The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1912-03-22
Adventure

Hines the party paused for breath.
"One ma with a rife could hold 1t
against a thousand" Sheldon whisper
ed to Joan. And twenty men could
hold it with spears and arrows"
They "a me 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 "a in
vaders. At Sheldon's commanTf Nc
Tahitians and Poonga-P oonga men got
into action with their rifles. The spears
and arrows ceased. the last bushmen
disappeared, and the fight was over al
most as soon as it had begun. On their
own side NO one had been hurt. while
half a dozen bushmen had been killed.
Poor brutes," Joan said "They act
only according to their natures. To
eat their kind and take heads is good
morality tor them
rBut they should be taught not to
take white mems heads" Sheldon ar
gued.
She nodded approval and said: IF
we ind M head wen burn the vii
lage. Hey. you. Charley! What fella
place head he stop?'
"S'pose he stop along devil-devn
house" was the answer THAT big
fella house, he devil-devil."
1t was the largest house in the vii
lage. Into 1t they went Crouched be-
fore a slow smoking fire. in the Uttered
ashes of a thousand fires. was an old
man VIII blinked alphabetically at the
invaders. His task. 1t seemed. was to
tend the fire. and. hung in the smoke.
they found the object Of their search.
Joan turned and stumbled out hastily.
deathly sick. reeling into the sunshine
and clutching at the mir for support.
"See II all are there" she called back
family and tottered aimlAssly on for a
few steps. breathing the air in great
drafts and trying to forget the sight
she had seen.
Upon Sheldon fell the unpleasant
task Of tallying the heads. They were
all there. nine Of them. white mems
heads. the faces Of which he had been
familiar with when their owners had
camped In Berande compound and set
up the polling boats. Binu Charley.
hugely interested. lent a hand. turn
ing the heads around for Identification.
noting the Ratchet strokes and remark
Ing the distorted expressions.
Other heads. thoroughly sun dried
and smoke cured. were found in abun.
dnnOo h,pf with tu,0 nvo01fDnc <A1,
were the heads of blacks.
me savvee black Mary. me savvee
white Mary" quoth Binu Charley
me no savvee that fella Mary. What
name belong him7"
Sheldon looked. Ancient and with
cred. %blackened by many years Of the
smoke Of the devil-devil house, never.
theless the shrunken. mummylike face
was unmistakably Chinese. How 1t
had come there vas the mystery. It
was a woman's head. and he had never
heard Of a Chinese woman in the his.
tory OF the S0lomons. From the ears
hung two inch long earrings. and at
Sheldon's direction the Binu man
rubbed away the accretious OF smoke
and dirt md from under his fingers
appeared the polished green Of Jade.
the sheen Of pearl and the warm red
Of oriental gold The other head.
equally ancient. was a white mans.
and Sheldon wondered what forgotten
beche- der-mer fisherman or sandalwood
trader had gone to furnish that ghast.
" trophy.
Telling Binu Charley to remove the
earrings and directing the Poonga.
Poonga men to carry the old FIRE
tender. Sheldon cleared the devil-devil
house and act fire to It. Soon every
house was blazing merrily. while the
snrient fire tender sat upright In the
sunshine. blinking at the destruction
OF big village. Every member Of Tu-
doris expedition was accounted for.
and II was n long. dark way out Of the
head hunters country. Releasing their
two prisoners. who leaped away like
startled deer. they plunged down the
steep rath into the steaming Jungle.
That night found them back IN amp
With Tudor, ana at high noon Of the
third day. travelling With the current
and shooting the rapids. tho sxpedi-
oo0 arrived at Beranda. josh With
. Sigh, unbuckled her revolver belt and
hung Il on the NAH In the living room.
while Sheldon. who had been lurking
about foe the sheer JOY Of seeing her
perform that particular homecoming
act. sighed. too. With satisfaction. But
the homecoming was not all Joy to
him. for Joan set about nursing Tudor
and spent much time on the veranda