The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-06-28
By FERGUS HUME,
BY FERGUS HUME,
Auehor Of The Mystery OF a EIansonn Cab" The
Rainbow Feather" g The Red.E5eaded Man,"
.s . The Clock Struck 0ne,n &c.


sent, and fluttered round the cage
greatly agitated. What has become
"Ju-ju!. croaked Mr.. Rninbow.
sleepfly.
But this was no explanation, and
the girl was unable to learn who had
|3robbed the parrot OF her precious egg.
Ina fortnight Iveno proposed, and
Mrs. Train made sophy accept. There
was hint OF an immediate marriage,
and Iveno came home to torment Frank
with the news. Mrs. Train, having
secured a settlement which placed her
beyond the reach OF want, rejoiced
the fact that sophy nightly cried her
self to sleep. There seemed to be no
chance for the unhappy lovers, until
1veno did hot appear one evening. Mrs.
Train, nervouslyl alert for any slip
'twixt cup and lip, sought the Grange
Immediately.
what Is the matter with 1veno?c
she asked Frank. tmperiously. 1
He is dead" answered the young
| man, bluntly.
Mrs. Train screamed, "You have
murdered him!'
"He has committed suicide,n AK
planned the surviving brother. This
morning he received a small box with
the London postmark. On looking into
1t he was greatly agitnted, but ex-
planned nothing to me. AS he did not
come to dinner. went up to see II he
were I'LL Frank paused and shud-
dered. "He had cut his throat"
Horrible! Horrible! But why7 Did
Frank shrugged his shoulders. 1T
Isexn1afns othfnp.t 4S {SeI si'9s
It must What was in the box7
A letter."
mo! An egg-a pigeons egg, for all
I know. It was S1narked queerly In
scarlet Ink"
Mrs. Train gasped. "well?' said she,
at her Wits end.
y know no more. said Frank, qulet-
| W.
You can explain nothinga"
"Nothing!"
When Frank came to console sophy.
with the full permission OF Mrs Train
the girl thought Of the parrots egg,
but never guessed that 1t could be the
same. When she married Ridge the
affair passed from her mind. especially
as she was completely happy. and had
not even her mother to trouble her.
A letter written by DR.. Blink three
months later to Lagos friend ex-
planned a great deal, which never came
to the knowledge OF Mr.. and Mrs
Rudge. Itsrana as follows:
Il know that you are interested in
|ethnology, and have learnt much Of
Niberian habAs and customs and racial
|superstitions. You will doubtless think
1t strange that the last of these should
be mixed up with the love story Of two
young people In a tiny Essex town.
/ n fc nHd
seem.
DO you remember the parrots egg
lJu-ju-that when a chief wants to get
rid OF a man he sends him parrots
legg, marked with fetish pictures in
scarlet. The recipient has then to
commit suicide or run the chance of
dying in a more horrible manner. Also
and this Is the main point-lf he Of
tends the Ju-ju by not dying OF his
own free will. he believes that he will
be tormented everlastingly In the
underworld. It Is weird and wicked
custom, which you and I have always
reprobated. Yet even IL, who write
to you-T, a white man-have done
not sorry. The happiness of young
couple was at stake. and also my life.
It was, I think, to save the last that I
became a Ju-ju man.
do you remember John Ridge. the
Lagos trader, who married Takum
woman, and afterwards the daughter
of Ankle, the missionary? OF course
you do; so need not repeat the cory.
The black Mrs. Ridge took her son
Iveno back to her own country, and
had him initiated in the Ju-ju hut
when he reached the age of fifteen.
Later, when she died. he came back
to civilization. His father had him
baptized and educated. and afterwards
he inherited the property. I am re-
peating. you see, in spite OF what I
said.
however, to make long letter
short. Iveno and Frank, his brother,
fell in love with the same girl. I've
no tried to kill Frank and when L.
taking the young mans side. threat
ened to tell Jumbo, the uncle of Iveno,
who was then In london: he tried
| to kill me also. I believe that 1veno
had offended against the 1fteen-year-
old Ju-ju oath. At all events he did
mot want Jumbo to know that he was
alive. made use of this knowledge
and Of the fact that parrot, which
I gave the girl. had laid an egg
|Clmbing into her bedroom secured
| the egg. marked IT according to the
iTakun totem. and sent it-ostensibly
from Lurnbo-to our half-caste friend.
He accepted the Jn-ju. and killed him
self. The jury brought In verdict
Sof suicide. and later the surviving
brother got the money and married
1.-The girl. No one could make any
thing OF the egg.
Wrong! Oh. / don't think so. Ive-
no. for all his education and baptism,
was a heather atsheart. He certainly
might have defed Jumbo to punish
him in a civilized country-although
Jumbo had nothing to do with It..
But what the man feared was the
after-world-the tormept Of devils,
and all the acquired Christianity was
not strong enough to keep him from
lsobeying the Ju-ju order. So he Is
dead and am alive. and two young
people are rich and happy. am not
sorry. I expect you to support me
In this View Of the matter. Iveno
was only half-oivilized and dam
ger to society only adopted his
own ethics. He tried to kill me. and
i killed him. So there you are. Praise
}or@b lanl y, q s YOU will. we can talk
over he morality OF tho case when I
come out "a to 4 geria. have a mind
Ito come and see you. irl------''
From this point onward Dr.. Blink,s
I4f - -