London, England. Two weeks later…
Despite the smog that filled the dirty air of industrial London, the sun still shone through, upon the ancient city. Pigeons circled over the towers on Tower Bridge. Big Ben chimed a beautiful melody as it struck ten o'clock. A carriage pulled up at the stately building of the Royal Society. From within the carriage came Josh. He looked up in awe at the gothic-style building gleaming in the morning air. He felt a bit out of place standing there wearing his favorite black gambler hat, but he tried his best to at least look presentable with a tan Griffith frock coat, freshly polished black Preacher boots, a red vest, and a black puff tie. He had even shaved all the stubble off his face, leaving only a pair of small mutton chops. How awkward he looked on a street full of people holding canes and wearing top hats and those long black overcoats! Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he mounted the steps up to the porch and rang the bell.
A stern-faced servant answered his call. His eyes surveyed Josh for an instant as if trying to decide if he were a visitor or a street beggar. He spoke equally sternly, as hollow as a bagpipe, "May I help you, sir?"
"Uh, yes," answered Josh, politely removing his hat. "I'm Joshua Cody. Charles Burton asked me to come. You see, he sent me a telegram-"
"Yes," said the man, cutting Josh short, "He's been expecting you. Right this way, sir." Josh nodded uncomfortably, kicking himself for being intimidated by this poor excuse of a man, and followed the servant inside.
The lobby of the Royal Society building, the workplace of some of the world's leading scientists and scholars of the time, was spacious. Josh had never been in a room this size before, not even his church! Portraits of famous past figures who'd served here lined the walls everywhere.
At the end of a hallway, they came to another door, guarded by two soldiers, dressed in red fox tunics and black furry hats, their bayonet-tipped muskets at their side. The servant knocked and opened the door.
Josh's stomach twisted painfully; the room was decorated with hideous animal trophies, ranging from antlers to stuffed tiger, bear, and lion heads. The servant cleared his throat, diverting Josh's attention to the black-haired man with a beard sitting behind the Chippendale desk, smoking a pipe.
"Mr. Joshua Cody from America has arrived, Lord Burton."
"Ah," he said, putting his pipe away, "Thank you, Jennings. You may go." The servant bowed his head and left Josh standing in the doorway.
"Do sit down, my good man," he said to the American, smoothing out his expensive black suit, as if he was just off at the men's club for brandy.
"Thank you, kindly, sir," Josh said, rubbing the back of his neck as he sat down in front of the desk. A look of uneasiness appeared on his face as he eyed the many stuffed animals and mounted heads staring at him with lifeless glass eyes, baring their claws, antlers, horns, and fangs.
Burton leaned across his desk, resting his head on one fist. "I understand you have a great deal of experience with wild animals," he said, his eyes smirking at the emphasis on "wild."
Josh turned his attention back to Burton and answered, "Not as much as you have by the looks of your office."
Burton chuckled, "Do you like it? It's taken me years to bring my…collection to such heights."
Josh narrowed his eyebrows. "To be honest, sir…it doesn't leave that good of an impression on me."
"Ah," he said, apparently not getting the message, "So you've seen tougher beasts than those. I'm impressed." He then took out a glass and filled it halfway with brandy. "I have a special request for your…talents. As you probably know, over the last few years, England has been experiencing great overpopulation problems. I blame all those uncontrollable, lawless immigrants pouring in… Who can blame them? We currently hold more overseas empires than any other nation in the world."
"Britannia rules the waves," Josh said. "Or so the song goes."
"Indeed it does, my dear fellow," said Burton in all his arrogance, "Alas, the sea doesn't offer us much living space, does it? There is still one land which so far has not been penetrated." He pointed to a map on the wall. Africa. "Here. The interior of the dark continent. The French already own North Africa, and we're already having trouble with both the Boers and the Zulus in the south."
"So I've heard," Josh said, raising an eyebrow. Even in his hometown in Colorado, news of the atrocities between the British and the African tribes was well known. Personally, Josh didn't like the British approach one bit. Nor did he like Burton's history as a British military Commissioner in India, during the British Raj of 1868. Some rumors about a scandal involving abuse of railway workers and embezzling funds for his own pocket had forced him into an early retirement, becoming Chairman of the Royal Society in London.
"The reason I've summoned you here," Burton continued, "Is because I want you to lead a small expedition to explore a mysterious region in the heart of Africa."
"Africa? And I had to come to England for you to tell me this?" Josh asked suspiciously. "You really couldn't have just written it down in the telegram you sent me?"
"My apologies, but secrecy is very important. You see, we're not the only nation with an interest in Africa. Only thing is, nobody has ever ventured that deep into that part of the continent - not returning to tell the tale, that is," said Burton, "This could mean a whole new land for starting a new colony, that is if we seize the opportunity before some other greedy nation get their grubby little paws on the prize first."
