Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1912-01-16

: fixed In her determination to push on
With Tudor, Adamu Adam and Araht
were to stop as guards.
:, Binu Charley led the way, by proxy
, however. for by means OF the poison
!. ed spear be 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 shadow, naked as on
his natal morn. 1t was hard for them
to realize that 1t was man, for he
seemed weird jungle sprite, 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. 1t was Il mighty
cast, well intended but the shadow,
leaping, received the spear harmlessly
between the legs and, tripping upon
it, was flung sprawling. Before he
could get away Binu Charley was
upon him. cutching 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
| high querulous falsetto. with pucker-
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 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 deeply worn
path. rising so steepIy that several
times the party paused for breath.
"One man with rifle could hold it
against a thousand" Sheldon whisper
ed to Joan. And twenty men could
hold it with spears and arrows"
They came out on the village. sit
uated on small, upland plateau, grass
covered and with only occasional trees,
There was wild chorus of warning
cries from the women, and spears and
arrows began to fall among the in
vaders. AT Sheldons command the
Tahitians and Poonga-Poonga 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 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
for them"
But they should be taught not to |
take white mems heads" Sheldon ar. |
gued.
She nodded approval and said: "If
we find one head Wen burn the vii
lage Hey, you, Charley! What fella
place head he stop?"
"S'pose he stop along devil-devi
house." was the answer. THAT big
fella house, he devil-devil."
1t was the largest house in the vii
age. Into it they went. Crouched be-
fore a slow smoking fire. in the Uttered
ashes of thousand fires, was an old
nan who binked alphabetically at the
nVaderS His task, it seemed. was to
end the fire. and, hung in the smoke,
hey found the object of their search.
loan turned and stumbled out hastily.
ieathly sick. reeling into the sunshine
Ind clutching at the air for support.
See it all are there" she called back
aintly and tottered aimlessly on for
eW steps. breathing the air in great
traits and trying to forget the sight
he had seen.
Upon Sheldon fell the unpleasant
ask of tallying the heads. They were
IL there. nine of them. white mems
leads, the faces of which he had been
amiliar with when their owners had
amped in Berande compound and set
p the polling boats. Binu Charley.
ugely interested. lent a hand. turn.
lg the heads around for Identification
oung the hatchet strokes and remark
lg the distorted expressions. {
Other heads. thoroughly sun dried |
nd smoke cured, were found in abun. {
ance, but with two exceptions, they /
'ere the heads Of blacks. q
Me savvee black Mary. me savvee
'hite Mary" quoth Binu Charley I
Me no savvee that fella Mary. What t
anne belong him?" d
Sheldon looked. Ancient and with. [
ed. blackened by many years of the S
noke Of the devil-devil house. never. a
lelesS the shrunken. mummylike face t
as unmisiakably Chinese. How il ]
nd come there was the mystery. II S
as woman's head. and be had never v
aard Of n Chinese woman in the his. Q
~ of the Solomons. From the ears
Ing two inch lOnrr aor-f,r-. - -. =,