The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 1, 1903, Page 3

lah and Mabruki in their frantic flight, revealed no sign of the Golden Fetich, and peither Raalt's shattered corpse nor gory turban ‘could furnish the curiosity. It was true that one of his followers might be carryipg the thing: but that ap- peared unlikély seeing its portabllity, and the high esteem in which it was held by the Arab. However, there was nothing more to do but plile a heap of stones over.the dead man, push on to the meeting place with Dan Hook, and then return as quick- 1y as possible to camp. Thé rear guerd, with Bungani_arrived just as Winstone Wwas- preparing to continue his march, but Upon their appearance he changed his mind and determined to camp about a mile from the lair of the llon for the night : Then it was that several hours of “ay- light being still avallable and evidences of game appearing on every side. Win- £tone and the negro set out.to shoot an antelope or two if possible. They started exactly an hour after the discovery of Raalt's corpse, and an adventure, ever afterward described by both hunters as the most extraordinary within their ex- perience, almost immediately befell them The patch of jungle extended westerly for a considerable distance, and leaving it at the spot where Razit had bLeen Winstone, Blackbird andea gun eeded along its edge unti] a sherp corner some 20 vards from the starting point was reached. Round this his Lordship peeped cautiously, then fell flat on his stomach and signaled to the men behind him to do l'kewlse. What he had seen was 2 herd of zebra, ten or a dozen in number. The wind was from them, and ignorant of danger they rotting briskly alcng together. On present course they would pass fifty yards of the sportsman, and Winstone, quickly discarding a seavier weapon, took his double-barreled express rifie and made r2ady. But betorp the beasts reached him they came into contact with ancther enemy. from the edge of the jungle ifty yards ahead, 2 tawny sireak out and shot ltke an arrow into the little herd. With zerrible squeals the brutes stampeded and fled with thunder- 1 ut one was down, to rise no tremendous ‘male lion more, a crouched upon it. For a few moments the beast kicked frantically, then the lion struck him h & sledge hammer paw antd broke his neck, for the zebra's ddenly trembled, then it no lfted n the conqueror, himself, apparently, head and roared twice. himself an’ him call his e pickaninnies,” whispered “See! him eat nuffing, but swering roar soon echoed from reeds, and a Yull-grown lioness with cubs, no larger than big cats, arrived joice in the banquet. The little cubs , work promptly licking blood, and ther selected the inside of the ze- bra’s thigh for her point of attack. “Him full already! Him no hungry at declared Blackbird, pointing at the “We must bag the pair if we can,” an- swered the leader. *'That's.a particular- y fine male, from his nose to his tall-tip, if I'm a judge.” Blackbird handed his master the four- bore once more, and Lord Winstone, within range, prepared to utilize shrub twenty feet nearer his d crept forward on his stomach d the bush. vess had her haunches turned toward him, and presented an uncertain shot as she crouched at her food and tore ot the meat: the lion, who had evidently satisfied his appetite elsewhere, roed over on his side at a little distance from his family, curled up one giant paw like a cat and began washing his muzzle and cleansing it from the gore of the slaugh- tered zebra. In this position he offered a tolerably easy shot, but Winstone, pushing forward by inches, got so near before he took aim that he could hear the contented brute purring, with a harsh noise like a saw cutting hard wood. He knew that he would have to deal with both lions, and desired, therefore, to make the dispatch of the male an absolute certainty at the first shot. y Suddenly a thin streak of flame leaped forward from the distant edge of the jun- gle beyvond Lord Winstone, and the crack of a Winchester woke a dozen echoes over the undulating country. His Lordship had his own finger on trigger at the moment, but did not fire until the re- sult of the first shot became apparent. One of the party, contrary to orders, had gone hunting on his own account, and now, ignorant of the nature of the sport end his own danger, had opened fire at a range of 300 yards upon the lions. An awful roar gréeted the shot and the lioness sprang a foot into the alr like a frightened cat. She had been struck in the foot, but not injured. The lion rose instantly and ran to her, while she held up her wounded paw and snarled with agony and rage. Then the digtant sportsman fired again, but this time he, missed altogether, though only by a few inches, and the bullet struck up the sdnd. within a hand’s breadth of the lion. The great brute answered this attack with another roar and faced around in the direction of the discharge, but as he did s=o, &t the critical moment before he leaped toward his enemy, Lord Winstone fired. The lion was hit heavily, but not killed. It