The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 25, 1903, Page 2

(] vy to you or express the extent e,” answered the other. 1 do neither; I can only im- ¥ to forgive & man who was rav- £ E he fell on you; and to be- 1 shall bless your name as long more of it, my dear fellow. d just as much for s been reversed. At wind that blows good if this bad business has pe for you from the ~well, I for one cannot t. Better to lose your ship that we have souls to nd I believe that though your soul will soon water again. Forget the past life of lite nds heartily and Lord t farewell to-morrow,” he said, gn to come back to the ship, it are several things I » me now, but would wish re our expedition start; well ashore and the of- decide to come back to I shall probably re- pposing they make no his p meet nded and Lord Win- tain's cabin, little ad seen the last of Al- s were loaded and man- cheer greeted the de- er the command officer. With him he took while the passengers who ac- Miss Ogilvie, Tracy ie and Mr. Messenger. wished to stop with her yielded to his desire it was proposed in at Simbaranga le had been saved nd then return with 1d his crew to Zanzibar, it would be possible to d for Europe. »oat were to sail General wife, Roy Meldrum and The first officer, with four n ad gone In the little vessel al- ready dispatched to Mafia, and Dan Hook fore appointed ekipper of the at for the mainland. wful incident that followed could y realized by those who be- first boat had pushed off, ¥ P y clear of the rocks, ar s ne ng rather less that a qu £ a mile distant for her com- Kee rrible vertical sunshine from head an cho t Lord Winstone grum- the growling comments . for the day grew each mo- more fiery hot, the wind was in- to fill the boat's sall, and the of a thirty-five mile pull in & ply laden craft became less sant to men already weary of work. glve ‘em five minutes more to fol- 1 the second officer, as he turned sheets, and tried to get a dawdling craft behind him. re coming, I believe,” he add- re clear of the ship, anywa »se in the second boat patiens of delay as their lead- ore so that one man only ie for it. g told the extent of the lug- he might take as his share, disappeared to his cabin 3 reappeared therefrom to k a cup of coffce at the hour of breakfast. Now, they still waited for nd Roy shouted and Dan Hook polite asides. upid idiot,” sald Meldrum. “Why the @euce should everybody be bothered like this? And the other boat out there roast- ing. and Miss Ogilvie—" f the ere Ah! Now we see why this great in- dignatior laughed Mme. Podesta, and her little wrinkled face became as full of lines @gross lines as a pipe rock melon. “But us for Signor Polti, though he is a m of mystery, and was very, very frightened when the great waves came, he has a tongue of homey, M. Meldrum, end the manner of an aristocrat. Far than the Lord Winstone. Is it not ar asdiabo a sua parte. We must monsieur the prince of the t warm place his due.” is mol Polti, attired in & gray hat of light felt, ap- of the ladder. instant,” he sald. You f se, M. Meldrum, with your noutings; and Capitaine Ogllvie, he er me also. One little portman- 2 is all else. I get him this instant. e this for me. Then I fetch my little manteau quicker than lightning.” aying he droped a small packet into the boat and Meldrum caught it and put it into his pocket until the owner should errive. Polti again vanished to his cabin and there began a further delay. At this moment, thirty yards from the ship's side, a big turtle appeared swim- more s0? ming leisurely with not a little of its shell gleaming brilllantly above the water. The incident distracted those on the boat for & moment and they paddled {n the direc- tion of the reptile, while Hook !unstantly began to relate picturesque yarns con- cerning turtles in general and his own ex- periences with them in particular. Captain Ogilvie, however, did not shars this distraction. Poltl's continued delay angered him. It was already long past 9 o'clock and, according to his original plan, the boats ere this should have been ten miles on their way. Now he used some sallor's language and, hurrying to the top of the companion, shouted a few sharp words down it. “If you'rs not in the boat in half a minute, Signor Polt!, it goes without you. Now, one—two—three—four"'— “Stay—stay—arrest the boat! but I must be slow—I"— He appeared at the bottom of the lad- der, forgot the list of the ship slipped when half way up and uttered a shrill scream of terror as the big leather case he carried dropped from his hand and fell fifteen feet to the deck below. It was at this moment that the second officer in the distant boat had uttered the last remark recorded: and now a horri- fied cry escaped his lips and every ear was hurt by the sound of & terrific ex- plosion The note was sharp and clear. It fell ltke & knife on the ear, like a heavy blow against the heart. For a moment they eat ; then, gasping and faces grown pale, they looked in the I come, direction of the Morning Star. The ship had vanished, and in her place a tremendous column of yellow emoke