Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-12-04

luce anu DOOy. somehow. engaged IN
their healing ministrations. they no
longer seemed TO him boys hands.
The mornings action had been set
tied the night before. Tudor was to
stay behind in his banyan refuge and
gather strength while the expedition
proceeded. On the far chance that
they might rescue even one solitary
survivor Of Tudor's party. Joan was
nxed In her determination to push on.
With Tudor. Adamu Adam and Arahu
were to stop as guards.
Binu Charley led the way. by proxy.
however, for by means of the poison
ed spear he drove the captive bush
man ahead They plodded on. pant
ing and sweating In the humid. stag
nant air. They were immersed in a
sea of wanton, prodigal vegetation.
Caught by surprise fifteen feet In
the air above the path in the forks Of
many branched tree. a bushman
dropped IKE a shadow. naked as on
his natal morn. IL was hard for them
to realize that it was a man. for he
seemed a weird jungle sprite. a goblin
of the forest. Only Binu Charley was
not perturbed. He flung his poisoned
spear over the head OF the captive at
the fitting form. Ii was q mighty
cast, well intended. but the shadow.
leaping. received the spear harmlessly
between the legs and. tripping upon
it. was flung sprawIinG Before he
could get away Binu Charley was
upon him. clutching him by his snow
white hair. he was only young man
and a dandy at that. his face black
ened with charcoal. his hair whitened
with wood ashes. with the freshly
severed tail Of a wild pig thrust
through his perforated nose and two
more thrust through his ears. His
only other ornament was a necklace
of human finger bones. At sight of
their other prisoner he chartered in a
high querulous falsettO. with quicker
ed brows and troubled. wild animal
eyes. He was disposed of along the
middle Of the line. one Of the PoonGa.
Poonga men leading him at the end
of length Of bark rope.
CLOSE up he STOP" Binu Charley
warned them in a whisper.
Even as he spoke. from high over,
head came the deep resonant boom of
village drum. But the beat was SLOW
There was no panic IN the sound. The
runway now became a deeply worn
path, rising so steeply that several
times the party paused for breath.
! "One man with 4 rife could hold II
/ against q thousand" Sheldon whisper.
ed to Joan. And twenty men could
hold 1t with spears and arrows"
I They came out on the village. sit.
uated on a small. upland plateau. grass
covered and with only occasional trees
There was a wild chorus of warning
cries from the women, and spears and
Arrows began to fall among the In
vaders. At Sheldon's command the
Tahitians and Poonga-Poonga men go
into action with their rifles. The spear.
and arrows ceased. the last bushmeI
disappeared, and the fight was over al
most as soon as it had begun. On theil
own side no one had been hurt. Will,
half dozen bushmen had been killed.
Poor brutes," Joan said. They &C
only according to their natures. II
eat their kind and take heads is goot
morality for them
But they should be taught not t.
take white mems heads" Sheldon ar
gued.
She nodded approval and said: ~
we find one head wen burn the vii
lage. Hey. you, Charley! What fell
place head he stopw
"S'pose he stop along devil-deyt
house." was the answer. THAT bi
fella house. he devil-devil."
1t was the largest house in the VII
lage. Into it they went Crouched be
fore a slow smoking fire, in the littere
ashes of thousand fires. was an oil
man who blinked alphabetically at tn
invaders. His task, il seemed, was I
tend the FIRE. and. hung in the smoke
they found the object of their search
Joan turned and stumbled out hastily
deatbly sick. Keeling into the sunshin
and clutching at the air for support.
See II all are there" she called bac
family and tottered aimlessly on for
few steps, breathing the air in gres
drafts and trying to forget the sigh
I she had seen.
! Upon Sheldon fell the unpleasa1
: task OF tallying the heads They wei
7 all there, nine OF them, white men
) heads. the faces OF which he had bee
I familiar with when their owners ha
! camped in Berande compound and 81
I up the polling boats. Binu Charlie,
hugely interested, lent a hand. turl
ing the heads around for identification
4 noting the Ratchet strokes and remarl
ing the distorted expressions.
Other heads, thoroughly sun drie
and smoke cured, were found In abul
s dance, but with two exceptions, the
3 were the heads OF blacks.
ME savvee black Mary. me save
Z white Mary" quoth BJnu Charlie
Me no savvee that feIla Mary. VIII.
z name belong himT'
Sheldon looked Ancient and wit
cred. blackened by many years of d
3 smoke OF the devil-t4evil house. neve
theleSs the shranken. mummylike fat
D was Enthusiastically Chinese How
had come there was the mystery.
was a womsn's hend and be had new,
heard OF n Chinese woman in the hi
q tory Of the Solomons- From the ca
4 hung two inch long earrings. and
y Sheldon's direction the BInu ms