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- float: left; - margin-right: 1em } - -.align-right { clear: right; - float: right; - margin-left: 1em } - -.align-center { margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto } - -div.shrinkwrap { display: table; } - -/* SECTIONS */ - -body { margin: 5% 10% 5% 10% } - -/* compact list items containing just one p */ -li p.pfirst { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } - -.first { margin-top: 0 !important; - text-indent: 0 !important } -.last { margin-bottom: 0 !important } - -span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 1 } -img.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; max-width: 25% } -span.dropspan { font-variant: small-caps } - -.no-page-break { page-break-before: avoid !important } - -/* PAGINATION */ - -.pageno { position: absolute; right: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.pageno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.lineno { position: absolute; left: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.lineno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.toc-pageref { float: right } - -@media screen { - .coverpage, .frontispiece, .titlepage, .verso, .dedication, .plainpage - { margin: 10% 0; } - - div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage - { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } - - .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } -} - -@media print { - div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } - div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } - - .vfill { margin-top: 20% } - h2.title { margin-top: 20% } -} - -/* DIV */ -pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } -</style> -<title>BOSAMBO OF THE RIVER</title> -<meta name="PG.Title" content="Bosambo of the River" /> -<meta name="DC.Creator" content="Edgar Wallace" /> -<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> -<meta name="DC.Created" content="1914" /> -<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> -<meta name="PG.Id" content="49657" /> -<meta name="PG.Released" content="2015-08-08" /> -<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Al Haines" /> -<meta name="DC.Title" content="Bosambo of the River" /> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> - -<link rel="schema.DCTERMS" href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" /> -<link rel="schema.MARCREL" href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/" /> -<meta content="Bosambo of the River" name="DCTERMS.title" /> -<meta content="/home/ajhaines/bosambo/bosambo.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" /> -<meta scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" content="en" name="DCTERMS.language" /> -<meta scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" content="2015-08-08T22:00:23.394851+00:00" name="DCTERMS.modified" /> -<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher" /> -<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights" /> -<link rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49657" /> -<meta content="Edgar Wallace" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> -<meta scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" content="2015-08-08" name="DCTERMS.created" /> -<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport" /> -<meta content="Ebookmaker 0.4.0a5 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator" /> -</head> -<body> -<div class="document" id="bosambo-of-the-river"> -<h1 class="center document-title level-1 pfirst title"><span class="x-large">BOSAMBO OF THE RIVER</span></h1> - -<!-- this is the default PG-RST stylesheet --> -<!-- figure and image styles for non-image formats --> -<!-- default transition --> -<!-- default attribution --> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="container language-en pgheader" id="pg-header" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the </span><a class="reference internal" href="#project-gutenberg-license">Project Gutenberg License</a><span> included with -this ebook or online at </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a><span>. If you -are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws -of the country where you are located before using this ebook.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<div class="container" id="pg-machine-header"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>Title: Bosambo of the River -<br /> -<br />Author: Edgar Wallace -<br /> -<br />Release Date: August 08, 2015 [EBook #49657] -<br /> -<br />Language: English -<br /> -<br />Character set encoding: UTF-8</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-start-line"><span>*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>BOSAMBO OF THE RIVER</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Al Haines.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> -</div> -<div class="container titlepage"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold xx-large">BOSAMBO -<br />OF THE RIVER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">BY</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">EDGAR WALLACE</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><em class="italics small">Author of "Sanders of the River," "People of the River," -<br />"Four Just Men," etc.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED -<br />LONDON AND MELBOURNE -<br />1914</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="container verso"> -<p class="center pfirst"><em class="italics small">Made and Printed in Great Britain by</em><span class="small"> -<br />Ward, Lock & Co., Limited, London.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CONTENTS.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">CHAP.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span>I.—</span><a class="reference internal" href="#arachi-the-borrower">ARACHI THE BORROWER</a><span> -<br />II.—</span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-tax-resisters">THE TAX RESISTERS</a><span> -<br />III.—</span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-rise-of-the-emperor">THE RISE OF THE EMPEROR</a><span> -<br />IV.—</span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-fall-of-the-emperor">THE FALL OF THE EMPEROR</a><span> -<br />V.—</span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-killing-of-olandi">THE KILLING OF OLANDI</a><span> -<br />VI.—</span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-pedometer">THE PEDOMETER</a><span> -<br />VII.—</span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-brother-of-bosambo">THE BROTHER OF BOSAMBO</a><span> -<br />VIII.—</span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-chair-of-the-n-gombi">THE CHAIR OF THE N'GOMBI</a><span> -<br />IX.—</span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-ki-chu">THE KI-CHU</a><span> -<br />X.—</span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-child-of-sacrifice">THE CHILD OF SACRIFICE</a><span> -<br />XI.—</span><a class="reference internal" href="#they">"THEY"</a><span> -<br />XII.—</span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-ambassadors">THE AMBASSADORS</a><span> -<br />XIII.—</span><a class="reference internal" href="#guns-in-the-akasava">GUNS IN THE AKASAVA</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="arachi-the-borrower"><span class="bold x-large">BOSAMBO OF THE RIVER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER I</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">ARACHI THE BORROWER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Many years ago the Monrovian Government -sent one Bosambo, a native of the Kroo -coast and consequently a thief, to penal -servitude for the term of his natural life. Bosambo, -who had other views on the matter, was given -an axe and a saw in the penal settlement—which -was a patch of wild forest in the back country—and -told to cut down and trim certain mahogany-trees -in company with other unfortunate men -similarly circumstanced.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To assure themselves of Bosambo's obedience, -the Government of Liberia set over him a number -of compatriots, armed with weapons which had -rendered good service at Gettysburg, and had been -presented to the President of Liberia by President -Grant. They were picturesque weapons, but they -were somewhat deficient in accuracy, especially -when handled by the inexpert soldiers of the -Monrovian coast. Bosambo, who put his axe to an -ignoble use, no less than the slaying of Captain -Peter Cole—who was as black as the ten of clubs, -but a gentleman by the Liberian code—left the -penal settlement with passionate haste. The -Gettysburg relics made fairly good practice up to two -hundred yards, but Bosambo was a mile away before -the guards, searching the body of their dead -commander for the key of the ammunition store, had -secured food for their lethal weapons.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The government offered a reward of two hundred -and fifty dollars for Bosambo, dead or alive. -But, although the reward was claimed and paid -to the half-brother of the Secretary of War, it -is a fact that Bosambo was never caught.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the contrary, he made his way to a far land, -and became, by virtue of his attainments, chief -of the Ochori.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo was too good a sportsman to leave -his persecutors at peace. There can be little -doubt that the Kroo insurrection, which cost -the Liberian Government eight hundred and twenty-one -pounds sixteen shillings to suppress, was due -to the instigation and assistance of Bosambo. -Of this insurrection, and the part that Bosambo -played, it may be necessary to speak again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The second rebellion was a more serious and -expensive affair; and it was at the conclusion -of this that the Liberian Government made -representations to Britain. Sanders, who conducted -an independent inquiry into the question of -Bosambo's complicity, reported that there was -no evidence whatever that Bosambo was directly -or indirectly responsible. And with that the -Liberian Government was forced to be content; -but they expressed their feelings by offering a -reward of two thousand dollars for Bosambo alive -or dead—preferably alive. They added, for the -benefit of minor government officials and their -neighbours, that they would, in the language of -the advertisement, reject all substitutes. The news -of this price went up and down the coast and very -far into the interior, yet strangely enough Arachi -of the Isisi did not learn of it until many years -afterward.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Arachi was of the Isisi people, and a great -borrower. Up and down the river all men knew him -for such, so that his name passed into the legendary -vocabulary of the people whilst he yet lived; and -did the wife of Yoka beg from the wife of O'taki -the service of a cooking-pot, be sure that O'taki's -wife would agree, but with heavy pleasantry scream -after the retiring pot: "O thou shameless Arachi!" -whereupon all the village folk who heard the jest -would rock with laughter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Arachi was the son of a chief, but in a country -where chieftainship was not hereditary, and where, -moreover, many chiefs' sons dwelt without -distinction, his parentage was of little advantage. -Certainly it did not serve him as, in his heart, he -thought he should be served.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was tall and thin, and his knees were -curiously knobbly. He carried his head on one side -importantly, and was profoundly contemptuous -of his fellows.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Once he came to Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said, "I am a chief's son, as you -know, and I am very wise. Men who look upon -me say, 'Behold, this young man is full of craft,' -because of my looks. Also I am a great talker."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There are many in this land who are great -talkers, Arachi," said Sanders, unpleasantly; "yet -they do not travel for two days down-stream to -tell me so."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said Arachi impressively, "I came -to you because I desire advancement. Many -of your little chiefs are fools, and, moreover, -unworthy. Now I am the son of a chief, and it is -my wish to sit down in the place of my father. -Also, lord, remember this, that I have dwelt among -foreign people, the Angola folk, and speak their -tongue."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders sighed wearily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Seven times you have asked me, Arachi," -he said, "and seven times I have told you you -are no chief for me. Now I tell you this—that -I am tired of seeing you, and if you come to me -again I will throw you to the monkeys.[#] As -for your Angola palaver, I tell you this—that if it -happen—which may all gods forbid!—that a tribe -of Angola folk sit down with me, you shall be -chief."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] Colloquial: "Make you look foolish."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Unabashed, Arachi returned to his village, for -he thought in his heart that Sandi was jealous -of his great powers. He built a large hut at the -end of the village, borrowing his friends' labour; -this he furnished with skins and the like, and -laid in stores of salt and corn, all of which he had -secured from neighbouring villages by judicious -promises of payment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was like a king's hut, so glorious were the -hangings of skin and the stretched bed of hide, -and the people of his village said "Ko!" believing -that Arachi had dug up those hidden treasures -which every chief is popularly supposed to possess -in secret places to which his sons may well be -privy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Even those who had helped to supply the -magnificence were impressed and comforted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have lent Arachi two bags of salt," said -Pidini, the chief of Kolombolo, the fishing village, -"and my stomach was full of doubt, though he -swore by Death that he would repay me three -days after the rains. Now I see that he is indeed -very rich, as he told me he was, and if my salt does -not return to me I may seize his fine bed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In another village across the River Ombili, -a headman of the Isisi confided to his wife:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Woman, you have seen the hut of Arachi, -now I think you will cease your foolish talk. For -you have reproached me bitterly because I lent -Arachi my fine bed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, I was wrong," said the woman meekly; -"but I feared he would not pay you the salt he -promised; now I know that I was foolish, for I -saw many bags of salt in his hut."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The story of Arachi's state spread up and down -the river, and when the borrower demanded the -hand of Koran, the daughter of the chief of the -Putani ("The Fishers of the River"), she came -to him without much palaver, though she was -rather young.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A straight and winsome girl well worth the -thousand rods and the twenty bags of salt which -the munificent Arachi promised, by Death, devils, -and a variety of gods, should be delivered to her -father when the moon and the river stood in certain -relative positions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now Arachi did no manner of work whatever, -save to walk through the village street at certain -hours clad in a robe of monkey tails which he -had borrowed from the brother of the king of the -Isisi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He neither fished nor hunted nor dug in the -fields.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He talked to Koran his wife, and explained -why this was so. He talked to her from sunset -until the early hours of the morning, for he was a -great talker, and when he was on his favourite -subject—which was Arachi—he was very eloquent. -He talked to her till the poor child's head rocked -from side to side, and from front to back, in her -desperate sleepiness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was a great man, beloved and trusted of -Sandi. He had immense thoughts and plans—plans -that would ensure him a life of ease without -the distressing effects of labour. Also, Sanders -would make him chief—in good time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She should be as a queen—she would much -rather have been in her bed and asleep.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Though no Christian, Arachi was a believer in -miracles. He pinned his faith to the supreme -miracle of living without work, and was near to -seeing the fulfilment of that wonder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the miracle which steadfastly refused to -happen was the miracle which would bring him -relief at the moment when his numerous creditors -were clamouring for the repayment of the many -and various articles which they had placed in his care.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It is an axiom that the hour brings its man—most -assuredly it brings its creditor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a tumultuous and stormy day when the -wrathful benefactors of Arachi gathered in full -strength and took from him all that was takable, -and this in the face of the village, to Koran's great -shame. Arachi, on the contrary, because of his -high spirit, was neither ashamed nor distressed, -even though many men spoke harshly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O thief and rat!" said the exasperated owner -of a magnificent stool of ceremony, the base of -which Arachi had contrived to burn. "Is it not -enough that you should steal the wear of these -things? Must you light your fires by my beautiful -stool?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Arachi replied philosophically and without -passion: they might take his grand furnishings—which -they did; they might revile him in tones -and in language the most provocative—this also -they did; but they could not take the noble hut -which their labours had built, because that was -against the law of the tribe; nor could they -rob him of his faith in himself, because that -was contrary to the laws of nature—Arachi's -nature.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My wife," he said to the weeping girl, "these -things happen. Now I think I am the victim of -Fate, therefore I propose changing all my gods. -Such as I have do not serve me, and, if you -remember, I spent many hours in the forest with -my </span><em class="italics">bete</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Arachi had thought of many possible -contingencies—as, for instance:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sandi might relent, and appoint him to a great -chieftainship.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Or he might dig from the river-bed some such -treasure as U'fabi, the N'gombi man, did once -upon a time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Arachi, entranced with this latter idea, went -one morning before sunrise to a place by the shore -and dug. He turned two spadefuls of earth before -an infinite weariness fell upon him, and he gave up -the search.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For," he argued, "if treasure is buried in the -river-bed, it might as well be there as elsewhere. -And if it be not there, where may it be?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Arachi bore his misfortune with philosophy. -He sat in the bare and bleak interior of his hut, -and explained to his wife that the men who had -robbed him—as he said—hated him, and were -jealous of him because of his great powers, and that -one day, when he was a great chief, he would borrow -an army from his friends the N'gombi, and put -fire to their houses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yes, indeed, he said "borrow," because it was -his nature to think in loans.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His father-in-law came on the day following -the deporting, expecting to save something from -the wreckage on account of Koran's dowry. But -he was very late.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O son of shame!" he said bitterly. "Is it -thus you repay for my priceless daughter? By -Death! but you are a wicked man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have no fear, fisherman," said Arachi loftily, -"for I am a friend of Sandi, and be sure that he -will do that for me which will place me high above -common men. Even now I go to make a long -palaver with him, and, when I return, you shall -hear news of strange happenings."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Arachi was a most convincing man, possessing -the powers of all great borrowers, and he -convinced his father-in-law—a relation who, from -the beginning of time, has always been the least -open to conviction.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He left his wife, and she, poor woman, glad to -be relieved of the presence of her loquacious -husband, probably went to sleep.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At any rate, Arachi came to headquarters at a -propitious moment for him. Headquarters at that -moment was an armed camp at the junction of -the Isisi and Ikeli rivers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the top of all his other troubles, Sanders -had the problem of a stranger who had arrived -unbidden. His orderly came to him and told him -that a man desired speech of him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What manner of man?" asked Sanders, wearily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said the orderly, "I have not seen a -man like him before."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders went out to inspect his visitor. The -stranger rose and saluted, raising both hands, -and the Commissioner looked him over. He was -not of any of the tribes he knew, being without -the face-cuts laterally descending either cheek, -which mark the Bomongo. Neither was he tattooed -on the forehead, like the people of the Little River.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where do you come from?" asked Sanders, in -Swaheli—which is the </span><em class="italics">lingua franca</em><span> of the -continent—but the man shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So Sanders tried him again, this time in Bomongo, -thinking, from his face-marks, that he must be a -man of the Bokeri people. But he answered in a -strange tongue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Quel nom avez vous?</em><span>" Sanders asked, and -repeated the question in Portuguese. To this -latter he responded, saying that he was a small -chief of the Congo Angola, and that he had left his -land to avoid slavery.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Take him to the men's camp and feed him," -said Sanders, and dismissed him from his mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders had little time to bother about stray -natives who might wander into his camp. He -was engaged in searching for a gentleman who was -known as Abdul Hazim, a great rascal, trading guns -and powder contrary to the law.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And," said Sanders to the captain of the -Houssas, "if I catch him he'll be sorry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Abdul Hazim shared this view, so kept out of -Sanders's way to such purpose that, after a week's -further wanderings, Sanders returned to his headquarters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Just about then he was dispirited, physically -low from the after-effects of fever, and mentally -disturbed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing went right with the Commissioner. -There had been a begging letter from head-quarters -concerning this same Abdul Hazim. He was in -no need of Houssa palavers, yet there must needs -come a free fight amongst these valiant soldier-men, -and, to crown all, two hours afterwards, the Houssa -skipper had gone to bed with a temperature of 104.6.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bring the swine here," said Sanders inelegantly, -when the sergeant of Houssas reported -the fight. And there were marched before him the -strange man, who had come to him from the -backlands, and a pugnacious soldier named Kano.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the Houssa, "by my god, who is, -I submit, greater than most gods, I am not to -blame. This Kaffir dog would not speak to me -when I spoke; also, he put his hands to my meat, -so I struck him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is that all?" asked Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is all, lord."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And did the stranger do no more than, in his -ignorance, touch your meat, and keep silence when -you spoke?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No more, lord."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders leant back in his seat of justice and scowled -horribly at the Houssa.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If there is one thing more evident to me than -another," he said slowly, "it is that a Houssa is a -mighty person, a lord, a king. Now I sit here in -justice, respecting neither kings, such as you be, -nor slaves, such as this silent one. And I judge so, -regarding the dignity of none, according to the law -of the book. Is that so?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is so, lord."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And it would seem that it is against the law to -raise hand against any man, however much he -offends you, the proper course being to make -complaint according to the regulations of the service. -Is that so?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is so, lord."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Therefore you have broken the law. Is that truth?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is truth, lord."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go back to your lines, admitting this truth -to your comrades, and let the Kaffir rest. For on -the next occasion, for him that breaks the law, -there will be breaking of skin. The palaver is -finished."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Houssa retired.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And," said Sanders, retailing the matter to the -convalescent officer next morning, "I consider -that I showed more than ordinary self-restraint -in not kicking both of them to the devil."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're a great man," said the Houssa officer. -"You'll become a colonial-made gentleman one -of these days, unless you're jolly careful."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders passed in silence the Houssa's gibe at -the Companionship of St. Michael and St. George, -and, moreover, C.M.G.'s were not likely to come -his way whilst Abdul Hazim was still at large.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was in an unpleasant frame of mind when -Arachi came swiftly in a borrowed canoe, paddled -by four men whom he had engaged at an Isisi -village, on a promise of payment which it was -very unlikely he would ever be able to fulfil.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said Arachi solemnly, "I come desiring -to serve your lordship, for I am too great a man -for my village, and, if no chief, behold, I have a -chief's thoughts."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And a chief's hut," said Sanders dryly, "if -all they tell me is true."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Arachi winced.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said humbly, "all things are known -to you, and your eye goes forth like a chameleon's -tongue to see round the corners."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders passed over the unpleasant picture -Arachi suggested.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Arachi," he said, "it happens that you have -come at a moment when you can serve me, for -there is in my camp a strange man from a far-away -land, who knows not this country, yet desires to -cross it. Now, since you know the Angola tongue, -you shall take him in your canoe to the edge of -the Frenchi land, and there you shall put him on -his way. And for this I will pay your paddlers. -And as for you, I will remember you in the day of -your need."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not as Arachi could have wished, but it -was something. The next day he departed importantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before he left, Sanders gave him a word of advice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go you, Arachi," he said, "by the Little Kusu River."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Arachi, "there is a shorter way by -the creek of Still Waters. This goes to the Frenchi -land, and is deep enough for our purpose."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is a short way and a long way," said Sanders -grimly. "For there sits a certain Abdul Hazim -who is a great buyer of men, and, because the -Angola folk are wonderful gardeners, behold, the -Arab is anxious to come by them. Go in peace."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"On my head," said Arachi, and took his leave.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was rank bad luck that he should meet on his -way two of his principal creditors. These, having -some grievance in the matter of foodstuffs, -advanced, desiring to do him an injury, but, on his -earnest entreaties, postponed the performance of -their solemn vows.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It seems," said one of them, "that you are -now Sandi's man, for though I do not believe -anything you have told me, yet these paddlers do -not lie."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nor this silent one," said Arachi, pointing to -his charge proudly. "And because I alone in -all the land can make palaver with him, Sandi has -sent me on a mission to certain kings. These -will give me presents, and on my return I will pay -you what I owe, and much more for love."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They let him pass.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It may be said that Arachi, who lent "to none -and believed no man," had no faith whatever in -his lord's story. Who the silent Angola was, -what was his mission, and why he had been chosen -to guard the stranger, Arachi did not guess.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He would have found an easy way to understanding -if he had believed all that Sanders had told him, -but that was not Arachi's way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On a night when the canoe was beached on -an island, and the paddlers prepared the noble -Arachi's food, the borrower questioned his charge.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How does it happen, foreigner," he asked, -"that my friend and neighbour, Sandi, asks me -of my kindness to guide you to the French land?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Patron," said the Angola man, "I am a -stranger, and desire to escape from slavery. Also, -there is a small Angola-Balulu tribe, which are of -my people and faith, who dwell by the Frenchi -tribe."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What is your faith?" asked Arachi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I believe in devils and ju-jus," said the Angola -man simply, "especially one called Billimi, who -has ten eyes and spits at snakes. Also, I hate -the Arabi, that being part of my faith."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This gave Arachi food for thought, and some -reason for astonishment that Sandi should have -spoken the truth to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What of this Abdul Arabi?" he asked. "Now -I think that Sandi lied to me when he said such -an one buys men, for, if this be so, why does he -not raid the Isisi?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the Angola man shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"These are matters too high for my understanding," -he said. "Yet I know that he takes -the Angola because they are great gardeners, and -cunning in the pruning of trees."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again Arachi had reason for thinking profoundly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This Abdul, as he saw, must come to the Upper -River for the people of the Lesser Akasava, who -were also great gardeners. He would take no -Isisi, because they were notoriously lazy, and -moreover, died with exasperating readiness when -transplanted to a foreign soil.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He continued his journey till he came to the -place where he would have turned off had he taken -a short cut to the French territory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here he left his paddlers and his guest, and made -his way up the creek of Still Waters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Half-a-day's paddling brought him to the camp -of Abdul. The slaver's silent runners on the bank -had kept pace with him, and when Arachi landed -he was seized by men who sprang apparently from -nowhere.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lead me to your master, O common men," -said Arachi, "for I am a chief of the Isisi, and -desire a secret palaver."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you are Isisi, and by your thinness and your -boasting I see that you are," said his captor, "my -lord Abdul will make easy work of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Abdul Hazim was short and stout, and a lover -of happiness. Therefore he kept his camp in -that condition of readiness which enabled him to -leave quickly at the first sight of a white helmet -or a Houssa's tarboosh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For it would have brought no happiness to Abdul -had Sanders come upon him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now, seated on a soft-hued carpet of silk before -the door of his little tent, he eyed Arachi dubiously, -and listened in silence while the man spoke of -himself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kaffir," he said, when the borrower had -finished, "how do I know that you do not lie, or -that you are not one of Sandi's spies? I think I -should be very clever if I cut your throat."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Arachi explained at length why Abdul Hazim -should not cut his throat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you say this Angola man is near by, why -should I not take him without payment?" asked -the slaver.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Because," said Arachi, "this foreigner is not -the only man in the country, and because I have -great influence with Sandi, and am beloved by -all manner of people who trust me. I may bring -many other men to your lordship."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Arachi returned to the camp, towing a small -canoe with which the slaver had provided him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He woke the Angola stranger from his sleep.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Brother," he said, "here is a canoe with food. -Now I tell you to paddle one day up this creek -of Still Waters and there await my coming, for -there are evil men about, and I fear for your -safety."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Angolan, simple man that he was, obeyed. -Half a day's journey up the creek Abdul's men -were waiting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Arachi set off for his own village that night, -and in his canoe was such a store of cloth, of salt, -and of brass rods as would delight any man's heart. -Arachi came to his village singing a little song about -himself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a year he had grown rich, for there were many -ways of supplying the needs of an Arab slaver, -and Abdul paid promptly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Arachi worked single-handed, or, if he engaged -paddlers, found them in obscure corners of the -territories. He brought to Abdul many -marketable properties, mostly young N'gombi women, -who are fearful and easily cowed, and Sanders, -scouring the country for the stout man with the -fez, found him not.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Lord Abdul," said Arachi, who met the slaver -secretly one night near the Ikusi River, "Sandi -and his soldiers have gone down to the Akasava -for a killing palaver. Now I think we will do what -you wish."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were discussing an aspect of an adventure—the -grandest adventure which Abdul had ever -planned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Arachi," said Abdul, "I have made you a rich -man. Now, I tell you that I can make you richer -than any chief in this land."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall be glad to hear of this," said Arachi. -"For though I am rich, yet I have borrowed many -things, and, it seems, I have so wonderful a mind -that I must live always in to-morrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So I have heard," said the Arab. "For they -say of you that if you had the whole world you -would borrow the moon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is my mystery," said Arachi modestly. -"For this reason I am a very notable man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he sat down to listen in patience to the -great plan of Abdul Hazim. And it was a very -high plan, for there were two thousand Liberian -dollars at the back of it, and, for Arachi, payment -in kind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the moment of the conference, Sanders was -housed in the Ochori city making palaver with -Bosambo, the chief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo," said Sanders, "I have given you -these upper streams to your care. Yet Abdul -Hazim walks through the land without hurt, and -I think it is shame to you and to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said Bosambo, "it is a shameful -thing. Yet the streams hereabouts are so many, -and Abdul is a cunning man, and has spies. Also, -my people are afraid to offend him lest he 'chop' -them, or sell them into the interior."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders nodded and rose to join the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo," he said, "this government put a -price upon this Abdul, even as a certain government -put a price upon you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What is his price, lord?" asked Bosambo, -with an awakening of interest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One hundred pounds in silver," said Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo, "that is a good price."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two days afterwards, when Arachi came to -Bosambo, this chief was engaged in the purely -domestic occupation of nursing his one small son.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Greeting, Bosambo," said Arachi, "to you -and to your beautiful son, who is noble in -appearance and very quiet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Peace be to you, Arachi. I have nothing to -lend you," said Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Arachi loftily, "I am now a rich -man—richer than chiefs—and I do not borrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ko, ko!" said Bosambo, with polite incredulity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo," Arachi went on, "I came to you -because I love you, and you are not a talking man, -but rather a wise and silent one."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All this I know, Arachi," said Bosambo -cautiously. "And again I say to you that I lend -no man anything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The exasperated Arachi raised his patient eyes -to heaven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord Bosambo," he said, in the tone of one hurt, -"I came to tell you of that which I have found, -and to ask your lordship to help me secure it. -For in a certain place I have come across a great -stock of ivory, such as the old kings buried against -their need."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Arachi," said Bosambo, of a sudden, "you -tell me that you are rich. Now you are a little -man and I am a chief, yet I am not rich."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have many friends," said Arachi, trembling -with pride, "and they give me rods and salt."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is nothing," said Bosambo. "Now I -understand richness, for I have lived amongst -white folk who laugh at rods and throw salt to dogs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord Bosambo," said the other eagerly, "I -am rich also by white men's rule. Behold!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>From his waist pouch he took a handful of silver, -and offered it in both hands for the chief's inspection.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo examined the money respectfully, -turning each coin over gingerly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is good riches," he said, and he breathed a -little faster than was his wont. "And it is new, -being bright. Also the devil marks, which you do -not understand, are as they should be."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The gratified Arachi shoved his money back into -his pouch. Bosambo sat in meditative silence, -his face impassive.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you will take me, Arachi, to the place of -buried treasure?" he asked slowly. "Ko! you -are a generous man, for I do not know why you -should share with me, knowing that I once beat you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo put the child down gently. These -kings' stores were traditional. Many had been -found, and it was the dream of every properly -constituted man to unearth such.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet Bosambo was not impressed, being in his -heart sceptical.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Arachi," he said, "I believe that you are a -liar! Yet I would see this store, and, if it be near -by, will see with my own eyes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was one day's journey, according to Arachi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You shall tell me where this place is," said -Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Arachi hesitated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, how do I not know that you will not go -and take this store?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo regarded him sternly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Am I not an honest man?" he asked. "Do -not the people from one end of the world to the -other swear by the name of Bosambo?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Arachi truthfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet he told of the place. It was by the River of -Shadows, near the Crocodile Pool Where-the-Floods -Had-Changed-The-Land.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo went to his hut to make preparations -for the journey.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Behind his house, in a big grass cage, were many -little pigeons. He laboriously wrote in his vile -Arabic a laconic message, and attached it to the -leg of a pigeon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To make absolutely sure, for Bosambo left -nothing to chance, he sent away a canoe secretly -that night for a certain destination.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And this you shall say to Sandi," said the chief -to his trusted messenger, "that Arachi is rich -with the richness of silver, and that silver has the -devil marks of Zanzibar—being the home of all -traders, as your lordship knows."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next day, at dawn, Bosambo and his guide -departed. They paddled throughout the day, taking -the smaller stream that drained the eastern side of -the river, and at night they camped at a place -called Bolulu, which means "the changed land."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They rose with the daylight to resume their -journey. But it was unnecessary, for, in the -darkness before the dawn, Abdul Hazim had -surrounded the camp, and, at the persuasive muzzle -of a Snider rifle, Bosambo accompanied his captors -ten minutes' journey into the wood where Abdul -awaited him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The slaver, sitting before the door of his tent on -his silken carpet, greeted his captive in the Ochori -dialect. Bosambo replied in Arabic.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ho, Bosambo!" said Abdul. "Do you know me?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sheikh," said Bosambo, "I would know you -in hell, for you are the man whose head my master -desires."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo," said Abdul calmly, "your head is -more valuable, so they say, for the Liberians will -put it upon a pole, and pay me riches for my enterprise."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo laughed softly. "Let the palaver -finish," he said, "I am ready to go."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They brought him to the river again, tied him to -a pole, and laid him in the bottom of a canoe, -Arachi guarding him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo, looking up, saw the borrower squatting -on guard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Arachi," he said, "if you untie my hands, -it shall go easy with you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If I untie your hands," said Arachi frankly, -"I am both a fool and a dead man, and neither of -these conditions is desirable."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To every man," quoth Bosambo, "there is -an easy kill somewhere,[#] and, if he misses this, -all kills are difficult."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>[#] The native equivalent for "opportunity knocks," etc.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Four big canoes composed the waterway caravan. -Abdul was in the largest with his soldiers, and -led the van.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They moved quickly down the tiny stream, -which broadened as it neared the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Abdul's headman suddenly gasped.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Look!" he whispered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The slaver turned his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Behind them, paddling leisurely, came four -canoes, and each was filled with armed men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Quickly," said Abdul, and the paddlers stroked -furiously, then stopped.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ahead was the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span>, a trim, white steamer, -alive with Houssas.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is God's will," said Abdul. "These things -are ordained."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He said no more until he stood before Sanders, -and the Commissioner was not especially communicative.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What will you do with me?" asked Abdul.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will tell you when I have seen your stores," -said Sanders. "If I find rifles such as the foolish -Lobolo people buy, I shall hang you according to law."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Arab looked at the shaking Arachi. The -borrower's knees wobbled fearfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I see," said Abdul thoughtfully, "that this -man whom I made rich has betrayed me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If he had hurried or moved jerkily Sanders would -have prevented the act; but the Arab searched -calmly in the fold of his </span><em class="italics">bournous</em><span> as though seeking -a cigarette.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His hand came out, and with it a curved knife.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he struck quickly, and Arachi went -blubbering to the deck, a dying man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Borrower," said the Arab, and he spoke from -the centre of six Houssas who were chaining him, -so that he was hidden from the sobbing figure on -the floor, "I think you have borrowed that which -you can at last repay. For it is written in the -Sura of the Djinn that from him who takes a life, -let his life be taken, that he may make full repayment."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-tax-resisters"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER II</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE TAX RESISTERS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Sanders took nothing for granted when -he accounted for native peoples. These -tribes of his possessed an infinite capacity for -unexpectedness—therein lay at once their danger -and their charm. For one could neither despair -at their sin nor grow too confidently elated at their -virtue, knowing that the sun which went down on -the naughtiness of the one and the dovelike -placidity of the other, might rise on the smouldering -sacrificial fires in the streets of the blessed village, -and reveal the folk of the incorrigible sitting at -the doors of their huts, dust on head, hands -outspread in an agony of penitence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet it seemed that the people of Kiko were -models of deportment, thrift, and intelligence, -and that the gods had given them beautiful natures. -Kiko, a district of the Lower Isisi, is separated -from all other tribes and people by the Kiko on -the one side, the Isisi River on the other, and on -the third by clumps of forest land set at irregular -intervals in the Great Marsh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Kiko proper stretches from the marsh to the tongue -of land at the confluence of the Kiko and Isisi, -in the shape of an irregular triangle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To the eastward, across the Kiko River, are the -unruly N'gombi tribes; to the westward, on the -farther bank of the big river, are the Akasava; -and the Kiko people enjoy an immunity from -sudden attack, which is due in part to its geographical -position, and in part to the remorseless activities -of Mr. Commissioner Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Once upon a time a king of the N'gombi called -his headmen and chiefs together to a great palaver.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It seems to me," he said, "that we are children. -For our crops have failed because of the floods, -and the thieving Ochori have driven the game into -their own country. Now, across the river are -the Kiko people, and they have reaped an oat -harvest; also, there is game in plenty. Must -we sit and starve whilst the Kiko swell with food?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A fair question, though the facts were not exactly -stated, for the N'gombi were lazy, and had sown -late; also the game was in their forest for the -searching, but, as the saying is, "The N'gombi -hunts from his bed and seeks only cooked meats."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One night the N'gombi stole across the river -and fell upon Kiko city, establishing themselves -masters of the country.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a great palaver, which was attended -by the chief and headman of the Kiko.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Henceforward," said the N'gombi king—Tigilini -was his name—"you are as slaves to my people, -and if you are gentle and good and work in the -fields you shall have one-half of all you produce, -for I am a just man, and very merciful. But if -you rebel, I will take you for my sport."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lest any misunderstanding should exist, he took -the first malcontent, who was a petty chief of a -border village, and performed his programme.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This man had refused tribute, and was led, -with roped hands, before the king, all headmen -having been summoned to witness the happening.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The rebel was bound with his hands behind him, -and was ordered to kneel. A young sapling was -bent over, and one end of a native rope was fixed -to its topmost branches, and the other about his -neck. The tree was slowly released till the head -of the offender was held taut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now!" said the king, and his executioner -struck off the head, which was flung fifty yards -by the released sapling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It fell at the feet of Mr. Commissioner Sanders, -who, with twenty-five Houssas and a machine -gun, had just landed from the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was annoyed; he had travelled three -days and four nights with little sleep, and he had -a touch of fever, which made him irritable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He walked into the village and interrupted an -eloquent address on the obligations of the -conquered, which the N'gombi thief thought it -opportune to deliver.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stopped half-way through his speech, and lost -a great deal of interest in the proceedings as the -crowd divided to allow of Sanders's approach.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Tigilini, that quick and subtle -man, "you have come at a proper time, for these -people were in rebellion against your lordship, -and I have subdued them. Therefore, master, -give me rewards as you gave to Bosambo of the -Ochori."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders gave nothing save a brief order, and his -Houssas formed a half circle about the hut of the -king—Tigilini watching the manoeuvre with some -apprehension.