e d into the blue sky, then billowed y out, as & cloud billows to meet a waterspout. A hell of stinking vapor had suddenly burst from the Morning Sta and now, after ghastly moments of s lence, came the thundering smash heavy objects falling into the ater. An awful chaos of tumbling waves tered and lashed to foam by fall ber and iron, now spread where the great mass of the ship had laid. The catas- trophe had blown her afterpart to pieces, hurling huge masses aloft, while the sten now completely separated from the res had gone down entire and a g t whirl- pool hissed and yawned above The watchers saw more than this, for their sister boat, though hap out of reach of the original explosion, being well clear of the ship at the time, was now struck and sunk by a heavy spar drop- ping into it from aloft. The sulphurous clouds rose and hung like & pall over the scene of death and ruln; screams and groans came c *arl to the awe-stricken spectators, and the sea, as it grew smoother, was covered with black specks and streaks of bloody foam, little lakes or ofl, fragments of the thousand things that had filled the ship, barrels, patches and shreds of cas, shattered timbers, a torn red gn, gaudy cotton goods floating in ribbons, fragments of books and papers, the dust of cinders_ the stain of coal, dead fish, awful fragments of the flesh of the dead and living men fighting their last battle and losing it. Seabirds shrieked over the desolate scene and the sunshine filled the smoke with a dazzle of light as each billow of it expanded and thinned and rose higher and higher above the theater of the tragedy. Even within fifty yarde mercifully escaped heavy masses of wood snd iron, hurled from the wreck, had fallen; but now the startled and heavi sea grew calm again, save by strugg life, and the boat, driven by stout arms and bending oars, came racing back to save any who had not aiready passed be- yond salvation. The awtul tension of those endless mo- 5f thoce who ments which passed before thelr hoat could return chiefly tried those among the rescuers who were inactive, for the men at the oars had no time to think But to one beyond all the rest this event appealed with crushing and dis- tracting significance, and into the mind of Elizabeth Ogilvie fell a night of horror-stricken grief as happily descends upon the life of few yomen. In a moment all that was dearsst to ber in the world had been gwept 2 y Roy, indeed, might still live if he had escaped the descending spar, but In that sea of sharks the chances were against the escape of any one who had occupied the sunken boat; while as for those on the steamer it was mere hope run mad to belleve a single soul could have sur- vived the explosion. Bessie uttered no sound, gave no sizn of her agony; but she kept her straining eyes on the sea, while Fain and Lord ‘Winstone watched her closely, fearful that she might lose her self-control. At last the boat reached the scene of the catastrophe and passed hastily to where cvidences appeared of life. Three men had swum to the rocks, and the first sound in Bessie's ears was the sound of her sweetheart's voice, crying to them that he was safe and unharmed. Roy had already effected one rescue, and a small cabin boy, who was right forward at the time of the explosion and escaped by a miracle, had been dragged into safety as he rose half strangled to the surface. Three men (two firemen and a ship's steward) were happily ashore, taking cargo on the island beach, at the time of the explosion, and three others, in- cluding Dan Hook, were now dragged into the boat, one at his last gasp, and unconsclous. But these represented the sole survivors, and a terrible heavy death roll remained. Captain Oglivie, Mr. Macabe, his junior officer in the engine room; General Po- desta, his’ little wife, and Signor Polti were all destroyed, together with not less than twenty men. Thus, out of a total of forty-eight souls, less than half werd alive, and twenty-six had perished. Of the former, one rescued sallor never recovered consciousness; Dan Hook had received a heavy flesh wound in his leg and the other men were suffer- ing in a less degree. There was nothing to be done for the rest, as most of those upon the ship hai been literally blown into their elements by the explosion, and the few in the sec- ond boat not accounted for were either drowned, destroyed by sharks, or slain by the falling spars. The survivors landed and a brief, hush- ed conference took place. Then the boat was lightened and a small party, under the second officer, set out for the main- land. Only sailors accompanied him and it was hoped, as a light breeze had now sprung up, that they might make the coast before dark and return on the fol- lowing day. Happily, ample stores had already been taken off the ship to the island and now a fire was lighted and a meal prepared. Few had appetite for food, but the wounded suffered terribly from thirst. To these Lord Winstone and Tracy Fain min- istered as best they could, spreading for them in the little caves along the shore some of the bales of cloth already taken