"And what kind of opportunity would that be?" asked Josh, with a light hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"In the past year, our ambassador in Egypt, Lord Davidson has been sending us sketchy messages about a place somewhere in the unexplored regions of central Tanganyika called the 'Pride Lands', or so the natives call it. We think it might be a new country that no European has ever seen before. Much like the Incan Empire that the Spanish discovered in South America, hidden from the outside world since the beginning of time, just waiting for us."
"I see," said Josh suspiciously, "And, may I ask, what has England to gain by finding this…Pride Lands place?"
"To expand Her Majesty's Empire, of course!" exclaimed Burton, as if it were obvious, "Just think of it, Mr. Cody. I'm offering you to be the first man to discover what could probably be the greatest discovery of our century. There is a big probability these Pride Landers are rich and willing to trade. Undoubtedly, the United States will also benefit greatly from your efforts in new trade deals in gold and diamonds."
Josh considered for a moment. As far as he was concerned, this was probably just another typical British colonization project, which he wanted no part in. On the other hand, his sense of adventure was urging him to seize the opportunity. But first, he had to know exactly what he was getting himself into. Was this a peaceful exploration, or a dirty mercenary's job?
"What if they're not interested in trading with outsiders?" he asked. "What if they just wanna be left alone?"
Burton smiled coldly. "That's why it will be up to you to make first contact," he said. "We don't want to go in there as invaders if we can help it. We're civilized people. So, I'm counting on you to arrange diplomacy between this country and the Pride Lander king, or whatever leader they have. Currently, we have no idea what they are like."
Josh, his mind finally made up, decided to ask the question that anyone would when offered a job like this. "How much will I get paid, exactly?"
"More than your job does in a year, I assure you." Burton chuckled. Josh frowned.
"Please don't insult my intelligence, Mr. Burton, just be specific."
Burton's smile never faded from his face, but he lifted an eyebrow, "The Crown is willing to pay you ten thousand pounds. And if I'm not mistaken, that's about fifty thousand American dollars."
Josh's eyes widened at that query. That was an awful lot of money, and with it, he would be set for life. No more living off a crummy deputy sheriff's salary. He could build his own farm, buy his own cattle. What other choice did he have?
"Alright, sir, looks like you've got yourself a tracker," he said, extending his hand.
The former General grinned even wider and grasped Josh's hand firmly, "It's a pleasure doing business with you, my good man." He pulled out a folder, "Oh, and before I forget, this is the information on your companions for the expedition, all hand-chosen just like you. One is a gentleman from China named Chen Ling, an expert in biology, both plants and animals. He was recommended to me by the British Ambassador in Hong Kong."
"Hmm, you don't say," Josh said as he thumbed through the folder, looking at the pictures of the two others he was going to accompany. He frowned when he noticed the photograph of a black fellow. Even after the Civil War, it was still very uncommon for colored people to have equal rights.
"The other fellow is Denzel Baker, of New York," Burton continued. "He was recommended to me by the head of the Central Park Menagerie. He knows just about everything about African animals, many of which are on display there."
Josh raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?" he asked. "Just two people, none of them British?"
Burton nodded. "The fewer people, the better. Needless to say, there is to be no Press and no discussion of this expedition with any outsiders. You do understand the statute of secrecy and the legal consequences if it's broken?" Josh nodded, "Your train leaves around noon tomorrow for Southampton. Your equipment will be supplied to you by our Embassy in Alexandria. From there, you'll catch another steamer I've chartered up the Nile to Sudan. From there, a train will take you to Nairobi for extra provisioning, and from there you continue your journey on horseback."
Josh mulled this over quietly and finally asked, "What exactly am I supposed to report when I return?"
"A full mapping of the terrain, including any mountains or rivers, as well as any good farmland. And of course every detail on these Pride Landers. I don't need Her Majesty's army boys walking into a tribe of uncivilized cannibals." Josh felt a tad bit repulsed at Burton calling the natives of a foreign land cannibals. On the other hand, he had no experience with African tribes whatsoever, so he decided not to make a scene.
He thought it over for a moment. He had been to dodgy places before like Mexico and South America. But never to Africa. Who knew what dangers he could encounter? Could Burton be right about cannibal tribes existing out there? He had a nasty feeling this man had secret motives on his agenda that he wanted to hide. He didn't know what to make of it all. But the call of adventure was too strong to turn down this opportunity, "Alright, sounds reasonable."
Burton shook Josh's hand again, "It's been a pleasure, Mr. Cody. I'm afraid to say I will not be seeing you off, but duty calls. Good luck all the same."
Josh left the office and walked back down the hall. He had chuckled at Burton's farewell. 'Yeah, I'm going off into the Dark Continent with two complete strangers to explore the land and see if the locals are hospitable,' he thought. This was going to be one hell of a trip.