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If," he said graciously. "I have done anything -which your lordship thinks I should not have -done, or taken that which I should not have taken, -I will undo and restore."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders, hands on hips, regarded him dispassionately.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There is a body." He pointed to the stained -and huddled thing on the ground. "There, by -the path, is a head. Now, you shall put the head -to that body and restore life."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That I cannot do," said the king nervously, -"for I am no ju-ju."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders spoke two words in Arabic, and Tigilini -was seized.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They carried the king away, and no man ever -saw his face again, and it is a legend that Tigilini, -the king, is everlastingly chained to the hind leg -of M'shimba M'shamba, the green devil of the -Akasava. If the truth be told, Tigilini went -no nearer to perdition than the convict prison -at Sierra Leone, but the legend is not without -its value as a deterrent to ambitious chiefs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders superintended the evacuation of the -Kiko, watched the crestfallen N'gombi retire to -their own lands, and set up a new king without -fuss or ceremony. And the smooth life of the -Kiko people ran pleasantly as before.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They tilled the ground and bred goats and caught -fish. From the marsh forest, which was their -backland, they gathered rubber and copal, and -this they carried by canoe to the mouth of the -river and sold.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So they came to be rich, and even the common -people could afford three wives.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was very wise in the psychology of -native wealth. He knew that people who grew -rich in corn were dangerous, because corn is an -irresponsible form of property, and had no -ramifications to hold in check the warlike spirit of -its possessors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He knew, too, that wealth in goats, in cloth, in -brass rods, and in land was a factor for peace, -because possessions which cannot be eaten are -ever a steadying influence in communal life.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was a wise man. He was governed by -certain hard and fast rules, and though he was -well aware that failure in any respect to grapple -with a situation would bring him a reprimand, -either because he had not acted according to the -strict letter of the law, or because he "had not used -his discretion" in going outside that same -inflexible code, he took responsibility without fear.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was left to his discretion as to what part of -the burden of taxation individual tribes should -bear, and on behalf of his government he took -his full share of the Kiko surplus, adjusting his -demands according to the measure of the tribe's -prosperity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three years after the enterprising incursion of -the N'gombi, he came to the Kiko country on -his half-yearly visit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the palaver house of the city he listened to -complaints, as was his custom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sat from dawn till eight o'clock in the morning, -and after the tenth complaint he turned to the -chief of the Kiko, who sat at his side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chief," he said, with that air of bland -innocence which would have made men used to his -ways shake in their tracks, "I observe that all men -say one thing to me—that they are poor. Now -this is not the truth."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am in your hands," said the chief diplomatically; -"also my people, and they will pay taxation -though they starve."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders saw things in a new light.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It seems," he said, addressing the serried -ranks of people who squatted about, "that there -is discontent in your stomachs because I ask you -for your taxes. We will have a palaver on this."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sat down, and a grey old headman, a notorious -litigant and a league-long speaker, rose up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said dramatically, "justice!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kwai!" cried the people in chorus.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The murmur, deep-chested and unanimous, made -a low, rumbling sound like the roll of a drum.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Justice!" said the headman. "For you, Sandi, -are very cruel and harsh. You take and take -and give us nothing, and the people cry out in -pain."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He paused, and Sanders nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go on," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Corn and fish, gum and rubber, we give you," -said the spokesman; "and when we ask whither -goes this money, you point to the puc-a-puc[#] -and your soldiers, and behold we are mocked. -For your puc-a-puc comes only to take our taxes, -and your soldiers to force us to pay."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] Steamer.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Again the applauding murmur rolled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So we have had a palaver," said the headman, -"and this we have said among ourselves: 'Let -Sandi remit one-half our taxes; these we will -bring in our canoes to the Village-by-the-Big-Water, -for we are honest men, and let Sandi keep his soldiers -and his puc-a-puc for the folk of the Isisi and the -Akasava and the N'gombi, for these are turbulent -and wicked people.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kwai!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was evidently a popular movement, and -Sanders smiled behind his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As for us," said the headman, "we are peaceable -folk, and live comfortably with all nations, -and if any demand of us that we shall pay tribute, -behold it will be better to give freely than to pay -these taxes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders listened in silence, then he turned to -the chief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It shall be as you wish," he said, "and I will remit -one half of your taxation—the palaver is finished."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He went on board the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> that night and lay -awake listening to the castanets of the dancing -women—the Kiko made merry to celebrate the -triumph of their diplomacy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders left next day for the Isisi, having no -doubt in his mind that the news of his concession -had preceded him. So it proved, for at Lukalili -no sooner had he taken his place in the speech-house -than the chief opened the proceedings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord Sandi," he began, "we are poor men, -and our people cry out against taxation. Now, -lord, we have thought largely on this matter, and -this say the people: 'If your lordship would -remit one-half our taxes we should be happy, for -this puc-a-puc'——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders waved him down.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chiefs and people," he said, "I am patient, -because I love you. But talk to me more about -taxation and about puc-a-pucs, and I will find a -new chief for me, and you will wish that you had -never been born."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After that Sanders had no further trouble.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He came to the Ochori, and found Bosambo, -wholly engrossed with his new baby, but ripe for -action.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo," said the Commissioner, after he -had gingerly held the new-comer and bestowed -his natal present, "I have a story to tell you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He told his story, and Bosambo found it vastly -entertaining.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Five days later, when Sanders was on his way -home, Bosambo with ten picked men for paddlers, -came sweeping up the river, and beached at Kiko -city.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was greeted effusively; a feast was prepared -for him, the chief's best hut was swept clean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord Bosambo," said the Kiko chief, when the -meal was finished, "I shall have a sore heart this -night when you are gone."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am a kind man," said Bosambo, "so I will -not go to-night, for the thought of your sorrow -would keep sleep from my eyes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the chief hastily, "I am not used -to sorrow, and, moreover, I shall sleep heavily, -and it would be shameful if I kept you from your -people, who sigh like hungry men for your return."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is true," said Bosambo, "yet I will stay -this night, because my heart is full of pleasant -thoughts for you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you left to-night," said the embarrassed -chief, "I would give you a present of two goats."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Goats," said Bosambo, "I do not eat, being -of a certain religious faith——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Salt I will give you also," said the chief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I stay to-night," said Bosambo emphatically; -"to-morrow I will consider the matter."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next morning Bosambo went to bathe in -the river, and returned to see the chief of the Kiko -squatting before the door of his hut, vastly glum.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ho, Cetomati!" greeted Bosambo, "I have -news which will gladden your heart."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A gleam of hope shone in the chief's eye.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Does my brother go so soon?" he asked pointedly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chief," said Bosambo acidly, "if that be -good news to you, I go. And woe to you and -your people, for I am a proud man, and my people -are also proud. Likewise, they are notoriously -vengeful."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Kiko king rose in agitation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said humbly, "my words are twisted, -for, behold, all this night I have spent mourning -in fear of losing your lordship. Now, tell me your -good news that I may rejoice with you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Bosambo was frowning terribly, and was -not appeased for some time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This is my news, O king!" he said. "Whilst -I bathed I beheld, far away, certain Ochori canoes, -and I think they bring my councillors. If this -be so, I may stay with you for a long time—rejoice!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Kiko chief groaned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He groaned more when the canoes arrived -bringing reinforcements to Bosambo—ten lusty -fighting men, terribly tall and muscular.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He groaned undisguisedly when the morrow -brought another ten, and the evening some twenty -more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There are sayings on the river which are -uncomplimentary to the appetites of the Ochori.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus: "Men eat to live fat, but the Ochori -live to eat." And: "One field of corn will feed -a village for a year, ten goats for a month, and an -Ochori for a day."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Certainly Bosambo's followers were excellent -trenchermen. They ate and they ate and they -ate; from dawn till star time they alternated -between the preparation of meals and their disposal. -The simple folk of the Kiko stood in a wondering -circle about them and watched in amazement as -their good food vanished.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I see we shall starve when the rains come," -said the chief in despair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sent an urgent canoe to Sanders, but Sanders -was without sympathy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go to your master," he said to the envoy, -"telling him that all these things are his palaver. -If he does not desire the guests of his house, let -him turn them away, for the land is his, and he -is chief."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cold comfort for Cetomati this, for the Ochori -sat in the best huts, eating the best foods, finding -the best places at the dance-fires.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The king called a secret palaver of his headmen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"These miserable Ochori thieves ruin us," he -said. "Are we men or dogs? Now, I tell you, -my people and councillors, that to-morrow I send -Bosambo and his robbers away, though I die for it!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kwai!" said the councillors in unison.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said one, "in the times of </span><em class="italics">cala-cala</em><span> -the Kiko folk were very fierce and bloody; -perchance if we rouse the people with our eloquence -they are still fierce and bloody."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The king looked dubious.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do not think," he said, "that the Kiko people -are as fierce and bloody as at one time, for we -have had many fat years. What I know, O friend, -is that the Ochori are very fierce indeed, and -Bosambo has killed many men."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He screwed up his courage through the night, -and in the morning put it to the test.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo, in his most lordly way, had ordered -a big hunting, and he and his men were assembling -in the village street when the king and his councillors -approached.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the king mildly, "I have that within -me which I must tell."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Say on," said Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, I love you, Bosambo," said the chief, -"and the thought that I must speed you on your -way—with presents—is very sad to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"More sad to me," said Bosambo ominously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yet lord," said the desperate chief, "I must, -for my people are very fierce with me that I keep -you so long within our borders. Likewise, there -is much sickness, and I fear lest you and your -beautiful men also become sick, and die."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Only one man in all the world, chief," said -Bosambo, speaking with deliberation, "has ever -put such shame upon me—and, king, that man—where -is he?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The king of the Kiko did not say, because he did not -know. He could guess—oh, very well he could guess!—and -Bosambo's next words justified his guesswork.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He is dead," said Bosambo solemnly. "I -will not say how he died, lest you think I am a -boastful one, or whose hand struck him down, for -fear you think vainly—nor as to the manner of -his dying, for that would give you sorrow!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo," said the agitated chief of the Kiko, -"these are evil words——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I say no evil words," said Bosambo, "for -I am, as you know, the brother-in-law of Sandi, -and it would give him great grief. I say nothing, -O little king!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With a lofty wave of his hand he strode away, -and, gathering his men together, he marched them -to the beach.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was in vain that the chief of the Kiko had -stored food in enormous quantities and presents -in each canoe, that bags of salt were evenly -distributed amongst the paddlers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo, it is true, did not throw them back -upon the shore, but he openly and visibly scorned -them. The king, standing first on one foot and -then on the other, in his anxiety and embarrassment, -strove to give the parting something of a genial -character, but Bosambo was silent, forbidding, and -immensely gloomy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the chief, "when shall my heart -again be gladdened at the sight of your pretty face?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who knows?" said Bosambo mysteriously. -"Who can tell when I come, or my friends! For -many men love me—Isisi, N'gombi, Akasava, -Bongindi, and the Bush people."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stepped daintily into his canoe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I tell you," he said, wagging a solemn forefinger, -"that whatever comes to you, it is no palaver -of mine; whoever steals quietly upon you in the -night, it will not be Bosambo—I call all men to -witness this saying."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And with this he went.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a palaver that night, where all men -spoke at once, and the Kiko king did not more -than bite his nails nervously. It was certain that -attack would come.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let us meet them boldly," said the one who -had beforetime rendered such advice. "For in -times of </span><em class="italics">cala-cala</em><span> the Kiko folk were fierce and -bloody people."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Whatever they might have been once, there -was no spirit of adventure abroad then, and many -voices united to call the genius who had suggested -defiance a fool and worse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All night long the Kiko stood a nation in arms.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Once the hooting of a bird sent them scampering -to their huts with howls of fear; once a wandering -buffalo came upon a quaking picket and scattered -it. Night after night the fearful Kiko kept guard, -sleeping as they could by day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They saw no enemy; the suspense was worse -than the vision of armed warriors. A messenger -went to Sanders about the fears and apprehensions -of the people, but Sanders was callous.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If any people attack you, I will come with my -soldiers, and for every man of you who dies, I -will kill one of your enemies."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the messenger, none other than -the king's son, "if we are dead, we care little who -lives or dies. Now, I ask you, master, to send your -soldiers with me, for our people are tired and timid."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Be content," said Sanders, "that I have -remitted your taxation—the palaver is finished."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The messenger returned to his dismal nation—Sanders -at the time was never more than a day's -journey from the Kiko—and a sick and weary -people sat down in despair to await the realisation -of their fears.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They might have waited throughout all eternity, -for Bosambo was back in his own city, and had -almost forgotten them, and Isisi and the Akasava, -regarding them for some reason as Sanders' </span><em class="italics">urglebes</em><span>, -would have no more thought of attacking them -than they would have considered the possibility -of attacking Sanders; and as for the N'gombi, -they had had their lesson.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus matters stood when the Lulungo people, -who live three days beyond the Akasava, came -down the river looking for loot and trouble.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Lulungo people are an unlovable race; -"a crabbed, bitter, and a beastly people," Sanders -once described them in his wrath.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For two years the Lulungo folk had lain quiet, -then, like foraging and hungry dogs, they took the -river trail—six canoes daubed with mud and rushes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They found hospitality of a kind in the fishing -villages, for the peaceable souls who lived therein -fled at the first news of the visitation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They came past the Ochori warily keeping to -midstream. Time was when the Ochori would -have supplied them with all their requirements, -but nowadays these men of Bosambo's snapped -viciously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"None the less," said Gomora, titular chief -of the Lulungo, to his headmen, "since we be so -strong the Ochori will not oppose us—let two canoes -paddle to land."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The long boats were detached from the fleet -and headed for the beach. A shower of arrows -fell short of them, and they turned back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Isisi country they passed, the Akasava they -gave the widest of berths to, for the Lulungo folk are -rather cruel than brave, better assassins than fighting -men, more willing to kill coldly than in hot blood. -They went lurching down the river, seizing such -loot as the unprotected villages gave them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a profitless expedition.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now we will go to Kiko," said Gomora; "for -these people are very rich, and, moreover, they -are fearful. Speak to my people, and say that -there shall be no killing, for that devil Sandi hates -us, and he will incite the tribes against us, as he -did in the days of my father."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They waited till night had fallen, and then, -under the shadow of the river bank, they moved -silently upon their prey.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We will frighten them," confided Gomora; -"and they will give us what we ask; then we -will make them swear by Iwa that they will not -speak to Sandi—it will be simple."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Lulungo knew the Kiko folk too well, and -they landed at a convenient place, making their -way through the strip of forest without the display -of caution which such a manoeuvre would have -necessitated had it been employed against a more -warlike nation.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Sanders, hurrying down stream, his guns swung -out and shotted for action, his armed Houssas -sitting in the bow of the steamer, met two canoes, -unmistakably Lulungo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He circled and captured them. In one was -Gomora, a little weak from loss of blood, but more -bewildered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said bitterly, "all this world is -changed since you have come; once the Ochori -were meat for me and my people, being very -timorous. Then by certain magic they became -fierce fighters. And now, lord, the Kiko folk, -who, up and down the river, are known for their -gentleness, have become like devils."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders waited, and the chief went on:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Last night we came to the Kiko, desiring to -rest with them, and in the dark of the forest they -fell upon us, with great screaming; and, behold! of -ten canoes these men are all I have left, for the -Kiko were waiting for our coming."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He looked earnestly at Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell me, lord," he said, "what magic do white -men use to make warriors from cowards?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is not for your knowing," said Sanders -diplomatically; "yet you should put this amongst -the sayings of your people, 'Every rat fights in -his hole, and fear is more fierce than hate.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He went on to Kiko city, arriving in time to -check an expedition, for the Kiko, filled with -arrogance at their own powers, were assembling -an army to attack the Ochori.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Often have I told," said the chief, trembling -with pride, "that the Kiko were terrible and -bloody—now, lord, behold! In the night we -slew our oppressors, for the spirit of our fathers -returned to us, and our enemies could not check us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Excellent!" said Sanders in the vernacular. -"Now I see an end to all taxation palaver, for, -truly, you do not desire my soldiers nor the -puc-a-puc. Yet, lest the Lulungo folk return—for they -are as many as the sands of the river—I will send -fighting men to help you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord you are as our father and mother," said -the gratified chief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Therefore I will prevail upon Bosambo, whose -heart is now sore against you, to come with his -fighting tribes to sit awhile at your city."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The chief's face worked convulsively: he was -as one swallowing a noxious draught.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said, speaking under stress of emotion, -"we are a poor people, yet we may pay your lordship -full taxes, for in the end I think it would be -cheaper than Bosambo and his hungry devils."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So I think!" said Sanders.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-rise-of-the-emperor"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER III</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE RISE OF THE EMPEROR</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Tobolaka, the king of the Isisi, was -appointed for his virtues, being a Christian -and a Bachelor of Arts.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For a time he ruled his country wisely and might -have died full of honour, but his enthusiasm got -the better of him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For Tobolaka had been taken to America when -a boy by an enthusiastic Baptist, had been educated -at a college and had lectured in America and -England. He wrote passable Latin verse, so I -am told; was a fluent exponent of the Free Silver -Policy of Mr. Bryan, and wore patent leather shoes -with broad silk laces.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In London he attracted the attention of a callow -Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, and -this Under-Secretary was a nephew of the Prime -Minister, cousin of the Minister of War, and -son-in-law of the Lord Chancellor, so he had a pull -which most Under-Secretaries do not ordinarily -possess.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Tobolaka," said the Under-Secretary, -"what are your plans?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Tobolaka was a little restrained.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I feel, Mr. Cardow," he said, "that my duties -lie in my land—no, I do not mean that I have any -call to missionary work, but rather to administration. -I am, as you know of the Isisi people—we -are a pure Bantu stock, as far as legend supports -that contention—and I have often thought, -remembering that the Isisi are the dominant race, that -there are exceptional opportunities for an agglomeration -of interests; in fact——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A splendid idea—a great idea!" said the -enthusiastic Under-Secretary.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now it happened that this young Mr. Cardow -had sought for years for some scheme which he -might further to his advantage. He greatly desired, -after the fashion of all budding Parliamentarians, -to be associated with a movement which would -bring kudos and advertisement in its train, and -which would earn for him the approval or the -condemnation of the Press, according to the shade -of particular opinion which the particular newspapers -represented.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So in the silence of his room in Whitehall Court, -he evolved a grand plan which he submitted to -his chief. That great man promised to read it -on a given day, and was dismayed when he found -himself confronted with forty folios of typewritten -matter at the very moment when he was hurrying -to catch the 10.35 to the Cotswold Golf Links.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will read it in the train," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He crammed the manuscript into his bag and -forgot all about it; on his return to town he -discovered that by some mischance he had left the -great scheme behind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nevertheless, being a politician and resourceful, -he wrote to his subordinate.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"DEAR CARDOW,—I have read your valuable -document with more than ordinary interest. -I think it is an excellent idea,"—he knew it was -an idea because Cardow had told him so—"but -I see many difficulties. Mail me another copy. -I should like to send it to a friend of mine who -would give me an expert opinion."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was a wily letter, but indiscreet, for on the -strength of that letter the Under-Secretary enlisted -the sympathies and practical help of his chief's -colleagues.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Here we have a native and an educated native," -he said impressively, "who is patriotic, intelligent, -resourceful. It is a unique opportunity—a splendid -opportunity. Let him go back to his country -and get the threads together."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The conversation occurred in the Prime Minister's -room, and there were present three Ministers of -the Crown, including a Home Secretary, who was -frankly bored, because he had a scheme of his -own, and would much rather have discussed his -Artisans' Tenement (19—) Bill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't there a Commissioner Sanders in that -part of the world?" he asked languidly. "I -seem to remember some such name. And isn't -there likely to be trouble with the minor chiefs -if you set up a sort of Central African Emperor?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That can be overcome," said the sanguine -Cardow. "As for Sanders, I expect him to help. -A dynasty established on the Isisi River might -end all the troubles we have had there."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It might end other things," said the impatient -Home Secretary. "Now about this Tenement -Bill. I think we ought to accept Cronk's -amendment—er——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A few weeks later Mr. Tobolaka was summoned -to Whitehall Court.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think, Mr. Tobolaka," said Cardow complacently, -"I have arranged for a trial of our -plan. The Government has agreed—after a tough -fight with the permanent officials, I admit—to -establish you on the Isisi as King and Overlord -of the Isisi, Ochori, N'gombi, and Akasava. They -will vote you a yearly allowance, and will build -a house in Isisi city for you. You will find -Mr. Sanders—er—difficult, but you must have a great -deal of patience."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sir," said Mr. Tobolaka, speaking under stress -of profound emotion, "I'm e-eternally obliged. -You've been real good to me, and I guess I'll make -good."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Between the date of Tobolaka's sailing and his -arrival Sanders ordered a palaver of all chiefs, -and they came to meet him in the city of the -Isisi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chiefs and headmen," said Sanders, "you -know that many moons ago the Isisi people rose -in an evil moment and made sacrifice contrary -to the law. So I came with my soldiers and took -away the king to the Village of Irons, where he -now sits. Because the Isisi are foolish people, -my Government sets up a new king, who is Tobolaka, -son of Yoka'n'kema, son of Ichulomo, the son of -Tibilino."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," gasped an Isisi headman, "this Tobolaka -I remember. The God-folk took him away to -their own land, where he learnt to be white."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yet I promise you that he is black," said -Sanders drily, "and will be blacker. Also, chiefs -of the Ochori, N'gombi, and Akasava, this new -king will rule you, being paramount king of these -parts, and you shall bring him presents and tribute -according to custom."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was an ominous silence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then O'kara, the chief of the Akasava, an old -and arrogant man, spoke:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said, "many things have I learnt, -such as mysteries and devil magic, yet I have not -learnt in my life that the Akasava pay tribute to -the Isisi, for, lord, in the year of the Floods, the -Akasava fought with the Isisi and made them -run; also, in the year of the Elephants, we defeated -the Isisi on land and water, and would have sat -down in their city if your lordship had not come -with guns and soldiers and tempted us to go home."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Akasava headmen murmured their approval.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Alas," said the chief of the N'gombi, "we -people of the N'gombi are fierce men, and often -have we made the Isisi tremble by our mighty -shouts. Now I should be ashamed to bring -tribute to Tobolaka."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The palaver waited for Bosambo of the Ochori -to speak, but he was silent, for he had not grasped -the bias of the Commissioner's mind. Other men -spoke at length, taking their cue from their chiefs, -but the men of the Ochori said nothing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For how was I to speak?" said Bosambo, -after the palaver. "No man knows how your -lordship thinks."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You have ears," said Sanders, a little irritated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They are large," admitted Bosambo, "so -large that they hear your beautiful voice, but not -so long that they hear your lordship's loving -thoughts."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders's thoughts were by no means loving, -and they diminished in beauty day by day as -the ship which carried Tobolaka to his empire -drew nearer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders did not go down to the beach to meet -him; he awaited his coming on the verandah -of the residency, and when Tobolaka arrived, -clad from head to foot in spotless white, with a -helmet of exact colonial pattern on his head, Sanders -swore fluently at all interfering and experimenting -Governments.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Sanders, I presume?" said Tobolaka in -English, and extended his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chief," said Sanders in the Isisi tongue, "you -know that I am Sandi, so do not talk like a monkey; -speak rather in the language of your people, and -I will understand you better—also you will -understand me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It so happened that Tobolaka had prepared -a dignified little speech, in the course of which -he intended congratulating Sanders on the -prosperity of the country, assuring him of -whole-hearted co-operation, and winding up with an -expression of his wishes that harmonious relation -should exist between himself and the State.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was founded on a similar speech delivered -by King Peter of Servia on his assuming the crown. -But, unfortunately, it was in English, and the -nearest Isisi equivalent for congratulation is an -idiomatic phrase which literally means, -"High-man-look-kindly-on-dog-slave-who-lies-at-feet." And -this, thought Tobolaka, would never do at all, -for he had come to put the Commissioner in his place.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders condescended to talk English later -when Tobolaka was discussing Cabinet Ministers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall—at the Premier's request—endeavour -to establish district councils," he said. "I think -it is possible to bring the native to a realisation -of his responsibility. As Cicero said——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do not bother about Cicero," said Sanders -coldly. "It is not what Cicero said, but what -Bosambo will say: there are philosophers on -this river who could lose the ancients."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tobolakat in a canoe sent for him by the Isisi -folk, went to his new home. He hinted broadly -that a state entrance in the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> would be more -in keeping with the occasion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And a ten-gun salute, I suppose!" snarled -Sanders in Isisi. "Get to your land, chief, before -I lose my patience, for I am in no mood to palaver -with you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tobolaka stopped long enough at headquarters -to write privately to the admirable Mr. Cardow, -complaining that he had received "scant courtesy" -at the hands of the Commissioner. He had shown -"deplorable antagonism." The letter concluded -with respectful wishes regarding Mr. Cardow's -health, and there was a postscript, significant -and ominous to the effect that the writer hoped -to cement the good feeling which already existed -between Great Britain and the United States of -America by means which he did not disclose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The excellent Mr. Cardow was frankly puzzled -by the cryptic postscript, but was too much -occupied with a successful vote of censure on -the Government which had turned him into the -cold shades of Opposition to trouble to reply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tobolaka came to his city and was accorded a -rapturous welcome by a people who were prepared -at any given hour of the day or night to jubilate -over anything which meant dances and feasts.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sat in the palaver house in his white duck -suit and his white helmet, with a cavalry sword -(this Sanders had not seen) between his knees, -his white-gloved hands resting on the hilt.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And he spoke to the people in Isisi, which they -understood, and in English, which they did not -understand, but thought wonderful. He also recited -as much of the "Iliad" as he could remember, -and then, triumphant and a little hoarse, he was -led to the big hut of chieftainship, and was waited -upon by young girls who danced for his amusement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders heard of these things and more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He learnt that the Isisi were to be ruled in -European fashion. To Tobolaka came Cala, a -sycophantic old headman from the village of -Toroli, with soft and oily words. Him the king -promoted to be Minister of Justice, though he was -a notorious thief. Mijilini, the fisher chief, -Tobolaka made his Minister of War; he had a Home -Secretary, a Minister of Agriculture, and a Fishery -Commissioner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders, steaming up-river, was met by the -canoe of Limibolo, the Akasava man, and his canoe -was decorated with clothes and spears as for a -wedding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the dignified Limibolo, "I go -to my village to hold a palaver, for my lord the -king has called me by a certain name which I do -not understand, but it has to do with the hanging -of evil men, and, by Iwa! I know two men in -my village who owe me salt, and they shall hang -at once, by Death!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then will I come and you shall hang also!" -said Sanders cheerlessly. "Be sure of that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It transpired that the light-hearted Limibolo -had been created sheriff.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tobolaka was on the point of raising an army -for his dignity, when Sanders came upon the scene.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He arrived without warning, and Tobolaka -had no opportunity for receiving him in the state -which the king felt was due equally to himself -and to the representative of Government.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But he had ample time to come to the beach -to greet the Commissioner according to custom. -Instead, he remained before his hut and sent his -minister in attendance, the ignoble Cala.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O Cala!" said Sanders as he stepped ashore -across the </span><em class="italics">Zaire's</em><span> narrow gangway, "what are -you in this land?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Cala, "I am a great catcher of -thieves by order of our lord; also, I check evil -in every place."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O Ko!" said Sanders offensively, "now -since you are the biggest thief of all, I think you -had best catch yourself before I catch you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He walked through Isisi city.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The king had been busy. Rough boards had -been erected at every street corner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a "Downing Street," a "Fifth Avenue," -a "Sacramento Street," a "Piccadilly," and a -"Broadway."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"These," explained Cala, "are certain devil -marks which my king has put up to warn witches -and spirits, and they have much virtue, for, lord, -my son, who was troubled with pains in his stomach, -as there"—he indicated "Broadway"—"and the -pain left him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It would," said Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tobolaka rose from his throne and offered his -hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am sorry, Mr. Sanders," he began, "you -did not give us notice of your coming."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When I come again, Tobolaka," said Sanders, -staring with his passionate grey eyes at the -white-clad figure, "you shall come to the beach to -meet me, for that is the custom."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But not the law," smiled the king.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My custom is the law," said Sanders. He -dropped his voice till it was so soft as to be little -above a whisper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tobolaka," he said, "I hanged your father -and, I believe, his father. Now I tell you -this—that you shall play this king game just so long -as it amuses your people, but you play it without -soldiers. And if you gather an army for -whatever purpose, I shall come and burn your city -and send you the way of your ancestors, for there -is but one king in this land, and I am his chief -minister."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The face of the king twitched and his eyes fell.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said, using the conventional "Iwa" -of his people, "I meant no harm. I desired only -to do honour to my wife."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You shall honour her best," said Sanders, -"by honouring me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cicero says——" began Tobolaka in English.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Damn Cicero!" snapped Sanders in the same -language.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stayed the day, and Tobolaka did his best -to make reparation for his discourtesy. Towards -evening Sanders found himself listening to -complaints. Tobolaka had his troubles.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I called a palaver of all chiefs," he explained, -"desiring to inaugurate a system analogous to -county councils. Therefore I sent to the Akasava, -the N'gombi, and the Ochori, their chiefs. Now, -sir," said the injured Tobolaka, relapsing into -English, "none of these discourteous fellows——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Speak in the language of the land, Tobolaka," -said Sanders wearily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, no man came," said the king; "nor -have they sent tribute. And I desired to bring -them to my marriage feast that my wife should -be impressed; and, since I am to be married in -the Christian style, it would be well that these -little chiefs should see with their eyes the practice -of God-men."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yet I cannot force these chiefs to your palaver, -Tobolaka," said Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Also, lord," continued the chief, "one of -these men is a Mohammedan and an evil talker, -and when I sent to him to do homage to me -he replied with terrible words, such as I would -not say again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You must humour your chiefs, king," said -Sanders, and gave the discomfited monarch no -warmer cheer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders left next day for headquarters, and -in his hurry forgot to inquire further into the -forthcoming wedding feast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And the sooner he marries the better," he -said to the Houssa captain. "Nothing tires me -quite so much as a Europeanised-Americanised -native. It is as indecent a spectacle as a niggerised -white man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He'll settle down; there's no stake in a country -like a wife," said the Houssa. "I shouldn't wonder -if he doesn't forget old man Cicero. Which chief's -daughter is to be honoured?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know, and I'm not interested. He -might make a good chief—I'm prejudiced against -him, I admit. As likely as not he'll chuck his -job after a year if they don't 'chop' him—they're -uncertain devils, these Akasavas. Civilisation has -a big big call for him; he's always getting letters -from England and America."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Houssa captain bit off the end of a cigar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope he doesn't try Cicero on Bosambo," -he said significantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next day brought the mail—an event.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Usually Sanders was down on the beach to meet -the surf-boat that carries the post, but on this -occasion he was interviewing two spies who had -arrived with urgent news.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Therefore he did not see the passenger whom -the </span><em class="italics">Castle Queen</em><span> landed till she stood on the stoep -before the open door of the residency.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders, glancing up as a shadow fell across -the wooden stoep, rose and temporarily dismissed -the two men with a gesture.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he walked slowly to meet the girl.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was small and pretty in a way, rather flushed -by the exertion of walking from the beach to the -house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her features were regular, her mouth was small, -her chin a little weak. She seemed ill at ease.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How do you do?" said Sanders, bewildered -by the unexpectedness of the vision. He drew -a chair for her, and she sank into it with a grateful -little smile, which she instantly checked, as though -she had set herself an unpleasant task and was -not to be conciliated or turned aside by any act -of courtesy on his part.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And exactly what brings you to this unlikely -place?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm Millie Tavish," she said. "I suppose -you've heard about me?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She spoke with a curious accent. When she -told him her name he recognised it as Scottish, -on which American was imposed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I haven't heard about you," he said. "I -presume you are going up-country to a missionary -station. I'm sorry—I do not like lady missionaries -in the country."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She laughed a shrill, not unmusical laugh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I guess I'm not a missionary," she said -complacently. "I'm the queen."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders looked at her anxiously. To women -in his country he had conscientious objections; -mad women he barred.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm the queen," she repeated, evidently pleased -with the sensation she had created. "My! I -never thought I should be a queen. My grandfather -used to be a gardener of Queen Victoria's before -he came to N'York——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But——" said the staggered Commissioner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It was like this," she rattled on. "When -Toby was in Philadelphia at the theological -seminary I was a help at Miss Van Houten's—that's -the boarding house—an' Toby paid a lot -of attention to me. I thought he was joshin' -when he told me he was going to be a king, but -he's made good all right. And I've written to -him every week, and he's sent me the money to -come along——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Toby?" said Sanders slowly. "Who is Toby?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Tobolaka—King Tobolaka," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A look of horror, which he did not attempt to -disguise, swept over the face of the Commissioner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've come out to marry him—a black -man?" he gasped.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The girl flushed a deep red.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's my business," she said stiffly. "I'm -not asking advice from you. Say, I've heard -about you—your name's mud along this old coast, -but I'm not afraid of you. I've got a permit to -go up the Isisi, and I'm goin'."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was on her feet, her arms akimbo, her eyes -blazing with anger, for, womanlike, she felt the -man's unspoken antagonism.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My name may be mud," said Sanders quietly, -"and what people say about me doesn't disturb -my sleep. What they would say about me if I'd -allowed you to go up-country and marry a black -man would give me bad nights. Miss Tavish, -the mail-boat leaves in an hour for Sierra Leone. -There you will find a steamer to take you to England. -I will arrange for your passage and see that you -are met at Southampton and your passage provided -for New York."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll not go," she stormed; "you don't put -that kind of bluff on me. I'm an American -citizeness and no dud British official is going -to boss me—so there!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders smiled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was prepared to precipitate matters now -to violate treaties, to create crises, but he was not -prepared to permit what he regarded as an outrage. -In turn she bullied and pleaded; she even wept, -and Sanders's hair stood on end from sheer fright. -To make the situation more difficult, a luxurious -Isisi canoe with twenty paddlers had arrived to -carry her to the city, and the headman in charge -had brought a letter from her future lord welcoming -her in copper-plate English. This letter Sanders -allowed the man to deliver.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the end, after a hasty arrangement, concluded -by letter with the captain of the boat, he escorted -Millie Tavish to the beach.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She called down on his head all the unhappiness -her vocabulary could verbalise; she threw with -charming impartiality the battle of Bannockburn -and Bunker's Hill at his stolid British head. She -invoked the shades of Washington and William -Wallace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You shall hear of this," she said as she stepped -into the surf-boat. "I'm going to tell the story -to every paper."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you!" said Sanders, his helmet in -his hand. "I feel I deserve it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He watched the boat making a slow progress -to the ship and returned to his bungalow.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-fall-of-the-emperor"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE FALL OF THE EMPEROR</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"My poor soul!" said the Houssa captain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He looked down into the long-seated -chair where Sanders sprawled limply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And is the owdacious female gone?" asked -the soldier.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She's gone," said Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Houssa clapped his hands, not in applause, -but to summon his orderly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ahmet," he said gravely, speaking in Arabic, -"mix for the lord Sandi the juice of lemons with -certain cunning ingredients such as you know -well; let it be as cool as the hand of Azrael, as -sweet as the waters of Nir, and as refreshing as -the kisses of houris—go with God."