The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 8, 1903, Page 1

It’s a Thriller HE MASTER OF PPLEBY. Begins Next Sunday. . wed - s € ge ug as he 8 g » . gashes A lozenge-s epace & ® |2 e P were " strong tribe € e pursuit on the double K Bessie If n.shing Ongasse if she blackness of n made further e no sight of the raid- seer eidrum was in a lity to proceed one awake rtook them in ted attack from greal hor e of rwhelming num- ness their as- » the sleeping ess time than it ad kililed half of taken the other y Meldrum, Lord who formed a s when the at- awful slaughter y had fought like then Meldrum was for returning e face of this tragedy and battilng the enemy, belleving as he was Ongasse’s horde that they had to au.\ with er death, he s1'd, than the maddening uncertainty of what bad been his sweetheart's fate, but Lord *ward counsel that no\hlnu it finally rful thing but not y c The oth- ich was the t had made the k in the night, Wua.an army of ks they had never beheld before. The ation was puzzling to a degre: sse charged, and out of the ter- enémy that ensued ie to ravelers with great- r protestations of frierdship than ever fore e blood bretherhood had been t nounced triumphantly, --and when he brought forth Bessie and her escort safe and unharmed, Mel- vept with the unexpect- eness of it all, and tions which fol- & er you departed,” he sald, ear through scouts that forces of the Massegi, full 600 ;, were pushing rapidly for- heir friends before _they n t my warriors. Then I knew Massegi must surely fall in with iite Queen, and, holding her and ts as my friends, they would v offer battle and perhaps by force of numbers. 1 debated for the space t the morning I dis- le and first man of with a small, swift ack of the White Queen, b her before she should mies. My uncle is ght and he said to d at a Jackal trot 1, that as my was to iite Queen at all costs, so And, therefore, when his t 1 h a handful of the y only satisfied ¢ and in no way he safety of her peo- White Queen od. There- has not was one to save perior and how 1t come befors h the Massegl e triumpha!l the most men, enemies’ y pre I tarewell, the Ki before the to find th . 1t both for Me riors rv ins, of Lord 1 to set ed®to you, tru n noet. He and am glad the wide rate us; but > me, and loved always peace between ing of the Batoncas, has a who works evil man has seen are known, for nd of Pomba mightily 1 1 the nation at the fon’s foes. Be guarded t not the honey volce, from a bitter throat, and e is but the fair shield that thou Queen of the Silver I, Bana M ; farewell, of the white Queen. May » kind to you, may death y to him and remind ; may pro your eyes when they mirror ins and hills, the is, the forests and ead kraals of your own we ng answer was returned to the w ne and the other hand, British fash- turn came, made rack with a shake e en Meldfum went upon and the expedition, after some ys' progress y short marches, t arrived on the banks of the Lua- way Golden Falls of the manuscript sy enough’to discover; but upon aching the district Meldrum found. that e capital of the tribe 1'Ad been shifted two miles farther up the Wambasi. The s of the old settlement were not dif- iit to trace, however, and Roy gazed ipon the desolate scena with mingled emotions as it spread before hin. at the end of the first day’s march through Ba- tonca country. Beneath his standpoint lay the desolate spot where a fellow Englishman had d up his life. A wide slope extended river, and it was covered with grown tracks between the bleached ons of ruined huts. Above this huge cliffs rose, jagged and peaked, er a red sunset sky, and down the nal faces of them leaped, in a suc- ion of sharp and gushing cascades, the Golden Falls. The cliff front inclined in- at a distance of a hundred feet from its base in the river, and the tor- rent, crossing this gulf at a bound, fell with endless roar upon the broad bosom of the stream beneath. The usual noise of the men pitehing camp was drowned by the tremendous and reverberating echoes of the Golden Falls, and as light waned and all detail vanished from the solemn - scene, Roy turned away and sought his friends that he might escape for a little space from his own thoughts. For one brief moment there came into his mind & shadow of the skepticism that Winstone end Fain openly professed. Seen afar off the difficulties appeared small enough; viewed closely, faced di- gra skelet gained detall, op sanguine spirit, as the vast en- Batoncas had their capital lay and Winstone's te no time. he hidden gems its