THE KEEPERS OF THE KING'S PEACE

 BY EDGAR WALLACE

 WARD, LOCK & CO. , LIMITED LONDON AND MELBOURNE

 PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY THE WHITEFRIARS PRESS LTD. , LONDON AND TONBRIDGE

 CONTENTS

 CHAP. PAGE

 I BONES, SANDERS AND ANOTHER 5

 II BONES CHANGES HIS RELIGION 28

 III THE MAKER OF STORMS 53

 IV BONES AND THE WIRELESS 75

 V THE REMEDY 99

 VI THE MEDICINE MAN 117

 VII BONES, KING-MAKER 135

 VIII THE TAMER OF BEASTS 154

 IX THE MERCENARIES 169

 X THE WATERS OF MADNESS 191

 XI EYE TO EYE 215

 XII THE HOODED KING 233

 TO

 PAT

 (P. M. C. W. )

THE KEEPERS OF THE KING'S PEACE

CHAPTER I

BONES, SANDERS AND ANOTHER

To Isongo, which stands upon the tributary of that name, came a woman ofthe Isisi who had lost her husband through a providential tree fallingupon him. I say "providential, " for it was notorious that he was an evilman, a drinker of beer and a favourite of many bad persons. Also he mademagic in the forest, and was reputedly the familiar of Bashunbi thedevil brother of M'shimba-M'shamba. He beat his wives, and once had setfire to his house from sheer wickedness. So that when he was borne backto the village on a grass bier and the women of his house deckedthemselves with green leaves and arm in arm staggered and stampedthrough the village street in their death dance, there was a suspicionof hilarity in their song, and a more cheery step in their dance thanthe occasion called for. 

An old man named D'wiri, who knew every step of every dance, saw thisand said in his stern way that it was shameless. But he was old and was, moreover, in fear for the decorum of his own obsequies if theseoutrageous departures from custom were approved or allowed to passwithout reprimand. 

When M'lama, the wife of G'mami, had seen her lord depart in the canoefor burial in the middle island and had wailed her conventional grief, she washed the dust from her body at the river's edge and went back toher hut. And all that was grief for the dead man was washed away withthe dust of mourning. 

Many moons came out of the sky, were wasted and died before the womanM'lama showed signs of her gifts. It is said that they appeared onenight after a great storm wherein lightning played such strange tricksupon the river that even the old man D'wiri could not remember parallelinstances. 

In the night the wife of a hunter named E'sani-Osoni brought a dyingchild into the hut of the widow. He had been choked by a fish-bone andwas _in extremis_ when M'lama put her hand upon his head and straightwaythe bone flew from his mouth, "and there was a cry terrible tohear--such a cry as a leopard makes when he is pursued by ghosts. "

A week later a baby girl fell into a terrible fit and M'lama had laidher hand upon it and behold! it slept from that moment. 

Ahmet, chief of the Government spies, heard of these happenings and camea three days' journey by river to Isongo. 

"What are these stories of miracles?" he asked. 

"_Capita_, " said the chief, using the term of regard which is employedin the Belgian Congo, "this woman M'lama is a true witch and has greatgifts, for she raises the dead by the touch of her hand. This I haveseen. Also it is said that when U'gomi, the woodcutter, made a fault, cutting his foot in two, this woman healed him marvellously. "

"I will see this M'lama, " said Ahmet importantly. 

He found her in her hut tossing four bones idly. These were the shanksof goats, and each time they fell differently. 

"O Ahmet, " she said, when he entered, "you have a wife who is sick, alsoa first-born boy who does not speak though he is more than six seasonsold. "

Ahmet squatted down by her side. 

"Woman, " said he, "tell me something that is not the talk of river and Iwill believe your magic. "

"To-morrow your master, the lord Sandi, will send you a book which willgive you happiness, " she said. 

"Every day my lord sends me a book, " retorted the sceptical Ahmet, "andeach brings me happiness. Also it is common talk that at this timethere come messengers carrying bags of silver and salt to pay menaccording to their services. "

Undismayed she tried her last shot. 

"You have a crooked finger which none can straighten--behold!"

She took his hand in hers and pressed the injured phlange. A sharp painshot up his arm and he winced, pulling back his hand--but the year-olddislocation which had defied the effort of the coast doctor wasstraightened out, and though the movement was exquisitely painful hecould bend it. 

"I see you are a true witch, " he said, greatly impressed, for a nativehas a horror of deformity of any kind, and he sent back word of thephenomenon to Sanders. 

Sanders at the same time was in receipt of other news which alternatelypleased him and filled him with panic. The mail had come in by fastlaunch and had brought Captain Hamilton of the Houssas a very bulkyletter written in a feminine hand. He had broken the glad news toCommissioner Sanders, but that gentleman was not certain in his mindwhether the startling intelligence conveyed by the letter was good orbad. 

"I'm sure the country will suit her, " he said, "this part of the countryat any rate--but what will Bones say?"

"Bones!" repeated Captain Hamilton scornfully. "What the dickens doesit matter what Bones says?"

Nevertheless, he went to the sea-end of the verandah, and his roarrivalled the thunder of the surf. 

"Bones!"

There was no answer and for an excellent reason. 

Sanders came out of the bungalow, his helmet on the back of his head, acheroot tilted dizzily. 

"Where is he?" he asked. 

Hamilton turned. 

"I asked him to--at least I didn't ask him, he volunteered--to peg out atrench line. "

"Expect an invasion?" asked Sanders. 

Hamilton grinned. 

"Bones does, " he said. "He's full of the idea, and offered to give metips on the way a trench should be dug--he's feeling rotten about things... You know what I mean. His regiment was at Mons. "

Sanders nodded. 

"I understand, " he said quietly. "And you ... You're a jolly goodsoldier, Hamilton--how do you feel about it all?"

Hamilton shrugged his shoulders. 

"They would have taken me for the Cameroons, but somebody had to stay, "he said quietly. "After all, it is one's business to ... To do one's jobin the station of life to which it has pleased God to call him. This ismy work ... Here. "

Sanders laid his hand on the other's shoulder. 

"That's the game as it should be played, " he said, and his blue eyeswere as soft and as tender as a woman's. "There is no war here--we arethe keepers of the King's peace, Hamilton. "

"It's rotten.... "

"I know--I feel that way myself. We're out of it--the glory of it--thechance of it--the tragedy of it. And there are others. Think of the menin India eating their hearts out ... Praying for the order that willcarry them from the comfort of their lives to the misery and thedeath--and the splendour, I grant you--of war. "

He sighed and looked wistfully to the blue sea. 

Hamilton beckoned a Houssa corporal who was crossing the garden of theResidency. 

"Ho, Mustaf, " he said, in his queer coast Arabic, "where shall I lookfor my lord Tibbetti?"

The corporal turned and pointed to the woods which begin at the back ofthe Residency and carry without a break for three hundred miles. 

"Lord, he went there carrying many strange things--also there went withhim Ali Abid, his servant. "

Hamilton reached through an open window of the bungalow and fished outhis helmet with his walking-stick. 

"We'll find Bones, " he said grimly; "he's been gone three hours and he'shad time to re-plan Verdun. "

It took some time to discover the working party, but when it was foundthe trouble was well repaid. 

Bones was stretched on a canvas chair under the shade of a big Isisipalm. His helmet was tipped forward so that the brim rested on thebridge of his nose, his thin red arms were folded on his breast, andtheir gentle rise and fall testified to his shame. Two pegs had beendriven in, and between them a string sagged half-heartedly. 

Curled up under a near-by bush was, presumably, Ali Abid--presumably, because all that was visible was a very broad stretch of brown satinskin which showed between the waistline of a pair of white cottontrousers and a duck jacket. 

They looked down at the unconscious Bones for a long time in silence. 

"What will he say when I kick him?" asked Hamilton. "You can have thefirst guess. "

Sanders frowned thoughtfully. 

"He'll say that he was thinking out a new system of communicatingtrenches, " he said. "He's been boring me to tears over saps and things. "

Hamilton shook his head. 

"Wrong, sir, " he said; "that isn't the lie he'll tell. He will say thatI kept him up so late last night working at the men's pay-sheets that hecouldn't keep awake. "

Bones slept on. 

"He may say that it was coffee after tiffin, " suggested Sanders after awhile; "he said the other day that coffee always made him sleep. "

"'Swoon' was the word he used, sir, " corrected Hamilton. "I don't thinkhe'll offer that suggestion now--the only other excuse I can think of isthat he was repeating the Bomongo irregular verbs. Bones!"

He stooped and broke off a long grass and inserted it in the right earof Lieutenant Tibbetts, twiddling the end delicately. Bones made afeeble clutch at his ear, but did not open his eyes. 

"Bones!" said Hamilton, and kicked him less gently. "Get up, you lazydevil--there's an invasion. "

Bones leapt to his feet and staggered a little; blinked fiercely at hissuperior and saluted. 

"Enemy on the left flank, sir, " he reported stiffly. "Shall we havedinner or take a taxi?"

"Wake up, Napoleon, " begged Hamilton, "you're at Waterloo. "

Bones blinked more slowly. 

"I'm afraid I've been unconscious, dear old officer, " he confessed. "Thefact is----"

"Listen to this, everybody, " said Hamilton admiringly. 

"The fact is, sir, " said Bones, with dignity, "I fell asleep--thatbeastly coffee I had after lunch, added to the fatigue of sittin' uphalf the night with those jolly old accounts of yours, got the better ofme. I was sittin' down workin' out one of the dinkiest little ideas intrenches--a sort of communicatin' trench where you needn't get wet inthe rainiest weather--when I--well, I just swooned off. "

Hamilton looked disappointed. 

"Weren't you doing anything with the Bomongo verbs?" he demanded. 

A light came to Bones's eyes. 

"By Jove, sir!" he said heartily, "that was it, of course.... The lastthing I remember was.... "

"Kick that man of yours and come back to the bungalow, " Hamiltoninterrupted, "there's a job for you, my boy. "

He walked across and stirred the second sleeper with the toe of hisboot. 

Ali Abid wriggled round and sat up. 

He was square of face, with a large mouth and two very big brown eyes. He was enormously fat, but it was not fat of the flabby type. Though hecalled himself Ali, it was, as Bones admitted, "sheer swank" to do so, for this man had "coast" written all over him. 

He got up slowly and saluted first his master, then Sanders, and lastlyHamilton. 

Bones had found him at Cape Coast Castle on the occasion of a joy-ridewhich the young officer had taken on a British man-of-war. Ali Abid hadbeen the heaven-sent servant, and though Sanders had a horror of nativeswho spoke English, the English of Ali Abid was his very own. 

He had been for five years the servant of Professor Garrileigh, theeminent bacteriologist, the account of whose researches in the field oftropical medicines fill eight volumes of closely-printed matter, everypage of which contains words which are not to be found in most lexicons. 

They walked back to the Residency, Ali Abid in the rear. 

"I want you to go up to the Isongo, Bones, " said Sanders; "there may besome trouble there--a woman is working miracles. "

"He might get a new head, " murmured Hamilton, but Bones pretended not tohear. 

"Use your tact and get back before the 17th for the party. "

"The----?" asked Bones. 

He had an irritating trick of employing extravagant gestures of afairly commonplace kind. Thus, if he desired to hear a statementrepeated--though he had heard it well enough the first time--hewould bend his head with a puzzled wrinkle of forehead, put his handto his ear and wait anxiously, even painfully, for the repetition. 

"You heard what the Commissioner said, " growled Hamilton. "Party--P-A-R-T-Y. "

"My birthday is not until April, your Excellency, " said Bones. 

"I'd guess the date--but what's the use?" interposed Hamilton. 

"It isn't a birthday party, Bones, " said Sanders. "We are giving ahouse-warming for Miss Hamilton. "

Bones gasped, and turned an incredulous eye upon his chief. 

"You haven't a sister, surely, dear old officer?" he asked. 

"Why the dickens shouldn't I have a sister?" demanded his chief. 

Bones shrugged his shoulders. 

"A matter of deduction, sir, " he said quietly. "Absence of all evidenceof a soothin' and lovin' influence in your lonely an' unsympatheticupbringin'; hardness of heart an' a disposition to nag, combined with arough and unpromisin' exterior--a sister, good Lord!"

"Anyway, she's coming, Bones, " said Hamilton; "and she's looking forwardto seeing you--I've written an awful lot about you. "

Bones smirked. 

"Of course, " he said, "you've overdone it a bit--women hate to bedisillusioned. What you ought to have done, sir, is to describe me as asort of ass--genial and all that sort of thing, but a commonplace sortof ass. "

Hamilton nodded. 

"That's exactly what I've done, Bones, " he said. "I told her how Bosambodid you in the eye for twenty pounds, and how you fell into the waterlooking for buried treasure, and how the Isisi tried to sell you aflying crocodile and would have sold it too, if it hadn't been for mytimely arrival. I told her----"

"I think you've said enough, sir. "

Bones was very red and very haughty. 

"Far be it from me to resent your attitude or contradict your calumnies. Miss Hamilton will see very little of me. An inflexible sense of dutywill keep me away from the frivolous circle of society, sir. Alert an'sleepless----"

"Trenches, " said Hamilton brutally. 

Bones winced, regarded his superior for a moment with pain, saluted, andturning on his heel, stalked away, followed by Ali Abid no less pained. 

He left at dawn the next morning, and both Sanders and Hamilton camedown to the concrete quay to see the _Zaire_ start on her journey. Sanders gave his final instructions--

"If the woman is upsetting the people, arrest her; if she has too big ahold on them, arrest her; but if she is just amusing them, come back. "

"And don't forget the 17th, " said Hamilton. 

"I may arrive a little late for that, " said Bones gravely. "I don'twish to be a skeleton at your jolly old festive board, dear oldsportsman--you will excuse my absence to Miss Hamilton. I shallprobably have a headache and all that sort of thing. "

He waved a sad farewell as the _Zaire_ passed round the bend of theriver, and looked, as he desired to look, a melancholy figure with hishuge pipe in his mouth and his hands thrust dejectedly into his trouserspockets. 

Once out of sight he became his own jovial self. 

"Lieutenant Ali, " he said, "get out my log and put it in old Sanders'cabin, make me a cup of tea and keep her jolly old head east, east bynorth. "

"Ay, ay, sir, " said Ali in excellent English. 

The "log" which Bones kept was one of the secret documents which nevercome under the eye of the superior authorities. There were such entriesas--

 "Wind N. N. W. Sea calm. Hostile craft sighted on port bow, at 10. 31 a. M. General Quarters sounded 10. 32. Interrogated Captain of the hostile craft and warned him not to fish in fair-way. Sighted Cape M'Gooboori 12. 17, stopped for lunch and wood. "

What though Cape M'Gooboori was the village of that name and the "calmsea" was no more than the placid bosom of the Great River? What thoughBones's "hostile craft" was a dilapidated canoe, manned by one aged andbewildered man of the Isisi engaged in spearing fish? Bones saw allthings through the rosy spectacles of adventurous youth denied itsproper share of experience. 

At sunset the _Zaire_ came gingerly through the shoals that run out fromthe Isongo beach, and Bones went ashore to conduct his investigations. It chanced that the evening had been chosen by M'lama, the witch, forcertain wonderful manifestations, and the village was almost deserted. 

In a wood and in a place of green trees M'lama sat tossing her sheepshanks, and a dense throng of solemn men and women squatted or sat ortiptoed about her--leaving her a respectable space for her operations. Abright fire crackled and glowed at her side, and into this, from time totime, she thrust little sticks of plaited straw and drew them forthblazing and spluttering until with a quick breath she extinguished theflame and examined the grey ash. 

"Listen, all people, " she said, "and be silent, lest my great ju-justrike you dead. What man gave me this?"

"It was I, M'lama, " said an eager woman, her face wrinkled withapprehension as she held up her brown palm. 

The witch peered forward at the speaker. 

"O F'sela!" she chanted, "there is a man-child for thee who shall begreater than chiefs; also you will suffer from a sickness which shallmake you mad. "

"O ko!"

Half dismayed by the promise of her own fate; half exalted by the careerthe witch had sketched for her unborn son, the woman staredincredulously, fearfully at the swaying figure by the fire. 

Again a plaited stick went into the fire, was withdrawn and blown out, and the woman again prophesied. 

And sometimes it was of honours and riches she spoke, and sometimes--andmore often--of death and disaster. Into this shuddering group strodeBones, very finely clad in white raiment yet limp withal, for the nightwas close and the way had been long and rough. 

The sitters scrambled to their feet, their knuckles at their teeth, forthis was a moment of great embarrassment. 

"Oh, M'lama, " said Bones agreeably, and spoke in the soft dialect of theIsisi by-the-River, "prophesy for me!"

She looked up sullenly, divining trouble for herself. 

"Lord, " she said, with a certain smooth venom, "there is a greatsickness for you--and behold you will go far away and die, and noneshall miss you. "

Bones went very red, and shook an indignant forefinger at the offendingprophetess. 

"You're a wicked old storyteller!" he stammered. "You're depressin' thepeople--you naughty girl! I hate you--I simply loathe you!"

As he spoke in English she was not impressed. 

"Goin' about the country puttin' people off their grub, by Jove!" hestormed; "tellin' stories ... Oh, dash it, I shall have to be awfullysevere with you!"

Severe he was, for he arrested her, to the relief of her audience, whowaited long enough to discover whether or not her ju-ju would strike himdead, and being obviously disappointed by her failure to provide thisspectacle, melted away. 

Close to the gangway of the _Zaire_ she persuaded one of her Houssaguard to release his hold. She persuaded him by the simple expedient ofburying her sharp white teeth in the fleshy part of his arm--and bolted. They captured her half mad with panic and fear of her unknown fate, andbrought her to the boat. 

Bones, fussing about the struggling group, dancing with excitement, washonourably wounded by the chance contact of his nose with a wild andwhirling fist. 

"Put her in the store cabin!" he commanded breathlessly. "Oh, what awicked woman!"

In the morning as the boat got under way Ali came to him with adistressing story. 

"Your Excellency will be pained to hear, " he said, "that the femaleprisoner has eradicated her costume. "

"Eradicated... ?" repeated the puzzled Bones, gently touching the patchof sticking-plaster on his nose. 

"In the night, " explained this former slave of science, "the subject hasdeveloped symptoms of mania, and has entirely dispensed with herclothes--to wit, by destruction. "

"She's torn up her clothes?" gasped Bones, his hair rising and Alinodded. 

Now, the dress of a native woman varies according to the degree inwhich she falls under missionary influence. Isongo was well withinthe sphere of the River Mission, and so M'lama's costume consistedof a tight-fitting piece of print which wound round and round the bodyin the manner of a kilt, covering the figure from armpit to feet. 

Bones went to the open window of the prison cabin, and steadfastlyaverting his gaze, called--

"M'lama!"

No reply came, and he called again. 

"M'lama, " he said gently, in the river dialect, "what shall Sandi say tothis evil that you do?"

There was no reply, only a snuffling sound of woe. 

"Oh, ai!" sobbed the voice. 

"M'lama, presently we shall come to the Mission house where the God-menare, and I will bring you clothing--these you will put on you, " saidBones, still staring blankly over the side of the ship at the waterswhich foamed past her low hull; "for if my lord Sandi see you as I seeyou--I mean as I wouldn't for the world see you, you improper person, "he corrected himself hastily in English--"if my lord Sandi saw you, hewould feel great shame. Also, " he added, as a horrible thought made himgo cold all over, "also the lady who comes to my lord Militini--oh, lor!"

These last two words were in English. 

Fortunately there was a Jesuit settlement near by, and here Bonesstopped and interviewed the stout and genial priest in charge. 

"It's curious how they all do it, " reflected the priest, as he led theway to his storehouse. "I've known 'em to tear up their clothes in anEast End police cell--white folk, the same as you and I. "

He rummaged in a big box and produced certain garments. 

"My last consignment from a well-meaning London congregation, " hesmiled, and flung out a heap of dresses, hats, stockings and shoes. "Ifthey'd sent a roll or two of print I might have used them--but strongreligious convictions do not entirely harmonize with a last year's Parismodel. "

Bones, flushed and unhappy, grabbed an armful of clothing, and showeringthe chuckling priest with an incoherent medley of apology and thanks, hurried back to the _Zaire_. 

"Behold, M'lama, " he said, as he thrust his loot through the window ofthe little deck-house, "there are many grand things such as great ladieswear--now you shall appear before Sandi beautiful to see. "

He logged the happening in characteristic language, and was in the midstof this literary exercise when the tiny steamer charged a sandbank, andbefore her engines could slow or reverse she had slid to the top andrested in two feet of water. 

A rueful Bones surveyed the situation and returned to his cabin toconclude his diary with--

 "12. 19 struck a reef off B'lidi Bay. Fear vessel total wreck. Boats all ready for lowering. "

As a matter of fact there were neither boats to lower nor need to lowerthem, because the crew were already standing in the river (up to theirhips) and were endeavouring to push the _Zaire_ to deep water. 

In this they were unsuccessful, and it was not for thirty-six hoursuntil the river, swollen by heavy rains in the Ochori region, lifted the_Zaire_ clear of the obstruction, that Bones might record the story ofhis salvage. 

He had released a reformed M'lama to the greater freedom of the deck, and save for a shrill passage at arms between that lady and the corporalshe had bitten, there was no sign of a return to her evil ways. She worea white pique skirt and a white blouse, and on her head she balanceddeftly, without the aid of pins, a yellow straw hat with long trailingribbons of heliotrope. Alternately they trailed behind and before. 

"A horrible sight, " said Bones, shuddering at his first glimpse of her. 

The rest of the journey was uneventful until the _Zaire_ had reached thenorthernmost limits of the Residency reserve. Sanders had partlycleared and wholly drained four square miles of the little peninsula onwhich the Residency stood, and by barbed wire and deep cutting hadisolated the Government estate from the wild forest land to the north. 

Here, the river shoals in the centre, cutting a passage to the seathrough two almost unfathomable channels close to the eastern andwestern banks. Bones had locked away his journal and was standing on thebridge rehearsing the narrative which was to impress his superiors witha sense of his resourcefulness--and incidentally present himself in themost favourable light to the new factor which was coming into his dailylife. 

He had thought of Hamilton's sister at odd intervals and now.... 

The _Zaire_ was hugging the western bank so closely that a bold andagile person might have stepped ashore. 

M'lama, the witch, was both bold and agile. 

He turned with open mouth to see something white and feminine leap thespace between deck and shore, two heliotrope ribbons streaming wildly insuch breeze as there was. 

"Hi! Don't do that ... Naughty, naughty!" yelled the agonized Bones, butshe had disappeared into the undergrowth before the big paddle-wheel ofthe _Zaire_ began to thresh madly astern. 

Never was the resourcefulness of Bones more strikingly exemplified. Anordinary man would have leapt overboard in pursuit, but Bones was noordinary man. He remembered in that moment of crisis, the distressingpropensity of his prisoner to the "eradication of garments. " With onestride he was in his cabin and had snatched a counterpane from his bed, in two bounds he was over the rail on the bank and running swiftly inthe direction the fugitive had taken. 

For a little time he did not see her, then he glimpsed the white of apique dress, and with a yell of admonition started in pursuit. 

She stood hesitating a moment, then fled, but he was on her before shehad gone a dozen yards; the counterpane was flung over her head, andthough she kicked and struggled and indulged in muffled squeaks, helifted her up in his arms and staggered back to the boat. 

They ran out a gangway plank and across this he passed with his burden, declining all offers of assistance. 

"Close the window, " he gasped; "open the door--now, you naughty oldlady!"

He bundled her in, counterpane enmeshed and reduced to helpless silence, slammed the door and leant panting against the cabin, mopping his brow. 

"Phew!" said Bones, and repeated the inelegant remark many times. Allthis happened almost within sight of the quay on which Sanders andHamilton were waiting. It was a very important young man who salutedthem. 

"All correct, sir, " said Bones, stiff as a ramrod; "nocasualties--except as per my nose which will be noted in the margin ofmy report--one female prisoner secured after heroic chase, which, Itrust, sir, you will duly report to my jolly old superiors----"

"Don't gas so much, Bones, " said Hamilton. "Come along and meet mysister--hullo, what the devil's that?"

They turned with one accord to the forest path. 

Two native policemen were coming towards them, and between them abedraggled M'lama, her skirt all awry, her fine hat at a rakish angle, stepped defiantly. 

"Heavens!" said Bones, "she's got away again.... That's my prisoner, dear old officer!"

Hamilton frowned. 

"I hope she hasn't frightened Pat ... She was walking in thereservation. "

Bones did not faint, his knees went from under him, but he recovered byclutching the arm of his faithful Ali. 

"Dear old friend, " he murmured brokenly, "accidents ... Error ofjudgment ... The greatest tragedy of my life.... "

"What's the matter with you?" demanded Sanders in alarm, for the face ofBones was ghastly. 

Lieutenant Tibbetts made no reply, but walked with unsteady steps to thelock-up, fumbled with the key and opened the door. 

There stepped forth a dishevelled and wrathful girl (she was a littlescared, too, I suspect), the most radiant and lovely figure that hadever dawned upon the horizon of Bones. 

She looked from her staggered brother to Sanders, from Sanders to hermiserable custodian. 

"What on earth----" began Hamilton. 

Then her lips twitched and she fell into a fit of uncontrollablelaughter. 

"If, " said Bones huskily, "if in an excess of zeal I mistook... In thegloamin', madame ... White dress.... "

He spread out his arms in a gesture of extravagant despair. 

"I can do no more than a gentleman.... I have a loaded revolver in mycabin ... Farewell!"

He bowed deeply to the girl, saluted his dumbfounded chief, tripped upover a bucket and would have fallen but for Hamilton's hand. 

"You're an ass, " said Hamilton, struggling to preserve his sense ofannoyance. "Pat--this is Lieutenant Tibbetts, of whom I have oftenwritten. "

The girl looked at Bones, her eyes moist with laughter. 

"I guessed it from the first, " she said, and Bones writhed. 

CHAPTER II

BONES CHANGES HIS RELIGION

Captain Hamilton of the King's Houssas had two responsibilities in life, a sister and a subaltern. 

The sister's name was Patricia Agatha, the subaltern had been bornTibbetts, christened Augustus, and named by Hamilton in his arbitraryway, "Bones. "

Whilst sister and subaltern were separated from one another by somethree thousand miles of ocean--as far, in fact, as the Coast is fromBradlesham Thorpe in the County of Hampshire--Captain Hamilton bore hisresponsibilities without displaying a sense of the burden. 

When Patricia Hamilton decided on paying a visit to her brother she didso with his heartiest approval, for he did not realize that in bringinghis two responsibilities face to face he was not only laying thefoundation of serious trouble, but was actually engaged in erecting thefabric. 

Pat Hamilton had come and had been boisterously welcomed by her brotherone white-hot morning, Houssas in undress uniform lining the beach andgazing solemnly upon Militini's riotous joy. Mr. Commissioner Sanders, C. M. G. , had given her a more formal welcome, for he was a little scaredof women. Bones, as we know, had not been present--which was unfortunatein more ways than one. 

It made matters no easier for the wretched Bones that Miss Hamilton wasan exceedingly lovely lady. Men who live for a long time in native landsand see little save beautiful figures displayed without art and withvery little adornment, are apt to regard any white woman with regularfeatures as pretty, when the vision comes to them after a long intervalspent amidst native people. But it needed neither contrast norcomparison to induce an admiration for Captain Hamilton's sister. 

She was of a certain Celtic type, above the medium height, with thefreedom of carriage and gait which is the peculiar possession of hercountry-women. Her face was a true oval, and her complexion of that kindwhich tans readily but does not freckle. 

Eyes and mouth were firm and steadfast; she was made for ready laughter, yet she was deep enough, and in eyes and mouth alike you read atenderness beyond disguise. She had a trinity of admirers: her brother'sadmiration was natural and critical; Sanders admired and feared;Lieutenant Tibbetts admired and resented. 

From the moment when Bones strode off after the painful discovery, hadslammed the door of his hut and had steadfastly declined all manner offood and sustenance, he had voluntarily cut himself off from his kind. 

He met Hamilton on parade the following morning, hollow-eyed (as hehoped) after a sleepless night, and there was nothing in his attitudesuggestive of the deepest respect and the profoundest regard for thatparagraph of King's Regulations which imposes upon the junior officer abecoming attitude of humility in the presence of his superior officer. 

"How is your head, Bones?" asked Hamilton, after the parade had beendismissed. 

"Thank you, sir, " said Bones bitterly--though why he should be bitter atthe kindly inquiry only he knew--"thank you, sir, it is about the same. My temperature is--or was--up to one hundred and four, and I have beendelirious. I wouldn't like to say, dear old--sir, that I'm not nearlydelirious now. "

"Come up to tiffin, " invited Hamilton. 

Bones saluted--a sure preliminary to a dramatic oration. 

"Sir, " he said firmly, "you've always been a jolly old officer to mebefore this contretemps wrecked my young life--but I shall never bequite the same man again, sir. "

"Don't be an ass, " begged Hamilton. 

"Revile me, sir, " said Bones dismally; "give me a dangerous mission, oneof those jolly old adventures where a feller takes his life in onehand, his revolver in the other, but don't ask me----"

"My sister wants to see you, " said Hamilton, cutting short the flow ofeloquence. 

"Ha, ha!" laughed Bones hollowly, and strode into his hut. 

"And what I'm going to do with him, Heaven knows, " groaned Hamilton attiffin. "The fact is, Pat, your arrival on the scene has thoroughlydemoralized him. "

The girl folded her serviette and walked to the window, and stoodlooking out over the yellow stretch of the deserted parade-ground. 

"I'm going to call on Bones, " she said suddenly. 

"Poor Bones!" murmured Sanders. 

"That's very rude!" She took down her solar helmet from the peg behindthe door and adjusted it carefully. Then she stepped through the opendoor, whistling cheerfully. 

"I hope you don't mind, sir, " apologized Hamilton, "but we've neversucceeded in stopping her habit of whistling. "

Sanders laughed. 

"It would be strange if she didn't whistle, " he said cryptically. 

Bones was lying on his back, his hands behind his head. A half-emptiedtin of biscuits, no less than the remnants of a box of chocolates, indicated that anchorite as he was determined to be, his austerity didnot run in the direction of starvation. 

His mind was greatly occupied by a cinematograph procession ofmelancholy pictures. Perhaps he would go away, far, far, into theinterior. Even into the territory of the great king where a man's lifeis worth about five cents net. And as day by day passed and no news cameof him--as how could it when his habitation was marked by a cairn ofstones?--she would grow anxious and unhappy. And presently messengerswould come bringing her a few poor trinkets he had bequeathed to her--awrist-watch, a broken sword, a silver cigarette-case dented with thearrow that slew him--and she would weep silently in the loneliness ofher room. 

And perhaps he would find strength to send a few scrawled words askingfor her pardon, and the tears would well up in her beautiful greyeyes--as they were already welling in Bones's eyes at the picture hedrew--and she would know--all. 

"Phweet!"

Or else, maybe he would be stricken down with fever, and she would wantto come and nurse him, but he would refuse. 

"Tell her, " he would say weakly, but oh, so bravely, "tell her ... I askonly ... Her pardon. "

"Phweet!"

Bones heard the second whistle. It came from the open window immediatelyabove his head. A song bird was a rare visitor to these parts, but hewas too lazy and too absorbed to look up. 

Perhaps (he resumed) she would never see him again, never know the deepsense of injustice.... 

"Phwee--et!"

It was clearer and more emphatic, and he half turned his head tolook----

He was on his feet in a second, his hand raised to his damp forehead, for leaning on the window sill, her lips pursed for yet another whistle, was the lady of his thoughts. 

She met his eyes sternly. 

"Come outside--misery!" she said, and Bones gasped and obeyed. 

"What do you mean, " she demanded, "by sulking in your wretched littlehut when you ought to be crawling about on your hands and knees beggingmy pardon?"

Bones said nothing. 

"Bones, " said this outrageous girl, shaking her head reprovingly, "youwant a jolly good slapping!"

Bones extended his bony wrist. 

"Slap!" he said defiantly. 

He had hardly issued the challenge when a very firm young palm, drivenby an arm toughened by a long acquaintance with the royal and ancientgame, came "Smack!" and Bones winced. 

"Play the game, dear old Miss Hamilton, " he said, rubbing his wrist. 

"Play the game yourself, dear old Bones, " she mimicked him. "You oughtto be ashamed of yourself----"

"Let bygones be bygones, jolly old Miss Hamilton, " begged Bonesmagnanimously. "And now that I see you're a sport, put it there, if itweighs a ton. "

And he held out his nobbly hand and caught the girl's in a grip thatmade her grimace. 

Five minutes later he was walking her round the married quarters of hisHoussas, telling her the story of his earliest love affair. She was anexcellent listener, and seldom interrupted him save to ask if there wasany insanity in his family, or whether the girl was short-sighted; infact, as Bones afterwards said, it might have been Hamilton himself. 

"What on earth are they finding to talk about?" wondered Sanders, watching the confidences from the depths of a big cane chair on theverandah. 

"Bones, " replied Hamilton lazily, "is telling her the story of his lifeand how he saved the territories from rebellion. He's also begging hernot to breathe a word of this to me for fear of hurting my feelings. "

At that precise moment Bones was winding up a most immodest recital ofhis accomplishments with a less immodest footnote. 

"Of course, dear old Miss Hamilton, " he was saying, lowering his voice, "I shouldn't like a word of this to come to your jolly old brother'sears. He's an awfully good sort, but naturally in competition with anagile mind like mine, understanding the native as I do, he hasn't anearthly----"

"Why don't you write the story of your adventures?" she askedinnocently. "It would sell like hot cakes. "

Bones choked with gratification. 

"Precisely my idea--oh, what a mind you've got! What a pity it doesn'trun in the family! I'll tell you a precious secret--not a word toanybody--honest?"

"Honest, " she affirmed. 

Bones looked round. 

"It's practically ready for the publisher, " he whispered, and steppedback to observe the effect of his words. 

She shook her head in admiration, her eyes were dancing with delight, and Bones realized that here at last he had met a kindred soul. 