staggered forward, but recovered it- self, turned and approached the second ¢ assallant. Long before It reached him, however, che great brute’s ‘powers -were broken, its hind legs ceased to be of use, and it struggled and scratched forward, dragging its body toward the hunter.by the -use of jts front paws alone. - ‘The lioness approached at the same time, but by leaps and bounds, and the inaddened brute was within ten yards of them, when Blackbird and his master fireq simultaneously, then leaped to right and left as she still came on. oA Other shots echoed in their ears at the same moment, for the valiant Zanzibari who had fired with the Winchester at long range, seeing what was going on and desperately anxious to distinguish Mimself in some way, now rushed into the open and began blazing away at the. two cubs, which still tugged and tore to- gether at the dead zebra. 2 Meantime the lioness turned and imadé a final frantic dash but she was badly hurt and bleeding Neavily. Winstone, un- certain of the lion’s position, now called to Blackbird to dispatch the lesser: brute’ alone, then, bending under the smoke, he looked for the other beast and found- it within five yards of him. It was still alive, but could crawl no farther, and the gun carrier, eager to have some share in the battle, now.fired point blank at its head. It roared again, thén blood choked its huge jaws and, after the manner of its kind immediately before death, it vom- jted. Winstone had shot it through the lungs and inflicted other unknown Inju- ries, as its speedy collapse testified. . Now he turned from the sight of its final death struggle to assist Blackbird, - ard by a side shot at the lioness dropped her dead within fifty vards of her iord. In the distance the Zanszibari, finding him- self apparently unequal to shooting straight, had rushed to the dead zebra, clubbed his weapon and brained the young lions with successive blows. Now he ar- rived in high glee with a dead cub in each hand. At this moment a cry of amazement at- tracted Lord Winstone's attention to the dying lion, and he found Blackbird and the carrier regarding the meribund brute with unutferable horror. Cast up in froth and blood -before it lay a human hand with a silver ring upon the middle finger; and the dying lion had also disgorged a lengthy serap of scarlet cloth, torn from the dead Arab’s waist belt, and evidently boited with the rest of its awful meal. “Him cat Raalt!” gasped Blackbird. “By God, yes! and more than Raalt!"” cried Winstone. A knife—quick!"” His sharp eye had discovered a square black object attached to the sangulnary scrap of cloth. “The Golden Fetich, by all that's hor- rible!” he cried. “The wretch fastened it to hig loin cloth for safety, and from there it went straight into the lion’s belly. Providence—Providence is respon- sible for this! Now I also shall be forced to maintain that the trinket has a value at present hidden from us. Time will show. But the skin of this lion I keep at any cost.” The Golden Fetish proved to be quite uninjured by its singular adventure, and a couple of hours later, laden with the big lion's skin and some zebra and lon meat, which 1s excellent fare, the party returned to camp and feasted royally. But it needs not be sald that the lion of the fetish fofmed no part of their re- past, for, as Blackbird declared: “Him eat Raalt, an' if we eat him, we get Raalt him wicked spirit in us.” “Exactly 80, acquiesced his master. “You stick to the cubs, for lion cub is Jolly good eating—better than veal, in my Judgment.” The night passed without sign of the runaway Zanzibaris and when, early on the following morning, Winstone's de- tachment fell in with that of Dan Hook, it transpired that no sign of either Ab- dullah or Mabruk! had rewarded them. Together the parties turned their faces backward to the Ruaha River, and, three days later, reached camp without further adveture. Good sport had walted on the rifies of Winstone and his hunter, how- ever, and into camp were brought ra- tions of meat sufficient for four days.- The ammunition, unearthed by the way, together with nearly all the stolen prop- erty, was also restored to its rightful owners. . CHAPTER XVL A DOSE OF THUNDER MEDICINE. The éxpedition pushed steadily forward up river, and three days after its jour- ney renewed, a starved, ulcer-bitten wretch struggled into camp -and flung himself at the feet of Roy Meldrum. It was the man Mabruki, and, bidden to speak, he quickly told the sequel of the last chapter. ‘When Raalt was stricken down by the llon, both Zanzibaris, casting their goods from them and even discarding their rifles in thelr terror, fled for dear life from the scene. 