The Irish standard., 1890-03-15
J THE IRIsH STANDARD: sATURDA Y. MARGIN Is


freshly turned over In the water % bed l \
ran. along the bank some way up the lt'
rayine in the vain hope Of catching g
sight Of them. Presently I heard 2 bark
in the cliffs above me; it was answered
by another, and then ! saw that scores g =
Of balloons were hidden about among the
rocks on either side, and were SLOWLY
4 swinging themselves down to bar the
path, To 60 on unarmed as was WOULD
be useless. I should only be torn TO
pieces as the dogs had been. So 4 tn: turned
and fed back towards the huts. As
| drew near [ could see that my messenger
| had reused the settlement, for natives
with snears and kerries in their hands
were running up towards the kraals.
When l reached the hue ! met. olo
Indaba-zimbi, who wore very serious
face :,
$50 the evil has fallen, Matchmaking"
he said.
eft has fallen,' answered.
s'Keep a good heart Macnma az
he said again. ssShe is not dead, nor
the little maid, and before they die we
shall find them. Remember this. Hen
drika loves her. She will not harm her'
or allow the babyans5 o harm her. ene
will trv to hide her away from YOU
that is ALL"
..Pray God that we may find her' :
groaned. 1.-THE light is going fast
soThe moon rises in three hours, ne
answered: eve will search by moonlight
It is useless to start now; see, the sun
sinks. Let us get the men together
eat and make things ready. Hanaoa
aacAh Hasten slowly, Macumazahn.
AS there was no help, took his 40.
vice. could eat no food, but l packed
some up to take with us, and maze
ready ropes and q rough kind OF litter.
If we found them they would scarcely
be able to walk. All! if we found them!
How slowly the time passed! 1t seemed
hours before the moon rose. Butat last
it did rise.
Then we started In all we were
about q hundred men, but we only mus
tered five guns between us, my elephant
roer, and four that had belonged to MI:
| Carson.
! CHAPTER XII
We gained the spot by the stream
where Stella had been taken. Inc ma
tiyes looked at the torn fragments OF
the dogs, and at the marks of violence,
and heard them swearing to each other
that whether the Star lived CT died they
would not rest until they had exterml-
mated every baboon on Babyan's Peak.
echoed the oath, and, as shall be seen,
we kept it. .+.. ......-...-4-
We started on along the stream, fol-
lowing the spoor Of the balloons as we
hest could. But the stream left no
spoor, and the hard, rocky banks but
! little. Still we wandered on ALL night
we wandered through the lonely moon
lit valleys, startling the silence into
| thousand echoes with our cries. But no
answer came to them. In vain our eyes
searched the sides Of precipices formed
Of water-riven rocks fantastlcally plled
one upon another; in vain we searched
through endless dells and fern-clad
crannies. There was nothing to oe
found How could we expect to find two
human beings hidden away in the re-
cesses of this vast stretch OF mountain
ground, which no man yet had ever fully
explored? They were lost, and in all
human probability lost forever.
To and fro we wandered hopelessly,
till at last dawn found us footsore and
! weary nearly at the spot whence we had
started. We sat down waiting for the
sun to rise, and the men ate Of such
| -, +lo-v b,sC,7rht with than
and sent to the kraals for more.
| sat upon stone with breaking
heart. can not describe my feelings
Let the reader put himself in my posi-
ton and perhaps he may get some idea
of them Near me was old Ind aba
zimbi, who sat staring straight before
him as though he were looking into
space, and taking note Of what went on
there. An idea struck me. This man
had some occult power. Several times
during our adventures he had prophe-
sled, and in every case his prophecies
had proven true. He it was who, when
me to steer north, because there we
should find the place Of a white man
who lived under the shadow of great
peak that was full Of balloons Perhaps
he could help in this extremity-at any
rate it was worth trying.
s:lndaba-zimbi," said, fsyou say that
you can send your spirit through the
doors of space and see what We can not
see. At the least know that you can
do strange things. Can you not
help me now? If you can, and will save
her, will give you half the cattle that
we have here"
IT never said any thing Of the sort,
4 Macunlazahn," he answered. 81 Go
things. do not talk about them.
/ Neither do seek reward for what 7 do
like common Witch-doctor. 1t is well
that you have asked me to use ny wis
dom, Macumazahn, for / should not
have used it again without being asked
no. not even for the sake of the Star
| and yourself, whom I love, for if so nv
spirit would have been angry. In the
| other matters I had part, for nav life
was concerned as we'll as yours; but, in
this matter I have no part, and there
! i--r