"It must be awfully interesting to write books, " she sighed. "I'vetried--but I can never invent anything. "

"Of course, in my case----" corrected Bones. 

"I suppose you just sit down with a pen in your hand and imagine allsorts of things, " she mused, directing her feet to the Residency. 

"This is the story of my life, " explained Bones earnestly. "Notfiction ... But all sorts of adventures that actually happened. "

"To whom?" she asked. 

"To me, " claimed Bones, louder than was necessary. 

"Oh!" she said. 

"Don't start 'Oh-ing, '" said Bones in a huff. "If you and I are going tobe good friends, dear old Miss Hamilton, don't say 'Oh!'"

"Don't be a bully, Bones. " She turned on him so fiercely that he shrankback. 

"Play the game, " he said feebly; "play the game, dear old sister!"

She led him captive to the stoep and deposited him in the easiest chairshe could find. 

From that day he ceased to be anything but a slave, except on one point. 

The question of missions came up at tiffin, and Miss Hamilton revealedthe fact that she favoured the High Church and held definite views onthe clergy. 

Bones confessed that he was a Wesleyan. 

"Do you mean to tell me that you're a Nonconformist?" she askedincredulously. 

"That's my dinky little religion, dear old Miss Hamilton, " said Bones. "I'd have gone into the Church only I hadn't enough--enough----"

"Brains?" suggested Hamilton. 

"Call is the word, " said Bones. "I wasn't called--or if I was I wasout--haw-haw! That's a rippin' little bit of persiflage, Miss Hamilton?"

"Be serious, Bones, " said the girl; "you mustn't joke about things. "

She put him through a cross-examination to discover the extent of hisconvictions. In self-defence Bones, with only the haziest idea of thedoctrine he defended, summarily dismissed certain of Miss Hamilton'smost precious beliefs. 

"But, Bones, " she persisted, "if I asked you to change----"

Bones shook his head. 

"Dear old friend, " he said solemnly, "there are two things I'll neverdo--alter the faith of my distant but happy youth, or listen to onedisparagin' word about the jolliest old sister that ever----"

"That will do, Bones, " she said, with dignity. "I can see that you don'tlike me as I thought you did--what do you think, Mr. Sanders?"

Sanders smiled. 

"I can hardly judge--you see, " he added apologetically, "I'm a Wesleyantoo. "

"Oh!" said Patricia, and fled in confusion. 

Bones rose in silence, crossed to his chief and held out his hand. 

"Brother, " he said brokenly. 

"What the devil are you doing?" snarled Sanders. 

"Spoken like a true Christian, dear old Excellency and sir, " murmuredBones. "We'll bring her back to the fold. "

He stepped nimbly to the door, and the serviette ring that Sanders threwwith unerring aim caught his angular shoulder as he vanished. 

That same night Sanders had joyful news to impart. He came into theResidency to find Bones engaged in mastering the art of embroidery underthe girl's tuition. 

Sanders interrupted what promised to be a most artistic execution. 

"Who says a joy-ride to the upper waters of the Isisi?"

Hamilton jumped up. 

"Joy-ride?" he said, puzzled. 

Sanders nodded. 

"We leave to-morrow for the Lesser Isisi to settle a religiouspalaver--Bucongo of the Lesser Isisi is getting a little tooenthusiastic a Christian, and Ahmet has been sending some queer reports. I've been putting off the palaver for weeks, but Administration says ithas no objection to my making a picnic of duty--so we'll all go. "

"Tri-umph!" said Hamilton. "Bones, leave your needlework and go overhaulthe stores. "

Bones, kneeling on a chair, his elbows on the table, looked up. 

"As jolly old Francis Drake said when the Spanish Armada----"

"To the stores, you insubordinate beggar!" commanded Hamilton, and Bonesmade a hurried exit. 

The accommodation of the _Zaire_ was limited, but there was the launch, a light-draught boat which was seldom used except for tributary work. 

"I could put Bones in charge of the _Wiggle_, " he said, "but he'd bepretty sure to smash her up. Miss Hamilton will have my cabin, and youand I could take the two smaller cabins. "

Bones, to whom it was put, leapt at the suggestion, brushing aside allobjections. They were answered before they were framed. 

As for the girl, she was beside herself with joy. 

"Will there be any fighting?" she asked breathlessly. "Shall we beattacked?"

Sanders shook his head smilingly. 

"All you have to do, " said Bones confidently, "is to stick to me. Putyour faith in old Bones. When you see the battle swayin' an' it isn'tcertain which way it's goin', look for my jolly old banner wavin' abovethe stricken field. "

"And be sure it _is_ his banner, " interrupted Hamilton, "and not hislarge feet. Now the last time we had a fight.... "

And he proceeded to publish and utter a scandalous libel, Bonesprotesting incoherently the while. 

The expedition was on the point of starting when Hamilton took hisjunior aside. 

"Bones, " he said, not unkindly, "I know you're a whale of a navigator, and all that sort of thing, and my sister, who has an awfully keen senseof humour, would dearly love to see you at the helm of the _Wiggle_, butas the Commissioner wants to make a holiday, I think it would be best ifyou left the steering to one of the boys. "

Bones drew himself up stiffly. 

"Dear old officer, " he said aggrieved, "I cannot think that you wish tospeak disparagingly of my intelligence----"

"Get that silly idea out of your head, " said Hamilton. "That is justwhat I'm trying to do. "

"I'm under your jolly old orders, sir, " Bones said with the air of anearly Christian martyr, "and according to Paragraph 156 of King'sRegulations----"

"Don't let us go into that, " said Hamilton. "I'm not giving you anycommands, I'm merely making a sensible suggestion. Of course, if youwant to make an ass of yourself----"

"I have never had the slightest inclination that way, cheery old sir, "said Bones, "and I'm not likely at my time of life to be influenced bymy surroundings. "

He saluted again and made his way to the barracks. Bones had adifficulty in packing his stores. In truth they had all been packedbefore he reached the _Wiggle_, and to an unprofessional eye they werepacked very well indeed, but Bones had them turned out and packed _his_way. When that was done, and it was obvious to the meanest intelligencethat the _Wiggle_ was in terrible danger of capsizing before shestarted, the stores were unshipped and rearranged under the directionsof the fuming Hamilton. 

When the third packing was completed, the general effect bore astriking resemblance to the position of the stores as Bones had foundthem when he came to the boat. When everybody was ready to start, Bonesremembered that he had forgotten his log-book, and there was anotherwait. 

"Have you got everything now?" asked Sanders wearily, leaning over therail. 

"Everything, sir, " said Bones, with a salute to his superior, and asmile to the girl. 

"Have you got your hot-water bottle and your hair-curlers?" demandedHamilton offensively. 

Bones favoured him with a dignified stare, made a signal to theengineer, and the _Wiggle_ started forward, as was her wont, with a jerkwhich put upon Bones the alternative of making a most undignified sprawlor clutching a very hot smoke-stack. He chose the latter, recovered hisbalance with an easy grace, punctiliously saluted the tiny flag of the_Zaire_ as he whizzed past her, and under the very eyes of Hamilton, with all the calmness in the world, took the wheel from the steersman'shand and ran the _Wiggle_ ashore. 

All this he did in the brief space of three minutes. 

"And, " said Hamilton, exasperated to a degree, "if you'd only brokenyour infernal head, the accident would have been worth it. "

It took half an hour for the _Wiggle_ to get afloat again. She had runup the beach, and it was necessary to unload the stores, carry them backto the quay and reload her again. 

"_Now_ are you ready?" said Sanders. 

"Ay, ay, sir, " said Bones, abased but nautical. 

 * * * * *

Bucongo, the chief of the Lesser Isisi folk, had a dispute with hisbrother-in-law touching a certain matter which affected his honour. Itaffected his life eventually, since his relative was found one morningdead of a spear-thrust. This Sanders discovered after the big trialwhich followed certain events described hereafter. 

The brother-in-law in his malice had sworn that Bucongo held communionwith devils. It is a fact that Bucongo had, at an early age, beencaptured by Catholic missionaries, and had spent an uncomfortable youthmastering certain mysterious rites and ceremonies. His brother-in-lawhad been in the blessed service of another missionary who taught thatGod lived in the river, and that to fully benefit by his ju-ju it wasnecessary to be immersed in the flowing stream. 

Between the water-God men and the cross-God men there was ever a feud, each speaking disparagingly of the other, though converts to each creedhad this in common, that neither understood completely the faith intowhich they were newly admitted. The advantage lay with the Catholicconverts because they were given a pewter medal with hearts and sunlikeradiations engraved thereon (this medal was admittedly a cure fortoothache and pains in the stomach), whilst the Protestants had littlebeyond a mysterious something that they referred to as A'lamo--whichmeans Grace. 

But when taunted by their medal-flaunting rivals and challenged toproduce this "Grace, " they were crestfallen and ashamed, being obligedto admit that A'lamo was an invisible magic which (they stoutlyaffirmed) was nevertheless an excellent magic, since it preserved onefrom drowning and cured warts and boils. 

Bucongo, the most vigorous partisan of the cross-God men, and aninnovator of ritual, found amusement in watching the Baptistmissionaries standing knee-deep in the river washing the souls of theconverts. 

He had even been insolent to young Ferguson, the earnest leader of theAmerican Baptist Mission, and to his intense amazement had been suddenlyfloored with a left-hander delivered by the sometime Harvard middleweight. 

He carried his grievance and a lump on his jaw to Mr. CommissionerSanders, who had arrived at the junction of the Isisi and the N'gomirivers and was holding his palaver, and Sanders had been unsympathetic. 

"Go worship your God in peace, " said Sanders, "and let all other menworship theirs; and say no evil word to white men for these are veryquick to anger. Also it is unbecoming that a black man should speakscornfully to his masters. "

"Lord, " said Bucongo, "in heaven all men are as one, black or white. "

"In heaven, " said Sanders, "we will settle that palaver, but here on theriver we hold our places by our merits. To-morrow I come to your villageto inquire into certain practices of which the God-men knownothing--this palaver is finished. "

Now Bucongo was something more than a convert. He was a man of singularintelligence and of surprising originality. He had been a lay missionerof the Church, and had made many converts to a curious religion, theritual of which was only half revealed to the good Jesuit fathers whenat a great palaver which Bucongo summoned to exhibit his converts, theChurch service was interspersed with the sacrifice of a goat and a weirdprocession and dance which left the representative of The Orderspeechless. Bucongo was called before a conference of the Mission andreprimanded. 

He offered excuses, but there was sufficient evidence to prove that thisenthusiastic Christian had gone systematically to work, to found whatamounted to a religion of his own. 

The position was a little delicate, and any other Order than the Jesuitsmight have hesitated to tackle a reform which meant losing a very largemembership. 

The fate of Bucongo's congregation had been decided when, in his anger, he took canoe, and travelling for half a day, came to the principalMission. 

Father Carpentier, full-bearded, red of face and brawny of arm, listenedin the shade of his hut, pulling thoughtfully at a long pipe. 

"And so, Pentini, " concluded Bucongo, "even Sandi puts shame upon mebecause I am a cross-God man, and he by all accounts is of the water-Godju-ju. "

The father eyed this perturbed sheep of his flock thoughtfully. 

"O Bucongo, " he said gently, "in the river lands are many beasts. Thosewhich fly and which swim; those that run swiftly and that hide in theearth. Now who of these is right?"

"Lord, they are all right but are of different ways, " said Bucongo. 

Father Carpentier nodded. 

"Also in the forest are two ants--one who lives in tree nests, and onewho has a home deep in the ground. They are of a kind, and have the samebusiness. Yet God put it into the little heads of one to climb trees, and of the other to burrow deeply. Both are right and neither are wrong, save when the tree ant meets the ground ant and fights him. Then bothare wrong. "

The squatting Bucongo rose sullenly. 

"Master, " he said, "these mysteries are too much for a poor man. I thinkI know a better ju-ju, and to him I go. "

"You have no long journey, Chief, " said the father sternly, "for theytell me stories of ghost dances in the forest and a certain Bucongo whois the leader of these--and of a human sacrifice. Also of converts whoare branded with a cross of hot iron. "

The chief looked at his sometime tutor with face twisted and puckeredwith rage, and turning without a word, walked back to his canoe. 

The next morning Father Carpentier sent a messenger to Sanders bearingan urgent letter, and Sanders read the closely written lines with atroubled frown. 

He put down the letter and came out on to the deck, to find Hamiltonfishing over the side of the steamer. Hamilton looked round. 

"Anything wrong?" he asked quickly. 

"Bucongo of the Lesser Isisi is wrong, " said Sanders. "I have heard ofhis religious meetings and have been a little worried--there will be abig ju-ju palaver or I'm very much mistaken. Where is Bones?"

"He has taken my sister up the creek--Bones says there are any number ofegrets' nests there, and I believe he is right. "

Sanders frowned again. 

"Send a canoe to fetch him back, " he said. "That is Bucongo's territory, and I don't trust the devil. "

"Which one--Bones or Bucongo?" asked Hamilton innocently. 

But Sanders was not feeling humorous. 

 * * * * *

At that precise moment Bones was sitting before the most fantasticreligious assembly that ecclesiastic or layman had ever attended. 

Fate and Bones had led the girl through a very pleasant forestglade--they left the light-draught _Wiggle_ half a mile down streamowing to the shoals which barred their progress, and had come uponBucongo in an exalted moment. 

With the assurance that he was doing no more than intrude upon one ofthose meetings which the missionizing Chief of the Lesser Isisi sofrequently held, Bones stood on the outer fringe of the circle which satin silence to watch an unwilling novitiate getting acquainted withBucongo's god. 

The novice was a girl, and she lay before an altar of stones surmountedby a misshapen _beti_ who glared with his one eye upon the devoutgathering. The novice lay rigid, for the excellent reason that she wasroped foot and hands to two pegs in the ground. 

Before the altar itself was a fire of wood in which two irons wereheating. 

Bones did not take this in for a moment, for he was gazing open-mouthedat Bucongo. On his head was an indubitable mitre, but around the mitrewas bound a strip of skin from which was suspended a circle of danglingmonkey tails. For cope he wore a leopard's robe. His face was streakedred with camwood, and around his eyes he had painted two white circles. 

He was in the midst of a frenzied address when the two white visitorscame upon the scene, and his hand was outstretched to take the redbranding-iron when the girl at Bones's side, with a little gasp ofhorror, broke into the circle, and wrenching the rough iron from theattendant's hand, flung it towards the circle of spectators, whichwidened in consequence. 

"How dare you--how dare you!" she demanded breathlessly, "youhorrible-looking man!"

Bucongo glared at her but said nothing; then he turned to meet Bones. 

In that second of time Bucongo had to make a great decision, and toovercome the habits of a lifetime. Training and education to thedominion of the white man half raised his hand to the salute; somethingthat boiled and bubbled madly and set his shallow brain afire, somethingthat was of his ancestry, wild, unreasoning, brutish, urged otheraction. Bones had his revolver half drawn when the knobbly end of thechief's killing-spear struck him between the eyes, and he went down onhis knees. 

Thus it came about, that he found himself sitting before Bucongo, hisfeet and hands tied with native grass, with the girl at his side in nobetter case. 

She was very frightened, but this she did not show. She had thedisadvantage of being unable to understand the light flow of offensivebadinage which passed between her captor and Bones. 

"O Tibbetti, " said Bucongo, "you see me as a god--I have finished withall white men. "

"Soon we shall finish with you, Bucongo, " said Bones. 

"I cannot die, Tibbetti, " said the other with easy confidence, "that isthe wonderful thing. "

"Other men have said that, " said Bones in the vernacular, "and theirwidows are wives again and have forgotten their widowhood. "

"This is a new ju-ju, Tibbetti, " said Bucongo, a strange light in hiseyes. "I am the greatest of all cross-God men, and it is revealed to methat many shall follow me. Now you and the woman shall be the first ofall white people to bear the mark of Bucongo the Blessed. And in thedays to be you shall bare your breasts and say, 'Bucongo the Wonderfuldid this with his beautiful hands. '"

Bones was in a cold sweat and his mouth was dry. He scarcely dare lookat the girl by his side. 

"What does he say?" she asked in a low voice. Bones hesitated, and thenhaltingly he stammered the translation of the threat. 

She nodded. 

"O Bucongo, " said Bones, with a sudden inspiration, "though you do evil, I will endure. But this you shall do and serve me. Brand me alone uponthe chest, and upon the back. For if we be branded separately we arebound to one another, and you see how ugly this woman is with her thinnose and her pale eyes; also she has long hair like the grass which theweaver birds use for their nests. "

He spoke loudly, eagerly, and it seemed convincingly, for Bucongo was indoubt. Truly the woman by all standards was very ugly. Her face waswhite and her lips thin. She was a narrow woman too, he thought, likeone underfed. 

"This you shall do for me, Bucongo, " urged Bones; "for gods do not doevil things, and it would be bad to marry me to this ugly woman who hasno hips and has an evil tongue. "

Bucongo was undecided. 

"A god may do no evil, " he said; "but I do not know the ways of whitemen. If it be true, then I will mark you twice, Tibbetti, and you shallbe my man for ever; and the woman I will not touch. "

"Cheer oh!" said Bones. 

"What are you saying--will he let us go?" asked the girl. 

"I was sayin' what a jolly row there'll be, " lied Bones; "and he wassayin' that he couldn't think of hurtin' a charmin' lady like you. Shutyour eyes, dear old Miss Hamilton. "

She shut them quickly, half fainting with terror, for Bucongo was comingtowards them, a blazing iron in his hand, a smile of simple benevolenceupon his not unintelligent face. 

"This shall come as a blessing to you, Tibbetti, " he said almostjovially. 

Bones shut his teeth and waited. 

The hot iron was scorching his silk shirt when a voice hailed thehigh-priest of the newest of cults. 

"O Bucongo, " it said. 

Bucongo turned with a grimace of fear and cringed backward before thelevelled Colt of Mr. Commissioner Sanders. 

"Tell me now, " said Sanders in his even tone, "can such a man as youdie? Think, Bucongo. "

"Lord, " said Bucongo huskily, "I think I can die. "

"We shall see, " said Sanders. 

 * * * * *

It was not until after dinner that night that the girl had recoveredsufficiently to discuss her exciting morning. 

"I think you were an awful brute, " she addressed her unabashed brother. "You were standing in the wood listening to and seeing everything, andnever came till the last minute. "

"It was my fault, " interrupted Sanders. "I wanted to see how far thegentle Bucongo would go. "

"Dooced thoughtless, " murmured Bones under his breath, but audible. 

She looked at him long and earnestly then turned again to her brother. 

"There is one thing I want to know, " she said. "What was Bones sayingwhen he talked to that horrible man? Do you know that Bones wasscowling at me as though I was ... I hardly know how to express it. Washe saying nice things?"

Hamilton looked up at the awning, and cleared his throat. 

"Play the game, dear old sir and brother-officer, " croaked Bones. 

"He said----" began Hamilton. 

"Live an' let live, " pleaded Bones, all of a twitter. "_Esprit de corps_an' discretion, jolly old captain. "

Hamilton looked at his subordinate steadily. 

"He asked to be branded twice in order that you might not be brandedonce, " he said quietly. 

The girl stared at Bones, and her eyes were full of tears. 

"Oh, Bones!" she said, with a little catch in her voice, "you ... Youare a sportsman. "

"Carry on, " said Bones incoherently, and wept a little at therealization of that magnificent moment. 

CHAPTER III

THE MAKER OF STORMS

Everybody knows that water drawn from rivers is very bad water, for therivers are the Roads of the Dead, and in the middle of those nights whenthe merest rind of a moon shows, and this slither of light and twowatchful stars form a triangle pointing to the earth, the spirits risefrom their graves and walk, "singing deadly songs, " towards the lowerstar which is the source of all rivers. If you should be--which Godforbid--on one of those lonely island graveyards on such nights you willsee strange sights. 

The broken cooking-pots which rest on the mounds and the rent linenwhich flutters from little sticks stuck about the graves, grow whole andnew again. The pots are red and hot as they come from the fire, and thepitiful cloths take on the sheen of youth and fold themselves aboutinvisible forms. None may see the dead, though it is said that you maysee the babies. 

These the wise men have watched playing at the water's edge, crowing andchuckling in the universal language of their kind, staggering groggilyalong the shelving beach with outspread arms balancing their uncertainsteps. On such nights when M'sa beckons the dead world to the source ofall rivers, the middle islands are crowded with babies--the dead babiesof a thousand years. Their spirits come up from the unfathomed deeps ofthe great river and call their mortality from graves. 

"How may the waters of the river be acceptable?" asks the shudderingN'gombi mother. 

Therefore the N'gombi gather their water from the skies in strangecisterns of wicker, lined with the leaf of a certain plant which isimpervious, and even carry their drinking supplies with them when theyvisit the river itself. 

There was a certain month in the year, which will be remembered by allwho attempted the crossing of the Kasai Forest to the south of theN'gombi country, when pools and rivulets suddenly dried--so suddenly, indeed, that even the crocodiles, who have an instinct for comingdrought, were left high and dry, in some cases miles from the nearestwater, and when the sun rose in a sky unflecked by cloud and gave placeat nights to a sky so brilliant and so menacing in their fierce andfiery nearness that men went mad. 

Toward the end of this month, when an exasperating full moon advertiseda continuance of the dry spell by its very whiteness, the ChiefKoosoogolaba-Muchini, or, as he was called, Muchini, summoned a councilof his elder men, and they came with parched throats and fear of death. 

"All men know, " said Muchini, "what sorrow has come to us, for there isa more powerful ju-ju in the land than I remember. He has made M'shimbaM'shamba afraid so that he has gone away and walks no more in the forestwith his terrible lightning. Also K'li, the father of pools, has goneinto the earth and all his little children, and I think we shall die, every one of us. "

There was a skinny old man, with a frame like a dried goatskin, who madea snuffling noise when he spoke. 

"O Muchini, " he said, "when I was a young man there was a way to bringM'shimba M'shamba which was most wonderful. In those days we took ayoung maiden and hung her upon a tree----"

"Those old ways were good, " interrupted Muchini; "but I tell you, M'bonia, that we can follow no more the old ways since Sandi came to theland, for he is a cruel man and hanged my own mother's brother for thatfine way of yours. Yet we cannot sit and die because of certain magicwhich the Stone Breaker is practising. "

Now Bula Matadi ("The Stone Breaker") was in those days the mortal enemyof the N'gombi people, who were wont to ascribe all their misfortunes tohis machinations. To Bula Matadi (which was the generic name by whichthe Government of the Congo Free State was known) was traceable themalign perversity of game, the blight of crops, the depredations ofweaver birds. Bula Matadi encouraged leopards to attack isolatedtravellers, and would on great occasions change the seasons of the yearthat the N'gombi's gardens might come to ruin. 

"It is known from one end of the earth to the other that I am a mostcunning man, " Muchini went on, stroking his muscular arm, a trick ofself-satisfied men in their moments of complacence; "and whilst even theold men slept, I, Koosoogolaba-Muchini, the son of the terrible andcrafty G'sombo, the brother of Eleni-N'gombi, I went abroad with my wisemen and my spies and sought out devils and ghosts in places where eventhe bravest have never been, " he lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper, "to the Ewa-Ewa Mongo, the Very Place of Death. "

The gasp of horror from his audience was very satisfying to this littlechief of the Inner N'gombi, and here was a moment suitable for hisclimax. 

"And behold!" he cried. 

By his side was something covered with a piece of native cloth. Thiscovering he removed with a flourish and revealed a small yellow box. 

It was most certainly no native manufacture, for its angles were clampedwith neat brass corner-pieces set flush in the polished wood. 

The squatting councillors watched their lord as with easy familiarity heopened the lid. 

There were twenty tiny compartments, and in each was a slender glasstube, corked and heavily sealed, whilst about the neck of each tube wasa small white label covered with certain devil marks. 

Muchini waited until the sensation he had prepared had had its fulleffect. 

"By the Great River which runs to the Allamdani, "[1] he said slowly andimpressively, "were white men who had been sent by Bula Matadi to catchghosts. For I saw them, I and my wise men, when the moon was calling allspirits. They were gathered by the river with little nets and littlegourds and they caught the waters. Also they caught little flies andother foolish things and took them to their tent. Then my young men andI waited, and when all were gone away we went to their tents and foundhis magic box--which is full of devils of great power--Ro!"

[Footnote 1: This was evidently the Sanga River. ]

He leapt to his feet, his eye gleaming. Across the starry dome of thesky there had flicked a quick flare of light. 

There came a sudden uneasy stirring of leaves, a hushed whisper ofthings as though the forest had been suddenly awakened from sleep. 

Then an icy cold breeze smote his cheek, and staring upward, he saw thewestern stars disappearing in swathes behind the tumbling clouds. 

"M'shimba M'shamba--he lives!" he roared, and the crash of thunder inthe forest answered him. 

Bosambo, Chief of the Ochori, was on the furthermost edge of the forest, for he was following the impulse of his simple nature and was hunting ina country where he had no right to be. The storm (which he cursed, having no scruples about river and water, and being wholly sceptical asto ghosts) broke with all its fury over his camp and passed. Two nightslater, he sat before the rough hut his men had built, discussing thestrange ways of the antelope, when he suddenly stopped and listened, lowering his head till it almost touched the ground. 

Clear to his keen ears came the rattle of the distant lokali--the drumthat sends messages from village to village and from nation to nation. 

"O Secundi, " said Bosambo, with a note of seriousness in his voice, "Ihave not heard that call for many moons--for it is the war call of theN'gombi. "

"Lord, it is no war call, " said the old man, shifting his feet forgreater comfort, "yet it is a call which may mean war, for it callsspears to a dance, and it is strange, for the N'gombi have no enemies. "

"All men are the enemies of the N'gombi, " Bosambo quoted a river sayingas old as the sun. 

He listened again, then rose. 

"You shall go back and gather me a village of spears, and bring them tothe borderland near the road that crosses the river, " he said. 

"On my life, " said the other. 

Muchini, Chief of the Inner N'gombi, a most inflated man and a familiarof magical spirits, gathered his spears to some purpose, for two dayslater Bosambo met him by his border and the chiefs greeted one anotherbetween two small armies. 

"Which way do you go, Muchini?" asked Bosambo. 

Now, between Muchini and the Chief of the Ochori was a grievance datingback to the big war, when Bosambo had slain the N'gombi chief of thetime with his own hands. 

"I go to the river to call a palaver of all free men, " said Muchini;"for I tell you this, Bosambo, that I have found a great magic whichwill make us greater than Sandi, and it has been prophesied that I shallbe a king over a thousand times a thousand spears. For I have a smallbox which brings even M'shimba to my call. "

Bosambo, a head and shoulders taller than the other, waved his handtowards the forest path which leads eventually to the Ochori city. 

"Here is a fine moment for you, Muchini, " he said, "and you shall tryyour great magic on me and upon my young men. For I say that you do notgo by this way, neither you nor your warriors, since I am the servant ofSandi and of his King, and he has sent me here to keep his peace; goback to your village, for this is the way to Death. "

Muchini glared at his enemy. 

"Yet this way I go, Bosambo, " he said huskily, and looked over hisshoulder towards his followers. 

Bosambo swung round on one heel, an arm and a leg outstretched in theattitude of an athlete who is putting the shot. Muchini threw up hiswicker shield and pulled back his stabbing-spear, but he was a dead manbefore the weapon was poised. 

Thus ended the war, and the N'gombi folk went home, never so much asstriking a blow for the yellow box which Bosambo claimed for himself ashis own personal loot. 

At the time, Mr. Commissioner Sanders, C. M. G. , was blissfully ignorantof the miraculous happenings which have been recorded. He was whollypreoccupied by the novelty which the presence of Patricia Hamiltonoffered. Never before had a white woman made her home at the Residency, and it changed things a little. 

She was at times an embarrassment. 

When Fubini, the witch-doctor of the Akasava, despatched five maidens tochange Sandi's wicked heart--Sanders had sent Fubini to the Village ofIrons for six months for preaching unauthorized magic--they came, in thelanguage of Bones, "doocedly undressed, " and Patricia had beaten ahurried retreat. 

She was sometimes an anxiety, as I have already shown, but was never anuisance. She brought to headquarters an aroma of English spring, aclean fragrance that refreshed the heat-jaded Commissioner and herbrother, but which had no perceptible influence upon Bones. 

That young officer called for her one hot morning, and Hamilton, sprawling on a big cane chair drawn to the shadiest and breeziest end ofthe verandah, observed that Bones carried a wooden box, a drawing-board, a pad of paper, two pencils imperfectly concealed behind his large ear, and a water-bottle. 

"Shop!" said Hamilton lazily. "Forward, Mr. Bones--what can we do foryou this morning?"

Bones shaded his eyes and peered into the cool corner. 

"Talkin' in your sleep, dear old Commander, " he said pleasantly, "dreamin' of the dear old days beyond recall. "

He struck an attitude and lifted his unmusical voice--

 "When life was gay, heigho! Tum tum te tay, heigho! Oh, tiddly umpty humpty umty do, When life was gay--dear old officer--heigho!"

Patricia Hamilton stepped out to the verandah in alarm. 

"Oh, please, don't make that hooting noise, " she appealed to herbrother. "I'm writing----"

"Don't be afraid, " said Hamilton, "it was only Bones singing. Do itagain, Bones, Pat didn't hear you. "

Bones stood erect, his hand to his white helmet. 

"Come aboard, my lady, " he said. 

"I won't keep you a minute, Bones, " said the girl, and disappeared intothe house. 

"What are you doing this morning?" asked Hamilton, gazing withpardonable curiosity at the box and drawing-board. 

"Polishin' up my military studies with Miss Hamilton's kindassistance--botany and applied science, sir, " said Bones briskly. "Fieldfortifications, judgin' distance, strategy, Bomongo grammar, fieldcookery an' tropical medicines. "

"What has poor little making-up-company-accounts done?" asked Hamilton, and Bones blushed. 

"Dear old officer, " he begged, "I'll tackle that little job as soon as Iget back. I tried to do 'em this mornin' an was four dollars out--it'sthe regimental cash account that's wrong. People come in and out helpin'themselves, and I positively can't keep track of the money. "

"As I'm the only person with the key of the regimental cash-box, Isuppose you mean----?"

Bones raised his hand. 

"I make no accusations, dear old feller--it's a painful subject. We allhave those jolly old moments of temptation. I tackle the accountsto-night, sir. You mustn't forget that I've a temperament. I'm not likeyou dear old wooden-heads----"

"Oh, shut up, " said the weary Hamilton. "So long as you're going to do abit of study, it's all right. "

"Now, Bones, " said Patricia, appearing on the scene, "have you got thesandwiches?"

Bones made terrifying and warning grimaces. 

"Have you got the board to lay the cloth and the paper to cover it, andthe chocolates and the cold tea?"

Bones frowned, and jerked his head in an agony of warning. 

"Come on, then, " said the unconscious betrayer of Lieutenant Tibbetts. "Good-bye, dear. "

"Why 'good-bye, ' dear old Hamilton's sister?" asked Bones. 

She looked at him scornfully and led the way. 

"Don't forget the field fortifications, " called Hamilton after them;"they eat nicely between slices of strategy. "

The sun was casting long shadows eastward when they returned. Theyhad not far to come, for the place they had chosen for their picnicwas well within the Residency reservation, but Bones had been describingon his way back one of the remarkable powers he possessed, namely, hisability to drag the truth from reluctant and culpable natives. And everytime he desired to emphasize the point he would stop, lower all hisimpedimenta to the ground, cluttering up the landscape with picnic-box, drawing-board, sketching-blocks and the numerous bunches of wildflowers he had culled at her request, and press his argument withmuch palm-punching. 

He stopped for the last time on the very edge of the barrack square, putdown his cargo and proceeded to demolish the doubt she had unwarilyexpressed. 

"That's where you've got an altogether erroneous view of me, dear oldsister, " he said triumphantly. "I'm known up an' down the river as theone man that you can't deceive. Go up and ask the Bomongo, drop in onthe Isisi, speak to the Akasava, an' what will they say? They'll say, 'No, ma'am, there's no flies on jolly old Bones--not on your life, Harriet!'"

"Then they would be very impertinent, " smiled Pat. 

"Ask Sanders (God bless him!). Ask Ham. Ask----" he was going onenthusiastically. 

"Are you going to camp here, or are you coming in?" she challenged. 

Bones gathered up his belongings, never ceasing to talk. 

"Fellers like me, dear young friend, make the Empire--paint the wholebally thing red, white an' blue--'unhonoured an' unsung, until thecurtain's rung, the boys that made the Empire and the Navy. '"

"Bones, you promised you wouldn't sing, " she said reproachfully; "and, besides, you're not in the navy. "

"That doesn't affect the argument, " protested Bones, and was rapidlyshedding his equipment in preparation for another discourse, when shewalked on towards Sanders who had come across the square to meet them. 

Bones made a dive at the articles he had dropped, and came prancing (noother word describes his erratic run) up to Sanders. 

"I've just been telling Miss Hamilton, sir and Excellency, that nobodycan find things that old Bones--you'll remember, sir, the episode ofyour lost pyjama legs. Who found 'em?"

"You did, " said Sanders; "they were sent home in your washing. Talkingabout finding things, read this. "

He handed a telegraph form to the young man, and Bones, peering into themessage until his nose almost touched the paper, read--

 "Very urgent. Clear the line. Administration. 

 "To Sanders, Commission River Territories. Message begins. Belgian Congo Government reports from Leopoldville, Bacteriological Expedition carriers raided on edge of your territory by Inner N'gombi people, all stores looted including case of 20 culture tubes. Stop. As all these cultures are of virulent diseases, inoculate Inner N'gombi until intact tubes recovered. Message ends. "

Bones read it twice, and his face took on an appearance which indicatedsomething between great pain and intense vacancy. It was intended toconvey to the observer the fact that Bones was thinking deeply andrapidly, and that he had banished from his mind all the frivolities oflife. 

