The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-04-21


Their" 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 and 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 it was mad
ness to go 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 a 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
apologetica1ly and YEARLY. "Me stop
along Binu."
'Ah, Binu Charley. Ell? Well. what
name you talk along me? What place
big fella marster along white man he
stopT
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 it 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
spear staked pits in the Jungle trails,
the first meeting with the bushmep
who had never seen tobacco and knew
not the virtues of smoking, their friend
illness, the deeper penetration of the
interior around the tanks Of the Lions
Head, the bush sores and the fevers 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 a stupor with
fever in 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. My
word, me rum"
Tudor, quite unconscious. was slung
across his shoulder and carried a mile
down the trail. Here hiding new trail,
Binu Charley had carried him for
/ quarter of a mile into the heart Of the
| deepest jungle and hidden him in big
banyan tree. Here and from the direc-
ton Of the main camp, he had heard
| two rife shots And that was all. He
had never seen the white men again.
There is only one thing to do" Shell
don said to Joan. 'T'll start the first
thing in the morning"
wen start" she corrected. 'T can
get twice as much out of my Tahitians
as you can, and. besides, one white
should never be alone under such cir
| cumstances."
Sheldon sent for a gang boss and
! told him to bring ten of the biggest,
best and strongest Poonga-Poonga
men.
mot salt water boys" Sheldon eau
toned. "but bush boys-leg belong him
strong fella leg. Boy no savvee mus
ket. no good You bring IN shoot
musket strong fella."
They were ten picked men that fled
up on the veranda and stood in the
glare OF the lanterns. Their heavy,
muscular legs advertised that they
were bushmen. Killing was their nat
ural vocation, not weed cutting: and,
while they would not have ventured
the Guadalcanar bush alone, with a
white man like Sheldon behind them,
and a white Mary such as they knew
Joan to be, they could expect a safe
and delightful time. Besides, the great
master had told them that the eight
gigantic Tahitians were going along.
Plenty strong fella fight" Sheldon
warned them in conclusion.
They grinned and shifted delighted
ly.
"S'pose bushmen kai-kai along you -
he queried.
mo fear" answered their spokes-
man, one Koogoo, a strapping, thick
Tipped Ethiopian looking man. "S'pose
Poonga-Poonga boy kai-kai bush boyT'