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wish you wouldn't fool," said Sanders, irritated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This is a crisis of our affairs," said Hamilton -the Houssa. "You need a tonic. As for myself, -if this had happened to me, I should have been -in bed with a temperature. Was she very angry?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She called me a British loafer and a Jew in -the same breath. She flung in my face every -British aristocrat who had ever married an American -heiress; she talked like the New York correspondent -of an Irish paper for five minutes. She threatened -me with the whole diplomatic armoury of America -and the entire strength of Scottish opinion; if she -could have made up her mind whether she was -Scot or just Philadelphia I could have answered -her, but when she goaded me into a retort about -American institutions she opened her kailyard -batteries and silenced me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Houssa walked up and down the long bungalow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It was impossible, of course," he said seriously. -"absolutely impossible. She'll land at Sierra Leone -and interview Tullerton—he's the U.S. Consul. I -think she'll be surprised when she hears Tullerton's -point of view."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders stayed to tiffin, and the discussion of -Millie Tavish continued intermittently throughout -the meal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If I hadn't given Yoka permission to overhaul -the engines of the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span>" said Sanders, "I'd -start right away for the Isisi and interview -Tobolaka. But by this time he'll have her cylinders -open. By the way, I've remembered something," -he said, suddenly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He clapped his hands, and Hamilton's orderly came.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ahmet," said Sanders, "go quickly to Sergeant -Abiboo and tell him to give food to the Isisi -boatmen who came this morning. Also that he shall -tell them to stay with us, for I have a 'book' -to write to the king."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"On my life," said Ahmet conventionally, and -went out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will say what I have to say by letter," said -the Commissioner, when the man had gone at a -jog-trot across the compound; "and, since he -has a swift canoe, he will receive evidence of my -displeasure earlier than it would otherwise reach -him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ahmet came back in five minutes, and with -him Abiboo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the latter, "I could not do as you -wish, for the Isisi have gone."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Gone!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, that is so, for when the lady came back -from the ship she went straight away to the canoe -and——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was on his feet, his face white.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When the lady came back from the ship," -he repeated slowly, "Did she come back?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master, an hour since. I did not see her, for -she came by the short way from the beach to the -river-landing. But many saw her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go to Yoka and let him have steam against -my coming."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The sergeant's face was blank.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, Yoka has done many things," he said, -"such as removing the </span><em class="italics">shh-shh</em><span> of the engine"—Sanders -groaned—"yet will I go to him and speak -with him for steam."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If he's got the cylinder dismantled," said Sanders -in despair, "it will be hours before the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> is -ready, and I haven't a canoe that can overtake -them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A Houssa came to the door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A telegram for you," said Hamilton, taking -the envelope from the man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders tore it open and read. It was from -London:</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Washington wires: 'We learn American -girl gone to Isisi, West Africa, to marry native -king. Government request you advise authorities -turn her back at all costs; we indemnify you -against any act of arrest to prevent her carrying -plan into execution.' Use your discretion and -act. Have advised all magistrates. Girl's name -Tavish.—Colonial Office."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>He had finished reading when Abiboo returned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'To-morrow, two hours before the sun, there -will be steam, master,' so said Yoka."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It can't be helped," said Sanders; "we'll have -to try another way."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>By swift canoe the Isisi is three days' journey -from headquarters. From the Isisi to Ochori city -is one day. Tobolaka had time to make a last effort -to secure magnificence for his wedding feast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sent for his councillor, Cala, that he might -carry to Bosambo fine words and presents.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If he refuses to come for my honour," said -Tobolaka, "you shall say to him that I am a man who -does not forgive, and that one day I will come to -with an army and there will be war."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord king," said the old man, "you are like an -elephant, and the world shakes under your feet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is so," said the king; "also I would have -you know that this new wife of mine is white and -a great person in her own country."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have no fear, lord," said Gala sagely; "I will -lie to him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you tell me I lie, I will beat you to death, old -monkey," said the wrathful Tobolaka. "This is -true that I tell you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The old man was dazed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A white woman," he said, incredulously. "Lord, -that is shame."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tobolaka gasped. For here was a sycophant of -sycophants surprised to an expression of opinion -opposed to his master's.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," stammered Cala, throwing a lifetime's -discretion to the winds, "Sandi would not have -this—nor we, your people. If you be black and she be -white, what of the children of your lordship? By -Death! they would be neither black nor white, but -a people apart!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tobolaka's fine philosophy went by the board.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was speechless with rage. He, a Bachelor of -Arts, the favoured of Ministers, the Latinist, the -wearer of white man's clothing, to be openly -criticised by a barbarian, a savage, a wearer of no -clothes, and, moreover, a worshipper of devils.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At a word, Cala was seized and flogged. He was -flogged with strips of raw hide, and, being an old man, -he died.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tobolaka, who had never seen a man die of -violence, found an extraordinary pleasure in the -sight. There stirred within his heart sharp -exultation, fierce joys which he had never experienced -before. Dormant weeds of unreasoning hate and -cruelty germinated in a second to life. He found -himself loosening the collar of his white drill jacket -as the bleeding figure pegged to the ground writhed -and moaned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, obeying some inner command, he stripped -first the coat and then the silk vest beneath from his -body. He tugged and tore at them, and threw -them, a ragged little bundle, into the hut behind -him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus he stood, bareheaded, naked to the waist.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His headmen were eyeing him fearfully. Tobolaka -felt his heart leap with the happiness of a -new-found power. Never before had they looked at him -thus.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He beckoned a man to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go you," he said haughtily, "to Bosambo of -the Ochori and bid him, on his life, come to me. -Take him presents, but give them proudly."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am your dog," said the man, and knelt at -his feet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tobolaka kicked him away and went into the -hut of his women to flog a girl of the Akasava, who, -in the mastery of a moment, had mocked him that -morning because of his white man's ways.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo was delivering judgment when the -messenger of the king was announced.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, there comes an Isisi canoe full of -arrogance," said the messenger.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bring me the headman," said Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They escorted the messenger, and Bosambo saw, -by the magnificence of his garb, by the four red -feathers which stood out of his hair at varying angles, -that the matter was important.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I come from the king of all this land," said the -messenger; "from Tobolaka, the unquenchable -drinker of rivers, the destroyer of the evil and the -undutiful."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Man," said Bosambo, "you tire my ears."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thus says my king," the messenger went on: -"'Let Bosambo come to me by sundown that he -may do homage to me and to the woman I take to -wife, for I am not to be thwarted, nor am I to be -mocked. And those who thwart me and mock me -I will come up against with fire and spear.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo was amused.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Look around, Kilimini," he said, "and see my -soldiers, and this city of the Ochori, and beyond -by those little hills the fields where all things grow -well; especially do you look well at those fields -by the little hills."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, I see these," said the messenger.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go back to Tobolaka, the black man, and tell -him you saw those fields which are more abundant -than any fields in the world—and for a reason."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He smiled at the messenger, who was a little out -of his depth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This is the reason, Kilimini," said Bosambo. -"In those fields we buried many hundreds of the -Isisi who came against my city in their folly—this -was in the year of the Elephants. Tell your king -this: that I have other fields to manure. The -palaver is finished."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then out of the sky in wide circles dropped a bird, -all blue and white.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Raising his eyes, Bosambo saw it narrowing the -orbit of its flight till it dropped wearily upon a -ledge that fronted a roughly-made dovecot behind -Bosambo's house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let this man have food," said Bosambo, and -hastened to examine the bird.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was drinking greedily from a little trough of -baked clay. Bosambo disturbed his tiny servant -only long enough to take from its red legs a paper -that was twice the size, but of the same substance, -as a cigarette-paper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was no great Arabic scholar, but he read this -readily, because Sanders wrote beautiful characters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To the servant of God, Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Peace be upon your house. Take canoe and -go quickly down-river. Here is to be met the canoe -of Tobolaka, the king of Isisi, and a white woman -travels therein. You shall take the white woman, -though she will not go with you; nevertheless you -shall take her, and hold her for me and my king. -Let none harm her, on your head. Sanders, of the -River and the People, your friend, writes this.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Obey in the name of God."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo came back to the king's messenger.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell me, Kilimini," he said, "what palaver is -this that the king your master has?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, it is a marrying palaver;" said the man, -"and he sends you presents."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"These I accept," said Bosambo; "but tell me, -who is this woman he marries?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The man hesitated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said reluctantly, "they speak of a -white woman whom my lord loved when he was -learning white men's ways."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May he roast in hell!" said Bosambo, shocked -to profanity. "But what manner of dog is your -master that he does so shameful a thing? For -between night and day is twilight, and twilight is the -light of evil, being neither one thing nor the other; -and between men there is this same. Black is black -and white is white, and all that is between is foul -and horrible; for if the moon mated with the sun -we should have neither day nor night, but a day -that was too dark for work and a night that was too -light for sleep."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here there was a subject which touched the -Monrovian deeply, pierced his armour of superficial -cynicism, overset his pinnacle of self-interest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I tell you, Kilimini," he said, "I know white -folk, having once been on ship to go to the edge of -the world. Also, I have seen nations where white -and black are mingled, and these people are without -shame, with no pride, for the half of them that is -proud is swallowed by the half of them that is -shameful, and there is nothing of them but white -man's clothing and black man's thoughts."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Kilimini timidly, "this I know, -though I fear to say such things, for my king is -lately very terrible. Now we Isisi have great sorrow -because he is foolish."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo turned abruptly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go now, Kilimini," he said. "Later I shall -see you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He waved the messenger out of his thoughts. -Into his hut, through this to his inner hut, he -went.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His wife sat on the carpeted floor of Bosambo's -harem, her brown baby on her knees.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Heart of gold," said Bosambo, "I go to a war -palaver, obeying Sandi. All gods be with you and -my fine son.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And with you, Bosambo, husband and lord," -she said calmly; "for if this is Sandi's palaver it -is good."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He left her, and sent for his fighting headman, the -one-eyed Tembidini, strong in loyalty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall take one war canoe to the lower river," -said Bosambo. "See to this: fifty fighting men -follow me, and you shall raise the country and bring -me an army to the place where the Isisi River turns -twice like a dying snake."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, this is war," said his headman.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That we shall see," said Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, is it against the Isisi?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Against the king. As to the people, we shall -know in good time."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Miss Millie Tavish, seated luxuriously upon soft -cushions under the thatched roof of a deck-house, -dreamt dreams of royalty and of an urbane negro -who had raised his hat to her. She watched the -sweating paddlers as they dug the water rhythmically -singing a little song, and already she tasted the joys -of dominion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had the haziest notion of the new position -she was to occupy. If she had been told that she -would share her husband with half-a-dozen other -women—and those interchangeable from time to -time—she would have been horrified.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders had not explained that arrangement to -her, partly because he was a man with a delicate -mind, and partly because he thought he had solved -the problem without such explanation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She smiled a triumphant little smile every time -she thought of him and her method of outwitting -him. It had been easier than she had anticipated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had watched the Commissioner out of sight -and had ordered the boat to return to shore, for -standing an impassive witness to her embarkation -had been the headman Tobolaka had sent. Moreover, -in the letter of the king had been a few simple -words of Isisi and the English equivalent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She thought of many things—of the busy city -she had left, of the dreary boarding-house, of the -relations who had opposed her leaving, of the little -legacy which had come to her just before she sailed, -and which had caused her to hesitate, for with that -she could have lived in fair comfort.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the glamour of a throne—even a Central -African throne—was upon her—she—Miss -Tavish—Millie Tavish—a hired help——</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And here was the actuality. A broad river, -tree-fringed banks, high rushes at the water edge, the -feather-headed palms of her dreams showing at -intervals, and the royal paddlers with their plaintive -song.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She came to earth as the paddlers ceased, not -together as at a word of command but one by one as -they saw the obstruction.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There were two canoes ahead, and the locked -shields that were turned to the king's canoe were -bright with red n'gola—and red n'gola means war.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The king's headman reached for his spear -half-heartedly. The girl's heart beat faster.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ho, Soka!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo, standing in the stern of the canoe, spoke:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let no man touch his spear, or he dies!" said -Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, this is the king's canoe," spluttered Soka, -wiping his streaming brow, "and you do a shameful -thing, for there is peace in the land."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So men say," said Bosambo evasively.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He brought his craft round so that it lay alongside -the other.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lady," he said in his best coast-English, "you -lib for go with me one time; I be good feller; I -be big chap—no hurt 'um—no fight 'um."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The girl was sick with terror. For all she knew, -and for all she could gather, this man was a cruel -and wicked monster. She shrank back and screamed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I no hurt 'um," said Bosambo. "I be dam good -chap; I be Christian, Marki, Luki, Johni; you -savee dem fellers? I be same like."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She fainted, sinking in a heap to the bottom of -the canoe. In an instant Bosambo's arm was around -her. He lifted her into his canoe as lightly as though -she was a child.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then from the rushes came a third canoe with a -full force of paddlers and, remarkable of a savage -man's delicacy, two women of the Ochori.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was in this canoe when she recovered -consciousness, a woman bathing her forehead from the -river. Bosambo, from another boat, watched the -operation with interest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go now," he said to the chief of the paddlers, -"taking this woman to Sandi, and if ill comes to -her, behold, I will take your wives and your children -and burn them alive—go swiftly."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Swiftly enough they went, for the river was high, -and at the river head the floods were out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As for you," said Bosambo to the king's headman, -"you may carry word to your master, saying -thus have I done because it was my pleasure."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the head of the paddlers, "we men -have spoken together and fear for our lives; yet -we will go to our king and tell him, and if he illtreats -us we will come back to you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Which arrangement Bosambo confirmed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>King Tobolaka had made preparations worthy of -Independence Day to greet his bride. He had -improvised flags at the expense of his people's scanty -wardrobe. Strings of tattered garments crossed the -streets, but beneath those same strings people stood -in little groups, their arms folded, their faces lowering, -and they said things behind their hands which -Tobolaka did not hear.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For he had outraged their most sacred -tradition—outraged it in the face of all protest. A rent garment, -fluttering in the wind—that was the sign of death and -of graves. Wherever a little graveyard lies, there -will be found the poor wisps of cloth flapping sadly -to keep away devils.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This Tobolaka did not know or, if he did know, -scorned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On another such occasion he had told his -councillors that he had no respect for the -"superstitions of the indigenous native," and had quoted -a wise saying of Cicero, which was to the effect -that precedents and traditions were made only to -be broken.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now he stood, ultra-magnificent, for a </span><em class="italics">lokali</em><span> -sounding in the night had brought him news of his -bride's progress.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It is true that there was a fly in the ointment of -his self-esteem. His invitation, couched in the -choicest American, to the missionaries had been -rejected. Neither Baptist nor Church of England -nor Jesuit would be party to what they, usually -divergent in their views, were unanimous in regarding -as a crime.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the fact did not weigh heavily on Tobolaka. -He was a resplendent figure in speckless white. -Across his dress he wore the broad blue ribbon of -an Order to which he was in no sense entitled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In places of vantage, look-out men had been -stationed, and Tobolaka waited with growing -impatience for news of the canoe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sprang up from his throne as one of the -watchers came pelting up the street.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the man, gasping for breath, "two -war canoes have passed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fool!" said Tobolaka. "What do I care for -war canoes?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But, lord," persisted the man, "they are of the -Ochori and with them goes Bosambo, very terrible -in his war dress; and the Ochori have reddened -their shields."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Which way did he come?" asked Tobolaka, -impressed in spite of himself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the man, "they came from below -to above."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And what of my canoe?" asked Tobolaka.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That we have not seen," replied the man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go and watch."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tobolaka was not as perturbed as his councillors, -for he had never looked upon reddened shields or -their consequences. He waited for half an hour, -and then the news came that the canoe was rounding -the point, but no woman was there.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Half mad with rage and chagrin, Tobolaka struck -down the man who brought the intelligence. He -was at the beach to meet the crestfallen headman, -and heard his story in silence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Take this man," said Tobolaka, "and all the -men who were with him, and bind them with ropes. -By Death! we will have a feast and a dance and -some blood!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That night the war drums of the Isisi beat from -one end of the land to the other, and canoes filled -with armed men shot out of little creeks and paddled -to the city.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tobolaka, naked save for his skin robe and his -anklets of feathers, danced the dance of quick -killing, and the paddlers of the royal canoe were -publicly executed—with elaborate attention to -detail.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the dark hours before the dawn the Isisi went -out against the Ochori. At the first flash of -daylight they landed, twelve thousand strong, in Ochori -territory. Bosambo was strongly placed, and his -chosen regiments fell on the Isisi right and crumpled -it up. Then he turned sharply and struck into the -Isisi main body. It was a desperate venture, but -it succeeded. Raging like a veritable devil, Tobolaka -sought to rally his personal guard, but the men of -the Isisi city who formed it had no heart for the -business. They broke back to the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Whirling his long-handed axe (he had been a -famous club swinger in the Philadelphia seminary), -Tobolaka cut a way into the heart of the Ochori -vanguard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ho, Bosambo!" he called, and his voice was -thick with hate. "You have stolen my wife; first -I will take your head, then I will kill Sandi, your -master."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo's answer was short, to the point, and -in English:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dam nigger!" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It needed but this. With a yelp like the howl of -a wolf, Tobolaka, B.A., sprang at him, his axe -swirling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Bosambo moved as only a Krooman can move.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was the flash of a brown body, the thud of -an impact, and Tobolaka was down with a steel -grip at his throat and a knee like a battering-ram -in his stomach.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> came fussing up, her decks black with -Houssas, the polished barrels of her guns swung -out. Sanders interviewed King Tobolaka the -First—and last.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The latter would have carried the affair off with -a high hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fortune of war, Mr. Sanders," he said airily. -"I'm afraid you precipitated this conduct by your -unwarrantable and provocative conduct. As Cicero -says somewhere——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cut it out," said Sanders. "I want you, -primarily for the killing of Cala. You have behaved -badly."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am a king and above criticism," said Tobolaka -philosophically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am sending you to the Coast for trial," said -Sanders promptly. "Afterwards, if you are lucky, -you will probably be sent home—whither Miss -Tavish has already gone."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-killing-of-olandi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER V</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE KILLING OF OLANDI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Chief of Sanders's spies in the wild country was -Kambara, the N'gombi man, resolute, fearless, -and very zealous for his lord. He lived in the -deep of the N'gombi forest, in one of those unexpected -towns perched upon a little hill with a meandering -tributary to the great river, half ringing its base.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His people knew him for a wise and silent chief, -who dispensed justice evenhandedly, and wore -about his neck the chain and medal of his office -(a wonder-working medal with a bearded face in -relief and certain devil marks).</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He made long journeys, leaving his village without -warning and returning without notice. At night -he would be sitting before his fire, brooding and -voiceless; in the morning he would be missing. -Some of his people said that he was a witch-doctor, -practising his magic in hidden places of the forest; -others that he changed himself into a leopard by -his magic and went hunting men. Figuratively -speaking, the latter was near the truth, for Kambara -was a great tracker of criminals, and there was -none so wily as could escape his relentless search.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus, when Bolobo, the chief, plotted a rising, -it was Kambara's word which brought Sanders and -his soldiers, to the unbounded dismay of Bolobo, -who thought his secret known only to himself and -his two brothers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was Kambara who accomplished the undoing -of Sesikmi, the great king; it was Kambara who -held the vaguely-defined border line of the N'gombi -country more effectively than a brigade of infantry -against the raider and the Arab trader.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders left him to his devices, sending such -rewards as his services merited, and receiving in -exchange information of a particularly valuable -character.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Kambara was a man of discretion. When Olandi -of the Akasava came into the N'gombi forest, -Kambara lodged him regally, although Olandi was -breaking the law in crossing the border. But Olandi -was a powerful chief and, ordinarily, a law-abiding -man, and there are crimes which Kambara preferred -to shut his eyes upon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So he entertained Olandi for two days—not -knowing that somewhere down the little river, in -Olandi's camp, was a stolen woman who moaned -and wrung her hands and greatly desired death.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For Olandi's benefit the little village made merry, -and Tisini, the wife of Kambara, danced the dance -of the two buffaloes—an exhibition which would -have been sufficient to close the doors of any -London music-hall and send its manager to hard -labour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the same time that Olandi departed, Kambara -disappeared; for there were rumours of raiding on -the frontier, and he was curious in the interests of -government.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three weeks afterwards a man whose face none -saw came swiftly and secretly to the frontiers of the -Akasava country, and with him came such of his -kindred as were closely enough related to feel the -shame which Olandi had put upon them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For Olandi of the Akasava had carried off the -favourite wife of the man, though not against -her will.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This Olandi was a fine animal, tall and broad of -shoulder, muscled like an ox, arrogant and pitiless. -They called him the native name for leopard because -he wore robes of that beast's skin, two so cunningly -joined that a grinning head lay over each broad -shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was a hunter and a fighting man. His shield -was of wicker, delicately patterned and polished -with copal; his spears were made by the greatest -of the N'gombi craftsmen, and were burnished till -they shone like silver; and about his head he wore -a ring of silver. A fine man in every way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Some say that he aspired to the kingship of the -Akasava, and that Tombili's death might with -justice be laid at his door; but as to that we have -no means of knowing the truth, for Tombili was -dead when they found him in the forest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Men might tolerate his tyrannies, sit meekly under -his drastic judgments, might uncomplainingly accept -death at his hands; but no man is so weak that he -would take the loss of his favourite wife without -fighting, and thus it came about that these men -came paddling furiously through the black night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Save for the "flip-flap" of the paddles, as they -struck the water, and the little groan which -accompanied each stroke, there was no sound.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They came to the village where Olandi lorded it -just as the moon cleared the feathery tops of the -N'gombi woods.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bondondo lay white and silent under the moon, -two rows of roofs yellow thatched, and in the centre -the big rambling hut of the chief, with its verandah -propped with twisted saplings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The secret man and his brothers made fast their -two canoes and leapt lightly to land. They made -no sound, and their leader guiding them, they went -through the street like ghostly shadows.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before the chief's hut the embers of a dull fire -glowed. He hesitated before the doors. Three huts -built to form a triangle composed the chief's -habitation. To the right and left was an entrance -with a hanging curtain of skins.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Likely as not Olandi slept in the third hut, which -opened from either of these.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He hesitated a moment, then he drew aside the -curtains of the right-hand door and went in, his -brother, his uncle, and his two cousins following.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A sleepy voice asked who was there.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I come to see the lord Olandi," said the intruder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He heard a rustle at the farthermost end of the -room and the creaking of a skin bed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What seek you?" said a voice, and it was that -of a man used to command.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is that my lord?" demanded the visitor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had a broad-bladed elephant sword gripped -fast, so keen of edge that a man might shave the -hair from the back of his hand therewith.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am Olandi," said the man in the darkness, -and came forward.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was absolute stillness. They who waited -could hear the steady breathing of the sleepers; -they heard, too, a "whish!" such as a civilised -man hears when his womenfolk thrust a hatpin -through a soft straw shape.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Another tense silence, then:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is as it should be," said the murderer calmly, -and softly called a name. Somebody came blundering -from the inner room sobbing with chokes and -gulps.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come," said the man, then: "Is the foreign -woman there also? Let her also go with us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The girl called another in a low voice, and a -woman joined them. Olandi was catholic in his -tastes and raided indiscriminately.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The first girl shrank back as her husband laid his -hand on her arm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where is my lord?" she whimpered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am your lord," said the secret man dryly; -"as for the other, he has no need of women, unless -there be women in hell, which is very likely."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>None attempted to stop the party as it went -through the street and back to the canoes, though -there were wails and moanings in Olandi's hut and -uneasy stirrings in the villages.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Men hailed them sharply as they passed, saying, -"Oilo?" which means, "Who walks?" But they -made no reply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then with the river and safety before them, there -arose the village watchman who challenged the party.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had heard the faint death-cry from Olandi's -hut, and advanced his terrible cutting-spear to -emphasise his challenge.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The leader leapt at him, but the watchman -parried the blow skilfully and brought the blade -of his spear down as a man of olden times might -sweep his battle-axe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The other's sword had been struck from his hold, -and he put up his defenceless arm to ward off the -blow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Twice the sharp edge of the spear slashed his hand, -for in the uncertain light of the moon the watchman -misjudged his distance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, as he recovered for a decisive stroke, one of -the kinsmen drove at his throat, and the watchman -went down, his limbs jerking feebly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The injured man stopped long enough roughly -to dress his bleeding palm, then led his wife, shivering -and talking to herself like a thing demented, to the -canoe, the second wife following.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the early hours before the dawn four swift -paddlers brought the news to Sanders, who was -sleeping aboard the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span>, made fast to the beach -of Akasava city.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders sat on the edge of his tiny bed, dangling -his pyjama'd legs over the side, and listened -thoroughly—which is a kind of listening which -absorbs not only the story, but takes into account -the inflexion of the teller's voice, the sympathy—or -lack of it—the rage, the despair, or the resignation -of the story-teller.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So I see," said Sanders when the man had -finished, for all four were hot with the news and -eager to supply the deficiencies of the others, "this -Olandi was killed by one whose wife he had stolen, -also the watchman was killed, but none other was -injured."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"None, lord," said one of the men, "for we were -greatly afraid because of the man's brethren. Yet -if he had sought to stop him, many others would -have been killed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'If the sun were to set in the river, the waters -would boil fish,'" quoted Sanders. "I will find this -man, whoever he be, and he shall answer for his -crime."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He reached the scene of the killing and made -prompt inquiry. None had seen the face of the -secret man save the watchman—and he was dead. -As for the women—the villagers flapped their arms -hopelessly. Who could say from what nation, from -what tribes, Olandi stole his women?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One, so other inmates of Olandi's house said, was -undoubtedly Ochori; as to the other, none knew -her, and she had not spoken, for, so they said, she -loved the dead man and was a willing captive.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This Olandi had hunted far afield, and was a -hurricane lover and a tamer of women; how perfect -a tamer Sanders discovered, for, as the Isisi saying -goes, "The man who can bribe a woman's tongue -could teach a snake to grind corn."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a civilised country he would have found written -evidence in the chief's hut, but barbarous man -establishes no clues for the prying detective, and -he must needs match primitive cunning with such -powers of reason and instinct as his civilisation had -given to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A diligent search of the river revealed nothing. -The river had washed away the marks where the -canoes had been beached. Sanders saw the bodies -of both men who had fallen without being very -much the wiser. It was just before he left the -village that Abiboo the sergeant made a discovery.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There is a certain tree on the river with leaves -which are credited with extraordinary curative -powers. A few paces from where the watchman fell -such a tree grew.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Abiboo found beneath its low branches a number -of leaves that had been newly plucked. Some were -stained with blood, and one bore the clear impression -of a palm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders examined it carefully. The lines of the -hand were clearly to be seen on the glossy surface -of the leaf, and in the centre of the palm was an -irregular cut, shaped like a roughly-drawn -St. Andrew's Cross.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He carefully put the leaf away in his safe and went -on to pursue his inquiries.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now, of all crimes difficult to detect, none offers -such obstacles as the blood feud which is based on a -woman palaver.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Men will speak openly of other crimes, tell all -there is to be told, be willing—nay, eager—to put -their sometime comrade's head in the noose, if the -murder be murder according to accepted native -standards. But when murder is justice, a man does -not speak; for, in the near future, might not he -stand in similar case, dependent upon the silence of -his friends for very life?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders searched diligently for the murderers, but -none had seen them pass. What direction they -took none knew. Indeed, as soon as the motive -for the crime became evident, all the people of the -river became blind. Then it was that Sanders -thought of Kambara and sent for him, but Kambara -was on the border, importantly engaged.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders pursued a course to the Ochori country.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One of these women was of your people," he -said to Bosambo the chief. "Now I desire that you -shall find her husband."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo shifted his feet uneasily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said, "it was no man of my people -who did this. As to the woman, many women are -stolen from far-away villages, and I know nothing. -And in all these women palavers my people are as -dumb beasts."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo had a wife who ruled him absolutely, -and when Sanders had departed, he writhed -helplessly under her keen tongue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord and chief," she said, "why did you speak -falsely to Sandi, for you know the woman of the -Ochori who was stolen was the girl Michimi of Tasali -by the river? And, behold, you yourself were in -search of her when the news of Olandi's killing -came."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"These things are not for women," said Bosambo: -"therefore, joy of my life, let us talk of other -things."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Father of my child," persisted the girl, "has -Michimi no lover who did this killing, nor a husband? -Will you summon the headman of Tasali by the -river and question him?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was interested—more interested than Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"God is all-seeing and beneficent," he said -devoutly. "Leave me now, for I have holy thoughts -and certain magical ideas for finding this killer of -Olandi, though I wish him no harm."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Sanders had a trick of accepting alarming -statements with a disconcerting calm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>People who essayed the task of making his flesh -creep had no reward for their labours; his politely -incredulous "O, ko!" which, uttered in certain -tones, means, "Oh, indeed!" made his informant -curl up inwardly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Komo, pompous to a degree, anxious to impress -his lord with the fact that he, Komo, was no ordinary -chief, but a watchful, zealous, and conscientious -regent, came fussing down the river in a glad sweat -to speak of happenings on the edge of his territory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders granted the man an immediate audience, -though he arrived in the dark hours of the night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If you will visualise the scene, you have Sanders -sitting up in bed in his pyjamas, and two Houssas -splashed with rain—for a thunderstorm was raging—one -of whom holds a lantern, all the light necessary -to reveal a reeking Komo, shiny and wet, who, -squatting on the floor, is voluble and ominous.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As is my practice, lord," said Komo, "I watch -men and things for your honour's comfort, being -filled with a desire to serve you. And thus it is -that I have learnt of certain things, dances and spells -of evil, which are practised by the Ochori."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Ochori?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was puzzled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By the Ochori—the trusted."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no mistaking the arch turn to his -speech; the two words were charged with gentle irony.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is Bosambo dead that these things should be?" -asked Sanders dryly. "Or has he perchance joined -with the dancers?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Komo impressively, "Bosambo -dances with his people. For, being chief, he is the -first to stamp his foot and say 'Ho!' He, too, -assists at sacrifices and is ripe for abominable -treachery."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, indeed!" said Sanders, with an inward sigh -of relief. "Now I tell you this, Komo; there was -once a great lord who trusted no man, nor did he -trust his household, his wives, nor his slaves, and -he walked ever with his back to the sun so that his -shadow should run before him, for he did not trust -his shadow. And one day he came to a river in -flood, and behold! his shadow lay before him. And -because he feared to turn his back upon his shadow, -he plunged in and was drowned."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, I have heard the story. He was a king, -and a great one," said Komo. Sanders nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Therefore, Komo, heed this: I trust all men—a -little. I trust Bosambo much, for he has been -my man in fair weather and foul." He turned to the -silent Houssas. "Let this man be lodged according -to his dignity and give him a present of cloth. The -palaver is finished."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And Sanders, drawing the bedclothes up to his -neck, the night being cold, turned over and was -asleep before the chief and his escort had cleared -the verandah.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A busybody," was Sanders's verdict on Komo; -yet, since there is no smoke without fire, he deemed -it advisable to investigate at first hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two days after the crestfallen chief had started -on his way home the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> passed his canoe in -mid-stream, going the same way, and the sight of her -white hull and twin smokestacks brought -consolation to Komo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My lord has considered my words," said he to -his headman; "for at his village they said that -the puc-a-puc did not leave till the new moon came, -and here he comes, though the old moon is still -sowing his rind."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chief," said the headman, "you are great in -council, and even Sandi hearkens and obeys. You -are wiser than an owl, swift and terrible as a hawk, -and your voice is like the winds of a storm."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You speak truly," said Komo, who had no false -sense of modesty. "I am also very cunning, as -you shall see."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was indeed beating up to the Ochori -country. He was perturbed, not by reason of -Komo's sinister suggestion, but because his spies -had been silent. If there were dances in the Ochori -country he should have been told, however innocent -those dances were.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Pigeons had gone ahead of him to tell of his -journey, and he found the first of his agents awaiting -him at the junction of the Ikeli with the Isisi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, it is true that the Ochori dance," said the -man, "yet, knowing your lordship trusted Bosambo, -I did not make report."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There you did wrong," said Sanders; "for I -tell you that if a hawk kills a parrot, or the -crocodiles find new breeding-places, I wish to know what -there is to know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He gleaned more of these mysterious revels which -Bosambo held in the forest as he grew nearer to the -Ochori country, and was more puzzled than ever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said the chief of the N'gombi village, -"many folk go to the Ochori dance, for Bosambo -the chief has a great magic."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What manner of magic?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, it is a magic with whiteness," and he -exhibited his hand proudly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Straight across the reddish-brown palm was an -irregular streak of white paint.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This the lord Bosambo did," he said, "and, -behold, every day this remains will be fortunate -for me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders regarded the sign with every evidence of -strong emotion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two months before Sanders had sent many tins -of white paint with instructions to the Ochori chief -that his men should seek out the boundary posts of -his kingdom—and particularly those that impinged -upon foreign territories—and restore them to startling -freshness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Many people of the Isisi, N'gombi, and Akasava -go to Bosambo," the little chief continued; "for, -behold, this magic of Bosambo's wipes away all -soil. And if a man has been guilty of wickedness -he is released of punishment. I," he added proudly, -"once killed my wife's father </span><em class="italics">cala cala</em><span>, and -frequently I have sorrowed because of this and because -my wife often reminds me. Now, lord, I am a -clean man, so clean that when the woman spoke -to me this morning about my faraway sin, I hit her -with my spear, knowing that I am now innocent."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders thought rapidly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And what do you pay Bosambo for this?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nothing, lord," said the man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nothing!" repeated Sanders incredulously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, Bosambo gives his magic freely, saying -he has made a vow to strange gods to do this; and -because it is free, many men go to his dance for -purification. The lord Kambara, the Silent One, -he himself passed at sunrise to-day."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders smiled to himself. Kambara would have -an interest in stray confessions of guilt——</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That was it! The meaning of Bosambo's practice -came to him in a flash. The painting of hands—the -lure of purification; Bosambo was waiting for -the man with the scarred hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders continued his journey, tied up five miles -short of the Ochori city, and went on foot through -the forest to the place of meeting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was dark by the time he had covered half the -journey, but there was no need of compass to guide -him, even had the path been more difficult to follow. -Ahead was a dull red glow in the sky where Bosambo's -fires burnt.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Four fires there were, set at the points of an -imaginary square. In the centre a round circle of -stones, and in the centre again three spears with -red hafts.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo had evidently witnessed, or been participant -in, an initiation ceremony of a Monrovian -secret society.