Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-13
CHAPTER TX.
C,keefe-A Man Among Men.

1t, tbongb there were a few clear days
and the vegetation was resting between
whites and waiting to take a new tease Vi
life Ellington Keefe did not thereloie
discover the great drawback TO the is'an'
of Swat-a drawback which would nave
Insured It's unpopularity as summer
sort; nor did he discover the pecuii'',.'
which has since made the island and IT'S
name and It's Akoond so famous In recent
times.
Rut he did appreciate one thing-or TWO
In fact one was that he WAS at last upon
drv land And the other was that ne "a'
among savages. such as the people vi SW"''
rotber than among civilized men. such as
the captain and the crew OF the Sarah MAJ
paret He was somewhat worried as 10
81 tho Time and manner of his return TO
The town of Monroe, but he had peen 80
bruised and battered that he now Iook
the good that the gods proVldeu anu io
well enough alone. Inc present w"' f"tnre
factory SO far; he would let the lutute
care for itself He made inquiry, however
and discovered that from time 10 tli ne i9i
tain vessels made stops at the PARTICIPANT
of Swat chiefly to obtain fresh water anu
a. times fresh vegetables for passengers
mr. crew There were very few of them ana
none of their human cargo was ever a.
lowed To land but they did come at lesu
lar intervals O'kcefe made THESE iiquIi :.
at the start and kept the knOWleuSe aiS'l
-, T., his brain. in the meantime he
started in to make the most OF swat 10
people and It's Akoond- A.,
,rLat he held a place in the regard or the
neople next to the Akoond himsen was
soon patent to him. The tattooeo sila ~,
had accomplished all thls-o heele was "''
apostle. . ,;,,,,,,a
lie soon found that II was a very simple
matter to live up to the character OF pIiest
and prophet After he had investigated d
few of the habits and customs or the peoPiie
IL would ne SllHpic
anough TO perform miracles ana WONDERS
by injecting a small portion OF the SeaI
19uO-odd a. d. into 100000 - - .,,1 ne MS
a schemer and an experimentalst, "as
O'Eeefe and he started In to see what ne
Now the Akoond, appreciating the rae,
that this white man was a prophet, any, anu
hsar,,irg also that II was a good and holy
and politic thing to have snake tat'ooeu
upon the breast as weight with tne peo
pie began at odd times 10 MAKE 500 hrc.st
the snake upon the white man u! a.
II nuzzled him He could not make II ou,.
% keefe indeed, was surprised 10 hilu , .na.
This people belonging to a savage rae, ne"
nothing of the savages ART vi saso,ro5
NJ one of the inhabitants was d1sngureu
In any manner. The Akoond' howeHei,
nointed so often to his own breast nj
O'Keefe finally understood Una. ne t"6 on
he delighted to have snake lmPiiii ne. On
bis own black chest. Now q keefe uiu no.
know how to tattoo. That kho~ieust 80
confined to certain gentlemen WHY othsr
ant
aue a,,re N raiehborhoods in Chicago. Coney
GsIand and San Francisco. But ne Nti-
matad as best he could that ne Wo4Iu ~
and accommodate ms ,b o1Ief - about it.
srbe next day he took native or W., ~"
down to the shore and coiecteu "u Iooed in
a neck OF clam shells Ihese ne pa 49,
o dtnunitive kiln, which he built OF cla!es
aauth and about this he built roarlns
ere He left the clam shells there 1oi al
hour or two, and kept up tne I ,inx " hod
steady ed-hot glow. Wheh l,le Mn ~
cooled II was burned into SUBS ~
NJ nntterv. which he broke open 10 secuis
the clam shells. They had peeh pu 49, nv
simost white. He had his men tetch 'heii'
into the hut of the akoond; o,.h-
He advised the akoond' with many 80
orata gestures that the operation wouIo
be painful .,or o,a man" said
Ellington O'Keefe. Il wou!uh w"n ~ Teen
In your shoes. Anu YOU VIC GU
still. that's what ..,, He
The Akoond understood perlec'y' ~
acuuiesced. 1t was worth pam 10 nav nav,
a snake upon his chest and nave tIle uou
Bile homage of his people he woui9 , De
come at once the Car of Russia anu .'ie
pope--the church and the state coiio'heu
1t was worth while , ut,
unpton O'Keefe. He placed the cam sheilS
on shallow earthern vessel ami caligu
for water They brought II 10 him' ne
dashed goodly portion OF u upon the
dulcet strains of Mr.. Dooley hoated out
upon the twilight air. He kept on sitslils
this inspiring ditty until white pun Oh
steam Curled upward from the clam SheLS'
Suddenly a miracle occurred. The clam
shells as one body. swelled and cTumpled
into a creamy white mass ana proKe
forth into a terrible bubbling.
O'Keefe had previously Outlined sep
nentine pattern upon the Akoonds GheSt,
and now he poured this white and liquid
mass. we'll stirred, carefully upon the con
volutions that he had marked out upon the
skin With a small stick he kept the whlte
mass heaped well within this patterned
space. and added TO it, to absorb the sur
plus moisture and keep IL well in shape,
a little powdered clam shell IoucnihS IL
up here and there in an artistic manner
with his stick. he improvised an extra lire
or two of MIR. Dooley' in honor of the
occasion. and then stood off and waved his
hand. His part had been done.
Fortunately for him he had In his pocket
a pipe and some tobacco. He filed his pipe
and lit It, and sat down to enjoy what fol-
lowed.
I'VE had such a hard time OF it myself,
observed OKeefe. genially, to the Akoond
that I'm Just equal to seeing somebody
else suffer a bit. 1t does me good"
The Akoond shut his teeth together and
gritted them. lie held with clenched hands
20 the side of his rude couch. But he stooc
IT like a man. And all the while the steam
kept rising from the white serpent on his
breast. and that white serpent kept eating
In the flesh OF the Akoond. not with IT.
fangs, but with every atom and molecult
of its coiled white body.
Finally. when O'keefe had finished hi
pipe, the steam ceased to arise from HI
breast of the Akoond O'Keefe dashed
little more water upon the chiefs breast
but there was no more cbulition.
Now, old chap he commanded tn
Akoonf 10y means OF words and signs, "g
and take dip in the salt water. and thel
you'll be fit to kill"
The Akoond went. and bathed as he wa
commanded And the white substance cam
Off in the salt water. and the salt waite
tackled the breast OF the Akoond and en-
tered that which the white substance ha
left behind And the Akoond felt the sal
water biting him bites serpent. but h
stayed in until O'Keefe had finished an
other pipe. And then he came forth, a ma
destined to have no sleep for many night.
But what of that. For upon his chest
where before there had been nought bu
black, there now appeared. holding its hed
proudly aloft, a blood-red serpent cole
and ready to strike.
At this juncture the flesh was raw Late
II healed over and lost it's bright-red co
or. But the duh red scar showing III
dull red snake will remain with III
Akoond forever. 1t is his most preciou
trophy. the snake of his country and hi
religion. the snake which OKeefe mad
with shells upon his chest
And thenceforth, as he rad ever desire
to be, he both priest and lawgiyel