The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-07-27

He turned away to give some or
ders, and Gordon, kneeling down beside
Chisholm, saw he was moving a little.
"Good-by, old chap" he whispered,
| but his only answer was the monot-
onous raving of the sick man.
The preparations for departure con-
tinued, and, very much mystified as
to what was in store for him, Gordon
was placed at the head of the little
procession with EMO by his side. In
| this order, with the rabble following
at their heels, they returned along the
| path, past the huts and the place
where he and Chisholm had been kept
prisoners, and so entered the forest.
| Here two or three men were sent
| ahead to clear the way. From this
| Gordon concluded that he was to be
| taken toward the river, which in part
| of its course spread out through miles
of unreclaimed swamp and virgin for
est. Also, he noticed that the pro-
| ceSSion moved with increasing caution.
| The usual loquacity of the negroes
was replaced by silence, touch pass
| ing from one to another indicated a
| change of direction or a danger to be
| avoided. To Gordon the distance SEEM
| ed interminable, and still the stealthy,
uncanny procession held on it's way.
Come" Emio suddenly took the
Englishmans arm and led him round
|
Gordon found himself at the head of
little game track which wound down
to the lagoon, where a great tree over
| hung against the pale light
| Now, senior, can you guess the
manner in which you are to leave US
| for the next world?" Emio Kissed soft
| ly in his ear.
Gordon's eyes ranged down the little
trail to the great tree-branch that
| crossed it above and SO beyond to the
| lagoon, which was but a deep back
water of the river. The lagoon lay in
| oily black smoothness and shot as a
silk with silver where the moonlight
| fell upon 1t in delicate tracery. Through
| the gloom of the forest they could
hear the hollow gulp and gurgle of the
| falling river. The night was overbur-
dened with wet heat, and the chorus
of bullfrogs seemed to grow louder.
You know now?"
Upon my word, no. Gordon an
| swered aloud.
A knife pricked him sharply in the
| side.
BE silent. This, senior, is in the
nature of an experiment as far as l
am concerned, but the people know
more about these things. You see the
| branch over the track-the moon just
| catches it. Along that the great wa
ter serpent lies and waits. Our people
haye watched long time, but only
| lately has he been discovered"
IAN anaconda; well?"
"You see, we would not wish to give
you common death, but this one-to
wait through the long hours for the
great serpent and then to feel his coils
| drop upon you. What do you think
Ha! ha! hal" he laughed under his
breath. I'VE will leave you tied there
under the tree, and tomorrow, till the
heat of the day, for it is often not I'M
til the heat of the day that the water
god comes. After that we will return
and look at you The great snake,
which these black fools worship, may
or may not see fit to attend to your
affair. II he does-well there is an
| end of you. If not, why, we shall con-
tinue to come and look at you day by
day. You will be very near the water,
senior, and l dare say you will be
thirsty, so that whether the snake
comes or not it will be all the same
| this day week. These idiots will pray
that the god of the lagoon may swal-
/ low you, as an omen, you understand.
Antonio. Jose. bring the ropes
Gordon brave man as he undoubted-
| ly was, could not repress shudder at
| the thought of the horrible fate in
store for him. He remembered the hints
and rumors he had heard from time
| to time of the secret meetings of the
blacks on the plantation, and in con-
nection with these there flashed across
| his memory sinister tales of the heredi-
tary rites which the forefathers of
these peoples were said to have inn
ported with them from the shores of
Africa.
Everything became plain to him now
the strange God of which Emio
spoke, to whom the negroes would
| give the praise of their successful re-
| ~
mulatto had turnHa their grotesque
superstitions to serve his own pur-
poses.
He remembered how the darkskin all
the world over looks to the snake for
the marvellous. how it forms the ru
cleus round which his superstitions CEN
ter. The guardian spirit of each Zulu
takes the form of a snake, his Eslose.
| The Hindoo worships the cobra, the
! Haytian Vaudoux worShiper offers hu-
| man sacrifices to the harmless ser
/ pent Further, Gordon knew that the
| African has no moral restraint in the
matter. He will offer up his own
flesh and blood and he thinks himself
blessed in doing so. How much more,
| then. would these raving negroes sac
rifice him to their fetch.
There was a clear continuity in the
/ whole plot. BY means of the presence
| of the great water snake Emio had in
! cited the negroes to this foolish rising.
/ He had doubtless encouraged them by
! pointing out that they were certainly
| under the protection of this father OF
| serpents. and the curiously nodded
minds of the newly emancipated slaves
| turned unanimously toward so con-
! genial a gospel.
| Gordon felt to the full the irony. even
the humor of the situation. To his own
efforts in a great degree the negroes
owed their later acquired freedom, and
to celebrate it they had decided to sac
rifice him. their emancipator
III.
At last he was alone. The negroes
had trooped away silently. For a time
Gordons breath came in gasps that
sounded thunderous in his own ears
The mans thoughts were terribly con-
centrated on the danger. The falling
river still gulped in the far darkness,
the moon had left the upper heavens
dark and star-spangled. A crash
sounded now and again from the depths
OF the forest. for in the forest II is
never still. The minutes dragged ou'
their unnatural length.
Lashed upright and motionless TO q;
stake under the great tree, Gordons