"I understand, sir--you wish me to go to the dear old Congo Governmentand apologize--I shall be ready in ten minutes. "

"What I really want you to do, " said Sanders patiently, "is to take the_Wiggle_ up stream and get that box. "

"I quite understand, sir, " said Bones, nodding his head. "To-day is the8th, to-morrow is the 9th--the box shall be in your hands on the 15th byhalf-past seven in the evening, dear old sir. "

He saluted and turned a baleful glare upon the girl, the import of whichshe was to learn at first hand. 

"Duty, Miss Patricia Hamilton! Forgive poor old Bones if he suddenlydrops the mask of _dolce far niente_--I go!"

He saluted again and went marching stiffly to his quarters, with all thedignity which an empty lunch-box and a dangling water-bottle would allowhim. 

The next morning Bones went forth importantly for the Ochori city, beingentrusted with the task of holding, so to speak, the right flank of theN'gombi country. 

"You will use your discretion, " Sanders said at parting, "and, ofcourse, you must keep your eyes open; if you hear the merest hint thatthe box is in your neighbourhood, get it. "

"I think, your Excellency, " said Bones, with heavy carelessness, "thatI have fulfilled missions quite as delicate as this, and as forobservation, why, the gift runs in my family. "

"And runs so fast that you've never caught up with it, " growledHamilton. 

Bones turned haughtily and saluted. It was a salute full of subduedoffence. 

He went joyously to the northward, evolving cunning plans. He stoppedat every village to make inquiries and to put the unoffending villagersto considerable trouble--for he insisted upon a house-to-housesearch--before, somewhat wearied by his own zeal, he came to the Ochori. 

Chief Bosambo heard of his coming and summoned his councillors. 

"Truly has Sandi a hundred ears, " he said in dismay, "for it seems thathe has heard of the slaying of Muchini. Now, all men who are true to mewill swear to the lord Tibbetti that we know nothing of a killingpalaver, and that we have not been beyond the trees to the land side ofthe city. This you will all say because you love me; and if any man saysanother thing I will beat him until he is sick. "

Bones came and was greeted by the chief--and Bosambo was carried to thebeach on a litter. 

"Lord, " said Bosambo weakly, "now the sight of your simple face willmake me a well man again. For, lord, I have not left my bed since thecoming of the rains, and there is strength neither in my hands andfeet. "

"Poor old bird, " said Bones sympathetically, "you've been sittin' in adraught. "

"This I tell you, Tibbetti, " Bosambo went on, as yet uncertain of hisruler's attitude, since Bones must need, at this critical moment, employEnglish and idiomatic English, "that since the last moon was young Ihave lain in my hut never moving, seeing nothing and hearing nothing, being like a dead man--all this my headman will testify. "

Bones's face dropped, for he had hoped to secure information here. Bosambo, watching his face through half-closed lids, saw the dismaldroop of the other's mouth, and came to the conclusion that whatevermight be the cause of the visit, it was not to hold the Ochori or theirchief to account for known misdeeds. 

"O Bosambo, " said Bones, in the river dialect, "this is sad news, for Idesire that you shall tell me certain things for which Sandi would havegiven you salt and rods. "

The Chief of the Ochori sat up in his litter and went so far as to putone foot to the ground. 

"Lord, " said he heartily, "the sound of your lovely voice brings me fromthe grave and gives me strength. Ask, O Bonesi, for you are my fatherand my mother; and though I saw and heard nothing, yet in my sickness Ihad wonderful visions and all things were made visible--that I declareto you, Bonesi, before all men. "

"Don't call me 'Bonesi, '" said Bones fiercely. "You're a jolly cheekyfeller, Bosambo--you're very, very naughty, indeed!"

"Master, " said Bosambo humbly, "though I rule these Ochori I am aforeigner in this land; in the tongue of my own people, Bonesi means'he-who-is-noble-in-face-and-a-giver-of-justice. '"

"That's better, " nodded the gratified Bones, and went on speaking in thedialect. "You shall help me in this--it touches the people of the InnerN'gombi----"

Bosambo fell back wearily on to the litter, and rolled his eyes as onein pain. 

"This is a sorrow for me, Bo--Tibbetti, " he said faintly, "but I am asick man. "

"Also, " continued Bones, "of a certain box of wood, full of poisons----"

As well as he could Bones explained the peculiar properties of germculture. 

"Oh, ko!" said Bosambo, closing his eyes, and was to all appearancesbeyond human aid. 

 * * * * *

"Lord, " said Bosambo, at parting, "you have brought me to life, andevery man of every tribe shall know that you are a great healer. To allthe far and quiet places of the forest I will send my young men who willcry you aloud as a most wonderful doctor. "

"Not at all, " murmured Bones modestly, "not at all. "

"Master, " said Bosambo, this time in English, for he was not to beoutdone in the matter of languages, for had he not attended a greatmission school in Monrovia? "Master, you dam' fine feller, you look 'umbetter feller, you no find um. You be same like Moses and Judi Escariot, big fine feller, by golly--yas. "

All night long, between the visits which Bones had been making from themoored _Wiggle_ to the village (feeling the patient's pulse with aprofound and professional air and prescribing brandy and milk), Bosambohad been busy. 

"Stand you at the door, Secundi, " he said to his headman, "and let oneof your men go to the shore to warn me of my lord Tibbetti's coming, forI have work to do. It seems this Maker of Storms were better with Sandithan with me. "

"Tibbetti is a fool, I think, " suggested Secundi. 

Bosambo, kneeling on a rush mat, busy with a native chisel and a pot ofclay paint, looked up. 

"I have beaten older men than you with a stick until they have wept, " hesaid, "and all for less than you say. For this is the truth, Secundi, that a child cannot be a fool, though an old man may be a shame. This isthe word of the blessed prophet. As for Tibbetti, he has a clean andloving heart. "

There was a rustle at the door and a whispered voice. 

The box and the tools were thrust under a skin rug and Bosambo againbecame the interesting invalid. 

In the morning Bosambo had said farewell, and a blushing Bones listenedwith unconcealed pleasure to the extravagant praise of his patient. 

"And this I tell you, Tibbetti, " said Bosambo, standing thigh-deep inthe river by the launch's side, "that knowing you are wise man whogathers wisdom, I have sent to the end of my country for some rare andbeautiful thing that you may carry it with you. "

He signalled to a man on the bank, and his servant brought him a curiousobject. 

It was, Bones noted, a square box apparently of native make, for it wasfantastically carved and painted. There were crude heads and hideousforms which never were on land or sea. The paint was brilliant; red, yellow and green indiscriminately splashed. 

"This is very ancient and was brought to my country by certain forestpeople. It is a Maker of Storms, and is a powerful ju-ju for good andevil. "

Bones, already a collector of native work, was delighted. His delightsoothed him for his failure in other respects. 

He returned to headquarters empty-handed and sat the centre of achilling group--if we except Patricia Hamilton--and endeavoured, as somany successful advocates have done, to hide his short-comings behind ascreen of rhetoric. 

He came to the part of his narrative where Bosambo was taken ill withoutcreating any notable sensation, save that Sanders's grey eyes narroweda little and he paid greater heed to the rest of the story. 

"There was poor old Bosambo knocked out, sir--ab-so-lutely donefor--fortunately I did not lose my nerve. You know what I am, dear oldofficer, in moments of crisis?"

"I know, " said Hamilton grimly, "something between a Welsh revivalistand a dancing dervish. "

"Please go on, Bones, " begged the girl, not the least interested of theaudience. 

"I dashed straight back to the _Wiggle_, " said Bones breathlessly, "searched for my medicine chest--it wasn't there! Not so much as amustard plaster--what was I to do, dear old Miss Hamilton?" he appealeddramatically. 

"Don't tell him, Pat, " begged Hamilton, "he's sure to guess it. "

"What was I to do? I seized a bottle of brandy, " said Bones with relish, "I dashed back to where Bosambo was lyin'. I dashed into the village, into his hut and got a glass----"

"Well, well!" said Sanders impatiently, "what happened after all thisdashing?"

Bones spread out his hands. 

"Bosambo is alive to-day, " he said simply, "praisin'--if I may beallowed to boast--the name of Bones the Medicine Man. Look here, sir. "

He dragged towards him along the floor of the hut a package covered witha piece of native sacking. This he whisked away and revealed thehideous handiwork of an artist who had carved and painted as true tonature as a man may who is not quite certain whether the human eye ishalf-way down the nose or merely an appendage to his ear. 

"That, sir, " said Bones impressively, "is one of the most interestin'specimens of native work I have ever seen: a gift! From Bosambo to thejolly old doctor man who dragged him, if I might so express it, from thevery maws of death. "

He made his dramatic pause. 

Sanders bent down, took a penknife from his pocket and scraped the paintfrom a flat oblong space on the top. 

There for all men to see--save Bones who was now engaged in a relationof his further adventure to his one sympathizer--was a brass plate, andwhen the paint had been scraped away, an inscription--

 Department du Médicins, Etat CONGO BELGE. 

Sanders and Hamilton gazed, fascinated and paralysed to silence. 

"I've always had a feelin' I'd like to be a medicine man. " Bonesprattled on. "You see----"

"One moment, Bones, " interrupted Sanders quietly. "Did you open this boxby any chance?"

"No, sir, " said Bones. 

"And did you see any of its contents?"

"No, sir, " said Bones confidentially, "that's the most interestin' thingabout the box. It contains magic--which, of course, honoured sir andExcellency, is all rubbish. "

Sanders took a bunch of keys from his pocket, and after a few trialsopened the case and scrutinized the contents, noting the comforting factthat all the tubes were sealed. He heaved a deep sigh of thankfulness. 

"You didn't by chance discover anything about the missing cultures, Bones?" he asked mildly. 

Bones shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and looked disconsolatelyat his chief. 

"You think I've been feeble, but I haven't lost hope, sir, " he said, with fine resolution. "I've got a feelin' that if I were allowed to gointo the forest, disguised, sir, as a sort of half-witted native chap, sir----"

"Disguised!" said Hamilton. "Good Lord, what do you want a disguisefor?"

CHAPTER IV

BONES AND THE WIRELESS

Ko-boru, the headman of Bingini, called his relations together for asolemn family conference. 

The lower river folk play an inconsiderable rôle in the politics of theTerritories, partly because they are so near to headquarters that thereis no opportunity for any of those secret preparations which precede allnative intrigues, great or small, and partly because the lower riverpeople are so far removed from the turbulent elements of the upper riverthat they are not swayed by the cyclonic emotions of the Isisi, the coldand deliberate desire for slaughter which is characteristicallyAkasavian, or the electrical decisions of the Outer N'gombi. 

But they had their crises. 

To Bingini came all the notables of the district who claimed kinshipwith Ko-boru, and they sat in a great circle about the headman's hut, alternately eyeing the old headman and their stout relative, hisdaughter. 

"All my relations shall know this, " began Ko-boru, after Okmimi, thewitch-doctor, had formally burnt away the devils and ghosts that fringeall large assemblies, "that a great shame has come to us, every one, because of Yoka-m'furi. For this Yoka is to Sandi as a brother, andguides his little ship up and down the river, and because of thissplendid position I gave him my own daughter by the first of my wives. "

"S'm-m!" murmured the council in agreement. 

"Also I built him a hut and gave him a garden, where his wife mightwork, and he has sat at family palavers. Now, I tell you thatYoka-m'furi is an evil man, for he has left my daughter, and has foundanother wife in the upper river, and he comes no more to this village, and my daughter weeps all day. 

"For three seasons he has not been to this village; when the moon comesagain, it will be four. " He said this with proper significance, and theflat face of the melancholy girl by his side puckered and creasedmiserably before she opened her large mouth to wail her woe. 

For the man who deliberately separates himself from his wife forfour seasons and does not spend twenty-four hours--"from sunrise tomoonset" in her village is automatically divorced and freed from allresponsibility. This is the custom of all people from the lands ofthe Great King to the sea. 

"Now, I have had a dream, " Ko-boru went on, "and in this dream it wastold me that I should call you all together, and that I and the chief ofmy councillors and friends should go to Sandi and tell him what istrue. "

"Brother and uncle, " said Bechimi of G'lara, "I will go with you, foronce I spoke to Sandi and he spoke to me, and because of his cunningmemory he will recall Bechimi, who picked up his little black stick, when it fell, and gave it to him. "

Five were chosen to accompany Ko-boru, and they took canoe and travelledfor less than five miles to the Residency. 

Sanders was entertaining Patricia Hamilton with stories of native feuds, when the unexpected deputation squatted in the sun before the verandah. 

"O Ko-boru, " hailed Sanders, "why do you come?"

Ko-boru was all for a long and impressive palaver, but recognized acertain absence of encouragement in the Commissioner's tone. Thereforehe came straight to the point. 

"Now, you are our father and our mother, Sandi, " he said, in conclusion, "and when you speak, all wonders happen. Also you have very beautifulfriends, Militini, who speak a word and set his terrible soldiers movinglike leopards towards a kill, and Tibbetti, the young one who isinnocent and simple. So I say to you, Sandi, that if you speak one wordto Yoka, he will come back to my daughter, his wife. "

Sanders stood by the rail of the stoep and looked down upon thespokesman. 

"I hear strange things, Ko-boru, " he said quietly. "They tell me storiesof a woman with many lovers and an evil tongue; and once there came tome Yoka with a wounded head, for this daughter of yours is very quick inher anger. "

"Lord, " said the flustered Ko-boru, "such things happen even in love. "

"All things happen in love, " said Sanders, with a little smile, "and, ifit is to be, Yoka will return. Also, if it is to be, he will not go backto the woman, and she will be free. This palaver is finished. "

"Lord, " pleaded Ko-boru, "the woman will do no more angry things. Lethim come back from sunrise to moonset----"

"This palaver is finished, " repeated Sanders. 

On their way back to Bingini the relatives of Ko-boru made a plot. Itwas the first plot that had been hatched in the shadow of headquartersfor twenty years. 

"Would it be indiscreet to ask what your visitors wanted?" asked thegirl, as the crestfallen deputation was crossing the square to theircanoe. 

"It was a marriage palaver, " replied Sanders, with a little grimace, "and I was being requested to restore a husband to a temperamental ladywho has a passion for shying cook-pots at her husband when she isannoyed. "

The girl's laughing eyes were fixed upon his. 

"Poor Mr. Sanders!" she said, with mock seriousness. 

"Don't be sorry for me, " smiled Sanders. "I'm rather domestic, really, and I'm interested in this case because the man concerned is mysteersman--the best on the river, and a capital all-round man. Besidesthat, " he went on seriously, "I regard them all as children of mine. Itis right that a man who shirks his individual responsibilities to therace should find a family to 'father. '"

"Why do you?" she asked, after a little pause. 

"Why do I what?"

"Shirk your responsibilities, " she said. "This is a healthy and adelightful spot: a woman might be very happy here. "

There was an awkward silence. 

"I'm afraid I've been awfully impertinent, " said Patricia, hurriedlyrising, "but to a woman there is a note of interrogation behind everybachelor--especially nice bachelors--and the more 'confirmed' he is, thebigger the question mark. "

Sanders rose to her. 

"One of these days I shall do something rash, " he threatened, with thatshy laugh of his. "Here is your little family coming. "

Bones and Hamilton were discussing something heatedly, and justice wason the side of Lieutenant Tibbetts, if one could judge by the frequencywith which he stopped and gesticulated. 

"It really is too bad, " said the annoyed Hamilton, as he mounted thesteps to the stoep, followed by Bones, who, to do him justice, did notadopt the attitude of a delinquent, but was, on the contrary, injuredvirtue personified. 

"What is too bad, dear?" asked the girl sympathetically. 

"A fortnight ago, " said Hamilton, "I told this silly ass----"

"Your jolly old brother is referrin' to me, dear lady, " explained Bones. 

"Who else could I be referring to?" demanded the other truculently. "Itold him to have all the company accounts ready by to-morrow. You know, sir, that the paymaster is coming down from Administration to check 'em, and will you believe me, sir"--he glared at Bones, who immediatelyclosed his eyes resignedly--"would you believe me that, when I went toexamine those infernal accounts, they were all at sixes and sevens?"

"Threes an' nines, dear old officer, " murmured Bones, waking up, "thematter in dispute being a trifle of thirty-nine dollars, which I'vegenerously offered to make up out of my own pocket. "

He beamed round as one who expected applause. 

"And on the top of this, " fumed Hamilton, "he talks of taking Pat for anearly morning picnic to the village island!"

"Accompanied by the jolly old accounts, " corrected Bones. "Do mejustice, sir and brother-officer. I offered to take the books with me, an' render a lucid and convincin' account of my stewardship. "

"Don't make me laugh, " snarled Hamilton, stamping into the bungalow. 

"Isn't he naughty?" said Bones admiringly. 

"Now, Bones, " warned the girl, "I shan't go unless you keep your wordwith Alec. "

Bones drew himself up and saluted. 

"Dear old friend, " he said proudly, "put your faith in Bones. "

 * * * * *

"H. M. Launch No. 36 (Territories), " as it was officially described onthe stores record, had another name, which she earned in her early daysthrough certain eccentricities of construction. Though she might not injustice be called the _Wiggle_ any longer, yet the _Wiggle_ she was fromone end of the river to the other, and even native men called her"Komfuru, " which means "that which does not run straight. "

It had come to be recognized that the _Wiggle_ was the especial chargeof Lieutenant Tibbetts. Bones himself was the first to recognize thisright. There were moments when he inferred that the _Wiggle's_ arrivalon the station at the time he was making his own first appearance wassomething more than a coincidence. 

She was not, in the strictest sense of the word, a launch, for shepossessed a square, open dining saloon and two tiny cabins amidships. Her internal works were open to the light of day, and her engineerlived in the engine-room up to his waist and on deck from his waist up, thus demonstrating the possibility of being in two places at once. 

The _Wiggle_, moreover, possessed many attributes which are denied toother small steamers. She had, for example, a Maxim gun on her tinyforecastle. She had a siren of unusual power and diabolical tone, shewas also fitted with a big motor-horn, both of which appendages wereBones's gift to his flagship. The motor-horn may seem superfluous, butwhen the matter is properly explained, you will understand the necessityfor some less drastic method of self-advertisement than the siren. 

The first time the siren had been fitted Bones had taken the _Wiggle_through "the Channel. " Here the river narrows and deepens, and thecurrent runs at anything from five to seven knots an hour. Bones wasgoing up stream, and met the Bolalo Mission steamer coming down. She haddipped her flag to the _Wiggle's_ blue ensign, and Bones had repliedwith two terrific blasts on his siren. 

After that the _Wiggle_ went backwards, floating with the current allways, from broadside on to stern first, for in those two blasts Boneshad exhausted the whole of his steam reserve. 

She was also equipped with wireless. There was an "aerial" and anapparatus which Bones had imported from England at a cost of twelvepounds, and which was warranted to receive messages from two hundredmiles distant. There was also a book of instructions. Bones went to hishut with the book and read it. His servant found him in bed the nextmorning, sleeping like a child, with his hand resting lightly upon thesecond page. 

Sanders and Hamilton both took a hand at fixing the _Wiggle's_ wireless. The only thing they were all quite certain about was that there ought tobe a wire somewhere. So they stretched the aerial from the funnel to theflagstaff at the stern of the boat, and then addressed themselves to theless simple solution of "making it work. "

They tried it for a week, and gave it up in despair. 

"They've had you, Bones, " said Hamilton. "It doesn't 'went. ' Poor oldBones!"

"Your pity, dear old officer, is offensive, " said Bones stiffly, "an' Idon't mind tellin' you that I've a queer feelin'--I can't explain whatit is, except that I'm a dooce of a psychic--that that machine is goin'to be jolly useful. "

But though Bones worked day and night, read the book of instructionsfrom cover to cover, and took the whole apparatus to pieces, examiningeach part under a strong magnifying glass, he never succeeded either intransmitting or receiving a message, and the machine was repacked andstored in the spare cabin, and was never by any chance referred to, except by Hamilton in his most unpleasant moments. 

Bones took an especial delight in the _Wiggle_; it was his very ownship, and he gave her his best personal attention. 

It was Bones who ordered from London especially engraved notepaperheaded "H. M. S. _Komfuru_"--the native name sounded more dignified than_Wiggle_, and more important than "Launch 36. " It was Bones whoinstalled the little dynamo which--when it worked--lit the cabins andeven supplied power for a miniature searchlight. It was Bones who hadher painted Service grey, and would have added another funnel ifHamilton had not detected the attempted aggrandizement. Bones claimedthat she was dustproof, waterproof, and torpedo-proof, and Hamilton hadvoiced his regret that she was not also fool-proof. 

At five o'clock the next morning, when the world was all big hot starsand shadows, and there was no sound but the whisper of the running riverand the "ha-a-a-a--ha-a-a-a" of breakers, Bones came from his hut, crossed the parade-ground, and, making his way by the light of a lanternalong the concrete quay--it was the width of an average table--droppedon to the deck and kicked the custodian of the _Wiggle_ to wakefulness. 

Bones's satellite was one Ali Abid, who was variously described as Moor, Egyptian, Tripolitan, and Bedouin, but was by all ethnologicalindications a half-breed Kano, who had spent the greater part of hislife in the service of a professor of bacteriology. This professor wassomething of a purist, and the association with Ali Abid, plus agrounding in the elementary subjects which are taught at St. Joseph'sMission School, Cape Coast Castle, had given Ali a gravity of demeanourand a splendour of vocabulary which many better favoured than he mighthave envied. 

"Arise, " quoth Bones, in the cracked bass which he employed whenever hefelt called upon to deliver his inaccurate versions of Oriental poets--

 "Arise, for morning in the bowl of night Has chucked a stone to put the stars to flight. And lo! and lo!... Get up, Ali; the caravan is moving. Oh, make haste!"

("Omar will never be dead so long as Bones quotes him, " Hamilton oncesaid; "he simply couldn't afford to be dead and leave it to Bones!")

Ali rose, blinking and shivering, for the early morning was very cold, and he had been sleeping under an old padded dressing-gown which Boneshad donated. 

"Muster all the hands, " said Bones, setting his lantern on the deck. 

"Sir, " said Ali slowly, "the subjects are not at our disposition. Yourpreliminary instructions presupposed that you had made necessaryarrangements _re personnel_. "

Bones scratched his head. 

"Dash my whiskers, " he said, in his annoyance, "didn't I tell you that Iwas taking the honourable lady for a trip? Didn't I tell you, you jollyold slacker, to have everything ready by daybreak? Didn't I issueexplicit an' particular instructions about grub?"

"Sir, " said Ali, "you didn't. "

"Then, " said Bones wrathfully, "why the dickens do I think I have?"

"Sir, " said Ali, "some subjects, when enjoying refreshing coma, possessdelirium, hallucinations, highly imaginative, which dissipate when thesubject recovers consciousness, but retain in brain cavity illusoryreminiscences. "

Bones thrust his face into the other's. 

"Do you mean to tell me I dreamt it?" he hissed. 

"Sir, " said Ali, "self-preservation compels complete acquiescence inyour diagnosis. "

"You're childish, " said Bones. 

He gave a few vague instructions in the best Bones manner, and stole upto the dark Residency. He had solemnly promised Sanders that he wouldrouse the girl without waking up the rest of the house. 

They were to go up stream to the Village Island, where the ironworkersof the Akasava had many curious implements to show her. Breakfast wasto be taken on the boat, and they were to return for tiffin. 

Overnight she had shown Bones the window of her room, and Hamilton hadoffered to make a chalk mark on the sash, so there could be no mistakingthe situation of the room. 

"If you wake me before sunrise, I shall do something I shall be sorryfor, " he warned Bones. "If you return without straightening theaccounts, I shall do something which _you_ will be sorry for. "

Bones remembered this as he crept stealthily along the wooden verandah. To make doubly sure, he took off his boots and dropped them with acrash. 

"Sh!" said Bones loudly. "Sh, Bones! Not so much noise, you silly oldass!"

He crept softly along the wooden wall and reconnoitred. The middlewindow was Hamilton's room, the left was Sanders's, the right wasPatricia's. He went carefully to the right window and knocked. There wasno answer. He knocked again. Still no reply. He knocked loudly. 

"Is that you, Bones?" growled Sanders's voice. 

Bones gasped. 

"Awfully sorry, sir, " he whispered agitatedly--"my mistake entirely. "

He tiptoed to the left window and rapped smartly. Then he whistled, thenhe rapped again. 

He heard a bed creak, and turned his head modestly away. 

"It's Bones, dear old sister, " he said, in his loudest whisper. "Arise, for mornin' in the bowl of light has----"

Hamilton's voice raged at him. 

"I knew it was you, you blithering----"

"Dear old officer, " began Bones, "awfully sorry! Go to sleep again. Night-night!"

"Go to the devil!" said a muffled voice. 

Bones, however, went to the middle window; here he could make nomistake. He knocked authoritatively. 

"Hurry up, ma'am, " he said; "time is on the wing----"

The sash was flung up, and again Bones confronted the furious Hamilton. 

"Sir, " said the exasperated Bones, "how the dooce did you get here?"

"Don't you know this room has two windows? I told you last night, yougoop! Pat sleeps at the other end of the building. I told you that, too, but you've got a brain like wool!"

"I am obliged to you, sir, " said Bones, on his dignity, "for theinformation. I will not detain you. "

Hamilton groped on his dressing-table for a hair-brush. 

"Go back to bed, sir, " said Bones, "an' don't forget to say yourprayers. "

He was searching for the window in the other wing of the Residency, when the girl, who had been up and dressed for a quarter of an hour, came softly behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. 

"Wow!" screeched Bones. "Oh, Lord, dear old sister, you gave me thedickens of a fright! Well, let's get along. Thank heavens, we haven'tdisturbed anybody. "

He was followed to the boat with the imprecations of two pyjamaedfigures that stood on the stoep and watched his lank body melt in thedarkness. 

"Send us a wireless when you're coming back!" roared Hamilton. 

"Cad!" said Bones, between his teeth. 

Ali Abid had not been idle. He had aroused Yoka, the steersman, andBoosoobi, the engineer, and these two men had accepted the unexpectedcall with the curious readiness which natives show on such occasions, and which suggests that they have pre-knowledge of the summons, and areonly waiting the word. 

In one of the small cabins Ali had arranged the much-discussed companyaccounts ready for his lord's attention, and there was every promise ofa happy and a profitable day when Yoka rang the engines "ahead, " and the_Wiggle_ jerked her way to midstream. 

The east had grown pale, there was a murmur from the dark forests oneither bank, the timorous chirping or bad-tempered squawk of a bird, afaint fragrance of burning gumwood from the fishing villagesestablished on the river bank, where, in dancing spots of light, thewomen were tending their fires. 

There is no intermediate stage on the big river between darkness andbroad daylight. The stars go out all at once, and the inky sky whichserves then becomes a delicate blue. The shadows melt deeper and deeperinto the forest, clearly revealing the outlines of the straight-stemmedtrees. There is just this interregnum of pearl greyness, a sort ofhush-light, which lasts whilst a man counts twenty, before the silverlances of the sun are flashing through the leaves, and the grey veilwhich blurs the islands to shapeless blotches in a river of dull silveris burnt to nothingness, and the islands are living things of vividgreen set in waters of gold. 

"The sunrise!" said Bones, and waved his hand to the east with the airof one who was responsible for the miracle. 

The girl sat in a deep wicker chair and breathed in the glory and thefreshness of the scene. Across the broad river, right ahead of the boat, a flock of parroquets was flying, screeching their raucous chorus. Thesun caught their brilliant plumage, and she saw, as it seemed, a rainbowin flight. 

"Isn't that wonderful?" she whispered. 

Bones peered up at the birds, shading his eyes. 

"Just like a jolly old patchwork quilt, " he said. "What a pity theycan't talk till you teach 'em! They're awful bad eatin', too, thoughsome fellers say they make a good curry----"

"Oh, look, look!"

The _Wiggle_ was swerving to the southern bank of the river, and twomajestic flamingos standing at the water's edge had arrested the girl'sattention. 

"_They're_ bad eatin', too, " said the informative Bones. "The flesh isfishy an' too fat; heron are just the same. "

"Haven't you a soul, Bones?" she asked severely. 

"A soul, dear ma'am?" Bones asked, in astonishment. "Why, that's myspecialty!"

It was a delightful morning for the girl, for Bones had retired to hiscabin at her earnest request, and was struggling with the companyaccounts, and she was left to enjoy the splendour of the day, to watchthe iron-red waters piling up against the _Wiggle's_ bows, to feel thecool breezes that swept down from the far-away mountains, and all thiswithout being under the necessity of making conversation with Bones. 

That gentleman had a no less profitable morning, for Ali Abid was amethodical and clerkly man, and unearthed the missing thirty-ninedollars in the Compensation Record. 

"Thank goodness!" said Bones, relieved. "You're a jolly old accountant, Ali. I'd never have found it. "

"Sir, " said Ali, "some subjects, by impetuous application, omit visionof intricate detail. This is due to subjects' lack of concentration. "

"Have it your way, " said Bones, "but get the statement out for me tocopy. "

He awoke the girl from a profound reverie--which centred about shy andsolemn bachelors who adopted whole nations of murderous children astheir own--and proceeded to "take charge. "

This implied the noisy issuing of orders which nobody carried out, themanipulation of a telescope, anxious glances at the heavens, deep andpenetrating scrutinies of the water, and a promenade back and forwardfrom one side of the launch to the other. Bones called this "pacing thebridge, " and invariably carried his telescope tucked under his arm inthe process, and, as he had to step over Pat's feet every time, andsometimes didn't, she arrested his nautical wanderings. 

"You make me dizzy, " she said. "And isn't that the island?"

 * * * * *

In the early hours of the afternoon they re-embarked, the _capita_ ofthe village coming to the beach to see them off. 

They brought back with them a collection of spear-heads, gruesomeexecution knives, elephant swords, and wonder-working steel figures. 

"And the lunch was simply lovely, Bones, " agreed the girl, as the_Wiggle_ turned her nose homeward. "Really, you can be quite cleversometimes. "

"Dear old Miss Hamilton, " said Bones, "you saw me to-day as I really am. The mask was off, and the real Bones, kindly, thoughtful, considerate, an'--if I may use the word without your foundin' any great hope uponit--tender. You saw me free from carkin' care, alert----"

"Go along and finish your accounts, like a good boy, " she said. "I'mgoing to doze. "

Doze she did, for it was a warm, dozy afternoon, and the boat wasrunning swiftly and smoothly with the tide. Bones yawned and wrote, copying Ali's elaborate and accurate statement, whilst Ali himself sleptcontentedly on the top of the cabin. Even the engineer dozed at hispost, and only one man was wide awake and watchful--Yoka, whose handsturned the wheel mechanically, whose dark eyes never left the riverahead, with its shoals, its sandbanks, and its snags, known and unknown. 

Two miles from headquarters, where the river broadens before it makesits sweep to the sea, there are three islands with narrow passagesbetween. At this season only one such passage--the centre of all--issafe. This is known as "The Passage of the Tree, " because all boats, even the _Zaire_, must pass so close beneath the overhanging boughs of agreat lime that the boughs brush their very funnels. Fortunately, thecurrent is never strong here, for the passage is a shallow one. Yokafelt the boat slowing as he reached shoal water, and brought her nearerto the bank of the island. He had reached the great tree, when a noosedropped over him, tightened about his arms, and, before he could do morethan lock the wheel, he was jerked from the boat and left swingingbetween bough and water. 

"O Yoka, " chuckled a voice from the bough, "between sunrise and moonsetis no long time for a man to be with his wife!"

 * * * * *

Bones had finished his account, and was thinking. He thought with hishead on his hands, with his eyes shut, and his mouth open, and histhought was accompanied by strange guttural noises. 

Patricia Hamilton was also thinking, but much more gracefully. Boosoobisat by his furnace door, nodding. Sometimes he looked at the steamgauge, sometimes he kicked open the furnace door and chucked in a fewbillets of wood, but, in the main, he was listening to the soothing"chook-a-chook, chook-a-chook" of his well-oiled engines. 

"Woo-yow!" yawned Bones, stretched himself, and came blinking into thesunlight. The sun was nearly setting. 

"What the dooce----" said Bones. He stared round. 

The _Wiggle_ had run out from the mouth of the river and was at sea. There was no sign of land of any description. The low-lying shores ofthe territory had long since gone under the horizon. 

Bones laid his hand on the shoulder of the sleeping girl, and she wokewith a start. 

"Dear old shipmate, " he said, and his voice trembled, "we're alone onthis jolly old ocean! Lost the steersman!"

She realized the seriousness of the situation in a moment. 

The dozing engineer, now wide awake, came aft at Bones's call, andaccepted the disappearance of the steersman without astonishment. 

"We'll have to go back, " said Bones, as he swung the wheel round. "Idon't think I'm wrong in sayin' that the east is opposite to the west, an', if that's true, we ought to be home in time for dinner. "

"Sar, " said Boosoobi, who, being a coast boy, elected to speak English, "dem wood she no lib. "

"Hey?" gasped Bones, turning pale. 

"Dem wood she be done. I look um. I see um. I no find um. "

Bones sat down heavily on the rail. 

"What does he say?" Pat asked anxiously. 

"He says there's no more wood, " said Bones. "The horrid old bunkers areempty, an' we're at the mercy of the tempest. "

"Oh, Bones!" she cried, in consternation. 

But Bones had recovered. 

"What about swimmin' to shore with a line?" he said. "It can't be morethan ten miles!"

It was Ali Abid who prevented the drastic step. 

"Sir, " he said, "the subject on such occasions should act withdeliberate reserve. Proximity of land presupposes research. The subjectshould assist rather than retard research by passivity of action, easyrespiration, and general normality of temperature. "

"Which means, dear old Miss Hamilton, that you've got to keep your woolon, " explained Bones. 

What might have happened is not to be recorded, for at that precisemoment the s. S. _Paretta_ came barging up over the horizon. 

There was still steam in the _Wiggle's_ little boiler, and one log ofwood to keep it at pressure. 

Bones was incoherent, but again Ali came to the rescue. 

"Sir, " he said, "for intimating SOS-ness there is upon steamer or launchcertain scientific apparatus, unadjusted, but susceptible to treatment. "

"The wireless!" spluttered Bones. "Good lor', the wireless!"

