Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1903-04-03
CHAPTER XII,
CONTINUED


"And the iron?"
'They are not far from the begin.
ming of the channel"
every well. Now to the point.
Your lunar men are skilled in the
working of iron and steel. Could
they, do you think. by working stealth.
lily at night, build smelling shops,
FORCES and other works in the river
bed, and begin the manufacture Of
guns?"
The two Jumars looked at each
other in speechless amazement.
1.-THE project is great one," said,
sand dangerous. But the reward is
liberty. Will they do it?"
''They can try" said Garu-Saak.
"And will the people of Brompor-
tab work with us?" I asked.
1--WE are one people," replied Oso-
Bark.
''Then let us begin at once. Let it
become,known that tomorrow night
the lunar men are wanted at secret
meeting in the old river channel. We
must speak to them and see if we can
arouse them from the lethargy into
which they have fallen"
cit is well," said Oso-Bark. 81
will talk to them as used to talk to
them when they we're soldiers of Tai.
moooh, and we were still nation"
Zone other thing. Have your wives
get some of the women together and
make up lot of fancy trinkets. They
are handy with the needle. Tell them
to sew for liberty. Tell them I want
q pack full of useful things"
'For what?" asked Mr.. Avery.
, "I shall become a pedcler," re.
piled.
"Peddlerl" echoed Mr.. Avery.
"Oolek, selling pin-cushions and
handkerchiefs! Absurd"
''Not at all" replied. GAS a ped.
dler l can go, unsupported. over the
entire island, and can talk with every.
body. Ny friends the Mantchoo, will
not know whether I receive pay for
my goods or not"
"Crickmore, that American brain
of yours is fertile one. What will
you do next, I wonder?"
My wishes were carried out to the
letter. I visited some of the houses
in Galneor on the following day. All
the women were sewing industriously.
And that night, about eight o'clock. a
stream of Jumars began pouring into
Mr.. Avery's house. 1t would have
puzzled an observer who was not in
the secret of the underground passage,
as to how that house held the hun
dreds OF men who were filing into it.
None well cut, yet the house did not
fill up. I feared that guard would
discover them, but they were wary
and chose their time wisely. When
the influx had stopped there were two
thousand able-bodied men in the river
channel.
Oso-Bsrk was the first to address
them. cannot portray to you the
fire and fervor of his eloquence.
Translated into English, it may seem
tame-it certainly is tame as compared
with the peculiar idioms of the lunar
tongue. There are words in Jumarese
for which no synonym can be found
in English. Hence the beauty Of Oso-
Bark's eloquence is sometimes lost in
translation, but what he said was in
substance as follows:
"Men of lunar blood! Men OF
Galneorl Men of Talmooch! Hear
what I have to say to you. For twenty
years we have bent our necks beneath
the yoke of foreign tyrant, who has
filed our hearts with grief, and our
orce happy land with misery. Our
women sing no more at their work, as
they sang in the good days of our
prosperity. 1t is many years since
the joy of hearing the laughter OF
child has come to any of us. The
hand of Hen-Ko Hi has been laid upon
MS heavily and sore. But it is time to
rise. We have prayed for our deliverer
to come. We have prayed and watched
until our hearts were faint with dis
appointment and cur eyes were
strained with watching. But he has
come. He who is to deliver us from
bondage lives even now among us.
He is not of the lunar blood alone.
He is not OF the Kalok blood alone.
He is OF all of us part. He tells us
that if we do his bidding, we shall be
led from the darkness of this slavery
into the dazzling light of freedom.
His hand shall strike at Hen-Ko-Hi,
and the shaclles that bind us shall
fall to the ground. Hear, then, what
our Colek has to say to u.s."
The silence at the close of this speech
was profound. Not word-not even
a sigh broke the stiffness. Every eye !
was turned on me. [ felt that in that !
lay all my chances of success.
hesitated. I did not know whether
10 launch forth in eloquence. or
in their peculiar mood, it
would not augment my power to be
'rief and austere. BY happy intui-
ion I chose the latter.
Placing myself, clad in the gorgeous
inform of Cha Fong, where al could
zee me, I said:
"What Oso-Bark has said is true.
am come to free you from the tyrant's
land. But I must have nation Of
army of soldiers.
Every command must be obeyed.
very wish of miro must be to you
aw. There is much to do, and the
ime to begin is now. You will listen
o Garu- Saak, who will be my chief