The suburban citizen., 1901-02-09

fright.
took up our old needle gun and put
in a cartridge. Serene armed him.
self with hatchet. We closed the
door softly and bolted it; but chinks
between the joints of The corrugated
iron sheets OF which the walls Of the
hut were constructed enabled MS to
peep out and watch what went on.
The cable, where it issued from the
water and led up over the sand had
not been fully buried. The desert folk
discovered it and pulled at it first with
their hands, then with the noses OF
their mallets. But it had been stayed
up at the hut, and was too heavy for
them to move more than a little. But
they raised it partly out of the sand,
however and then ran along beside IT
up toward the hut which they ap.
peared now to discover for the first
time. Immediately they began to
whiss, whiss to each other again, and
we could hear their feet work in the
| sand.
Tony heard the sounds, too. and his
whimperings began afresh. Serene
poked him with his boot and whis.
pered to him to shut up" Tony only
whimpered the louder 1 was peeping
out holding the gun.
The desert men stole up. stopping af
ter every few steps TO listen, They
heard Tony's whines and stood in a
group few yards from our door, foe
some moments, listening and perking
their heads. They were so near now
that could see then: move distinctly
They were blacks, with woody heads
and wore very little clothing.
At length one of the desert men came
TO the door and putting his hand on the
iron jambs, felt it all over curiously.
Others walked around the hut. We
could hear Their finger-nails on the iron
sides, and there was much "whiss.
whissing."
On n sudden we were tremendously
startled by one Of them drawing off
with his mallet and striking against
the door. 1t gave back a prodigious
clang, so loud that several of them
darted back, and Tony howled out.
right!
All was silent for some time Another
Of them then dasned up and dealt an.
other blow, then another, and another
till six or seven had struck at it. The
noise was really frightful Tony
crawled to our feet and whimpered
louder than ever, 1 thumped him with
the gun butt to make him keep still.
His outcries were simply maddening
to us.
Emboldened probably by the crying
inside our queer visitors crowded up
to the hut and rained with their NAL
lets a regular storm Of blows all
around it. The racket on that resound-
ing iron was terrific and nearly
stunned Us. We bore it a few moments
and then 1 suddenly threw the door
open and fired off the needle gun! Our
assailants ran instantly. We both
rushed out, and it was laughable then
to see these blacks go up over the sand
hills behind the hut, Their bare toes
threw up sand like hens scratching in
a garden.
Serene dashed after them, hatchet in
hand, and thrusting in a cartridge
fired after them again as they sur
mounted the hillocks. We climbed up
to the top OF a dune in time to see sew
eral of them running their sUiftest in
the distance. / fred third shot after
them just as the last one of them was
going out of sight by way OF send-off.
We then went back TO the hut laugh
ing over It. Tony stil lay there on the
floor. We had had more of his non
sense than we could endure. Serene
seized him by one foot and I by the
other, and we dragged him out on his
back and ran with him for hundred
feet or more to the foot Of a dune.
There we dropped him, and running
back to the hut, entered it and shut
him out.
He came rushing back to the door,
begging to get in, but we did not admit
him. 1t was cruel, but we thought he
needed a little discipline. He went off
and hid by burying himself in the sand
and remained there all night, but in
the morning he appeared to have
gained a LITTLE courage.
In the excitement Of the attack both
Serene and ! had utterly neglected the
galvanometer On looking 10 it we
found that the cable ship was signal
ing us very persisten;ly. Afrerward
they told us that they supposed we
had fallen asleep.
We were apprehensive that opr des-
ert visitors might raise force and
come back, but we saw nothing fur
ther of them during the Eve days we
were there watching spot.
Probably they had seen the cable
ship from some distant height of land
in the interior, and that curiosity and
nothiny else had led them to make that
nocturnal trip to the shore YOUTHS
Companion.
Better Late Than Never
Eart- lattarc bova remained so long