Twenty minutes later the _Wiggle_ ran alongside the gangway of the s. S. _Paretta_, anticipating the arrival of the _Zaire_ by half an hour. 

The s. S. _Paretta_ was at anchor when Sanders brought the _Zaire_ to thescene. 

He saw the _Wiggle_ riding serenely by the side of the great ship, looking for all the world like a humming bird under the wings of anostrich, and uttered a little prayer of thankfulness. 

"They're safe, " he said to Hamilton. "O Yoka, take the _Zaire_ to theother side of the big boat. "

"Master, do we go back to-night to seek Ko-boru?" asked Yoka, who wasbearing marks which indicated his strenuous experience, for he hadfought his way clear of his captors, and had swum with the stream toheadquarters. 

"To-morrow is also a day, " quoth Sanders. 

Hamilton was first on the deck of the s. S. _Paretta_, and found hissister and a debonair and complacent Bones waiting for him. With themwas an officer whom Hamilton recognized. 

"Company accounts all correct, sir, " said Bones, "audited by the jollyold paymaster"--he saluted the other officer--"an' found correct, sir, thus anticipatin' all your morose an' savage criticisms. "

Hamilton gripped his hand and grinned. 

"Bones was really wonderful, " said the girl, "they wouldn't have seen usif it hadn't been for his idea. "

"Saved by wireless, sir, " said Bones nonchalantly. "It was a merenothin'--just a flash of inspiration. "

"You got the wireless to work?" asked Hamilton incredulously. 

"No, sir, " said Bones. "But I wanted a little extra steam to get up tothe ship, so I burnt the dashed thing. I knew it would come in handysooner or later. "

CHAPTER V

THE REMEDY

Beyond the far hills, which no man of the Ochori passed, was a range ofblue mountains, and behind this again was the L'Mandi country. Thisadventurous hunting men of the Ochori had seen, standing in a safe placeon the edge of the Great King's country. Also N'gombi people, who arenotoriously disrespectful of all ghosts save their own, had, upon atime, penetrated the northern forest to a high knoll which Nature hadshaped to the resemblance of a hayrick. 

A huntsman climbing this after his lawful quarry might gain a nearerview of the blue mountains, all streaked with silver at certain periodsof the year, when a hundred streams came leaping with feathery feet fromcrag to crag to strengthen the forces of the upper river, or, as somesaid, to create through underground channels the big lakes M'soobo andT'sambi at the back of the N'gombi country. 

And on summer nights, when the big yellow moon came up and showed allthings in her own chaste way, you might see from the knoll of thehayrick these silver ribbons all a-glitter, though the bulk of themountain was lost to sight. 

The river folk saw little of the L'Mandi, because L'Mandi territory liesbehind the country of the Great King, who looked with a jealous eye uponcomings and goings in his land, and severely restricted the movement andthe communications of his own people. 

The Great King followed his uncle in the government of the pleasantO'Mongo lands, and he had certain advantages and privileges, thesignificance of which he very imperfectly interpreted. 

His uncle had died suddenly at the hands of Mr. Commissioner Sanders, C. M. G. , and the land itself might have passed to the protection of theCrown, for there was gold in the country in large and payablequantities. 

That such a movement was arrested was due largely to the L'Mandi and theinfluence they were able to exercise upon the European Powers by virtueof their military qualities. Downing Street was all for a permanentoccupation of the chief city and the institution of a conventional_régime_; but the L'Mandi snarled, clicked their heels, and madejingling noises with their great swords, and there was at that moment aGovernment in office in England which was rather impressed byheel-clicking and sword-jingling, and so the territory of the Great Kingwas left intact, and was marked on all maps as Omongoland, and colouredred, as being within the sphere of British influence. On the other hand, the L'Mandi people had it tinted yellow, and described it as an integralportion of the German Colonial Empire. 

There was little communication between L'Mandi and Sanders's territory, but that little was more than enough for the Commissioner, since it tookthe shape of evangelical incursions carried out by missionaries who werein the happy position of not being obliged to say as much as "By yourleave, " since they had secured from a Government which was, as I say, impressed by heel-clicking and sword-jingling, an impressive document, charging "all commissioners, sub-commissioners, magistrates, andofficers commanding our native forces, " to give facilities to these goodChristian gentlemen. 

There were missionaries in the Territories who looked askance at theirbrethren, and Ferguson, of the River Mission, made a journey toheadquarters to lay his views upon the subject before the Commissioner. 

"These fellows aren't missionaries at all, Mr. Sanders; they are justpolitical agents utilizing sacred symbols to further a politicalpropaganda. "

"That is a Government palaver, " smiled Sanders, and that was all thesatisfaction Ferguson received. Nevertheless, Sanders was watchful, forthere were times when the L'Mandi missioners and their friends strayedoutside their sphere. 

Once the L'Mandi folk had landed in a village in the middle Ochori, hadflogged the headman, and made themselves free of the commodities whichthe people of the village had put aside for the payment of theirtaxation. 

In his wrath, Bosambo, the chief, had taken ten war canoes; but Sanders, who had been in the Akasava on a shooting trip, was there before him, and had meted out swift justice to the evil-doers. 

"And let me tell you, Bosambo, " said Sanders severely, "that you shallnot bring spears except at my word. "

"Lord, " said Bosambo, frankness itself, "if I disobeyed you, it wasbecause I was too hot to think. "

Sanders nodded. 

"That I know, " he said. "Now I tell you this, Bosambo, and this is theway of very wise men--that when they go to do evil things with a hotheart, they first sleep, and in their sleep their spirits go free andtalk with the wise and the dead, and when they wake, their hearts arecool, and they see all the folly of the night, and their eyes are brightfor their own faults. "

"Master, " said Bosambo, "you are my father and my mother, and all thepeople of the river you carry in your arms. Now I say to you that when Igo to do an evil thing I will first sleep, and I will make all my peoplesleep also. "

There are strange stories in circulation as to the manner in whichBosambo carried out this novel reform. There is the story of an Ochoriwife-beater who, adjured by his chief, retired to slumber on hisgrievance, and came to his master the following morning with theinformation that he had not closed his eyes. Whereupon Bosambo clubbedhim insensible, in order that Sanders's plan might have a fair chance. 

At least, this is the story which Hamilton retailed at breakfast onemorning. Sanders, appealed to for confirmation, admitted cautiously thathe had heard the legend, but did not trouble to make an investigation. 

"The art of governing a native country, " he said, "is the art of notasking questions. "

"But suppose you want to know something?" demanded Patricia. 

"Then, " said Sanders, with a twinkle in his eyes, "you must pretend thatyou know. "

"What is there to do to-day?" asked Hamilton, rolling his serviette. 

He addressed himself to Lieutenant Tibbetts, who, to Sanders's intenseannoyance, invariably made elaborate notes of all the Commissioner said. 

"Nothin' until this afternoon, sir, " said Bones, closing his notebookbriskly, "then we're doin' a little deep-sea fishin'. "

The girl made a grimace. 

"We didn't catch anything yesterday, Bones, " she objected. 

"We used the wrong kind of worm, " said Bones confidently. "I've found anew worm nest in the plantation. Jolly little fellers they are, too. "

"What are we doing to-day, Bones?" repeated Hamilton ominously. 

Bones puckered his brows. 

"Deep-sea fishin', dear old officer and comrade, " he repeated, "an'after dinner a little game of tiddly-winks--Bones _v. _ jolly oldHamilton's sister, for the championship of the River an' the SandersCup. "

Hamilton breathed deeply, but was patient. 

"Your King and your country, " he said, "pay you seven and eightpence perdiem----"

"Oh, " said Bones, a light dawning, "you mean _work_?"

"Strange, is it not, " mused Hamilton, "that we shouldconsider----Hullo!"

They followed the direction of his eyes. 

A white bird was circling groggily above the plantation, as thoughuncertain where to alight. There was weariness in the beat of its wings, in the irregularity of its flight. Bones leapt over the rail of theverandah and ran towards the square. He slowed down as he came to aplace beneath the bird, and whistled softly. 

Bones's whistle was a thing of remarkable sweetness--it was his oneaccomplishment, according to Hamilton, and had neither tune nor rhyme. It was a succession of trills, rising and falling, and presently, aftertwo hesitating swoops, the bird rested on his outstretched hand. He cameback to the verandah and handed the pigeon to Sanders. 

The Commissioner lifted the bird and with gentle fingers removed theslip of thin paper fastened to its leg by a rubber band. 

Before he opened the paper he handed the weary little servant of theGovernment to an orderly. 

"Lord, this is Sombubo, " said Abiboo, and he lifted the pigeon to hischeek, "and he comes from the Ochori. "

Sanders had recognized the bird, for Sombubo was the swiftest, thewisest, and the strongest of all his messengers, and was neverdispatched except on the most critical occasions. 

He smoothed the paper and read the letter, which was in Arabic. 

 "From the servant of God Bosambo, in the Ochori City, to Sandi, where-the-sea-runs. 

 "There have come three white men from the L'Mandi country, and they have crossed the mountains. They sit with the Akasava in full palaver. They say there shall be no more taxes for the People of the River, but there shall come a new king greater than any. And every man shall have goats and salt and free hunting. They say the Akasava shall be given all the Ochori country, also guns like the white man. Many guns and a thousand carriers are in the mountains waiting to come. I hold the Ochori with all my spears. Also the Isisi chief calls his young men for your King. 

 "Peace be on your house in the name of Allah Compassionate and Merciful. "

"M-m!" said Sanders, as he folded the paper. "I'm afraid there will beno fishing this afternoon. Bones, take the _Wiggle_ and get up to theAkasava as fast as you can; I will follow on the _Zaire_. Abiboo!"

"Lord?"

"You will find me a swift Ochori pigeon. Hamilton, scribble a line toBosambo, and say that he shall meet Bones by Sokala's village. "

Half an hour later Bones was sending incomprehensible semaphore signalsof farewell as the _Wiggle_ slipped round the bend of the river. 

Sokala, a little chief of the Isisi, was a rich man. He had ten wives, each of whom lived in her own hut. Also each wife wore about her neck agreat ring of brass weighing twenty pounds, to testify to the greatnessand wealth of her lord. 

Sokala was wizened and lined of face, and across his forehead were manydeep furrows, and it seemed that he lived in a state of perplexity as towhat should become of all his riches when he died, for he was cursedwith ten daughters--O'femi, Jubasami, K'sola, M'kema, Wasonga, Mombari, et cetera. 

When Wasonga was fourteen, there was revealed to Sokala, her father, agreat wonder. 

The vision came at the tail end of a year of illness, when his head hadached for weeks together, and not even the brass wire twisted lightlyabout his skull brought him relief. 

Sokala was lying on his fine bed of skins, wondering why strange animalssat by the fire in the centre of his hut, and why they showed theirteeth and talked in human language. Sometimes they were leopards, sometimes they were little white-whiskered monkeys that scratched andtold one another stories, and these monkeys were the wisest of all, forthey discussed matters which were of urgency to the sick man rollingrestlessly from side to side. 

On this great night two such animals had appeared suddenly, a big greyfellow with a solemn face, and a very little one, and they sat staringinto the fire, mechanically seeking their fleas until the little onespoke. 

"Sokala is very rich and has ten daughters. "

"That is true, " said the other; "also he will die because he has noson. "

Sokala's heart beat furiously with fear, but he listened when the littleblack monkey spoke. 

"If Sokala took Wasonga, his daughter, into the forest near to The Treeand slew her, his daughters would become sons and he would grow well. "

And the other monkey nodded. 

As they talked, Sokala recognized the truth of all that they had said. He wondered that he had never thought of the matter before in this way. All night long he lay thinking--thinking--long after the fires had dieddown to a full red glow amidst white ashes, and the monkeys hadvanished. In the cold dawn his people found him sitting on the side ofthe bed, and marvelled that he should have lived the night through. 

"Send me Wasonga, my daughter, " he said, and they brought a sleepy girlof fourteen, tall, straight, and wholly reluctant. "We go a journey, "said Sokala, and took from beneath his bed his wicker shield and hissharp-edged throwing-spear. 

"Sokala hunts, " said the people of the village significantly, and theyknew that the end was very near, for he had been a great hunter, and menturn in death to the familiar pursuits of life. 

Three miles on the forest road to the Isisi city, Sokala bade hisdaughter sit on the ground. 

Bones had met and was in earnest conversation with the Chief of theOchori, the _Wiggle_ being tied up at a wooding, when he heard a scream, and saw a girl racing through the wood towards him. 

Behind her, with the foolish stare on his face which comes to men in thelast stages of sleeping sickness, his spear balanced, came Sokala. 

The girl tumbled in a wailing, choking heap at Bones's feet, and herpursuer checked at the sight of the white man. 

"I see you, Sokala, "[2] said Bones gently. 

[Footnote 2: The native equivalent for "Good morning. "]

"Lord, " said the old man, blinking at the officer of the Houssas, "youshall see a wonderful magic when I slay this woman, for my daughtersshall be sons, and I shall be a well man. "

Bones took the spear from his unresisting hand. 

"I will show you a greater magic, Sokala, for I will give you a littlewhite stone which will melt like salt in your mouth, and you shallsleep. "

The old man peered from Lieutenant Tibbetts to the King of the Ochori. He watched Bones as he opened his medicine chest and shook out twolittle white pellets from a bottle marked "Veronal, " and accepted themgratefully. 

"God bless my life, " cried Bones, "don't chew 'em, you dear oldsilly--swallow 'em!"

"Lord, " said Sokala soberly, "they have a beautiful and a magic taste. "

Bones sent the frightened girl back to the village, and made the old mansit by a tree. 

"O Tibbetti, " said Bosambo, in admiration, "that was a good palaver. Forit is better than the letting of blood, and no one will know that Sokaladid not die in his time. "

Bones looked at him in horror. 

"Goodness gracious heavens, Bosambo, " he gasped, "you don't think I'vepoisoned him?"

"Master, " said Bosambo, nodding his head, "he die one time--he not fitfor lib--you give um plenty no-good stuff. You be fine Christian fellersame like me. "

Bones wiped the perspiration from his brow and explained the action ofveronal. Bosambo was sceptical. Even when Sokala fell into a profoundslumber, Bosambo waited expectantly for his death. And when he realizedthat Bones had spoken the truth, he was a most amazed man. 

"Master, " he said, in that fluid Ochori dialect which seems to be madeup of vowels, "this is a great magic. Now I see very surely that youhold wonderful ju-jus, and I have wronged you, for I thought you werewithout wisdom. "

"Cheer-oh!" said the gratified Bones. 

 * * * * *

Near by the city of the Akasava is a small hill on which no vegetationgrows, though it rises from a veritable jungle of undergrowth. TheAkasava call this place the Hill of the Women, because it was here thatM'lama, the King of the Akasava, slew a hundred Akasava maidens topropitiate M'shimba M'shamba, the god of storms. It was on the topmostpoint of the hill that Sanders erected a fine gallows and hung M'lamafor his country's good. It had always been associated with the spiritualhistory of the Akasava, for ghosts and devils and strange ju-jus hadtheir home hereabouts, and every great decision at which the peoplearrived was made upon its slopes. At the crest there was a palaverhouse--no more than a straw-thatched canopy affording shelter for fourmen at the most. 

On a certain afternoon all the chiefs, great and minor, the headmen, thewarriors, and the leaders of fishing villages of the Akasava, squattedin a semicircle and listened to the oration of a bearded man, who spokeeasily in the river dialect of the happy days which were coming to thepeople. 

By his side were two other white men--a tall, clean-shaven man withspectacles, and a stouter man with a bristling white moustache. 

Had the bearded man's address been in plain English, or even plainGerman, and had it been delivered to European hearers accustomed totaking its religion in allegories and symbols, it would have beenharmless. As it was, the illustrations and the imagery which the speakeremployed had no other interpretation to the simple-minded Akasava than apurely material one. 

"I speak for the Great King, " said the orator, throwing out his arms, "aking who is more splendid than any. He has fierce and mighty armies thatcover the land like ants. He holds thunder and lightning in his hand, and is greater than M'shimba M'shamba. He is the friend of the black manand the white, and will deliver you from all oppression. He will giveyou peace and full crops, and make you _capita_ over your enemies. Whenhe speaks, all other kings tremble. He is a great buffalo, and thepawing of his hoofs shakes the earth. 

"This he says to you, the warrior people of the Akasava----"

The message was destined to be undelivered. 

Heads began to turn, and there was a whisper of words. Some of theaudience half rose, some on the outskirts of the gathering stole quietlyaway--the lesser chiefs were amongst these--and others, sitting stolidlyon, assumed a blandness and a scepticism of demeanour calculated to meetthe needs of the occasion. 

For Sanders was at the foot of the hill, a trim figure in white, hissolar helmet pushed back to cover the nape of his neck from the slantingrays of the sun, and behind Sanders were two white officers and acompany of Houssas with fixed bayonets. Not a word said Sanders, butslowly mounted the Hill of the Dead. He reached the palaver house andturned. 

"Let no man go, " he said, observing the disposition of the gathering tomelt away, "for this is a great palaver, and I come to speak for theseGod-men. "

The bearded orator glared at the Commissioner and half turned to hiscompanions. The stout man with the moustache said something quickly, butSanders silenced him with a gesture. 

"O people, " said Sanders, "you all know that under my King men may livein peace, and death comes quickly to those who make war. Also you mayworship in what manner you desire, though it be my God or the famousgods of your fathers. And such as preach of God or gods have fullliberty. Who denies this?"

"Lord, you speak the truth, " said an eager headman. 

"Therefore, " said Sanders, "my King has given these God-men a book[3]that they may speak to you, and they have spoken. Of a great king theytell. Also of wonders which will come to you if you obey him. But thisking is the same king of whom the God-cross men and the water-God mentell. For he lives beyond the stars, and his name is God. Tell me, preacher, if this is the truth?"

[Footnote 3: A book = written permission, any kind of document orwriting. ]

The bearded man swallowed something and muttered, "This is true. "

"Also, there is no king in this world greater than my King, whom youserve, " Sanders continued, "and it is your duty to be obedient to him, and his name is D'jorja. " Sanders raised his hand to his helmet insalute. "This also the God-men will tell you. "

He turned to the three evangelists. 

Herr Professor Wiessmann hesitated for the fraction of a second. Thepause was pardonable, for he saw the undoing of three months' good work, and his thoughts at that moment were with a certain party of carrierswho waited in the mountains. 

"The question of earthly and heavenly dominion is always debatable, " hebegan in English, but Sanders stopped him. 

"We will speak in the Akasava tongue, " he said, "and let all men hear. Tell me, shall my people serve my King, or shall they serve another?"

"They shall serve your King, " growled the man, "for it is the law. "

"Thank you, " said Sanders in English. 

The gathering slowly dispersed, leaving only the white men on the hilland a few lingering folk at the foot, watching the stolid nativesoldiery with an apprehension born of experience. 

"We should like you to dine with us, " said Sanders pleasantly. 

The leader of the L'Mandi mission hesitated, but the thin man with thespectacles, who had been silent, answered for him. 

"We shall be pleased, Mr. Commissioner, " he said. "After eating withthese swine for a month, a good dinner would be very acceptable. "

Sanders said nothing, though he winced at the inelegant description ofhis people, and the three evangelists went back to their huts, which hadbeen built for their use by the Akasava chief. 

An hour later that worthy sent for a certain witch-doctor. 

"Go secretly, " he said, "and call all headmen and chiefs to the BreakingTree in the forest. There they shall be until the moon comes up, and theL'Mandi lords will come and speak freely. And you shall tell them thatthe word he spoke before Sandi was no true word, but to-night he shallspeak the truth, and when Sandi is gone we shall have wonderful gunsand destroy all who oppose us. "

This the witch-doctor did, and came back by the river path. 

Here, by all accounts, he met Bosambo, and would have passed on; but theChief of the Ochori, being in a curious mind and being, moreover, suspicious, was impressed by the importance of the messenger, and madeinquiries.... 

An old man is a great lover of life, and after the witch-doctor's headhad been twice held under water--for the river was providentiallynear--he gasped the truth. 

 * * * * *

The three missioners were very grateful guests indeed. They were themore grateful because Patricia Hamilton was an unexpected hostess. Theyclicked their heels and kissed her hand and drank her health many timesin good hock. The dinner was a feast worthy of Lucullus, they swore, thewine was perfect, and the coffee--which Abiboo handed round with asolemn face--was wonderful. 

They sat chatting for a time, and then the bearded man looked at hiswatch. 

"To bed, gentlemen, " he said gaily. "We leave you, Herr Commissioner, ingood friendship, we trust?"

"Oh, most excellent, " said Sanders awkwardly, for he was a poor liar, and knew that his spies were waiting on the bank to "pick up" thesepotential enemies of his. 

He watched them go ashore and disappear into the darkness of the forestpath that leads to the village. 

The moon was rising over the tall trees, and an expectant gathering ofAkasava notables were waiting for a white spokesman who came not, whenBosambo and his bodyguard were engaged in lifting three unconscious menand laying them in a large canoe. He himself paddled the long boat tomidstream, where two currents run swiftly, one to the sea and one to theIsisi River, which winds for a hundred miles until it joins the Congo. 

"Go with God, " said Bosambo piously, as he stepped into his own canoe, and released his hold of the other with its slumbering freight, "for ifyour king is so great, he will bring you to your own lands; and if he isnot great, then you are liars. O Abiboo"--he spoke over his shoulder tothe sergeant of Houssas--"tell me, how many of the magic white stones ofBonesi did you put in their drink?"

"Bosambo, I put four in each, as you told me, and if my lord Tibbettimisses them, what shall I say?"

"You shall say, " said Bosambo, "that this is Sandi's own word--that whenmen plan evils they must first sleep. And I think these men will sleepfor a long time. Perhaps they will sleep for ever--all things are withGod. "

CHAPTER VI

THE MEDICINE MAN

At the flood season, before the turbulent tributaries of the Isisi Riverhad been induced to return to their accustomed channels, Sanders cameback to headquarters a very weary man, for he had spent a horrid week inan endeavour--successful, but none the less nerve-racking--to impress anindolent people that the swamping of their villages was less a matter ofProvidence and ghosts than the neglect of elementary precaution. 

"For I told you, Ranabini, " said an exasperated Sanders, "that youshould keep the upper channel free from trees and branches, and I havepaid you many bags of salt for your services. "

"Lord, it is so, " said Ranabini, scratching his brown leg thoughtfully. 

"At the full of the moon, before the rains, did I not ask you if thechannel was clear, and did you not say it was like the street of yourvillage?" demanded Sanders, in wrath. 

"Lord, " said Ranabini frankly, "I lied to you, thinking your lordshipwas mad. For what other man would foresee with his wonderful eye thatrains would come? Therefore, lord, I did not think of the upper channel, and many trees floated down and made a little dam. Lord, I am anignorant man, and my mind is full of my own brother, who has come from along distance to see me, for he is a very sick man. "

Sanders's mind was occupied by no thought of Ranabini's sick brother, asthe dazzling white _Zaire_ went thrashing her way down stream. For hehimself was a tired man, and needed rest, and there was a dose ofmalaria looming in the offing, as his aching head told him. It was asthough his brains were arranged in slats, like a venetian blind, andthese slats were opening and closing swiftly, bringing with eachlightning flicker a momentary unconsciousness. 

Captain Hamilton met him on the quay, and when Sanders landed--walking athought unsteadily, and instantly began a long and disjointed account ofhis adventures on a Norwegian salmon river--Hamilton took him by the armand led the way to the bungalow. 

In ten minutes he was assisting Sanders into his pyjamas, Sandersprotesting, albeit feebly, and when, after forcing an astonishing amountof quinine and arsenic down his chief's throat, Hamilton came from thesemi-darkness of the bungalow to the white glare of the barrack square, Hamilton was thoughtful. 

"Let one of your women watch by the bed of the lord Sandi, " said he toSergeant Abiboo, of the Houssas, "and she shall call me if he growsworse. "

"On my life, " said Abiboo, and was going off. 

"Where is Tibbetti?" asked Hamilton. 

The sergeant turned back and seemed embarrassed. 

"Lord, " he said, "Tibbetti has gone with the lady, your sister, to makea palaver with Jimbujini, the witch-doctor of the Akasava. They sit inthe forest in a magic circle, and lo! Tibbetti grows very wise. "

Hamilton swore under his breath. He had ordered Lieutenant Tibbetts, hissecond-in-command, prop, stay, and aide-de-camp, to superintend thedrill of some raw Kano recruits who had been sent from the coast. 

"Go tell the lord Tibbetti to come to me, " he said, "but first send yourwoman to Sandi. "

Lieutenant Tibbetts, with his plain, boyish face all red with hisexertions, yet dignified withal, came hurriedly from his studies. 

"Come aboard, sir, " he said, and saluted extravagantly, blinking at hissuperior with a curious solemnity of mien which was his own peculiarexpression. 

"Bones, " said Hamilton, "where the dickens have you been?"

Bones drew a long breath. He hesitated, then--

"Knowledge, " he said shortly. 

Hamilton looked at his subordinate in alarm. 

"Dash it, you aren't off your head, too, are you?"

Bones shook his head with vigour. 

"Knowledge of the occult, sir and brother-officer, " he said. "One isnever too old to learn, sir, in this jolly old world. "

"Quite right, " said Hamilton; "in fact, I'm pretty certain that you'llnever live long enough to learn everything. "

"Thank you, sir, " said Bones. 

The girl, who had had less qualms than Bones when the summons arrived, and had, in consequence, returned more leisurely, came into the room. 

"Pat, " said her brother, "Sanders is down with fever. "

"Fever!" she said a little breathlessly. "It isn't--dangerous?"

Bones, smiling indulgently, soothed her. 

"Nothin' catchin', dear Miss Patricia Hamilton, " he began. 

"Please don't be stupid, " she said so fiercely that Bones recoiled. "Doyou think I'm afraid of catching anything? Is it dangerous for Mr. Sanders?" she asked her brother. 

"No more dangerous than a cold in the head, " he answered flippantly. "Mydear child, we all have fever. You'll have it, too, if you go out atsunset without your mosquito boots. "

He explained, with the easy indifference of a man inured to malaria, the habits of the mosquito--his predilection for ankles and wrists, where the big veins and arteries are nearer to the surface--but the girlwas not reassured. She would have sat up with Sanders, but the idea soalarmed Hamilton that she abandoned it. 

"He'd never forgive me, " he said. "My dear girl, he'll be as right as atrivet in the morning. "

She was sceptical, but, to her amazement, Sanders turned up at breakfasthis usual self, save that he was a little weary-eyed, and that his handshook when he raised his coffee-cup to his lips. A miracle, thoughtPatricia Hamilton, and said so. 

"Not at all, dear miss, " said Bones, now, as ever, accepting full creditfor all phenomena she praised, whether natural or supernatural. "This issimply nothin' to what happened to me. Ham, dear old feller, do youremember when I was brought down from the Machengombi River? Simplydelirious--ravin'--off my head. "

"So much so, " said Hamilton, slicing the top off his egg, "that wedidn't think you were ill. "

"If you'd seen me, " Bones went on, solemnly shaking one skinnyforefinger at the girl, "you'd have said: 'Bones is for the High Jump. '"

"I should have said nothing so vulgar, Bones, " she retorted. "And was itmalaria?"

"Ah, " said Hamilton triumphantly, "I was too much of a gentleman to hintthat it wasn't. Press the question, Pat. "

Bones shrugged his shoulders and cast a look of withering contempt uponhis superior. 

"In the execution of one's duty, dear Miss Patricia H, " he said, "thecalibre of the gun that lays a fellow low, an' plunges his relations an'creditors into mournin', is beside the point. The only consideration, asdear old Omar says, is--

 "'The movin' finger hits, an', havin' hit, Moves on, tum tumty tumty tay, And all a feller does won't make the slightest difference. '"

"Is that Omar or Shakespeare?" asked the dazed Hamilton. 

"Be quiet, dear. What was the illness, Bones?"

"Measles, " said Hamilton brutally, "and German measles at that. "

"Viciously put, dear old officer, but, nevertheless, true, " said Bonesbuoyantly. "But when the hut's finished, I'll return good for evil. There's goin' to be a revolution, Miss Patricia Hamilton. No more fever, no more measles--health, wealth, an' wisdom, by gad!"

"Sunstroke, " diagnosed Hamilton. "Pull yourself together, Bones--you'reamongst friends. "

But Bones was superior to sarcasm. 

There was a creature of Lieutenant Tibbetts a solemn, brown man, whopossessed, in addition to a vocabulary borrowed from a departedprofessor of bacteriology, a rough working knowledge of the classics. This man's name was, as I have already explained, Abid Ali or Ali Abid, and in him Bones discovered a treasure beyond price. 

Bones had recently built himself a large square hut near theseashore--that is to say, he had, with the expenditure of a great amountof midnight oil, a pair of compasses, a box of paints, and a T-square, evolved a somewhat complicated plan whereon certain blue oblongs stoodfor windows, and certain red cones indicated doors. To this he had addedan elevation in the severe Georgian style. 

With his plan beautifully drawn to scale, with sectional diagrams andside elevations embellishing its margin, he had summoned Mojeri of theLower Isisi, famous throughout the land as a builder of great houses, and to him he had entrusted the execution of his design. 

"This you shall build for me, Mojeri, " said Bones, sucking the end ofhis pencil and gazing lovingly at the plan outspread before him, "andyou shall be famous all through the world. This room shall be twice aslarge as that, and you shall cunningly contrive a passage so that I maymove from one to the other, and none see me come or go. Also, this shallbe my sleeping-place, and this a great room where I will practisepowerful magics. "

Mojeri took the plan in his hand and looked at it. He turned it upsidedown and looked at it that way. Then he looked at it sideways. 

"Lord, " said he, putting down the plan with a reverent hand, "all thesewonders I shall remember. "

"And did he?" asked Hamilton, when Bones described the interview. 

Bones blinked and swallowed. 

"He went away and built me a square hut--just a plain square hut. Mojeriis an ass, sir--a jolly old fraud an' humbug, sir. He----"

"Let me see the plan, " said Hamilton, and his subordinate produced thecartridge paper. 

"H'm!" said Hamilton, after a careful scrutiny. "Very pretty. But howdid you get into your room?"

"Through the door, dear old officer, " said the sarcastic Bones. 

"I thought it might be through the roof, " said Hamilton, "or possiblyyou made one of your famous dramatic entries through a star-trap in thefloor--

 "'Who is it speaks in those sepulchral tones? It is the demon king--the grisly Bones! Bing!'

"and up you pop amidst red fire and smoke. "

A light dawned on Bones. 

"Do you mean to tell me, jolly old Ham, that I forgot to put a door intomy room?" he asked incredulously, and peered over his chief's shoulder. 

"That is what I mean, Bones. And where does the passage lead to?"

"That goes straight from my sleepin' room to the room marked L, " saidBones, in triumph. 

"Then you _were_ going to be a demon king, " said the admiring Hamilton. "But fortunately for you, Bones, the descent to L is not so easy--you'vedrawn a party wall across----"

"L stands for laboratory, " explained the architect hurriedly. "An'where's the wall? God bless my jolly old soul, so I have! Anyway, thatcould have been rectified in a jiffy. "

"Speaking largely, " said Hamilton, after a careful scrutiny of the plan, "I think Mojeri has acted wisely. You will have to be content with theone room. What was the general idea of the house, anyway?"

"Science an' general illumination of the human mind, " said Bonescomprehensively. 

"I see, " said Hamilton. "You were going to make fireworks. A splendididea, Bones. "

"Painful as it is to undeceive you, dear old sir, " said Bones, with admirable patience, "I must tell you that I'm takin' up mymedical studies where I left off. Recently I've been wastin' my time, sir: precious hours an' minutes have been passed in frivolousamusement--_tempus fugit_, sir an' captain, _festina lente_, an'I might add----"

"Don't, " begged Hamilton; "you give me a headache. "

There was a look of interest in Bones's eyes. 

"If I may be allowed to prescribe, sir----" he began. 

"Thanks, I'd rather have the headache, " replied Hamilton hastily. 

It was nearly a week before the laboratory was fitted that Bones gave ahouse-warming, which took the shape of an afternoon tea. Bones, arrayedin a long white coat, wearing a ferocious lint mask attached to hugemica goggles, through which he glared on the world, met the party at thedoor and bade them a muffled welcome. They found the interior of the huta somewhat uncomfortable place. The glass retorts, test tubes, bottles, and the paraphernalia of science which Bones had imported crowded thebig table, the shelves, and even overflowed on to the three availablechairs. 

"Welcome to my little workroom, " said the hollow voice of Bones frombehind the mask. "Wel----Don't put your foot in the crucible, dear oldofficer! You're sittin' on the methylated spirits, ma'am! Phew!"

Bones removed his mask and showed a hot, red face. 

"Don't take it off, Bones, " begged Hamilton; "it improves you. "

Sanders was examining the microscope, which stood under a big glassshade. 

"You're very complete, Bones, " he said approvingly. "In what branch ofscience are you dabbling?"

"Tropical diseases, sir, " said Bones promptly, and lifted the shade. "I'm hopin' you'll allow me to have a look at your blood after tea. "

"Thank you, " said Sanders. "You had better practise on Hamilton. "

"Don't come near me!" threatened Hamilton. 

It was Patricia who, when the tea-things had been removed, played theheroine. 

"Take mine, " she said, and extended her hand. 

Bones found a needle, and sterilized it in the flame of a spirit lamp. 

"This won't hurt you, " he quavered, and brought the point near thewhite, firm flesh. Then he drew it back again. 

"This won't hurt you, dear old miss, " he croaked, and repeated theperformance. 

He stood up and wiped his streaming brow. 

"I haven't the heart to do it, " he said dismally. 

"A pretty fine doctor you are, Bones!" she scoffed, and took the needlefrom his hand. "There!"

Bones put the tiny crimson speck between his slides, blobbed a drop ofoil on top, and focussed the microscope. 

He looked for a long time, then turned a scared face to the girl. 

