Evening Star Newspaper, December 28, 1930, Page 83

use the rifies as elubs. The head hunters were immensely surprised, for up to: now, knowing that we were far outnumbered, we had had to content ourselves with defense tactics only. Our sudden change of tactic alarmed them and they began to fall back. A All at once they saw the canocs full of war- riors approaching around the bend of the river. The sight of. these totally unexpected rein- forccments must have stunned them, for the next I saw of Sembulu’'s warriors was a desper- ately frightened group making fast time toward the thick, protecting jungle. By the time the relief party had grounded their candes there was not a sign of Sembulu’s army of wild men_ . We could see the warriors of Pelandet and- Lambang coming ashorz now and making preparation for their own battle. chiefs made their ceremonious way up the hill to call on me. “Tabek, Tuan,” said Pelandet, holding out his hand. “How many heads have got? Maybe plenty?” 3 : As he spoke, Lambang cameé up on the other side and he, too, extended his hand and greet- ed me: “Tabek, Tuan.” I explained to them that it was not the cus- tom of white men to collect heads as proof of the number of enemy kil'ed, but assured them that our gunsticks had accounted for a good many of the fightirg warriors. I told them that our battle was over, but that we would stay to help them win theirs, and then we would all g0 down the river together. That evening we were freed from th: necessity of constant watching which had been our chief care for many weary hours. We all turned in, weary, sleepy and happy. WITH the coming of dawn the chiefs came over again for a consuitation. We were grouped around our fire, eating the first regular breakfast we had had for several mornings. The chiefs were very solemn in anticipation of the battle they were arranging. Pelandet and old Lambang, seeing our formidible array of rifles, together with the evidence of our suc- cess against S<mbulu, for their warriors had Jong cince hacked off the heads of the dead, soon were stirred into a certainty of victory. With hideous yells they picked up bolos and sp:ars and made off, a long dark line of moving men, into the shadows of the jungle trees. 5 For some time the shouting continued, ever diminishing in strength, and finally died away. It was quiet in th= jungle for necarly an hour. Then a warrior emerged from the trees and shouted a message for Pelandet. He indicated that we were to follow him. Led by the scout, we made our way in single file into the forest and moved up to where the chiefs were wait- ing. It appeared that the enemy had been lo- cated. The two chiefs agreed to split into two parties. Pelandet planncd to move off into the jungle on a detour to attack Sezmbulu’s cripples from the rear as soon as old Lambang began his frontal attack. We white men were to follow Lambang's party and support the main charge. The two- THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, DECEMBER 28, 1930. * No sooner had we halted and taken position than, with a series of hideous yells, -the at- tackers leapt forward and charged upon their prey. We jumped to our feet and in a moment were rushing to the scene of action. We found Sembulu’s warriors in a panic. Pelandet hagd come from the rear and the veteran datu’s savages were trapped. We never fired a shot. Our late enemies were not fighting. They realized that the game was up and those that could escape rushed for safety into the forest sanctuary. The dead and wounded were left behind in their frightened flight. Only the” able-bodied of those 200 bronzsd warriors who had attacked us escaped the spears and bolos of Pelandet’s and Lam- bang’s men. Thereafter we hastened our de- parture. We could not trust Lambang now, nor even Pelandet. Flushed with victory they were flaunting their strength in our faces. But as we traveled down the river our escort became less bloodthirsty and more trustworthy. Wz at length left old Lambang at his village and shortly afterward, Pelandet at his. Then we went on to the coast and at last Sembulu. wih a loud, bloodcurdliqg shriek, dashed toward us. The othcrs followed. arrived at the settlement of Pangkah from’ which we had started. The friendly Duteh com= missioner, who had given us a rousing send-cff; came to the edge of town to greet us. Within a short whils the entire crowd of us were ‘$é t= ed on his wide porch, hats off, shirt coll:rs loosened, listening to the” Chinese boys shakiig the ice in a large shaker, and the friendly host chouting loudly: “Boy! Bower. Tuans—Plenty gin sling cne time plenty quick.” - ., : (Copyright, 1930.) .- KEEPING UP WITH TERPSICHORE —By P. G. Wodehouse DANCING, says the encyclopedia, correspondg to a universal primitive instinct in man, and is practiced by the South Sea Islanders, the Forest Indians of Brazil, the Zulus, the Negroes of Central Africa and the native Ause tralians, exactly as it was in the earlier stages A humorous article from the pen of @ member of The Star Maga- zine’s “Galaxy of Gaicty.” Other writers who contribute to this series are Richard CGonnell, Ellis Parker Butler, Sam Hecllman and Stephen* Leacock. ELL, the Society of Amalgamated Professors of the Dance or whatever they call themselves have met again and taken the joy out of my life. These are th2 people—I may not have got their name ° right—who come together periodically and de- cide which is to be the fashionable dance for the next few months or years or whatever it may be. How they exercise their influence I do rot know, but I am given to understand that they are primarily responsible for the changes in public taste. The blighters little know how they have soured my existence, and something seems to tell me that if they did know they wouldn’t care. I cannot see why these persons are permitted to go about the place making trouble. No other sports except foot ball and dancing are afflicted by a gang perpetually altering the rules of the game. When you learn to golf the professional tells you in a perfectly frank and straightforward way that all you have to remember is to use the interlocking grip and the open stance—or if you prefer it, the