futility as retreat from a to make for was the house that described in the outside the bounda- apital. Upon the morn- Ing after their arrival, therefore, a reg- " The of the point dead man ular rch was instituted, and the puz- zled Zanzibaris and Soudanese were bid to skirt about the confines of the old vil- lage to poke and probe the underwood for evidences of solitary ruin of indica- dwelling place. outly habitations ices from the AIe 5 EhilG b Srioal T it none of them stood a point specially scrint. As dead bleached fragments s abounded, how- g shoots and sap- about the deserted vil- lage to take the places of their dead an- cestors, no 4 of belng upon the wrong tack followed from the absence of under an um mentioned in the ot van ever, and many lings were rising a big tree. Young examples of the um- zimbete abounded and both Roy and Fain were soon familiar with the shape and size of the “stony seed pods” mentloned in the dead man’s direction. “Close at hand” were the words he had employed, and upon the strergti; of this direction Meldrum planned his ‘uture ac- tions. In all six fallen dwellings aad the foundation of one other, from which evi- dence of the fabric itself had vanished, were discovered within a radius that might fairly include t habitation of the bygone ploneer: and around and about each of these ruins, to a limit of 100 yards every way and to a depth of three feet, Roy determined to exvlore. For the most part the soll was of a light alluvial nature and presented no formid- able problems. This task would occupy ten days with all hands busy, and as food sufficlent for four days alone remalned, some understanding with the inhabitants of the land and Pomba, their chief, must needs be come to as soon as possible. The Batoncas still held aloof and as yet scarcely one had been seen. The need for a visit to Bangillo became the more ur- gent, therefore, and the scouts, thrown out dally to bring instant notice to Mel- drum’s strong camp In event of the en- emy’s approach, were told to capture any stray Batonca if they possibly could man- age to do so. On the following morning & regular system of operations was instituted and alternate shifts of men either worked under Meldrum’s direction or _stood guard, heavily armed, to cover the re- treat of the operatives upon any sudden attack. The camp was only & hundred yards' distant and a stout double zareba had been erected about it, while upon one side the cliff face effectively protected the party from any surprise. The work progressed steadily, and Mel- drum and Bessie watched each spade of earth as it was thrown up from the foun- dation of the most promising ruin, while ‘Winstone remained in camp, overhauling his cherished guns, and Fain, free of sentry duty for the time being, strolled away alone upon private ends toward the waterfall. He alone realized the waste of time and labor before the little company; he alone could guess at the weary hours and days of tofl that must be thrown away during the forthcoming fortnight, and he alone rect!on. and, dead to any danger. Faln foresaw the fever of dying hope, the bit- terness of a gigantic'and ruinous fail- ure that awalted Roy Meldrum and Bessie in the immed!ate future, But such re- flections weighed nothing with him, for his heart was hardened against one who had done him no wrong at any time. Now, passing beyond the outlying ring of sentries, he proceeded upon his own secret quest and speedily reached the Golden Falls. His eyes roamed eagerly toward west and south, then he lifted them up to the tremendous forehead of the cliff. The crown of the precipice was clothed with lofty vegetation, dwarfed by distance to mere scurb; and here, no bigger than ants, as it seemed, Fain observed a dozen or more natives. They werq perched upon the very edge of the Golden Falls, ‘and from their gestures, thé Englishman per- ceived that they had observed him. At the most liberal com evers/ he judged that the not reach him in less than five minutes, and as their road mus{ lie upon the jagged and precipitous face of the crags to the north of the waterfall, he knew that ample time would suffice for re- treat if the Batoncas-threatened. A moment later and-an incident caused him to dismiss the distant foe from his mind and forget all about them, for, while roaming forward, he opened up a further scrap of the cliff and gasped be- fore what was revealed. The thing that he had desired,; for and looked for, nmow quickened his pulse-beat by its sudden appearance, and so astoundingly like ‘ifs name was this