Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1894-08-16
CHAPTER XVIU.-Continu


And yet suppose this hateful new
conner, the King Of the Rain, whom he
had himself made Korong on purpose
to get rid Of him more easily, and SO
had elevated into his own worst Doten-
tial enemy suppose this newcomer,
the King OF the Rain, were by chance
to speak that other dialect of the bird
language, which the King Of the Birds
himself knew not. but which the par
rot had learned from his old master,
the ancient Tux ila-Kila of other days,
and in which the bird still recited the
secret of the sacred tree he might
still have to fight hard for his divinity.
He gazed angrily at the bird. Me-
thuselah bl nlled and put his head on
one side, and looked crattily askance
at him, Tu-Kiia-Kila hated it, that
insOlent creature. Was he not god,
and should he be thus bearded in his
own island by mere Soul of dead
birds, q poor, wretched parrot? But
the curse What might not that por-
tend? All, we'll, he wo lid risk it,
CHANGING around him once more to the
right and left. to make sure that no.
body was looking, the cunning savage
pat forth his hand stealthily, and tried
with a friendly caress to seize the par
rot
In moment, before he had time to
know what YVES happening, Methuse-
sah sleepy old dotard as he SCENE l.
had woke up at once to q sense Of dan
ger. Turning suddenly round upon
the sleek. caresslng hanl, he darted
his beak with vicious peck at his as
Saisant, and bit the divine finger of the
Pillar of Heaven as careIessly as he
would have bitten any child on Bou-
pari Tux ila-kila, thunderstruck,
drew back his arm with start Of sur
prise and a loud cry of pain. The bird
had wounded him. He shook his
hand and stamred. BlOol was Gro J.
ping on the ground from the man-ocd S
finger. He hardly knew what strange
evil this omen Of harm might portend
for the word. The Soul Of all dead
parrots had carried out the curse, and
had drawn red drops from the sacred
veins of Tu-Kila-Kila
One must be a savage ones self, and
superstitious at that, fully to under
stand the awful significance of this
deadly occurrence. 10 draw bood
from a god, ard, above all. to let that
blood fail upon the dust Of the ground,
Is the very worst luck too awful for
the human mind to contemplate.
At the same moment, the parrot,
awakened by the unexpected attack.
threw pack its head on it's perch, and,
laughing loud and long to itself in it's
own h rsh way, began to pour forth a
whole volley of oAths in a cultural Ian
guage, of which TuKila-kila nor the
Erenchman understood one syllable.
And at the same moment, too, Mr.. Pey-
Con himself, recalled from the door of
his hut by Tu-Kila-Kila's sharp cry
of pain and by his liege subjects vol
ubie foW of loud speech and laughter,
ran up all agog to know what was the
matter.
TuKila-Kila, with an effort, tried
TO hide in his robe his wounded finger.
But the Frenchman caught at the
meaning of the whole scene at once,
and interrosed himself hastily betw cen
the parrot and its assailant. He! my
.Methuselah, he cried, in French,
stroking the eXu]tant bird with his
hand, and smoothing its ruffled feath-
ers, did he try to choke you, then?
Uhd he try to get over you? That was
a brave bird. You did we'll, mon ami,
TO bite him.
No, no, Life of the World and Measurer
of the Suns Course" he went on, in
faNyneSian, you small not go near
}nim- Keep your distance, [ beg of
you. You may be high god-though
you were a scurvy wretch enough,
don't you recollect, when you were
only Lavita, the son of Sami-but [
know your tricks. Hands off from my
birds, say t. A curse is on the head of
the Soul of dead parrots. You tried
to hurt him. and see how the
curse has worked itself out. The blood
of the great god, the Fillar of Heaven,
has stained the gray dust of the island
of Poupari.'
IM-Kila Kila stood sucking his fin
ger, and looking the very picture OF
The most savage sheepishness.