old- fashioned grip and the square stance-—and bring the club up slowly and keep the head steady and roll the forearms and bend the left knee and raise the left heel and be careful not to let the heel move outward and keep your eye on the ball and let the club-head lead and follow through and not sway back and not look up after hitting the ball until you have counted two and a few more things like that, and when you have so developed yourself as to be able to remember all these things simultaneously you are all right; your troubles are over, and there is nothing more to worry about. BUT how would you feel if your mentor, after instilling the above knowledge into you, were to add: “Of course, you understand that this is merely intended to see you through till about the same time next year. After that the Supreme Grand Council of Consolidated Divot-Shifters will scrap these methods as old- fashioned and invent an entirely new set.” When I was about 5, I attended my first dancing school. The old bean is a bit shaky on some of the incidents of those days when I was trailing clouds of glory, as Bartlett neatly puts it in his well known passage, but I do remember that dancing school. At great trou- “Later in life, I learned to waltz.” ble and expense I was taught to throw up a rubber ball in my left hand and catch it in my right, keeping the small of the back rigid and generally behaving in a graceful and attractive manner. It doesn’t sound Lke a dance, I admit, but I will swear they taught it to me at a dancing school, so it must have been. Now the point I am making is this. I learned that dance. I hate to seam to be throwing bouquets at myself, but on the level, I *became darned good at it. I don't suppose I missed the rubber ball once in 20 goes. But what good does it do me now? Long before I got a chance of exhibiting my accomplishment in public the Society of Amalgamated Profes- sors of the Dance decided that the rubber-ball glide, or whatever they called it, was out of date. This sort of thing handicaps a chap. I am perfectly prepared at any moment to step out on the ficor of the most fashionable ball room and heave a rubber ball about, but it sim- ply isn't being done nowadays. People wouldn't understand what you were driving at. It would oe like ringing in an unexpected saraband or fandango on them. In_other words, all the time and trouble that I spent in the mastering of the rubber-ball glide is a dead loss. Later in life I learned to waltz. That is putting it a little loosely, perhaps. What I mean to say is that, after weeks of labor, I eventually contrived to reach a stage as a waltzer where the girl smiles in a sickly sort of way after you have revolved once or twice and suggests sitting the rest of this one out. Still T was a waltzer in the technical sense of the word. I knew the steps and was prepared to fight it out on those lines, so to speak. What happened? Before I knew where I was the waltz was a back number, and I was expected to learn a weird thing they called the hesitation, or back to the bench for Pelham Grenville Wodehouse. The only other alternative was the one-step. I managed to evolve something that was practically a one-step. At least, it fell under no other classification, so by a process of elimi- nation one arrived at the conclusion that it must have been a one-step. And then the fox- trot came in. I learned it, but with a sinking heart, because I knew quite well that the Amalgamated Brothers were simply waiting till I had become reasonably. proficient at & $o start something else. of every civilized modern race. It dates back to the early Egyptians, who ascribed the invene tion of it to the god Thoth. The Phrygian Corybantes danced in honor of Cybele, and every time the festival of Rhea Sylvia came around the ancient Roman hoofers were there with their hair in a braid. In other words, there never was a time when some well mean- ing man like myself, with ambition at one end of him and two left feet at the other, was not getting it in the neck. In this very article I am probably plagiarizing the exact word€of some early Egyptian. I can see him in my mind’s eye taking his chisel and chipping out in well chosen phrases on the rock in the back garden exactly what he thought of the fellows who told him he would have to learn the Rameses Wriggle just after he hatl spent a year and a half learning the Thoth Lame Duck, If one could escape dancing altogether ib would be all right. In the old days when I wag slim and active dancing came into one’s lifd in only two ways. Either you received a card of invitation to some formal ball—in whick§ case it was the work of a moment for our herd to reply that he was sorry, but an unfortuna previous engagement prevented him accepti —or else after dinner at some week end v somebody began to shove back the furniture and somebody else sat down at the piano and dancing suddenly broke out. In the latteg event it was always possible to sneak out and smoke a pipe in the garden or at the worst td g0 to bed. But now that dancing during mealg has for the last 15 years or so established itself as a custom of society it is almost impossible to sidestep. Ome is faced with the necessity of dancing somehow, and when your partner wants to step while you want to throw a rubber ball from one hand to the other, perfect harmony is impossible. The Puritan ancestors, to quote from the encyclopedia once more, “saw deadly sin in promiscuous dancing.” Father Mariana tellg us that “the famous saraband worked mord mischief than the plague.” Across the agés E exchange a silent handshake with Father Mariana. I knew just how he felt. Il bet tha$ Father Mariana had worked like & dog at 25 pesasas the complete course of 12 lessons guar- anteed to teach the fandango, and just whem his instructor had finally told him that he was fit to do it at the fiext hop, along came the Amalgamated Brothers with their new-fangkd saraband, where you hopped twice instead of sliding once, and slid to the left instead of hopping to the right. We cannot blame the reverend father for his roast. The only w : is that he did not express himself eyen mb)d . . (Gopyiight, ise) * " 374