lofty bluff, jutting. forth from the clift at an elevation of 200 feet above the river,” that Fain:could scarcely be- lfeve the work of nature alone appeared before him. There, aloft, bre-klnr through the strata of the country, appeared a crag of limestons, and {ts crown, sharply lifted up in twin peaks, exactly resem- bled the lofty horts of an animal, while the rock below had been outlined and carved by the storm and stress of ages into striking semblance of an antelope's head and neck. The whole effigy was upon a colossal scale, but to mistake this jutting crag- appeared impossible, and that he now stood befqre Antelope Head Biuff, Tracy Fain felt well assured. For more than & year he had known by heart the secret message cut from the manuscript, but now with shaking fingers he opened his pocketbook that his eyes might read the actual words and the di- rection contained in them. “Stand where the peaks of the Ante- lope Head bluft are in one line. Then wait till the hour when the bow shines upon the mist of the falls, and where the purple of the arch touches the forest—there—in white ants’ nest.” Nothing could be clearer than this dai- longed set forth In frantic haste to find a point from which one vast antler of the stone antelope should conceal the other. But this proved a difficult task, and after a. dozen attempts to obtain such a position the treasure hunter fell back fifty yards: or so and began to realize that the neces- s&ryaspoint of view must lie considerably above him; on some - ledge or in some cranny of the cliff-face. Now he essayed a serles of climbs, and it was rot until after an hour of rough and fruitless work that he at last reached & solitary shelf, perched high above the river, from which the great stone ead presented the necessary appearance. Two fish eagles, frightened from their eyrie, screamed in thealr so close that he could see thelr crooked beaks and golden eyes, but his mind was not upon them. As he lay panting and weary under a cloudless sky, he took In the bearings of his position and realized two things—that the mist of the Golden Falls could only throw a rainbow soon after the sun had risen, and that the point which he now occupied was the sole spot on his side of the river from which Antelope Head bluff might be seen in the necessary po- sitfon. An hour later' Fain was back in camp. He explained his fatigued condition as the result of a stiff and difficult climb; and the next morning, having declared over night that designed another ex- ploration on the cliff face, set off alone with his rifle and a day's provision: The enterprise somewhat mystified Roy, and-Fain's lack of interest in the great search nettled him; but the leader of the band had plenty to think about, so he contented himself by warning his cousin to keep within call of the scouts and incur no unnecessary risks or dan- gers. CHAPTER XXL THE WHITE ANTS' .NEST. Fain soon found himself*upon the ledge of the cliff and there walited impatiently for the rainbow’s descending arch to lead him to the goal. It was long, however, before the critical moment came, and meantime the ydung man "had opportunity to mcan the sur- rounding scene, note how the river turned sharply below Ant elope Head biuff, and hat, i ately beneath. him same side of the stream as nseif, though beyond the abrupt bend of the river, there extended a consider- able tract of forest land. 1t it should b m that the rainbow feil here, all chance of Meldrum securing his prize without Fain's intervention was practically’ impossiule, : for the woods lay half a mile at least from camp and more than a quarter of a mile from any of the ruined houses that Roy had determined to explore. Blowly the sun ascended, and.the Gold- en Falls justified their name as - they trembled and tossed in a streak of sheer, radiant glory down ths face of the cliff. From the tremendous impact, where the water struck the surface of the river after its last long leap, arose a flne mist of vapor, and upon this it was that Tracy Fain fixed his eager eyes as it began to brighten under the advancing sunshine. At last the magfe colors trembled out in sparks and gleams upon the mist, and anon the ‘fraction,of a shining’ bow ap- peared opposite the watcher, Fain walted and watched the rainbow. It endured but a brief space, and as the sun rose and the angle of refractions was changed the brilliant iris tints disappeared and the splendid moment was gone by for that day. Like a 'gorgeous flower thie phenomenon withered and died, leaving only gray mist behind it. But