"Sleepin' sickness, poor dear old Miss Hamilton!" he gasped. "You'resimply full of tryps! Good Lord! What a blessin' for you I discoveredit!"

Sanders pushed the young scientist aside and looked. When he turned hishead, the girl saw his face was white and drawn, and for a moment asense of panic overcame her. 

"You silly ass, " growled the Commissioner, "they aren't trypnosomes! Youhaven't cleaned the infernal eyepiece!"

"Not trypnosomes?" said Bones. 

"You seem disappointed, Bones, " said Hamilton. 

"As a man, I'm overjoyed, " replied Bones gloomily; "as a scientist, it'sa set-back, dear old officer--a distinct set-back. "

The house-warming lasted a much shorter time than the host had intended. This was largely due to the failure of a very beautiful experiment whichhe had projected. In order that the rare and wonderful result at whichhe aimed should be achieved, Bones had the hut artificially darkened, and they sat in a hot and sticky blackness, whilst he knocked overbottles and swore softly at the instruments his groping hand could notdiscover. And the end of the experiment was a large, bad smell. 

"The women and children first, " said Hamilton, and dived for the door. 

They took farewell of Bones at a respectful distance. 

Hamilton went across to the Houssa lines, and Sanders walked back to theResidency with the girl. For a little while they spoke of Bones and hisnewest craze, and then suddenly the girl asked--

"You didn't really think there were any of those funny things in myblood, did you?"

Sanders looked straight ahead. 

"I thought--you see, we know--the tryp is a distinct little body, andanybody who had lived in this part of the world for a time can pick himout. Bones, of course, knows nothing thoroughly--I should haveremembered that. "

She said nothing until they reached the verandah, and she turned to goto her room. 

"It wasn't nice, was it?" she said. 

Sanders shook his head. 

"It was a taste of hell, " he said simply. And she fetched a quick, longsigh and patted his arm before she realized what she was doing. 

Bones, returning from his hut, met Sanders hurrying across the square. 

"Bones, I want you to go up to the Isisi, " said the Commissioner. "There's an outbreak of some weird disease, probably due to the dammingof the little river by Ranabini, and the flooding of the low forests. "

Bones brightened up. 

"Sir an' Excellency, " he said gratefully, "comin' from you, this tributeto my scientific----"

"Don't be an ass, Bones!" said Sanders irritably. "Your job is to makethese beggars work. They'll simply sit and die unless you start them ondrainage work. Cut a few ditches with a fall to the river; kick Ranabinifor me; take up a few kilos of quinine and dose them. "

Nevertheless, Bones managed to smuggle on board quite a respectableamount of scientific apparatus, and came in good heart to the despondentfolk of the Lower Isisi. 

Three weeks after Bones had taken his departure, Sanders was sitting atdinner in a very thoughtful mood. 

Patricia had made several ineffectual attempts to draw him into aconversation, and had been answered in monosyllables. At first she hadbeen piqued and a little angry, but, as the meal progressed, sherealized that matters of more than ordinary seriousness were occupyinghis thoughts, and wisely changed her attitude of mind. A chancereference to Bones, however, succeeded where more pointed attempts hadfailed. 

"Yes, " said Sanders, in answer to the question she had put, "Bones hassome rough idea of medical practice. He was a cub student at Bart. 's fortwo years before he realized that surgery and medicines weren't hisforte. "

"Don't you sometimes feel the need of a doctor here?" she asked, andSanders smiled. 

"There is very little necessity. The military doctor comes downoccasionally from headquarters, and we have a native apothecary. We havefew epidemics amongst the natives, and those the medical missions dealwith--sleep-sickness, beri-beri and the like. Sometimes, of course, wehave a pretty bad outbreak which spreads----Don't go, Hamilton--I wantto see you for a minute. "

Hamilton had risen, and was making for his room, with a little nod tohis sister. 

At Sanders's word he turned. 

"Walk with me for a few minutes, " said Sanders, and, with an apology tothe girl, he followed the other from the room. 

"What is it?" asked Hamilton. 

Sanders was perturbed--this he knew, and his own move towards his roomwas in the nature of a challenge for information. 

"Bones, " said the Commissioner shortly. "Do you realize that we have hadno news from him since he left?"

Hamilton smiled. 

"He's an erratic beggar, but nothing could have happened to him, or weshould have heard about it. "

Sanders did not reply at once. He paced up and down the gravelled pathbefore the Residency, his hands behind him. 

"No news has come from Ranabini's village for the simple reason thatnobody has entered or left it since Bones arrived, " he said. "It issituated, as you know, on a tongue of land at the confluence of tworivers. No boat has left the beaches, and an attempt to reach it by landhas been prevented by force. "

"By force?" repeated the startled Hamilton. 

Sanders nodded. 

"I had the report in this morning. Two men of the Isisi from anothervillage went to call on some relations. They were greeted with arrows, and returned hurriedly. The headman of M'gomo village met with the samereception. This came to the ears of my chief spy Ahmet, who attempted topaddle to the island in his canoe. At a distance of two hundred yards hewas fired upon. "

"Then they've got Bones?" gasped Hamilton. 

"On the contrary, Bones nearly got Ahmet, for Bones was the marksman. "

The two men paced the path in silence. 

"Either Bones has gone mad, " said Hamilton, "or----"

"Or----?"

Hamilton laughed helplessly. 

"I can't fathom the mystery, " he said. "McMasters will be downto-morrow, to look at some sick men. We'll take him up, and examine theboy. "

It was a subdued little party that boarded the _Zaire_ the followingmorning, and Patricia Hamilton, who came to see them off, watched theirdeparture with a sense of impending trouble. 

Dr. McMasters alone was cheerful, for this excursion represented a breakin a somewhat monotonous routine. 

"It may be the sun, " he suggested. "I have known several fellows whohave gone a little nutty from that cause. I remember a man at GrandBassam who shot----"

"Oh, shut up, Mac, you grisly devil!" snapped Hamilton. "Talk aboutbutterflies. "

The _Zaire_ swung round the bend of the river that hid Ranabini'svillage from view, but had scarcely come into sight when--

"Ping!"

Sanders saw the bullet strike the river ahead of the boat, and send aspiral column of water shooting into the air. He put up his glasses andfocussed them on the village beach. 

"Bones!" he said grimly. "Take her in, Abiboo. "

As the steersman spun the wheel--

"Ping!"

This time the shot fell to the right. 

The three white men looked at one another. 

"Let every man take cover, " said Sanders quietly. "We're going to thatbeach even if Bones has a battery of 75's!"

An exclamation from Hamilton arrested him. 

"He's signalling, " said the Houssa Captain, and Sanders put up hisglasses again. 

Bones's long arms were waving at ungainly angles as he semaphored hiswarning. 

Hamilton opened his notebook and jotted down the message--

"Awfully sorry, dear old officer, " he spelt, and grinned at theunnecessary exertion of this fine preliminary flourish, "but must keepyou away. Bad outbreak of virulent smallpox----"

Sanders whistled, and pulled back the handle of the engine-roomtelegraph to "stop. "

"My God!" said Hamilton through his teeth, for he had seen such anoutbreak once, and knew something of its horrors. Whole districts hadbeen devastated in a night. One tribe had been wiped out, and therotting frames of their houses still showed amidst the tangle ofelephant grass which had grown up through the ruins. 

He wiped his forehead and read the message a little unsteadily, for hismind was on his sister--

 "Had devil of fight, and lost twenty men, but got it under. Come and get me in three weeks. Had to stay here for fear careless devils spreading disease. "

Sanders looked at Hamilton, and McMasters chuckled. 

"This is where I get a swift vacation, " he said, and called his servant. 

Hamilton leapt on to the rail, and steadying himself against astanchion, waved a reply--

"We are sending you a doctor. "

Back came the reply in agitated sweeps of arm--

"Doctor be blowed! What am I?"

"What shall I say, sir?" asked Hamilton after he had delivered themessage. 

"Just say 'a hero, '" said Sanders huskily. 

CHAPTER VII

BONES, KING-MAKER

Patricia Hamilton, an observant young lady, had not failed to noticethat every day, at a certain hour, Bones disappeared from view. It wasnot for a long time that she sought an explanation. 

"Where is Bones?" she asked one morning, when the absence of hercavalier was unusually protracted. 

"With his baby, " said her brother. 

"Please don't be comic, dear. Where is Bones? I thought I saw him withthe ship's doctor. "

The mail had come in that morning, and the captain and surgeon of thes. S. _Boma Queen_ had been their guests at breakfast. 

Hamilton looked up from his book and removed his pipe. 

"Do you mean to tell me that Bones has kept his guilty secret all thistime?" he asked anxiously. 

She sat down by his side. 

"Please tell me the joke. This isn't the first time you have raggedBones about 'the baby'; even Mr. Sanders has done it. "

She looked across at the Commissioner with a reproving shake of herpretty head. 

"Have _I_ ragged Bones?" asked Sanders, in surprise. "I never thought Iwas capable of ragging anybody. "

"The truth is, Pat, " said her brother, "there isn't any rag about thematter. Bones adopted a piccanin. "

"A child?"

"A baby about a month old. Its mother died, and some old bird of awitch-doctor was 'chopping' it when Bones appeared on the scene. "

Patricia gave a little gurgle of delight and clapped her hands. "Oh, please tell me everything about it. "

"It was Sanders who told her of Henry Hamilton Bones, his dire peril andhis rescue; it was Hamilton who embellished the story of how Bones hadgiven his adopted son his first bath. 

"Just dropped him into a tub and stirred him round with a mop. "

Soon after this Bones came blithely up from the beach and across theparade-ground, his large pipe in his mouth, his cane awhirl. 

Hamilton watched him from the verandah of the Residency, and called overhis shoulder to Patricia. 

It had been an anxious morning for Bones, and even Hamilton wascompelled to confess to himself that he had felt the strain, though hehad not mentioned the fact to his sister. 

Outside in the roadstead the intermediate Elder Dempster boat waswaiting the return of the doctor. Bones had been to see him off. Animportant day, indeed, for Henry Hamilton Bones had been vaccinated. 

"I think it 'took, '" said Bones gravely, answering the other's question. "I must say Henry behaved like a gentleman. "

"What did Fitz say?"

(Fitzgerald, the doctor, had come in accordance with his promise toperform the operation. )

"Fitz?" said Bones, and his voice trembled. "Fitz is a cad!"

Hamilton grinned. 

"He said that babies didn't feel pain, and there was Henry howling hisyoung head off. It was horrible!"

Bones wiped his streaming brow with a large and violent bandana, andlooked round cautiously. 

"Not a word, Ham, to her!" he said, in a loud whisper. 

"Sorry!" said Hamilton, picking up his pipe. "Her knows. "

"Good gad!" said Bones, in despair, and turned to meet the girl. 

"Oh, Bones!" she said reproachfully, "you never told me!"

Bones shrugged his shoulders, opened his mouth, dropped his pipe, blinked, spread out his hands in deprecation, and picked up his pipe. 

From which it may be gathered that he was agitated. 

"Dear old Miss Hamilton, " he said tremulously, "I should be a horridbounder if I denied Henry Hamilton Bones--poor little chap. If I nevermentioned him, dear old sister, it is because----Ah, well, you willnever understand. "

He hunched his shoulders dejectedly. 

"Don't be an ass, Bones. Why the dickens are you making a mystery of thething?" asked Hamilton. "I'll certify you're a jolly good father to thebrat. "

"Not 'brat, ' dear old sir, " begged Bones. "Henry is a human being with ahuman heart. That boy"--he wagged his finger solemnly--"knows me themoment I go into the hut. To see him sit up an' say 'Da!' dear oldsister Hamilton, " he went on incoherently, "to see him open his mouthwith a smile, one tooth through, an' one you can feel with your littlefinger--why, it's--it's wonderful, jolly old Miss Hamilton! Damn it, it's wonderful!"

"Bones!" cried the shocked girl. 

"I can't help it, madame, " said Bones miserably. "Fitz cut his poorlittle, fat little arm. Oh, Fitz is a low cad! Cut it, my dear oldPatricia, mercilessly--yes, mercilessly, brutally, an' the preciouslittle blighter didn't so much as call for the police. Good gad, it wasterrible!"

His eyes were moist, and he blew his nose with great vigour. 

"I'm sure it was awful, " she soothed him. "May I come and see him?"

Bones raised a warning hand, and, though the habitat of the wonderfulchild could not have been less than half a mile away, lowered his voice. 

"He's asleep--fitfully, but asleep. I've told them to call me if he hasa turn for the worse, an' I'm goin' down with a gramophone after dinner, in case the old fellow wants buckin' up. But now he's asleep, thankin'you for your great kindness an' sympathy, dear old miss, in the momentof singular trial. "

He took her hand and shook it heartily, tried to say something, andswallowed hard, then, turning, walked from the verandah in the directionof his hut. 

The girl was smiling, but there were tears in her eyes. 

"What a boy!" she said, half to herself. 

Sanders nodded. 

"Bones is very nice, " he said, and she looked at him curiously. 

"That is almost eloquent, " she said quietly. 

"I thought it was rather bald, " he replied. "You see, few people reallyunderstand Bones. I thought, the first time I saw him, that he was afool. I was wrong. Then I thought he was effeminate. I was wrong again, for he has played the man whenever he was called upon to do so. Bonesis one of those rare creatures--a man with all the moral equipment of agood woman. "

Her eyes were fixed on his, and for a moment they held. Then hersdropped quickly, and she flushed ever so slightly. 

"I think you have defined the perfect man, " she said, turning the leavesof her book. 

The next morning she was admitted to an audience with that paragon ofparagons, Henry Hamilton Bones. 

He lived in the largest of the Houssa huts at the far end of the lines, and had for attendants two native women, for whom Bones had framed themost stringent and regimental of orders. 

The girl paused in the porch of the hut to read the typewrittenregulations which were fastened by drawing-pins to a green baize board. 

They were bi-lingual, being in English and in coast Arabic, in whichdialect Bones was something of a master. The girl wondered why theyshould be in English. 

"Absolutely necessary, dear old lady friend, " explained Bones firmly. "You've no idea what a lot of anxiety I have had. Your dear oldbrother--God bless him!--is a topping old sport, but with children youcan't be too careful, and Ham is awfully thoughtless. There, I've saidit!"

The English part of the regulations was brief, and she read it through. 

 HENRY HAMILTON BONES (Care of). 

 1. Visitors are requested to make as little noise as possible. How would you like to be awakened from refreshing sleep! Be unselfish, and put yourself in his place. 

 2. It is absolutely forbidden to feed the child except with articles a list of which may be obtained on application. Nuts and chocolates are strictly forbidden. 

 3. The undersigned will not be responsible for articles broken by the child, such as watches. If watches are used to amuse child, they should be held by child's ear, when an interested expression will be observed on child's face. On no account should child be allowed--knowing no better--to bite watch, owing to danger from glass, minute hand, etc. 

 4. In lifting child, grasp above waist under arms and raise slowly, taking care that head does not fall back. Bring child close to holder's body, passing left arm under child and right arm over. Child should not be encouraged to sit up--though quite able to, being very forward for eight months--owing to strain on back. On no account should child be thrown up in the air and caught. 

 5. Any further information can be obtained at Hut 7. 

 (Signed)

 AUGUSTUS TIBBETTS, Lieutenant. 

"All based upon my personal observation and experience, " said Bonestriumphantly--"not a single tip from anybody. "

"I think you are really marvellous, Bones, " said the girl, and meant it. 

Henry Hamilton Bones sat upright in a wooden cot. A fat-faced atom ofbrown humanity, bald-headed and big-eyed, he sucked his thumb and staredat the visitor, and from the visitor to Bones. 

Bones he regarded with an intelligent interest which dissolved into afat chuckle of sheer delight. 

"Isn't it--isn't it simply extraordinary?" demanded Bones ecstatically. "In all your long an' painful experience, dear old friend an' co-worker, have you ever seen anything like it? When you remember that babies don'topen their eyes until three weeks after they're born----"

"Da!" said Henry Hamilton Bones. 

"Da yourself, Henry!" squawked his foster-father. 

"Do da!" said Henry. 

The smile vanished from Bones's face, and he bit his lip thoughtfully. 

"Do da!" he repeated. "Let me see, what is 'do da'?"

"Do da!" roared Henry. 

"Dear old Miss Hamilton, " he said gently, "I don't know whether Henrywants a drink or whether he has a pain in his stomach, but I think thatwe had better leave him in more experienced hands. "

He nodded fiercely to the native woman nurse and made his exit. 

Outside they heard Henry's lusty yell, and Bones put his hand to his earand listened with a strained expression on his face. 

Presently the tension passed. 

"It _was_ a drink, " said Bones. "Excuse me whilst I make a note. " Hepulled out his pocket-book and wrote: "'Do da' means 'child wantsdrink. '"

He walked back to the Residency with her, giving her a remarkableinsight into Henry's vocabulary. It appeared that babies have a languageof their own, which Bones boasted that he had almost mastered. 

She lay awake for a very long time that night, thinking of Bones, hissimplicity and his lovableness. She thought, too, of Sanders, grave, aloof, and a little shy, and wondered.... 

She woke with a start, to hear the voice of Bones outside the window. She felt sure that something had happened to Henry. Then she heardSanders and her brother speaking, and realized that it was not Henrythey were discussing. 

She looked at her watch--it was three o'clock. 

"I was foolish to trust that fellow, " Sanders was saying, "and I knowthat Bosambo is not to blame, because he has always given a very wideberth to the Kulumbini people, though they live on his border. "

She heard him speak in a strange tongue to some unknown fourth, andguessed that a spy of the Government had come in during the night. 

"We'll get away as quickly as we can, Bones, " Sanders said. "We can takeour chance with the lower river in the dark; it will be daylight beforewe reach the bad shoals. You need not come, Hamilton. "

"Do you think Bones will be able to do all you want?" Hamilton's tonewas dubious. 

"Pull yourself together, dear old officer, " said Bones, raising hisvoice to an insubordinate pitch. 

She heard the men move from the verandah, and fell asleep again, wondering who was the man they spoke of and what mischief he had beenbrewing. 

 * * * * *

On a little tributary stream, which is hidden by the island of bats, wasthe village of Kulumbini. High elephant grass hid the poor huts evenfrom they who navigate a cautious way along the centre of the narrowstream. On the shelving beach one battered old canoe of ironwood, withits sides broken and rusted, the indolence of its proprietor made plainby the badly spliced panels, was all that told the stranger that thehabitations of man were nigh. 

Kulumbini was a term of reproach along the great river and amongst thepeople of the Akasava, the Isisi, and the N'gombi, no less than amongthat most tolerant of tribes the Ochori. They were savage people, immensely brave, terrible in battle, but more terrible after. 

Kulumbini, the village and city of the tribe, was no more than anoutlier of a fairly important tribe which occupied forest landstretching back to the Ochori boundary. Their territory knew no frontiersave the frontiers of caprice and desire. They had neither nationalitynor national ambition, and would sell their spears for a bunch of fish, as the saying goes. Their one consuming passion and one great wish wasthat they should not be overlooked, and, so long as the tribes respectedthis eccentricity, the Kulumbini distressed no man. 

How this desire for isolation arose, none know. It is certain that onceupon a time they possessed a king who so shared their views that henever came amongst them, but lived in a forest place which is called tothis day S'furi-S'foosi, "The trees (or glade) of the distant king. "They had demurred at Government inspection, and Sanders, coming up thelittle river on the first of his visits, was greeted by a shower ofarrows, and his landing opposed by locked shields. 

There are many ways of disposing of opposition, not the least importantof which is to be found in two big brass-barrelled guns which have theirabiding place at each end of the _Zaire's_ bridge. There is also amethod known as peaceful suasion. Sanders had compromised by goingashore for a peace palaver with a revolver in each hand. 

He had a whole fund of Bomongo stories, most of which are unfit forprinting, but which, nevertheless, find favour amongst the primitivehumorists of the Great River. By parable and story, by nonsense tale andromance, by drawing upon his imagination to supply himself with facts, by invoking ju-jus, ghosts, devils, and all the armoury of nativesuperstition, he had, in those far-off times, prevailed upon the peopleof Kulumbini not only to allow him a peaceful entrance to their country, but--wonder of wonders!--to contribute, when the moon and tide were incertain relative positions, which in English means once every sixmonths, a certain tithe or tax, which might consist of rubber, ivory, fish, or manioc, according to the circumstances of the people. 

More than this, he stamped a solemn treaty--he wrote it in a tatteredlaundry-book which had come into the chief's possession by somemysterious means--and he hung about the neck of Gulabala, the titularlord of these strange people, the medal and chain of chieftainship. 

Not to be outdone in courtesy, the chief offered him the choice of allthe maidens of Kulumbini, and Sanders, to whom such offers were by nomeans novel, had got out of a delicate situation in his usual manner, having resort to witchcraft for the purpose. For he said, with duesolemnity and hushed breath, that it had been predicted by a celebratedwitch-doctor of the lower river that the next wife he should take tohimself would die of the sickness-mongo, and said Sanders--

"My heart is too tender for your people, O Chief, to lead one of yourbeautiful daughters to death. "

"O Sandi, " replied Gulabala hopefully, "I have many daughters, and Ishould not miss one. And would it not be good service for a woman of myhouse to die in your hut?"

"We see things differently, you and I, " said Sanders, "for, according tomy religion, if any woman dies from witchcraft, her ghost sits for everat the foot of my bed, making terrifying faces. "

Thus Sanders had made his escape, and had received at odd intervals thetribute of these remote people. 

For years they had dwelt without interference, for they were an unluckypeople to quarrel with, and, save for one or two trespasses on the partof Gulabala, there was no complaint made concerning them. It is notnatural, however, for native people to prosper, as these folks did, without there growing up a desire to kill somebody. For does not theriver saying run: "The last measure of a full granary is a measure ofblood"?

In the dead of a night Gulabala took three hundred spears across thefrontier to the Ochori village of Netcka, and returned at dawned withthe spears all streaky. And he brought back with him some twenty women, who would have sung the death-song of their men but for the fact thatGulabala and his warriors beat them. 

Gulabala slept all the day, he and his spears, and woke to a grislyvision of consequence. 

He called his people together and spoke in this wise--

"Soon Sandi and his headmen will come, and, if we are here, there willbe many folk hanged, for Sandi is a cruel man. Therefore let us go to afar place in the forest, carrying our treasure, and when Sandi hasforgiven us, we will come back. "

A good plan but for the sad fact that Bosambo of the Ochori was lessthan fifty miles away at the dawn of that fatal day, and was marchingswiftly to avenge his losses, for not only had Gulabala taken women, buthe had taken sixty goats, and that was unpardonable. 

The scouts which Gulabala had sent out came back with the news that theway to sanctuary was barred by Bosambo. 

Now, of all the men that the Kulumbini hated, they hated none more thanthe Chief of the Ochori. For he alone never scrupled to overlook them, and to dare their anger by flogging such of them as raided his territoryin search of game. 

"Ko, " said Gulabala, deeply concerned, "this Bosambo is Sandi's dog. Letus go back to our village and say we have been hunting, for Bosambo willnot cross into our lands for fear of Sandi's anger. "

They reached the village, and were preparing to remove the last evidenceof their crime--one goat looks very much like another, but women canspeak--when Sanders came striding down the village street, and Gulabala, with his curved execution knife in his hand, stood up by the side of thewoman he had slain. 

"O Gulabala, " said Sanders softly, "this is an evil thing. "

The chief looked left and right helplessly. 

"Lord, " he said huskily, "Bosambo and his people put me to shame, forthey spied on me and overlooked me. And we are proud people, who mustnot be overlooked--thus it has been for all time. "

Sanders pursed his lips and stared at the man. 

"I see here a fine high tree, " he said, "so high that he who hangs fromits top branch may say that no man overlooks him. There you shall hang, Gulabala, for your proud men to see, before they also go to work for myKing, with chains upon their legs as long as they live. "

"Lord, " said Gulabala philosophically, "I have lived. "

Ten minutes later he went the swift way which bad chiefs go, and hispeople were unresentful spectators. 

"This is the tenth time I have had to find a new chief in this belt, "said Sanders, pacing the deck of the _Zaire_, "and who on earth I am toput in his place I do not know. "

The _lokalis_ of the Kulumbini were already calling headmen to grandpalaver. In the shade of the reed-thatched _lokali_ house, before thehollow length of tree-trunk, the player worked his flat drumsticks ofironwood with amazing rapidity. The call trilled and rumbled, rising andfalling, now a patter of light musical sound, now a low grumble. 

Bosambo came--by the river route--as Sanders was leaving the _Zaire_ toattend the momentous council. 

"How say you, Bosambo--what man of the Kulumbini folk will hold thesepeople in check?"

Bosambo squatted at his lord's feet and set his spear a-spinning. 

"Lord, " he confessed, "I know of none, for they are a strange andhateful people. Whatever king you set above them they will despise. Alsothey worship no gods or ghosts, nor have they ju-ju or fetish. And, if aman does not believe, how may you believe him? Lord, this I say toyou--set me above the Kulumbini, and I will change their hearts. "

But Sanders shook his head. 

"That may not be, Bosambo, " he said. 

The palaver was a long and weary one. There were twelve good claimantsfor the vacant stool of office, and behind the twelve there were kinsmenand spears. 

From sunset to nigh on sunrise they debated the matter, and Sanders satpatiently through it all, awake and alert. Whether this might be said ofBones is questionable. Bones swears that he did not sleep, and spentthe night, chin in hand, turning over the problem in his mind. 

It is certain he was awake when Sanders gave his summing up. 

"People of this land, " said Sanders, "four fires have been burnt sincewe met, and I have listened to all your words. Now, you know how good itis that there should be one you call chief. Yet, if I take you, M'loomo"--he turned to one sullen claimant--"there will be war. And if Itake B'songi, there will be killing. And I have come to this mind--thatI will appoint a king over you who shall not dwell with you nor overlookyou. "

Two hundred pairs of eyes watched the Commissioner's face. He saw thegleam of satisfaction which came at this concession to the traditionalcharacteristic of the tribe, and went on, almost completely sure of hisground. 

"He shall dwell far away, and you, the twelve kinsmen of Gulabala, shallreign in his place--one at every noon shall sit in the chief's chair andkeep the land for your king, who shall dwell with me. "

One of the prospective regents rose. 

"Lord, that is good talk, for so did Sakalaba, the great king of ourrace, live apart from us at S'furi-S'foosi, and were we not prosperousin those days? Now tell us what man you will set over us. "

For one moment Sanders was nonplussed. He was rapidly reviewing thequalifications of all the little chiefs, the headmen, and the fisherleaders who sat under him, and none fulfilled his requirements. 

In that moment of silence an agitated voice whispered in his ear, andBones's lean hand clutched his sleeve. 

"Sir an' Excellency, " breathed Bones, all of a twitter, "don't think I'mtakin' advantage of my position, but it's the chance I've been lookin'for, sir. You'd do me an awful favour--you see, sir, I've got his careerto consider----"

"What on earth----" began Sanders. 

"Henry Hamilton Bones, sir, " said Bones tremulously. "You'd set him upfor life, sir. I must think of the child, hang it all! I know I'm ajolly old rotter to put my spoke in----"

Sanders gently released the frenzied grip of his lieutenant, and facedthe wondering palaver. 

"Know all people that this day I give to you as king one whom you shallcall M'songuri, which means in your tongue 'The Young and the Wise, ' andwho is called in my tongue N'risu M'ilitani Tibbetti, and this one is achild and well beloved by my lord Tibbetti, being to him as a son, andby M'ilitani and by me, Sandi. "

He raised his hand in challenge. 

"Wa! Whose men are you?" he cried. 

"M'songuri!"

The answer came in a deep-throated growl, and the assembly leapt to itsfeet. 

"Wa! Who rules this land?"

"M'songuri!"

They locked arms and stamped first with the right foot and then with theleft, in token of their acceptance. 

"Take your king, " said Sanders, "and build him a beautiful hut, and hisspirit shall dwell with you. This palaver is finished. "

Bones was speechless all the way down river. At irregular intervals hewould grip Sanders's hand, but he was too full for speech. 

Hamilton and his sister met the law-givers on the quay. 

"You're back sooner than I expected you, sir, " said Hamilton. "Did Bonesbehave?"

"Like a little gentleman, " said Sanders. 

"Oh, Bones, " Patricia broke in eagerly, "Henry has cut another tooth. "

Bones's nod was grave and even distant. 

"I will go and see His Majesty, " he said. "I presume he is in thepalace?"

Hamilton stared after him. 

"Surely, " he asked irritably, "Bones isn't sickening for measles again?"

CHAPTER VIII

THE TAMER OF BEASTS

Native folk, at any rate, are but children of a larger growth. In themain, their delinquencies may be classified under the heading of"naughtiness. " They are mischievous and passionate, and they have aweakness for destroying things to discover the secrets of volition. Atoo prosperous nation mystifies less fortunate people, who demand oftheir elders and rulers some solution of the mystery of their rivals'progress. Such a ruler, unable to offer the necessary explanation, takeshis spears to the discovery, and sometimes discovers too much for hishappiness. 

The village of Jumburu stands on the edge of the bush country, where thelawless men of all nations dwell. This territory is filled with fiercecommunities, banded together against a common enemy--the law. They callthis land the B'wigini, which means "the Nationless, " and Jumburu'simportance lies in the fact that it is the outpost of order anddiscipline. 

In Jumburu were two brothers, O'ka and B'suru, who had usurped thechieftainship of their uncle, the very famous K'sungasa, "very famous, "since he had been in his time a man of remarkable gifts, which he stillretained to some extent, and in consequence enjoyed what was left oflife. 

He was, by all accounts, as mad as a man could be, and in circumstancesless favourable to himself his concerned relatives would have taken hima long journey into the forest he loved so well, and they would have putout his eyes and left him to the mercy of the beasts, such being themethod of dealing with lunacy amongst people who, all unknown tothemselves, were eugenists of a most inflexible kind. 

But to leave K'sungasa to the beasts would have been equivalent todelivering him to the care of his dearest friends, for he had anaffinity for the wild dwellers of the bush, and all his life he hadlived amongst them and loved them. 

It is said that he could arrest the parrot in the air by a "cl'k!" andcould bring the bird screeching and fluttering to his hand. He couldcall the shy little monkeys from the high branches where they hid, andeven the fiercest of buffaloes would at his word come snuffling andnosing his brown arm. 

So that, when he grew weak-minded, his relatives, after a long palaver, decided that for once the time-honoured customs of the land should beoverridden, and since there was no other method of treating the blindbut that prescribed by precedent, he should be allowed to live in agreat hut at the edge of the village with his birds and snakes andwild cats, and that the direction of village affairs should pass to hisnephews. 

Mr. Commissioner Sanders knew all this, but did nothing. His task was togovern the territory, which meant to so direct affairs that theterritory governed itself. When the fate of K'sungasa was in thebalance, he sent word to the chief's nephews that he was somewhere inthe neighbourhood, and that the revival of the bad old custom ofblinding would be followed by the introduction of the bad new custom ofhanging; but this had less effect upon the council of relatives--to whomSanders's message was not transmitted--than the strange friendship whichK'sungasa had for the forest folk. 

The nephews might have governed the village, exacted tribute, apportioned fishing rights, and administered justice for all time, butfor the fact that there came a period of famine, when crops were bad andfish was scarce, and when, remarkably enough, the village of L'bini, distant no more than a few hours' paddling, had by a curious coincidentraised record crops, and had, moreover, a glut of fish in their waters. 

There was the inevitable palaver and the inevitable solution. O'ka andB'suru led ten canoes to the offending village, slaughtered a few menand burnt a few huts. For two hours the combatants pranced and yelledand thrust at one another amidst a pandemonium of screaming women, andthen Lieutenant Tibbetts dropped from the clouds with a most substantialplatoon of Houssas, and there was a general sorting out. 

Sanders held a court on one of the middle islands near the Residency, and B'suru was sent to the Village of Irons for the term of his naturallife. O'ka, who had fled to the bush, escaped, however, and with him aheadman and a few followers. 

Lieutenant Tibbetts, who had spent two profitable days in the village ofJumburu, came back to the Residency a very thoughtful young man. 

"What is the matter with Bones?" asked Captain Hamilton. 

His sister smiled over her book, but offered no other comment. 

"Do you know, Pat?" demanded Hamilton sternly. 

Sanders looked at the girl with a twinkle in his grey eyes, and lit acheroot. The relationships between Patricia Hamilton and Bones were asource of constant joy to him. Taciturn and a thought dour as he was, Pat would never have suspected the bubbling laughter which arose behindthat lean brown face, unmovable and, in his moments of most intenseenjoyment, expressionless. 

"Bones and I have a feud, " said the girl. 

Sanders smiled. 

"Not as violent a feud as O'ka and I have, I hope?" he said. 

She frowned a little and looked at him anxiously. 

"But you don't worry about the threats of the people you have punished?"she asked. 

"I haven't punished O'ka, " said Sanders, "and an expedition into thebush would be too expensive an affair. He has apparently settled withthe B'wigini people. If they take up his feud, they might give trouble. But what is your trouble with Bones?"

"You must ask him, " she said. 

Hamilton's opportunity came next day, when Bones applied for leave. 

"Leave?" said Captain Hamilton incredulously. "Leave, Bones? What thedickens do you want leave for?"

Bones, standing as stiff as a ramrod before the office table at whichhis superior sat, saluted. 

"Urgent private affairs, sir, " he said gruffly. 

"But you haven't any private affairs, " protested Hamilton. "Your life isan open book--you were bragging about that fact yesterday. "

"Sir and brother-officer, " said Bones firmly, "a crisis has arisen in myyoung life. My word, sir, has been called into doubt by your jolly oldsister. I desire to vindicate my honour, my reputation, an' myveracity. "

"Pat has been pulling your leg!" suggested Hamilton, but Bones shook hishead. 

"Nothin' so indelicate, sir. Your revered an' lovely relative--Godbless her jolly old heart!--expressed her doubt in _re_ leopards an'buffaloes. I'm goin' out, sir, into the wilds--amidst dangers, Ham, oldfeller, that only seasoned veterans like you an' me can imagine--tobring proof that I am not only a sportsman, but a gentleman. "

The timely arrival of Miss Patricia Hamilton, very beautiful in dazzlingwhite, with her solar helmet perched at an angle, smote Bones tosilence. 