out of the Morning Star and thus giving them comfortable couches out of the sun's Elare. Meldrum was wholly occupled with Elizabeth, who now suffered severely from the after effects of the shock and the consclousness of her uncle’s terrible death. Roy, himself absolutely unhurt, tramped the hot sand and found tg his great de- light some turtle's eggs. Of these he made a sort of dismal mess in a tin pan and patiently cooked it under the impres- sion he was preparing an omelet for Bes- sle. Not until the evening, when the girl was peacefully sleeping in a little cavern, high and dry above the sea, did Meldrum, Winstone and Tracy Fain meet together and discuss the past and future. AThe guns are all right,” said his Lord- ship, “and nothing eise matter: Conscious from Roy’'s stare that this remark sounded unutterably cynical to other ears, he proceeded: “l mean nothing else matters to us now. God is aware how bitterly I deplore the awful loss of life, and he knows that I would have gladly given myself If any one of those poor fellows cowd have lived; but the reason of Provideuce's acts is hidden from man. We are permitted to remain, while others, as good and bet- ter, are snatched to their last account. Now we must look forward. And, as J J, the guns are left.” iow did it happen?” asked Fain. ““You were nearer than we were, Roy. Can you add anyth.ng to what we know?"” CHAPTER IX. THE EXPEDITION IS FIT- TED OUT questioned, Thus drum slowly passed the in- cidents of in review, \e ornIng and wen remembered that be- fore the final catastrophe Poltl had thrown down a pack® et into the boat. "I have it yet,” he said, “but I hi utterly forgotten it until this moment. He brought out the heavy pocketbook the three men fell to carefully study- ing its contents. The incident of the anarchist Poltl fs, however, closed in so far as this narrative Is concerned; indeed, it only excitel a passing frown on the world’s wide face when the facts came to be reported in civilization; but his death happily rid Eu- rope of one of two greater rascals than himself, for the secrets of the brotnerhood of the Red Knife—an Itallan organization whose headquarters were in London— proved to be set out at extreme length in Polt’s bulky pocketbook, and when the memoranda reached Scotland Yard the scoundrel's accomplices, innocent of any knowledge that the long arm of the law was stretching toward them at last, were easily captured, Fain, who knew a little Itallan, made out that Polti had once been an assiatunt in the laboratory in the sclentific institu- tion of Bologna, had joined the brother- hood, and had been drawn by lot to carry out their policy in Africa. Others, who names were given, had similarly been lected to destroy prominent personages elsewhere, but against whom Polti de- signed to use the Infernal machines of his construction did not appear until several leaders of his party were arrested and made confession. Then it transpired that neither Mr. Rhodes, nor even President Kruger, were the objects of their wrath. Polti's mis- sion was to destroy the Sultan of Zanal- bar—an example of the aimless and fat- uous policy usually adopted by anarchists who, when they do pluck courage to strike, usually destroy the least powerful or most amiable leaders cf men. After dark the boat from Mafla Island returned, and those aboard of her were horrified at the terrible fate wh¥h had overtaken thelr companions. They them- selves brought the news that a little trad- ing schooner was leaving Mafla for Zanzl- bar two days later and that she could ac- commodate half a dozen persons with their luggage for that journey. Mr. Crouch, who was now in command, declared his intention of returning to Mafla Island in a few days, when those at present in {ll-health had recovered; and after the whaleboat returned at dawn to report tremendous surf off the mainland and nec possibility of making shore in their craft the first officer was all the more fixed in his Getermination. Early next day, therefore, the remain- ing passengers put off once more for the island ten miles distant, and with them went Dan Hook, whose wound was ap- parently healing by first intent. He had accepted Meldrum’s offer to accompany ar THE SUNDAY CALL, and Roy way well satis- fled, for Dax promised to be 2 useful man With niggers. He was, moreover, passing honest and apparently feared nothing. * Journey the eSpslition, The short to Mafia Island was Soon completed, and the longer one to Zanzibar occupled a week in a fast little ;;iunt ship and proved wholly unevent- As for the remainder of the crew, with the firat and decond officers of the Morn- ing Star, it may here be sald at once that they, too, reached Zanzibar from Mafia a fortnight later, and conveyed to that port the cargo saved from the Morning Star before she was blown up. Subse- querftly all returned to England, being conveyed as distressed British seamen in a British steamer. Once at Zanzibar, Meldrum found much to do before he could depart into the in- terior, and his modest ideas were quickly shown to be too small for the task and its