Fain had seen all that he needed, and very soon afterward, marking route and destlnation carefully upon a little map that he had sketched from his bird's-eye point of view, the man de- scended to the Wambasi River, followed it round a wide bend until he came abreast of the forest land, then struck in- ward and presently sighted one tree of size that had towered above the spot where the purple ring of the rainbow spired with one idly foF- fell. 8o Tracy Fain, idea, and one alone, ward, dead to danger. It was not long bef found hi grass that separated the tree climp £oin the main wood d on the lofty above, w hing tone: owed k veme him reach his destination. th like down the cliffs behind him an tercepted his retreat. another pair of scene, had down from rak and slip quick s the s heart throbbed wildly, ants” nest, Its base was nd grass sprou disintegration, nest Fain that it must be begsought seemed §ther similar ere #hé radius of the s To the deserted nest he went and his heart beat high as he stood beside it and knew that the treasure might be— nay, must be—within reach of his ex- ;tended hand. The base of the nest was coated with fmoss and it rose from wild undergrowth. To cut this away was the man’s first task, and, setting down his rifle, he pulled out'a heavy knife and began to clear the base. of the earthen pillar. This task was quickly accomplished, and‘ Fain found himself before a smooth but soft erection of fine earth. That it must be hollow in- side-she knew and doubted not that the adventurer, who trusted his treasure to it in the past, had cut & hole somewhere at the bottom or in the side of the mound, then dropped in the umzimbete seed pods and afterward made all secure again. For a moment he reflected as to what course was the most simple, then set to work at the base of the cone, and soon hgd a hole, big enough to creep through, driven to the center. Then he discov- ered what had not appeared from the surface; there was another entrance from underground into, the nest. The-channel ran a foot beneath the earth and came out ten yards away. That the deserted dome had been used by some small beasts of prey for a lair was evident, and now Fain began digging down through a‘mass of bones and fragments of moldy fur to reach the umzimbete seed, which he knew must be hidden beneath. The soil was light and he made rapid progress, but never a sign of what he de- sired was.there. He sweated on, but his heart almost hurt him with its thump- ing, his head was throbbing and his eyes aching ¢s failure came nearer and nearer. “He threw aside.the stick- .he had been using and buried his hands in the soft mold. He tore it up, and as the subsoll grew hardér he still used his fingers un they were torn, one of his nalls . was broken and both of hands began to bleed. Then he stopped and stared biank- v without the identic quest ly before him, while the sweat .dripped from his face into the great hole he had dug. The preelous stones were not In the ants' nest. They had vanished:ffom fit, and Fain stood faced, not only with his own ‘treachery, but with. the knowledge that it had utterly- failed. His sin w vain; the sting of the memory might la forever; but there was nothi him bear the bitterness of his wick tien with Indifference. Absolu stared him in the face, and’in that moment he cursed his existence ed that he was dead. The wages of s"x is death, indeed, oftentimes; and now it seemed that the traitor was to pe taken at his word. Dazed and stricken by his tefrible dis- appointment, shaitered before this crush- ing reverse, the man moved blindly awa and lifted his eyes to s ther and satisfy himself that in reality. there was no other white ants’ nest within the in- dicated space. What he saw, however, quickly dragged his mind back to reality. The Batoncas were upon him. Silen akes the: had crept in on every side, and now, find- ing themselves discovered, they raised a simultaneous cry and leaped forward. Seeing his deadly peril Fain dashed for his rifie, but he was too late to reach it and in a moment the yelling mob closed in. Now, face to face. with death and powerless to fend a single stroke of the spears poised round him or held at his throat, Fain dropped his hands and bent his head to the.blow he knew must fall; /but no merciful and decisive stroke at short range ended his lifs. His captors had other ideas and clearly destred no such speedy termination of their'amusement as the Instant death of their victim. Fain was bound hand and foot with the tough and trailing vine of the wild