The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1894-05-26
8y GRANT ALl6N,

shook his head a little at the uueX-
pected wetting. and scattered the drops
right and left on his neck and shout
ders. The chief watched this per
Torrance attentivcly with profound
satisfaction, Then he turned to his
attendants.
The spirit shakes his head" he
said. with "a deeply convinced air. "AII
is we'll. Heaven has chosen him.
kOrong, korong, He is accepted for
his purpose. 1t is well, 1t is well.
Let MS try the other one.
He raised the calabash once more.
and poured a few drops in like manner
on Muriels dark hair. The poor girl,
trembling in every limb. shook her
head also in the same unintcntiOnal
fashion. The chief regarded her with
still more compliment eyes.
1T is well" he observed once more
to h ; companions, smiling. she too.
gives the sign of acceptance. Korong,
kOrong, Heaven is well pleased with
both See how her body trcmblcs,"
At that moment girl came forward
with little basket of fruits. The chief
chose a banana with care from the
basket. pooled it, with his dusky
hands. broke it slowly in two. and
handed one-half very solemnly to
Felix.
Eat, King of the Rain" he said, as
he presented it. The Offering of
Heaven.
Felix ate it at once. thinking it best
under the circumstances not to demur
at all to anything his strange hosts
might choose to impose upon him.
The chief handed the other half Just
aS solcInnly to Muricl. Eat, Queen
of the Clouds, he said. as he placed it
in her fingers The Offering of
Heaven.
Muriel hesitatcd. She didn't know
what his words meant, AMI it seemed
to her rather the o Tering of a very
dirty and unwashed savage. The
chief eyed her hard. "For Gods sake
eat it, my child: he tells you to eat it
it, Felix exclaimed in haste. Muricl
lifted it to her lips and swallowed it
down with difficulty. The mans dusky
hands didn't inspire confidence.
But the chief seemed relieved when
he had seen her swallow it, "All is
well done, he said, turning again to
his followers. 1--WE have obcycd the
words o. Tu-kila-kila. and his orders
that he gave us. We have offered the
strangers. the spirits from the sun. a
a free gift to Heaven, and Heaven has
accepted them. We have given them
fruits, the fruits of the earth, and they
have duly eaten them. KOrOng, ko-
rOnT, The King OF the Rain and the
Quconof the Clouds have indeed come
among us. They are truly gods. We
will take them now, as he bids Us. to
Tu-Kila-kila."
what have they done to u.s."
al I.Iy ~ ~. +.,, ti.,l 4.
tone to Felix.
IL can't quite make out Felix an
swcrcd in the self-same voice They
call us the King of the Rain and the
Queen of the Clouds in their own Ian
guagc. | think they imagine we've
come from the sun and that were
sort OF spirits.
At the sound of these words the GIRL
who held the basket Of fruits rave It
sudden start. It almost seemed to Mu-
rlol as il she understood them. But
when Muriel looked again she gave no
further sign. She merely held hcr
peace. and tried to appear wholly un-
disconnected.
The chief beckoncd them down from
the platform with wave Of his hand
They rose and followed him. rs they
rose the people around them bowed
low to the ground Felix could see
they were bowling to MUricl aud him.
self, rot merely 10 the chief. 4 doubt
lifted strangely across his mind FOR a
moment W hat could it all mean
Did they take he two STRANGERS. then.
for supernatural beings Had they
enrolled them aa gods? If 50. il might
serve as some little protection for
them.
The procession formed again, three
and three. three an three, in solemn
silence. Then the chief walked in
front of them with measured steps, and
Felix and Muricl followed behind won
dcriug. As they went, the cry rose
louder and louder than before Ia
boo, Taboo = People who met them
fell on their faces at once. IS the chief
cried out in loud tone, The King Of
the Rain, the Queen Of the Clouds,
korong, koron@, They are coming,
They are coming"
Vt last they rcac hcd second cleared
space, standing in large garden of
MANILA, 10 Iuat, ponicans. and hibiscus
trees. 1t was entered 10y gate a tall
gate OF bamboo post. AT the gate all
the followers fell back to right and
lett, awc-struck. ONLY the chief went
calmly on. He be"koncd to Felix and
M"riel to follow him.
They entered, half terrified. Tctiv
still graspcd his open knife in his hand,
ready To strike at any moment that
might be necessary. The Chief led
them forward toward very large tree
near the center OF the garden At the
foot OF the tree stood a hut, sOmcw hat
bigger and better built than any they
had yet seen: and in front of the trunk
StalWart savage, very powerfully
built, but with q sinister look in his
cruel and lJst,ul eve, was pacing up
and down like a sentinel on guard, a
long spear in his right hand and
tomahawk in his left, held close by his
side, all ready for action. rs he
prowIed up and down he seemed to be
pccriug warily about him on every
side, as if each instant he expected To
be set upon 10y an enemy. But a the
Chief approached, the people without
set up once more the cry Of Taboo,
Taboo and the stalwart savage bv
the tree, laying down his spear and
letting his tomahaNk fall free, dropped
in a second the air Of watchful alarm.
and advanced with some courtesy to
greet the newcomers.
I'VE have fond them. Tu-kila-
- III tll ltt'f @'itA ''~f' IL lflt'tll
to the god with a graceful way. Of the
hand. we have found tho spirits
that You brought from the sun. with
the fire in their hands, and the light
in boxes. We have taken them 10
Heaven. Heaven has accepted them.
We have offered them fruit, and they
have eaten the banana. The King Of
the Rain the Queen of the Clouds,
kOrGDp. Receive +hpu 80
Tu-hila-ki5a glanced al them with
an approving glanlc. strangely com
pounded OF pleasure and terror. The.
are pl- mp" he said shortly. They are
indeed korong Ny sun has sent me
an acceptable present"
What is yolr will that we should
do with them." the chief asked in a
deeply deferantiai tcne.
Tu-kila-hiia looked hard at lTrric'
such hateful look that the knife
trcmbled irresolute for second i'm Fe-