Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-19

He saw no help for it. They must
know sooner or later. and his soul turned
sick at the thought of his wife and this
gentle girl who had thrown in her lot
with theirs falling into the clutches of the
fetish-maddened bushmen. Each minute
he grew more assured that some unusual
movement was taking place among the
surrounding tribes Even to his untutored
ear there was a marked similarity in the
drumming and he determined that the
two women should go down the river in
the mission canoe as soon as the moon
rose. 4 crew of eight men could take
them to the nearest constabulary post.
and within twenty-four hours steam
launch would bring back an armed body
of Halrsas differed by an Englishman.
Till then he would trust to Providence for
the safety Of the people under his care.
That he himself could desert the mission
never entered his mind. Not only would
the settlement break up in direst confu-
sion the moment his back was turned.
but the society's houses and stores would
be looted and destroyed, and the work OF
years swept away in a single night.
He was considering what excuse would
serve to get the women on board the
canoe when the splash of paddles close
at hand stirred all four to sudden excite
ment It was Bambuk who read instant
ly the meaning of this unexpected sound.
He rushed out, yelling words that proved
how soon the veneer of civilization can
wear off the West African negro. Soon
he came back looking sick with fear.
Dem dam pagan niger make off in
dem canoe" he almost screamed "Dey
savvy plen.y too much bushman lib. We
all be killed one-time."
Even Evelyn, new to the country and
it's ways. realized what this meant. The
river was their only highway. There
were native tracks in plenty through the
dense forest. but to march along any one
of them while a hostile force was lying
across every path was to court Immediate
disaster BY running away from a peril
vhich was only passive as yet. they
made it active. On the river they might
escape; in the bush they could not travel
a mile except on native Sufferance.
Hume tried bravely to minimize the
force of this unlooked-for blow. 1t was
| true the fusitives might be expected to
carry the alarm to the police post, but
until the following night 1t was quite i'm
possible for succor to reach kadana And
now they must all stand or fall by the
| mission.
II did not think any of our, men would
be such towards" he said. with quiet
sadness. Let us go and pacify the
others When all is said and done. we
have harmed no one in Oku territory, but
given relief to many who were In pain l
still believe that this scare is unWar-
ranted. and our presence among our peo-
pie will tend to calm them.
A minute later he was sorry he had not
gone alone. Every hut in the compound
was empty. Nearly two hundred men.
women and children had fled into the
bush, preferrng to obey the order OF the
ju-ju man rather than defy him by re,
naming in the mission. Bambuk had
not been taken into their confidence be-
cause he was originally Foulah Moham-
medan. The colony at kadana was pre-
cisely what Bambuk had called its MEM
bers in his rage. for the Mohammedan
negro looks down upon his pagan
brethren with supreme contempt. In a
crisis such as that which now threatened
to engulf the mission. these nice distinc-
tons of class and creed are apt to spring
into startling prominence.
Hume faced the situation CALAMITY.
another illusion shattered" he sighed.
"Most certainly 1 did not expect that all
my people would desert me at the first
hint of danger, But we must make the
best of it. Even now / cannot believe
that the King Of Oku-if 1t really is he
who has created this disturbance-can
contemplate an attack on Europeans. He
has many faults. butihe is not fool, and
he knows quite well how swift and COM