3 For two days they wandered helplessly about, and on one occasion wers nearly slain at the hands of a small body of na- tives armed with epears and bows who fired upon them and wounded Abdullah in the back; but from this peril they es- caped and at last, by absolute chance, found themselves again at the spot where - Raalt met his death. S Then they discovered that a tall pile of stones evidently concealed the corpse of the faithless Arab, that their guns and goods had all vanished, and that the car- casses or rather clean-picked skeletons of lions lay close at hand. % Convinced of the truth, they carefully followed the signs of the punitive party backward to the river. On the third day Abdullah Sokoto had died of the arrow wonnd in his back, ‘but Mabruk! pushed forward, and, after ter- rible marches through the wood and wastes succeeded In regaining the expe- dition. . “And now,” he said, “I pray you shoot: me, if you will, but suffer me to dle with a full belly, that I may know what it is to eat once more. I did wrong and I was punished for it. I listened to the wicked man and lived to see a terrible .death overtake him. And Abdullah died very thirsty and very hungry. But suffer me to die full. Yet, do as you will and kill me hungry as I am if you think I have not been punished enough. Mambu kwa mungu. Who can escape his appointed end?” The man was fed and presently for- given; while it is interesting to note that more than_once in after times Meldrum had cause for congratulation upon his len- lency; for Mabruki speedily regained heaith and strength, as did also the Kaf- fir boy, Bungani, and both lived to dis- tinguish themselves favorably. For long the latter was deprived of the old privi- leges, but Bessie begged for him nwany * t'mes, pointed vui the nature of his temp- tation, and 1eminded Roy that the poor littlc wretca had been forcel to choose batween t-cacliery and death. 2 “Besides, e said* he tried to come back o me.” £o Bungani found himself reirsiated, and his dog-like fidel:ty to his mistress was -never known :to waver again. A7 . . Within a month the navigable limits of the Ruaha were reached, and, with presents In proportion to their services, King Unyah's warriofs - and boatmen departed, Meldrum's route now.extended’ through Urvrl coustry, well to the south- east of Lake Leopold. Nearly two months had passed since * the farewell to Unyah; it was now June, and the ralny season had ended; while the’ increasing heat of the hours of day made ft..desirable’ to pursue a path on high.ground or over the foot- hills of nlountains where possible. The next important point to ..ake for. upon the journey was that track or route known as the Stevenson road, between the great lakes Tanganylka and Nyassa. It was desired to hit this some distance above the center of Ntinga, and- to do s0 charts showed that it would be neces- sary to keep northerly | round the Yo- malema Mountains, or take & ‘direct course over them. g 2 - % The former plan was deemed the wiser, and with about 200 miles between him and the Stevenson road Meldrum and his band set forth through the Uror{ country, and preserved a steady rate of progress during an uneventful month. Various minor incidents marked each day, but the advance did not- suffer, and some of the recent delay was amply atoned for by a regular daily progress of four miles. For the most part small tribes occupled the district, but as a rule they proved friendly enough, and very willing to barter the usual‘ plantains and goits for’ fair exchange In beads and trinklets. Some, however, did not trust the travelers, but fled incontinent- ly at their approach. In these cases the expedition helped {tself, though THE SUNDAY CALL. more than one of the carriers incurred a bad spear wound by wandering off alone into the plantain patches. Farther on, when the end of Ausgust was nearly reached, and it became & question of days only to the Stevenson road, the natives assumed the offensive and threatened serious trouble. They regularly deserted their villages before the column, and so saved the output of beads and grass wire: but they per- sisted in unfriendly actions, assem- bled in large numbers on the uplands and hills through which Meldrum's party was progressing, and harassed the rear with threats and insults. Seyeral individuals of this tribe had been captured and sent back to thelr companions with gifts and protestations of friendship; but they continued un- amiable, and at last, after a more than usually trying day with gathering crowds of the aborigines on either side of the expedition, Winstone advised Meldrum to deal more sharply with them and try the effect of a little counter démonstration. Accordingly, on the following morning, about the hour that luncheon was taken, the Soudanese were drawn up in fighting trim énd with them the four Englishmen, ten Zanzibaris and the two Arabs—a de- tachment of twenty-five guns. “Fire!” rang out the great voice of Roy; then twenty-four rifles bellowed out to- gether and a little storm of lead hissed into and shrieked over the enemy, where they were massed some 150 yards distant. Five men fell instantly and & mighty shriek of amazement and horror rose from the host. Others among them ap- peared to be wounded and these were lift- ed between their friends and conveyed away as speedily as possible, while the crowd hastily climbed up the hills out of harm’'s way. X Then it was that Lord Winstone, who had not yet