Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1894-10-04
58y. GRauT ALlENa

! SUE. by Inc u1in tLS III VI tlic IHOOll,
struggling through the dense foliage,
Felix could see its We. low leaves dis
| tinctly. Beneath it hung skeleton,
suspended by invisible cords, head
| downward from the branches It was
the skeleton of previous Korong who
! had tried in vain to reach the bough,
and persisted. Tu-Kila-kila had made
! high feast on the victim flesh: his
| bones now collected together and cum
ningly fastened with native rope.
| serves as warning and as trap or
| pitfall Tor all who might rashly VEN
ture to follow him.
| Felix stood for one moment, alone
and awe struck, solitary civilized
man. among those hiGeouS surround
! ings. Above, the cold moon: ali about,
/ the grim, stolid. half hostile natives;
close by, that strange serpentine, saw
age wife, guarding, cat-like, the sleep
OF her cannibal husband; behind, the
Watchful Eyes OF Tu-Kila-kila, waiting
ever in the background, ready to raise
loud shout Of alarm and warning the
moment the fatal branch was actually
broken, but mute, by their vows, till
that moment was accomplished. Then
a sudden wild impulse urged him on
| to the attempt. The banyan had
ground. after the fashion Of its kind,
from it's main branches. Felix seized
one of these and swung himself lightly
up till he reached the very limb on
which the sacred parasite itself was
growing.
To get the parasite, however, he
must pass directly above Tu-kila-Kila's
head, and over the point where that
! frb tly Slya1a+0n woe enc.
pended as bv an unseen hair, from the
fork that bore it.
He walked along, balancing himself,
and clutching, DIS he went, at the
neighboring bo3ghs, while Tu-Kila-
Kila, overcome with the kava, slept
stolidiy and heavily on beneath him.
At last he was almost within grasp of
the parasite. Could he lunge out and
clutch it? One try--one enort! No,
no; he almost lost footing and fell over
in the attempt. He couldn't keep his
balance so. He must try farther on.
Come what might he must go past the
skeleton.
The grisly- mass swung again, clank
ING its bosses as it swung, and groaned
in the wind omniously. The breeze
whistled audibly through it's hollow
skull and vacant eyesockets. Tu-
kllaKila turned uneasily in his sleep
below. Felix saw that there was not
one instant Of time to be lost now. He
passed on boldly and as he passed, a
dozen thin cords of paper mulberry,
stretched every way in an invisible
network among the boughs, too small
to be seen in the dim moonlight,
caught him with their tolls and al
most overthrow him. They broke
with his weight, and Felix himself.
umbling blindiy, fell forward. Atthe
cost Of Sprained wrist and a great
jerk on his bruised fingers, he ~aught
at (; DO gh by his side, but wrenched
it away suddenly. It was touch and go.
At the very anne moment the skeleton
fell Heavily, ana ratified on the ground
beside Tu-kila-Nila
Before Felix could discover what
had actually happened, a very great
shout went up all around below, and
made him stagger with exc. tement.
TuKila-kia was awake, AMI had
started W, all intent. mad with wrath
and kava Glaring about him wildly,
and b@andishing MS great spear in his
passion and despair Where is he,
the Korong? Bring him on, my meat
| ct HE devour his heart Let me tear
HIM to pieces. Let me drink of his
Sick and desperate at the accident.
Felix, in turn. clinging hard to his
bough with one hand, gazed wildly
ado It him to look for the parasite. But
it had gone as if by magic. He glanced
around in DESPAIR, vaguely conscious
that nothing was let for it now but TO
drop to the ground aud lei himself be
killed at leisure by tina frantic savage.
Yet even "a he did so, he was aware OF
that great cry-a cry as Of triumph =
still rendlng the air. Fire and Water
had rushed forward, and were holding
back Tu- Kila -Kila, now black in the
face from rage. with all their might.
lila was smiling malicious Joy. The
Eyes were all agog with interest and
excitement. And from one and all that
wild scream rose unanimous to the
startled sky: He has it! He has it.
The Soul of the tree. The Spirit OF
the World. The great gods abo1e.
Hold Off your hands, Lavita, son OF
Sami. Your trial has come. He has
it. He has it,
Felix looked about him with whirl-
inc brain. His eve fell suddenly.
There. in his own hand, lay the ate
FIJI Dough. In his efforts to steady
himself. he had cIutched at it by pure
accident, and broken it off unawares
with the force of his clutching. As
fortune would nave it, he grast Led it
still. Ills senses reeled. He was al
most dead with excitement, suspense.
and uncertainty, mingled with pain of
his wrenched wrist. But for NJ ariel's
sake he pulled himself together. Caz-
ing Gown and trying to take it all IN
that strange savage Scene-he saw
that Tu-ki a-Kila was making frantic
attempts to lunge at him with the
spear, while the King of Fire and the
King of Water, stern and relentless,
were hol1ing HI n OF by main force,
and striving their best to appease and
quiet him.
There was an awful rause. Then
voice broke the stiffness from beyond
/ the taboo-line:
THE Shadow Of the King OF the
Rain speaks, 1t said, in very solemn,
Il x n.