"What have you been saying to Bones?" asked Hamilton severely. 

"She said----"

"I said----"

They began and finished together. 

"Bones, you're a tell-tale, " accused the girl. 

"Go on, " said Bones recklessly. "Don't spare me. I'm a liar an' a thiefan' a murderer--don't mind me!"

"I simply said that I didn't believe he shot the leopard--the one whoseskin is in his hut. "

"Oh, no, " said Bones, with heavy sarcasm, "I didn't shoot it--oh, no! Ifroze it to death--I poisoned it!"

"But did you shoot it?" she asked. 

"Did I shoot it, dear old Ham?" asked Bones, with great calmness. 

"Did you?" asked Hamilton innocently. 

"Did I shoot at that leopard, " Bones went on deliberately, "an' was hefound next mornin' cold an' dead, with a smile on his naughty oldface?"

Hamilton nodded, and Bones faced the girl expectantly. 

"Apologize, child, " he said. 

"I shall do nothing of the kind, " she replied, with some heat. "DidBones shoot the leopard?"

She appealed to her brother. 

Hamilton looked from one to the other. 

"When the leopard was found----" he began. 

"Listen to this, dear old sister, " murmured Bones. 

"When the leopard was found, with a spear in its side----"

"Evidently done after death by a wanderin' cad of a native, " interposedBones hastily. 

"Be quiet, Bones, " commanded the girl, and Bones shrugged his shouldersand obeyed. 

"When the leopard was found, " continued Hamilton, "he was certainlybeyond human aid, and though no bullet mark was discovered, Bonesconclusively proved----"

"One moment, dear old officer, " interrupted Bones. He had seen out ofthe tail of his eye a majestic figure crossing the square. 

"Will you allow me to produce scientific an' expert evidence?"

Hamilton assented gravely, and Bones went to the door of the orderlyroom and roared a name. 

"I shall produce, " he said quietly, but firmly, "the evidence of onewho enjoyed the confidence of dear old Professor What's-his-name, theeminent thigumy-ologist. Oh, Ali!"

Ali Abid, a solemn figure, salaamed in the doorway. 

Not for nothing had he been factotum to a great bacteriologist beforethe demise of his master had driven him to service with a lieutenant ofHoussas. His vocabulary smelt of the laboratory, his English was pure, undefiled, and unusual. 

"Ali, you remember my leopard?"

"Sir, " said Ali, shaking his head, "who can forget?"

"Did I kill him, Ali?" asked Bones. "Tell the lady everything. "

Ali bowed to the girl. 

"Miss or madame, " he said, "the leopard (_Felis pardus_), a wild beastof the Felidæ family, is indigenous to forest territory. The subject inquestion--to wit, the skin thereof exhibited by Sir Bones--wasparticularly ferocious, and departed this life as a result of huntingconducted by aforesaid. Examination of subject after demise under mostscientific scrutiny revealed that said leopard (_Felis pardus_) sufferedfrom weak heart, and primary cause of death was diagnosed as shockoccasioned by large 'bang' from Sir Bones's rifle. "

"What did I say?" asked Bones complacently. 

"Do you mean to tell me, " gasped the girl, "that you _frightened_ theleopard to death?"

Bones spread out his hands disparagingly. 

"You have heard the evidence, dear old sister, " he said; "there isnothing to add. "

She threw back her head and laughed until her grey eyes were swimming intears. 

"Oh, Bones, you humbug!" she laughed. 

Bones drew himself up more stiffly than ever, stuck his monocle in hiseye, and turned to his chief. 

"Do I understand, sir, " he said, "that my leave is granted?"

"Seven days, " said Hamilton, and Bones swung round on his heel, knockedover Hamilton's stationery rack, stumbled over a chair, and strodegloomily from the hut. 

When Patricia Hamilton woke the next morning, she found a note pinned toher pillow. 

We may gloss over the impropriety of the proceedings which led tothis phenomenon. Bones was an artist, and so small a matter as theproprieties did not come into his calculations. 

Patricia sat up in bed and read the letter. 

 "DEAR OLD FRIEND AND DOUTTING THOS. " (Bones's spelling was always perfectly disgraceful), --

 "When this reaches you, when this reaches you, I shall be far, far away on my long and dangerus journey. I may not come back, I may not come back, for I and a faithful servant are about to penetrate to the lares of the wild beasts of the forest, of the forest. I am determined to wipe out the reproach which you have made. I will bring back, not a dead leppard, not a dead leppard, but a live one, which I shall seeze with my own hands. I may lose my life in this rash and hazardus enterprise, but at least I shall vindycate my honour. --Farewell, dear old Patrisia. 

 "Your friend, "B. "

"Which proves, " said Hamilton, when he was shown the letter, "that Bonesis learning to spell. It only seems yesterday when he was spelling'Hamilton' with three m's. By the way, how did you get this letter?"

"I found it pinned to the door, " said Patricia tactfully. 

Bones went by the shortest route to Jumburu, and was received withoutenthusiasm, for he had left a new chief to rule over a people who werenear enough to the B'wigini to resent overmuch discipline. But hisbusiness was with K'sungasa, for the two days' stay which Bones had madein the village, and all that he had learnt of the old tamer, had beenresponsible for his reckless promise to Patricia Hamilton. 

He came at a critical moment, for K'sungasa, a thin and knobbly old man, with dim eyes and an incessant chuckle, was very near his end. He layon a fine raised bed, a big yellow-eyed wild cat at his feet, a monkeyor two shivering by the bedside, and a sprawling litter of kittens--towhich the wild cat leapt in a tremble of rage when Bones entered thehut--crawling in the sunlight which flooded the hut. 

"Lord Tibbetti, " croaked the old man, "I see you! This is a good time, for to-morrow I should be dead. "

"K'sungasa, " said Bones, seating himself gingerly, and looking about forthe snake which was usually coiled round the old man's stool, "that isfoolish talk, for you will see many floods. "

"That is fine talk for the river folk, " grinned the old man, "but notfor we people of the forest, who never see flood and only little-littlerivers. Now, I tell you, lord, that I am glad to die, because I havebeen full of mad thoughts for a long time, but now my mind is clear. Tell me, master, why you come. "

Bones explained his errand, and the old man's eyes brightened. 

"Lord, if I could go with you to the forest, I would bring to you manybeautiful leopards by my magic. Now, because I love Sandi, I will dothis for you, so that you shall know how wise and cunning I am. "

In the woods about the village was a wild plant, the seeds of which, when pounded and boiled in an earthen vessel, produced, by a roughmethod of distillation, a most pungent liquid. Abid spoke learnedly of_pimpinella anisum_, and probably he was right. [4]

[Footnote 4: Both anise and star anise (_Illicium anisatum_) are to befound in the Territories, as also is a small plant which has all theproperties (and more) of _Pimpinella anisum_. This was probably theplant. --AUTHOR. ]

Bones and his assistant made many excursions into the woods before theyfound and brought back the right plant. Fortunately it was seed-time, and once he was on the right track Bones had no difficulty in securingmore than a sufficient quantity for his purpose. 

He made his distillation under the old man's directions, the fireburning in the middle of the hut. As the drops began to fall from thenarrow neck of his retort, a fault sweet aroma filled the hut. First thecat, then the monkeys began to show signs of extraordinary agitation. Cat and kittens crouched as near the fire as they could, their headscraned towards the brown vessel, mewing and whimpering. Then the monkeyscame, bright-eyed and eager. 

The scent brought the most unexpected beasts from every hole and crevicein the hut--brown rats, squirrels, a long black snake with spade-shapedhead and diamond markings, little bush hares, a young buck, which camecrashing through the forest and prinked timidly to the door of the hut. 

The old man on the bed called them all by name, and snapped his feeblefingers to them; but their eyes were on the retort and the crystaldrops that trembled and fell from the lip of the narrow spout. 

 * * * * *

A week later a speechless group stood before the Residency and focussedtheir astonished gaze upon the miracle. 

"The miracle" was a half-grown leopard cub, vividly marked. He wasmuzzled and held in leash by a chain affixed to a stout collar, andBones, a picture of smug gratification, held the end of the chain. 

"But how--how did you catch him?" gasped the girl. 

Bones shrugged his shoulders. 

"It is not for me, dear old friend, to tell of nights spent in thehowlin' forest, " he quavered, in the squeaky tone which invariably cameto him when he was excited. "I'm not goin' to speak of myself. If youexpect me to tell you how I trailed the jolly old leopard to his grislylair an' fought with him single-handed, you'll be disappointed. "

"But did you track him to his lair?" demanded Hamilton, recovering hisspeech. 

"I beg of you, dear old officer, to discuss other matters, " evaded Bonestactfully. "Here are the goods delivered, as per mine of thetwenty-fourth instant. "

He put his hand to his pocket mechanically, and the cub looked up with aquick eager stare. 

"Bones, you're a wonderful fellow, " said Sanders quietly. 

Bones bowed. 

"And now, " he said, "if you'll excuse me, I'll take my little friend tohis new home. "

Before they realized what he was doing, he had slipped off the chain. Even Sanders stepped back and dropped his hand to the automatic pistolhe carried in his hip pocket. 

But Bones, unconcerned, whistled and marched off to his hut, and thegreat cat followed humbly at his heels. 

That same night Bones strode across from his hut to the Residency, resolved upon a greater adventure yet. He would go out under theadmiring eyes of Patricia Hamilton, and would return from the Residencywoods a veritable Pied Piper, followed by a trail of forest denizens. 

In his pocket was a quart bottle, and his clothes reeked with the scentof wild aniseed. As a matter of fact, his secret would have been out themoment he entered Sanders's dining-room, but it so happened that hisprogramme was doomed to interruption. 

He was half-way across the square when a dark figure rose from theground and a harsh voice grunted "Kill!"

He saw the flash of the spear in the starlight and leapt aside. A handclutched at his jacket, but he wrenched himself free, leaving thegarment in his assailant's hands. 

He was unarmed, and there was nothing left but flight. 

Sanders heard his yell, and sprang out to the darkness of the verandahas Bones flew up the steps. 

He saw the two men racing in pursuit, and fired twice. One man fell, theother swerved and was lost in the shadows. 

An answering shot came from the Houssa sentry at the far end of thesquare. Sanders saw a man running, and fired again, and again missed. 

Then out of the darkness blundered Ali Abid, his face grey with fear. 

"Sir, " he gasped, "wild animal (_Felis pardus_) has divested muzzlementand proper restraint, and is chasing various subjects outrageously. "

Even as he spoke a fourth figure sped across the ground before theResidency, so close that they could see the bundle he carried under hisarm. 

"My jacket!" roared Bones. "Hi, stop him! Good Lord!"

Swift on the heels of the flying man came a streak of yellow fur.... 

Whether O'ka of the Jumburu outpaced the leopard, or the leopardovertook O'ka, is not known, but until the rains came and washed awaythe scent of crude aniseed, Bones dared not leave his hut by night forfear of the strange beasts that came snuffling at his hut, or sat inexpectant and watchful circles about his dwelling, howling dismally. 

CHAPTER IX

THE MERCENARIES

There was a large brown desk in Sanders's study, a desk the edges ofwhich had been worn yellow with constant rubbing. It was a very tidydesk, with two rows of books neatly grouped on the left and on theright, and held in place by brass rails. There were three tiers of wirebaskets, a great white blotting-pad, a silver inkstand and fourclean-looking pens. 

Lately, there had appeared a glass vase filled with flowers which weredaily renewed. Except on certain solemn occasions, none intruded intothis holy of holies. It is true that a change had been brought about bythe arrival of Patricia Hamilton, for she had been accorded permissionto use the study as she wished, and she it was who had introduced thefloral decorations. 

Yet, such was the tradition of sanctuary which enveloped the study, thatneither Captain Hamilton, her brother, nor Bones, her slave, had everventured to intrude thither in search of her, and if by chance they cameto the door to speak to her, they unaccountably lowered their voices. 

On a certain summer morning, Hamilton sat at the desk, a stern and soberfigure, and Bones, perspiring and rattled, sat on the edge of a chairfacing him. 

The occasion was a solemn one, for Bones was undergoing his examinationin subjects "X" and "Y" for promotion to the rank of Captain. Theparticular subject under discussion was "Map Reading and FieldSketching, " and the inquisition was an oral one. 

"Lieutenant Tibbetts, " said Hamilton gravely, "you will please define aBase Line. "

Bones pushed back the hair straggling over his forehead, and blinkedrapidly in an effort of memory. 

"A base line, dear old officer?" he repeated. "A base line, dear oldHam----"

"Restrain your endearing terms, " said Hamilton, "you won't get any extramarks for 'em. "

"A base line?" mused Bones; then, "Whoop! I've got it! God bless yourjolly old soul! I thought I'd foozled it. A base line, " he said loudly, "is the difference of level between two adjacent contours. How's that, umpire?"

"Wrong, " said Hamilton; "you're describing a Vertical Interval. "

Bones glared at him. 

"Are you sure, dear old chap?" he demanded truculently. "Have a look atthe book, jolly old friend, your poor old eyes ain't what they used tobe----"

"Lieutenant Tibbetts, " said Hamilton in ponderous reproof, "you arebehaving very strangely. "

"Look here, dear old Ham, " wheedled Bones "can't you pretend you askedme what a Vertical Interval was?"

Hamilton reached round to find something to throw, but this wasSanders's study. 

"You have a criminal mind, Bones, " he said helplessly. "Now get on withit. What are 'Hachures'?"

"Hachures?" said Bones, shutting his eye. "Hachures? Now I know whatHachures are. A lot of people would think they were chickens, but Iknow ... They're a sort of line ... When you're drawing a hill ... Wiggly-waggly lines ... You know the funny things ... A sort of.... "Bones made mysterious and erratic gestures in the air, "shading ... Water, dear old friend. "

"Are you feeling faint?" asked Hamilton, jumping up in alarm. 

"No, silly ass ... Shadings ... Direction of water--am I right, sir?"

"Not being a thought-reader I can't visualize your disordered mind, "said Hamilton, "but Hachures are the conventional method of representinghill features by shading in short vertical lines to indicate the slopeand the water flow. I gather that you have a hazy idea of what theanswer should be. "

"I thank you, dear old sir, for that generous tribute to my graspof military science, " said Bones. "An' now proceed to the nexttorture--which will you have, sir, rack or thumbscrew?--oh, thankyou, Horace, I'll have a glass of boiling oil. "

"Shut up talking to yourself, " growled Hamilton, "and tell me what ismeant by 'Orienting a Map'?"

"Turning it to the east, " said Bones promptly. "Next, sir. "

"What is meant by 'Orienting a Map'?" asked Hamilton patiently. 

"I've told you once, " said Bones defiantly. 

"Orienting a Map, " said Hamilton, "as I have explained to you a thousandtimes, means setting your map or plane-table so that the north line liesnorth. "

"In that case, sir, " said Bones firmly, "the east line would be east, and I claim to have answered the question to your entire satisfaction. "

"Continue to claim, " snarled Hamilton. "I shall mark you zero for thatanswer. "

"Make it one, " pleaded Bones. "Be a sport, dear old Ham--I've found anew fishin' pool. "

Hamilton hesitated. 

"There never are any fish in the pools you find, " he said dubiously. "Anyway, I'll reserve my decision until I've made a cast or two. "

They adjourned for tiffin soon after. 

"How did you do, Bones?" asked Patricia Hamilton. 

"Fine, " said Bones enthusiastically; "I simply bowled over everyquestion that your dear old brother asked. In fact, Ham admitted that Iknew much more about some things than he did. "

"What I said, " corrected Hamilton, "was that your information on certainsubjects was so novel that I doubted whether even the staff collegeshared it. "

"It's the same thing, " said Bones. 

"You should try him on military history, " suggested Sanders dryly. "I'vejust been hearing from Bosambo----"

Bones coughed and blushed. 

"The fact is, sir an' Excellency, " he confessed, "I was practisin' onBosambo. You mightn't be aware of the fact, but I like to hear myselfspeak----"

"No!" gasped Hamilton in amazement, "you're wronging yourself, Bones!"

"What I mean, sir, " Bones went on with dignity, "is that if I lecturesomebody on a subject I remember what I've said. "

"Always providing that you understand what you're saying, " suggestedHamilton. 

"Anyway, " said Sanders, with his quiet smile, "Bones has filled Bosambowith a passionate desire to emulate Napoleon, and Bosambo has beenmaking tentative inquiries as to whether he can raise an Old Guard orenlist a mercenary army. "

"I flatter myself----" began Bones. 

"Why not?" said Hamilton, rising. "It's the only chance you'll have ofhearing something complimentary about yourself. "

"_I_ believe in you, Bones, " said a smiling Patricia. "I think you'rereally wonderful, and that Ham is a brute. "

"I'll never, never contradict you, dear Miss Patricia, " said Bones; "an'after the jolly old Commissioner has gone----"

"You're not going away again, are you?" she asked, turning to Sanders. "Why, you have only just come back from the interior. "

There was genuine disappointment in her eyes, and Sanders experienced astrange thrill the like of which he had never known before. 

"Yes, " he said with a nod. "There is a palaver of sorts in the Morjabacountry--the most curious palaver I have ever been called upon to hold. "

And indeed he spoke the truth. 

Beyond the frontiers of the Akasava, and separated from all the otherTerritories by a curious bush belt which ran almost in a straight linefor seventy miles, were the people of Morjaba. They were a folk isolatedfrom territorial life, and Sanders saw them once every year and no morefrequently, for they were difficult to come by, regular payers of taxesand law-abiding, having quarrels with none. The bush (reputedly theabode of ghosts) was, save at one point, impenetrable. Nature hadplaited a natural wall on one side, and had given the tribe theprotection of high mountains to the north and a broad swamp to thewest. 

The fierce storms of passion and hate which burst upon the river atintervals and sent thousands of spears to a blooding, were scarcelyechoed in this sanctuary-land. The marauders of the Great King's countryto the north never fetched across the smooth moraine of the mountains, and the evil people of The-Land-beyond-the-Swamp were held back by thetreacherous bogland wherein, _cala-cala_, a whole army had beenswallowed up. 

Thus protected, the Morjabian folk grew fat and rich. The land was averitable treasure of Nature, and it is a fact that in the dialect theyspeak, there is no word which means "hunger. "[5]

[Footnote 5: It is as curious a fact that amongst the majority ofcannibal people there is no equivalent for "thank you. "--E. W. ]

Yet the people of the Morjaba were not without their crises. 

S'kobi, the stout chief, held a great court which was attended by tenthousand people, for at that court was to be concluded for ever the feudbetween the M'gimi and the M'joro--a feud which went back for thegreater part of fifty years. 

The M'gimi were the traditional warrior tribe, the bearers of arms, and, as their name ("The High Lookers") implied, the proudest and mostexclusive of the people. For every man was the descendant of a chief, and it was "easier for fish to walk, " as the saying goes, than for aman of the M'joro ("The Diggers") to secure admission to the caste. Three lateral cuts on either cheek was the mark of the M'gimi--woundsmade, upon the warrior's initiation to the order, with the razor-edgedblade of a killing-spear. They lived apart in three camps to the numberof six thousand men, and for five years from the hour of theirinitiation they neither married nor courted. The M'gimi turned theirbacks to women, and did not suffer their presence in their camps. And ifany man departed from this austere rule he was taken to the BreakingTree, his four limbs were fractured, and he was hoisted to the lowerbranches, between which a litter was swung, and his regiment sat beneaththe tree neither eating, drinking nor sleeping until he died. Sometimesthis was a matter of days. As for the woman who had tempted his eye andhis tongue, she was a witness. 

Thus the M'gimi preserved their traditions of austerity. They werefamous walkers and jumpers. They threw heavy spears and fought greatsham-fights, and they did every violent exercise save till the ground. 

This was the sum and substance of the complaint which had at last cometo a head. 

S'gono, the spokesman of The Diggers, was a headman of the inner lands, and spoke with bitter prejudice, since his own son had been rejected bythe M'gimi captains as being unworthy. 

"Shall we men dig and sow for such as these?" he asked. "Now give ajudgment, King! Every moon we must take the best of our fruit and thefinest of our fish. Also so many goats and so much salt, and it isswallowed up. "

"Yet if I send them away, " said the king, "how shall I protect this landagainst the warriors of the Akasava and the evil men of the swamp? Alsoof the Ochori, who are four days' march across good ground?"

"Lord King, " said S'gono, "are there no M'gimi amongst us who havepassed from the camp and have their women and their children? May notthese take the spear again? And are not we M'joro folk men? By my life!I will raise as many spears from The Diggers and captain them withM'joro men--this I could do between the moons and none would say thatyou were not protected. For we are men as bold as they. "

The king saw that the M'gimi party was in the minority. Moreover, he hadlittle sympathy with the warrior caste, for his beginnings were baselyrooted in the soil, and two of his sons had no more than scraped intothe M'gimi. 

"This thing shall be done, " said the king, and the roar of approvalwhich swept up the little hillock on which he sat was his reward. 

Sanders, learning something of these doings, had come in haste, movingacross the Lower Akasava by a short cut, risking the chagrin of certainchiefs and friends who would be shocked and mortified by his apparentlack of courtesy in missing the ceremonious call which was their due. 

But his business was very urgent, otherwise he would not have travelledby Nobolama--The-River-that-comes-and-goes. 

He was fortunate in that he found deep water for the _Wiggle_ as far asthe edge of this pleasant land. A two days' trek through the forestbrought him to the great city of Morjaba. In all the Territories therewas no such city as this, for it stretched for miles on either hand, andindeed was one of the most densely populated towns within a radius offive hundred miles. 

S'kobi came waddling to meet his governor with maize, plucked in hastefrom the gardens he passed, and salt, grabbed at the first news ofSanders's arrival, in his big hands. These he extended as he puffed towhere Sanders sat at the edge of the city. 

"Lord, " he wheezed, "none came with news of this great honour, or myyoung men would have met you, and my maidens would have danced the roadflat with their feet. Take!"

Sanders extended both palms and received the tribute of salt and corn, and solemnly handed the crushed mess to his orderly. 

"O S'kobi, " he said, "I came swiftly to make a secret palaver with you, and my time is short. "

"Lord, I am your man, " said S'kobi, and signalled his councillors andelder men to a distance. 

Sanders was in some difficulty to find a beginning. 

"You know, S'kobi, that I love your people as my children, " he said, "for they are good folk who are faithful to government and do ill tonone. "

"Wa!" said S'kobi. 

"Also you know that spearmen and warriors I do not love, for spears arewar and warriors are great lovers of fighting. "

"Lord, you speak the truth, " said the other, nodding, "therefore in thisland I will have made a law that there shall be no spears, save thosewhich sleep in the shadow of my hut. Now well I know why you have cometo make this palaver, for you have heard with your beautiful long earsthat I have sent away my fighting regiments. "

Sanders nodded. 

"You speak truly, my friend, " he said, and S'kobi beamed. 

"Six times a thousand spears I had--and, lord, spears grow no corn. Rather are they terrible eaters. And now I have sent them to theirvillages, and at the next moon they should have burnt their finewar-knives, but for a certain happening. We folk of Morjaba have noenemies, and we do good to all. Moreover, lord, as you know, we haveamongst us many folk of the Isisi, of the Akasava and the N'gombi, alsomen from the Great King's land beyond the High Rocks, and the littlefolk from The-Land-beyond-the-Swamp. Therefore, who shall attack ussince we have kinsmen of all amongst us?"

Sanders regarded the jovial king with a sad little smile. 

"Have I done well by all men?" he asked quietly. "Have I not governedthe land so that punishment comes swiftly to those who break the law?Yet, S'kobi, do not the Akasava and the Isisi, the N'gombi and the LowerRiver folk take their spears against me? Now I tell you this which Ihave discovered. In all beasts great and little there are mothers whohave young ones and fathers who fight that none shall harass themother. "

"Lord, this is the way of life, " said S'kobi. 

"It is the way of the Bigger Life, " said Sanders, "and greatly the wayof man-life. For the women bring children to the land and the men sitwith their spears ready to fight all who would injure their women. Andso long as life lasts, S'kobi, the women will bear and the men willguard; it is the way of Nature, and you shall not take from men thedesire for slaughter until you have dried from the hearts of women theyearning for children. "

"Lord, " said S'kobi, a fat man and easily puzzled, "what shall be theanswer to this strange riddle you set me?"

"Only this, " said Sanders rising, "I wish peace in this land, but therecan be no peace between the leopard who has teeth and claws and therabbit who has neither tooth nor claw. Does the leopard fight the lionor the lion the leopard? They live in peace, for each is terrible inhis way, and each fears the other. I tell you this, that you live inlove with your neighbours not because of your kindness, but because ofyour spears. Call them back to your city, S'kobi. "

The chief's large face wrinkled in a frown. 

"Lord, " he said, "that cannot be, for these men have marched away frommy country to find a people who will feed them, for they are too proudto dig the ground. "

"Oh, damn!" said Sanders in despair, and went back the way he came, feeling singularly helpless. 

The Odyssey of the discarded army of the Morjaba has yet to be written. Paradoxically enough, its primary mission was a peaceful one, and whenit found first the frontiers of the Akasava and then the river bordersof the Isis closed against it, it turned to the north in an endeavour tofind service under the Great King, beyond the mountains. Here it wasrepulsed and its pacific intentions doubted. The M'gimi formed a camp aday's march from the Ochori border, and were on the thin line whichseparates unemployment from anarchy when Bosambo, Chief of the Ochori, who had learnt of their presence, came upon the scene. 

Bosambo was a born politician. He had the sense of opportunity and thatstrange haze of hopeful but indefinite purpose which is the foundationof the successful poet and statesman, but which, when unsuccessfullydeveloped, is described as "temperament. "

Bones, paying a business call upon the Ochori, found a new townshipgrown up on the forest side of the city. He also discovered evidence ofdiscontent in Bosambo's harassed people, who had been called upon toprovide fish and meal for the greater part of six thousand men who weretoo proud to work. 

"Master, " said Bosambo, "I have often desired such an army as this, formy Ochori fighters are few. Now, lord, with these men I can hold theUpper River for your King, and Sandi and none dare speak against him. Thus would N'poloyani, who is your good friend, have done. "

"But who shall feed these men, Bosambo?" demanded Bones hastily. 

"All things are with God, " replied Bosambo piously. 

Bones collected all the available information upon the matter and tookit back to headquarters. 

"H'm, " said Sanders when he had concluded his recital, "if it were anyother man but Bosambo ... You would require another battalion, Hamilton. "

"But what has Bosambo done?" asked Patricia Hamilton, admitted to thecouncil. 

"He is being Napoleonic, " said Sanders, with a glance at the youthfulauthority on military history, and Bones squirmed and made strangenoises. "We will see how it works out. How on earth is he going to feedthem, Bones?"

"Exactly the question I asked, sir an' Excellency, " said Bones intriumph. "'Why, you silly old ass----'"

"I beg your pardon!" exclaimed the startled Sanders. 

"That is what I said to Bosambo, sir, " explained Bones hastily. "'Why, you silly old ass, ' I said, 'how are you going to grub 'em?' 'LordBones, ' said Bosambo, 'that's the jolly old problem that I'm workin'out. '"

How Bosambo worked out his problem may be gathered. 

"There is some talk of an Akasava rising, " said Sanders at breakfast onemorning. "I don't know why this should be, for my information is thatthe Akasava folk are fairly placid. "

"Where does the news come from, sir?" asked Hamilton. 

"From the Isisi king--he's in a devil of a funk, and has begged Bosamboto send him help. "

That help was forthcoming in the shape of Bosambo's new army, whicharrived on the outskirts of the Isisi city and sat in idleness for amonth, at the end of which time the people of the Isisi represented totheir king that they would, on the whole, prefer war to a peace whichput them on half rations in order that six thousand proud warriors mightlive on the fat of the land. 

The M'gimi warriors marched back to the Ochori, each man carrying amonth's supply of maize and salt, wrung from the resentful peasants ofthe Isisi. 

Three weeks after, Bosambo sent an envoy to the King of the Akasava. 

"Let no man know this, Gubara, lest it come to the ears of Sandi, andyou, who are very innocent, be wrongly blamed, " said the envoy solemnly. "Thus says Bosambo: It has come to my ears that the N'gombi are secretlyarming and will very soon send a forest of spears against the Akasava. Say this to Gubara, that because my stomach is filled with sorrow I willhelp him. Because I am very powerful, because of my friendship withBonesi and his cousin, N'poloyani, who is also married to Bonesi's aunt, I have a great army which I will send to the Akasava, and when theN'gombi hear of this they will send away their spears and there will bepeace. "

The Akasava chief, a nervous man with the memory of all the discomfortswhich follow tribal wars, eagerly assented. For two months Bosambo'sarmy sat down like a cloud of locusts and ate the Akasava to a conditionbordering upon famine. 

At the end of that time they marched to the N'gombi country, news havingbeen brought by Bosambo's messengers that the Great King was crossingthe western mountains with a terrible army to seize the N'gombi forests. How long this novel method of provisioning his army might have continuedmay only be guessed, for in the midst of Bosambo's plans for maintainingan army at the expense of his neighbours there was a great happening inthe Morjaba country. 

S'kobi, the fat chief, had watched the departure of his warriors withsomething like relief. He was gratified, moreover (native-like), by thefact that he had confounded Sanders. But when the Commissioner had goneand S'kobi remembered all that he had said, a great doubt settled like apall upon his mind. For three days he sat, a dejected figure, on thehigh carved stool of state before his house, and at the end of that timehe summoned S'gono, the M'joro. 

"S'gono, " said he, "I am troubled in my stomach because of certainthings which our lord Sandi has said. "

Thereupon he told the plebeian councillor much of what Sanders had said. 

"And now my M'gimi are with Bosambo of the Ochori, and he sells them tothis people and that for so much treasure and food. "

"Lord, " said S'gono, "is my word nothing? Did I not say that I wouldraise spears more wonderful than the M'gimi? Give me leave, King, andyou shall find an army that shall grow in a night. I, S'gono, son ofMocharlabili Yoka, say this!"

So messengers went forth to all the villages of the Morjaba calling theyoung men to the king's hut, and on the third week there stood on aplateau beneath the king's palaver house a most wonderful host. 

"Let them march across the plain and make the Dance of Killing, " saidthe satisfied king, and S'gono hesitated. 

"Lord King, " he pleaded, "these are new soldiers, and they are not yetwise in the ways of warriors. Also they will not take the chiefs I gavethem, but have chosen their own, so that each company have two leaderswho say evil things of one another. "

S'kobi opened his round eyes. 

"The M'gimi did not do this, " he said dubiously, "for when theircaptains spoke they leapt first with one leg and then with the other, which was beautiful to see and very terrifying to our enemies. "

"Lord, " begged the agitated S'gono, "give me the space of a moon andthey shall leap with both legs and dance in a most curious manner. "

A spy retailed this promise to a certain giant chief of the Great Kingwho was sitting on the Morjaba slopes of the mountains with fourthousand spears, awaiting a favourable moment to ford the river whichseparated him from the rich lands of the northern Morjaba. 

This giant heard the tidings with interest. 

"Soon they shall leap without heads, " he said, "for without theM'gimi they are little children. For twenty seasons we have waited, and now comes our fine night. Go you, B'furo, to the Chief ofThe-Folk-beyond-the-Swamp and tell him that when he sees three fires onthis mountain he shall attack across the swamp by the road which heknows. "

It was a well-planned campaign which the Great King's generals and theChief of The-People-beyond-the-Marsh had organized. With the passing ofthe warrior caste the enemies of the Morjaba had moved swiftly. The pathacross the swamp had been known for years, but the M'gimi had had one oftheir camps so situated that no enemy could debouch across, and had soordered their dispositions that the northern river boundary wasautomatically safeguarded. 

Now S'gono was a man of the fields, a grower and seller of maize and abreeder of goats. And he had planned his new army as he would plan a newgarden, on the basis that the nearer the army was to the capital, theeasier it was to maintain. In consequence the river-ford was unguarded, and there were two thousand spears across the marshes before a scaredminister of war apprehended any danger. 

He flung his new troops against the Great King's chief captain in adesperate attempt to hold back the principal invader. At the same time, more by luck than good generalship, he pushed the evil people of themarsh back to their native element. 

For two days the Morjaba fought desperately if unskilfully against theseasoned troops of the Great King, while messengers hurried east andsouth, seeking help. 

Bosambo's intelligence department may have shown remarkable presciencein unearthing the plot against the peace and security of the Morjaba, orit may have been (and this is Sanders's theory) that Bosambo was on hisway to the Morjaba with a cock and bull story of imminent danger. He wason the frontier when the king's messenger came, and Bosambo returnedwith the courier to treat in person. 

"Five thousand loads of corn I will give you, Bosambo, " said the king, "also a hundred bags of salt. Also two hundred women who shall be slavesin your house. "

There was some bargaining, for Bosambo had no need of slaves, buturgently wanted goats. In the end he brought up his hirelings, and thepeople of the Morjaba city literally fell on the necks of the returnedM'gimi. 

The enemy had forced the northern defences and were half-way to the citywhen the M'gimi fell upon their flank. 

The giant chief of the Great King's army saw the ordered ranks of theold army driving in his flank, and sent for his own captain. 

"Go swiftly to our lord, the King, and say that I am a dead man. "

He spoke no more than the truth, for he fell at the hand of Bosambo, whomade a mental resolve to increase his demand on the herds of S'kobi inconsequence. 

For the greater part of a month Bosambo was a welcome visitor, and atthe end of that time he made his preparations to depart. 

Carriers and herdsmen drove or portered his reward back to the Ochoricountry, marching one day ahead of the main body. 

The M'gimi were summoned for the march at dawn, but at dawn Bosambofound himself alone on the plateau, save for the few Ochori headmen whohad accompanied him on his journey. 

"Lord, " said S'kobi, "my fine soldiers do not go with you, for I haveseen how wise is Sandi who is my father and my mother. "

Bosambo choked, and as was usual in moments of intense emotion, foundrefuge in English. 