fired, took his Winchester, calculated the range, as only a man with his experience could do, and fired thrice at the head of the retreating force. They were now nearly half a mife dis- tant, and Winstone felt doubtful of a workmanlike shot at that range; but for- tune favored him, and instantly upon the treble report of thé repeating rifle, a man, viewed through a fleld glass by Fain, threw up his arms, dropped his weapons and fell amid his companions. ‘By God, they don't know who's hit tem,” cried Tracy. “Ah! now they see the smoke,” he added, “and they're off like hares. They've dropped thelr wounded, too, the cowardly wretches! They evi- dently feel that as long as they’re in sight théy're in range.” “I hope s0,”” answered his Lordship. ‘'We must do nothing to disabuse them of that opinion. The shot was good enough to try, and now it has come off, we'll reap the moral effect. They'll be civil at any rate. To-morrow we'll burn the village—only one. That, tao, wil serve to teach them manners.” A pleasant peace and freedom from anx- ety succeeded upon this incident, and next morning, as good as his word, Win- stone advised the destruction of a village which had been vacated as usual on the approach of the expeditioh. Three prisoners were fortunately cap- tured here—an old, lame man and his two_ wives. By these folks renewed messages of friendship were sent to the people, and “it was made clear that the strangers did not come as slave ralders, -but as peace- ful hunters traveling for pleasure. They desired nothing but peace and plenty. They came with gifts in their hands and expected to be treated with hospitality and friendliness; but if the tribes wanted war, then war it should be, and the thunder tubes would flash by night and by day until’ there was not an- other soldler or fighting man’ left among the people. § Lastly, Meldrum explained that if the tribes would stop In their villages he would greet them as a brother and buy what " they could sell and be to them a good friend; but that if they fled away before him, as though he was a man of war instead of a man of peace, he would continue to fire their homes, ravage their cultivation® and destroy the things that were held precious to them. Bessle was Introduced to the decrepit personage and endeavors made to con- vince him and his wives that she was a white queen from afar, now traveling in friendship with all queens, kings, mon- archs and chiefs whatsoever. This, in part, they apprehended, and when Bessle herself heaped gifts upon them of a sort that, as Faln declared, would probably get the poor souls knocked on the head by the first stronger savage who met them, thelr fear lessened and they departed with evident delight to dangle the toys before their kinsfolk and great men. The value of this series of actions- be- came apparent two days later, when a conslderable encampment was reached just before dark. Instead of the usual weird loneliness, as of a village of the dead, bonfires blazed, torches were passed from hand to hand and the leaders of the place headed by their chlef in person came forward and greeted the travelers. Their fear was evidently considerable, but efforts were successfully made to set them at thelr ease and a few gifts, with half a bale of cloth for the chief's wom- enkind, speedily created a feeling of con- fidence and trust. This Meldrum and ‘Winstone did their utmost to ripen. A feast was spread for the white folks, and large stores of poultry and grafn lald at “their disposal. Food In considerable quantities was also sent out to the camp and many quarts of malwa were drained that night by the thirsty Zanzibaris. In- deed, they became too jovial for safety and a few broke bounds, but returned penitent from the native village at dawn. Upon the following day a great war dance was celebrated in honor of the travelers, and on the succeeding morning they proceeded on their way once more, having won the friendship of their former enemies and recelved from the chiet a passport, In the shape of a painted shell, which he promised .them would prove protection sufficient to the entire expedi- tion until they.reached ‘‘the great track between the waters.” Beyond that ex- tended country unknown to him, and he marveled at the courage of the white wanderers, who could thus brave the per- 11s of strange kingdoms and pass forward and onward without fear of death. “It is the Thunder God,” explained Lord Winstone, ‘“‘Without him we are even as you are; but he wakes while we sleep, his eyes are always open to guard us from danger; he. knows who are friends and who are enemies. .He lifts up his voice and spits forth his words by night_and by day; and Eis volce {s fire cloud, and his words are death.” ‘You say he never slecps?”