The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-12-13
CHAPTER |.
ZACH FLEMING's YARN.
ow FIRST PUBLISHED

mates being as We al AnO" LIZ" AAu~-
easier with my fists or my colt In shlndy
than with nv tongue, at the telling of it,
INIT II We want to hear how got out OF that
blessed German trap. and over that blessed
German wall, here goes to do my best to
amuse ye all"
They were resting on one OF the steep
ridges of the Owen Stanley chain OF noun
tains. three white men and five naked,
shiyering savages, who rolled themselves
about as we'll as they could manage with
their numerous wounds, in order to get at
their blazing logs as it was possible for them
to do without being roasted.
Three white men, two Of them passably
covered with flannel shirts, well patched
pants and high DO OTIS. and the third with a
few shreds still hanging about his legs
that had once been trousers. and the
rest OF his sun tanned body as bare as were
the savages who lay beside him this tattered
specimen of civilization was the speaker to
whom the others listened gravely as they
smoked their pipes.
Heavily bearded and long-haired men
were the whites, presenting the appearances
of having roughed it for months among
the forests and ridges, tall and lank the two
of them were, with the skin dra wn tightly
over their cheek bones, at least what could
be seen Of it from the tangled masses OF IN
combed hair, with strong sinewy and
knuckly hands, that held on to their wood
pipes firmly as If they were treasures which
they had to guard with force.
The speaker was a medium-sized, square
built man of about 80, with glittering black
eyes under heavy eyebrows, broad-should-
cred and hairy-ohested. and as he spoke he
sawed the air with his powerful left arm, the
right one remaining bandaged against his
knee. Like the savages, he appeared to
have had q stiff time Of 1t lately, for his
body bore many marks of recent and old
wounds upon It, while the bandages had
stiffened aud were stained with the red
blood which bad saturated through them l.,
and become dried since they were first put
on.
At the feet Of the two listeners lay fowl
ing pieces and Winchester rifles, while in
their belts were stuck long revolvers and
jack-knives, and even as they listened their
eyes were on the move, as If on the lookout
for sudden surprises.
1t was ridge high above where the trees
grew, and bare to the piercing night wind
which breathed damp and 10y upon them,
they had fixed their camp here as the
safest, if not the most comfortable position,
with steep wall OF rock on the one side,
SU66T uOHu IuOuohlIuo VI 10cb1 OC-
fore the tops of the great forest trees could
be reached, and on the other side sloping
steeply down toward other forests, at an
acute angle, some parts grass covered,
and other portions bare and rocky.
A very circumscribed plateau It was
upon which they squatted on this chilly
night. with about half dozen feet COM
paratively fat and grass covered. then
few yards of easy moline terminated By
INrOkox1 hOfnl6aru haf0ra that ahrunt
hill began to fall away. Being upon the
highest point from where they camped they
were able without moving to overlook this
decline, and as the tropio moon was shining
full upon it, IL was impossible for even the
most willy enemy 10 steal upon them unper-
ceived, at least not while the moon re-
manned unclouded, while from their barren
vantage point they could easily have
pushed any number Of foemen over these
boulders and sent them rolling for at least
three-luarters Of a mile before they could
be stopped.
This was the advantage of their present
position, q great advantage to strangers in
a country Ike New Guinea, where 1t was
impossible to cover their tracks in the
forests or do without fires on the nights.
Each man knew that he was safe so long as
the sky remained clear, and also that there
was no need to attempt to hide
their camp fires from eyes which
may have been upon them
for weeks They trusted in their position,
and their superior weapons, also in luck for
with Adventures who traverse this land
luck is everything.
The great full moon cast down upon them
its white flames, striking the yellow flames
from the dead wood branches, and changing
to wreathes of silver the thick wood-smoke;
it beat upon the glistening native grass I'M
til it shone like snow under their feet, losing
its radiance in the dense banks Of mist
which hung over the gorges and forests;
until they appeared to be camped on the top
of cone-liEe island in the middle of a
boundless ocean three white men and five
wounded and dispirited savages.
There was not much humor expressed in
the faces of the two listeners, nor even much
appearance of interest In what the narrator
was telling them.
They listened alphabetically and sucked at
their pipes slowly as men do who are limited
IN their stock of tobacco, and who wish to
take the most out of each pipe full.
Under the two were spread blankets,
which, as they were the only ones provided
with such comforts they did not roll them
round themselves although the heavy dews
were drenching them like rain. They lay
on them to keep the blankets dry against
the rolling up the next morning; and with
that transformations courtesy which the
toughest buShman naturally acquires, were
content to suffer the same discomforts that
the other sharers of their mountain camp
were enduring.
Things hadn't been going well with me
on the south coast for some months past for
you know, mates, that it amt all fair with
free trader, now, that the government
war-sloop has got to know her way inside
the reefs.n
"We know it, Zach Fleming, for that's
what sent US up here bird-catching instead
of taking our ease among the friendly ma
tives, worse luck" growled one of the list
eners, taking his pipe for a moment from
his lips, and then putting it back again
while the other silently nodded.
''That's so,n continued Zach Fleming 10 g
plaintive tone, as one might use If speaking
about once prosperous business which hac
gone to the dogs through the dishonesty Of
customers. "Our kind of trading aim
what it used to be in no quarter of the
world, and there's no chance now left for G
man unless he can get the soft side of thest
blessed missionaries In New Guinea, which
as with yourselves, my card amt quit
clean enough for me to present 1t at Por
MonshY.
st was at Cooktown, last trip made there
that heard the government was after M
for little bit of shindy that happened of
East Cape. and that there was no use In my
landing anywhere west of that. which SAM
was mighty sorry 10 hear. for / had SOM
pretty cargoes booked at two or tire
places.
However, there was no good crying owe
split milk, and as couldn't stop any longe
where was, with my boys eating thei