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Within the circle moved Bosambo, and without -it, two or three deep, the moving figures of those -who sought his merciful services.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Slowly he moved. In one hand a bright tin of -Government paint, in the other a Government -brush.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders, from his place of observation, grinned -approvingly at the solemnity in which Bosambo -clothed the ceremony.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One by one he daubed the men—a flick of the -brush, a muttered incantation, and the magic was -performed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders saw Kambara in the front rank and was -puzzled, for the man was in earnest. If he had -come to scoff he remained to pray. Big beads of -perspiration glistened on his forehead, the -outstretched hands were shaking.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo approached him, lifted his brush, peered -down, then with a sweep of his arm he drew the -N'gombi chief to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Brother," he said pleasantly, "I have need of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders saw what it meant, and went crashing -through the undergrowth to Bosambo's side, and -the yelling throng that had closed round the -struggling pair drew back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, here is your man!" said Bosambo, and -forcibly pulled forward Kambara's palm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders took his prisoner back to the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span>, and -from thenceforward, so far as the crime was -concerned, there was no difficulty, for Kambara told -the truth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said, "my hand alone is in fault; -for, though my people were with me, none struck -Olandi but I. Now do with me what you will, for -my wife hates me and I am sick for sleep."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This is a bad palaver," said Sanders gravely, -"for I trusted you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, you may trust no man," said Kambara, -"when his woman is the palaver. I shall be glad to -die, for I was her dog. And Olandi came and stayed -one night in my village, and all that I was to her -and all that I have given her was as nothing. And now -she weeps all day for him, as does the Ochori woman -I took with her. And, lord, if women worship only -the dead, make an end, for I am sick of her scorn."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders, with his head sunk, his hands clasped -behind, his eyes examining the floor of his cabin—they -were on board the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span>—whistled a tune, a -trick of his when he was worried.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go back to your village," he said. "You shall -pay the family of Olandi thirty goats and ten bags -of salt for his blood."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Master," said Bosambo. "I have great joy -in my heart that you did not hang this man, for it -seems that Olandi did not die too soon. As for -the Ochori girl," he went on, "I would have killed -Olandi on her account—only Kambara was there -first. This," he added, "I tell you, lord, for your -secret hearing, for I knew this girl."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders looked at Bosambo keenly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They tell me that you have but one wife, -Bosambo," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have one," said Bosambo evasively, "but in -my lifetime I have many perils, of which the woman -my wife knows nothing, for it is written in the Sura -of the Djinn, 'Men know best who know most, but -a woman's happiness lies in her delusions.'"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-pedometer"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE PEDOMETER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Bosambo, the chief of the Ochori, was wont -to style himself in moments of magnificent -conceit, King of the Ochori, Lord Chief of -the Elebi River, High Herd of Untamable Buffaloes -and of all Goats.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There were other titles which I forget, but I -merely mention his claims in order that I may remark -that he no longer refers to the goats of his land. -There is a reason.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Hikilari, the wise old chief of the Akasava, went -hunting in strange territories. That was the year -when game went unaccountably westward, some say -through the spell of M'Shimba M'Shamba; but, as -Sanders knew, because of the floods.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Hikilari went by river for three days and across -a swamp, he and his hunters, before they found -elephant. Then they had a good kill, and his -bearers came rollicking back to Akasava city, laden -with good teeth, some weighing as much as two -hundred kilos.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was good fortune, but he paid for it -tremendously, for when he yearned to return he was -troubled with extraordinary drowsiness, and had -strange pains in his head. For this he employed -the native remedy, which was binding a wire tightly -round his head. None the less he grew no better, -and there came a time when Hikilari, the Wise One, -rose in the middle of the night and, going out into -the main street of the village, danced and sang -foolishly, snapping his fingers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His sons, with his nephews and his brothers, held -a palaver, and the elder of his sons, M'Kovo, an -evil man, spoke thuswise:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It seems that my father is sick with the sickness -mongo, for he is now foolish, and will soon be dead. -Yet I desire that no word of this shall go to Sandi. -Let us therefore put my father away safely, saying -he has gone a long journey; and, whilst he is -absent, there are many things we may do and many -enemies of whom we may rid ourselves. And if -Sandi comes with the soldiers and says, 'Why did -you these things?' we shall say, 'Lord, who is -chief here? A madman. We did as he bid; let -it be on his head.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The brother of the sick king thought it would -be best to kill him privily, but against this the king's -son set his face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Whilst he is alive he is chief," he said -significantly; "if he be dead, be sure Sandi will find -somebody to punish, and it may well be me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For three days they kept the king to his hut, whilst -witch-doctors smeared him with red clay and ingola -and chanted and put wet clay on his eyes. At the -end of that time they removed him by night to a -hastily thatched hut in the forest, and there he was -left to M'Kovo's creatures.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders, who knew many things of which he was -supposed to be ignorant, did not know this. He -knew that Hikilari was a wise man; that he had -been on a journey; that there were no reasons why -he (Sanders) should not make a tour to investigate -affairs in the Akasava.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was collecting hut tax in the N'gombl -country from a simple pastoral people who objected -on principle to pay anything, when the news came -to him that a party of Akasava folk had crossed the -Ochori border, raided a village, and, having killed -the men, had expeditiously carried away the women -and goats.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was in the midst of an interminable -palaver when the news came, and the N'gombi -people who squatted at his feet regarded him with -expectant hope, a hope which was expressed by a -small chief who at the moment had the ear of the -assembly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, this is bad news," he said in the friendly -manner of his kind, "and we will not trouble your -lordship any farther with our grievances, which are -very small. So, therefore, if on account of our bad -crops you remit a half of our taxation, we will go -peaceably to our villages saying good words about -your honour's justice."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You shall pay all your taxation," said Sanders -brusquely. "I waste my time talking with you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Remit one-third," murmured the melancholy -speaker. "We are poor men, and there has been -no fish in the river——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders rose from his seat of state wearily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will return with the moon," he said, "and if -all taxes be not paid, there will be sad hearts in this -village and sore backs, believe me. The palaver is -finished."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sent one messenger to the chief of the Akasava, -and he himself went by a short cut through the forest -to the Ochori city, for at the psychological moment -a cylinder head on the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> had blown out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He reached the Ochori by way of Elebi River, -through Tunberi—which was swamp, owing to -unexpected, unseasonable, and most atrocious rains. -Three days he waded, from knee-deep to waist-high, -till his arms ached maddeningly from holding his -rifle above the black ooze and mud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And he came upon hippo and water-snake, and -once the "boy" who walked ahead yelled shrilly -and went down, and Sanders himself was nearly -knocked off his feet by the quick rush of the crocodile -bearing his victim to the near-by river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the end of three days Sanders came to the -higher land, where a man might sleep elsewhere than -in trees, and where, too, it was possible to bathe in -spring water, unpack shirts from headborne loads -and count noses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was now a day's march from the Ochori, but -considerably less than a day's march from the Ochori -army, for two hours after he had resumed his journey -he came upon the chief Bosambo and with him a -thousand spears.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And Bosambo was naked, save for his kilt of -monkey-tails, and in the crook of the arm which carried -his wicker shield, he carried his five fighting spears.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He halted his army at the sight of Sanders, and -came out to meet him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo," said Sanders quietly, "you do me -honour that you bring the pick of your fighting -men to guard me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo with commendable frankness, -"this is no honour to you, for I go to settle -an account with the King of the Akasava."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders stood before him, his head perched on -one side like a bird's, and he slapped his leg -absent-mindedly with his pliant cane.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Behold," he said, "I am he who settles all -accounts as between kings and kings and men and -men, and I tell you that you go back to your city and -sit in patience whilst I do the work for which my -lord the King appointed me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo hesitated. He was pardonably annoyed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go back to your city, Bosambo," said Sanders gently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The chief squared his broad shoulders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am your man," he said, and turned without -another word.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders stopped him before he had taken half a -dozen paces.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Give me twenty fighting men," he said, "and -two canoes. You shall hold your men in check -whilst I go about the King's business."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An hour later he was going down-stream as fast -as a five-knot current and his swift paddlers could -take him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He came to the Akasava city at noon of the -following day, and found it peaceable enough.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>M'Kovo, the king's son, came to the beach to -meet him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord Sandi," he said with an extravagant -gesture of surprise, "I see that the summer comes -twice in one season, for you——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was in no mood for compliments.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where is the old chief, your father?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said M'Kovo earnestly, "I will not -lie to you. My father has taken his warriors into -the forest, and I fear that he will do evil."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And he told a story which was long and circumstantial, -of the sudden flaming up of an old man's -rages and animosities.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders listened patiently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An unwavering instinct, which he had developed -to a point where it rose superior to reason, told him -that the man was lying. Nor was his faith in his -own judgment shaken when M'Kovo produced his -elder men and witnesses to his sire's sudden fit of -depravity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Sanders was a cunning man and full of guile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He dropped his hand of a sudden upon the other's -shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"M'Kovo," he said mildly, "it seems that your -chief and father is no longer worthy. Therefore -you shall dwell in the chief's hut. Yet first you shall -bring me the chief Hikilari, and you shall bring -him unhurt and he shall have his eyes. Bring him -quickly, M'Kovo."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said M'Kovo sullenly, "he will not come, -and how may I force him, for he has many warriors -with him?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders thought the matter out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go now," he said after a while, "and speak -with him, telling him that I await him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, that I will do," said M'Kovo, "but I -cannot go till night because I fear your men will -follow me, and my father, seeing them, will put me -to death."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That night M'Kovo came to him ready for his -journey, and Sanders took from his pocket a round -silver box.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This you shall hang about your neck," he said, -"that your father may know you come from me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>M'Kovo hung the round box by a piece of string -and walked quickly toward the forest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two miles on the forest path he met his cousins -and brothers, an apprehensive assembly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My stomach is sick with fear," said his elder -cousin Tangiri; "for Sandi has an eye that sees -through trees."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are a fool," snarled M'Kovo; "for Sandi is -a bat who sees nothing. What of Hikilari, my -father?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His younger brother extended the point of his -spear and M'Kovo saw that it was caked brown -with blood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That was best," he said. "Now we will all -go to sleep, and in the morning I will go back to -Sandi and tell him a tale."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the morning his relatives scratched his legs -with thorns and threw dust over him, and an hour -later, artificially exhausted, he staggered to the hut -before which Mr. Commissioner Sanders sat at -breakfast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders glanced keenly at the travel-worn figure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My friend," he said softly, "you have come a -long way?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said M'Kovo, weak of voice, "since I left -you I have not rested save before my father, who sent -me away with evil words concerning your honour."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And the exact and unabridged text of those "evil -words" he delivered with relish.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders reached down and took the little silver -box that lay upon the heaving chest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And this you showed to your father?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, I showed him this," repeated the man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you travelled through the night—many miles?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master, I did as I have told," M'Kovo replied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders touched a spring, and the case of the box -flew open. There was revealed a dial like that of a -watch save that it contained many little hands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>M'Kovo watched curiously as Sanders examined -the instrument.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Look well at this, M'Kovo," said Sanders dryly; -"for it is a small devil which talks truly—and -it tells me that you have travelled no farther than -a man may walk in the time that the full moon -climbs a tree."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> had arrived during the night, and a -Houssa guard stood waiting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders slipped the pedometer into his pocket, -gave a characteristic jerk of his head, and Sergeant -Abiboo seized his prisoner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let him sit in irons," said Sanders in Arabic, -"and take six men along the forest road and bring -me any man you may find."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Abiboo returned in an hour with four prisoners, -and they were very voluble—too voluble for the safety -of M'Kovo and his younger brother, for by night -Sanders had discovered a forest grave where Hikilari -the wise chief lay.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was under a tree with wide-spreading branches, -and was eminently suitable for the sequel to that -tragedy.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Bosambo was not to blame for every crime laid -at his door. He had a feud with the Akasava, -not without reason. The death of M'Kovo his enemy -was not sufficient to extinguish the obligation, for -the Akasava had spilt blood, and that rankled for -many months. He was by nature a thief, being a -Krooman from the Liberian coast before he came -to be king over the simple and fearful Ochori.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So when all the trouble between the Akasava -and Ochori seemed at rest, Sanders had occasion to -come to the Ochori country in a hurry—and the -river was low.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There is no chart of the big river worth two cents -in the dry season, because unexpected sand banks -come barking up in the fairway, and there are whole -stretches of river wherein less than a fathom of -water runs. Sometimes the boy sitting on the bow -of the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span>, thrusting a pliant rod into the stream, -would cry through his nose that there were two -fathoms of water when there was but one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was, as I have beforetime said, of the Kano -folk, and somewhat religious, dreaming of a pilgrimage -to Mecca, and a green band round his tarboosh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I declare to you the glory of God and a fathom -and a little."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bump!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get overboard, you talkative devil!" said -Sanders, who was more annoyed because this was -the fourteenth bank he had struck since he left -headquarters. So the whole crew jumped waist -deep into the water, and singing a little song as -they toiled, pushed the boat clear.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders struck his thirty-ninth bank just before -he came to the village of Ochori, and he landed in a -most unamiable mood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo," he said, "I have two minds about -you—the one is to hang you for your many -wickednesses, the other is to whip you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said Bosambo with grave piety, "all -things shall be as ordained."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have no fear but that it will be one or the other," -warned the Commissioner. "I am no dog that -I should run from one end of the state to the other -because a thieving black man raids in forbidden -territory."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo, whose guilty conscience suggested -many reasons for the unexpected visit of the -Commissioner, seemed less genuinely astonished.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master, I am no nigger," he said, "being related -by birth and previous marriages to several kings, -also——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are a liar," said Sanders, fuming, "and -related by birth and marriage to the father of liars; -and I did not come to talk about your uninteresting -family, but rather to discuss a matter of night -raiding."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As to night raiding" said Bosambo frankly, -"I know nothing about that. I went with my -councillors to the Akasava, being anxious to see the -new chief and tell him of my love; also," he said -piously, "to say certain Christian prayers by the -grave of my enemy, for, as you know, lord, our faith -teaches this."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By night you went," said Sanders, ignoring the -challenge of "our faith," "and Akasava city may -easily be gained in broad daylight; also, when the -Akasava fell upon you, you had many goats tied -up in your canoes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They were my goats," said Bosambo with -dignity. "These I brought with me as a present -to the new chief."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In his exasperation Sanders swore long and fluently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Blood has paid for blood," he said wrathfully, -"and there shall be no more raidings. More than -this, you shall stay in this city and shall not move -therefrom till you have my word."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord Sandi," said Bosambo, "I hear to obey."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A light of unholy joy came momentarily into the -eyes of the Commissioner, flickered a moment, and -was gone, leaving his face impassive.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know, Bosambo," he said mildly—for him, -"that I have great faith in you; therefore I leave you -a powerful fetish, who shall be as me in my absence."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He took from the pocket of his uniform jacket a -certain round box of silver, very pleasant to the -touch, being somewhat like a flattened egg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders had set his pedometer that morning.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Take this and wear it for my sake," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo threaded a chain through its loop of -silver and hung it about his neck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said gratefully, "you have done this -thing before the eyes of my people, and now they -will believe all I tell them regarding your love for me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders left the Ochori city next morning.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Remember," he warned, "you do not go beyond -the borders of your city."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said Bosambo, "I sit fasting and -without movement until your lordship returns."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He watched the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> until she was a white speck on -the placid face of the water; then he went to his hut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Very carefully he removed the silver case from -his neck and laid it in the palm of his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, little devil," he addressed it, "who -watches the coming and going of men, I think I will -learn all about you. O hanger of M'Kovo!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He pressed the knob—he had once possessed a -watch, and was wise in the way of stem springs—the -case flew open, and showed him the little dials.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He shook the instrument violently, and heard a -faint clicking. He saw a large hand move across -the second of a circle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bearing the pedometer in his hand, he paced the -length of the village street, and at every pace the -instrument clicked and the hand moved. When he -was still it did not move.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Praise be to all gods!" said Bosambo. "Now -I know you, O Talker! For I have seen your wicked -tongue wagging, and I know the manner of your -speech."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He made his way slowly back to his hut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before the door his new baby, the light of his -eyes, sprawled upon a skin rug, clutching frantically -at the family goat, a staid veteran, tolerant of the -indignities which a small brown man-child might -put upon him. Bosambo stopped to rub the child's -little brown head and pat the goat's sleek neck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he went into the hut, carefully removed the -tell-tale instrument from the chain at his neck, and -hid it with other household treasures in a hole beneath -his bed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At sundown his </span><em class="italics">lokali</em><span> brought the fighting men -together.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We go to the Akasava," he said, addressing -them briefly, "for I know a village that is fat with -corn and the stolen goats of the Ochori. Also the -blood of our brothers calls us, though not so loudly -as the goats."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He marched away, and was gone three days, at -the end of which time he returned minus three men—for -the Akasava village had resisted his attentions -strenuously—but bringing with him some notable -loot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>News travels fast on the river, especially bad -news, and this reached Sanders, who, continuing -his quest for hut tax, had reached the Isisi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the top of this arrived a messenger from the -Akasava chief, and Sanders went as fast as the -</span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> could carry him to the Ochori city.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo heard of his coming.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bring me, O my life and pride," he said to his -wife, "a certain silver box which is under my bed; -it is so large and of such a shape."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said his wife, "I know the box well."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He slipped the loop of the string that held it over -his head, and in all calmness awaited his master's -coming.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was very angry indeed, so angry that he -was almost polite to his erring chief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo, when the question was -put to him, "I have not left my city by day or by -night. As you find me, so have I been—sitting -before my hut thinking of holy things and your -lordship's goodness."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Give me that box," said Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He took it in his hand and snapped it open. -He looked at the dials for a long time; then he -looked at Bosambo, and that worthy man returned -his glance without embarrassment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo," said Sanders, "my little devil tells -me that you have travelled for many miles——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the bewildered chief, "if it says -that it lies."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is true enough for me," said Sanders. "Now -I tell you that you have gone too far, and therefore -I fine you and your people fifty goats, also I increase -your taxation, revoke your hunting privileges in -the Isisi forest, and order you to find me fifty -workmen every day to labour in the Government service."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, ko!" groaned Bosambo, standing on one -leg in his anguish. "That is just, but hard, for I -tell you, Lord Sandi, that I did raid the Akasava, -yet how your devil box should know this I cannot -tell, for I wrapped it in cloth and hid it under -my bed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You did not carry it?" asked Sanders incredulously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I speak the truth, and my wife shall testify," -said Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He called her by name, and the graceful Kano -girl who domineered him came to the door of his hut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, it is true," she said, "for I have seen it, -and all the people have seen it, even while my lord -Bosambo was absent."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She stooped down and lifted her fat baby from -the dust.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This one also saw it," she said, the light of -pride in her eyes, "and to please my Lord Bosambo's -son, I hung it round the neck of Neta the goat. Did -I wrong?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bright eyes," said Bosambo, "you can do no -wrong, yet tell me, did Neta the goat go far from -the city?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The woman nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Once only," she said. "She was gone for a -day and a night, and I feared for your box, for this -is the season when goats are very restless."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo turned to his overlord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You have heard, O Sandi," he said. "I am in -fault, and will pay the price."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That you will," said Sanders, "for the other goat -has done no wrong."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-brother-of-bosambo"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE BROTHER OF BOSAMBO</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Bosambo was a Monrovian. Therefore he was -a thief. For just as most Swedes are born -fair and with blue eyes, and most Spaniards -come into this world with swarthy skins, so all -Monrovians come into this life constitutionally -dishonest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In another place I have told the story of the chief's -arrival in Sanders's territory, of the audacious -methods by which he usurped the throne, of that -crazy stool of chieftainship, and I hinted at the -sudden and unexpected ends, discreditable to -Bosambo, which befell the rightful heirs to the -chieftainship.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo was a good man by many standards—Christian -and pagan. He ruled his people wisely, -and extracted more revenue in one year than any -previous chief had taken from the lazy Ochori in -ten years.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Incidentally he made an excellent commission, -for it was Bosambo's way to collect one for the -Government and two for himself. He had in those -far-off days, if I remember rightly, been an unruly -subject of the President of Liberia. Before a -solemn tribunal he had been convicted of having -stolen a buoy-bell which had been placed in the -fairway to warn navigators of a wreck, and had -converted the same to his own use. He had escaped -from captivity and, after months of weary travelling, -had arrived in the Ochori country.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders had found him a loyal man, and trusted -him in all matters affecting good government. There -were others who did not trust Bosambo at all—notably -certain chiefs of the Isisi, of the Akasava, -and of the N'gombi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These men had measured their wits with the -foreigner, the ruler of the Ochori, and been worsted. -And because of certain courageous acts performed -in the defence of his country it was well known from -one end of the territories to the other that Bosambo -was "well loved by Sandi," who rumour said—in -no complimentary manner—was related to the chief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As to how this rumour arose Bosambo knows -best. It is an elementary fact that travelling news -accumulates material in its transit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus it came about that in Monrovia, and in -Liberia itself, the fame of the ex-convict grew apace, -and he was exalted to a position which he never -pretended to occupy. I believe a Liberian journal, -published by a black man, or men, so far forgot -the heinous offence of which Bosambo stood -convicted as to refer to him as "our worthy -fellow-citizen, Mr. Bosambo, High Commissioner for the -Ochori."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was a wealthy prince; he was a king. He -was above Commissioner Sanders in point of -importance. He was even credited with exercising an -influence over the Home Government which was -without parallel in the history of the Coast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo had relatives along the Coast, and these -discovered themselves in ratio with his greatness. -He had a brother named Siskolo, a tall, bony, and -important man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Siskolo was first in importance by reason of the -fact that he had served on one of his Majesty's ships -as a Krooman, that he had a smattering of English, -and that he had, by strict attention to business -during the period of his contact with white men, -stolen sufficient to set him up in Liberia as a native -storekeeper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was called Mr. Siskolo, and had ambitions at -some future period to become a member of the -Legislative Council.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It cannot be said with truth that the possession -of a brother such as Bosambo was gave him any -cause for pride or exaltation during the time when -Bosambo's name in Liberia was synonymous with -mud. It is even on record that after having denied -the relationship he referred to Bosambo—when the -relationship was a certainty beyond dispute—as a -"low nigger."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the Liberian Government, in its munificence, -offered an adequate reward for the arrest of this -law-breaker, Mr. Siskolo, in the most public-spirited -way, through the columns of the Press, offered to -add a personal reward of his own.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the public attitude of Liberia changed -towards Bosambo, and with this change Siskolo's -views upon his brother also underwent a change. -Then came a time when Bosambo was honoured in -his own land, and men spoke of him proudly, and, -as I have indicated, even the public Press wrote of -him in terms of pride.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now Mr. Siskolo, as is recounted, gathered around -him all people who were nearly or distantly related -to him, and they ranged from the pure aboriginal -grandfather to the frock-coated son-in-law, who ran -a boot factory in Liberia.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My friends and my comrades," said Mr. Siskolo -oracularly, "you all know that my dear brother -Bosambo has now a large territory, and is honoured -beyond any other coloured man upon this coast. -Now I have loved Bosambo for many years, and -often in the night I have wrestled in prayer for his -safety. Also, I have spoken well about him to all -the white men I have met, and I have on many -occasions sent him large sums of money by messenger. -If this money has not been received," continued -Mr. Siskolo stoutly, "it is because the messengers were -thieves, or robbers may have set upon them by the -wayside. But all my clerks and the people who -love me know that I sent this money, also I have -sent him letters praising him, and giving him great -riches."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He paused, did Mr. Siskolo, and thrust a bony -hand into the pockets of the dress trousers he had -acquired from the valet of the French Consul.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have called you together," he said slowly, -"because I am going to make a journey into the -country, and I am going to speak face to face with -my beloved brother. For I hear that he has many -treasures in his land, and it is not good that he -should be so rich, and we, all of us who are related -to him in blood, and have loved him and prayed for -him for so many years, should be poor."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>None of the relations who squatted or sat about -the room denied this. Indeed, there was a murmur -of applause, not unmixed, however, with suspicion, -which was voiced by one Lakiro, popularly supposed -to be learned in the law.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All this is fine talk, Siskolo," he said; "yet -how shall we know in what proportion our dear -relation Bosambo will desire to distribute his wealth -amongst those of us who love him?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This time the applause was unmistakable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Siskolo said haughtily: "After I have -received treasure from my dear brother Bosambo—my -own brother, related to me in blood, as you will -all understand, and no cousin, as you are—after -this brother of mine, whom I have loved so dearly -and for so long, has given me of his treasure, I will -take my half, and the other half I will distribute -evenly among you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lakiro assumed his most judicial air.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It seems to me," he said, "that as we are all -blood relations, and have brought money for this -journey which you make, Siskolo, and you yourself, -so far as I know, are not finding so much as a dollar, -our dear friend and relative Bosambo would be -better pleased if his great gifts were distributed -equally, though perhaps"—and he eyed the -back-country brethren who had assembled, and who were -listening uncomprehendingly to a conversation -which was half in English and half in Monrovian—"it -would be better to give less to those who have -no need of money, or less need than we who have -acquired by our high education, expensive and -luxurious tastes, such as champagne, wine and other -noble foods."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For two days and the greater part of two nights -the relations of Bosambo argued over the distribution -of the booty which they so confidently anticipated. -At the end of a fortnight Siskolo departed -from Liberia on a coasting steamer, and in the -course of time he arrived at Sanders's headquarters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now it may be said that the civilised native—the -native of the frock coat and the top hat—was -Mr. Commissioner Sanders's pet abomination. He -also loathed all native men who spoke English—however -badly they spake it—with the sole exception -of Bosambo himself, whose stock was exhausted -within fifty words. Yet he listened patiently as -Siskolo unfolded his plan, and with the development -of the scheme something like a holy joy took its -place in Sanders's soul.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He even smiled graciously upon this black man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go you, Siskolo," he said gently. "I will send -a canoe to carry you to your brother. It is true, -as you say, that he is a great chief, though how rich -he may be I have no means of knowing. I have not -your wonderful eyes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Siskolo passed over the insult without a word.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord Sandi," he said, dropping into the -vernacular, for he received little encouragement to -proceed in the language which was Sanders's own. -"Lord Sandi, I am glad in my heart that I go to -see my brother Bosambo, that I may take him by -the hand. As to his treasure, I do not doubt that -he has more than most men, for Bosambo is a very -cunning man, as I know. I am taking him rich -presents, amongst them a clock, which goes by -machinery, from my own store, which could not -be bought at any Coast port under three dollars, -and also lengths and pieces of cloth."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Siskolo was up early in a morning of July. -Mr. Siskolo in a tall hat—his frock coat carefully -folded and deposited in the little deckhouse on the -canoe, and even his trousers protected against the -elements by a piece of cardboard box—set out on -the long journey which separated him from his -beloved brother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a country where time does not count, and where -imagination plays a very small part, travelling is a -pleasant though lengthy business. It was a month -and three days before Siskolo came to the border -of his brother's territory. He was two miles from -Ochori city when he arrayed himself in the hat, the -frock coat, and the trousers of civilisation that he -might make an entry in a manner befitting one who -was of kin to a great and wealthy prince.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo received the news of his brother's arrival -with something akin to perturbation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If this man is indeed my brother," he said, "I -am a happy man, for he owes me four dollars he -borrowed </span><em class="italics">cala-cala</em><span> and has never repaid."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet he was uneasy. Relations have a trick of -producing curious disorder in their hosts. This is -not peculiar to any race or colour, and it was with -a feeling of apprehension that Bosambo in his state -dress went solemnly in procession to meet his -brother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In his eagerness Siskolo stepped out of the canoe -before it was grounded, and waded ashore to greet -his brother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are indeed my brother—my own brother -Bosambo," he said, and embraced him tenderly. -"This is a glorious day to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To me," said Bosambo, "the sun shines twice -as bright and the little birds sing very loudly, -and I feel so glad, that I could dance. Now tell -me, Siskolo," he went on, striking a more practical -note, "why did you come all this way to see me? -For I am a poor man, and have nothing to give you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo," said Siskolo reproachfully, "I bring -you presents of great value. I do not desire so -much as a dollar. All I wish is to see your beautiful -face and to hear your wise words which men speak -about from one end of the country to the other."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Siskolo took Bosambo's hands again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a brief halt whilst Siskolo removed -the soaked trousers—"for," he explained, "these -cost me three dollars."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus they went into the city of the Ochori—arm -in arm, in the white man's fashion—and all -the city gazed spellbound at the spectacle of a -tall, slim man in a frock coat and top hat with a -wisp of white shirt fluttering about his legs walking -in an attitude of such affectionate regard with -Bosambo their chief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo placed at the disposal of his brother -his finest hut. For his amusement he brought -along girls of six different tribes to dance before this -interested member of the Ethiopian Church. -Nothing that he could devise, nothing that the -unrewarded labours of his people could perform, -was left undone to make the stay of his brother a -happy and a memorable time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet Siskolo was not happy. Despite the enjoyment -he had in all the happy days which Bosambo -provided of evidence of his power, of his popularity, -there still remained a very important proof which -Siskolo required of Bosambo's wealth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He broached the subject one night at a feast -given in his honour by the chief, and furnished, -it may be remarked in parenthesis, by those who -sat about and watched the disposal of their most -precious goods with some resentment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo, my brother," said Siskolo, "though -I love you, I envy you. You are a rich man, and -I am a very poor man and I know that you have -many beautiful treasures hidden away from view."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do not envy me, Siskolo," said Bosambo -sadly, "for though I am a chief and beloved by -Sandi, I have no wealth. Yet you, my brother, -and my friend, have more dollars than the grains -of the sand. Now you know I love you," Bosambo -went on breathlessly, for the protest was breaking -from the other's lips, "and I do these things -without desire of reward. I should feel great pain -in my heart if I thought you should offer me little -pieces of silver. Yet, if you do so desire, knowing -how humble I am before your face, I would take -what you gave me not because I wish for riches at -your hands, but because I am a poor man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Siskolo's face was lengthening.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo," he said, and there was less geniality -in his tone, "I am also a poor man, having a large -family and many relations who are also your -relations, and I think it would be a good thing -if you would offer me some fine present that I -might take back to the Coast, and, calling all the -people together, say 'Behold, this was given to -me in a far country by Bosambo, my brother, -who is a great chief and very rich.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo's face showed no signs of enthusiasm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is true," he said softly, "it would be a -beautiful thing to do, and I am sick in my heart -that I cannot do this because I am so poor."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was a type of the conversation which occupied -the attention of the two brothers whenever the -round of entertainments allowed talking space.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo was a weary man at the end of ten -days, and cast forth hints which any but Bosambo's -brother would have taken.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Brother," he said, "I had a dream last night -that your family were sick and that your business -was ruined. Now I think that if you go swiftly -to your home——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Or:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Brother, I am filled with sorrow, for the season -approaches in our land when all strangers suffer -from boils."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Siskolo countered with neatness and -resolution, for was he not Bosambo's brother?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The chief was filled with gloom and foreboding. -As the weeks passed and his brother showed no -signs of departing, Bosambo took his swiftest -canoe and ten paddlers and made his way to the -I'kan where Sanders was collecting taxes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said Bosambo, squatting on the -deck before the weary Commissioner, "I have a tale -to tell you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let it be such a tale," said Sanders, "as may -be told between the settling of a mosquito and the -sting of her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, this is a short tale," said Bosambo sadly, -"but it is a very bad tale—for me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And he told the story of the unwelcome brother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he went on, "I have done all that a -man can do, for I have given him food that was -not quite good; and one night my young men -played a game, pretending, in their love of me, -that they were certain fierce men of the Isisi, -though your lordship knows that they are not -fierce, but——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get on! Get on!" snarled Sanders, for the -day had been hot, and the tax-payers more than -a little trying.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now I come to you, my master and lord," -said Bosambo, "knowing that you are very wise -and cunning, and also that you have the powers of -gods. Send my brother away from me, for I -love him so much that I fear I will do him an -injury."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was a man who counted nothing too -small for his consideration—always excepting the -quarrels of women. For he had seen the beginnings -of wars in pin-point differences, and had -watched an expedition of eight thousand men -march into the bush to settle a palaver concerning -a cooking-pot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He thought deeply for a while, then:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Two moons ago," he said, "there came to me a -hunting man of the Akasava, who told me that -in the forest of the Ochori, on the very border -of the Isisi, was a place where five trees grew in -the form of a crescent——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Praise be to God and to His prophet Mohammed," -said the pious Bosambo, and crossed himself -with some inconsequence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In the form of a crescent," Sanders went on, -"and beneath the centre tree, so said this young -man of the Akasava, is a great store of dead ivory" -(</span><em class="italics">i.e.</em><span>, old ivory which has been buried or stored).</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stopped and Bosambo looked at him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Such stories are often told," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let it be told again," said Sanders significantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Intelligence dawned on Bosambo's eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two days later he was again in his own city, -and at night he called his brother to a secret -palaver.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Brother," he said, "for many days have I -thought about you and how I might serve you -best. As you know, I am a poor man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'A king is a poor man and a beggar is poorer,'" -quoted Siskolo, insolently incredulous.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo drew a long breath.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now I will tell you something," he said, -lowering his voice. "Against my old age and the -treachery of a disloyal people I have stored great -stores of ivory. I have taken this ivory from -my people. I have won it in bloody battles. I -have hunted many elephants. Siskolo, my -brother," he went on, speaking under stress of -emotion, "all this I give you because I love you -and my beautiful relations. Go now in peace, -but do not return, for when my people learn that -you are seeking the treasures of the nation they -will not forgive you and, though I am their chief, -I cannot hold them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All through the night they sat, Bosambo mournful -but informative, Siskolo a-quiver with excitement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At dawn the brother left by water for the border-line -of the Isisi, where five trees grew in the form -of a crescent.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo, a bitter and an injured -man, "I have been a Christian, a worshipper of -devils, a fetish man, and now I am of the true -faith—though as to whether it is true I have reason -to doubt." He stood before Sanders at headquarters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Away down by the little quay on the river his -sweating paddlers were lying exhausted, for -Bosambo had come by the river day and night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders did not speak. There was a twinkle -in his eye, and a smile hovered at the corners of -his mouth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And it seems to me," said Bosambo tragically, -"that none of the gods loves me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is your palaver," said Sanders, "and -remember your brother loves you more than ever."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said Bosambo, throwing out his arms -in despair, "did I know that beneath the middle -tree of five was buried ten tusks of ivory? Lord, -am I mad that I should give this dog such blessed -treasure? I thought——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I also thought it was an old man's story," -said Sanders gently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, may I look?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders nodded, and Bosambo walked to the end -of the verandah and looked across the sea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a smudge of smoke on the horizon. -It was the smoke of the departing mail-boat which -carried Siskolo and his wonderful ivory back to -Monrovia.