- ‘Never. - We are mortal and must sleep, for after toll and food our eyes close, as yours do; but our Thunder Gods are awake, and the light of the campfires gleams In thelr watchful eyes, and they whisper together where we have placed them. And if danger threaten from sav- age beast or men, our Thunder Gods lsup to our hands, and we awake and clasp them and face the most terrible foe that earth can bring against us without fear, because we know man is powerless against us. G ‘The chief nodded. “Be good to your Thupder Gods,” he sald, “for I have known gods turn upon Y \" those who forget to worship them, and give thelr bodles to their enemies and the Vultures. Be kind to your great, roaring Bods and feed them well, and give them lwtt water to drink and ripe plantains to ‘eat, else they will talk fire at you, too, and it will be {ll with you, and the hyenas will have a strange taste upon their tongues.” “You speak very wisely, and I thank you. Farewell. We shall never forget your goodness,” concluded Lord Win- stone. “Farewell. I am glad you came to my country, but I do not want you to come back again unless your Thunder Gods tell you to do so.” So the palaver ended, and the expedi- tion wound forward upon its way. Good progress was made, and at the end of August, or rather less than elght months from the beginning of their .ourney, Mel- drum'’s little band reached the Stevenson road. They had now traveled about 650 mlles and a distance of 300 at least still sepa- rated them from the Wambasi—that trib- utary of the Luapula River on which the Batoncas had their stronghild. Death and disaster had thinned their _numbers; Raalt was gone, with not a few of the Zanzibaris and Soudanese—seven in all, but the leaders of the expedition, though each had suffered-more or less, were for the most part little the worse. Bessie had surprised everybody and de- lighted Roy by her splendid pluck and sustained physical health. Her poor don- key had not been so fortunate, for he fell very lame In the off hind leg, and for two dafs In the hilly country she walked to rest him. Now he had recovered and was once more invaluable to his rider. A high rate of fair health had been maintained from the outset and Fain pointed out that the regularity of good food might be thanked for that fortunate fact. In most cases of Central African travel one of the great, Indeed the great- est, perils results from the danger of starvation. Thus far, however, that aw- ful calamity had not threatened Mel- drum'’s expedition and it stlll carried am- ple reserves of tinned goods, soup and milk. As for the individual members of the party, all pulled well enough with Roy, and he was an {deal leader, the life of the expedition, always cheery and cheerful, always with sufficlent reserves of good spirits and pluck to impart both where there appeared signs of falling hope or of courage broken under suffering. The lesser evils even—the evils of sting- ing and biting and poisoning, the evils of insect life, of the nolsome creeping things that bury themselves in a tired man's flesh while he sleeps, and rot there—these plagues were not enough to quench his unconquerable spirit. Lord Winstone represented the brains of the party, and with Roy and Bessle he got on uncommonly well; but Dan Hook was frightened of him, while between his Lordship ard Fain there had arisen a very evident lack of sympathy. Tracy Fain’s part, up to this stage In the expedition, was not of a nature to excite special attention or require partic- ular description. He snapped and snarled a good deal and was heartily disliked by the carriers and soldiers, to whom he al- ways spoke with insolent and short sighted disrespect. In truth he was not happy, and his nebulous idea of acquiring the diamonds for himself became less and less promising as he regarded it in the light of his present experiences. Not that he had altered his real attitude toward Roy; Indeed, the old contempt quickly ripened Into hatred after Bessie Ogllvie bad made her choice. All that was worst in the man now ran riot in secret, when darkness fell upon the camp and only the red eyes of the fir the monotonous tread -of the sen- tries or the roar of a hungry beast dis- turbed the night. At such times he suf- fered his passion to shake him while Win- stone and Meldrum slept; at such times he felt a kinship with the lion ‘and yearned to fall headlong upon his inno- cent foe. But these ebullitions were hidden from the mortal eye. In public Fain preserved scrupulous politeness, studied Bessle and his cousin, shirked no trial or difficulty in which they had to participate and bore his share of the burden and heat of the'day without flinching. Definite dlans for the future he had none. He cherished his secret 'still but lost heart about performing the act of villalny from no prompting to rectitude and honor, but because he doubted much if his scheme would prove possible of execution. f Bo far as Bessle was concerned, he stlil hungered for her in secret, and even de- bated the possibilities of creating a divi- slon in the camp to aid him; but he was too unpopular to win followe s, and not made of the stuff to achicve his pur- pose against odds by oourage and Zorce of character. “Life is precarifous here; it hangs (n a thread for all of us. He may bes the next.”” That was Tracy Faln's secret thought. And so.he watched and waited, eating his heart