Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1912-01-30

CHAPTER XIX.
A MESSAGE FROM THE BUSH.
i - NCE they were well into tn
thick bush, the horses had Il
|N be abandoned. Papehara wa
| left in charge. while Joan ant
Sheldon and the remaining Tahitian'
pushed ahead on foot. An hour later
following along a wild pig trail. Shel
don suddenly halted. The bloody tracks
had ceased. The Tahitians cast ou
In the bush on either side, and or,
from Utami apprised them Of 6nd
loan waited till Sheldon came back.
ITS Mauko." he said. "kwaque die
for him. and he crawled In there and
died. That's two accounted for. There
are ten more"
Crossing one of the quiet jungle
spaces. where naught moved but vel
vety twelve inch butterfly. they heard
the sound Of shots.
sEignr, Joan counted. ut was only
one gun. 1t must be Papehara."
They hurried on, but when they
reached the spot they were in doubt
The two horses stood quietly tethered
and Papehara, squatted on his hams
was having peaceful smoke. Ad
vancing toward him, Sheldon tripped
OH a body that lay in the grass, and as
he saved himself from falling his eyes
lighted on a second. Joan recognized
this one. II was COsse, one OF Go
goomy's tribesmen, the one. who had
promised to catch at sunset the pig
that was to have baited the hook for
| Satan.
"No luck. missile" was Papehara's
greeting. accompanied by a disconso.
late shake Of the head. Catch only
two boy. l have good shot ut Go.
goomy. only miss"
7 "But you killed them" Joan chided.
"You must catch them alive"
The Tahitian smiled.
How" he queried. II am have q
smoke. think about Tahiti. and
breadfruit. and jolly good time at Bora
Bora. Quick. just like that. ten boy he
run out Of bush for me. Each boy
have long knife. GOgoomy have
long knife one hand and kwaque's
head in other hand. l no stop to catch
'em alive. shoot like h. How you
catch 'em alive. ten boy. ten long knife
and Kwaque's head?"
The scattered paths OF the different
boys. where they broke back after the
disastrous attempt to rush the Ta-
hitian, soon led together. They traced
1t to the Berande. which the runaways
had crossed with the clear intention OF
burying themselves in the huge man
grove swamp that lay beyond.
"There is NO use our going any far
ther." Sheldon said. "Seelee will turn
out his village and hunt them out Of
that"
Never had runaways from Berande
been more zealously hunted. The
deeds Of GOgoomy and his fellows had
been a bad example for the $50 new
recruits. One by one the boys were
captured. Gogoomy alone remained
ut large, and. as the pursuit closed In
on him. he conquered his fear Of the
bushmen and headed straight In for
the mountainous backbone Of the Is
land. Sheldon. with four Tahitians.
and Seelee, with thirty Of his hunters.
followed GogOomy's trail dozen miles
into the open grass lands, and then
Seelee ard his people lost heart. He
confessed that neither he nor any OF
his tribe had ever ventured so far In
land before. and he narrated for Shell
don's benefit most horrible tales Of the
bushmen.
"Gogoomy he finish along them fella
bushmen," he assured Sheldon. MY
word, he finish close up, kai-kai alto
gether."
So the expedition turned back. Moth
ing could persuade the coast natives to
venture farther. and Sheldon, with his
four Tahitians. knew that 1t was mad
ness to 60 on alone.
That night, after dinner. Sheldon and
Joan were playing billiards when Satan
barked In the compound and Lalaperu,
sent to see. brought back tired and
travel stained native who wanted to
talk with the "big fella white marster."
Sheldon went out on the veranda to
see him.
what name you come along house
belong me sun he go down"
"Me Charley" the man muttered
apologetically and wearily. me stop
along Binu."
"Ah. Binu Charley. eh2 Well. what
name you talk along me? What place
bic fella marster along white man he
stop"
Joan and Sheldon together listened
to the tale Binu Charley had brought.
He described Tudor's expedition up
the Balesuna, the dragging Of the boats
up the rapids. the passage up the river
where 1t threaded the grass lands. the
innumerable washings Of gravel by the
white men in search Of gold. the first
rolling foothills. the man traps OF
smear staked pits in the jungle trails.
the first meeting with the bushmen
who had never seen tobacco and knew
not the virtues Of smoking, their friend
liness. the deeper penetration OF the
interior around the TANKS Of the Lions
Head, the bush sores and the feyers OF
the white men, and their madness IN
trusting the bushmen. One morning
Binu Charley noticed that the women
and children had disappeared. Tudor.
at the time, was lying In stupor with
fever in a late camp FIVE miles away,
the main camp having moved on those
five miles In order to prospect an out.
crop of likely quartz. Binu Charley
was midway between the two camps
when the absence Of the women and
children struck him as suspicious.
"My word" he said, "me savvee too
much trouble close up. Me run. Ny
word, me rum"
Tudor, quite unconscious. was sluns
across his shoulder and carried mile
down the trail. Here, hiding new trail,
BInu Charley had carried him for q
quarter Of mile into the heart OF the
deepest jungle and hidden him In q big
banyan tree. Here, and from the direc-
tion Of the main camp, he had heard
two rife shots. And that was all. he
had never seen the white men again.
.srhora IN only one thing to do" Shell