Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-20

They breakfasted that morning on no
Trouble. pointing to the three great bowls,
dem en-chop, dem monkeychop, an dem
dug-chop'
''Quack-quack dug?'
mo, bow-wow dug"
"Ugh." said Carter, IN leave these rich
dainties to you and his Nibs there. Let
ne have a go at the stewed fowl. Great
Christopher, No wonder rubbers SO hard
to collect In this country when they use
up so much to make legs for their chick
ems. Well thank heaven for sound teeth
and a tough inside!'
Il tell dem headman'' said the Kroo-
boy when they had started their days
march that dem windmill will be fine
ju-ju. I say to him, You savvy dem fight
at Smooth river factory? An he savvy
plenty. All the bush savvy of dem fight.
So l. tell him me an you, we keep dem
Okky-men away by ourselves, an shoot
most of them, an kill more by dem talking
god So dem headman savvy plenty-big
ju-ju men, an we no fit eat kanki for
breakfast"
My dear Trouble, your powers of diplom-
acy only equaled by your personal APP
pearance. Keep it up. If your eloquence
can carry US through the country on the
free hotel list it will save a lot of trouble
both for us and for everybody else we
come near l like to think of myself as
an adventurous knight exploring the black
heart of Africa, but l suppose in the States
they'd call us a pair of hoboes and set the
watch dogs at US Gee! Look at that
The rifle dropped to Carters shoulder and
cracked. herd of small deer were cross
ing the narrow road ahead of them and
one of them tripped and fell and there was
payment for their next nights lodging.
Thirteen days march Ali ben Hossein
had called it to the hill where an I'M
named river secured the foot of red
streaked bluff, and Carter, who was lean
and strong and wiry, tattered himself on
being able to walk well as any Moslem
in Hausaland But the fact remained that
more than three times thirteen days passed
hafp reached the Mace and the
perils of the way proved many and glazing.
In some of the villages the headmen proved
hosp:table; in others they would have
neither truck nor dealing with any callers
whatever.
The country was full of and unrest,
and there was no doubt that it was des-
peratey poor. The cassava grounds were
implanted, the millet was unsown, the
banana gardens were wantonly slaShed and
ruined The small bush farmer is crea-
ture of nerves, and he stands adversely
badly. Put him under a strong overload
and he will erve gladly and efficiently.
Leave him to himself, and when things
go awry with him for too many weeks
together he is apt to suddenly give up the
struggle and sit down with chin on his
knees and quietly starve to death. One
cannot reckon far upon the moods of man
who is ridiculously unenthusiastlc over his
own life or his neighbors.
But at one place they marched in upon
red war.
The village lay among its farm lands
in a break of the forest and the gaps be
tween the houses had been filled with
thorns. Shots came from 1t at intervals,
and were answered by the shots of invisible
marksmen who lay within the edge OF the
forest. The sun glared high overhead in
a feckless sky. The air was salt with the
smoke of the crude trade powder.
White-Man s-Trouble counseled retreat.
Yes that's all right" said Garter irIi-
tably. mo one wants to ram his mead INTO
scrap less than l do. But where the
l., TO
single branch to this road we've come
along and the bush each side is about
the thickest in Africa. Nothing short of
a regiment of men with matchets would
make a path til. ough it anywhere. Going
back to that last village means getting
skewered. All the way along I've been
wondering how on earth we got out of 1t
without having a least ten spears rafnined
into each of us
20 Garter. I no fit to go get mixed in
dem fight palaVer.
You're so beastly unoriginal;; Why go
on repeating the same thing? I'd like
further to point OUT that We've not had a
bite to eat for twenty-four hours, and J
personally cant go on living en- my own
fatYithout Inconvenience, as you seem to
do
We'll, to translate, I say I plentymuch
fit for chop.
White-Man' s-Trcuble rubbed the waist
band of his trousers tenderly. Me too
Then, as there is only starvation and
other unpleasant things behind, I'm going
ahead to prospect Gee! There's some
body on this side with a rifle. And, by
Christopher, there's another rife in the
village shooting back
The fintIock trade guns reared out at
intervals. and every now and again there
came the sharp bark of smokeless powder, |
and its clean Wh0p-whCp of a bullet from
a modern rife. BY careful watching Car
ter decided that there was only one rifle on
one was bombar6ing the other 10 the cx- !
clusion of all lesser interests.
Now when a man has hunger gnawing at
the inside of his ribs, and knows, more t
over, that any movement in retreat will !
be fatal, it does not take much to spur him
on to an advance. SO Carter went eau |
tiously ahead, keeping well under the
fringe of the cover, and White Mans
Trouble who was cCpousy afraid, and |
who muttered evil things under his breath |
in Kroo, hung on to the remains of the |
Gladstone bag and crouched along at his |
heels.
Carter took a step at a time and was !
cautious always not to rustic leaf or |
tread on a dead branch So he pushed his |
way ahead, and when the l<rooboy. with |
less deXterity Numbered and made the |
shadow of a noise, he turned upon him |
with such a look of ferocity that it awed |
even so cross-grained a person as White
Man's-Trouble. dozen times Carter
nearly walked on to the hee's of one or
other of the attacking force, and as often
drew off unnoticed; and at last he made
his way to the place where he had located |
the rifle fire, and was closing in on it from
behind, when of a sudden he was confront
ed with a rifle muZZle which suddenly |
spirited up from the middle of c.ump of
bush.
1t swung up til! it covered the left side
of his chest, and hung steady there for an
appreciate number of seconds, and then
a very well-known voice said, well, Mr.. |
Carter, l congratulate you on keeping your
nerve in spite of the climate
"Gee!' said Carter under his breath.
That's old SwiZzleStick Smith,
Il beg your pardon?'
Il said I'm sure that's Mr.. Smith"
A bald head garnshed with an e-eglass,
shaggy gray hair and a shaggy beard, came
forth. May / ask what you are doing
here? Thrown up your commission by any
Exactly that
"On your own?'
well, sir, starvations my master at
present.
"Oh, l beg pardon. Go into the mess and
order what you'll have. Or look here, I've
shot my man. so I'm free for the moment
and I'll come with you. Whisky were out
of, but can recommend gin AMI soda. We
looted a sparklet machine, by the way,
from the Frenchman.'
They worked cautiously back from the |