out; and more than once it was not fever but passion that Mel- drum saw In his eyes when he commis- erated-with the man, bld him be of stout heart and take more quinine, 3 The Stevenson road was du'y passed and good progress made. Then there came a day—early in September—when the expe- dition found itself in the Urungu coun- try, at the confines of a powerful mon- arch’s territory, and before the capital of a potentate who could place full 20,000 spears in the fleld. S Meldrum's road lay directly through this Eentleman's kingdom, and as the friend- ‘ship of Ongasse must be absolutely neces- sary before further progress could be- made a strong position was chosen, camp pitched, and zarebag of extra stoutness erected in case of difficulties. ““To-morrow we will pay him a friendly call if he doesn't take the initiative,” said Roy. “He's got a big town, by Jove! As he spoke his eyes roamed over the capital of the Nangattos, where it spread with gray and -golden thatches set in green acres of plantain and encircled by the silver arm of a little river. A mile separated the expedition from the village, and Roy’'s camp’ was situated on.rising ground at an elevation of some 500 feet above the valley. ¢ CHAPTER XVIL " THE BLOOD BROTHERHOOD. . King Ongasse slept but {ll that night, and his head turned many times upon it3 little wooden pillow. He was a young monarch, barely 25 years of age, but a man of some intelligence, and the expedi- tion now camped over against him caused him much ness, for he was not un- familiar with rms in the hands of re- morseless Arabs,'and he knew that they meant death and misery and destruction. That he could easily wipe out the little band above him on the mountainside he had no shadow of doubt, however, and the only problem in his mind as he waited uneasily for dawn was a question of pol- icy and a dim uncertainty concerning the strange people who thus thrust them- selves into the llon’s jaws. ~ They came In such small force that he found it hard to belleve they designed any act of aggression, while, on the other W hand, it was impossible to concelve of their business in the Nangatto territories if not upon mischief bent. Early next morning the monarch deter- mined to settlé the matter as soon as might be, so with a bodyguard of 500 fighting men he marched boldly up the hill under a banner of yellow cloth—an idea evidently copled from some Arab slave ralders—and demanded to know the nacure of the expedition. Meldrum and Winstone, with two of the Soudanese, proceeded fearlessly from the zareba, while unknown to the advancing force the rest of the expedition that could muster arms lay ready behind their frail fortifications twenty yards distant. “Why do you ccme upon my land?” in- quired Ongasse, shortly. *'We did not come upon your land until you gave us leave,” answered Winstone, who knew the dlalect. having had a couple of the tribe with him on a former hunt- ing expedition near the shores of the Tanganylka. “We are here as friends, and have no guarrel with any man.” “You come with some intent to steal or do.evil? It is vain.” “Truly, Ongasse, it would be vain for a handful ‘of men, even though armed with guns, to stand before the face of your leglons. -We are not so foolish. And it our numbers were not enough to con- vince you, know, King Ongasse, that we are the servants of a White Queen, the Queen of the Sflver BSunrise. She is traveling through these regione to see her fellow monarchs and exchange gifts with them and win their regard and friend- ship. Should we bring our beautiful White Queen if we came to fight? She has countless legions of armed men, yet she leaves them all at home, for she is very good and very true and honest, and all men who see her love her. Therefore she fears nothing.” - ““Tell her to come to me.” “Nay, great King; that {s not how we may speak of the Queen of the Silver Sunrise. She is robing to meet you, and Pay you proper respect. You have not Tobed to meet her.” ": knew not you had a Queen among you. “‘Yet there is time. She sends you by my hands this gift, and bids me say that she will be glad to see the wonder of the Nangatto people, the monarch Ongasse, to e;lt and drink with her if he wills friend- ship.” Thy gift was & purple umbrella with white spots. This Meldrum opened and presented to the King. i “I will go and make ready fo meet your Queen,” declared the other. “I thank your White Queen, and I will eat wllhhhel' ln:hdflnk with her before the sun has reached above the edge of high hill; : 52 o He retired, making quite unregal haste, while an attendant held the purple para- 8ol above his head. “We're in luck,” sald Winstone. “Here's & boy King for once, and if Miss Ogllvie doesn’t win his young heart I'm a Dutch- man.” A banquet was spread, and some deli- cacles sorted from the stores; then Bes- sle, enthroned on a Union Jack, was seated at the head of affairs. Anon the King returned, with very elaborate adorn.- ments, and the meeting between him and his visitor was impressive to a degree. Everybody . took the incident seriously enough; indeed, it was a serfous matter, for much depended upon it. Four head- men accompanfed Ongasse, and all were :In\;ltefl !