerous, I gripped my opponent once more and tried to throw him over my back, but this time he was too wary, and broke away from me.When we closed again he commenced his old tactics of trying to crush me to the ground by sheer weight, but in this he was not successful.Frankly, I knew his strength was much greater than mine, and that the longer we wrestled the less chance I would have.Therefore, forcing him suddenly sideways, so that he stood on one leg, I tripped him, hurling him violently from me sideways; and his huge form went rolling outside the square, to the accompaniment of delighted yells from his own people.