United labor bulletin., 1913-09-20

J was surprised when | answered him in the
= tongue
- We must kill you. he said. but there is
,. no hurry. We shall wait
AS though acting on the suggesuoh Nle
thirty black nends squatted in semtcircie
about me and fell slowly and deliberately 10
sharpening their knives
There is no hurry the chief said again
We must do so before the coming OF day.
that is all
Then in n fash 1t came back to me that
had heard from of our own tribe that the
Anexa were sun worshippers. and that IL was the
greatest OF ali religious crimes among them TO
commit murder when the sun-their god-was in
the ascendancy Like shot It came TO me that
II could delay the execution until sunrise my
life would be saved. But how?
The hope seemed futile. | wondered what
time IL was. knew 1t was after midnight As
l lay on my blankets. watching those hideous
black faces that were duubly black and grotesQue
In the weird fame OF the torches began to work
my hand slowly toward my pocket where kept
my watch. ! got Il out ana dropped my res TO
the face In the gloom l could make out the
hands pointing TO 2 o'clock Il was nearly three
hours 20 sun.up There was not the ghost Of a
chance OF holding them OF until then
But just the same Kept trying to figure #
out In my mlnd-to devise some plan 10 that end
And meanwhile began to witness the services
that we're to precede my death. Squatting there
with their black legs crossed that grim semi
circle OF hends began TO rock slowly back and
forth from the hips. humming strange. un-
canny. minor monotone, Out in front the big
chief led them. 1t the Aneza sacrifice pre-
lude to speak And was 10 be the sacrifice
Il tell you, Il got into my nerves. don't think
I am a natural coward. but half rythmically
keeping time. II were. TO the beating chant of
those voices and the sway and swing of the black
bodies. heard my teeth begin to click.
II glanced over my shoulder TO the other flap
OF the tent As did so the Arab chief seemed TO
divine my thought. for at motion OF his hand
the semi-clrcle moved forward couple OF feet
closer and. squatting again, went on with the
gruesome ceremonies. There was no chance OF
escape by flight that certain.
But never for moment did stop thinking;
struggling to drag an id.a out of the confusion In
my brain. And all the time the Aneza went on
whetting the knives and grooming and swaying.
Half an hour. then an hour went by. l count
ed the minutes. for | knew they measured the
time left yet to live And then. suddenly,
turned cold. My heart ieaped and something hll-
ed my throat II was the idea had been comb
ing my brain for. and It chance ever so.
faint, perhaps but sti chance.
Across the tent. ten feet distant my
trunk with my stereopticon lantern. and my
slides-slides had made of New York city, of
the Metropolitan tower and Broadway, and all
the other sights OF home Could but!
musti Speaking in Arab. addressed the chief.
Before the time to make the sacrifice had
something TO show them-something the like OF
which they had never seen. Would they like to
see Il?
"Breathless. l awaited the answer. There was
u
see pointed to the trunk. They brought 1t to
unpacked the lantern and set II up. the
long knives following not two inches
away the while. The side of the tent the
screen. I lighted the lantern and dropped In the
first slide. Across the cpcle of light noated In
color the great Metropolitan tower. AS It did
the mutterng murmur OF the death prelude wav.
cred and died out
mystery. wonder. of-fear. Working swiftly.
| killed the exterior of the tower and shot into
its place view of Its interior, then another and
another l followed with pictures from Its top
pictures of the river. OF Broadway below. OF
motor cars tearing along with visible
of locomotion. of the loom OF giant skyscrapers
in the distance OF huge bridges across the East
river. of steamboats, and liners running of the
harbor. of Miss Liberty Bedloes Island and OF
the marvellous tangle OF Coney Island.
"The death prelude was forgotten. The fear
gave place to evergrowing wonder. The
semloircle leaned forward of peering
crowding black heads and black shoulders;