(lr Joln the meal, but they were ot permitted to eat fro; u_r:!helr g, m the same disR ® young pride of the Nangatt and drank solemnly and his t;"o:"l;; eyes rarely left Bessle’s face, He gsked several questions as to her nation and its resources, and he showed considerable skepticlsm at some of Winstone's an- -Swers. Then he desired to know if the Quefin v(v)au married. F: “No, Ongasse: but she will be married when she returns to her g . ";o a king?" R “To a prince. He sits hers. . HI is Roy, prince of Meldrum. He ll.snv.:nr; big man in his own land, and we call him Bana Mkuba, the great master.” “I like your queen, though she would be more beautiful if she were black.” . “‘She likes you, too; but she would think still better of you if you were white.” l?;nsuu reflected & while. Then he sald: ::evlnl M’ku?n 18 not so great as I am.” e are In your count: gasse. therefora he 13 notrr 0" OF 5 ““That 1s well sald. Now ask your white qQueen ff I appear to her a more comely thing to see than Bana Mkuba.” Lord Winstone both translated this question and told Bessie to answer it in a breath. . “Bana Mkuba is the queen’s right hand and he has her heart. But King On. gasse 1s the most splendid man, after Bnnn” Mkuba, that the queen has ever seen. - “That is well sald. Now tell the qui that Ongasse will marry her lh!(ezdeeo‘: Bana Mkuba. Tell her that Ongasse is very pleased with her.” What Bessle answered to Lord Win- ntu;l{e ‘was this: “Horrid little imp! How doe K to say such a thing?" e ‘What Lord Winstone replied to the king ran in a different fashion, “The Queen of the Silver Sunrise would have gladly wedded with the king of the Nangattos; but, alas! she has given her word to Bana Mkuba, and in our coun- Ary a aueen’s word is more sacred than & common man’s oath. She cannot wed any other than Bana Mkuba.” “Then tell her to kill Bana Mkuba. His life is hers if she is a queen.” Winstone did not take the trouble to translate this sinister suggestion. ““She loves Bana Mkuba with her whole heart. In our country no woman has more than one husband, even though she be 8 queen, and no man has more than one wife.” ‘A _strange .country! Then tell Bana Mkuba that I will give him twenty wives if he will suffer the white queen to wed e - . “It is -useless, King Ongasse; our people love in a way unlike your people. Two hundred of your most beautiful maidens would not take the place of the white queen in Bana Mkuba's heart.” ‘A man must have a small héart if he can only be good to one woman.” “Before marriage all white men think one wife will be enough.” . “And after?” S “Afterward I believe they often flnd one wife is too many,” answered his Lordship, who was a bachelor. “Ha! ha! You are a wise man. And as for your big prince there. I will give him good store of cattle and lands, and I will give him four of my own wives and make him a mighty leader among my people if he ylelds the queen to me. Now, tell him that.” Lord Winstone interpreted the offer, and Meldrum's face grew flery red through its tan and freckles, e “Tell him I'll knock his ugly black head off in half a‘'minute! His wives, In- deed! And Bessle to marry him! Impu- dent little monkey!” The other translated: “Bana Mkuba grows hot, Ongasse, ac- cording to the custom of his country. He has never been among great kings before, and has our ideas about these matters. He says he will fight for you and work for you and love you, but the white queen is the apple of his eye; he cannot break his word to her, and she cannot break her word to him. If that happened they would both be disgraced forevermore, and never laugh or be happy again.” “Well, well,”” sald the young potentate, “they needn’t make such a fuss about It. I thought it would be a nice thing to marry a queen, but it doesn’t matter. I am your friend and will accept your friendship if I find that it is worth cepting. Now, tell me whither you are going and why."” The other then explained that the ex- pedition was one of sport, pleasure and discovery; that the travelers had come out into the world to make friends of the mighty ones of the earth, and that On- gasse had naturally been among those the Queen of the Silver Sugrise most desired to propitiate and honor. “It is our wish to pass in peace through your kingdom,” concluded Lord Winstone. ““We then desire to proceed, if it is well, through the land called Lunda to the Lua- pula River, that flows between the great waters."” “And then?” “Then we desire to see the country of the Batoncas; and then, if all is still well, we shall return to our own land.” It will take many moons.” *‘Ongasse 1s always right. It will.