The Van Buren press., 1895-06-15
a TALE OF ACCRA.


Accra Il the capital Of the Gold Coast,
= portion Of her majesty's dominion
that has no great reputation - ssna-
forfum. Fate once ordained that my
lot shonld be cast for awhile In this
West African town. and an agreeable
lot II wss in many ways. notwithstand-
ln& the fnsslubrity Of the climate. Ny
billet necessitated my living in q
esesle. which Was not the least novel
experfepce among variety Of new
ones. When say castle, II is not TO
- understood by this that 1 mean
fsowntn9 ediHce with .'cloud-capped
towers and Gothic or Norman win
dowa, q the case may be, after the
msnncr Of the solid piles Of medieval
days On the contrary, there Is TO be
pictured to the minds eye . light and
airy structure, neatly perched on .
pfOmontory on the seaboard. and in its
design admirably adapted to tho ext
gen<ies Of equatorial life. Cool brcezes
played about it, verandas, from which
eould b. surveyed waving palms,
eloadless sky, and blue sea.
Ny quarters were situated on the
western battery, and commanded =
yteM Of the extensive courtyard below.
Now this courtyard had one remarlfa-
bic feature shout it, which was that
quite spacious portion Of It wss de-
voted to horticultural purposes There
were tuba and pots galore; and several
ornamental beds had been laid out. To
erowns all. magnificent damboyant
periodically donned its scarlet mantle.
The whole wss surrounded by hibis-
ems hedge. It was In and about this
attractive spot, which lay adjacent to
my quarters that the little drama was
epacted which il tho subject Of this
narrative.
On the stan Of black servants 1t the
eestle were two Kroo boys, whose sub
etsntlve duty It was, Ut six o'clock every
mOrnfng, punctually to turn into the
garden that has been referred to, wa
ter the plants-whcn they required II
-collect and remove fallen leaves, and
otherwise put the place in applc-pie
order. A Kroo boy, It should be stated,
4 ! native Of the Kroo coast, the ulti-
mstc sxpression Of the term having NO
reference whatever, as might be ex-
pected, 70 juvenility. He may be A.
teen or fifty. The two boys with whom
Ne are concerned, Kaki and Sattoo,
wore probably each about twenty.
Kaki was tall. raw-boned youth OF
solemn, almost lugubrious aspect. He
garely, II ever, smiled. and was slow
end deliberate In all his movements.
No one would ever have accused him OF
being capable Of . bright idea; but yet,
on occasions, when least expected, he
proved himself TO bc exceedingly wide
awake. On the whole, he was . bit OF
IN enigma.
Sattoo was rs nearly ~ possible the
mverac OF all this. He was . smart,
we'll ret mp, Rood-looking darky. His
shiny countenance invariably wore q
pleased expression, and when that
bright smile Of his expanded into
broad grin, which 1t did hundred
timss day, he displayed two rows Of
pearls which were at once the admira-
tion and envy Of the beholdcr.
A. : combination, Kaki and Sattoo
wore distinctly q puzzle. 1t was impos-
stble 70 say whether they were friends
o. foes. They carried out TO the letter
the routine regulations which decrecd
that they should be associates in toll.
whether the sphere Of operations was
the garden, or whether wood was to be
hewn or water TO be drawn; and, to all
appearances, they worked Amicably
enough together; but for all that they
never seemed to tighten their task,
whatsoever = was, by the exchange OF
: remark Of any kind. Day after day
u was the same: Kaki was eternally
glum; and Sattoo, 80 far as ono could
Judge, the embodiment Of good humor
Matters had been progressing in this
fashion ever since my arrival at the
castle, when early one morning, as I
was taking it easily In my verands, IA
ryjamas, obscurcd from the view OF
the outside world by the stephanotis
that clambered over the trcllis-worlx,
was surprised to hear not only dis
cussion, but q heated one, taking
place between our usually silent
young friends. Several words were
pitched in sufficiently high key to be
heard where was, but as they were
In the Kroo yernacular, the mysteries
Of which had not yet explored, they
conveyed nothing to me. but l fully
expected. when looked out into the
garden to acquaint myself with what
was happening, to see Kad assault his
helpmate with the watering pot that
he held in his hand, and counter
attack TO be made by sattoo with the
rake which he held in his. Both had
assumed defiant and defensive atti.
tudes Happily, however, at that
moment the sergeant OF the Haussas
on guard at the castle gates hove In
sight. and as he wascoming in the direc-
tion OF the disputants they pocketed
their differences, and resumed work MS
II nothing had happened. II was
evident that climax Of some descrip-
tion had been reached.
On the following daya further inys-
terry presented itself: Sattoo was no.
where to be found. lie had suddenly
and unaccountably disappeared, and
no one was able to give any informa-
tion as to his whereabouts. When two
or three days elapsed and he continued
TO be fon at, 1t struck me very forcibly
that the fall-out had witnessed be-
tween himself and Kaki might prove to
be d key to the situation. KaiSi. there
fore. was closely questioned in the
matter; but MS nothing could be elic-
lid from him to confirm this view, the