"Dam' nigger!" he said wrathfully, "I bring um army, I feed um, I keepum proper--you pinch um! Black t'ief! Pig! You bad feller! I speak youbad for N'poloyani--him fine feller. "

"Lord, " said the uncomprehending king, "I see that you are like Sandifor you speak his tongue. He also said 'Dam' very loudly. I think it isthe word white folk say when they are happy. "

Bosambo met Bones hurrying to the scene of the fighting, and told histale. 

"Lord, " said he in conclusion, "what was I to do, for you told nothingof the ways of N'poloyani when his army was stolen from him. Tell menow, Tibbetti, what this man would have done. "

But Bones shook his head severely. 

"This I cannot tell you, Bosambo, " he said, "for if I do you will tellothers, and my lord N'poloyani will never forgive me. "

CHAPTER X

THE WATERS OF MADNESS

Unexpected things happen in the Territories which Mr. CommissionerSanders rules. As for example: Bones had gone down to the beach to "takethe mail. " This usually meant no more than receiving a mail-bag wildlyflung from a dancing surf-boat. On this occasion Bones was surprised todiscover that the boat had beached and had landed, not only the mail, but a stranger with his baggage. 

He was a clean-shaven, plump man, in spotless white, and he greetedBones with a friendly nod. "Morning!" he said. "I've got your mail. "

Bones extended his hand and took the bag without evidence of anyparticular enthusiasm. 

"Sanders about?" asked the stranger. 

"Mr. Sanders is in residence, sir, " said Bones, ponderously polite. 

The other laughed. "Show the way, " he said briskly. 

Bones looked at the new-comer from the ventilator of his pith helmet tothe soles of his pipe-clayed shoes. "Excuse me, dear old sir, " he said, "have I the honour of addressin' the Secretary of State for War?"

"No, " answered the other in surprise. "What made you think that?"

"Because, " said Bones, with rising wrath, "he's the only fellow thatneedn't say 'please' to me. "

The man roared with laughter. "Sorry, " he said. "_Please_ show me theway. "

"Follow me, sir, " said Bones. 

Sanders was not "in residence, " being, in fact, inspecting somerecent--and native--repairs to the boilers of the _Zaire_. 

The stranger drew up a chair on the stoep without invitation and seatedhimself. He looked around. Patricia Hamilton was at the far end of thestoep, reading a book. She had glanced up just long enough to note andwonder at the new arrival. "Deuced pretty girl that, " said the stranger, lighting a cigar. 

"I beg your pardon?" said Bones. 

"I say that is a deuced pretty girl, " said the stranger. 

"And you're a deuced brute, dear sir, " said Bones, "but hitherto I havenot commented on the fact. "

The man looked up quickly. "What are you here, " he asked--"a clerk orsomething?"

Bones did not so much as flush. "Oh, no, " he said sweetly. "I am anofficer of Houssas--rank, lieutenant. My task is to tame the uncivilizedbeast an' entertain the civilized pig with a selection of music. Wouldyou like to hear our gramophone?"

The new-comer frowned. What brilliant effort of persiflage was to followwill never be known, for at that moment came Sanders. 

The stranger rose and produced a pocket-book, from which he extracted acard and a letter. "Good morning, Commissioner!" he said. "My name'sCorklan--P. T. Corklan, of Corklan, Besset and Lyons. "

"Indeed, " said Sanders. 

"I've got a letter for you, " said the man. 

Sanders took the note, opened it, and read. It bore the neat signatureof an Under-Secretary of State and the embossed heading of theExtra-Territorial Office, and it commended Mr. P. T. Corklan to Mr. Commissioner Sanders, and requested him to let Mr. Corklan pass withoutlet or hindrance through the Territories, and to render him everyassistance "compatible with exigencies of the Service" in his "inquiriesinto sugar production from the sweet potato. "

"You should have taken this to the Administrator, " said Sanders, "and itshould bear his signature. "

"There's the letter, " said the man shortly. "If that's not enough, andthe signature of the Secretary of State isn't sufficient, I'm goingstraight back to England and tell him so. "

"You may go to the devil and tell him so, " said Sanders calmly; "butyou do not pass into these Territories until I have received telegraphicauthority from my chief. Bones, take this man to your hut, and let yourpeople do what they can for him. " And he turned and walked into thehouse. 

"You shall hear about this, " said Mr. Corklan, picking up his baggage. 

"This way, dear old pilgrim, " said Bones. 

"Who's going to carry my bag?"

"Your name escapes me, " said Bones, "but, if you'll glance at yourvisitin' card, you will find the name of the porter legibly inscribed. "

Sanders compressed the circumstances into a hundred-word telegram wordedin his own economical style. 

It happened that the Administrator was away on a shooting trip, and itwas his cautious secretary who replied--

"Administration to Sanders. --Duplicate authority here. Let Corklanproceed at own risk. Warn him dangers. "

"You had better go along and tell him, " said Sanders. "He can leave atonce, and the sooner the better. "

Bones delivered the message. The man was sitting on his host's bed, andthe floor was covered with cigar ash. Worst abomination of all, was alarge bottle of whisky, which he had produced from one of his bags, anda reeking glass, which he had produced from Bones's sideboard. 

"So I can go to-night, can I?" said Mr. Corklan. "That's all right. Now, what about conveyance, hey?"

Bones had now reached the stage where he had ceased to be annoyed, andwhen he found some interest in the situation. "What sort of conveyancewould you like, sir?" he asked curiously. 

(If you can imagine him pausing half a bar before every "sir, " you mayvalue its emphasis. )

"Isn't there a steamer I can have?" demanded the man. "Hasn't Sandersgot a Government steamer?"

"Pardon my swooning, " said Bones, sinking into a chair. 

"Well, how am I going to get up?" asked the man. 

"Are you a good swimmer?" demanded Bones innocently. 

"Look here, " said Mr. Corklan, "you aren't a bad fellow. I rather likeyou. "

"I'm sorry, " said Bones simply. 

"I rather like you, " repeated Mr. Corklan. "You might give me a littlehelp. "

"It is very unlikely that I shall, " said Bones. "But produce yourproposition, dear old adventurer. "

"That is just what I am, " said the other. He bit off the end of anothercigar and lit it with the glowing butt of the old one. "I have knockedabout all over the world, and I have done everything. I've now a chanceof making a fortune. There is a tribe here called the N'gombi. Theylive in a wonderful rubber country, and I am told that they have got allthe ivory in the world, and stacks of rubber hidden away. "

Now, it is a fact--and Bones was surprised to hear it related by thestranger--that the N'gombi are great misers and hoarders of elephanttusks. For hundreds of years they have traded ivory and rubber, andevery village has its secret storehouse. The Government had tried foryears to wheedle the N'gombi into depositing their wealth in some Statestore, for riches mean war sooner or later. They lived in greatforests--the word N'gombi means "interior"--in lands full of elephantsand rich in rubber trees. 

"You are a regular information bureau, " said Bones admiringly. "But whathas this to do with your inquiry into the origin of the candy tree?"

The man smoked in silence for awhile, then he pulled from his pocket abig map. Again Bones was surprised, because the map he produced was theofficial map of the Territories. He traced the river with his fatforefinger. 

"Here is the N'gombi country from the east bank of the Isisi, and thisis all forest, and a rubber tree to every ten square yards. "

"I haven't counted them, " said Bones, "but I'll take your word. "

"Now, what does this mean?" Mr. Corklan indicated a twisting line ofdots and dashes which began at the junction of the Isisi River and theGreat River, and wound tortuously over five hundred miles of countryuntil it struck the Sigi River, which runs through Spanish territory. "What is that?" he asked. 

"That, or those, " said Bones, "are the footprints of the mighty swoozlumbird that barks with its eyes an' lives on buttered toast an' hardware. "

"I will tell you what I know it is, " said the man, looking up andlooking Bones straight in the eye--"it is one of those secret rivers youare always finding in these 'wet' countries. The natives tell you about'em, but you never find 'em. They are rivers that only exist about oncein a blue moon, when the river is very high and the rains are veryheavy. Now, down in the Spanish territory"--he touched Bones's knee withgreat emphasis--"they tell me that their end of the secret river is inflood. "

"They will tell you anything in the Spanish territory, " said Bonespleasantly. "They'd tell you your jolly old fortune if you'd cross theirpalms with silver. "

"What about your end?" asked the man, ignoring the scepticism of hishost. 

"Our end?" said Bones. "Well, you will find out for yourself. I'd hateto disappoint you. "

"Now, how am I going up?" asked the man after a pause. 

"You can hire a canoe, and live on the land, unless you have broughtstores. "

The man chuckled. "I've brought no stores. Here, I will show yousomething, " he said. "You are a very good fellow. " He opened his bag andtook out a tight packet which looked like thin skins. There must havebeen two or three hundred of them. "That's my speciality, " he said. Henipped the string that tied them together, stripped one off, and, putting his lips to one end, blew. The skin swelled up like a toyballoon. "Do you know what that is?"

"No, I cannot say I do, " said Bones. 

"You have heard of Soemmering's process?"

Bones shook his head. 

"Do you know what decimal 1986 signifies?"

"You've got me guessing, my lad, " said Bones admiringly. 

The other chuckled, threw the skins into his bag, and closed it with asnap. "That's my little joke, " he said. "All my friends tell me it willbe the death of me one of these days. I like to puzzle people"--hesmiled amiably and triumphantly in Bones's face--"I like to tell themthe truth in such a way they don't understand it. If they understoodit--Heavens, there'd be the devil to pay!"

"You are an ingenious fellow, " said Bones, "but I don't like your face. You will forgive my frankness, dear old friend. "

"Faces aren't fortunes, " said the other complacently, "and I am goingout of this country with money sticking to me. "

"I'm sorry for you, " said Bones, shaking his head; "I hate to seefellows with illusions. "

He reported all that occurred to the Commissioner, and Sanders was alittle worried. 

"I wish I knew what his game is, " he said; "I'd stop him like a shot, but I can't very well in the face of the Administrator's wire. Anyway, he will get nothing out of the N'gombi. I've tried every method to makethe beggars bank their surpluses, and I have failed. "

"He has got to come back this way, at any rate, " said Hamilton, "and Icannot see that he will do much harm. "

"What is the rest of his baggage like?"

"He has a case of things that look like concave copper plates, sir, "said Bones, "very thin copper, but copper. Then he has two or threecopper pipes, and that is about his outfit. "

Mr. Corklan was evidently no stranger to the coast, and Bones, whowatched the man's canoe being loaded that afternoon, and heard hisfluent observations on the slackness of his paddlers, realized that hisacquaintance with Central Africa was an extensive one. He cursed inSwahili and Portuguese, and his language was forcible and impolite. "Well, " he said at last, "I'll be getting along. I'll make a fishingvillage for the night, and I ought to reach my destination in a week. Ishan't be seeing you again, so I'll say good-bye. "

"How do you suppose you're going to get out of the country?" asked Bonescuriously. 

Mr. Corklan laughed. "So long!" he said. 

"One moment, my dashin' old explorer, " said Bones. "A littleformality--I want to see your trunks opened. "

A look of suspicion dawned on the man's face. "What for?"

"A little formality, my jolly old hero, " said Bones. 

"Why didn't you say so before?" growled the man, and had his two trunkslanded. "I suppose you know you're exceeding your duty?"

"I didn't know--thanks for tellin' me, " said Bones. "The fact is, siran' fellow-man, I'm the Custom House officer. "

The man opened his bags, and Bones explored. He found three bottles ofwhisky, and these he extracted. 

"What's the idea?" asked Mr. Corklan. 

Bones answered him by breaking the bottles on a near-by stone. 

"Here, what the dickens----"

"Wine is a mocker, " said Bones, "strong drink is ragin'. This is what istermed in the land of Hope an' Glory a prohibition State, an' I'mentitled to fine you five hundred of the brightest an' best forattemptin' to smuggle intoxicants into our innocent country. "

Bones expected an outburst; instead, his speech evoked no more than asnigger. 

"You're funny, " said the man. 

"My friends tell me so, " admitted Bones. "But there's nothin' funnyabout drink. Acquainted as you are with the peculiar workin's of thenative psychology, dear sir, you will understand the primitive cravin'of the untutored mind for the enemy that we put in our mouths to stealaway our silly old brains. I wish you 'bon voyage. '"

"So long, " said Mr. Corklan. 

Bones went back to the Residency and made his report, and there, for thetime being, the matter ended. It was not unusual for wanderingscientists, manufacturers, and representatives of shipping companies toarrive armed with letters of introduction or command, and to bedispatched into the interior. The visits, happily, were few and farbetween. On this occasion Sanders, being uneasy, sent one of his spiesto follow the adventurer, with orders to report any extraordinaryhappening--a necessary step to take, for the N'gombi, and especially theInner N'gombi, are a secretive people, and news from local sources ishard to come by. 

"I shall never be surprised to learn that a war has been going on in theN'gombi for two months without our hearing a word about it. "

"If they fight amongst themselves--yes, " said Captain Hamilton; "if theyfight outsiders, there will be plenty of bleats. Why not send Bones tooverlook his sugar experiments, " he added. 

"Let's talk about something pleasant, " said Bones hastily. 

It was exactly three months later when he actually made the trip. 

"Take the _Zaire_ up to the bend of the Isisi, " said Sanders onemorning, at breakfast, "and find out what Ali Kano is doing--the lazybeggar should have reported. "

"Any news from the N'gombi?" asked Hamilton. 

"Only roundabout stories of their industry. Apparently the sugarmerchant is making big experiments. He has set half the people diggingroots for him. Be ready to sail at dawn. "

"Will it be a dangerous trip?" asked the girl. 

"No. Why?" smiled Sanders. 

"Because I'd like to go. Oh, please, don't look so glum! Bones isawfully good to me. "

"Better than a jolly old brother, " murmured Bones. 

"H'm!" Sanders shook his head, and she appealed to her brother. 

"Please!"

"I wouldn't mind your going, " said Hamilton, "if only to look afterBones. "

"S-sh!" said Bones reproachfully. 

"If you're keen on it, I don't see why you shouldn't--if you had achaperon. "

"A chaperon!" sneered Bones. "Great Heavens! Do, old skipper, pullyourself together. Open the jolly old window and give him air. Feelin'better, sir?"

"A chaperon! How absurd!" cried the girl indignantly. "I'm old enough tobe Bones's mother! I'm nearly twenty--well, I'm older than Bones, andI'm ever so much more capable of looking after myself. "

The end of it was that she went, with her Kano maid and with the wife ofAbiboo to cook for her. And in two days they came to the bend of theriver, and Bones pursued his inquiries for the missing spy, but withoutsuccess. 

"But this I tell you, lord, " said the little chief who acted asSanders's agent, "that there are strange things happening in the N'gombicountry, for all the people have gone mad, and are digging up theirteeth (tusks) and bringing them to a white man. "

"This shall go to Sandi, " said Bones, realizing the importance of thenews; and that same evening he turned the bow of the _Zaire_ downstream. 

 * * * * *

Thus said Wafa, the half-breed, for he was neither foreign Arab nornative N'gombi, yet combined the cunning of both--

"Soon we shall see the puc-a-puc of Government turn from thecrookedness of the river, and I will go out and speak to our lordTibbetti, who is a very simple man, and like a child. "

"O Wafa, " said one of the group of armed men which stood shivering onthe beach in the cold hours of dawn, "may this be a good palaver! As forme, my stomach is filled with fearfulness. Let us all drink this magicwater, for it gives us men courage. "

"That you shall do when you have carried out all our master's works, "said Wafa, and added with confidence: "Have no fear, for soon you shallsee great wonders. "

They heard the deep boom of the _Zaire's_ siren signalling a solitaryand venturesome fisherman to quit the narrow fair-way, and presently shecame round the bend of the river, a dazzling white craft, showeringsparks from her two slender smoke-stacks and leaving behind her twincornucopias of grey smoke. 

Wafa stepped into a canoe, and, seeing that the others were preparing tofollow him, he struck out swiftly, man[oe]uvring his ironwood boat tothe very waters from whence a scared fisherman was frantically paddling. 

"Go not there, foreigner, " wailed the Isisi Stabber-of-Waters, "for itis our lord Sandi, and his puc-a-puc has bellowed terribly. "

"Die you!" roared Wafa. "On the river bottom your body, son of a fishand father of snakes!"

"O foreign frog!" came the shrill retort. "O poor man with two men'swives! O goatless----"

Wafa was too intent upon his business to heed the rest. He struck thewater strongly with his broad paddles, and reached the centre of thechannel. 

Bones of the Houssas put up his hand and jerked the rope of the siren. 

_Whoo-o-o--woo-o-op!_

"Bless his silly old head, " said Bones fretfully, "the dashed fellowwill be run down!"

The girl was dusting Bones's cabin, and looked round. "What is it?" sheasked. 

Bones made no reply. He gripped the telegraph handle and rung theengines astern as Yoka, the steersman, spun the wheel. 

Bump! Bump! Bumpity bump!

The steamer slowed and stopped, and the girl came out to the bridge inalarm. The _Zaire_ had struck a sandbank, and was stranded high, if notdry. 

"Bring that man on board, " said the wrathful Bones. And they hauled tohis presence Wafa, who was neither Arab nor N'gombi, but combined thevices of both. 

"O man, " said Bones, glaring at the offender through his eyeglass, "whatevil ju-ju sent you to stop my fine ship?" He spoke in the Isisidialect, and was surprised to be answered in coast Arabic. 

"Lord, " said the man, unmoved by the wrath of his overlord, "I come tomake a great palaver concerning spirits and devils. Lord, I have found agreat magic. "

Bones grinned, for he had that sense of humour which rises superior toall other emotions. "Then you shall try your magic, my man, and liftthis ship to deep water. "

Wafa was not at all embarrassed. "Lord, this is a greater magic, for itconcerns men, and brings to life the dead. For, lord, in this forest isa wonderful tree. Behold!"

He took from his loose-rolled waistband a piece of wood. Bones took itin his hand. It was the size of a corn cob, and had been newly cut, sothat the wood was moist with sap. Bones smelt it. There was a faintodour of resin and camphor. Patricia Hamilton smiled. It was so likeBones to be led astray by side issues. 

"Where is the wonder, man, that you should drive my ship upon asandbank! And who are these?" Bones pointed to six canoes, filled withmen, approaching the _Zaire_. The man did not answer, but, taking thewood from Bones's hand, pulled a knife from his belt and whittled ashaving. 

"Here, lord, " he said, "is my fine magic. With this wood I can do manymiracles, such as making sick men strong and the strong weak. "

Bones heard the canoes bump against the side of the boat, but his mindwas occupied with curiosity. 

"Thus do I make my magic, Tibbetti, " droned Wafa. 

He held the knife by the haft in the right hand, and the chip of wood inhis left. The point of the knife was towards the white man's heart. 

"Bones!" screamed the girl. 

Bones jumped aside and struck out as the man lunged. His nobbly fistcaught Wafa under the jaw, and the man stumbled and fell. At the sameinstant there was a yell from the lower deck, the sound of scuffling, and a shot. 

Bones jumped for the girl, thrust her into the cabin, sliding the steeldoor behind him. His two revolvers hung at the head of his bunk, and heslipped them out, gave a glance to see whether they were loaded, andpushed the door. 

"Shut the door after me, " he breathed. 

The bridge deck was deserted, and Bones raced down the ladder to theiron deck. Two Houssas and half a dozen natives lay dead or dying. Theremainder of the soldiers were fighting desperately with whateverweapons they found to their hands--for, with characteristic carefulness, they had laid their rifles away in oil, lest the river air rustthem--and, save for the sentry, who used a rifle common to all, theywere unarmed. 

"O dogs!" roared Bones. 

The invaders turned and faced the long-barrelled Webleys, and the fightwas finished. Later, Wafa came to the bridge with bright steel manacleson his wrist. His companions in the mad adventure sat on the iron deckbelow, roped leg to leg, and listened with philosophic calm as theHoussa sentry drew lurid pictures of the fate which awaited them. 

Bones sat in his deep chair, and the prisoner squatted before him. "Youshall tell my lord Sandi why you did this wickedness, " he said, "also, Wafa, what evil thought was in your mind. "

"Lord, " said Wafa cheerfully, "what good comes to me if I speak?"Something about the man's demeanour struck Bones as strange, and he roseand went close to him. 

"I see, " he said, with a tightened lip. "The palaver is finished. "

They led the man away, and the girl, who had been a spectator, askedanxiously: "What is wrong, Bones?"

But the young man shook his head. "The breaking of all that Sanders hasworked for, " he said bitterly, and the very absence of levity in onewhose heart was so young and gay struck a colder chill to the girl'sheart than the yells of the warring N'gombi. For Sanders had a big placein Patricia Hamilton's life. In an hour the _Zaire_ was refloated, andwas going at full speed down stream. 

 * * * * *

Sanders held his court in the thatched palaver house between the Houssaguard-room and the little stockade prison at the river's edge--a prisonhidden amidst the flowering shrubs and acacia trees. 

Wafa was the first to be examined. "Lord, " he said, withoutembarrassment, "I tell you this--that I will not speak of the greatwonders which lay in my heart unless you give me a book[6] that I shallgo free. "

[Footnote 6: A written promise. ]

Sanders smiled unpleasantly. "By the Prophet, I say what is true, " hebegan confidentially; and Wafa winced at the oath, for he knew thattruth was coming, and truth of a disturbing character. "In this land Igovern millions of men, " said Sanders, speaking deliberately, "I and twowhite lords. I govern by fear, Wafa, because there is no love in simplenative men, save a love for their own and their bellies. "

"Lord, you speak truth, " said Wafa, the superior Arab of him respondingto the confidence. 

"Now, if you make to kill the lord Tibbetti, " Sanders went on, "and doyour wickedness for secret reasons, must I not discover what is thatsecret, lest it mean that I lose my hold upon the lands I govern?"

"Lord, that is also true, " said Wafa. 

"For what is one life more or less, " asked Sanders, "a suffering smalleror greater by the side of my millions and their good?"

"Lord, you are Suliman, " said Wafa eagerly. "Therefore, if you let mego, who shall be the worse for it?"

Again Sanders smiled, that grim parting of lip to show his white teeth. "Yet you may lie, and, if I let you go, I have neither the truth noryour body. No, Wafa, you shall speak. " He rose up from his chair. "To-day you shall go to the Village of Irons, " he said; "to-morrow Iwill come to you, and you shall answer my questions. And, if you willnot speak, I shall light a little fire on your chest, and that fireshall not go out except when the breath goes from your body. Thispalaver is finished. "

So they took Wafa away to the Village of Irons, where the evil men ofthe Territories worked with chains about their ankles for their manysins, and in the morning came Sanders. 

"Speak, man, " he said. 

Wafa stared with an effort of defiance, but his face was twitching, forhe saw the soldiers driving pegs into the ground, preparatory to stakinghim out. "I will speak the truth, " he said. 

So they took him into a hut, and there Sanders sat with him alone forhalf an hour; and when the Commissioner came out, his face was drawn andgrey. He beckoned to Hamilton, who came forward and saluted. "We willget back to headquarters, " he said shortly, and they arrived two hourslater. 

Sanders sat in the little telegraph office, and the Morse sounderrattled and clacked for half an hour. Other sounders were at workelsewhere, delicate needles vacillated in cable offices, and anUnder-Secretary was brought from the House of Commons to the bureau ofthe Prime Minister to answer a question. 

At four o'clock in the afternoon came the message Sanders expected:"London says permit for Corklan forged. Arrest. Take extremest steps. Deal drastically, ruthlessly. Holding in residence three companiesAfrican Rifles and mountain battery support you. Good luck. Administration. "

Sanders came out of the office, and Bones met him. 

"Men all aboard, sir, " he reported. 

"We'll go, " said Sanders. 

He met the girl half-way to the quay. "I know it is something veryserious, " she said quietly; "you have all my thoughts. " She put both herhands in his, and he took them. Then, without a word, he left her. 

 * * * * *

Mr. P. T. Corklan sat before his new hut in the village of Fimini. Inthat hut--the greatest the N'gombi had ever seen--were stored hundredsof packages all well wrapped and sewn in native cloth. 

He was not smoking a cigar, because his stock of cigars was runningshort, but he was chewing a toothpick, for these, at a pinch, could beimprovised. He called to his headman. "Wafa?" he asked. 

"Lord, he will come, for he is very cunning, " said the headman. 

Mr. Corklan grunted. He walked to the edge of the village, where theground sloped down to a strip of vivid green rushes. "Tell me, how longwill this river be full?" he asked. 

"Lord, for a moon. "

Corklan nodded. Whilst the secret river ran, there was escape for him, for its meandering course would bring him and his rich cargo to Spanishterritory and deep water. 

His headman waited as though he had something to say. "Lord, " he said atlast, "the chief of the N'coro village sends this night ten great teethand a pot. "

Corklan nodded. "If we're here, we'll get 'em. I hope we shall be gone. "

And then the tragically unexpected happened. A man in white came throughthe trees towards him, and behind was another white man and a platoon ofnative soldiers. 

"Trouble, " said Corklan to himself, and thought the moment was one whichcalled for a cigar. 

"Good-morning, Mr. Sanders!" he said cheerfully. 

Sanders eyed him in silence. 

"This is an unexpected pleasure, " said Corklan. 

"Corklan, where is your still?" asked Sanders. 

The plump man laughed. "You'll find it way back in the forest, " he said, "and enough sweet potatoes to distil fifty gallons of spirit--all proof, sir, decimal 1986 specific gravity water extracted by Soemmering'smethod--in fact, as good as you could get it in England. "

Sanders nodded. "I remember now--you're the man that ran the still inthe Ashanti country, and got away with the concession. "

"That's me, " said the other complacently. "P. T. Corklan--I never assumean alias. "

Sanders nodded again. "I came past villages, " he said, "where every manand almost every woman was drunk. I have seen villages wiped out indrunken fights. I have seen a year's hard work ahead of me. You havecorrupted a province in a very short space of time, and, as far as I canjudge, you hoped to steal a Government ship and get into neutralterritory with the prize you have won by your----"

"Enterprise, " said Mr. Corklan obligingly. "You'll have to provethat--about the ship. I am willing to stand any trial you like. There'sno law about prohibition--it's one you've made yourself. I brought upthe still--that's true--brought it up in sections and fitted it. I'vebeen distilling spirits--that's true----"

"I also saw a faithful servant of Government, one Ali Kano, " saidSanders, in a low voice. "He was lying on the bank of this secret riverof yours with two revolver bullets in him. "

"The nigger was spying on me, and I shot him, " explained Corklan. 

"I understand, " said Sanders. And then, after a little pause: "Will yoube hung or shot?"

The cigar dropped from the man's mouth. "Hey?" he said hoarsely. "You--you can't--do that--for making a drop of liquor--for niggers!"

"For murdering a servant of the State, " corrected Sanders. "But, if itis any consolation to you, I will tell you that I would have killed you, anyway. "

It took Mr. Corklan an hour to make up his mind, and then he choserifles. 

To-day the N'gombi point to a mound near the village of Fimini, whichthey call by a name which means, "The Waters of Madness, " and it isbelieved to be haunted by devils. 

CHAPTER XI

EYE TO EYE

"Bones, " said Captain Hamilton, in despair, "you will never be aNapoleon. "

"Dear old sir and brother-officer, " said Lieutenant Tibbetts, "you are ajolly old pessimist. "

Bones was by way of being examined in subjects C and D, for promotion tocaptaincy, and Hamilton was the examining officer. By all the rules andlaws and strict regulations which govern military examinations, Boneshad not only failed, but he had seriously jeopardized his right to hislieutenancy, if every man had his due. 

"Now, let me put this, " said Hamilton. "Suppose you were in charge of acompany of men, and you were attacked on three sides, and you had ariver behind you on the fourth side, and you found things were goingvery hard against you. What would you do?"

"Dear old sir, " said Bones thoughtfully, and screwing his face into allmanner of contortions in his effort to secure the right answer, "Ishould go and wet my heated brow in the purling brook, then I'd takecounsel with myself. "

"You'd lose, " said Hamilton, with a groan. "That's the last person inthe world you should go to for advice, Bones. Suppose, " he said, in alast desperate effort to awaken a gleam of military intelligence in hissubordinate's mind, "suppose you were trekking through the forest with ahundred rifles, and you found your way barred by a thousand armed men. What would you do?"

"Go back, " said Bones, "and jolly quick, dear old fellow. "

"Go back? What would you go back for?" asked the other, in astonishment. 

"To make my will, " said Bones firmly, "and to write a few letters todear old friends in the far homeland. I have friends, Ham, " he said, with dignity, "jolly old people who listen for my footsteps, and to whommy voice is music, dear old fellow. "

"What other illusions do they suffer from?" asked Hamilton offensively, closing his book with a bang. "Well, you will be sorry to learn that Ishall not recommend you for promotion. "

"You don't mean that, " said Bones hoarsely. 

"I mean that, " said Hamilton. 

"Well, I thought if I had a pal to examine me, I would go through withflying colours. "

"Then I am not a pal. You don't suggest, " said Hamilton, with ominousdignity, "that I would defraud the public by lying as to the qualitiesof a deficient character?"

"Yes, I do, " said Bones, nodding vigorously, "for my sake and for thesake of the child. " The child was that small native whom Bones hadrescued and adopted. 

"Not even for the sake of the child, " said Hamilton, with an air offinality. "Bones, you're ploughed. "

Bones did not speak, and Hamilton gathered together the papers, forms, and paraphernalia of examination. 

He lifted his head suddenly, to discover that Bones was staring at him. It was no ordinary stare, but something that was a little uncanny. "Whatthe dickens are you looking at?"

Bones did not speak. His round eyes were fixed on his superior in anunwinking glare. 

"When I said you had failed, " said Hamilton kindly, "I meant, ofcourse----"

"That I'd passed, " muttered Bones excitedly. "Say it, Ham--say it!'Bones, congratulations, dear old lad'----"

"I meant, " said Hamilton coldly, "that you have another chance nextmonth. "

The face of Lieutenant Tibbetts twisted into a painful contortion. "Itdidn't work!" he said bitterly, and stalked from the room. 

"Rum beggar!" thought Hamilton, and smiled to himself. 

"Have you noticed anything strange about Bones?" asked Patricia Hamiltonthe next day. 

Her brother looked at her over his newspaper. "The strangest thing aboutBones is Bones, " he said, "and that I am compelled to notice every dayof my life. "

She looked up at Sanders, who was idly pacing the stoep of theResidency. "Have you, Mr. Sanders?"

Sanders paused. "Beyond the fact that he is rather preoccupied andstares at one----"

"That is it, " said the girl. "I knew I was right--he stares horribly. Hehas been doing it for a week--just staring. Do you think he is ill?"

"He has been moping in his hut for the past week, " said Hamiltonthoughtfully, "but I was hoping that it meant that he was swotting forhis exam. But staring--I seem to remember----"

The subject of the discussion made his appearance at the far end of thesquare at that moment, and they watched him. First he walked slowlytowards the Houssa sentry, who shouldered his arms in salute. Boneshalted before the soldier and stared at him. Somehow, the watchers onthe stoep knew that he was staring--there was something so fixed, sotense in his attitude. Then, without warning, the sentry's hand passedacross his body, and the rifle came down to the "present. "

"What on earth is he doing?" demanded the outraged Hamilton, forsentries do not present arms to subaltern officers. 

Bones passed on. He stopped before one of the huts in the married lines, and stared at the wife of Sergeant Abiboo. He stared long and earnestly, and the woman, giggling uncomfortably, stared back. Then she began todance. 

"For Heaven's sake----" gasped Sanders, as Bones passed on. 

"Bones!" roared Hamilton. 

Bones turned first his head, then his body towards the Residency, andmade his slow way towards the group. 

"What is happening?" asked Hamilton. 

The face of Bones was flushed; there was triumph in his eye--triumphwhich his pose of nonchalance could not wholly conceal. "What ishappening, dear old officer?" he asked innocently, and stared. 

"What the dickens are you goggling at?" demanded Hamilton irritably. "And please explain why you told the sentry to present arms to you. "

"I didn't tell him, dear old sir and superior captain, " said Bones. Hiseyes never left Hamilton's; he stared with a fierceness and with anintensity that was little short of ferocious. 

"Confound you, what are you staring at? Aren't you well?" demandedHamilton wrathfully. 

Bones blinked. "Quite well, sir and comrade, " he said gravely. "Pardonthe question--did you feel a curious and unaccountable inclination toraise your right hand and salute me?"

"Did I--what?" demanded his dumbfounded superior. 

"A sort of itching of the right arm--an almost overpowerin' inclinationto touch your hat to poor old Bones?"

Hamilton drew a long breath. "I felt an almost overpowering desire tolift my foot, " he said significantly. 

"Look at me again, " said Bones calmly. "Fix your eyes on mine an' thinkof nothin'. Now shut your eyes. Now you can't open 'em. "

"Of course I can open them, " said Hamilton. "Have you been drinking, Bones?"

A burst of delighted laughter from the girl checked Bones's indignantdenial. "I know!" she cried, clapping her hands. "Bones is trying tomesmerize you!"

"What?"

The scarlet face of Bones betrayed him. 

"Power of the human eye, dear old sir, " he said hurriedly. "Some peoplehave it--it's a gift. I discovered it the other day after readin' anarticle in _The Scientific Healer_. "

"Phew!" Hamilton whistled. "So, " he said, with dangerous calm, "all thisstaring and gaping of yours means that, does it? I remember now. When Iwas examining you for promotion the other day, you stared. Trying tomesmerize me?"

"Let bygones be bygones, dear old friend, " begged Bones. 

"And when I asked you to produce the company pay-sheets, which youforgot to bring up to date, you stared at me!"

"It's a gift, " said Bones feebly. 

"Oh, Bones, " said the girl slowly, "you stared at me, too, after Irefused to go picnicking with you on the beach. "

"All's fair in love an' war, " said Bones vaguely. "It's a wonderfulgift. "

"Have you ever mesmerized anybody?" asked Hamilton curiously, and Bonesbrightened up. 

