Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-06

getically to Mr. Smith do you think
that's likely, sir? You know West African
ways better than I do
Beyond me. But you never can tell and
there's always the probability of Africa
springing someth hing new upon one. If l
were you l should let your personal ap-
ration for the day, If your boy says So
JULIUS dangerous thing to medde with
anyway. and he calls 1t that. Besides your
fever's gone. you say?'
Absolutely. And I don't even feel
wreck
You're sure You were pretty bad last
night?"
II fancy 1 was close upon pegging out
l never had such stiff bout before
well, Mr. Carter said the old man
screwing in an eyeglass and staring at him.
'if l were you l should dash Trouble five
bob for saving your life, and follow out the
rest Of his instructions. Ju-ju often gets
there when drugs won't touch the spot at
all, and, mark you, you're getting that ad-
mission from the man who knows more
about drugs suitable for coast ailments
than anybody in West Africa The only
trouble about putting this into general
practice is, where are you going to find
the proper ju-ju to meet the case? But
you seem to have got hold Of the right boy
for this sort of thing in Trouble. Turning
to business for moment, 1 hope you're
satisfied with your eXertions on behalf of
Craven and ONeill with his majesty of
Okky?"
sir. Mr. Slade said he had wiped out NAL
la-Nulla factory and killed you and all the
boys, but that seems, well. exaggerated
"Slade always takes the gloomy view.
looked ugly for a bit. You see you'd walk
ed off with the firms artillery
Good heavens, do you mean that my
tin-pot ten-and- sixpenny revolver was the
only gun about the piace?'
Certainly do. You see-er-Mr Carter.
one Observation-Disclosures rather heavily
here, and once after dining too well l saw
a man shoot another whose loss he, re-
GREETED afterward. So as l wished to spare
myself those regrets, l saw to it that there
was nothing more deadly about the place
than trade guns, and you wouldn't catch
me loosing off one of those. however drunk
! might be. | regret to say the king didn't
continue to carry his liquor like a gentle
man after you'd left; he grew quarrelsome;
and finally l had to pull him up with some
sharpness Then came the ultimatum. He
said l should find the roads stopped al
ready-the old scoundrel had been playing
me like a trout. it seems, till everything
had been got ready. ara he told me that as
fine for your lese-majeste he should help
himself to the contents of the factory as
they stood
But you headed him off there, sir, at any
rate"
Swzzle-Stick Smith chuckled well, 1
haven't been on this coast for twenty-five
years without knowing thing or two. l
told the king l was rather glad to hear
him say that, because it showed that a
prophecy made year ago was now going
to be fulfilled. He asked what it was. l
spouted to him
Maecenas Atavis edite regibus
o ct praesidium ct dulce decus meum,
Stunt: 9nos , cnrriculo pulverem oiympieum
as the first thing that came into my head,
and fine pompous lines they are, you d
remember if you'd ever been to a public
school, which you haven't
i've written out all Horace twenty times
over in impositions and know the bulk by
heart, but l can't say i ever got a taste
for constituting it,
We'll, we won't argue out the value of
a classical education just now. Anyway
the King of Okky was impressed. OF
lish, or Okky or kroo, or Arabic, or any
of the tongues hereabouts. He asked what
it was l said it was a priests tongue. He
asked what the words meant. 1 ro-
ma1ced then and told him they prophe-
sled that the factory would be looted by a
king who had made himself king-the old
scoundrel was born slave. you'll remem-
Der, and made the throne vacant by killing
his predeceSsor-and that two days after
ward a new and very curious sort of ju-ju
would be put on that king, who would
thereupon die new and very painful sort
of DEATH
"Ripping"' said Carter
The meeting broke up in confusion just
about then, because his soldiers down be-
low began to run amuck among our boys,
and the king heard the row and went for
me. However, I'd my big lead tobacco box
handy, and l wiped him over the head with
that, and as the boys below were frighten-
ed, and had got our surf boat ready for
launching, I saw that they intended to quit
whatever l might say, and didn't see the
force of holding the fort here alone. So l
went to sea with them and spent the even
ing preaching them a long sermon on the
vice of cowardice. l hadn't much faith
that the king would be fool enough to
swallow my prophecy. but as l say, you
can never be sure which way the African
brain will twist And here you sees the
factory untouched"
when Mr.. X. gets a report on this. sir, L
fancy you'll have a letter you will like
Maybe. But I shan't wear myself out
expecting it. Look here'-Mr Smith pro-
duced letter from the breast pocket of his
stained pyjamas-"came in just after you d
left. Sent by canoe and special runner
from our factory on the Monk river. Agent
there says he wants to charge me seven
pound ten for forwarding my mail If
that's X. ONell's idea of running "a bust
ness economically. / wish he'd come out
to the coast here and find a way of max
Ing profits to correspond
Carter had a shrewd suspicion that if Mr..
X. had ordered expenditure of seven
pounds ten shilling sterling over the for
which that very astute business man was
sure would produce at least seventy pounds
in the near future. But he did not irri-
tate his superior by mentioning this aloud.
Instead he asked, ANY instructions for me,
sir?"
We'll, yes. First of all there is DIRECT
one. X. says, AS Mr.. Carter seems a good
hand at collecting native curios, l should
be glad if he would get me some ivory war
horns. l want row of them my draw
ing room wall So, young man, you had
better get hold of some escribellos and
your carving tools and set to work.
Il don't propose" said Carter shortly. Ito
start taking curios for Mr.. X. A man like
that would spot them at once. But I'll
send my model horn, and see to it he has
some other good specimens of the real
thing