™ Subsequently the King informed Mel- drum that two days later he and a band of his warriors were marching some fifty miles to the western quarter of his terri- tory. There had been trouble on the fron- tiers with a strong tribe in the Lunda country—the Massegl. Already the Nan- gattos were in force against the enemy, but it was felt that the presence of the King and his picked troops would be nec- essary to restore peace. ““Our road is your road,” explained his Majesty. ‘“We will travel hencef®rth as friends. The road is good.” A map of the country was shown to Ongasse after Fain had carefully printed the King’s name upon his terrijory in red Ink. This pleased the monarch much. He traced their route and showed Meldrum that the proposed escort wouM extend over about sixty miles of country, but as it was explained to .Roy that such a march would occupy ten days, he realized that the Nangattos would go somewhat too fast for his own carriers. This was a difficulty speedily sur- mounted, however, for Ongasse promptly ordered off thirty of his own men to share the burdens of the expedition and thus accelerate its progress. “You will have rich and rare gifts for me, I know full well,” he sald, “but keep them until we reach our journey’s end. Then it may be that you will love ‘me more than at present, so that the gifts Wwill be still better. And I will give you great store of food, that you may not starve in the hungry kingdom of the Mas- segl before you reach the river.” Amicable relations were thus estab- lished and once more the travelers had good cause to bless fortune. Indeed, Dan Hook oftentimes shook his head. “’Tis tu much happiness an’ theer'll come a reg-lar twister of a king some fine day as’ll see us gormed, body. an’ bones, afore he'll let us go ‘pon his ground. They'm all tu civil by half sa far: but us’ll get our evil fortunes come bimeby, so sure as it takes all sorts o' luck te make up life. However, I ban't one to meet trquble halfway, as be well knawn."” Though the element of personal risk and . anxlety lacked ffom this combined Pprogress, it was not without incidents re- quiring careful adfustment. Tact often saved friction and the heaas of respective companies continued on excellent terms, but the rank and flle quarreled not a lit- tle, and on the third day of the march came news of the theft of a rifle and a cartridge belt. One Ben Soud, a Soudan- ese, had slept with his weapons besids him and awakened to find them gone. He had promptly thrashed two Nangattos and, in his turn, been roughly mauled by a dozen others. Ongasse took the matter very seriously when rigid search fatled to find the cul- prit, who had doubtless hidden his treas. ure on the night of the theft. The King’s concern at this circumstance appeared perfectly genuine, and he decreed that one course of action alone would serve to unite the forces in friendly bonds and prevent further misunderstandings and mischief. “I have asked my wise men,” he sald, “and my medicine woman—she who is carried: by bearers, and who sleeps not under the stars, but lles beneath a tent of leopard skin. I have asked them all and they speak with one voice. There must be blood brotherhood performed be- tween myself and the white queen's head counselor. Between hey and me thers can be no blood brotherhood, In that she is a woman and I am a man.” “It is well,” answered Bessie, mightily relleved to learn some more or less un- pleasant ordeal had been escaped. “I will appoint my own dear Bana Mkuba to represent me, great King."” A halt of one day was called and the ceremony of Blood Brotherhood enacted with all fitting pomp and circumstance. The aged medicine woman, who lived in a leopard skin tent and was carried by bearers upon the march, proved to be a power in the ceremony; for though a fee- ble and ailing crone apparently, she yet rose to. great heights of tragic signifi- cance during the operation, attired her- gelf for it in amazing raiment and herself handled’ the knife and poured the salt. Unluckily for Meldrum, the Nangattos” particular ritual of Blood Brotherhood was not as simple or Inoffensive as that of many tribes. Their rite followed the procedura of the Congo savages, and in- volved sundry operations that Roy view- with much Inward disgust. But he fiinched not, and conducted himself with all proper propriety and self-control from first to last. The day began in rejolcings and beat- ing of drums and dances; then a sort of rough dais was spread with fresh green leaves, end around it there gathered the prominent representatives of both par- ties. A special seat within sight of the oper- ation was arranged for Bessie, and about her collected Tracy Fain, Lord Winstone, Hook and Omar Laluzi, the remaining Arab head man; while in an. outer ring the Zanzibaris stood with the Soudanese and formed the lesser part of a circle which was completed by the natives. On the other side Ongasse’s general of- ficers and wise men assembled; then the priestess appeared. She was attired, like a veritable harpy, in rags and feathers, with red paint on her hideous breasts and withered face. and a petticoat of cloth woven from reeds and daubed with many colors, The old woman shrieked and sang a while, but presently quieted down and took from an attendant a knife of shin- ing metal set In an ivory handle, with a big cowrie shell containing salt. (Continued Next Sunday.) %) 942 Sy, ed - v S X -