dangers. Permission to take a hunting party to lake Mweru was granted by the German representative at Zanzibar, but he urged the employment of a considerable number of Zanzibari or Wamyamwesz! porters, to- gether with a dozen at least of well- armed fighting men: and he assured the leaders of the expedition that the greater the number they took with them in rea- son, the smaller would be the fear of savage attack. Beeing the expedition was one of peace, Lord Winstone did not entirely agree with the German, and it was finally set- tled that fifty porters and a small party of ten or twelve Soudanese under arms would be sufficient. Iord Winstone, who was himeelf fa- miliar with Swahlli, the vernacular of Zanzibar, chose a couple of head bade “Speaking roughly, it is 750 miles as a crow files from this place, Saadanl to the shore of Lake Mweru, shall hit the river Luapula. m&i to be traversed Is very di- b and we shall make most un- equal progress, sometimes doing our five and even six miles a day on the plains, more often putting in three to three and a Balf miles. We will add to the 750 miles ot to! distance another 200, which is fairly liberal, and we get 850 miles. Add fAifty more for the distance down the Lua- pula to the Wambast tributary, which leads into the Bacontas country, and we get 1000 miles. Assume a progress of three miles a day and we have about 333 days to complete the outward journey. That, as a matter of fact, is pretty much what we shall do, if things go reasonably right, though, of course, 1t times we shall push along a good deal faster. I will ven- ture to prophesy tHat the total trip takes rather more than a year and a half; that, it fate is kind, we shall get to the Ba- toncas early in December, and that we are home again Inside two years.” Meldrum gasped. h"Good heavens, Fred, you don’t mean that?” : Is it possible, my dear fellow, you made no calculation before you started? “Rather so; any amount; but they were Jolly different ones.” ‘“Based on your own powers of walk- ing along a turnpike road plentifully dotted with places of retreshments—eh?" “Not exactly, but I certainly reckoned on ten to twelve miles a day.” “Wait till you see the country—the for- we must eat. and to kill g big party means a long halt and a rest and the hunters well away from the main camp. A mob of marching men cannot men for his troop and each collect five and twenty experi- enced followers. He then made other purchases, including three pack donkeys and a riding ass; two tents, dipped In sul- phate of copper to preserve them from Totting, a chest of various drugs and three huge bottles of quinine. Cloth he also purchased in large quantities, with fifty pounds of brilliant beads and a mile Or 80 of bright brass wire—an enormously popular commodity with the savages. Lastly he had the good fortune to meet a former servant—one Blackbird, a full- blooded Ethioplan, who had served him falthfully on a former expedition. The man was free and joyfully joined his old master, No mention of the treasure of precious stones they went to seek had been made at Zanzibar. Indeed, Lord Winstone frankly declared that the expedition must be regarded as one of sport and adven- ture, for heads of heavy game and Afri- can curiosities were, in his opinion, the only likely returns from the trip. He was not, of course, aware that Roy Meldrum's finances had now become much diminish- ed, and when the porters demanded two months’ pay in advance before the com- pany set forth Roy signed the draft some- what gloomily, for he knew nothing of the value of money, though he now be- gan to discover that before African travel thousands vanish away like a shower of rain on thirsty ground. But hope was in his blood, a part of himself, and on the day the’ little cavalcade of seventy- .five souls turned their faces toward the unknown no man of the party was in b;:t;r or more sanguine spirits than their chief. Roy much desired Winstone to assume the command, but his Lordship declined to do any such thing. He pointed out that Meldrum by all right must lead; that he was a far more picturesque and com- manding figure than any in the column, d that,” for the rest, his (Lord Win- stone's) knowledge of the country and the people was always at his friend’'s disposal to draw upon. As a matter of fact, however, with the exception of a few Zanzibar carriers who knew the earlier stages of their journey, the ground was strange to all membe: of the expedition from the outset. Lord Winstone knew the Cape, the Transvaal and Rhodesta well; Somali, Uganda and the Congo wers also not unfamillar to him, but he broke new ground in Ger- man Africa. On the eve of departure his Lordship @efined the position and the nature of the expedition before them. (E CEREIMOINY On CLUDED WITH l. be expected to get very near game. As to the aborigines, I'm not famillar with when in these districts, but we shall find every sort, be sure—some friendly and some the reverse. It all takes time, and permission to go through a chief’s country often requires a great deal of diplomacy to secure.” “Then the sooner we're