The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-09-29
The Two Priests of Konnoto.
(From Macmillan's Magazine. In Fou
Parts.)

women IN various Stages u uIuNkeIlcSsr
| while empty cases Of Hamburg gin and
| square-shouldered bottles lay everywhere
| about. Further on, groups of wild figures,
| with the red freight shining on Their naked
skins. howled and flung their limbs about
TO a discordant concert of drums and
| horns; while every now and then one Of
| Amaro's guard would fire his gun ainlessiy
| into hut as he passed.
This Is under French protection, and
we are trespassers now, or I'd clean the
place out Forward there, drive the hea-
| then aside" sad the captain, and the little
detachment hurried towards the mission
ary's dwelling. They were just in time,
for, urged on by the Ju-Ju man, frantic
mob eurged round the house. while, hag-
gard and shaking with fever. the mis-
sonary stood facing them upon the We
randall, alternately striving TO reassure
the trembling woman who chung 10 his arm
and addressing the savage crowd.
AT the sight of the bayonets the mob
broke up and went whooping away, and
hurrying up the staircase Captain Sinclair
grasped the preachers hand. who gasped:
Thank you, you've come In time. A few
minutes more and our blood would have
been upon their hands. 1t has been an
awful scene"
can partly guess what happened" and
the missionary's wife wrung her hands, as
her husband continued: THE cloth must
have sold well; they brought back unlim-
tied gin and gun-powder Half of them
have gone south 20 raid a village and
when this gin Is finished weavers will be
at work in every hut II is dreadful, heart
breaking. l took such pains 10 teach them
and 1 have only placed drunkenness and
murder within the reach Of all. Many have
died of smallpox, too, and the plague Is
in the town
There is only one thing to be done"
said the Captain, land that is 70 take you
out of this at once. Bussa has the upper
hand now and he will stick at nothing. If
you call the Senegalis in, you will earn
their hatred for life. Besides. you are half
dead with fever. Give them month to
settle down and then go back
This is my work and 1 may not desert
il. There is protection greater than even
that of the officer of Senegaiis," answered
| the missionary quietly; but am afraid
my wife must 60"
The terrified woman chung closer to her
husbands side, and with many tears pro-
tested that her place was there and that
she would never leave here, until the Cap
!
courage, but the thing is impossible. I
must send you to Lagos. If there is no
other way, we must use force" Then
reading approval in the missionary's
glance, he continued: II hold power of
life and death on the frontier, and my word
| is law"
Thus it came about that two days later.
when there was comparative peace in the
village, after a fearful parting, for husband
and wife never expected to meet again In
| this world, a wan, weary-faced woman
turned in her swaying hammock and waved
| a trembling hand to the man who leaned
across the verandah balustrade with his
| heart in his eyes. Then she let fail the
| awning and burst into choking sobs as the
bearers strobe away into the gloom of the
| forest.
So David Kinnett remained alone to face
| the horrors of the pestilence which spread
from man TO man, while his black rival
went about filing every ear with warnings
| that this was the vengeance of the wood
| devils upon those who had forsaken them
| for the gods Of the white man.
Three weeks later. Captain Sinclair and
Lieutenant Smith. both clad in the Aries.
| of garments, sat in a darkened room Of
| officers suffered regularly from intermit-
| tent fever. and ran occasional risks Of pol
| son and ambush. Also they imbibed con-
siGerably more strong waters than were
| good for them in that climate. and for va
rious reasons were not regarded favora bly,
| by the authorities Green blinds shut on.
| the lights, but not the heat and little puffs
| of warm air played in and out through the
| lattice-work, bringing with them the smell
| OF sun-scorched earth and powdery dust
| from the compound outside from which
rose the tread of marching feet, and the
hoarse shouts of a Yoruba sergeant drill
| ing his men.
'Pah." said the Captain, wiping the per-
spiration out of his eyes; at is almost too
much work to breathe in this sicken!ng
heat. l wonder how the Reverend Kinnett
! is getting on; I wish we'd been able to
make a trip across-hullo. sergeant"
There was tap at the door and a Big
Yoruba entered the room, and raising his
hand in salute, said: "Bushman, sah
bring little word from Konoto." AS he
spoke a tall Dahomeyan, staggering for
ward, his naked skin torn with thorns and
daubed with the slime OF the swampe
handed the officer a carved baton of ebony
| and ivory. and a curious string of cowries
diuSr hOlO luls dIU q llIy packet
of salt.
HIN" said the Captain, examining them
carefully, one by one. "Headman Amaro's
staff. AS usual the native style OF writing
is not very clear, but he wishes US 10 un-
derstand that his Intentions are anna Bile
that serious danger is threatening our
friend.-and that We must come at once,
for there is big feast on hand. l never
thought Bussa would have dared SO much:
but we must get kinnett out at once, for
before We could warn Strasbourger they'd
probably poison him and send word he died
OF pestilence.''
We'll" was the reply, 'all we have got
to do is to turn out the Yorubas, go down,
and take him out
Charlie, You always were fooT' said
the Captain. Don't you know what that
would mesn?-a complaint from French
headquarters. British troops raiding ma
tives under protection OF France When
the dispatches are received, the authorities
decide that some one must be made an
example OF, and we are neither OF US so
well thought OF as We might be. The chief
would shake his head. Sinclair and Smith
again. Advise the French that We have
dismissed the offenders, he would say
Think. man. whats 10 be done. You can
think occasionally"
An Atchison Pointer or Two.