The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-04-05

word you're SO curious about, forget it.
and don't hear il again-understand?'
With that he went out abruptly.
was greatly perplexed. Half the
night I pondered over Henderson's
strange conduct, and wondered why on
earth he should refuse to tell me the
meaning of simple word. / did not
care to ask anyone else, for fear Of its
getting to Henderson's ears. Although
! was on pretty familiar terms with
him, he was my chief. and in addition
had already become much attached
to him.
Tho next morning, / tackled him
egain: "Hendcrson-that word?'
He turned and gazed At me with half
closed eyes, and said, deliberately and
coldly: 1.-The keenness Of your curios-
ity would do Infinite credit to cor
poral's wife, He cleared his throat
and said testify: Picnic. picnic; that's
what the word means; he wanted them
to treat him to a picnic in the jungle;
and You say they consented. And
he turned on me quite fercely-''why
shouldn't they? And look here, my
boy, if you say one word about it to
anyone else in the cantonnent I'll
make it warm for you"
In the evening I strolled down the
Kistapore road. 1t was against the
regulations, FOR the jungle ran right
up to the road, ana at night there was
a certain amount of danger to be
feared from the wild beasts that occa-
sionally explored the road almost up
to the cantonment. But even in my
brief experience had seen the spirit,
if not the letter, OF one or two of the
regulations ignored, and I wanted to
be alone to think out the meaning OF
Henderson's strange words and man
ner.
1t was almost the last of the few
brief moments of twilight when, being
still some couple of miles from home,
quickened my pace. The night was
falling as only those can understand
who have witnessed O nightfall on the
edge Of the jungle. No need to tell
them how the darkuess drops down
like heavy blanket, nor of the start
ling transformation of the tangled
underwood and tbs gigantic grasses
which suddenly became strange mon
stcrs endowed with life, moving
to and fro, now smoothly, now
jerkily, pointing with strange fingers,
now uttering husky cries Of hate, now
gibbering idiot-lilie- And the wild
animals IN the thicknesses of the in
terror, how they howl, and Shrek. and
cry. and moan-roars of defiance,
screams of pain, trumpetings of vic
tory! All made more intense by being
subdued, as if the vegetation were IN
willing to let the outside world know
of the scenes enacted in that fearsome
place.
confess started to run; holding my
revolver at the full cock. But my
steps were suddenly arrested by the
magical appearance, directly in my
path. of several lights / pulled up
sharply, and stood stock-still. The
lights advanced, keeping time with the
humping of my heart At last l could
dimly descry body OF twenty or thir-
ty natives, several of whom were car
rying torches, which they must have
Just lighted. i awaited their coming
imagine what they were about. just
before reaching me, however, they
turned quickly aside into the Jungle.
They were not five PAGES distant from
me when they left the road, and felt
some surprise at their not having seen
me. By sudden overpowering i'm
pulse of curiosity I started to follow
them, in order to learn the meaning of
their strange journey. With as little
noise as possible, l swung round, step
ping almost in their footsteps. / had
little difficulty in doing SO, for they
followed what seemed to be beaten
track For some hundreds Of yards
the strange procession went slowly on.
Suddenly heard a strange noise, that
thrilled me through and through.
There was something about 1t, too,
that seemed familiar; but my brain
was excited and refused to recall the
sound. 1t was kind of moan, half
human, half animal. AS the natives
and I drew nearer. it took the cbarac-
ter of chant; and then it flashed on
me that had heard the sound before.
It was the 'lepcr's voice! The poor
wretch was grooming a dismal hymn or
invocation, just as he had done when
soliciting his brethren to do what l
was, to my great satisfaction, about to
find out. His low, weak cry rang out
strangely clear:
"Ohei. Ohei Mother, my mother.
Thou only art mercifuL Thou only.
Ohei, Ohei. Brethren, my brethren,
lend me to our mother; she only will
welcome, she only will give peace,
Ohei. Ohei"
The voice died away in a moan, that
mingled with and seemed TO rise again
In the softwhisiing OF the long grasses,
as they quivered with the breath Of
the wind that presaged the coming
rains. l shivered-
The party, having now arrived at
space which had been cleared of the
taugle wood and grass, abruptly
stopped and formed into a ring.
pressed forward as near as dared
Then l saw, in the center of the ring,
large cavity, perhaps foar feet deep
with the earth banked up on either
side The torch-bcarers ranged them
selves at the head and foot of the hole,
which. now that it was in the light,
saw to be of oblong shape. shelving
somewhat at the end nearer to me.
The other natives stood at the sides,
four with tom-toms, and two with little
pots OF burning incense Then the
leper limped out, from the Jungle
seemingly, and crouched TT the shelv-
ing end of the hole. I had expected
him to appear on the scene. vet when
he did SO. could not help giving bit
of start Not one of the natives
looked at the leper. nor did he seem to