on the march the better,” declared Roy. “That's so. As for organization, you hadn't thought of that; but we must have a sort of military system, for it's the only thing a Zanzibari understands. You're the commanding officer. I'm your first lleutenant, and will go ahead with my nigger hunter, Blackbird, and the little regiment of Soudanese fighting men. Then Fain, with the Arab, Omar Laluzi, must lead one body of the Zanzibars, and Dan Hook, with Raalt, the other head- man, who's a rascal, if I'm not mistaken, will head the other.” “All right. I'll tell Dan to watch the chap pretty closely.” “Your grand difficulty with Zanzibaris is to get common sense into their asses’ skulls. At first they're the biggest fools on earth, and quite obvious to danger until it stares them In the face: and then they turn into the biggest cowards on earth, and will drop their guns and fall on their faces and let a naked savage cut their throats single-handed, as though they were sheep. “Now, good night; and one more hint; begin with short marches at first, no matter how tempting the way. Let the laden men grow accustomed to their loads and it will pay you in the long run. And above all things, order Hook and your friend Faln to keep their tempers at all times and under all circumstances. It's difficult but absolutely essential. Have infinite patience with these poor fools, and don’t punish them more than you can help. “They're trying folks to deal with, and their jdiccy has often endangered the safety of many greater and more import- ant expeditions than this little sporting yenture of ours; but tolerance and fore- bearance are the best and only weapons to fight them with. They always buy their experience In the dearest market, and when a few have come to grief and lost their lives, as always happens sooner or later, the others get a little sense.” Meldrum heartily thanked his friend for these varled and valuable hints; then re- tired, to sleep his last sleep on a comfort. able bed for many a day. The expeditiog was now fully equipped and on the nuand, at Saadani, and the following morning would see it set forth down the river Mukohdogwa in five boats. One . startling Incident has yet to be mentibned: Elizabeth Ogilvie begged to be allowed to accompany the party. Her pluck none doubted, but Msldrum loved his sweetheart toe dearly to agree to such & petition. Lord Winstone was of the same mind, while Fain, on the contrary, supported the girl's plea and saw no reason why one 80 intrepld, so courageous and so strong should not accompany them: He now a fected a purely platonic attachment to Bessie, and she, ever ready to credit all men with good motives, was glad to pos- sess. his friendship and thankful that the painful incident of the past had been bur- fed and forgotten. But no arguments, other than those ad- vanced by Bessie hersglf, would have moved Roy. He dimly guessed at the ter- rible difficulties and dangers before them, and he hated the thought that the girl he loved better than anything in the world should be exposed to so much unneces- sary misery; while Lord Winstone, who knew better than Meldrum the nature of the task before them, was also strongly opposed to the suggestion. Bessie had carried her way, however, and reminded Roy of many reasons why she should go. “Mrs. Baker went with her husband to the lakes,” she said, “and there are many English ladies in the very heart of Africa doing noble work. Am I not as plucky and hardy as they weré? Indeed and in- deed I can't leave you, Ro; ou're every- thing I've got now. You mustn't ask me to. Just think what my life would be while month after month passed by and I had never a word from you and lived in agonized doubt as to whether you were dead or alive. It's too frightful to imag- ine. I must come, and I'll be no ‘trouble and do what I'm told and help with the cooking if I can—when there’s anything to cook; and if you and Lord Winstone won't let me come with you, I shall go sione.” Argument was vain, and as a sign of de- feat Meldrum finally bought a fine white riding ass for Bessie's especial benefit and a snug little doublet for her, while an ex- perienced German lady at Saadani assist- ed the girl to make a variety of necessary purchases, and a smart Kefir boy of fif- teen, to whom she togk a fancy, was @ppointed her special servant. * Lord Winstone, finding Miss Ogilvie absolutely determ- ined, advised Roy to marry her before the expedition started, but_ though the suggestion was pleasant enough, Meldrum refused to avail of it. % himself daren’t, and ‘s a fact,” he said. “You see the up- shot of this business is very uncertain, and if I don't find anything to pay me at the other end, be- tween ourselves, Fred, I shan't have even a home to ofter the girl when we come back to civilization. Not, at any rate, immediately. I've got money enough to see this business through, and that's about all; so I'll put off matrimony till I find where we are at the end. 1t's only fair to Bessie.” “Well, 1 hope things wiil be all right, but I should feel a good deal happler if she wi not going,” declared