Eric Flint: Grantville Gazette. Volume 21

Heyndrick followed Maria's advice. The next morning, Owusu and Antoa were the first to lay their spears at Heyndrick's feet.

Heyndrick was dumbfounded. What had happened?

Maria gave him a nudge. "Uh, thank you," said Heyndrick. "Take up your weapons, warriors." He raised his pistol. "Victory!"

They brandished their spears. "Victory!"

"What just happened there?" asked Heyndrick, as the Eikhoorn made its way upstream toward the Marshall's Creek settlement.

"I had a word with the womenfolk, as I told you. And they made it clear to our valiant warriors that if they didn't go off to war, the ladies would make them wish they were already dead. "

The crew of the Walvis ' pinnace pulled at the oars. They picked their way through the mangroves, and stared into the verdant growth of the Suriname coast. Now and then the leaves were disturbed as a bird landed or took flight, but they saw no sign of the presence of man.

David de Vries, sitting beside the helmsman, wondered just how, exactly, he was going to find the Ndongo, let alone bring them into the alliance.

Coqui stood at the prow, and occasionally gestured to turn one way or another. David hoped that he, or the local Indian woman, Tetube, who sat behind him, had some idea of where to look.

Eventually, they beached the boat, and left a couple of guards behind. The rest followed Coqui and Tetube, who led them to a trail. Tetube, it seemed, knew of a friendly Indian village in the area.

Friendly to her tribe, at least.

But there wasn't cause to worry. The Indians were indeed friendly. And while they had no contact with the Ndongo, they knew another tribe which traded with them. David distributed a few presents, and acquired a new guide, who went back to the pinnace with them and directed them to the mouth of a nearby creek. Not far up it, they encountered a Ndongo fisherman.

When he spotted them, he immediately sat down and reached for a paddle. Clearly, his trust in the good intentions of a party of white men, even here in Suriname rather than in Africa, was minimal. However, after a moment he obviously decided that there was no way he could outpaddle the crew of the pinnace, even for the moments needed to reach the bank and disappear into the forest. He set down the paddle and slumped, head bowed.

David identified himself as the "Father" of the Gustavans. The fisherman recognized the name of the colony, and this seemed to soften his attitude toward them. At least fractionally. David rummaged in a chest and produced a metal fishhook, which he presented to their new acquaintance. That finally loosened the fisherman's tongue.

He told David that if he brought the visitors to the village unannounced, his people would assume he was acting under duress. He asked David to let him leave bring word of David's arrival to the villagers, and assured him that he would receive a proper welcome if he did this.

After a moment, David agreed. Although not without some anxiety as to what, precisely, was the Ndongo concept of a "proper welcome" for white men.

The fisherman headed upriver, and, once he was out of sight, David had Coqui and the other Indians in the party climb trees on either side of the creek, to warn David if the approaching party appeared to be hostile.

Perhaps an hour later, several dugout canoes came down the river. The first canoe had just a few men in it, unarmed. Behind them, but obviously holding back, were two more canoes, both carrying bowmen and spearmen. Clearly, the Ndongo were ready to either parley or fight, as the situation dictated.

David, an experienced explorer, managed to persuade the Ndongo of his good intentions, and the Ndongo invited the Gustavan party to follow them back to their settlement.

The Ndongo, of course, didn't need to be convinced to fight the Imbangala. Their concerns were over how did the Imbangala get European arms and was David willing to supply their equivalent to the Ndongo.

David explained Carsten's theory as to the Imbangala windfall, and assured the Ndongo that the Gustavans would give them weapons, provided they came back with him to his ship.

"No, not your ship," they cried. "You might be trying to put us back in shackles. "

David told them that they didn't have to come on board, they would be given the arms on the beach. But the arms could only be handed over where the crew of his ship could see the interchange and see that the Ndongo weren't up to any tricks.

The Ndongo saw the sense of this and agreed.

They came to the beach and admired their new cutlasses. "Guns?" one of them asked hopefully.

"Some other time, perhaps," said David.

Beginning of Long Dry Season (August to November, 1635)

With the Gustavans' support, the friendly African and Indian tribes built up their defenses, and set up patrols, curtailing the expansion of the Imbangala. But it was all a big distraction from more productive activities, and it wasn't long before the allies were debating how to bring the Imbangala to a decisive battle. Especially now that the rains had stopped, and it was easier and safer for the Europeans to enter the forest.

David summoned a grand council of the score or so of tribal leaders, African and Indian, large tribes and small ones.

"Can your scouts locate the Imbangala encampment?" David asked the Ndongo leader, Lucala.

"Perhaps. But destroying the camp does not defeat the Imbangala. They are not a settled people, they are a mercenary troop. We would, at best, deprive them of their slaves and their women, and perhaps the children they are training for war. "

Faye, leader of the Mandinka stood up. "A thousand pardons for the interruption. But rather than search for the jungle for these pestilent Imbangala, why not bait them into a trap?"

"What kind of bait? And what kind of trap?"

Borguri trembled with rage. "Who has seen this, besides you?" he asked the warrior.

"Just a slave, oh great and wise leader."

"Kill him."

Borguri tore down the sign, and mutilated it with his sword. He then got out his tinder and flint, made a fire, and burnt it. Finally, he collected the ashes and tossed them into the nearby stream.

The next day, a second sign was found. Like the first, it featured a caricature of Borguri, wearing woman's clothes, and surrounded by various Ndongo symbols of ridicule. Maria was good at drawing things other than plants and animals. And her Ndongo informants had thought instructing her to be great fun.

A necessary skill for drawing wild animals, especially those of the rain forest, was the ability to draw from memory, from a fleeting glance. Maria had remembered Borguri from the deck of the slave ship-despite the ravages of thirst and imprisonment, he was formidable, and received deference from the other Imbangala-and, when the Ndongo described Borguri to her, she realized who they were referring to, and could draw him. Especially with the Ndongo by her side as she drew, quick to point out errors to her.

This sign was seen by a large party of warriors and slaves. Borguri had it chopped to pieces, and burnt, and then he peed on it. He then ordered an immediate raid on the nearest African village, and the sacrifice of six slaves to achieve success.

They arrived at the village only to find that it had been deserted, with all the inhabitants and their moveable possessions gone, and the crops destroyed. They did leave behind a lot of signs, however.

Borguri had to kill one of his warriors that night, who, in his cups, made derogatory remarks about Borguri's leadership. It was clear that Borguri had to take quick action, but it wasn't so clear what his target should be. The source of the signs was clearly Gustavus, but Borguri knew that a direct attack on Gustavus, or on Fort Lincoln, would be suicidal.