grape. Thep four men picked him up and bore him some hundred yards distant. A swift interchange of views followed; some of the savages were In favor of carrying the prisoner to Pomba, their King, while others of the younger 'bloods held that the monarch need know nothing of the matter. “He is ours by right of captura The day is yet young. We will pleasure with him and none shall know it,”” cried one. “So be it, 80 be it,” shouted another. “This grubber in ants’ nests—we will have our_ ck and the red ants tter than the white.” ro: with laughter and in ents started to put in force th us suggestion of their comrade. for Fain—a thou- ad the black flends, > now was, thrown him it had been s the lightning; but \. now strapped with tel captors designed an I and & moment bad realized no effort could and, that done, ears hacked and tore by, then jumped k and enraged savage as the awled forth to nake in their 4 soul upon the s of torment nd he stared iInto ants fell it them n and r his heart, swept In irre- gers and slew 500, es of their was a writh- mere brute s t on their devilish or seen the ap- ked in ma‘r ded and by Black- upon at the cost of a “‘errible bit! rg mself loosened the bounds and bid him rise. Fain for the time appeared insane. He screamed and laughed in a fit of frenzied Hysteria, and it was long befors his nerves gven approached tranquillity. His aw? eXperience made his cousin mad alse, but with anger, and three of the Batancas tell to his fury, while the Zansibaris an- swered for four more. Thus in the space of five minutes no less than fifteen of the savages were dead and the rest had vanished to carry the news of their defeat to their King. w ne's chief fear was for Tracy Fain's eyes, but, though his head was much swollen and his features almost un- recognizable from the action of the ant poison, he could They half led, half carried ver, and there stri mersed him fo the chin. T rved allay some of the ex- from which he suf- raved and babbled ! 1 it remained to be seen “r ther his would be spared or hether the terrific shock endured by his system was more than nature seald repair, Pr opene« to ntly they took him back to camp, a can of tinned milk and dressed the whole of his fevered body with the stuff. A little v weak stimulant was also given and every effort made by fanning and sp kling of water, to keep the air in the tent as cool as possible. Through the ght Dan Hook, Bessle and Roy took turn and turn about to watch the suff who now tossed and cried aloud In the delirlum of fever dreams; now sank . into silence; now spoke of strange matters’and bid the listeners for God’'s love keep his‘secyet: now moaned, In sheer physical agony 1 cried helpless tears or swore botter his enemies. ly, the watcher then. being himself, a thread of sense and to wind through the 14 utterances. “not there; and itor, & rogue for was ever a sinner upon his sin? Yet— e plain enough. And e rainbow fell upen the it a fairyland fit to har- ie the richest jewels ever But the white ants’ and I have the crime on the monds in my 11d they rescue me? One ould have been out of the pun'shment; oulder with the have robbed, to see him tolling and wasting his heart away. Now all Is vain, all labor useless. The white ! nest has been robbed, and heaven »ws where the "'N‘")us stones are. We coherence t." n rimbled on mdenly he turned Meldrum sat with wide, hor- fixed upon him. - A sort of the man's dragged Fain but now the de- to recognize his rifled eyes, unconscious mesmerism° on part- appeared to have round to look at him mentad “You, Bessle™" come to me then after all and thrown he said. “Have you Bana' Mkuba over? JF thought you'd find out you loved me best sooner or later; but it's too late now, sweetheart, too late, too late, toe late. Curse the words! They ring In my ears like a knelL. They are the full etops that block my road, tugn which way I w Too late. It's always too late with me. I was born too late; I have lived too late: I shall dle too late. You laugh, I see you laugh; but you should cry, for there’ll be no glimmering sky blue, sea green, blood red stones to deck your bosom now: there’ll be no dia- monds, ltke the white, eternal stars for brightness, no opals, as full of color and fire as the tears of the fallen angels. All gone—all _stolen “by some devil—may heaven send him his reward. Not there— vanished—hidden, deep, deep down by the earth spirits or the wood spirits. Too late again, though, by the throne of the high- est archangel, I swear you should have bad them all. Not one for Roy—all fox