his Lord- ship. “It's a fool's trick, if you'll forgive me for saying so.” But she will come. ‘What can a chap a You're idlots, both of you. BSuch an event as a young woman going on a big game shooting expedition into Central Af- rica dosn’t often happen.” “But it's going to happen.” “Yes, I know. You're taking your dia- mond with you, and I'm afrald she'll bad- ly handicap you in your search for the other precious stones. That's the truth of the matter.” “Perhaps she'll be the very one to find them! A-woman's always got an eye for gems."” “It's no good arguing with you,” an- swered his Lordship. “I only hope you won’'t regret a foolish action when it is too late.” “Never, Fred. She'll be our mascot, God bless he declared the lover in a fervor of conviction. CHAPTER X. RHINOS. It was the 7th day of January when the Meldrum treasure recovery company, as Bessle called it, set forth by boat upon the wide waters of the Wami, afterward called the Mukondogwa Rriver. The port- ers and fighting men were told their des- tination, but no more, and they regarded the expedition as one to be devoted to sport alone. Good progress was made at the outset and the last indications of efv- {lization speedily vanished behind the ex- plorers as they pushed westward upon their way. For two weeks all went well enough and the little company settled down into a military regularity and smartness. The Wweather was falr; no danger threatened, and the river in its lower reaches proved tolerably easy. But the last few stages were so difficult and slow that, on a cer- tain day, near Furhani, In the Usagara country, Lord Winstone decided that the Mukondogwa was no longer navigabls and Meldrum called a halt for camp. On the morrow the boats would return whence they had came, and for purposes of navigation the expedition would de- pend in future on chance canoes, either occupied without permission or borrowed by arrangement with friendly natives. One hundred and twenty miles had been ac- complished in sixteen days on the river, giving a fair average of more than seven miles per day. One man had died, through eating some poisonous berries, and two others lay sick from the same cause, but were expected to recover. Other serious iliness there ‘was none. As for food, it had been plenti- ful thus far, although the friendly na- tives, from whom Indian corn, fowls, goats and bananas were purchased, knew the value of beads and brass wire as well as Lord Winstone himself. — tnful incident, besides the dg;:; ::hl;: :m‘r had occurred during the preliminary stages of the expedition. The advance guard wers armed with Remingtons, and one of these men was caught in the act of selling his weapon to & chief of a small tribe for fifty heads of Indian corn. The awful danger of such a course could not be over-estimated. as the safety of the entire company might many times depend upon their defensive owers. Dwmnone reluctantly advised hans::tx the robber, as a necessary lesson to the rest, and Fain agreed with him, but Mel- drum pursued a more Yy ourse. \f yet his followers we n heart was not so hard . the foolish Zanzibaris and sh:fiy Seucan- ese presently promised to make It. “He shall be flogged,” said Ray. It was explained to the sinner that only his master's mercy had saved his life, and he was then flogged by his own head man, a leag and w Arab, who, with Dan Hook's eye upon him, did his work well. The warrior stood his punishment stolidly, but next morning it was reported that he had deserted, and with him wer his Remington and half a box of ammu- nitlon—as much as he could carry. This happened two days before they reached the last stage, that the boats coyld make; and then came a morning when, rounding a bend in the river, a great horseshoe-shaped fall, nearly forty feet high, barred further progress. Others, only less tremendous, had been successfully passed below, but after a survey of the ugly and rock-scattered raplds that soread above the M'posa Falls, Meldrum determined to carry the boats no further. The spot was well suited to the making of the usual camp, and the leaders of the party decided upon a stay of & week, to put all in order, prepare the system of loads and lay In an extra stock of food against the unknown forests and prairies before them. The routs was also to be carefully studied and planned gad the ts and camp furniture overbauled. These things were done and at the end of three days the boats set forth for home, their departure reducing the expedition by fifteen men. The future route was mapped put, and ample stores collected from adjacent vil- lages. Indeed, matters progr 20 sat- isfactorily and speedily that eldrum changed his intention and declared an earlier start than that determined upon might be made. Lord Winstone, with a couple of Zanzi- baris and Dan Hook, had gone afleld that morning, however, and on returning his Lordahip reported the tracks of heavy game within two miles of camp. Thers a mass of mingled spoor had delighted the hunter, and at a drinking hole upon the edge of mixed bush and prairie land he had marked the tracks of