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo raised a solemn fist and cursed the -disappearing vessel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O brother!" he wailed. "O devil! O snake! -Nigger! Nigger! Dam' nigger!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo wept.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-chair-of-the-n-gombi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE CHAIR OF THE N'GOMBI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The N'gombi people prized a certain chair -beyond all other treasures.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For it was made of ivory and native -silver, in which the N'gombi are clever workers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Upon this chair sat kings, great warriors, and -chiefs of people; also favoured guests of the land.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo of the Ochori went to a friendly palaver -with the king of the N'gombi, and sat upon the -chair and admired it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After he had gone away, four men came to the -village by night and carried off the treasure, and -though the King of N'gombi and his councillors -searched the land from one end to the other the -chair was never found.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It might never have been found but for a -Mr. Wooling, a trader and man of parts.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was known from one end of the coast to -the other as a wonderful seller of things, and was -by all accounts rich.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One day he decided to conquer new worlds and -came into Sanders's territory with complete faith -in his mission, a cargo of junk, and an intense -curiosity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Hitherto, his trading had been confined to the -most civilized stretches of the country—to places -where the educated aboriginal studied the rates -of exchange and sold their crops forward.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had long desired to tread a country where -heathenism reigned and where white men were -regarded as gods and were allowed to swindle on -magnificent scale.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wooling had many shocks, not the least of which -was the discovery that gin, even when it was German -gin in square bottles, gaudily labelled and enclosed -in straw packets, was not regarded as a marketable -commodity by Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You can take anything you like," said Sanders, -waving his fly-whisk lazily, "but the bar is up -against alcohol and firearms, both of which, in -the hands of an enthusiastic and experimental -people, are peculiarly deadly."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But, Mr. Sanders!" protested the woolgatherer, -with the confident little smile which represented -seventy-five per cent. of his stock-in-trade. "I -am not one of these new chums straight out from -home! Damn it! I know the people, I speak -all their lingo, from Coast talk to Swaheli."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You don't speak gin to them, anyway," said -Sanders; "and the palaver may be regarded as -finished."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And all the persuasive eloquence of Mr. Wooling -did not shift the adamantine Commissioner; and -the trader left with a polite reference to the weather, -and an unspoken condemnation of an officious -swine of a British jack-in-office which Sanders -would have given money to have heard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wooling went up-country and traded to the best -of his ability without the alluring stock, which -had been the long suit in his campaign, and if the -truth be told—and there is no pressing reason -why it should not—he did very well till he tied -up one morning at Ochori city and interviewed a -chief whose name was Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wooling landed at midday, and in an hour he -had arrayed his beautiful stores on the beach.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They included Manchester cotton goods from -Belgium, genuine Indian junk from Birmingham, -salt which contained a sensible proportion of good -river sand, and similar attractive bargains.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His visit to the chief was something of an event. -He found Bosambo sitting before his tent in a -robe of leopard skins.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chief," he said in the flowery manner of his -kind, "I have come many weary days through -the forest and against the current of the river, that -I may see the greatness of all kings, and I bring you -a present from the King of England, who is my -personal friend and is distantly related to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And with some ceremony he handed to his host -a small ikon representing a yellow St. Sebastian -perforated with purple arrows—such as may be -purchased from any manufacturer on the Baltic -for three cents wholesale.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo received the gift gravely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said, "I will put this with other -presents which the King has sent me, some of -which are of great value, such as a fine bedstead -of gold, a clock of silver, and a crown so full of -diamonds that no man has ever counted them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He said this easily; and the staggered Mr. Wooling -caught his breath.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As to this beautiful present," said Bosambo, -handling the ikon carelessly, and apparently -repenting of his decision to add it to his collection, -"behold, to show how much I love you—as I love -all white lords—I give it to you, but since it is a -bad palaver that a present should be returned, -you shall give me ten silver dollars: in this way -none of us shall meet with misfortune."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chief," said Mr. Wooling, recovering himself -with a great effort, "that is a very beautiful -present, and the King will be angry when he hears -that you have returned it, for there is a saying, -'Give nothing which has been given,' and that is -the picture of a very holy man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo looked at the ikon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is a very holy man," he agreed, "for I see -that it is a picture of the blessed Judas—therefore -you shall have this by my head and by my soul."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the end Mr. Wooling compromised reluctantly -on a five-dollar basis, throwing in the ikon -as a sort of ecclesiastical makeweight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>More than this, Bosambo bought exactly ten -dollars' worth of merchandise, including a length -of chiffon, and paid for them with money. -Mr. Wooling went away comforted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was many days before he discovered amongst -his cash ten separate and distinct dollar pieces -that were unmistakably bad and of the type which -unscrupulous Coast houses sell at a dollar a dozen -to the traders who deal with the unsophisticated -heathen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wooling got back to the Coast with a profit -which was fairly elusive unless it was possible to -include experience on the credit side of the ledger. -Six months later, he made another trip into the -interior, carrying a special line of talking-machines, -which were chiefly remarkable for the fact that the -sample machine which he exhibited was a more -effective instrument than the one he sold. -Here again he found himself in Ochori city. -He had, in his big trading canoe, one -phonograph and twenty-four things that looked like -phonographs, and were in point of fact phonographs -with this difference, that they had no workable -interiors, and phonographs without mechanism -are a drug upon the African market.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nevertheless, Bosambo purchased one at the -ridiculously low price offered, and the chief viewed -with a pained and reproachful mien the exhaustive -tests which Mr. Wooling applied to the purchase -money.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo, gently, "this money is -good money, for it was sent to me by my -half-brother Sandi."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Blow your half-brother Sandi," said Wooling, -in energetic English, and to his amazement the -chief replied in the same language:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You make um swear—you lib for hell one -time—you say damn words you not fit for make -angel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wooling, arriving at the next city—which was -N'gombi—was certainly no angel, for he had -discovered that in some mysterious fashion he had -sold Bosambo the genuine phonograph, and had -none wherewith to beguile his new client.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He made a forced journey back to Ochori city -and discovered Bosambo entertaining a large -audience with a throaty presentment of the "Holy -City."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As the enraged trader stamped his way through -the long, straggling street, there floated to him on -the evening breeze the voice of the far-away tenor:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>Jer-u-salem! Jer-u-salem!</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Sing for the night is o'er!</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Chief!" said Mr. Wooling hotly, "this is a -bad palaver, for you have taken my best devil -box, which I did not sell you."</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>Last night I lay a sleeping,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>There came a dream so fair.</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>sang the phonograph soulfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo, "this devil box I bought—paying -you with dollars which your lordship ate -fearing they were evil dollars."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By your head, you thief!" swore Wooling. -"I sold you this." And he produced from under -his arm the excellent substitute.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo, humbly enough, "I -am sorry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He switched off the phonograph. He dismounted -the tin horn with reluctant fingers; with -his own hands he wrapped it in a piece of the -native matting and handed it to the trader, and -Wooling, who had expected trouble, "dashed" -his courteous host a whole dollar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thus I reward those who are honest," he said -magnificently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said Bosambo, "that we may remember -one another kindly, you shall keep one half -of this and I the other."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And with no effort he broke the coin in half, -for it was made of metal considerably inferior -to silver.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wooling was a man not easily abashed, yet it -is on record that in his agitation he handed over -a genuine dollar and was half way back to Akasava -city before he realised his folly. Then he laughed -to himself, for the phonograph was worth all the -trouble, and the money.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That night he assembled the Akasava to hear the -"Holy City"—only to discover that he had again -brought away from Ochori city the unsatisfactory -instrument he had taken.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the city of the Ochori all the night a wheezy -voice acclaimed Jerusalem to the admiration and -awe of the Ochori people.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is partly your own fault," said Sanders, -when the trader complained. "Bosambo was -educated in a civilised community, and naturally -has a way with his fingers which less gifted people -do not possess."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Sanders," said the woolgatherer earnestly, -"I've traded this coast, man and boy, for sixteen -years, and there never was and there never will be," -he spoke with painful emphasis, "an eternally -condemned native nigger in this -inevitably-doomed-by-Providence world who can get the -better of Bill Wooling."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All this he said, employing in his pardonable -exasperation, certain lurid similes which need not -be reproduced.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't like your language," said Sanders, -"but I admire your determination."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Such was the determination of Mr. Wooling, -in fact, that a month later he returned with a -third cargo, this time a particularly fascinating -one, for it consisted in the main of golden chains -of surprising thickness which were studded at -intervals with very rare and precious pieces of -coloured glass.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And this time," he said to the unmoved -Commissioner, who for want of something better to -do, had come down to the landing-stage to see the -trader depart, "this time this Bosambo is going -to get it abaft the collar."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Keep away from the N'gombi people," said -Sanders, "they are fidgety—that territory is barred -to you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Wooling made a resentful noise, for he had -laid down an itinerary through the N'gombi -country, which is very rich in gum and rubber.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He made a pleasant way through the territories, -for he was a glib man and had a ready explanation -for those who complained bitterly about the -failing properties of their previous purchases.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He went straight to the Ochori district. There -lay the challenge to his astuteness and especial -gifts. He so far forgot the decencies of his calling -as to come straight to the point.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo," he said, "I have brought you very -rare and wonderful things. Now I swear to you -by," he produced a bunch of variegated deities -and holy things with characteristic glibness, "that -these chains," he spread one of particular beauty -for the other's admiration, "are more to me than -my very life. Yet for one tusk of ivory this chain -shall be yours."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo, handling the jewel -reverently, "what virtue has this chain?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is a great killer of enemies," said Wooling -enthusiastically; "it protects from danger and -gives courage to the wearer; it is worth two teeth, -but because I love you and because Sandi loves -you I will give you this for one."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo pondered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I cannot give you teeth," he said, "yet I -will give you a stool of ivory which is very -wonderful."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And he produced the marvel from a secret place -in his hut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was indeed a lovely thing and worth many -chains.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This," said Bosambo, with much friendliness, -"you will sell to the N'gombi, who are lovers of -such things, and they will pay you well."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wooling came to the N'gombi territory with -the happy sense of having purchased fifty pounds -for fourpence, and entered it, for he regarded -official warnings as the expression of a poor form -of humour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He found the N'gombi (as he expected) in a -mild and benevolent mood. They purchased by -public subscription one of his beautiful chains to -adorn the neck of their chief, and they fêted him, -and brought dancing women from the villages -about, to do him honour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They expressed their love and admiration for -Sandi volubly, until, discovering that their -enthusiasm awoke no responsive thrill in the heart -or the voice of their hearer, they tactfully -volunteered the opinion that Sandi was a cruel and -oppressive master.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Whereupon Wooling cursed them fluently, calling -them eaters of fish and friends of dogs; for it -is against the severe and inborn creed of the Coast -to allow a nigger to speak disrespectfully of a white -man—even though he is a Government officer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now listen all people," said Wooling; "I -have a great and beautiful object to sell you——"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Over the tree-tops there rolled a thick yellow -cloud which twisted and twirled into fantastic -shapes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders walked to the bow of the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> to -examine the steel hawser. His light-hearted crew -had a trick of "tying-up" to the first dead and -rotten stump which presented itself to their eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For once they had found a firm anchorage. The -hawser was clamped about the trunk of a strong -young copal which grew near the water's edge. -An inspection of the stern hawser was as satisfactory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let her rip," said Sanders, and the elements -answered </span><em class="italics">instanter</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A jagged blue streak of flame leapt from the -yellow skies, a deafening crack-crash of thunder -broke overhead, and suddenly a great wind smote -the little steamer at her shelter, and set the tops -of the trees bowing with grave unanimity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders reached his cabin, slid back the door, -and pulled it back to its place after him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the stuffy calm of his cabin he surveyed the -storm through his window, for his cabin was on -the top deck and he could command as extensive -a view of the scene as it was possible to see from -the little bay.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He saw the placid waters of the big river lashed -to waves; saw tree after tree sway and snap as -M'shimba M'shamba stalked terribly through the -forest; heard the high piercing howl of the tempest -punctuated by the ripping crack of the thunder, -and was glad in the manner of the Philistine that -he was not where other men were.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Night came with alarming swiftness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Half an hour before, at the first sign of the cyclone, -he had steered for the first likely mooring. In -the last rays of a blood-red sun he had brought his -boat to land.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now it was pitch dark—almost as he stood -watching the mad passion of the storm it faded first -into grey, then into inky blue—then night -obliterated the view.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He groped for the switch and turned it, and the -cabin was filled with soft light. There was a small -telephone connecting the cabin with the Houssa -guard, and he pressed the button and called the -attention of Sergeant Abiboo to his need.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get men to watch the hawsers," he instructed, -and a guttural response answered him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was on the upper reaches of the Tesai, -in terra incognita. The tribes around were frankly -hostile, but they would not venture about on a -night like this.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Outside, the thunder cracked and rolled and -the lightning flashed incessantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders found a cheroot in a drawer and lighted -it, and soon the cabin was blue with smoke, for -it had been necessary to close the ventilator. -Dinner was impossible under the conditions. The -galley fire would be out. The rain which was now -beating fiercely on the cabin windows would have -long since extinguished the range.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders walked to the window and peered out. -He switched off the light, the better to observe -the condition outside. The wind still howled, -the lightning flickered over the tree-tops, and above -the sound of wind and rushing water came the -sulky grumble of thunder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the clouds had broken, and fitful beams of -moonlight showed on the white-crested waves. -Suddenly Sanders stepped to the door and slid -it open.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sprang out upon the deck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The waning forces of the hurricane caught him -and flung him back against the cabin, but he -grasped a convenient rail and pulled himself to -the side of the boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Out in mid-stream he had seen a canoe and had -caught a glimpse of a white face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Noka! Abiboo!" he roared. But the wind -drowned his voice. His hand went to his hip—a -revolver cracked, men came along the deck, -hand over hand, grasping the rails.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In dumb show he indicated the boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A line was flung, and out of the swift control -current of the stream they drew all that was left -of Mr. Wooling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He gained enough breath to whisper a word—it -was a word that set the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> humming with -life. There was steam in the boiler—Sanders -would not draw fires in a storm which might snap -the moorings and leave the boat at the mercy of -the elements.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"... they chased me down river ... I shot -a few ... but they came on ... then the storm -struck us ... they're not far away."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wrapped in a big overcoat and shivering in spite -of the closeness of the night, he sat by Sanders, -as he steered away into the seething waters of the -river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's the trouble?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The wind blew his words to shreds, but the -huddled figure crouching at his side heard him -and answered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's that?" asked Sanders, bending his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wooling shouted again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The two words he caught were "chair" and "Bosambo."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They explained nothing to Sanders at the moment.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-ki-chu"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE KI-CHU</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The messenger from Sakola, the chief of -the little folk who live in the bush, stood up. -He was an ugly little man, four feet in height -and burly, and he wore little save a small kilt of -grass.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders eyed him thoughtfully, for the -Commissioner knew the bush people very well.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You will tell your master that I, who govern -this land for the King, have sent him lord's pleasure -in such shape as rice and salt and cloth, and that -he has sworn by death to keep the peace of the -forest. Now I will give him no further present——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," interrupted the little bushman outrageously, -"he asks of your lordship only this cloth -to make him a fine robe, also ten thousand beads -for his wives, and he will be your man for ever."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders showed his teeth in a smile in which -could be discovered no amusement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He shall be my man," he said significantly</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The little bushman shuffled his uneasy feet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, it will be death to me to carry your -proud message to our city, for we ourselves are -very proud people, and Sakola is a man of greater -pride than any."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The palaver is finished," said Sanders, and -the little man descended the wooden steps to the -sandy garden path.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He turned, shading his eyes from the strong -sun in the way that bushmen have, for these folk -live in the solemn half-lights of the woods and do -not love the brazen glow of the heavens.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said timidly, "Sakola is a terrible -man, and I fear that he will carry his spears to a -killing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders sighed wearily and thrust his hands -into the deep pockets of his white jacket.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Also I will carry my spears to a killing," he -said. "O ko! Am I a man of the Ochori that I -should fear the chattering of a bushman?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still the man hesitated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stood balancing a light spear on the palm -of his hand, as a man occupied with his thoughts -will play with that which is in reach. First he set -it twirling, then he spun it deftly with his finger -and thumb.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am the servant of Sakola," he said simply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Like a flash of light his thin brown arm swung -out, the spear held stiffly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders fired three times with his automatic -Colt, and the messenger of the proud chief Sakola -went down sideways like a drunken man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sergeant Abiboo, revolver in hand, leapt through -a window of the bungalow to find his master moving -a smouldering uniform jacket—you cannot fire -through your pocket with impunity—and eyeing -the huddled form of the fallen bushman with a -thoughtful frown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Carry him to the hospital," said Sanders. -"I do not think he is dead."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He picked up the spear and examined the point.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was lock-jaw in the slightest scratch of -it, for these men are skilled in the use of tetanus.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The compound was aroused. Men had come -racing over from the Houssa lines, and a rough -stretcher was formed to carry away the débris.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus occupied with his affairs Sanders had no -time to observe the arrival of the mail-boat, and -the landing of Mr. Hold.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The big American filled the only comfortable -seat in the surf-boat, but called upon his familiar -gods to witness the perilous character of his sitting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was dressed in white, white irregularly splashed -with dull grey patches of sea-water, for the Kroomen -who manipulated the sweeps had not the finesse, -nor the feather stroke, of a Harvard eight, and -they worked independently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was tall and broad and thick—the other way. -His face was clean-shaven, and he wore a cigar -two points south-west.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet, withal, he was a genial man, or the lines -about his face lied cruelly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nearing the long yellow beach where the waters -were engaged everlastingly in a futile attempt to -create a permanent sea-wall, his references to home -ceased, and he confined himself to apprehensive -"huh's!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Huh!" he grunted, as the boat was kicked -into the air on the heels of a playful roller. "Huh!" -he said, as the big surfer dropped from the ninth -floor to a watery basement. "Huh—oh!" he -exclaimed—but there was no accident; the boat -was gripped by wading landsmen and slid to safety.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Big Ben Hold rolled ashore and stood on the -firm beach looking resentfully across the two miles -of water which separated him from the ship.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Orter build a dock," he grumbled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He watched, with a jealous eye, the unloading -of his kit, checking the packing cases with a piece -of green chalk he dug up from his waistcoat pocket -and found at least one package missing. The -only important one, too. Is this it? No! Is that -it? No! Is that—ah, yes, that was it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was sitting on it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Suh," said a polite Krooman, "you lib for dem -k'miss'ner?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hey?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dem Sandi—you find um?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Say," said Mr. Hold, "I don't quite get you—I -want the Commissioner—the Englishman—savee."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Later, he crossed the neat and spotless compound -of the big, cool bungalow, where, on the shaded -verandah, Mr. Commissioner Sanders watched the -progress of the newcomer without enthusiasm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For Sanders had a horror of white strangers; -they upset things; had fads; desired escorts for -passing through territories where the natural desire -for war and an unnatural fear of Government -reprisal were always delicately balanced.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Glad to see you. Boy, push that chair along; -sit down, won't you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Hold seated himself gingerly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When a man turns the scale at two hundred and -thirty-eight pounds," grumbled Big Ben pleasantly, -"he sits mit circumspection, as a Dutch friend of -mine says." He breathed a long, deep sigh of -relief as he settled himself in the chair and discovered -that it accepted the strain without so much as -a creak.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders waited with an amused glint in his eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'd like a drink?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Hold held up a solemn hand. "Tempt me -not," he adjured. "I'm on a diet—I don't look -like a food crank, do I?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He searched the inside pocket of his coat with -some labour. Sanders had an insane desire to -assist him. It seemed that the tailor had taken -a grossly unfair advantage of Mr. Hold in building -the pocket so far outside the radius of his short -arm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Here it is!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Big Ben handed a letter to the Commissioner, -and Sanders opened it. He read the letter very -carefully, then handed it back to its owner. And -as he did so he smiled with a rare smile, for Sanders -was not easily amused.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You expect to find the ki-chu here?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Hold nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have never seen it," said Sanders; "I have -heard of it; I have read about it, and I have listened -to people who have passed through my territories -and who have told me that they have seen it with, -I am afraid, disrespect."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Big Ben leant forward, and laid his large and -earnest hand on the other's knee.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, Mr. Sanders," he said, "you've probably -heard of me—I'm Big Ben Hold—everybody knows -me, from the Pacific to the Atlantic. I am the -biggest thing in circuses and wild beast expositions -the world has ever seen. Mr. Sanders, I have made -money, and I am out of the show business for a -million years, but I want to see that monkey -ki-chu——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hold hard." Big Ben's hand arrested the other. -"Mr. Sanders, I have made money out of the -ki-chu. Barnum made it out of the mermaid, but -my fake has been the tailless ki-chu, the monkey -that is so like a man that no alderman dare go -near the cage for fear people think the ki-chu has -escaped. I've run the ki-chu from Seattle to -Portland, from Buffalo to Arizona City. I've had -a company of militia to regulate the crowds to see -the ki-chu. I have had a whole police squad to -protect me from the in-fu-ri-ated populace when -the ki-chu hasn't been up to sample. I have had -ki-chus of every make and build. There are old -ki-chus of mine that are now raising families an' -mortgages in the Middlewest; there are ki-chus -who are running East-side saloons with profit to -themselves and their dude sons, there——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, yes!" Sanders smiled again. "But why?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let me tell you, sir," again Big Ben held up -his beringed hand, "I am out of the business—good! -But, Mr. Sanders, sir, I have a conscience." He -laid his big hand over his heart and lowered -his voice. "Lately I have been worrying over -this old ki-chu. I have built myself a magnificent -dwelling in Boston; I have surrounded myself with -the evidences and services of luxury; but there -is a still small voice which penetrates the -sound-proof walls of my bedroom, that intrudes upon -the silences of my Turkish bath—and the voice says, -'Big Ben Hold—there aren't any ki-chu; you're -a fake; you're a swindler; you're a green goods -man; you're rollin' in riches secured by -fraud.' Mr. Sanders, I must see a ki-chu; I must have -a real ki-chu if I spend the whole of my fortune -in getting it"; he dropped his voice again, "if -I lose my life in the attempt."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stared with gloom, but earnestness, at Sanders, -and the Commissioner looked at him thoughtfully. -And from Mr. Hold his eyes wandered to the gravelled -path outside, and the big American, following his -eyes, saw a discoloured patch.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Somebody been spillin' paint?" he suggested. -"I had——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's blood," he said simply, and Mr. Hold -jerked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've just shot a native," said Sanders, in a -conversational tone. "He was rather keen on -spearing me, and I was rather keen on not being -speared. So I shot him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dead?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not very!" replied the Commissioner. "As -a matter of fact I think I just missed putting him -out—there's an Eurasian doctor looking him over -just now, and if you're interested, I'll let you -know how he gets along."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The showman drew a long breath.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This is a nice country," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders nodded. He called his servants and -gave directions for the visitor's comfortable housing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A week later, Mr. Hold embarked for the upper -river with considerable misgiving, for the canoe -which Sanders had placed at his disposal seemed, -to say the least, inadequate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was at this time that the Ochori were in some -disfavour with the neighbouring tribes, and a -small epidemic of rebellion and warfare had -sustained the interest of the Commissioner in his -wayward peoples.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>First, the N'gombi people fought the Ochori, -then the Isisi folk went to war with the Akasava -over a question of women, and the Ochori went -to war with the Isisi, and between whiles, the -little bush folk warred indiscriminately with -everybody, relying on the fact that they lived in the -forest and used poisoned arrows.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were a shy, yet haughty people, and they -poisoned their arrows with tetanus, so that all -who were wounded by them died of lock-jaw after -many miserable hours.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were engaged in harrying the Ochori people, -when Mr. Commissioner Sanders, who was not -unnaturally annoyed, came upon the scene with -fifty Houssas and a Maxim gun, and although the -little people were quick, they did not travel as -fast as a well-sprayed congregation of .303 bullets, -and they sustained a few losses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Timbani, the little chief of the Lesser Isisi, -spoke to his people assembled:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let us fight the Ochori, for they are insolent, -and their chief is a foreigner and of no consequence."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And the fighting men of the tribe raised their -hands and cried, "Wa!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Timbani led a thousand spears into the Ochori -country, and wished he had chosen another method -of spending a sultry morning, for whilst he was -burning the village of Kisi, Sanders came with -vicious unexpectedness upon his flank, from the -bush country.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two companies of Houssas shot with considerable -accuracy at two hundred yards, and when -the spears were stacked and the prisoners squatted, -resigned but curious, in a circle of armed guards, -Timbani realised that it was a black day in his -history.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I only saw this, lord," he said, "that Bosambo -has made me a sorrowful man, for if it were not for -his prosperity, I should never have led my men -against him, and I should not be here before your -lordship, wondering which of my wives would mourn -me most."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As to that, Timbani," said Sanders, "I have no -means of knowing. Later, when you work in the -Village of Irons, men will come and tell you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Timbani drew a deep breath. "Then my lord -does not hang me?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do not hang you because you are a fool," said -Sanders. "I hang wicked men, but fools I send to -hard labour."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The chief pondered. "It is in my mind, Lord -Sandi," he said, "that I would as soon hang for -villainy as live for folly."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hang him!" said Sanders, who was in an -obliging mood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But when the rope was deftly thrown across the -limb of a tree, Timbani altered his point of view, -electing to drag out an ignominious existence. -Wherein he was wise, for whilst there is life there is -scope, if you will pardon the perversion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To the Village of Irons went Timbani, titular -chief of the Lesser Isisi, and found agreeable -company there, and, moreover, many predecessors, for -the Isisi folk are notoriously improvident in the -matter of chiefs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They formed a little community of their own, -they and their wives, and at evening time they -would sit round a smouldering log of gum wood, -their red blankets about their shoulders, and tell -stories of their former grandeur, and as they moved -the loose shackles about their feet would jingle -musically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On a night when the Houssa sentries, walking -along raised platforms, which commanded all views -of the prisoners' compound, were unusually lax, -Timbani effected his escape, and made the best of -his way across country to the bush lands. The -journey occupied two months in time, but native -folk are patient workers, and there came a spring -morning, when Timbani, lean and muscular, stood -in the presence of Sakola, the bush king.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said he, though he despised all bushmen, -"I have journeyed many days to see you, knowing -that you are the greatest of all kings."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sakola sat on a stool carved crudely to represent -snakes. He was under four feet in height, and was -ill-favoured by bush standards—and the bush -standard is very charitable. His big head, his -little eyes, the tuft of wiry whisker under his chin, -the high cheek bones, all contributed to the unhappy -total of ugliness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was fat in an obvious way, and had a trick of -scratching the calf of his leg as he spoke.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He blinked up at the intruder—for intruder he -was, and the guard at each elbow was eloquent of -the fact.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why do you come here?" croaked Sakola.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He said it in two short words, which literally mean, -"Here—why?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master of the forest," explained Timbani glibly, -"I come because I desire your happiness. The -Ochori are very rich, for Sandi loves them. If you -go to them Sandi will be sorry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The bushman sniffed. "I went to them and I -was sorry," he said, significantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have a ju-ju," said the eager Timbani, alarmed -at the lack of enthusiasm. "He will help you; -and will give you signs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sakola eyed him with a cold and calculating eye. -In the silence of the forest they stared at one another, -the escaped prisoner with his breast filled with -hatred of his overlord, and the squat figure on the -stool.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Sakola spoke.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I believe in devils," he said, "and I will try -your ju-ju. For I will cut you a little and tie you to -the top of my tree of sacrifice. And if you are alive -when the sun sets, behold I will think that is a -good sign, and go once again into the Ochori land. -But if you are dead, that shall be a bad sign, and -I will not fight."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the sun set behind the golden green of the -tree tops, the stolid crowd of bushmen who stood -with their necks craning and their faces upturned, -saw the poor wreck of a man twist slowly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is a good sign," said Sakola, and sent -messengers through the forest to assemble his -fighting men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Twice he flung a cloud of warriors into the Ochori -territory. Twice the chiefs of the Ochori hurled -back the invader, slaying many and taking prisoners.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About these prisoners. Sanders, who knew -something of the gentle Ochori, had sent definite -instructions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When news of the third raid came, Bosambo gave -certain orders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You march with food for five days," he said to -the heads of his army, "and behold you shall feed -all the prisoners you take from the grain you carry, -giving two hands to each prisoner and one to -yourself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But, lord," protested the chief, "this is madness, -for if we take many prisoners we shall starve."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo waved him away. "M'bilini," he said, -with dignity, "once I was a Christian—just as my -brother Sandi, was once a Christian—and we -Christians are kind to prisoners."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But, lord Bosambo," persisted the other, "if -we kill our prisoners and do not bring them back it -will be better for us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"These things are with the gods," said the pious -Bosambo vaguely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So M'bilini went out against the bushmen and -defeated them. He brought back an army well fed, -but without prisoners.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus matters stood when Big Ben Hold came -leisurely up the river, his canoe paddled close in -shore, for here the stream does not run so swiftly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It had been a long journey, and the big man in -the soiled white ducks showed relief as he stepped -ashore on the Ochori beach and stretched his legs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had no need to inquire which of the party -approaching him was Bosambo. For the chief wore -his red plush robe, his opera hat, his glass bracelets, -and all the other appurtenances of his office.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Big Ben had come up the river in his own good -time and was now used to the way of the little -chiefs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His interpreter began a conversational oration, -but Bosambo cut him short.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nigger," he said, in English, "you no speak -'um—I speak 'um fine English. I know Luki, Marki, -John, Judas—all fine fellers. You, sah," he addressed -the impressed Mr. Hold, "you lib for me? Sixpence—four -dollar, good-night, I love you, mister!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He delivered his stock breathlessly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fine!" said Mr. Hold, awestricken and dazed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He felt at home in the procession which marched -in stately manner towards the chief's hut; it was -as near a circus parade as made no difference.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Over a dinner of fish he outlined the object of his -search and the reason for his presence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a laborious business, necessitating the -employment of the despised and frightened -interpreter until the words "ki-chu" were mentioned, -whereupon Bosambo brightened up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sah," interrupted Bosambo, "I savee al dem -talk; I make 'um English one time good."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fine," said Mr. Hold gratefully, "I get you, -Steve."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You lookum ki-chu," continued Bosambo, "you -no find 'um; I see 'um; I am God-man—Christian; -I savee Johnny Baptist; Peter cut 'um head -off—dam' bad man; I savee Hell an' all dem fine -fellers."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell him——" began Big Ben.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I spik English same like white man!" said the -indignant Bosambo. "You no lib for make dem -feller talky talk—I savee dem ki-chu."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Big Ben sighed helplessly. All along the river the -legend of the ki-chu was common property. Everybody -knew of the ki-chu—some had seen those who -had seen it. He was not elated that Bosambo should -be counted amongst the faithful.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For the retired showman had by this time almost -salved his conscience. It was enough, perhaps, that -evidence of the ki-chu's being should be afforded—still -he would dearly have loved to carry one of the -alleged fabulous creatures back to America with him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had visions of a tame ki-chu chained to a -stake on his Boston lawn; of a ki-chu sitting behind -gilded bars in a private menagerie annexe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I suppose," said Mr. Hold, "you haven't seen -a ki-chu—you savee—you no look 'um?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo was on the point of protesting that the -ki-chu was a familiar object of the landscape when -a thought occurred to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"S'pose I find 'um ki-chu you dash[#] me plenty -dollar?" he asked.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] Give.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"If you find me that ki-chu," said Mr. Hold -slowly, and with immense gravity, "I will pay you -a thousand dollars."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo rose to his feet, frankly agitated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thousan' dollar?" he repeated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A thousand dollars," said Big Ben with the -comfortable air of one to whom a thousand dollars -was a piece of bad luck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo put out his hand and steadied himself -against the straw-plaited wall of his hut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You make 'um hundred dollar ten time?" he -asked, huskily, "you make 'um book?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I make 'um book," said Ben, and in a moment -of inspiration drew a note-book from his pocket and -carefully wrote down the substance of his offer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He handed the note to the chief, and Bosambo -stared at it uncomprehendingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And," said Big Ben, confidentially leaning -across and tapping the knee of the standing chief -with the golden head of his cane, "if you——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo raised his hand, and his big face was -solemn.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," he said, relapsing into the vernacular -in his excitement, "though this ki-chu lives in a -village of devils, and ghosts walk about his hut, I -will bring him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next morning Bosambo disappeared, taking -with him three hunters of skill, and to those who -met him and said, "Ho! Bosambo; where do you -walk?" he answered no word, but men who saw -his face were shocked, for Bosambo had been a -Christian and knew the value of money.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Eight days he was absent, and Big Ben Hold -found life very pleasant, for he was treated with all -the ceremony which is usually the privilege of kings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the evening of the eighth day Bosambo -returned, and he brought with him the ki-chu.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Looking at this wonder Big Ben Hold found his -heart beating faster.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My God!" he said, and his profanity was almost -excusable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For the ki-chu exceeded his wildest dreams. It -was like a man, yet unlike. Its head was almost bald, -the stick tied bit-wise between his teeth had been -painted green and added to the sinister appearance -of the brute. Its long arms reaching nearly to its -knees were almost human, and the big splayed feet -dancing a never-ceasing tattoo of rage were less -than animal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo proudly, "I have found -the ki-chu!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The chief's face bore signs of a fierce encounter. -It was gashed and lacerated. His arms, too, bore -signs of rough surgical dressing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Three hunters I took with me," said Bosambo, -"and one have I brought back, for I took the ki-chu -as he sat on a tree, and he was very fierce."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My God!" said Big Ben again, and breathed heavily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They built a cage for the ki-chu, a cage of heavy -wooden bars, and the rare animal was screened from -the vulgar gaze by curtains of native cloth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It did not take kindly to its imprisonment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It howled and gibbered and flung itself against the -bars, and Bosambo viewed its transports with interest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said, "this only I ask you: that you -take this ki-chu shortly from here. Also, you shall -not show it to Sandi lest he be jealous that we send -away from our country so rare a thing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But," protested Mr. Hold to the interpreter, -"you tell the chief that Mr. Sanders just wants me -to catch the ki-chu—say, Bosambo, you savee, -Sandi wantee see dem ki-chu?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were sitting before the chief's hut on the -ninth day of the American's visit. The calm of -evening lay on the city, and save for the unhappy -noises of the captive no sound broke the Sabbath -stillness of the closing day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo was sitting at his ease, a bundle of -English banknotes suspended by a cord about his -neck, and the peace of heaven in his heart.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had opened his mouth to explain the -idiosyncrasies of the Commissioner when——</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Whiff—snick!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Something flicked past Big Ben's nose—something -that buried its head in the straw of the hut with a -soft swish!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He saw the quivering arrow, heard the shrill call -of alarm and the dribbling roll of a skin-covered -drum.