Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-12

when you see Mr.. K. I'm very much
afraid you'll change your mind about :"
her on the lips. Don't you be jealous of
K. sweetheart Mines only business
admiration in that direction"
AT present" she persisted ''Wait till
when we meet, I shall say, Sir, this
very lovely and desirable young person
here is my wife, and then we shall go on
to commercial topics There's nothing
the Epistles of X. to the Coasters as
closely as l have you'd know that off by
heart"
Laura still shook her head II love you"
she said, more than anything else in life,
ana can think of no greater happiness
than to be your wife. But 1 would never
marry you if | thought you could repent
of it afterward. You can't deny that you
are wrapped up in X. You must see K.
before you marry me, George"
II *. comes along before the parson,
well and good. you shall have your own
way of it. But if a missionary of the
right complexion Off there is such a thing
down here casts up at this factory,
there'l be a wedding cake put on the
festive board, Miss Slade, and you'll be
the bride that,n cut it. Don't you try and
wriSgle out of your Solemn promises with
me: Hulo what's that?'
Thunder Is the tornado coming
again."
mo, listen. It isn't thunder. It's people
humping monkeyskin drums I've made
dozens of those tuneful instruments for
the curiosity dealers at home, SO l know
the note. Well, you get on with your dust
ing, there's nice girl, and III go out and
have a cigarette"
You are going-to-''
What clean up the mess outside? No,
Well leave that for the present. Now,
don't be scared, there's a sweetheart. But
to tell the truth, those drums interest me.
The natives signal through the bush with
Them you know, in a sort of dot dash-dot
Style: and far their local Morse a1n
bet has been a bit beyond me- Perhaps
White-Man' s-Trouble may be able to de-
cipher it, Now, don't you try and shirk
that busting one moment longer
He went out then onto the veranda
shutting the door behind him, and ques-
toned the Krooboy sharply about the
drummings. Did he understand them?
"Savvy plenty" said White Mans Trouble
g1oomily. Dem Okky-mans drums
We'll l didn't suppose it was a China
mans, you patent idiot. You fit for under
stand dem tune?'
'SaVVy plenty. Dem tune say Okky-
hit for make custom"
That means ceremony, suppose. Now,
what sort of ceremony will suit the occa-
sion? Dirge of defeat by the ju-ju men,
presumably, and then they'll cruelty some
wretched slave so that his spirit can go into
the Beyond and arrange to have the luck
changed / wish Mr.. Smith were here, or
Slade. No, I'm hanged if 1 do, though. I've
worked this thing off my own bat so far
and I'll see it onto the finish. Dem Okky-
men make cruelty palaver?' he asked, and
translated the hard word by standing up
himself spread-eagled against the factory
wall.
Whte-Man's Trouble nodded dismal as
sent Then, by an by they grow plenty
too-much more brave, an they come back
one-time an fight some more"
Then you bet your woolly whiskers It
won't do for us to sit quietly taking the
air here. JULIUS the correct card to play in
this country anyway
The Krooboy shivered "Oh. Carter, no
fit for touch ju-ju.'
well, l With thought and care
believe l should develop into a very good
Ju-ju practitioner. Besides, the subject fas-
cinates me. No white men seem to know
anything very definite about 1t, above the
fact that it is beyond their comprehension
and it would be rather fine, if the unlikely
happened, and one CHANGED to survive, to be
known as the one authority on West African
magic"
"Oh, Carter, if you NEEDLE with dem ju-ju
palaver you lib for die plenty soon. If you
walk in bush, tree fall on you: if you ride in
canoe, arrow jump on you; if you chop
dem chop he fill with powdered glass, and
presently you lib for die of tear-tear-belly
Oh, Carter, you lib for Coast now one year;
l lib for Coast all my life; l savvy plenty;
you alle-same damfool."
My dear Trouble, I've admitted already
that l know meddling with ju-ju isn't alto
gether an insurance proposition Much
obliged to you for the fresh warning all the
same. iout III dlIdiu your
nervousness rather clouds that massive
brain of yours at times or you'd see that
Smooth River factory and it's three occu-
pants are in the devil of fix just now
You say the Okky- men when they've rubbed
up their courage will presently return; and
| don't dispute your reading of the omens
If they do come, we can shoot them off
and that's a certain thing. AS I'm sure
Mr. Smith would say, it's a case Of Aut
ju-ju aut nullus, and to follow his rather
Objectionable knack of translating for
man who happened to have been at a differ
ent school TO his own, that means we've
pered. WATERMAN s-Trouble, you are here
by made conjurers confederate"
Il no fit
Am 1 to hurt your feelings with this
piece of packing case lido"
"Oh, Carter, you look see. There's nail
in him there"
I know there's a nail in it. The occasion
demands nail, and 1 picked the weapon
for that reason. Now, then, are you going
to obey orders, or will you take a first-class
licking?''
oh, Carter, fit for do what you say"
Good You're an excellent boy when
you're handled the right way. Now go to
the feteesh and bring the biggest coil of
that inch lead piping you can stagger I'M
DER
Carter himself went to SHADES room and
brought from there one of those crude
carved wooden figures which the natives
make and the traders pick up as curiosities
AT home they are sold for stiff prices as the
gods of the heather; but the negroes that
make them are not dolaters, and what they
exactly are for the present writer knoweth
not, save only that they are not articles of
worship. Locally they come under that all
embracing term ju-ju, which includes so
much and explains so little
Carter found a brace and bit-an inch
twist bit which for wonder was in a Gala
bash of yellow palm oil, and so not rusty
and he worked on these carved men till the
sweat ran from him. Laura came out and
told him that he was inviting an attack of
fever, which was obvious, since by then it
was high noon and violent exertion for a
white man with the thermometer above par
always has to be paid for on the Coast
But he drove her back again into the house
and out of the heat with a volley of chaff
and went gaspingly on with his tremendous
work.
The mouths of the figures were wide. but
with knife and drill he splayed them wider,
but was careful always not to distort them
beyond the canons of local art; and in a
couple of hours time he was ready for
White Man's-1rouble and the heavy coils
of lead piping.
Regard he said, 90 thou assistant to
the great white Ju-ju man. We will place
one of these craven images opposite the en-
trance of eacl. road which comes from the
bush into this factory clearing. Well hoist
1t up onto a green gin box, so, and give it
bit more height and dignity. And We'll