The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-06-05

h"u petH uedu ana DuFleQ TOT SIX
weeks before l heard of 1t, and
that hit me harder than anything
|else I've ever had to put up with.
II couldn't stay on In Kimberly
after that, and l didn't care to
come back to America. / wanted
to get away from everything. l
didn't much care what happened
to me. So | went off north, max
ing more money. did not need,
by the way. | wandered on
through Central Africa, exploring
and shooting. doing anything to
XIII time. If I had been little
less careless il might have killed
me, as l sometimes half hoped
1t would. But the more foolhardi-
ness | displayed the more miracu-
lously did l scrape through. 1t
was when lion, whose mate had
shot. chased me into a crack in
the ground and kept me there all
Ione afternoon that / came across
the rose-diamonds. Some day I'll
| go back there and look for more
in the Lobisa country. not far from
the old Loangwa trail. Don't for
| get that, O'Ferral, IL you're ever
hard up and I'm not on hand to
help you out"
O'Ferral shook his gray head
decidedly. He, too, had had his
fill of African wilds.
81 needn't bore you with all the
details of my wanderings during
those years. But after you and /
had met and parted I put north
west. The carriers I had with me
struck and turned tail when we
reached the Baghirmi country, but
as luck would have 1t, I ran across
a French convoy and so got to
Fort Bretonnet. 1t seemed that I
couldn't lose myself, no matter
how hard l tried.
| 81 had arranged some time be-
fore to have my mail sent up to the
fort from the coast, and when I
larrived I found a letter awaiting
me.
| - cit was from my precious uncle,
a post-mortem message. forwarded
| by my own lawyers. and had been
following me about for long
time. | wish it had never found
me-.
my uncle was dead, and, dying,
he wanted to purchase dissolution
by paying blood money to me, the
lson of the man he had murdered.
"And that wasn't all. There was
a condition attached in the shape
of his adopted daughter, the or
phan child of southern soldier,
whom l must marry in order to in
herit his millions. And he inform
led me that, IL I failed to comply
with his wishes within a twelve
month, the money he has amassed
would all go to charity, while the
girl, whom he had brought up in
luxury, would be left penniless.
There was an Internal ar
arrangement for you! He was as
cunning as he was cruel. He must
have known that nothing would
tempt me to touch a penny of his,
and how 1t would hurt me to harm
an innocent girl.
81 wanted to get back into the
wilds by myself and think. The
life had been leading had left me
half savage. In my hurry | got
together worse gang of rascals
than those who had just deserted
me. and set off with them for the
IKE north of Palla.
1T was most damnable going,
but kept them at 1t until we had
crossed the CAMERON border, and
there they in turn went back on
me, boiling one night with all my
trade goods, leaving me only my
canoe with my personal effects and
a few provisions in the cruellestt
corner In Africa.
"The natives around there arel
as you know, and II
didn't do much travelling byl
daylight. got across to the west
ern bank one night and drew In
under the growth by the river edgel
SOS to escape observation. 1t was
steaming hot and the place stank.
couldn't sleep, tired out as I was.
so ran through my uncle's letter
again, just to pass the time, al
though ! had thought 1t thread bare
already. But l couldn't think
what l was going to do about tt
mean for the girl.
II knew nothing of her, and she
less of me, but she at least had
never done me or mine harm. andi
It seemed hard that she alonel
should be the scapegoat. / was in
dependent financially had sfghtli
drafts with me for all possessed,
and the two rose diamonds as well.
SO long as 1 scraped through aIivetl
with these. / need never want. Butt,
with the girl 1t was quite different,
and that through no fault of herI
own
/ HWell, I was lying there in the
shade, sweating, body and brains,
when / saw a canoe coming down.
river around the bend, and
ir0pped the letter to pick up my|i
rifle. ! was half afraid that I had
1een spotted. But no more follow-l
ID It, and, there was only singleIl
man in the one / had sighted. Hell
was sitting bolt upright, drifting. i
ssWhen he came little nearer II
sHw he was wearing helmet, /
which gave me jolt. couldn't
what a white man could
ho doing thara alona h,tf In anvil