eland, buffalo and rhinocero: ‘“We have a clear day,” he sald, well put it into sport—eh? I killed anything bigger than a guinea fowl yet. Is the ‘boss’ willing? Of course Meldrum immediately aban- doned his new notion of pushing forward and it was decided to spend one day with big game. That might the two sportsmen made ready their battcries and each selected three men to accompany him as bear- ers. Fain and Dan Hook were to remain in camp, and Elizabeth, though desirous to join the shooting party with a light shotgun that Roy had bought her at Zan- zibar, was, of course, not permitted to do so In her neat dress of holland, with short skirt and long gaiters to the knee es- sie had her special gervant, Bungani, a bright Kafir lad, and Raalt, an Arab, the head man of the sec. . had a little sport but she ran no risks and ne strayed far from the “boma’ of brushwood which encircled Zanzibar detact on her awn ac having promised Roy not to of it. Meantime Tracy Fain, who was ap- pointed chronicler - of the ¢xpedition, spent a day on his dfary, whi'e the hunt Ing party with provisions for a four and twenty hours' excursion, had already set out at daybreak They had made their way to neighbor- ing high land, beneath which lay the wa- ter hole and beyond which to the skyline extended fine hunting country of alter- nate bush and prairie. The former pre- dominated around the water hole, but beyond it a birdseye view of plains, tree- dotted, could be observed, and with his rlass Lord Winstone made out a few buf- falo and small antelope grazing pea. fully in company not more than two miles distant. The wind necessitated a lengthy stalk, but taking thelr bearings carefully both men descended from thd bluff, passed the water hole upon their left hand and then, getting through the scrub belt below, which was chiefly com- posed of prickly acacls, separated until h-El! & mile parted them. ‘ach had his bearers behind 80 began their stalk. For an h::‘th‘: pursued a snakellks way within sight of :.r‘h other, then a high bed of reeds etween them, and beyond prospect was altogether hidden. vt Roy had now to pursue his way by compass through a bed of sere grass three feet high. This proved difficult and pain- ful, for the stuff was. harsh and tough and cut the big man's face and hands as he pushed steadily forward, making for & point where a tree stood. Unknown to Roy, a littls clearing hers existed; the grass grew green and lush and a streamlet wound sluggishly through narrow channels of red mud. As he strug- gled out upon the bank of it & ery of (birds rang in his ears and he found that immediately ahead of him stood the mi- mosa tree he had striven to reach. Dimly through the grass at its foot heaved up a round mass of somae dark- ish substance and Roy, belleving it a sort of ant heap different in kind to any he had seen as yet, was about to investi- gate, when, aroused by the shrill hissing and din of the birds, the mass moved, turned and lifted an enormous-head on which two lofty horns appeared. Meldrum had surprised a rhinoceros— a big cow, as the length’ and thinness of its front horn testified; and now the awak- ened monster, with a grunt like a huge pig, slowly rose to its feet, sniffed the air, then fixed small eyes on the disturber of its slesta. Only thirty yards separated man and beast, as it was difficult to say at that critical moment which showed greatest surorise. Instinctively though never before that moment in the presence of big game, the Englishman dropped his .577 express and stretched his arm Behna him for his heavy four-bore, which should have been in a Zanzibari's hands within a yard or two: but his raseals, apoalled by thetr sudden and unexpected meeting with the rhino, had fled like one man, each leaving his load where he turned. Meldrum fell back, keeping his eve on the rhinoceros. Then his foot struck the four-bore, and as he bent to pick it up the great animal before him suddenly be- came intent on an attack. With an an- gry snort it charged stralght and swift, its head down, its lean tail in the air The sportsman had barely time to get his gun to his shoulder and discharge It at a range of fifteen yards. Luckily for Roy the shot saved his life, though not by destroying his foe. He had never fired the four-bore until that moment, and the terrible recoil nearly broke his collar b and hurled him headlong backward the ground. The rhinoceros always charges the smoke of a gun discharged against it and as the sportsman fell backward a dark. monstrous body thundered over the spot where he had stood and the huge foot of the beast crashed down within three inches of Meldrum's thigh. At the same Instant he twisted away and thus es- caped the hinder leg a second later. Luckily the beast had not trodden upon his in its charge. It proceeded straight ahead, with gathering velocity, and as Meldrum rose a scream behind him announced that one of his flying bearers had been overtaken. The smoke cleared, the rhinoceros pur- sued its onward flight and speedily dis- appeared, while the two Zanaibaris who had escaped returned, one from an aca-