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then a hand like steel grasped his arm and flung -him headlong into the hut, for Sakola's headman -had come in person to avenge certain indignities -and the city of the Ochori was surrounded by twenty -thousand bushmen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Night was falling and the position was desperate. -Bosambo had no doubt as to that. A wounded -bushman fell into his hands—a mad little man, -who howled and spat and bit like a vicious little -animal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Burn him till he talks," said Bosambo—but -at the very sight of fire the little man told all—and -Bosambo knew that he spoke the truth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">lokali</em><span> on the high watch tower of the city -beat its staccato call for help and some of the -villagers about answered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo stood at the foot of the rough ladder -leading to the tower, listening.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>From east and south and north came the replies—from -the westward—nothing. The bushmen had -swept into the country from the west, and the </span><em class="italics">lokalis</em><span> -were silent where the invader had passed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Big Ben Hold, an automatic pistol in his hand, -took his part in the defence of the city. All through -that night charge after charge broke before the -defences, and at intervals the one firearm of the -defending force spat noisily out into the darkness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With the dawn came an unshaven Sanders. He -swept round the bend of the river, two Hotchkiss -guns banging destructively, and the end of the bush -war came when the rallied villagers of the Ochori -fell on the left flank of the attackers and drove them -towards the guns of the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then it was that Bosambo threw the whole -fighting force of the city upon the enemy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders landed his Houssas to complete the -disaster; he made his way straight to the city and -drew a whistling breath of relief to find Big Ben -Hold alive, for Big Ben was a white man, and -moreover a citizen of another land. The big man held -out an enormous hand of welcome.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Glad to see you," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders smiled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Found that ki-chu?" he asked derisively, and -his eyes rose incredulously at the other's nod.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Here!" said Mr. Hold triumphantly, and he -drew aside the curtains of the cage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was empty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hell!" bellowed Big Ben Hold, and threw his -helmet on the ground naughtily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There it is!" He pointed across the open -stretch of country which separated the city from -the forest. A little form was running swiftly -towards the woods. Suddenly it stopped, lifted -something from the ground, and turned towards -the group. As its hands came up, Sergeant Abiboo -of the Houssas raised his rifle and fired; and the -figure crumpled up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My ki-chu!" wailed the showman, as he looked -down at the silent figure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders said nothing. He looked first at the dead -Sakola, outrageously kidnapped in the very midst -of his people, then he looked round for Bosambo, -but Bosambo had disappeared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At that precise moment the latter was feverishly -scraping a hole in the floor of his hut wherein to -bank his ill-gotten reward.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-child-of-sacrifice"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER X</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE CHILD OF SACRIFICE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Out of the waste came a long, low wail of infinite -weariness. It was like the cry of a little -child in pain. The Government steamer was -drifting at the moment. Her engine had stopped -whilst the engineer repaired a float which had -been smashed through coming in contact with a -floating log.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Assistant-Commissioner Sanders, a young man in -those days, bent his head, listening. Again the -wail arose; this time there was a sob at the end of -it. It came from a little patch of tall, coarse elephant -grass near the shore.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders turned to his orderly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Take a canoe, O man," he said in Arabic, "and -go with your rifle." He pointed. "There you will -find a monkey that is wounded. Shoot him, that -he may suffer no more, for it is written, 'Blessed is -he that giveth sleep from pain.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Obedient to his master's order, Abiboo leapt into -a little canoe, which the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> carried by her side, -and went paddling into the grass.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He disappeared, and they heard the rustle of -elephant grass; but no shot came.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They waited until the grass rattled again, and</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Abiboo reappeared with a baby boy in the crook -of his arm, naked and tearful.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This child was a first-born, and had been left on -a sandy spit so that a crocodile might come and -complete the sacrifice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This happened nearly twenty years ago, and the -memory of the drastic punishment meted out to -the father of that first-born is scarcely a memory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We will call this child 'N'mika,'" Sanders had -said, which means "the child of sacrifice."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>N'mika was brought up in the hut of a good man, -and came to maturity.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>When the monkeys suddenly changed their abiding-place -from the little woods near by Bonganga, on -the Isisi, to the forest which lies at the back of the -Akasava, all the wise men said with one accord that -bad fortune was coming to the people of Isisi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>N'mika laughed at these warnings, for he was in -Sanders's employ, and knew all things that happened -in his district.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Boy and man he served the Government faithfully; -loyalty was his high fetish, and Sanders -knew this.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Commissioner might have taken this man -and made him a great chief; and had N'mika -raised the finger of desire, Sanders would have -placed him above all others of his people; but the -man knew where he might serve best, and at nineteen -he had scotched three wars, saved the life of Sanders -twice, and had sent three petty chiefs of enterprising -character to the gallows.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then love came to N'mika.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He loved a woman of the Lesser Isisi—a fine, -straight girl, and very beautiful by certain standards. -He married her, and took her to his hut, making her -his principal wife, and investing her with all the -privileges and dignity of that office.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Kira, as the woman was called, was, in many -ways, a desirable woman, and N'mika loved her as -only a man of intelligence could love her; and she -had ornaments of brass and of beads exceeding in -richness the possessions of any other woman in the -village.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now, there are ways of treating a woman the world -over, and they differ in very little degree whether -they are black or white, cannibal or vegetarian, rich -or poor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>N'mika treated this woman too well. He looked -in the forest for her wishes, as the saying goes, and -so insistent was this good husband on serving his -wife, that she was hard put to it to invent -requirements.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bright star reflected in the pool of the world," -he said to her one morning, "what is your need -this day? Tell me, so that I may go and seek -fulfilment."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She smiled. "Lord," she said, "I desire the tail -of a white antelope."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will find this tail," he said stoutly, and went -forth to his hunting, discouraged by the knowledge -that the white antelope is seen once in the year, -and then by chance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now this woman, although counted cold by many -former suitors, and indubitably discovered so by -her husband, had one lover who was of her people, -and when the seeker of white antelope tails had -departed she sent a message to the young man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That evening Sanders was "tied up" five miles -from the village, and was watching the sun sinking -in the swamp which lay south and west of the -anchorage, when N'mika came down river in his -canoe, intent on his quest, but not so intent that -he could pass his lord without giving him due -obeisance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ho, N'mika!" said Sanders, leaning over the -rail of the boat, and looking down kindly at the -solemn figure in the canoe, "men up and down the -river speak of you as the wonderful lover."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is true, lord," said N'mika simply; "for, -although I paid two thousand matakos for this -woman, I think she is worth more rods than have -ever been counted."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders nodded, eyeing him thoughtfully, for he -suspected the unusual whenever women came into -the picture, and was open to the conviction that -the man was mad.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I go now, lord, to serve her," N'mika said, and -he played with one of the paddles with some -embarrassment; "for my wife desires a tail of a white -antelope, and there is no antelope nearer than the -N'gombi country—and white antelopes are very -little seen."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders's eyebrows rose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For many months," continued N'mika, "I must -seek my beautiful white swish; but I am pleased, -finding happiness in weariness because I serve her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders made a sign, and the man clambered -on deck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You have a powerful ju-ju," he said, when -N'mika stood before him, "for I will save you all -weariness and privation. Three days since I shot -a white antelope on the edge of the Mourning Pools, -and you shall be given its tail."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Into the hands of the waiting man he placed the -precious trophy, and N'mika sighed happily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said simply, "you are as a god to -me—and have been for all time; for you found me, -and named me the 'Child of Sacrifice,' and I hope, -my fine master, to give my life in your service. This -would be a good end for me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This is a little thing, N'mika," said Sanders -gently; "but I give you now a greater thing, which -is a word of wisdom. Do not give all your heart to -one woman, lest she squeeze it till you are dead."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That also would be a great end," said N'mika -and went his way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a sad way, for it led to knowledge.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was coming up the river at his leisure. -Two days ahead of him had gone a canoe, swiftly -paddled, to summon to the place of snakes, near -the elephants' ground where three small rivers meet -(it was necessary to be very explicit in a country -which abounded in elephants' playgrounds and -haunts of snakes, and was, moreover, watered by -innumerable rivers), a palaver of the chiefs of his -land.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To the palaver in the snake-place came the chiefs, -high and puisne, the headmen, great and small, in -their various states. Some arrived in war canoes, -with </span><em class="italics">lokali</em><span> shrilling, announcing the dignity and -pride of the lazy figure in the stern. Some came in -patched canoes that leaked continually. Some -tramped long journeys through the forest—Isisi, -Ochori, Akasava, Little N'gombi and Greater Isisi. -Even the shy bushmen came sneaking down the -river, giving a wide berth to all other peoples, and -grasping in their delicate hands spears and arrows -which, as a precautionary measure, had been -poisoned with tetanus.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Egili of the Akasava, Tombolo of the Isisi, -N'rambara of the N'gombi, and, last but not least, -Bosambo of the Ochori, came, the last named being -splendid to behold; for he had a robe of green -velvet, sent to him from the Coast, and about his -neck, suspended by a chain, jewelled at intervals -with Parisian diamonds, was a large gold-plated -watch, with a blue enamel dial, which he consulted -from time to time with marked insolence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They sat upon their carved stools about the -Commissioner, and he told them many things which -they knew, and some which they had hoped he -did not know.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, I tell you," said Sanders, "I call you -together because there is peace in the land, and no -man's hand is against his brother's, and thus it has -been for nearly twelve moons, and behold! you all -grow rich and fat."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kwai!" murmured the chiefs approvingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Therefore," said Sanders, "I have spoken a -good word to Government for you, and Government -is pleased; also my King and yours has sent you a -token of his love, which he has made with great -mystery and intelligence, that you may see him -always with you, watching you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had brought half a hundred oleographs of His -Majesty from the headquarters, and these he had -solemnly distributed. It was a head-and-shoulder -photograph of the King lighting a cigarette, and had -been distributed gratis with an English Christmas -number.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now all people see! For peace is a beautiful -thing, and men may lie down in their huts and fear -nothing of their using. Also, they may go out to -their hunting and fear nothing as to their return, -for their wives will be waiting with food in their -hands."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said a little chief of the N'gombi, "even -I, a blind and ignorant man, see all this. Now, -I swear by death that I will hold the King's peace -in my two hands, offending none; for though my -village is a small one, I have influence, owing to my -wife's own brother, by the same father and of the -same mother, being the high chief of the -N'gombi-by-the-River."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord Sandi," said Bosambo, and all eyes were -fixed upon a chief so brave and so gallantly arrayed, -who was, moreover, by all understanding, related -too nearly to Sandi for the Commissioner's ease. -"Lord Sandi," said Bosambo, "that I am your -faithful slave all men know. Some have spoken -evilly of me, but, lo! where are they? They -are in hell, as your lordship knows, for we were -both Christians before I learnt the true way and -worshipped God and the Prophet. Nevertheless, -lord, Mussulman and Christian are one alike in -this, that they have a very terrible hell to which -their enemies go——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bosambo," said Sanders interrupting, "your -voice is pleasant, and like the falling of rain after -drought, yet I am a busy man, and there are many -to speak."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo inclined his head gravely. The conference -looked at him now in awe, for he had earned -an admonition from Sandi, and still lived—nay! still -preserved his dignity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo. "I speak no more now, -for, as you say, we have many private palavers, -where much is said which no man knows; therefore -it is unseemly to stand between other great -speakers and your honour." He sat down.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You speak truly, Bosambo," said Sanders -calmly. "Often we speak in private, you and I, -for when I speak harshly to chiefs it is thus—in -the secrecy of their huts that I talk, lest I put -shame upon them in the eyes of their people."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O, ko!" said the dismayed Bosambo under -his breath, for he saw the good impression his -cryptic utterance had wrought wearing off with -some rapidity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After the palaver had dispersed, a weary Sanders -made his way to the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span>. A bath freshened -him, and he came out to a wire-screened patch -of deck to his dinner with some zest. A chicken -of microscopic proportions had been the main -dish every night for months.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He ate his meal in solitude, a book propped up -against a bottle before him, a steaming cup of tea -at one elbow, and a little electric hand-lamp at -the other.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was worried. For nine months he had kept a -regiment of the Ochori on the Isisi border -prepared for any eventualities. This regiment had -been withdrawn. Sanders had an uncomfortable -feeling that he had made a bad mistake. It would -take three weeks to police the border again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Long after the meal had been cleared away he -sat thinking, and then a familiar voice, speaking -with Abiboo on the lower deck, aroused him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He turned to the immobile Houssa orderly who -squatted outside the fly wire.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If that voice is the voice of the chief Bosambo, -bring him to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A minute later Bosambo came, standing before -the meshed door of the fly-proof enclosure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Enter, Bosambo," said Sanders, and when he -had done so: "Bosambo," he said, "you are a -wise man, though somewhat boastful. Yet I -have some faith in your judgment. Now you have -heard all manner of people speaking before me, -and you know that there is peace in this land. -Tell me, by your head and your love, what things -are there which may split this friendship between -man and man?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo, preparing to orate at -length, "I know of two things which may bring -war, and the one is land and such high matters as -fishing rights and hunting grounds, and the other -is women. And, lord, since women live and are -born to this world every hour of the day, faster—as -it seems to me—than they die, there will always -be voices to call spears from the roof."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders nodded. "And now?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo looked at him swiftly. "Lord," he -said suavely, "all men live in peace, as your -lordship has said this day, and we love one another -too well to break the King's peace. Yet we keep a -regiment of my Ochori on the Akasava border to -keep the peace."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And now?" said Sanders again, more softly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo shifted uncomfortably. "I am your -man," he said, "I have eaten your salt, and have -shown you by various heroic deeds, and by terrible -fighting, how much I love you, lord Sandi."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yet," said Sanders, speaking rather to the -swaying electric bulb hanging from the awning, -"and yet I did not see the chief of the little Isisi -at my palaver."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo was silent for a moment. Then he -heaved a deep sigh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said, with reluctant admiration, -"you have eyes all over your body. You can see -the words of men before they are uttered, and are -very quick to read thoughts. You are all eyes," -he went on extravagantly, "you have eyes on the -top of your head and behind your ears. You have -eyes——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That will do," said Sanders quietly. "I think -that will do, Bosambo."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was another long pause.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I tell you this, because there are no secrets -between you and me. It was I who persuaded -the little chief not to come."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders nodded. "That I know," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For, lord, I desired that this should be a very -pleasant day for your lordship, and that you should -go away with your heart filled with gladness, -singing great songs; also, as your lordship knows, -the Ochori guard has left the Akasava border."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no mistaking the significance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why should Bimebibi make me otherwise?" -asked Sanders, ignoring the addition.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo loftily, "I am, as you -know, of the true faith, believing neither in devils -nor spells, save those which are prescribed by the -blessed Prophet, it is well known that Bimebibi -is a friend of ghosts, and has the eye which withers -and kills. Therefore, lord, he is an evil man, and -all the chiefs and peoples of this land are for -chopping him—all save the people of the Lesser Isisi, -who greatly love him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again Sanders nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Lesser Isisi were the fighting Isisi; they -held the land between the Ochori and the Akasava, -and were fierce men in some moments, though -gentle enough in others. Yet he had had no word -from N'mika that trouble was brewing. This -was strange. Sanders sat in thought for the -greater part of ten minutes. Then he spoke.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"War is very terrible," he said, "for if one mad -man comes up against five men who are not mad, -behold! they become all mad together. I tell you -this, Bosambo, if you do well for me in this matter, -I will pay you beyond your dreams."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How can a man do well?" asked Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He shall hold this war," said Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo raised his right arm stiffly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This I would do, lord," he said gravely; "but -it is not for me, for Bimebibi will cross with the -Akasava just as soon as he knows that the Ochori -do not hold the border."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He must never know until I bring my soldiers," -said Sanders; "and none can tell him." He looked -up quietly, and met the chief's eye. "And none -can tell him?" he challenged.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo shook his head. "N'mika sits in -his village, lord," said he; "and N'mika is a great -lover of his wife by all accounts."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders smiled. "If N'mika betrays me," he -said, "there is no man in the world I will ever -trust."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>N'mika faced his wife. He wore neither frown -nor smile, but upon her face was the terror of death. -On a stool in the centre of the hut was the tail of -the white antelope, but to this she gave no -attention, for her mind was busy with the thoughts of -terrible reprisals.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They sat in silence; the fire in the centre of the -big hut spluttered and burnt, throwing weird -shadows upon the wattle walls.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When N'mika spoke his voice was even and calm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kira, my wife," he said, "you have taken my -heart out of me, and left a stone, for you do not -love me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She licked her dry lips and said nothing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, I may put you away," he went on, "for -the shame you have brought, and the sorrow, and -the loneliness."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She opened her mouth to speak. Twice she -tried, but her tongue refused. Then, again:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kill me," she whispered, and kept her staring -eyes on his.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>N'mika, the Wonderful Lover, shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are a woman, and you have not my -strength," he said, half to himself, "and you are -young. I have trusted you, and I am afraid."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was silent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If the man, her lover, did what she had told him -to do in the frantic moment when she had been -warned of her husband's return, she might have -saved her life—and more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He read her thoughts in part.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You shall take no harm from me," he said; -"for I love you beyond understanding; and -though I stand on the edge of death for my -kindness, I will do no ill to you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She sprang up. The fear in her eyes was gone; -hate shone there banefully. He saw the look, and -it scorched his very soul—and he heard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the soft pad-pad of the king's guard, and -he turned to greet Bimebibi's head chief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His wife would have run to the guard, but N'mika's -hand shot out and held her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Take him—take him!" she cried hoarsely -"He will kill me—also he plots against the king, -for he is Sandi's man!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Chekolana, the king's headman, watched her -curiously, but no more dispassionate was the face -her husband turned upon her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kira," he said, "though you hate me, I love -you. Though I die for this at the hands of the -king, I love you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She laughed aloud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was safe—and N'mika was afraid. Her -outstretched finger almost touched his face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell this to the king," she cried, "N'mika -is Sandi's man, and knows his heart——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The headman, Chekolana, made a step forward -and peered into N'mika's face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If this is true," he said, "you shall tell -Bimebibi all he desires to know. Say, N'mika, how -many men of the Ochori hold the border?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>N'mika laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ask Sandi that," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord! lord!"—it was the woman, her eyes -blazing—"this I will tell you, if you put my man -away. On the border there is——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She gasped once and sighed like one grown weary, -then she slid down to the floor of the hut—dead, -for N'mika was a quick killer, and his -hunting-knife very sharp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Take me to the king," he said, his eyes upon -the figure at his feet, "saying N'mika has slain the -woman he loved; N'mika, the Wonderful Lover; -N'mika, the Child of Sacrifice, who loved his wife -well, and loved his high duty best."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No other word spoke N'mika.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They crucified him on a stake before the chief's -hut, and there Sanders found him three days later, -Bimebibi explained the circumstances.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, this man murdered a woman, so I killed -him," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He might have saved his breath, for he had need -of it.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="they"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">"THEY"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In the Akarti country they worshipped many -devils, and feared none, save one strange -devil, who was called "Wu," which in our -language means "They."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Remember this," said Sanders of the River, -as he grasped the hand of Grayson Smith, his -assistant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will not forget," said that bright young man; -"and, by the way, if anything happens to me, -you might find out how it all came about, and drop -a note to my people—suppressing the beastly -details."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will make it a pretty story," he said; "and, -whatever happens, your death will be as instantaneous -and as painless as my fountain-pen can make it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're a brick!" said Grayson Smith, and -turned to swear volubly in Swaheli at his -headman—for Smith, albeit young, was a great linguist.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders watched the big canoe as it swung -into the yellow waters of the Fasai; watched it -until it disappeared round a bank, then sent his -steamer round to the current, and set his course -homeward.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To appreciate the full value of the Akartis' -independence, and their immunity from all attack, -it must be remembered that the territory ranged -from the Forest-by-the-Waters to the -Forest-by-the-Mountains. It was a stretch of broad, -pastoral lands, enclosed by natural defences. Forest -and swamp on the westward kept back the -rapacious people of the Great King, mountain and -forest on the south held the Ochori, the Akasava, -and the Isisi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boldest of the N'gombi never ventured -across the saw-shaped peaks of the big mountains, -even though loot and women were there for the -taking.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The king of the Akarti was undisputed lord -of vast territories, and he had ten regiments of -a thousand men, and one regiment of women, -whom he called his "Angry Maidens," who drank -strong juices, and wrestled like men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Since he was king from the Forest-by-the-Mountains -to the Forest-by-the-Waters he was -powerful and merciless, and none said "nay" -to N'raki's "yea," for he was too fierce, and too -terrible a man to cross.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Culuka of the Wet Lands once came down into -N'raki's territory, and brought a thousand spears.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now the Wet Lands are many miles from the -city of the king, and the raid that Culuka planned -injured none, for the raided territories were poor -and stony.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But N'raki, the killer, was hurt in his tenderest -spot, and he led his thousands across the swamps -to the city of Culuka, and he fought him up to the -stockades and beyond. The city he burnt. The -men and children he slew out of hand. Culuka -he crucified before his flaming hut, and, thereafter, -the borders of the killer were immune from -attack.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was a lesson peculiarly poignant, and when -the French Government—for Culuka dwelt in -a territory which was nominally under the -tricolour—sent a mission to inquire into the -wherefores of the happening, N'raki cut off the head -of the leader, and sent it back with unprintable -messages intended primarily for the governor -of French West Africa, and eventually for the -Quai d'Orsay.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>N'raki lived, therefore, undisturbed, for the -outrage coincided with the findings of the -Demarcation Commission which had been sitting for two -years to settle certain border-line questions. By -the finding of the Commission all the Akarti country -became, in the twinkling of an eye, British -territory, and N'raki a vassal of the King of -England—though he was sublimely unconscious of the -honour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>N'raki was an autocrat of autocrats, and of his -many battalions of skilled fighting men, all very -young and strong, with shining limbs and feathered -heads, he was proudest of his first regiment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These were the tallest, the strongest, the fleetest, -and the fiercest of fighters, and he forbade them -to marry, for all men know that women have an -evil effect upon warriors; and no married man -is brave until he has children to defend, and by -that time he is fat also.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So this austere regiment knew none of the -comforts or languor of love, and they were proud -that their lord, the king, had set them apart -from all other men, and had so distinguished them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the games they excelled, because they were -stronger and faster, knowing nothing of women's -influence; and the old king saw their excellence, -and said "Wa!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a man of the regiment whose name -was Taga'ka, who was a fine man of twenty. -There was also in the king's city a woman of -fifteen, named Lapai, who was a straight, comely -girl, and a great dancer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was a haughty woman, because her uncle -was the chief witch-doctor, and such was her power -that she had put away two husbands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One day, at the wells, she saw Taga'ka, and -loved him; and meeting him alone in the forest, -she fell down before him and clasped his feet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord Taga'ka," said she, "you are the one -man in the world I desire."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am beyond desire," said Taga'ka, in his -arrogant pride; "for I am of the king's regiment, -and women are grass for our feet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And not all her allurements could tempt him -to so much as stroke her face; and the heart of -the woman was wild with grief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the king fell sick, and daily grew worse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The witch-doctors made seven sacrifices, and -learnt from grisly portents, which need not be -described in detail, that the king should take a -long journey to the far end of his kingdom, where -he should meet a man with one eye, who would -live in the shadow of the royal hut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This he did, journeying for three months, till -he came to the appointed place, where he met a -man afflicted in accordance with the prediction. -And the man sat in the shadow of the king's hut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now, it is a fact, which none will care to deny, -that the niece of the chief witch-doctor had planned -the treatment of the king. She had planned it -with great cleverness, and she it was who saw to -it that the deformed man waited at the king's hut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For she loved Taga'ka with all the passion of -her soul, and when the long months passed, and -the king remained far away, and Lapai whispered -into the young man's ear, he took her to wife, -though death would be his penalty for his wrong-doing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The other men of the royal regiment, who held -Taga'ka a model in all things austere, seeing this -happen, said: "Behold! Taga'ka, the favourite -of the king, has taken a woman to himself. Now, -if we all do this, it would be better for Taga'ka, -and better for us. The king, the old man, will -forgive him, and not punish us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It might have been that N'raki, the king, would -have ended his days in the place to which his -medicine-man had sent him, but there arose in -that district a greater magician than any—a -certain wild alien of the Wet Lands, who possessed -magical powers, and cured pains in the king's legs -by a no more painful process than the laying on -of hands, and whom the king appointed his chief -magician. And this was the end of the uncle of -Lapai; for, if no two kings can rule in one land, -most certainly no two witch-doctors can hold -power.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And they killed the deposed uncle of Lapai, and -used the blood for making spells.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One morning the new witch-doctor stood in the -presence of N'raki the king.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord king," he said, "I have had a dream, -and it says that your lordship shall go back to your -city, and that you shall travel secretly, so that -the devils who guard the way shall not lay hands -upon you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>N'raki, the king, went back to his city unattended, -save by his personal guard, and unheralded, to -the discomfort of the royal regiment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And when he learnt what he learnt, he administered -justice swiftly. He carried the forbidden -wives to the top of a high mountain and cast them -over a cliff, one by one, to the number of six hundred.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And that mountain is to this day called "The -Mountain of Sorrowful Women."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One alone he spared—Lapai. Before the -assembled people in judgment he spared her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Behold this woman, people of the Akarti!" -he said; "she that has brought sorrow and death -to my regiment. To-day she shall watch her -man, Taga'ka, burn; and from henceforth she shall -live amongst you to remind you that I am a very -jealous king, and terrible in my anger."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The news of the massacre filtered slowly through -the territories. It came to the British Government, -but the British Government is a cautious Government -where primitive natives are concerned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders, sitting between Downing Street and the -District Commissioners of many far-away and -isolated spots, realised the futility of an -expedition. He sent two special messages, one of which -was to a young man named Farquharson, who, -at the moment, was shooting snipe on the big -swamp south of the Ambalina Mountains. And -this young man swore like a Scotsman because -his sport had been interrupted, but girded up his -loins, and, with half a company of the King's -African Rifles, trekked for the city.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On his way he ran into an ambush, and swore -still more, for he realised that death had -overtaken him before he had had his annual holiday.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He called for his orderly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hafiz," he said in Arabic, "if you should -escape, cross the country to the Ochori land by -the big river. There you will find Sandi; give -him my dear love, and say that Fagozoni sent a -cheerful word, also that the Slayer of Regiments -is killing his people."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An hour later Farquharson, or Fagozoni, as -they called him, was lying before the king, his -unseeing eyes staring at the hard, blue heavens, -his lips parted in the very ghost of a smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This is a bad palaver," said the king, looking -at the dead man. "Now they will come, and I -know not what will happen."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In his perturbation he omitted to take into his -calculations the fact that he had in his city a -thousand men sick with grief at the loss of their wives.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>N'raki, the king, was no coward. There was a -prompt smelling out of all suspicious characters. -Even the councillors about his person were not -exempt, for the new witch-doctor found traces of -disloyalty in every one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With the aid of his regiment of virgins, he held -his city, and ruthlessly disposed of secret critics. -These included men who stood at his very elbow, -and there came a time when he found none to whom -he might transmit his thoughts with any feeling -of security.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>News came to him that there was an Arab caravan -traversing his western border, trading with his -people, and the report he received was flattering -to the intelligence and genius of the man in charge -of the party.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>N'raki sent messengers with gifts and kind -words to the intruder, and on a certain day there -was brought before him the slim Arab, Ussuf.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O Ussuf," said the king, "I have heard of you, -and of your wisdom. Often you have journeyed -through my territories, and no man has done you hurt."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord king," said the Arab, "that is true."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The king looked at him thoughtfully. N'raki, -in those days, had reached his maturity; he was -a wise, cunning man, and had no illusions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Arabi," he said, "this is in my mind: that -you shall stay here with me, living in the shadow -of my hut, and be my chief man, for you are very -clever, and know the ways of foreign people. You -shall have treasures beyond your dreams, for in -this land there is much dead ivory hidden by the -people of my fathers."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord king," said Ussuf, "this is a very great -honour, and I am too mean and small a man to -serve you. Yet it is true I know the ways of -foreign people, and I am wise in the government -of men."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This also I say to you," the king went on -slowly, "that I do not fear men or devils, yet I -fear 'They,' because of their terrible cruelty. Now -if you will serve me, so that I avert the wrath -of these, you shall sit down here in peace and -happiness."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus it came about that Ussuf, the Arab, -became Prime Minister to the King of Akarti, and -two days after his arrival the new witch-doctor -was put away with promptitude and dispatch -by a king who had no further use for him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All the news that came from the territories to -Sanders was that the country was being ruled -with some wisdom. The fear of "They" was -an ever-present fear with the king. The long -evenings he sat with his Arab counsellor, thinking -of that mysterious force which lay beyond the -saw-back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I tell you this, Ussuf," he said, "that my heart -is like water within me when I think of 'They,' -for it is a terrible devil, and I make sacrifices at -every new moon to appease its anger."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord king," said Ussuf, "I am skilled in the -way of 'They,' and I tell you that they do not -love sacrifices."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The king shifted on his stool irritably.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is strange," he said, "for the gods told -me in a dream that I must sacrifice Lapai."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He shot a swift glance at the Arab, for this Ussuf -was the only man in the city who did not deal -scornfully with the lonely, outcast woman, whose -every day was a hell.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the king's order that she should walk -through the city twice between sunrise and -sunset, and it was the king's pleasure that every man -she met should execrate her; and although the -native memory is short, and the recollection of -the tragedy had died, men feared the king too much -to allow her to pass without a formal curse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ussuf alone had walked with her, and men had -gasped to see the kindly Arabi at her side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You may have this woman," said the king -suddenly, "and take her into your house."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Arab turned his calm eyes upon the wizened -face of the other.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said, "she is not of my faith, being -an unbeliever and an infidel, and, according to my -gods, unworthy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was wise to the danger his undiplomatic -friendship had brought him. He knew the reigns -of Prime Ministers were invariably short.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had become less indispensable than he had -been, for the king had regained some of his lost -confidence in the loyalty of his people; -moreover, he had aroused suspicion in the Akartis' -mind, and that was fatal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The king dismissed him, and Ussuf went back -to his hut, where his six Arab followers were.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ahmed," he said to one of these, "it is written -in the blessed Word that the life of man is very -short. Now I particularly desire that it shall be -no shorter than the days our God has given to me. -Be prepared to-morrow, therefore, to leave this -city, for I see an end to my power."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He rose early in the morning, and went to the -palaver which began the day. He was not -perturbed to discover the seat usually reserved on -the right of the king occupied by a lesser chief, -and his own stool placed four seats down on the left.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have spoken with my wise counsellors," -said the king, "also with witch-doctors, and these -wise men have seen that the crops are bad, and -that there is no fortune in this land, and because -of this we will make a great sacrifice."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ussuf bowed his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, I think," said King N'raki slowly, -"because I love my people very dearly, and I will -not take any young maidens, as is the custom, for -the fire, and for the killing, that it would be good -for all people if I took the woman Lapai."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All eyes were fixed on Ussuf. His face was -calm and motionless.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Also," the king went on, "I hear terrible -things, which fill my stomach with sorrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, I hear many things also," said Ussuf -calmly; "but I am neither sorry nor glad, for -such stories belong to the women at their cooking-pots -and to men who are mad because of sickness."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>N'raki made a little face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Women or madmen," he said shortly, "they -say that you are under the spell of this woman, -and that you are plotting against this land, and have -also sent secret messengers to 'They,' and that -you will bring great armies against my warriors, -eating up my country as Sandi ate up the Akasava -and the lands of the Great King."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ussuf said nothing. He would not deny this -for many reasons.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When the moon comes up," said the king, -and he addressed the assembly generally, "you -shall tie Lapai to a stake before my royal house, -and all the young maidens shall dance and sing -songs, for good fortune will come to us, as it came -in the days of my father, when a bad woman died."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ussuf made no secret of his movements that day. -First he went to his hut at the far end of the village, -and spoke to the six Arabs who had come with him -into the kingdom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To the headman he said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ahmed, this is a time when death is very near -us all, be ready at moonrise to die, if needs be. -But since life is precious to us all, be at the little -plantation at the edge of the city at sunset, as -soon as darkness falls and the people come in to -sacrifice."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He left them and walked through the broad, -palm-fringed street of the Akarti city till he came -to the lonely hut, where the outcast woman dwelt. -It was such a hut as the people of Akarti built -for those who are about to die, so that no dwelling-place -might be polluted with the mustiness of death.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The girl was starting on her daily penance—a -tall, fine woman. She watched the approach -of the king's minister without expressing in her -face any of the torments which raged in her bosom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lapai," said Ussuf, "this night the king makes -a sacrifice."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He made no further explanation, nor did the -girl require one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If he had made this sacrifice earlier, he would -have been kind," she said quietly, "for I am a -very sorrowful woman."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That I know, Lapai," said the Arab gently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That you do not know," she corrected. "I -had sorrow because I loved a man and destroyed -him, because I love my people and they hate me, -and now because I love you, Ussuf, with a love -which is greater than any."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He looked at her; there was a strange pity in -his eyes, and his thin, brown hands went out till -they reached to her shoulders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All things are with the gods," he said. "Now, -I cannot love you, Lapai, although I am full of -pity for you, for you are not of my race, and there -are other reasons. But because you are a woman, -and because of certain teachings which I received -in my youth, I will take you out of this city, and, -if needs be, die for you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He watched her as she walked slowly down -towards where the people of the Akarti waited for -her, drawn by morbid curiosity, since the king's -intention was no secret. Then he shrugged his -shoulders helplessly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At nine o'clock, when the virgin guards and the -old king went to find her for the killing, she had -gone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So also had Ussuf and his six Arabi. The king's -</span><em class="italics">lokali</em><span> beat furiously, summoning all the country -to deliver into his hands the woman and the man.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Sanders, at that moment, was hunting for the -Long Man, whose name was O'Fasa. O'Fasa was -twelve months gone in sleeping-sickness, and had -turned from being a gentle husband and a kindly -father into a brute beast. He had speared his wife, -cut down the Houssa guard left by Sanders to -keep the peace of his village, and had made for -the forest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now, a madman is a king, holding his subjects -in the thrall of fear, and since there was no room -in the territory for two kings and Sanders, the -Commissioner came full tilt up the river, landed -half a company of black infantry, and followed on -the ravaging trace of the madman.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the end of eight days he came upon O'Fasa, -the Long Man. He was sitting with his back -against a gum-tree, his well-polished spears close -at hand, and he was singing the death song of the -Isisi, a long low, wailing, sorrowful song, which -may be so translated into doggerel English:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>Life is a thing so small</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>That you cannot see it at all;</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Death is a thing so wise</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>That you see it in every guise.</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Death is the son of life,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Pain is his favourite wife.</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Sanders went slowly across the clearing, his -automatic pistol in his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>O'Fasa looked at him and laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O'Fasa," said Sanders gently, "I have come -to see you, because my King heard you were sick."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O ko!" laughed the other. "I am a great -man when kings send their messengers to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders, his eye upon the spears, advanced warily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come with me, O'Fasa," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The man rose to his feet. He made no attempt -to reach his spears. Of a sudden he ducked, and -turned, running swiftly towards the black heart -of the forest. Sanders raised his pistol, and -hesitated a second—just too long. He could not kill -the man, though by letting him live he might -endanger the lives of his fellows and the peace of -the land.