"Rather, dear old sir, " he said. "Jolly old Ali, my secretary--goes offin a regular trance on the slightest provocation. Fact, dear old Ham. "

Hamilton clapped his hands, and his orderly, dozing in the shade of theverandah, rose up. "Go, bring Ali Abid, " said Hamilton. And when the manhad gone: "Are you under the illusion that you made the sentry presentarms to you, and Abiboo's woman dance for you, by the magic of youreye?"

"You saw, " said the complacent Bones. "It's a wonderful gift, dear oldHam. As soon as I read the article, I tried it on Ali. Got him, firstpop!"

The girl was bubbling with suppressed laughter, and there was a twinklein Sanders's eye. "I recall that you saw me in connection with shootingleave in the N'gombi. "

"Yes, sir and Excellency, " said the miserable Bones. 

"And I said that I thought it inadvisable, because of the trouble in thebend of the Isisi River. "

"Yes, Excellency and sir, " agreed Bones dolefully. 

"And then you stared. "

"Did I, dear old--Did I, sir?"

His embarrassment was relieved by the arrival of Ali. So buoyant a soulhad Bones, that from the deeps of despair into which he was beginning tosink he rose to heights of confidence, not to say self-assurance, thatwere positively staggering. 

"Miss Patricia, ladies and gentlemen, " said Bones briskly, "we have hereAli Abid, confidential servant and faithful retainer. I will nowendeavour to demonstrate the power of the human eye. "

He met the stolid gaze of Ali and stared. He stared terribly andalarmingly, and Ali, to do him justice, stared back. 

"Close your eyes, " commanded Bones. "You can't open them, can you?"

"Sir, " said Ali, "optics of subject are hermetically sealed. "

"I will now put him in a trance, " said Bones, and waved his handmysteriously. Ali rocked backward and forward, and would have fallen butfor the supporting arm of the demonstrator. "He is now insensible topain, " said Bones proudly. 

"Lend me your hatpin, Pat, " said Hamilton. 

"I will now awaken him, " said Bones hastily, and snapped his fingers. Ali rose to his feet with great dignity. "Thank you, Ali; you may go, "said his master, and turned, ready to receive the congratulations ofthe party. 

"Do you seriously believe that you mesmerized that humbug?"

Bones drew himself erect. "Sir and captain, " he said stiffly, "do yousuggest I am a jolly old impostor? You saw the sentry, sir, you saw thewoman, sir. "

"And I saw Ali, " said Hamilton, nodding, "and I'll bet he gave thesentry something and the woman something to play the goat for you. "

Bones bowed slightly and distantly. "I cannot discuss my powers, dearold sir; you realize that there are some subjects too delicate to broachexcept with kindred spirits. I shall continue my studies of psychicmysteries undeterred by the cold breath of scepticism. " He salutedeverybody, and departed with chin up and shoulders squared, a picture ofoffended dignity. 

That night Sanders lay in bed, snuggled up on his right side, whichmeant that he had arrived at the third stage of comfort which precedesthat fading away of material life which men call sleep. Half consciouslyhe listened to the drip, drip, drip of rain on the stoep, and promisedhimself that he would call upon Abiboo in the morning, to explain thematter of a choked gutter, for Abiboo had sworn, by the Prophet andcertain minor relatives of the Great One, that he had cleared everybird's nest from the ducts about the Residency. 

Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip!

Sanders sank with luxurious leisure into the nothingness of the night. 

Drip-tap, drip-tap, drip-tap!

He opened his eyes slowly, slid one leg out of bed, and groped for hisslippers. He slipped into the silken dressing-gown which had been flungover the end of the bed, corded it about him, and switched on theelectric light. Then he passed out into the big common room, with itschairs drawn together in overnight comradeship, and the solemn tick ofthe big clock to emphasize the desolation. He paused a second to switchon the lights, then went to the door and flung it open. 

"Enter!" he said in Arabic. 

The man who came in was naked, save for a tarboosh on his head and aloin-cloth about his middle. His slim body shone with moisture, andwhere he stood on the white matting were two little pools. Kano from hisbrown feet to the soaked fez, he stood erect with that curiousassumption of pride and equality which the Mussulman bears with lessoffence to his superiors than any other race. 

"Peace on this house, " he said, raising his hand. 

"Speak, Ahmet, " said Sanders, dropping into a big chair and stretchingback, with his clasped hands behind his head. He eyed the man gravelyand without resentment, for no spy would tap upon his window at nightsave that the business was a bad one. 

"Lord, " said the man, "it is shameful that I should wake your lordshipfrom your beautiful dream, but I came with the river. "[7] He looked downat his master, and in the way of certain Kano people, who aredialecticians to a man, he asked: "Lord, it is written in the Sura ofYa-Sin, 'To the sun it is not given to overtake the moon----'"

[Footnote 7: I came when I could. ]

"'Nor doth the night outstrip the day; but each in his own sphere dothjourney on, '" finished Sanders patiently. "Thus also begins the Sura ofthe Cave: 'Praise be to God, Who hath sent down the book to his servant, and hath put no crookedness into it. ' Therefore, Ahmet, be plain to me, and leave your good speeches till you meet the abominable Sufi. "

The man sank to his haunches. "Lord, " he said, "from the bend of theriver, where the Isisi divides the land of the N'gombi from the lands ofthe Good Chief, I came, travelling by day and night with the river, formany strange things have happened which are too wonderful for me. ThisChief Busesi, whom all men call good, has a daughter by his second wife. In the year of the High Crops she was given to a stranger from theforest, him they call Gufuri-Bululu, and he took her away to live in hishut. "

Sanders sat up. "Go on, man, " he said. 

"Lord, she has returned and performs wonderful magic, " said the man, "for by the wonder of her eyes she can make dead men live and live mendie, and all people are afraid. Also, lord, there was a wise man in theforest, who was blind, and he had a daughter who was the prop and staffof him, and because of his wisdom, and because she hated all whorivalled her, the woman D'rona Gufuri told certain men to seize the girland hold her in a deep pool of water until she was dead. "

"This is a bad palaver, " said Sanders; "but you shall tell me what youmean by the wonder of her eyes. "

"Lord, " said the man, "she looks upon men, and they do her will. Now, itis her will that there shall be a great dance on the Rind of the Moon, and after she shall send the spears of the people of Busesi--who is oldand silly, and for this reason is called good--against the N'gombifolk. "

"Oh, " said Sanders, biting his lip in thought, "by the wonder of hereyes!"

"Lord, " said the man, "even I have seen this, for she has stricken mento the ground by looking at them, and some she has made mad, and othersfoolish. "

Sanders turned his head at a noise from the doorway. The tall figure ofHamilton stood peering sleepily at the light. 

"I heard your voice, " he said apologetically. "What is the trouble?"

Briefly Sanders related the story the man had told. 

"Wow!" said Hamilton, in a paroxysm of delight. 

"What's wrong?"

"Bones!" shouted Hamilton. "Bones is the fellow. Let him go up andsubdue her with his eye. He's the very fellow. I'll go over and callhim, sir. "

He hustled into his clothing, slipped on a mackintosh, and, making hisway across the dark square, admitted himself to the sleeping-hut ofLieutenant Tibbetts. By the light of his electric torch he discoveredthe slumberer. Bones lay on his back, his large mouth wide open, onethin leg thrust out from the covers, and he was making strange noises. Hamilton found the lamp and lit it, then he proceeded to theheart-breaking task of waking his subordinate. "Up, you lazy devil!" heshouted, shaking Bones by the shoulder. 

Bones opened his eyes and blinked rapidly. "On the word 'One!'" he saidhoarsely, "carry the left foot ten inches to the left front, at the sametime bringing the rifle to a horizontal position at the right side. One!"

"Wake up, wake up, Bones!"

Bones made a wailing noise. It was the noise of a mother panther who hasreturned to her lair to discover that her offspring have been eaten bywild pigs. "Whar-r-ow-ow!" he said, and turned over on his right side. 

Hamilton pocketed his torch, and, lifting Bones bodily from the bed, lethim fall with a thud. 

Bones scrambled up, staring. "Gentlemen of the jury, " he said, "I standbefore you a ruined man. Drink has been my downfall, as the dear oldjudge remarked. I _did_ kill Wilfred Morgan, and I plead the unwrittenlaw. " He saluted stiffly, collapsed on to his pillow, and fell instantlyinto a deep child-like sleep. 

Hamilton groaned. He had had occasion to wake Bones from his beautysleep before, but he had never been as bad as this. He took a sodasiphon from the little sideboard and depressed the lever, holding theoutlet above his victim's head. 

Bones leapt up with a roar. "Hello, Ham!" he said quite sanely. "Welldear old officer, this is the finish! You stand by the lifeboat an'shoot down anybody who attempts to leave the ship before the torpedoesare saved. I'm goin' down into the hold to have a look at the women an'children. " He saluted, and was stepping out into the wet night, whenHamilton caught his arm. 

"Steady, the Buffs, my sleeping beauty! Dress yourself. Sanders wantsyou. "

Bones nodded. "I'll just drive over and see him, " he said, climbed backinto bed, and was asleep in a second. 

Hamilton put out the light and went back to the Residency. "I hadn'tthe heart to cut his ear off, " he said regretfully. "I'm afraid weshan't be able to consult Bones till the morning. "

Sanders nodded. "Anyway, I will wait for the morning. I have told Abibooto get stores and wood aboard, and to have steam in the _Zaire_. Let usemulate Bones. "

"Heaven forbid!" said Hamilton piously. 

Bones came blithely to breakfast, a dapper and a perfectly groomedfigure. He received the news of the ominous happenings in the N'gombicountry with that air of profound solemnity which so annoyed Hamilton. 

"I wish you had called me in the night, " he said gravely. "Dear oldofficer, I think it was due to me. "

"Called you! Called you! Why--why----" spluttered Hamilton. 

"In fact, we did call you Bones, but we could not wake you, " smoothedSanders. 

A look of amazement spread over the youthful face of LieutenantTibbetts. "You called me?" he asked incredulously. "Called _me_?"

"_You!_" hissed Hamilton. "I not only called you, but I kicked you. I poured water on you, and I chucked you up to the roof of the hut anddropped you. "

A faint but unbelieving smile from Bones. "Are you sure it was me, dear old officer?" he asked, and Hamilton choked. "I only ask, " saidBones, turning blandly to the girl, "because I'm a notoriously lightsleeper, dear old Miss Patricia. The slightest stir wakes me, andinstantly I'm in possession of all my faculties. Bosambo calls me'Eye-That-Never-Shuts----'"

"Bosambo is a notorious leg-puller, " interrupted Hamilton irritably. "Really, Bones----"

"Often, dear old Sister, " Bones went on impressively, "campin' out inthe forest, an' sunk in the profound sleep which youth an' a goodconscience brings, something has wakened me, an' I've jumped to my feet, a revolver in my hand, an' what do you think it was?"

"A herd of wild elephants walking on your chest?" suggested Hamilton. 

"What do you think it was, dear old Patricia miss?" persisted Bones, andinterrupted her ingenious speculation in his usual aggravating manner:"The sound of a footstep breakin' a twig a hundred yards away!"

"Wonderful!" sneered Hamilton, stirring his coffee. "Bones, if you couldonly spell, what a novelist you'd be!"

"The point is, " said Sanders, with good-humoured patience, whichbrought, for some curious reason, a warm sense of intimacy to the girl, "you've got to go up and try your eye on the woman D'rona Gufuri. "

Bones leant back in his chair and spoke with deliberation andimportance, for he realized that he, and only he, could supply asolution to the difficulties of his superiors. 

"The power of the human eye, when applied by a jolly old scientist to aheathen, is irresistible. You may expect me down with the prisoner infour days. "

"She may be more trouble than you expect, " said Sanders seriously. "Thelonger one lives in native lands, the less confident can one be. Therehave been remarkable cases of men possessing the power which this womanhas----"

"And which I have, sir an' Excellency, to an extraordinary extent, "interrupted Bones firmly. "Have no fear. "

 * * * * *

Thirty-six hours later Bones stood before the woman D'rona Gufuri. 

"Lord, " said the woman, "men speak evilly of me to Sandi, and now youhave come to take me to the Village of Irons. "

"That is true, D'rona, " said Bones, and looked into her eyes. 

"Lord, " said the woman, speaking slowly, "you shall go back to Sandi andsay, 'I have not seen the woman D'rona'--for, lord, is this not truth?"

"I'wa! I'wa!" muttered Bones thickly. 

"You cannot see me Tibbetti, and I am not here, " said the woman, and shespoke before the assembled villagers, who stood, knuckles to teeth, gazing awe-stricken upon the scene. 

"I cannot see you, " said Bones sleepily. 

"And now you cannot hear me, lord?"

Bones did not reply. 

The woman took him by the arm and led him through the patch of woodwhich fringes the river and separates beach from village. None followedthem; even the two Houssas who formed the escort of Lieutenant Tibbettsstayed rooted to the spot. 

Bones passed into the shadow of the trees, the woman's hand on his arm. Then suddenly from the undergrowth rose a lank figure, and D'rona of theMagic Eye felt a bony hand at her throat. She laughed. 

"O man, whoever you be, look upon me in this light, and your strengthshall melt. "

She twisted round to meet her assailant's face, and shrieked aloud, forhe was blind. And Bones stood by without moving, without seeing orhearing, whilst the strong hands of the blind witch-doctor, whosedaughter she had slain, crushed the life from her body. 

 * * * * *

"Of course, sir, " explained Bones, "you may think she mesmerized me. Onthe other hand, it is quite possible that she acted under my influence. It's a moot point, sir an' Excellency--jolly moot!"

CHAPTER XII

THE HOODED KING

There was a certain Portuguese governor--this was in the days whenColhemos was Colonial Minister--who had a small legitimate income and anextravagant wife. This good lady had a villa at Cintra, a box at theReal Theatre de São Carlos, and a motor-car, and gave five o'clocks atthe Hotel Nunes to the aristocracy and gentry who inhabited that spot, of whom the ecstatic Spaniard said, "dejar a Cintra, y ver al mundoentero, es, con verdad caminar en capuchera. "

Since her husband's salary was exactly $66. 50 weekly and the upkeep ofthe villa alone was twice that amount, it is not difficult to understandthat Senhor Bonaventura was a remarkable man. 

Colhemos came over to the Foreign Office in the Praco de Commercio oneday and saw Dr. Sarabesta, and Sarabesta, who was both a republican anda sinner, was also ambitious, or he had a Plan and an Ideal--two verydangerous possessions for a politician, since they lead inevitably tochange, than which nothing is more fatal to political systems. 

"Colhemos, " said the doctor dramatically, "you are ruining me! You arebringing me to the dust and covering me with the hatred and mistrust ofthe Powers!"

He folded his arms and rose starkly from the chair, his beard alla-bristle, his deep little eyes glaring. 

"What is wrong, Baptisa?" asked Colhemos. 

The other flung out his arms in an extravagant gesture. 

"Ruin!" he cried somewhat inadequately. 

He opened the leather portfolio which lay on the table and extracted sixsheets of foolscap paper. 

"Read!" he said, and subsided into his padded armchair a picture ofgloom. 

The sheets of foolscap were surmounted by crests showing an emaciatedlion and a small horse with a spiral horn in his forehead endeavouringto climb a chafing-dish which had been placed on edge for the purpose, and was suitably inscribed with another lion, two groups of leopards anda harp. 

Colhemos did not stop to admire the menagerie, but proceeded at once tothe literature. It was in French, and had to do with a certain conditionof affairs in Portuguese Central Africa which "constituted a grave andincreasing menace to the native subjects" of "Grande Bretagne. " Therewere hints, "which His Majesty's Government would be sorry to believe, of raids and requisitions upon the native manhood" of this country whichdiffered little from slave raids. 

Further, "Mr. Commissioner Sanders of the Territories regretted tolearn" that these labour requisitions resulted in a condition of affairsnot far removed from slavery. 

Colhemos read through the dispatch from start to finish, and put it downthoughtfully. 

"Pinto has been overdoing it, " he admitted. "I shall have to write tohim. "

"What you write to Pinto may be interesting enough to print, " said Dr. Sarabesta violently, "but what shall I write to London? ThisCommissioner Sanders is a fairly reliable man, and his Government willact upon what he says. "

Colhemos, who was really a great man (it was a distinct loss when hefaced a firing platoon in the revolutionary days of '12), tapped hisnose with a penholder. 

"You can say that we shall send a special commissioner to the M'fusicountry to report, and that he will remain permanently established inthe M'fusi to suppress lawless acts. "

The doctor looked up wonderingly. 

"Pinto won't like that, " said he, "besides which, the M'fusi are quiteunmanageable. The last time we tried to bring them to reason itcost--Santa Maria!... And the lives!... Phew!"

Colhemos nodded. 

"The duc de Sagosta, " he said slowly, "is an enthusiastic young man. Heis also a royalist and allied by family ties to Dr. Ceillo of the Left. He is, moreover, an Anglomaniac--though why he should be so when hismother was an American woman I do not know. He shall be ourcommissioner, my dear Baptisa. "

His dear Baptisa sat bolt upright, every hair in his bristling headerect. 

"A royalist!" he gasped, "do you want to set Portugal ablaze?"

"There are moments when I could answer 'Yes' to that question, " said thetruthful Colhemos "but for the moment I am satisfied that there will beno fireworks. It will do no harm to send the boy. It will placate theLeft and please the Clerics--it will also consolidate our reputation forliberality and largeness of mind. Also the young man will either bekilled or fall a victim to the sinister influences of that corruptionwhich, alas, has so entered into the vitals of our Colonial service. "

So Manuel duc de Sagosta was summoned, and prepared for the subject ofhis visit by telephone, came racing up from Cintra in his big Americanjuggernaut, leapt up the stairs of the Colonial Office two at a time, and came to Colhemos' presence in a state of mind which may be describedas a big mental whoop. 

"You will understand, Senhor, " said Colhemos, "that I am doing thatwhich may make me unpopular. For that I care nothing! My country is myfirst thought, and the glory and honour of our flag! Some day you mayhold my portfolio in the Cabinet, and it will be well if you bring toyour high and noble office the experience.... "

Then they all talked together, and the dark room flickered withgesticulating palms. 

Colhemos came to see the boy off by the M. N. P. Boat which carried him tothe African Coast. 

"I suppose, Senhor, " said the duc, "there would be no objection on thepart of the Government to my calling on my way at a certain Britishport. I have a friend in the English army--we were at Cliftontogether----"

"My friend, " said Colhemos, pressing the young man's hand warmly, "youmust look upon England as a potential ally, and lose no opportunitywhich offers to impress upon our dear colleagues this fact, that behindEngland, unmoved, unshaken, faithful, stands the armed might ofPortugal. May the saints have you in their keeping!"

He embraced him, kissing him on both cheeks. 

 * * * * *

Bones was drilling recruits at headquarters when Hamilton hailed himfrom the edge of the square. 

"There's a pal of yours come to see you, Bones, " he roared. 

Bones marched sedately to his superior and touched his helmet. 

"Sir!"

"A friend of yours--just landed from the Portuguese packet. "

Bones was mystified, and went up to the Residency to find a young man inspotless white being entertained by Patricia Hamilton and a verythoughtful Sanders. 

The duc de Sagosta leapt to his feet as Bones came up the verandah. 

"Hullo, Conk!" he yelled hilariously. 

Bones stared. 

"God bless my life, " he stammered, "it's Mug!"

There was a terrific hand-shaking accompanied by squawking inquirieswhich were never answered, uproarious laughter, back patting, brazen andbaseless charges that each was growing fat, and Sanders watched it withgreat kindness. 

"Here's old Ham, " said Bones, "you ought to know Ham--Captain Hamilton, sir, my friend, the duke of something or other--but you can call himMug--Miss Hamilton--this is Mug. "

"We've already been introduced, " she laughed. "But why do you let himcall you Mug?"

The duc grinned. 

"I like Mug, " he said simply. 

He was to stay to lunch, for the ship was not leaving until theafternoon, and Bones carried him off to his hut. 

"A joyous pair, " said Hamilton enviously. "Lord, if I was only a boyagain!"

Sanders shook his head. 

"You don't echo that wish?" said Pat. 

"I wasn't thinking about that--I was thinking of the boy. I dislike thisM'fusi business, and I can't think why the Government sent him. They area pretty bad lot--their territory is at the back of the Akasava, and theChief of the M'fusi is a rascal. "

"But he says that he has been sent to reform them, " said the girl. 

Sanders smiled. 

"It is not a job I should care to undertake--and yet----"

He knitted his forehead. 

"And yet----?"

"I could reform them--Bones could reform them. But if they were reformedit would break Bonaventura, for he holds his job subject to theirinfamy. "

At lunch Sanders was unusually silent, a silence which was unnoticed, save by the girl. Bones and his friend, however, needed no stimulation. Lunch was an almost deafening meal, and when the time came for the ducto leave, the whole party went down to the beach to see him embark. 

"Good-bye, old Mug!" roared Bones, as the boat pulled away. "Whoop! hi!how!"

"You're a noisy devil, " said Hamilton, admiringly. 

"Vox populi, vox Dei, " said Bones. 

He had an unexpected visitor that evening, for whilst he was dressingfor dinner, Sanders came into his hut--an unusual happening. 

What Sanders had to say may not be related since it was quiteunofficial, but Bones came to dinner that night and behaved with suchdecorum and preserved a mien so grave, that Hamilton thought he was ill. 

The duc continued his journey down the African Coast and presently cameto a port which was little more than a beach, a jetty, a big whitehouse, and by far the most imposing end of the Moanda road. In due time, he arrived by the worst track in the world (he was six days on thejourney) at Moanda itself, and came into the presence of the Governor. 

Did the duc but know it, his Excellency had also been prepared for theyoung man's mission. The mail had arrived by carrier the day before theduc put in his appearance, and Pinto Bonaventura had his little pieceall ready to say. 

"I will give you all the assistance I possibly can, " he said, as theysat at _déjeuner_, "but, naturally, I cannot guarantee you immunity. "

"Immunity?" said the puzzled duc. 

Senhor Bonaventura nodded gravely. 

"Nothing is more repugnant to me than slavery, " he said, "unless it bethe terrible habit of drinking. If I could sweep these evils out ofexistence with a wave of my hand, believe me I would do so; but I cannotperform miracles, and the Government will not give me sufficient troopsto suppress these practices which every one of us hold in abhorrence. "

"But, " protested the duc, a little alarmed, "since I am going to reformthe M'fusi.... "

The Governor choked over his coffee and apologized. He did not laugh, because long residence in Central Africa had got him out of the habit, and had taught him a certain amount of self-control in all things exceptthe consumption of marsala. 

"Pray go on, " he said, wearing an impassive face. 

"It will be to the interests of Portugal, no less than to yourExcellency's interest, " said the young man, leaning across the table andspeaking with great earnestness, "if I can secure a condition of peace, prosperity, sobriety, and if I can establish the Portuguese law in thisdisturbed area. "

"Undoubtedly, " acknowledged the older man with profound seriousness. 

So far from the duc's statement representing anything near the truth, itmay be said that a restoration of order would serve his Excellency verybadly indeed. In point of fact he received something like eightshillings for every "head" of "recruited labour. " He also received acommission from the same interested syndicates which exportedable-bodied labourers, a commission amounting to six shillings uponevery case of square-face, and a larger sum upon every keg of rum thatcame into the country. 

Sobriety and law would, in fact, spell much discomfort to the elegantlady who lived in the villa at Cintra, and would considerably diminishnot only Senhor Bonaventura's handsome balance at the Bank of Brazil, but would impoverish certain ministers, permanent and temporary, wholooked to their dear Pinto for periodical contributions to what washumorously described as "The Party Fund. "

Yet the duc de Sagosta went into the wilds with a high heart and acomplete faith, in his youthful and credulous soul, that he had behindhim the full moral and physical support of a high-minded and patrioticGovernor. The high-minded and patriotic Governor, watching the caravanof his new assistant disappearing through the woods which fringe Moanda, expressed in picturesque language his fervent hope that the mud, theswamp, the forest and the wilderness of the M'fusi country would swallowup this young man for evermore, amen. The unpopularity of the newCommissioner was sealed when the Governor learnt of his visit toSanders, for "Sanders" was a name at which his Excellency madedisapproving noises. 

The predecessor of the duc de Sagosta was dead. His grave was inthe duc's front garden, and was covered with rank grass. The new-comerfound the office correspondence in order (as a glib native clerkdemonstrated); he also found 103 empty bottles behind the house, andunderstood the meaning of that coarse grave in the garden. He foundthat the last index number in the letter-book was 951. 

It is remarkable that the man he succeeded should have found, in oneyear, 951 subjects for correspondence, but it is the fact. Possibly ninehundred of the letters had to do with the terrible state of theResidency at Uango-Bozeri. The roof leaked, the foundations had settled, and not a door closed as it should close. On the day of his arrival theduc found a _mamba_ resting luxuriously in his one armchair, a discoverywhich suggested the existence of a whole colony of these deadlybrutes--the _mamba_ bite is fatal in exactly ninety seconds--under ornear the house. 

The other fifty dispatches probably had to do with the lateCommissioner's arrears of pay, for Portugal at that time was in thethroes of her annual crisis, and ministries were passing through theGovernment offices at Lisbon with such rapidity that before a chequecould be carried from the Foreign Office to the bank, it was out ofdate. 

Uango Bozeri is 220 miles by road from the coast, and is the centre ofthe child-like people of the M'fusi. Here the duc dwelt and had hisbeing, as Governor of 2, 000 square miles, and overlord of some millionpeople who were cannibals with a passion for a fiery liquid which wasdescribed by traders as "rum. " It was as near rum as the White City isto Heaven; that is to say, to the uncultivated taste it might have beenrum, and anyway was as near to rum as the taster could expect to get. 

This is all there is to be said about the duc de Sagosta, save that hisheadman swindled him, his soldiers were conscienceless nativescommitting acts of brigandage in his innocent name, whilst his chief atMoanda was a peculating and incompetent scoundrel. 

At the time when the duc was finding life a bitter and humiliatingexperience, and had reached the stage when he sat on his predecessor'sgrave for company, a small and unauthorized party crossed the frontierfrom the British Territories in search of adventure. 

Now it happened that the particular region through which the border-linepassed was governed by the Chief of the Greater M'fusi, who was acannibal, a drunkard, and a master of two regiments. 

The duc had been advised not to interfere with the chief of his people, and he had (after one abortive and painful experience) obeyed hissuperiors, accepting the hut tax which was sent to him (and which wasobviously and insolently inadequate) without demur. 

No white man journeyed to the city of the M'fusi without invitationfrom the chief, and as Chief Karata never issued such invitation, theGreater M'fusi was a _terra incognita_ even to his Excellency theGovernor-General of the Central and Western Provinces. 

Karata was a drunkard approaching lunacy. It was his whim for weeks onend to wear on his head the mask of a goat. At other times, "as a markof his confidence in devils, " he would appear hidden beneath a plaitedstraw extinguisher which fitted him from head to foot. He was eccentricin other ways which need not be particularized, but he was never soeccentric that he welcomed strangers. 

Unfortunately for those concerned, the high road from the Territoriespassed through the M'fusi drift. And one day there came a pantingmessenger from the keeper of the drift who flung himself down at theking's feet. 

"Lord, " said he, "there is a white man at the drift, and with him acertain chief and his men. "

"You will take the men, bringing them to me tied with ropes, " said theking, who looked at the messenger with glassy eyes and found somedifficulty in speaking, for he was at the truculent stage of his secondbottle. 

The messenger returned and met the party on the road. What was hisattitude towards the intruders it is impossible to say. He may have beeninsolent, secure in the feeling that he was representing his master'sattitude towards white men; he may have offered fight in the illusionthat the six warriors he took with him were sufficient to enforce theking's law. It is certain that he never returned. 

Instead there came to the king's kraal a small but formidable partyunder a white man, and they arrived at a propitious moment, for theground before the king's great hut was covered with square bottles, andthe space in front of the palace was crowded with wretched men chainedneck to neck and waiting to march to the coast and slavery. 

The white man pushed back his helmet. 

"Goodness gracious Heavens!" he exclaimed, "how perfectly horrid!Bosambo, this is immensely illegal an' terrificly disgustin'. "

The Chief of the Ochori looked round. 

"Dis feller be dam' bad, " was his effort. 

Bones walked leisurely to the shady canopy under which the king sat, andKing Karata stared stupidly at the unexpected vision. 

"O King, " said Bones in the Akasavian vernacular which runs from Daccato the Congo, "this is an evil thing that you do--against all law. "

Open-mouthed Karata continued to stare. 

To the crowded kraal, on prisoner and warrior, councillor and dancingwoman alike, came a silence deep and unbroken. 

They heard the words spoken in a familiar tongue, and marvelled that awhite man should speak it. Bones was carrying a stick and takingdeliberate aim, and after two trial strokes he brought the nobbly endround with a "swish!"

A bottle of square-face smashed into a thousand pieces, and there aroseon the hot air the sickly scent of crude spirits. Fascinated, silent, motionless, King Karata, named not without reason "The Terrible, "watched the destruction as bottle followed bottle. 

Then as a dim realization of the infamy filtered through his thickbrain, he rose with a growl like a savage animal, and Bones turnedquickly. But Bosambo was quicker. One stride brought him to the king'sside. 

"Down, dog!" he said. "O Karata, you are very near the painted hut wheredead kings lie. "

The king sank back and glared to and fro. 

All that was animal in him told of his danger; he smelt death in themirthless grin of the white man; he smelt it as strongly under the handof the tall native wearing the monkey-tails of chieftainship. If theywould only stand away from him they would die quickly enough. Let themget out of reach, and a shout, an order, would send them bloodily to theground with little kicks and twitches as the life ran out of them. 

But they stood too close, and that order of his meant his death. 

"O white man, " he began. 

"Listen, black man, " said Bosambo, and lapsed into his English; "harkum, you dam' black nigger--what for you speak um so?"

"You shall say 'master' to me, Karata, " said Bones easily, "for in myland 'white man' is evil talk. "[8]

[Footnote 8: In most native countries "white man" is seldom employedsave as a piece of insolence. It is equivalent to the practice ofreferring to the natives as niggers. ]

"Master, " said the king sullenly, "this is a strange thing--for I seethat you are English and we be servants of another king. Also it isforbidden that any white--that any master should stand in my kraalwithout my word, and I have driven even Igselensi from my face. "

"That is all foolish talk, Karata, " said Bones. "This is good talk:shall Karata live or shall he die? This you shall say. If you send awaythis palaver and say to your people that we are folk whom you desireshall live in the shadow of the king's hut, then you live. Let him sayless than this, Bosambo, and you strike quickly. "

The king looked from face to face. Bones had his hand in the uniformjacket pocket. Bosambo balanced his killing-spear on the palm of hishand, the chief saw with the eye of an expert that the edge was razorsharp. 

Then he turned to the group whom Bones had motioned away when he startedto speak to the king. 

"This palaver is finished, " he said, "and the white lord stays in my hutfor a night. "

"Good egg, " said Bones as the crowd streamed from the kraal. 

Senhor Bonaventura heard of the arrival of a white man at the chief'sgreat kraal and was not perturbed, because there were certain favouritetraders who came to the king from time to time. He was more concerned bythe fact that a labour draft of eight hundred men who had been promisedby Karata had not yet reached Moanda, but frantic panic came from theremarkable information of Karata's eccentricities which had reached himfrom his lieutenant. 

The duc's letter may be reproduced. 

 "ILLUSTRIOUS AND EXCELLENT SENHOR, "It is with joy that I announce to you the most remarkable reformation of King Karata. The news was brought to me that the king had received a number of visitors of an unauthorized character, and though I had, as I have reported to you, Illustrious and Excellent Senhor, the most unpleasant experience at the hands of the king, I deemed it advisable to go to the city of the Greater M'fusi and conduct an inquiry. 

 "I learnt that the king had indeed received the visitors, and that they had departed on the morning of my arrival carrying with them one of their number who was sick. With this party was a white man. But the most remarkable circumstance, Illustrious and Excellent Senhor, was that the king had called a midnight palaver of his councillors and high people of state and had told them that the strangers had brought news of such sorrowful character that for four moons it would be forbidden to look upon his face. At the end of that period he would disappear from the earth and become a god amongst the stars. 

 "At these words, Illustrious and Excellent Senhor, the king with some reluctance took from one of the strangers a bag in which two eyes had been cut, and pulled it over his head and went back into his hut. 

 "Since then he has done many remarkable things. He has forbidden the importation of drink, and has freed all labour men to their homes. He has nominated Zifingini, the elder chief of the M'fusi, to be king after his departure, and has added another fighting regiment to his army. 

 "He is quite changed, and though they cannot see his face and he has banished all his wives, relatives and councillors to a distant village, he is more popular than ever. 

 "Illustrious and Excellent Senhor, I feel that at last I am seeing the end of the old régime and that we may look forward to a period of sobriety and prosperity in the M'fusi. 

 "Receive the assurance, Illustrious and Excellent Senhor, of my distinguished consideration. "

His Excellency went purple and white. 

"Holy mother!" he spluttered apoplectically, "this is ruin!"

With trembling hands he wrote a telegram. Translated in its sense it wasto this effect--

"Recall de Sagosta without fail or there will be nothing doing on payday. "

He saw this dispatched on its way, and returned to his bureau. He pickedup the duc's letter and read it again: then he saw there was apostscript. 

 "P. S. --In regard to the strangers who visited the king, the man they carried away on a closed litter was very sick indeed, according to the accounts of woodmen who met the party. He was raving at the top of his voice, but the white man was singing very loudly. 

 "P. SS. --I have just heard, Illustrious and Excellent Senhor, that the Hooded King (as his people call him) has sent off all his richest treasures and many others which he has taken from the huts of his deported relatives to one Bosambo, who is a chief of the Ochori in British Territory, and is distantly related to Senhor Sanders, the Commissioner of that Territory. "

 THE END

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:

Minor changes have been made to correct typesetter's errors; in allother respects, every effort has been made to be true to the author'swords and intent.