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Commissioner was in an awkward predicament. -Ten miles beyond was the narrow gap -which led into the territory of N'raki. To lead -an armed expedition through that gap would -bring about complications which it was his duty -and desire to avoid. The only hope was that -O'Fasa would double back, for the trail they -followed left little doubt as to where he had gone. -Unerringly, with the instinct of the hunted beast, -he had made for the gap.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They came to the gorge, palm-fringed, and damp -with the running waters, at sunset, and camped. -They found the spoor of the hunted man, lost it, -and picked it up again. At daybreak Sanders, -with two men, pushed through the narrow pass -and came into the forbidden territory. There was -no sign of the fugitive.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders's </span><em class="italics">lokali</em><span> beat out four urgent messages. -They were addressed to a Mr. Grayson Smith, -who might possibly be in that neighbourhood, -but if he received them, he sent no reply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now, madmen and children have a rooted -dislike for strange places, and Sanders, backing on -this, fixed his ambush in the narrow end of the -gorge. Sooner or later O'Fasa would return. -At any rate, he decided to give him four days. -Thus matters stood when the sometime minister, -Ussuf, with a woman and five Arabi, made for -the gap, with the swift and tireless guards of the -king at their heels.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three times the Arab had halted to fight off his -pursuers, and in one of these engagements he had -sustained his only casualty, and had left a dead -Arab follower on the ground of his stand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The gap was in sight, when a regiment of the -north, summoned by </span><em class="italics">lokali</em><span>, swept down on his -left and effectively blocked his retreat. Ussuf -took up his position on a little rocky hill. His -right was protected by swamp land, and his left and -rear were open.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lapai," he said, when he had surveyed the -position, "it seems to me that the death you desire -is very close at hand. Now, I am very sorry for -you, but God knows my sorrow can do little to -save you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The woman looked at him steadily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," she said, "I am very glad if you and I -go down to hell together, for in some new, strange -world you might love me, and I should be satisfied."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ussuf laughed, showing his straight rows of -white teeth in genuine amusement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That we shall see," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The attack came almost at once, but the rifles -of the six shot back the assault. At the end of -two hours the little party stood intact. A second -attack followed; one man of the Arab guard went -down with an arrow through his throat, but Ussuf's -shooting was effective, and again the northern -regiment drew off.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before the hill, and in the direction of Akarti -city, was the king's legion. It was from this point -that Ussuf expected the last destroying assault.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lapai," he said, turning round, "I——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The woman had gone! In the fury of the -defence he had not noticed her slip away from him. -Suddenly she appeared half-way down the hill -and turned to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come back!" he called.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She framed her mouth with two hands that -her words might carry better. In the still evening -air every word came distinctly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," she said, "this is best, for if they have -me, they will let you go, and death will come some -day to you, and I shall be waiting."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She turned and ran quickly down the hill towards -the stiff lines of warriors below.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then suddenly appeared out of the ground, as -It seemed, a tall, lank figure right in her path. -She stopped a moment, and the man sprang at -her and lifted her without an effort. Ussuf raised -his rifle and covered them, but he dare not shoot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was another interested spectator. King -N'raki, a vengeful man, and agile despite his years, -had followed as eagerly as the youngest of his -warriors, and now stood in the midst of his -counsellors, watching the scene upon the hill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What man is that?" he asked. "For I see -he is not of our people."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before the messengers he would have dispatched -could be instructed, the tall man, running lightly -with his burden, came towards him, and laid a -dead woman almost at the king's feet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Man," he said insolently, "I bring you this -woman, whom I have killed, because a devil put -it into my heart to do so."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who are you?" asked N'raki. "For I see -you are a stranger."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am a king," said O'Fasa, the Long Man; -"greater than all kings, for I have behind me the -armies of white men."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The humour of this twisted truth struck him -of a sudden, for he burst into a fit of -uncontrollable laughter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You have the armies of the white men behind -you?" repeated N'raki slowly, and looked -nervously from side to side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Behold!" said O'Fasa, stretching out his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The king's eyes followed the direction of the -hand. Far away across the bare plain he saw -black specks of men advancing at regular intervals. -The sinking sun set the bayonets of Sander's little -force aglitter. The Commissioner had heard the -firing, and had guessed much.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is 'They,'" said King N'raki, and blinked -furiously at the Long Man, O'Fasa.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He turned swiftly to his guard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kill that man!" he said.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Sanders brought his half-company of Houssas -to the hill and was met half-way by Ussuf.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I heard your rifles," he said. "Have you seen -anything of a long chap, of wild and aggressive -mien!" He spoke in English, and Ussuf replied -in the same language.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A tall man?" he asked, and Sanders wondered -a little that a man so unemotional as was -Grayson Smith, of the Colonial Intelligence, should -speak so shakily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think he is here," said the Englishman in -Arab attire, and he led the way down the hill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>N'raki's armies had moved off swiftly. The -fear of "They" had been greater in its effect than -all its legions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Englishmen made their way to where two -figures lay in a calm sleep of death.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who is the woman?" asked Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A native woman, who loved me," said Grayson -Smith simply, and he bent down and closed the -eyes of the girl who had loved him so well.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-ambassadors"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE AMBASSADORS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>There is a saying amongst the Akasava:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Isisi sees with his eyes, the N'gombi -with his ears, but the Ochori sees nothing -but his meat."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This is translated badly, but in its original form -it is immensely subtle. In the old days before -Bosambo became chief, king, headman, or what -you will, of his people, the Ochori were quite -prepared to accept the insulting description of their -sleepiness without resentment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But this was </span><em class="italics">cala-cala</em><span>, and now the Ochori are -a proud people, and it is not good to throw -insulting proverbs in their direction, lest they throw -them back with something good and heavy at the -end of it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The native mind works slowly, and it was not -until every tribe within three hundred miles had -received some significant indication of the change -which had come about in the spirit and character -of this timorous people, that they realised the -Ochori were no longer a race which might serve -as butts for the shafts of wisdom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a petty chief of the Isisi who governed -a great district, for, although "Isisi" means -"small" the name must not be taken literally. -He had power under his king to call palavers on -all great national questions, such as the failure -of crops, the shifting of fishing-grounds, and the -infidelities of highly-placed women.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One day he called his people together—his -counsellors, his headmen, and all sons of chiefs—and -he laid before them a remarkable proposition.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In the days of my father," said Embed, "the -Ochori were a weak and cowardly people; now -they have become strong and powerful. Last -week they came down upon our brothers of the -Akasava and stole their goats and laid shame -upon them, and behold! the Akasava, who are -great warriors, did nothing more than send to -Sandi the story of their sorrow. Now it seems -to me that this is because Bosambo, the chief, -has a devil of great potency, and I have sent to -my king to ask him to entreat the lord Bosambo -to tell us why these things should be."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The gathered counsellors nodded their heads -wisely. There was no doubt at all that Bosambo -had the advantage of communication with a devil; -or if this were not so, he was blessed to a minor -degree with a nodding acquaintance with one of -those ghosts in which the forest of the Ochori -abounded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And thus says my lord, the king of the Akasava, -and of all the territories and the rivers and the -unknown lands beyond the forest as far as the eye -can see," the chief went on. "He sends me his -message by his counsellor, saying: 'It is true -Bosambo has a devil, and for the sake of my people -I will send to him, asking him to put his strength -in our hands, that we may be wise and bold.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now this was a conclusion which had been arrived -at simultaneously by the six nations, and, although -the thoughts of their rulers were not communicated -in such a public fashion, the faith in Bosambo's -inspiration was universal, and the idea that Bosambo -should be thus approached was a violent and -shameless plagiarism on the part of the chief Emberi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One morning in the late spring the ambassadors -of the powers came paddling up to Ochori city -in twelve canoes with their headmen, their warriors, -their beaters of drums and their carriers. Bosambo, -who had no faith whatever in humanity, was -warned of their approach and threw the city into a -condition of defence. He himself received the -deputation on the foreshore, and the spokesman -was Emberi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord Bosambo," said the chief, "we come in -peace, and from the chief and the kings and all -the peoples of these lands."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That may be so," said Bosambo, "and my heart -is full of joy to see you. But I beg of you that -you land your spearmen and your warriors and -your beaters of drums on the other side of the -river, for I am a timorous man, and I fear that I -cannot in this city show you the love and honour -which Sandi has asked me to give even to common -people."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But, lord," protested the chief, who, to do -him credit, had no warlike or injurious ideas -concerning his host, "on the other side of the water -there is only sand and water and evil spirits."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That may be so," said Bosambo; "but on -this side of the river there are me and my people, -and we desire to live happily for many years. I -tell you, that it is better that you should all die -because of the sand and the water and the evil -spirits, than that I should be slain by those who -do not love me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My master," said Emberi pompously, "is a -great king and a great lover of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your master," said Bosambo, "is a great liar."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He loves you," protested Emberi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He is still a great liar," said Bosambo; "for -the last time I met him he not only said that he -would come with his legions and eat me up, but -he also called me evil names, such as 'fish-eater' -and 'chicken,' and 'fat dog.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo spoke without fear of consequences -because he had a hundred of his picked men behind -him, and all the advantage of the sloping beach. -He would have turned the delegates back to their -homes, but that the persistent and alarmed Emberi -succeeded in interesting him in his announcements, -and, more important, there were landed from one -of the canoes, rich presents, including goats and -rice and a looking-glass, which latter was, explained -Emberi, the very core of his master's soul.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the end Bosambo left his hundred men to -hold the beach, and Emberi persuaded his reluctant -followers to make their home on the sandy shore -across the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, and only then, did Bosambo unbend, and -had prepared one of his famous feasts, to which -all the chiefs of the land contributed in the shape -of meat and drink—all the chiefs, that is, except -Bosambo, who made a point of giving nothing -away to anybody in any circumstances.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The palaver that followed was very interesting, -indeed, to the chief of the Ochori. One by one, -from nine in the morning to four in the following -morning, the delegates spoke.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Much of their speeches dealt with the superlative -qualities which distinguished Bosambo's rule—his -magnificent courage, his noble generosity—Bosambo -glanced quickly round to see the faces -of the counsellors who had reluctantly provided -the feast—and to the future which awaited all -nations which imitated all his virtues.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, I speak the truth," said Emberi, "and -thus it runs that all people from the sea where -the river ends, to the leopard's mouth from whence -it has its source, know that you are familiar with -devils that give you courage and cunning and tell -you magic, so that you can make men from rats."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo nodded his head gravely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All this is true," he said. "I have several -devils, although I do not always use them. For, -as you know, I am a follower of a particular faith, -and was for one life-time a Christian, believing -in all manners of mysteries of which you know -nothing—Marki, Luki, and Johnny Baptist, who -are not for you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He looked round at the awed men and shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nor do you know of the wonders they worked, -such as curing burns, and striking dead, and cutting -ears. Now I know these things," he continued -impressively, "therefore Sandi loves me, for he -also is a God-man, and often comes to me to speak -with him concerning these white men."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, what are devils?" asked an impatient delegate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of the devils," repeated Bosambo, "I have many."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He half closed his eyes and was silent for the space -of two minutes. He gave the impression that he -was counting his staff—and, indeed, this was the -idea precisely that he wished to convey.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O ko!" said Emberi in a hushed voice. "If -it is true, as you say it is, then our master desires -that you shall send us one devil or two that we -might be taught the peculiar manner of these -wonderful ghosts."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo coughed, and glanced round at the -sober faces of his advisers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have many devils who serve me," he began. -"There is one I know who is very small and has -two noses—one before him and one behind—so -that he may smell his enemy who stalks him. Also -there is one who is so tall that the highest trees are -grass to his feet. And another one who is green -and walks upside down."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For an hour Bosambo orated at length on dæmonology, -even though he might never have known the -word. He drew on the misty depths of his -imagination. He availed himself of every recollection -dealing with science. He spoke of ghosts who -were familiar friends, and came to his bidding -much in the same way that the civilised dog comes -to his master's whistle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The delegates retired to their huts for the night -in a condition of panic when Bosambo informed -them that he had duly appointed a particular -brand of devil to serve their individual needs, and -protect them against the ills which the flesh is -heir to.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now Ochori city and the Ochori nation had indeed -awakened from the spell of lethargy under the -beneficent and drastic government of Bosambo, -and it is known in the history of nations, however -primitive or however advanced they may be, that -no matter how excellent may be the changes effected -there will be a small but compact party who regard -the reformer as one who encumbers the earth. -Bosambo had of his own people a small but powerful -section who regarded all changes with horror, and -who saw in the new spirit which the chief had -infused into the Ochori, the beginning of the -end. This is a view which is not peculiar to the -Ochori.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There were old chiefs and headmen who remembered -the fat and idle days which preceded the -upraising of Bosambo, who remembered how easy -it was to secure slave service, and, remembering, -spoke of Bosambo with unkindness. The chief -might have settled the matter of devils out of -hand in his own way, and would, I doubt not, -have sent away the delegation happily enough with -such messages of the Koran as he could remember -written on the paper Sanders had supplied him for -official messages.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But it was not Bosambo's way, nor was it the -way with the men with whom he had to deal to -expedite important palavers. Normally, such a -conference as was now assembled, would last at -least three days and three nights. It seemed -that it would last much longer, for Bosambo had -troubles of his own.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At dawn on the morning following the arrival -of the delegation, a dust-stained messenger, naked -as he was born, came at a jog-trot and panting -heavily from the bush road which leads to the -Elivi, and without ceremony stood at the door of -the royal hut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord Bosambo," said the messenger, "Ikifari, -the chief of Elivi, brings his soldiers and headmen -to the number of a thousand, for a palaver."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What is in his heart?" said Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said the man, "this is in his heart: -there shall be no roads in the Ochori, for the men -of Elivi are crying out against the work. They -desire to live in peace and comfort."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo had instituted a law of his own—with -the full approval of Sanders—and it was that each -district should provide a straight and well-made -forest road from one city to another, and a great -road which should lead from one district to its -neighbour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Unfortunately, every little tribe did not approach -the idea with the enthusiasm which Bosambo himself -felt, nor regard it with the approval which was -offered to this most excellent plan by the King's -Government.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For road-making is a bad business. It brings -men out early in the morning, and keeps them -working with the sweat running off their bare -backs in the hot hours of the day. Also there -were fines and levies which Bosambo the chief -took an unholy joy in extracting whenever default -was made.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of all the reluctant tribes, the Elivi were the most -frankly so. Whilst all the others were covered -with a network of rough roads—slovenly made, -but roads none the less—Elivi stood a virgin patch -of land two hundred miles square in the very heart -of make-shift civilisation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo might deal drastically with the enemy -who stood outside his gate. It was a more delicate -matter when he had to deal with a district tacitly -rebellious, and this question of roads threatened -to develop, unhappily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had sent spies into the land of the Elivi and -this was the first man back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now it seems to me," said Bosambo, half to -himself, "that I have need of all my devils, for -Ikifari is a bitter man, and his sons and his counsellors -are of a mind with him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sent his headman to his guests with a message -that for the whole day he would be deep in counsel -with himself over this matter of ghosts; and when -late in the evening the van of the Elivi force was -sighted on the east of the village, Bosambo, seated -in state in his magnificent palaver-house, adorned -with such Christmas plates as came his way, awaited -their arrival.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Limberi, the headman, went out to meet the -disgruntled force.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chief," he said, "it is our lord's wish that you -leave your spears outside the city."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Limberi," said Ikifari, a hard man of forty, -all wiry muscle and leanness, "we are people of -your race and your brothers. Why should we -leave our spears—we who are of the Ochori?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You do not come otherwise," said Limberi -decisively. "For across the river are many enemies -of our lord, and he loves you so much, that -for his own protection, he desired your armed -men—your spearmen and your swordsmen—to -sit outside. Thus he will be confident and -happy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no more to be done than to obey.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ikifari with his counsellors followed the headman -to the palaver, and his insolence was notable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I speak for all Elivi," he said, without any -ceremonious preliminaries. "We are an oppressed -people, lord Bosambo, and our young men cry -out with great voices against your cruelty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They shall cry louder," said Bosambo, and -Ikifari, the chief, scowled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said sullenly, "if it is true that -Sandi loves you, he also loves us, and no man is -so great in this land that he may stir a people to -rebellion."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo knew this was true—knew it without -the muttered approval of Ikifari's headmen. He -ran his eye over the little party. They were all -there—the malcontents. Tinif'si, the stout -headman, M'kera and Calasari, the lesser chiefs; and -there was in their minds a certain defiance which -particularly exasperated Bosambo. He might -punish one or two who set themselves up against -his authority, but here was an organised rebellion. -Punishment would mean fighting, and fighting -would weaken his position with Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the moment to temporise.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Fortunately the devil deputation was not present. -It was considered to be against all etiquette for -men of another nation to be present at the domestic -councils of their neighbours. Otherwise some doubt -might have been born in the bosom of Emberi -as to the efficacy of Bosambo's devils at this -particular moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And this I would say to you, lord," said Ikifari, -and Bosambo knew that the crux of the situation -would be revealed. "We Elivi are your dogs. -You do not send for us to come to your great -feasts, nor do you honour us in any way. But -when there is fighting you call up our spears and -our young men, and you send us abroad to be -eaten up by your terrible enemies. Also," he -went on, "when you choose your chiefs and -counsellors to go pleasant journeys to such places -where they are honoured and feasted, you send -only men of the Ochori city."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It may be said here that from whatever source -Bosambo derived his inspiration, he had certainly -acquired royal habits which were foreign to his -primitive people. Thus he would dispatch envoys -and ambassadors on ceremonious visits bearing -gifts and presents which they themselves provided -and returning with richer presents which Bosambo -acquired. It was, if the truth be told, a novel and -pleasant method of extracting blackmail—pleasant -because it gave Bosambo little trouble, and afforded -his subordinates titillation of importance, and no -one had arisen to complain save these unfortunate -cities of Akasava—Isisi and N'gombi—which -entertained his representatives.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is true I have never sent you," said Bosambo, -"and my heart is sore at the thought that you should -think evil of me because I have saved you all this -trouble. For my heart is like water within me. -Yet a moon since I sent Kill, my headman, bearing -gifts to the king of the bush people, and they -chopped him so that he died, and now I fear to -send other messengers."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was an unmistakable sneer on Ikifari's face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," he said, with asperity, "Kili was a -foolish man and you hated him, for he had spoken -evilly against you, stirring up your people. -Therefore you sent him to the bushmen and he did not -come back." He added significantly: "Now I -tell you that if you send me to the bushmen I -do not go."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo thought a moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now I see," he said, almost jovially, "that -Ikifari, whom I love better than my own -brother"—this was true—"is angry with me because I -have not sent him on a journey. Now I shall -show how much I love you, for I will send you -all—each of you—as guests of my house, bearing -my word to such great nations as the Akasava, -the Isisi, the N'gombi; also to the people beyond -the river, who are great and give large presents."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He saw the faces brighten, and seized the -psychological moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The palaver is finished," said Bosambo -magnificently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He ordered a feast to be made outside the city -for his unwelcome guests, and summoned the -devil delegates to his presence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My friends," he said, "I have given this matter -of devils great thought, and since I desire to stand -well with you and with your master, I have spent -this night in company with six great devils, who -are my best friends and who help me in all matters. -Now I tell you this—which is known only to myself -and to you, whom I trust—that to-day I send to -your master six great spirits which inspire me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a hush. The sense of responsibility, -which comes to the nervous who are suddenly -entrusted with the delivery of a ferocious bull, -fell upon the men of the delegation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, this is a great honour," said Emberi, -"and our masters will send many more presents -than your lordship has ever seen. But how may -we take these devils with us, for we are fearful -and are not used to their ways?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo bowed his head graciously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That also filled my thoughts," he said, "and -thus I have ordered it. I shall take six of my -people—six counsellors and chiefs, who are to -me as the sun and the flowers—and by magic I -will place inside the heart of each chief and -headman one great devil. You shall take these men -with you, and you shall listen to all they say save -this." He paused. "These devils love me, and -they will greatly desire to return to my city and -to my land, where they have been so long. Now -I tell you that you must treat them kindly. Yet -you must hold them, putting a guard about them, -and keeping them in a secret place, so that Sandi -may not find them and hear of them. And they -will bring you fortune and prosperity and the -courage of lions."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Sanders was coming up river to settle a woman -palaver, when he came slap into a flotilla of such -pretension and warlike appearance that he did -not hesitate for one moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At a word, the canvas jackets were slipped -from the Hotchkiss guns, and they were swung -over the side. But there was no need for such -preparations, as he discovered when Emberi's -canoe came alongside.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell me, Emberi," said Sanders, "what is -this wonderful thing I see—that the Akasavas -and the Isisi, and the N'gombi and the people -of the lower forest sail together in love and -harmony?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Emberi proudly, "this is Bosambo's -doing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was all suspicion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now I know that Bosambo is a clever man," -he said, "yet I did not know that he was so great -a character that he could bring together all men -in peace, but rather the contrary."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He has done this because of devils," said -Emberi importantly. "Behold, there are certain -things about which I must not speak to you, and -this is one of them. So, Sandi, ask me no more, -for I have sworn an oath."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Leaning over the steamer Sanders surveyed -the flotilla. His keen eyes ranged the boat from -stem to stern. He noted with interest the presence -of one Ikifari, who was known to him. And Ikifari -in a scarlet coat was a happy and satisfied man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O Ikifari," bantered Sanders, "what of my roads?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The chief looked up. "Lord, they shall be made," -he said, "though my young men die in the making. -I go now to make a grand palaver for my friend -and father Bosambo, for he trusts me above all -men and has sent me to the Isisi."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders knew something of Bosambo's idiosyncrasies, -and nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When you come back," he said, "I will speak -on the matter of these roads. Tell me now, my -friend, how long do you stay with the Isisi?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Ikifari, "I stay for the time of -a moon. Afterwards I go back to the Ochori, -bearing rich presents which my lord Bosambo -has made me swear I will keep for myself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The space of a moon," repeated Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He turned to ring the engines "Ahead" and -did not see Emberi's hand go up to cover a smile.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="guns-in-the-akasava"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">GUNS IN THE AKASAVA</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Thank God!" said the Houssa captain -fervently, "there is no war in this country."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Touch wood!" said Sanders, and -the two men simultaneously reached out and laid -solemn hands upon the handle of the coffee-pot, -which was vulcanite.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If they had touched wood who knows what might -have happened in the first place to Ofesi the chief -of Mc-Canti?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Who knows what might have happened to the -two smugglers of gold from the French territory?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The wife of Bikilini might have gone off with -her lover, and Bikilini resigned and patient taken -another to wife, and the death men of the Ofesi -might never have gone forth upon their unamiable -missions, or going forth have been drowned, or -grown faint-hearted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Anyway it is an indisputable fact that neither -Sanders nor Captain Hamilton touched wood on -the occasion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And as to Bannister Fish——?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That singular man was a trader in questionable -commodities, for he had not the nice sentiments -which usually go with the composition of a white -man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Some say that he ran slaves from Angola to -places where a black man or a black woman is -worth a certain price; that he did this openly -with the connivance of the Government of Portugal -and made a tolerable fortune. He certainly bought -more poached ivory than any man in Africa, and -his crowning infamy up to date was the arming -of a South Soudanese Mahdi—arms for employment -against his fellow-countrymen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There are certain manufacturers of small arms -in the Midlands who will execute orders to any -capacity, produce weapons modern or antiquated -at a cost varying with the delicacy or mechanism -of the weapon. They have no conscience, but -have a hard struggle to pay dividends because -there are other firms in Liége who run the same -line of business, but produce at from 10 per -cent. to 25 per cent. lower cost.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Bannister Fish, a thin, wiry man of thirty-four, -as yellow as a guinea and with the temper -of a fiend, was not popular on the coast, especially -with officials. Fortunately Africa has many coasts, -and since Africa in mass was Mr. Fish's -hunting-ground, rather than any particular section, the -coast men—as we know the coast—saw little of him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was Mr. Fish's boast that there was not -twenty miles of coast line from Dakka to -Capetown, and from Lourenço Marques to Suez, that -had not contributed something of beauty to his -lordly mansion on the top of Highgate Hill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>You will observe that he omits reference to -the coast which encloses Cape Colony, and there -is a reason. Cape Colony is immensely civilised, -has stipendiary magistrates and a horrible -breakwater where yellow-jacketed convicts labour for -their sins, and Mr. Fish's sins were many. He -tackled Sanders's territory in the same spirit as -a racehorse breeder will start raising Pekingese -poodles—not for the money he could make out of -it, but as an amusing sideline.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He worked ruin on the edge of the Akasava -country, operating from the adjoining foreign -territories, and found an unholy joy in worrying -Sanders, whom he had met once and most cordially -disliked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His dislike was intensified on the next occasion -of their meeting, for Sanders, making a forced -march across the Akasava, seized the caravan of -Mr. Bannister Fish, burnt his stores out of hand, -and submitted the plutocrat of Highgate Hill to -the indignity of marching handcuffed to headquarters. -Mr. Fish was tried by a divisional court -and fined £500, or, as an alternative, awarded -twelve months imprisonment with hard labour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The fine was paid, and Mr. Fish went home saying -horrible things about Mr. Commissioner Sanders, -which I will not sully these fair pages by repeating.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Highgate Hill is a prosaic neighbourhood served -by prosaic motor-buses, and not the place where -one would imagine wholesale murder might be -planned, yet from his domain in Highgate Mr. Fish -issued certain instructions by telephone and -cablegram, and at his word men went secretly into -Sanders's territory looking for the likely man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They found Ofesi, and Highgate spoke to the -Akasava to some purpose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the month of February in a certain year -Mr. Fish drove resplendently in his electric landau -from Highgate to Waterloo. He arrived on the -Akasava border seven weeks later no less angry -with Sanders than he had ever been, and of a -cheerful countenance because, being a millionaire, -he could indulge in his hobbies, and his hobby -was the annoyance of a far-away Commissioner -who, at that precise moment was touching vulcanite -and thinking it wood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ofesi, the son of Malaka, the son of G'nani, -was predestined.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus it was predicted by the famous witch-doctor -Komonobologo, of the Akasava.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For it would appear that on the night that Ofesi -came squealing into the world, there were certain -solar manifestations such as an eclipse of the moon -and prodigious shooting of stars, which Komonobologo -translated favourably to the clucking, sobbing -and shrill whimpering morsel of whitey-brown -humanity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus Ofesi was to rule all peoples as far as the -sun shone (some three hundred miles in all directions -according to local calculations), and he should -not suffer ignominious death at the hand of any man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ofesi (literally "the Born-Lucky") should be -mighty in counsel and in war; should shake the -earth with the tread of his legions; might risk -and gain, never risk and lose; was the favoured -of ju-jus and ghosts; and would have many sons.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The hollow-eyed woman stretched on the floor -of the hut spoke faintly of her happiness, the baby -with greedy mouth satisfying the beast in him said -nothing, being too much occupied with his natural -and instinctive desires.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Such prophecies are common, and some come to -nothing. Some, for no apparent reason, stick -fest to the recipients.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ofesi—his destiny—was of the sticking kind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When Sanders took up his duties on the river, -Ofesi was a lank and awkward youth of whom -his fellows stood in awe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders was in awe of nobody. He listened -quietly to the recital of portents, omens, and the -like, and when it was finished, he delivered a little -homily on the fallibility of human things and the -extraordinarily high death-rate which existed -amongst those misguided people who walked -outside the rigid circle of the land.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ofesi had neighbours more hearty than Sanders, -and by these he was accepted as something on -account of the total wonder which the years would -produce.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So Ofesi grew and flourished, doing much mischief -in his way, which was neither innocent nor boyish, -and the friendly hand which is upraised to small -boys all the world over never fell sharply upon -his well-covered nerves, because Ofesi was -predestined and immune.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In course of time he was appointed by the then -king of the Akasava to the chieftainship of the -village of Mi-lanti, and the city of the Akasava -breathed a sigh of relief to see his canoe go round -the bend of the river out of sight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No report of the chief's minor misdoings came -to Sanders because this legend of destiny carried -to all the nations save and except one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It is said that Ofesi received more homage and -held a more regal court in his tiny principality -than did the king his master; that N'gombi, Isisi, -and the tribes about sent him presents doubly -precious, and that he had a household of sixty -wives, all contributed by his devotees. It was -also said that he made the intoxicating distributions -of Mr. Fish possible, but Sanders had no -proof of this.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He raided his friends impartially, did all manner -of unpleasant things, terrorised the river from the -Lesser Isisi to the edge of the Ochori, and the -fishermen watching his war canoes creeping stealthily -through the night would say: "Let no man see -the lord Ofesi; lest in the days to come he remember -and blind us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Whether from sheer cunning or from the intuitive -faculty which is a part of genius, Ofesi grew to -stout manhood without once violating the border -line of the Ochori.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Until upon a day——</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders came in great haste one wet April night -when the clouds hung so low over the river that -you might have touched them with a fishing-rod.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a night of billowing mists, of drenching -cloud bursts, of loud cracking thunders and the -flicker-flacker of lightning so incessant that only -the darkness counted as interval.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet, against the swollen stream, drenched to -the skin, his wet face set to the stinging rain and -the white rod of his searchlight piercing such gloom -as there was, Sanders came as fast as stern wheel -could revolve for the Akasava land.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He came up to the village of Mi-lanti in the wild -grey of a stormy dawn, and such of the huts as -the flooding waters of the heavens had spared -stood isolated sentinels amidst smoking ruins.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He landed tired and immensely angry, and -found many dead men and one or two who thought -they were dead. They told him a doleful story -of rapine and murder, of an innocent village set -upon by the Ochori and taken in its defencelessness. -"That is a lie," said Sanders promptly, "for -you have stockades, built to the west of the village -and your dead are all painted as men paint -themselves who prepare long for war. Also the -Ochori—such as I have seen—are not so painted, which -tells me that they came in haste against a warring -people."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The wounded man turned his tired face to Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is my faith," he said, in the conventional -terminology of his tribe, "that you have eyes -like a big cat."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders attended to his injuries and left him -and his pitiful fellows in a dry hut. Then he went -to look for Bosambo, and found him sitting patiently -ten miles up the river. He sat before a steep -hill of rock and undergrowth. At the top of the -hill was the chief of the village of Mi-lanti, and -with him were such of his fighting men as were -not at the moment in a happier world.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, this is true," said Bosambo, "that -this dog attacked my river villages and put my -men to death and my women to service. So I -came down against him, for it is written in the -Sura of the Djinn that no man shall live to laugh -at his own evil."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There will be a palaver," said Sanders briefly, -and bade the crestfallen chief, Ofesi, to come down -and stack his spears. Since it is not in the nature -of the native man to speak the truth when his -skin is in peril, it goes without saying that both -sides lied fearfully, and Sanders, sifting the truth, -knew which side lied the least.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ofesi," he said, at the end of much weariness -of listening, "what do you say that I shall not hang -you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ofesi, a short, thick man with a faint beard, -looked up and down, left and right for inspiration. -"Lord," he said after a while, "this you know, -that all my life I have been a good man—and it -is said that I have a high destiny, and shall not -die by cruelty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Man is eternal whilst he lives,'" quoted -Sanders, "'yet man dies sooner or later.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ofesi stared round at Bosambo, and Bosambo -was guilty of an indiscretion—possibly the greatest -indiscretion of his life. In the presence of his -master, and filled with the exultation and virtuous -righteousness which come to the palpably innocent -in the face of trial, he said in English, shaking his -head the while reprovingly:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, you dam' naughty devil!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders had condemned the man to death in -his heart; had mentally chosen the tree on which -the marauding chief should swing when Bosambo -spoke.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders had an immense idea as to the sanctity -of life in one sense. He had killed many by rope -with seeming indifference, and, indeed, he never -allowed the question of a man's life or death to -influence him one way or the other when an end -was in view.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He would watch with unwavering eyes the breath -choke out of a swaying body, yet there must be -a certain ritual of decency, of fitness, of decorum -in such matters, or his delicate sense of justice -was outraged.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo's words, grotesque, uncalled for, wholly -absurd, saved the life of Ofesi the chief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For a moment Sanders's lips twitched -irresponsibly, then he turned with a snarl upon the -discomfited chief of the Ochori.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Back to your land, you monkey man!" he -snapped; "this man has offended against the -land—yet he shall live, for he is a fool. I know a -greater one!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sent Ofesi back to his village to build up -what his folly had overthrown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Remember, Ofesi," he said, "I give you back -your life, though you deserve death: and I do -this because it comes to me suddenly that you are -a child as Bosambo is a child. Now, I will come -back to you with the early spring, and if you have -deserved well of me you shall be rewarded with your -liberty; and if you have done ill to me, you shall -go to the Village of Irons or to a worse place."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Back at headquarters Sanders told a sympathetic -captain of Houssas the story.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It was horribly weak of course," he said; -"but, somehow, when that ass Bosambo let rip -his infernal English I couldn't hang a sparrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Might have brought this Ofesi person down -to the village," said the captain thoughtfully. -"He's got an extraordinary reputation."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders sat on the edge of the table, his hands -thrust into his breeches pockets.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought of that, too, and it affected me. -You see, there was just a fear in my mind that -I was being influenced on the wrong side by this -fellow's talk of destiny—that I was being, in fact, -a little malicious."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Houssa skipper snapped his cigarette case -and looked thoughtful.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll get another company down from headquarters," -he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You might ask for a machine-gun section -also," said Sanders. "I've got it in my bones -that there's going to be trouble."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A week later the upper river saw many strange -faces. Isolated fishermen came from nowhere in -particular to pursue their mild calling in strange -waters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They built their huts in unfrequented patches -of forest, and you might pass up and down a -stretch of the beach without knowing that hut was -modestly concealed in the thick bush at the back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Also they went about their business at night -with fishing spear and light canoe tacking across -river and up river, moving without sound in the -shadows of the bank, approaching villages and -cities with remarkable circumspection.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were strange fishermen indeed, for they -fished with pigeons. In every canoe the birds -drowsed in a wicker-work cage, little red labels -about their legs on which even an untutored spy -might make a rude but significant mark with the -aid of an indelible pencil.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders took no risks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He summoned Ahmed Ali, the chief of his secret men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go to the Akasava country, and there you -will find Ofesi, a chief of the village Mi-lanti. -Watch him, for he is an evil man. On the day -that he moves against me and my people you -shall judge whether I can come in time with my -soldiers. If there is time send for me: but if he -moves swiftly you shall shoot him dead and you -shall not be blamed. Go with God."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said Ahmed, "Ofesi is already in hell."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If all reports worked out, and they certainly -tallied, Ofesi, the predestined chief, gave no offence. -He rebuilt his city, choosing higher ground and -following a long and unexpected hunting trip, -which took him to the edge of the Akasava country, -and he projected a visit of love and harmony to -Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He even sent swift couriers to Sanders to ask -permission for the ceremonial, though such -permission was wholly unnecessary. Sanders granted -the request, delaying the deputation until he had -sent his own messengers to Bosambo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So on a bright June morning Ofesi set forth -on his mission, his two and twenty canoes painted -red, and even the paddles newly burnt to fantastic -and complimentary designs; and he came to the -Ochori and was met by Bosambo, a profound sceptic -but outwardly pleasant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I see you," said Ofesi, "I see you, lord -Bosambo, also your brave and beautiful people; -yet I come in peace and it grieves me that you -should meet me with so many spears."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For in truth the beach bristled a steel welcome -and three fighting regiments of the Ochori, gallantly -arrayed, were ranked in hollow square, the fourth -side of which was the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord Ofesi," said Bosambo suavely, "this -is the white man's way of doing honour and, as -you know, I have much white blood in my veins, -being related to the English Prime Minister."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He surveyed the two-and-twenty canoes with -their twenty paddlers to each, and duly noted -that each paddler carried his fighting spears as a -matter of course.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That Ofesi had any sinister design upon the -stronghold of the Ochori may be dismissed as -unlikely. He was cast in no heroic mould, and -abhorred unnecessary risk, for destiny requires -some assistance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had brought his spears for display rather -than for employment. Willy-nilly he must stack -them now—an unpleasant operation, reminiscent -of another stacking under the cold eye of Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So it may be said that the </span><em class="italics">rapprochement</em><span> between -the Ochori and the Akasava chief began -inauspiciously. Bosambo led the way to his -guest-house—new-thatched as is the custom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a great feast in Ofesi's honour, and -a dance of girls—every village contributing its -chief dancer for the event. Next day there was a -palaver with sacrifices of fowl and beast, and blood -friendships were sworn fluently. Bosambo and -Ofesi embraced before all the people assembled, -and ate salt from the same dish.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now I will tell you all my business, my brother," -said Ofesi that night. "To-morrow I go back to -my people with your good word, and I shall speak of -you by day and night because of your noble heart."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I also will have no rest," said Bosambo, "till -I have journeyed all over this land, speaking about -my wonderful brother Ofesi."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With a word Ofesi dismissed his counsellors, -and Bosambo, accepting the invitation, sent away -his headmen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now I will tell you," said Ofesi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And what he said, what flood of ego-oratory, -what promises, what covert threats, provided -Bosambo with reminiscences for long afterwards.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yet," he concluded, "though all things have -moved to make me what I am, yet there is much -I have to learn, and from none can I learn so well -as from you, my brother."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is very true," said Bosambo, and meant it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now," Ofesi went on to his peroration, "the -king of the Akasava is dying and all men are -agreed that I shall be king in his place, therefore -I would learn to the utmost grain all the secrets -of kingship. Therefore, since I cannot sit with -you, I ask you, lord Bosambo, to give a home to -Tolinobo, my headman, that he may sit for a -year in the shadow of your wisdom and tell me -the many beautiful things you say."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo looked thoughtfully at Tolinobo, the -headman, a shifty fisherman promoted to that -position, and somewhat deficient in sanity, as -Bosambo judged.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He shall sit with me," said Bosambo at length, -"and be as my own son, sleeping in a hut by mine, -and I will treat him as if he were my brother."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a fleeting gleam of satisfaction in -Ofesi's eye as he rose to embrace his blood-friend; -but then he did not know how Bosambo treated -his brother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Akasava chief and his two and twenty canoes -paddled homeward at daybreak, and Bosambo saw -them off.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When they were gone, he turned to his headman.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell me, Solonkinini," he said, "what have -we done with this Tolinobo who stays with us?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, we build him a new hut this morning -in your lordship's shadow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"First," he said, "you shall take him to the -secret place near the Crocodile Pool and stake him -out. Presently I will come, and we will ask him -some questions."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, he will not answer," said the headman. -"I myself have spoken with him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He shall answer me," said Bosambo, significantly, -"and you shall build a fire and make very -hot your spears, for I think this Tolinobo has -something he will be glad to tell."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo's prediction was justified by fact.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ofesi was not half-way home, happy in his -success, when a blubbering Tolinobo, stretched -ignominiously on the ground, spoke with a lamentable -lack of reserve on all manner of private matters, -being urged thereto by a red hot spear-head which -Bosambo held much too near his face for comfort.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>At about this time came Jim Greel, an American -adventurer, and Francis E. Coulson, a citizen of -the world. They came into Sanders's territory -unwillingly, for they were bound, via the French -river which skirted the north of the N'gombi land, -for German West Africa. There was in normal -times a bit of a stream which connected the great -river with the Frenchi river. It was, according -to a facetious government surveyor, navigable -for balloons and paper boats except once in a -decade when a mild spring in the one thousand-miles -distant mountains coincided with heavy -rains in the Isisi watershed. Given the -coincidence the tiny dribble of rush-choked water -achieved the dignity of riverhood. It was bad -luck that Jim and Coulson hit an exceptional season.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Keeping to the left bank, and moving only -by night—they had reason for this—the adventurers -followed the course of the stream which ordinarily -was not on the map, and they were pardonably -and almost literally at sea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two long nights they worked their crazy -little steamer through an unknown territory -without realising that it was unknown. They avoided -such villages as they passed, shutting off steam -and dowsing all lights till they drifted beyond -sight and hearing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last they reached a stage in their enterprise -where the maintenance of secrecy was a matter -of some personal danger, and they looked around -in the black night for assistance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Looks like a village over there, Jim," said -Coulson, and the steersman nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There's shoal water here," he said grimly, -"and the forehold is up to water-level."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Leakin'?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not exactly leakin'," said Jim carefully; "but -there's no bottom to the forepart of this tub."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson swore softly at the African night. The -velvet darkness had fallen on them suddenly, and -it was a case of tie-up or go on—Jim decided to -go on.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had struck a submerged log and ripped -away the bottom of the tiny compartment that -was magniloquently called "No. 1 hold"; the -bulkhead of Nos. 1 and 2 was of the thinnest steel -and was bulging perceptibly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson did not know this, but Jim did.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now he turned the prow of the ancient steamer -to the dark shore, and the revolving paddle-wheels -made an expiring effort.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Somewhere on the river bank a voice called to -them in the Akasava tongue; they saw the fires -of the village, and black shadows passing before -them; they heard women laughing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jim turned his head and gave an order to one -of his naked crew, and the man leapt overboard -with a thin rope hawser.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the ripped keel of the little boat took the -sand and she grounded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jim lit his pipe from a lantern that hung in -the deck cabin behind him, wiped his streaming -forehead with the back of his hand, and spoke -rapidly in the Akasava tongue to the little crowd -who had gathered on the beach. He spoke -mechanically, warning all and sundry for the -safety of their immortal souls not to slip his -hawser! warning them that if he lost so much -as a deck rivet he would flay alive the thief, and -ended by commending his admiring audience to -M'shimba M'shamba, Bim-bi, O'kili, and such -local devils as he could call to his tongue. -"That's let me out," he said, and waded ashore -through the shallow water as one too much -overcome by the big tragedies of life to care very -much one way or another whether he was wet or dry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He strode up the shelving beach and was led -by a straggling group of villagers to the headman's -hut to make inquiries, and came back to the boat -with unpleasant news.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson had brought her nose to the sand, and -by a brushwood fire that the men of the village -had lit upon the beach, the damage was plainly -to be seen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The tiny hull had torn like brown paper, and part -of the cause—a stiff branch of gun-wood—still -protruded from the hole.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We're in Sanders's territory, if it's all the same -to you," said Jim gloomily. "The damnation -old Frenchi river is in spruit and we've come -about eighty miles on the wrong track."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson, kneeling by the side of the boat, a -short, black briar clutched between his even white -teeth, looked up with a grin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Sande catchee makee hell,'" quoted he. "Do -you remember the Chink shaver who used to run -the Angola women up to the old king for Bannister -Fish?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jim said nothing. He took a roll of twist from -his pocket, bit off a section, and chewed -philosophically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There's no slavery outfit in this packet," he -said. "I guess even old man Fish wouldn't fool -'round in this land—may the devil grind him for -bone-meal!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no love lost between the amiable -adventurers and Mr. Bannister Fish. That gentleman -himself, sitting in close conference with Ofesi -not fifty miles from whence the </span><em class="italics">Grasshopper</em><span> lay, -would have been extremely glad to know that -her owners were where they were.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fish is out in these territories for good," said -Jim; "but it'll do us no good—our not bein' -Fish, I mean, if Sandi comes nosing round lookin' -for traders' licences—somehow I don't want -anybody to inspect our cargo."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson nodded as he wielded a heavy hammer -on the damaged plate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I guess he'll know all right," Jim went on. -"You can't keep these old </span><em class="italics">lokalis</em><span> quiet—listen -to the joyous news bein', so to speak, flashed forth -to the expectant world."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson suspended his operations. Clear and -shrill came the rattle of the </span><em class="italics">lokali</em><span> tapping its -message:</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Tom-te tom, tom-te tom, tommitty tommitty -tommitty-tom."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"There she goes," said the loquacious Jim, -complacently. "Two white men of suspicious -appearance have arrived in town—Court papers -please copy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson grinned again. He was working his -hammer deftly, and already the offending branch -had disappeared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A ha'porth of cement in the morning," he -said, "and she's the Royal yacht."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jim sniffed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It'll take many ha'porths of cement to make -her anything but a big intake pipe," he said. He -put his hand on the edge of the boat and leapt -aboard. Abaft the deck-house were two tiny -cupboards of cabins, the length of a man's body -and twice his width. Into one of these he dived, -and returned shortly afterwards with a small, -worn portmanteau, patched and soiled. He jumped -down over the bows to the beach, first handing the -piece of baggage down to the engineer of the little -boat. It was so heavy that the man nearly -dropped it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's the idea?" Coulson mopped the sweat -from his forehead with a pocket-handkerchief, -and turned his astonished gaze to the other.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis the loot," said Jim significantly. "We -make a cache of this to-night lest a worse thing -happen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, God, this man!" prayed Coulson, appealing -heavenward. "With the eyes of the whole -dam' barbarian rabble directed on him, he stalks -through the wilderness with his grip full of gold -and his heart full of innocent guile!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jim refilled his pipe leisurely from a big, leather -pouch that hung at his waist before he replied. -"Coulson," he said between puffs, "in the language -of that ridiculous vaudeville artiste we saw before -we quit London, you may have brains in your -head, but you've got rabbit's blood in your feet. -There's no occasion for getting scared, only I -surmise that one of your fellow-countrymen will -be prowling around here long before the bows of -out stately craft take the water like a thing of -life, and since he is the Lord High Everything -in this part of the world, and can turn out a man's -pocket without so much as a 'damn ye,' I am for -removing all trace of the Frenchi Creed River -diggings."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson had paused in his work, and sat squatting -on his heels, his eyes fixed steadily on his partner's. -He was a good-looking young man of twenty-seven, -a few years the junior of the other, whose tanned -face was long and thin, but by no means unpleasant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What does it matter?" asked Coulson after -a while. "He can only ask where we got the dust, -and we needn't tell him; and if we do we've got -enough here to keep us in comfort all our days."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jim smiled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Suppose he holds this gold?" he asked quietly. -"Suppose he just sends his spies along to discover -where the river digging is—and suppose he finds -it is in French territory and that there is a -prohibitive export duty from the French country. -Oh! there's a hundred suppositions, and they're all -unpleasant."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson rose stiffly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think we'll take the risk of the boat foundering, -Jim," he said. "Put the grip back."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jim hesitated, then with a nod he swung the -portmanteau aboard and followed. A few minutes -later he was doubled up in the perfectly inadequate -space of No. 1 hold, swabbing out the ooze of the -river, and singing in a high falsetto the love song -of a mythical Bedouin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was past midnight when the two men, tired, -aching, and cheerful, sought their beds.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If Sanders turns up," shouted Jim as he arranged -his mosquito curtain (the shouting was necessary, -since he was addressing his companion through a -matchboard partition between the two cabins), -"you've got to lie, Coulson."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hate lying," grumbled Coulson loudly; "but -I suppose we shall have to?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Betcher!" yawned the other, and said his -prayers with lightning rapidity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Daylight brought dismay to the two voyagers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The hole in the hull was not alone responsible -for the flooded hold. There was a great gash in -her keel—the plate had been ripped away by some -snag or snags unknown. Coulson looked at Jim, -and Jim returned the despairing gaze.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A canoe for mine," said Jim after a while. -"Me for the German river and so home. That is -the way I intended moving, and that is the way -I go."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Flight!" he said briefly. "You can explain -being in Sanders's territory, but you can't explain -the bolt—stick it out!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All that morning the two men laboured in the -hot sun to repair the damage. Fortunately the -cement was enough to stop up the bottom leak, -and there was enough over to make a paste with -twigs and sun-dried sand to stop the other. But -there was no blinking the fact that the protection -afforded was of the frailest. The veriest twig -embedded in a sandbank would be sufficient to -pierce the flimsy "plating." This much the two -men saw when the repairs were completed at the -end of the day. The hole in the bow could only -be effectively dealt with by the removal of one -plate and the substitution of another, "and that," -said Jim, "can hardly happen."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The German river was eighty miles upstream -and a flooded stream that ran five knots an hour -at that. Allow a normal speed of nine knots to -the tiny </span><em class="italics">Grasshopper</em><span>, and you have a twenty hours' -run at best.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The river's full of floatin' timber," said Jim -wrathfully, eyeing the swift sweep of the black -waters, "an' we stand no better chance of gettin' -anywhere except to the bottom; it's a new plate -or nothing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus matters stood with a battered </span><em class="italics">Grasshopper</em><span> -high and dry on the shelving beach of the Akasava -village, and two intrepid but unhappy gold smugglers -discussing ways and means, when complications -occurred which did much to make the life of -Mr. Commissioner Sanders unbearable.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>There was a woman of the Akasava who bore -the name of Ufambi, which means a "bad woman." She -had a lover—indeed, she had many, but the -principal was a hunter named Logi. He was a -tall, taciturn man, and his teeth were sharpened -to two points. He was broad-shouldered, his -hair was plastered with clay, and he wore a cloak -that was made from the tails of monkeys. For -this reason he was named Logi N'kemi, that is to -say, Logi the Monkey.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had a hut far in the woods, three days' journey, -and in this wood were several devils; therefore -he had few visitors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ufambi loved this man exceedingly, and as -fervently hated her husband, who was a creature of -Ofesi. Also, he was not superior to the use of -the stick.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One day Ufambi annoyed him and he beat her. -She flew at him like a wild cat and bit him, but -he shook her off and beat her the more, till she ran -from the hut to the cool and solitary woods, for -she was not afraid of devils.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here her lover found her, sitting patiently by -the side of the forest path, her well-moulded arms -hugging her knees, her chin sunk, a watchful, -brooding and an injured woman.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They sat together and talked, and the woman -told him all there was to be told, and Logi the -Monkey listened in silence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Furthermore," she went on, "he has buried -beneath the floor of the hut certain treasures -given to him by white men, which you may take."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She said this pleadingly, for he had shown no -enthusiasm in the support of her plan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yet how can I kill your husband," said Logi, -carefully, "and if I do kill him and Sandi comes -here, how may I escape his cruel vengeance? I -think it would be better if you gave him death -in his chop, for then none would think evilly of me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was not distressed at his patent selfishness. -It was understandable that a man should seek -safety for himself, but she had no intention of -carrying out her lover's plan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She returned to her husband, and found him -so far amiable that she escaped a further beating. -Moreover, he was communicative.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Woman," he said, "to-morrow I go a long -journey because of certain things I have seen, -and you go with me. In a secret place, as you -know, I have hidden my new canoe, and when -it is dark you shall take as much fish and my two -little dogs and sit in the canoe waiting for me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will do this thing, lord," she said meekly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He looked at her for a long time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Also," he said after a while, "you shall tell -no man that I am leaving, for I do not desire that -Sandi shall know, though," he added, "if all things -be true that Ofesi says, he will know nothing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will do this as you tell me, lord," said the -woman.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He rose from the floor of the hut where he had -been squatting and went out of the hut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come!" he said graciously, and she followed -him to the beach and joined the crowd of villagers -who watched two white men labouring under -difficulties.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By and by she saw her husband detach himself -from the group and make his cautious way to -where the white men were.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now Bikilari—such was the husband's name—was -a N'gombi man, and the N'gombi folk are -one of two things, and more often than not, both. -They are either workers in iron or thieves, and -Jim, looking up at the man, felt a little spasm of -satisfaction at the sight of the lateral face marks -which betrayed his nationality.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ho, man!" said Jim in the vernacular, "what -are you that you stand in my sun?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am a poor man, lord," said Bikilari, "and -I am the slave of all white men: now I can do -things which ignorant men cannot, for I can take -iron and bend it by heat, also I can bend it without -heat, as my fathers and my tribe have done since -the world began."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson watched the man keenly, for he was -no lover of the N'gombi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Try him out, Jim," he said, so they gave Bikilari -a hammer and some strips of steel, and all the -day he worked strengthening the rotten bow of -the </span><em class="italics">Grasshopper</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the evening, tired and hungry, he went -back to his hut for food; but his wife had watched -him too faithfully for his comfort, and the -cooking-pot was cold and empty. Bikilari beat her with -his stick, and for two hours she sobbed and blew -upon the embers of the fire alternately whilst my -lord's fish stewed and spluttered over her bent -head.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Jim was a good sleeper but a light one. He -woke on the very smell of danger. Here was -something more tangible than scent—a dog-like -scratching at his door. In the faint moonlight -he saw a figure crouching in the narrow alley-way, -saw, too, by certain conformations, that it was a -woman, and drew an uncharitable conclusion. -Yet, since she desired secrecy, he was willing to -observe her wishes. He slid back the gauze door -and flickered an electric lamp (most precious -possession, to be used with all reserve and economy). -She shrank back at this evidence of magic and -breathed an entreaty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you want?" he asked in a low voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," she answered, her voice muffled, "if -you desire your life, do not stay here."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jim thrust his face nearer to the woman's.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Say what you must say very quickly," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," she began again, "my husband is -Bikilari, a worker in iron. He is the man of Ofesi, -and to-night Ofesi sends his killers to do his work -upon all white men and upon all chiefs who thwart -him. Also upon you because you are white and -there is treasure in your ship."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wait," said Jim, and turned to tap on Coulson's -door. There was no need. Coulson was out of -bed at the first sound of whispering and now -stood in the doorway, the moonlight reflected in -a cold blue line on the revolver he held in his -hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It may be a fake—but there's no reason why -it should be," he said when the story was told. -"We'll chance the hole in the bow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jim ran forward and woke the sleeping engineer, -and came back with the first crackle of burning wood -in the furnace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He found the woman waiting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What is your name?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She stood with her back to the tiny rail, an easy -mark for the man who had followed her and now -crouched in the shadow of the hull. He could -reach up and touch her. He slipped out his long -N'gombi hunting knife and felt the point.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the woman, "I am——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then she slipped down to the deck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson fired twice at the fleeing Bikilari, and -missed him. Logi, the lover, leapt at him from the -beach but fell before a quick knife-thrust.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bikilari reached the bushes in safety and plunged -into the gloom—and into the arms of Ahmed Ali, -a swift, silent man, who caught the knife arm in -one hand and broke the neck of the murderer with -the other—for Ahmed Ali was a famous wrestler -in the Kono country.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The city was aroused, naked feet pattered through -the street. Jim and Coulson, lying flat on the bow -of the steamer, held the curious at bay.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two hours they lay thus whilst the cold boilers -generated energy. Then the paddle wheel threshed -desperately astern, and the </span><em class="italics">Grasshopper</em><span> dragged -herself to deep water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A figure hailed them from the bank in Swaheli.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," it said, "go you south and meet -Sandi—northward is death, for the Isisi are up and the -Akasava villagers are in their canoes—also all -white men in this land are dead, save Sandi."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who are you?" megaphoned Jim, and the -answer came faintly as the boat drifted to -mid-stream.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am Ahmed Ali, the servant of Sandi, whom -may God preserve!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come with us!" shouted Jim.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The figure on the bank, clear to be seen in his -white jellab, made a trumpet of his hands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I go to kill one Ofesi, according to orders—say -this to Sandi."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the boat drifted beyond earshot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Up stream or down?" demanded Jim at the -wheel. "Down we meet Sanders and up we meet -the heathen in his wrath."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Up," said Coulson, and went aft to count noses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That night died Iliki, the chief of the Isisi, and -I'mini, his brother, stabbed as they sat at meat, -also Bosomo of the Little Isisi, and B'ramo of the -N'gomi, chiefs all; also the wives and sons of -B'ramo and Bosomo; Father O'Leary of the Jesuit -Mission at Mosankuli, his lay minister, and the -Rev. George Galley, of the Wesleyan Mission at -Bogori, and the Rev. Septimus Keen and his wife, -at the Baptist Mission at Michi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo did not die, because he knew; also a -certain headman of Ofesi knew—and died.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ofesi had planned largely and well. War had come -to the territories in the most terrible form, yet -Bosambo did not hesitate, though he was aware of -his inferiority, not only in point of numbers, but -in the more important matter of armament.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For the most dreadful thing had happened, and -pigeons flying southward from a dozen points -carried the news to Sanders—for the first time in -history the rebellious people of the Akasava were -armed with rifles—rifles smuggled across the border -and placed in the hands of Ofesi's warriors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The war-drum of the Ochori sounded. At dawn -Bosambo led forty war canoes down the river, seized -the first village that offered resistance and burnt it. -He was for Ofesi's stronghold, and was half-way -there when he met the tiny </span><em class="italics">Grasshopper</em><span> coming up -stream.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At first he mistook it for the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> and made little -effort to disclose the pacific intentions of his forty -canoes, but a whistling rifle bullet aimed precisely -made him realise the danger of taking things for -granted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He paddled forward alone, ostentatiously peaceable, -and Jim received him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Rifles?" Coulson was incredulous. "O chief, -you are mad!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo earnestly, "let Sandi say -if I be mad—for Sandi is my bro—is my master -and friend," he corrected himself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jim knew of Bosambo—the chief enjoyed a -reputation along the coast, and trusted him now.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He turned to his companion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If all Bosambo says is true there'll be hell in -this country," he said quietly. "We can't cut and -run. Can you use a rifle?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo drew himself up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Suh," he said in plain English, "I make 'um -shoot plenty at Cape Coast Cassell—I shoot 'um -two bulls' eyes out."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson considered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll cashee that gold," he said. "It would be -absurd to take that with us. O Bosambo, we have -a great treasure, and this we will leave in your city."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said Bosambo quietly, "it shall be as -my own treasure."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's exactly what I don't want it to be," said -Coulson.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The fleet waited whilst Bosambo returned to -Ochori city with the smugglers; there, in Bosambo's -hut, and in a cunningly-devised hole beneath the -floor, the portmanteau was hidden and the -</span><em class="italics">Grasshopper</em><span> went joyfully with the stream to whatever -adventures awaited her.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The moonlight lay in streaks of sage and emerald -green—such a green as only the moon, beheld -through the mists of the river, can show. Sage -green for shadow, bright emerald on the young -spring verdure, looking from light to dark or from -dark to light, as the lazy breezes stirred the -undergrowth. In the gleam of the moonlight there was -one bright, glowing speck of red—it was the end of -Mr. Commissioner Sanders's cigar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sat in the ink-black shadow cast by the awning -on the foredeck of the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span>. His feet, encased in -long, pliant mosquito boots that reached to his -knees, rested on the rail of the boat, and he was a -picture of contentment and cheerful idleness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An idle man might be restless. You might expect -to hear the creak of the wicker chair as he changed -his position ever so slightly, yet it is a strange fact -that no such sound broke the pleasant stillness of -the night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sat in silence, motionless. Only the red tip -of the cigar glowed to fiery brightness and dulled -to an ashen red as he drew noiselessly at his cheroot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A soft felt hat, pulled down over his eyes, would -have concealed the direction of his gaze, even had -the awning been removed. His lightly clasped -hands rested over one knee, and but for the steady -glow of the cigar he might have been asleep.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet Sanders of the River was monstrously awake. -His eyes were watching the tousled bushes by the -water's edge, roving from point to point, searching -every possible egress.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was somebody concealed in those bushes—as -to that Sanders had no doubt. But why did -they wait—for it was a case of "they"—and why, -if they were hostile, had they not attacked him -before?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders had had his warnings. Some of the pigeons -came before he had left headquarters; awkwardly -scrawled red labels had set the bugles ringing through -the Houssa quarters. But he had missed the worst -of the messages. Bosambo's all-Arabic exclamation -had fallen into the talons of a watchful hawk—poor -winged messenger and all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders rose swiftly and silently. Behind him -was the open door of his cabin, and he stepped in, -walked in the darkness to the telephone above the -head of his bunk and pressed a button.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Abiboo dozing with his head against the buzzer -answered instantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let all men be awakened," said Sanders in a -whisper. "Six rifles to cover the bush between the -two dead trees."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"On my head," whispered Abiboo, and settled his -tarboosh more firmly upon that section of his -anatomy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders stood by the door of his cabin, a sporting -Lee-Enfield in the crook of his arm, waiting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then from far away he heard a faint cry, a melancholy, -shrill whoo-wooing. It was the cry that set -the men of the villages shuddering, for it was such a -cry as ghosts make.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Men in the secret service of Sanders, and the -Government also, made it, and Sanders nodded his -head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here came a man in haste to tell him things.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A long pause and "Whoo-woo!" drearily, plaintively, -and nearer. The man was whooing then at -a jog-trot, and they on the bank were waiting——</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fire!" cried Sanders sharply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Six rifles crashed like a thunderclap, there was a -staccato flick-flack as the bullets struck the leaves, -and two screams of anguish.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Out of the bush blundered a dark figure, looked -about dazed and uncertain, saw the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span> and raised -his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bang!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A bullet smacked viciously past Sanders's head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Guns!" said Sanders with a gasp, and as the -man on the bank rattled back the lever of his -repeater, Sanders shot him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bang! bang!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This time from the bush, and the Houssas -answered it. Forty men fired independently at the -patch of green from whence the flashes had come.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Forty men and more leapt into the water and -waded ashore, Sanders at their head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The ambush had failed. Sanders found three dead -men of the Isisi and one slightly injured and quite -prepared for surrender.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Männlichers!" said Sanders, examining the rifles, -and he whistled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the living of the four, "we did what -we were told; for it is an order that no man shall -come to you with tidings; also, on a certain night -that we should shoot you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Whose order?" demanded Sanders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Our lord Ofesi's," said the man. "Also, it is -an order from a certain white lord who dwells with -his people on the border of the land."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were speaking when the whoo-ing messenger -came up at a jog-trot, too weary to be cautioned by -the sound of guns.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was a tired man, dusty, almost naked, and he -carried a spear and a cleft-stick.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders read the letter which was stuck therein. -It was in ornamental Arabic, and was from Ahmed Ali.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He read it carefully; then he spoke.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you know of this?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," said the tired man, flat on the bare -ground and breathing heavily, "there is war in -this land such as we have never seen, for Ofesi has -guns and has slain all chiefs by his cunning; also -there is a white man whom he visits secretly in the -forest."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders turned back to the </span><em class="italics">Zaire</em><span>, sick at heart. -All these years he had kept his territories free from -an expeditionary force, building slowly towards the -civilisation which was every administrator's ideal. -This meant a punitive force, the introduction of a -new régime. The coming of armed white men -against these children of his.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Who supplied the arms? He could not think. -He had never dreamt of their importation. His -people were too poor, had too little to give.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord," called the resting messenger, as Sanders -turned, "there are two white men in a puc-a-puc -who rest by the Akasava city."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These men—who knew them by name?—were -smugglers of gold, who had come through a swollen -river by accident. (His spies were very efficient, -be it noted.)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Whoever it was, the mischief was done.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Steam," he said briefly to the waiting Abiboo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And this man, lord?" asked the Houssa, -pointing to the last of the would-be assassins.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders walked to the man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell me," he said, "how many were you who -waited to kill me?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Five, lord," said the man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Five?" said Sanders, "but I found only four bodies."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was at that instant that the fifth man fired from -the bank.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Grasshopper</em><span>, towing forty war canoes of the -Ochori, came round a bend of the great river and -fell into an ambuscade.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Ochori were a brave people, but unused to the -demoralising effect of firearms, however badly and -wildly aimed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo from the stern of the little steamer yelled -directions to his panic-stricken fleet without effect. -They turned and fled, paddling for their lives the -way they had come. Jim essayed a turning movement -in the literal sense, and struck a submerged -log. The ill-fated </span><em class="italics">Grasshopper</em><span> went down steadily -by the bow, and in a last desperate effort ran for the -shore under a hail of bullets. They leapt to land, -four men—Bosambo's fighting headman was the -fourth—and, shooting down immediate opposition, -made for the bush.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But they were in the heart of the enemy's -land—within shooting distance of the Akasava city. -Long before they had crossed the league of wood, the -</span><em class="italics">lokali</em><span> had brought reinforcements to oppose them. -They were borne down by sheer weight of numbers -at a place called Iffsimori, and that night came -into the presence of the great King Ofesi, the -Predestined.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They came, four wounded and battered men -bound tightly with cords of grass, spared for the -great king's sport.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O brother," greeted Ofesi in the face of all his -people, "look at me and tell me what has become -of Tobolono, my dear headman?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo, his face streaked with dried blood, -stared at him insolently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He is in hell," he said, "being </span><em class="italics">majiki</em><span>" -(predestined).</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Also you will be in hell," said the king, "because -men say that you are Sandi's brother."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo was taken aback for a moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is true," he said, "that I am Sandi's brother; -for it seems that this is not the time for a man to -deny him. Yet I am Sandi's brother only because -all men are brothers, according to certain white -magic I learnt as a boy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ofesi sat before the door of his hut, and it was -noticeable that no man stood or sat nearer to him -than twenty paces distant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jim, glancing round the mob, which surrounded -the palaver, saw that every other man carried a -rifle, and had hitched across his naked shoulders a -canvas cartridge-belt. He noticed, too, now and -then, the king would turn his head and speak, as it -were, to the dark interior of the hut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ofesi directed his gaze to the white prisoners.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O white men," he said, "you see me now, a -great lord, greater than any white man has ever -been, for all the little chiefs of this land are dead, -and all people say 'Wah, king,' to Ofesi."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I dare say," said Coulson in English.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To-night," the king went on, "we sacrifice you, -for you are the last white men in this land—Sandi -being dead."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ofesi, you lie!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was Bosambo, his face puckered with rage, his -voice shrill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No man can kill Sandi," he cried, "for Sindi -alone of all men is beyond death, and he will come -to you bringing terror and worse than death!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ofesi made a gesture of contempt.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He waved his hand to the right and as at a signal -the crowd moved back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo held himself tense, expecting to see the -lifeless form of his master. But it was something -less harrowing he saw—a prosaic stack of wooden -boxes six feet high and eight feet square.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ammunition," said Jim under his breath. "The -devil had made pretty good preparation."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Behold!" said Ofesi, "therein is Sanders' -death—listen all people!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He held up his hand for silence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bosambo heard it—that faint rattle of the </span><em class="italics">lokali</em><span>. -From some far distant place it was carrying the -news. "Sanders dead!" it rolled mournfully, -"distantly—moonlight—puc-a-puc—middle of -river—man on bank—boat at shore—Sandi dead on -ground—many wounds." He pieced together the -tidings. Sandi had been shot from the bank and the -boat had landed him dead. The chief of the Ochori -heard the news and wept.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now you shall smell death," said Ofesi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He turned abruptly to the door of the hut and -exchanged a dozen quick words with the man inside. -He spoke imperiously, sharply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Alas! Mr. Bannister Fish, guest of honour on -the remarkable occasion, the Ofesi you deal with -now is not the meek Ofesi with whom you drove -your one-sided bargain in the deep of the Akasava -forest! Camel-train and boat have brought ammunition -and rifles piecemeal to your enemy's undoing. -Ofesi owes his power to you, but the maker of -tyrants was ever a builder if his own prison-house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Fish felt his danger keenly, pulled two -long-barrelled automatic pistols from his pocket and -mentally chose his route for the border, cursing his -own stupidity that he had not brought his Arab -bodyguard along the final stages of the journey.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ofesi," he muttered, "there shall be no killing -until I am gone."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fisi," replied the other louder, "you shall see -all that I wish you to see," and he made a signal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They stripped the white men as naked as they -were on the day they were born, pegged them at equal -distance on the ground spread-eagle fashion. Heads -to the white man's feet they laid Bosambo and his -headman.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When all was finished Ofesi walked over to them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When the sun comes up," he said, "you will -all be dead—but there is half the night to go."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nigger!" said Bosambo in English, "yo' -mother done be washerwomans!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the most insulting expression in his -vocabulary, and he reserved it for the last.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Sanders saw the glow of the great fire long before he -reached the Akasava, his own </span><em class="italics">lokali</em><span> sounding forth -the news of his premature decease—Sanders with -the red weal of a bullet across his cheek, and a -feeling of unfriendliness toward Ofesi in his heart. -All the way up the river through the night his </span><em class="italics">lokali</em><span> -sent forth the joyless tidings. Villagers heard it -and shivered—but sent it on. A half-naked man -crouching in the bushes near Akasava city heard -it and sobbed himself sick, for Ahmed Ali saw in -himself a murderer. He who had sworn by the -prophet to end the life of Ofesi had left the matter -until it was too late.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a cold rage he crept nearer to the crowd which -was gathered about the king's hut—a neck-craning, -tip-toeing crowd of vicious men-children. The -moment of torment had come. At Ofesi's feet -crouched two half-witted Akasava youths giggling -at one another in pleasurable excitement, and -whetting the razor-keen edges of their skinning -knives on their palms.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Listen, now," said Ofesi in exultation. "I am -he, the predestined, the ruler of all men from the -black waters to the white mountains. Thus you see -me, all people, your master, and master of white -men. The skins of these men shall be drums to -call all other nations to the service of the -Akasava—begin Ginin and M'quasa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The youths rose and eyed the silent victims -critically—and Mr. Bannister Fish stepped out of -the hut into the light of the fire, a pistol in each -hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chief," said he, "this matter ends here. Release -those men or you die very soon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ofesi laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Too late, lord Fisi," he said, and nodded his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One shot rang out from the crowd—a man, skilled -in the use of arms, had waited for the gun-runner's -appearance. Bannister Fish, of Highgate Hill, -pitched forward dead.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now," said Ofesi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ahmed Ali came through the crowd like a cyclone, -but quicker far was the two-pound shell of a -Hotchkiss gun. Looking upward into the moonlit -vault of the sky, Jim saw a momentary flash of -light, heard the "pang!" of the gun and the whine -of the shell as it curved downward; heard a roar -louder than any, and was struck senseless by the -sharp edge of an exploded cartridge-box.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Ofesi," said Sanders, "I think this is your end."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, I think so too," said Ofesi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders let him hang for two hours before he cut -him down.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Sanders," said Jim, dressed in a suit of the -Commissioner's clothes which fitted none too well, -"we ought to explain——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I understand," said Sanders with a smile. -"Gold smuggling!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jim nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And where is your gold—at the bottom of the river?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was in the American's heart to lie, but he shook -his head. "The chief Bosambo is holding it for -me," he confessed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"H'm!" said Sanders. "Do you know to an -ounce how much you have?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Coulson shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where is Bosambo?" asked Sanders of his orderly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord, he has gone in haste to his city with -twenty paddlers," said Abiboo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sanders looked at Jim queerly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You had better go in haste, too," he said dryly. -"Bosambo has views of his own on portable -property."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We wept for you," said the indignant Jim, -something of a sentimentalist.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll be weeping for yourself if you don't -hurry," said the practical Sanders.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>THE END.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">POPULAR NOVELS</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">BY</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">EDGAR WALLACE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>PUBLISHED BY -<br />WARD, LOCK & Co., LIMITED. -<br /></span><em class="italics">In Various Editions.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>SANDERS OF THE RIVER -<br />BONES -<br />BOSAMBO OF THE RIVER -<br />BONES IN LONDON -<br />THE KEEPERS OF THE KING'S PEACE -<br />THE COUNCIL OF JUSTICE -<br />THE DUKE IN THE SUBURBS -<br />THE PEOPLE OF THE RIVER -<br />DOWN UNDER DONOVAN -<br />PRIVATE SELBY -<br />THE ADMIRABLE CARFEW -<br />THE MAN WHO BOUGHT LONDON -<br />THE JUST MEN OF CORDOVA -<br />THE SECRET HOUSE -<br />KATE, PLUS TEN -<br />LIEUTENANT BONES -<br />THE ADVENTURES OF HEINE -<br />JACK O' JUDGMENT -<br />THE DAFFODIL MYSTERY -<br />THE NINE BEARS -<br />THE BOOK OF ALL POWER -<br />MR. JUSTICE MAXELL -<br />THE BOOKS OF BART -<br />THE DARK EYES OF LONDON -<br />CHICK -<br />SANDI, THE KING-MAKER -<br />THE THREE OAK MYSTERY -<br />THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE FROG -<br />BLUE HAND -<br />GREY TIMOTHY -<br />A DEBT DISCHARGED -<br />THOSE FOLK OF BULBORO -<br />THE MAN WHO WAS NOBODY -<br />THE GREEN RUST</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="backmatter"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst" id="pg-end-line"><span>*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>BOSAMBO OF THE RIVER</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="cleardoublepage"> -</div> -<div class="language-en level-2 pgfooter section" id="a-word-from-project-gutenberg" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<span id="pg-footer"></span><h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><span>A Word from Project Gutenberg</span></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>We will update this book if we find any errors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This book can be found under: </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49657"><span>http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49657</span></a></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. -Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this -license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works to protect the Project Gutenberg™ concept and -trademark. 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