, 1913-04-03

none nad offendeu was In I,selr sus
piclous They were growing crafty
1t was one man against two hundred
n he was horribly afraid of his
overpowering him and leav.
ing him at their mercy. He saw vi
sions of the blacks taking charge OF
the plantation. looting the store, burn.
ing the buildings and escaping to Ma,
laita. Also one grewsome vision he
caught of his own head. sun dried and
smoke cured. ornamenting the canoe
house of a cannibal village. Either
the Jessie would have to arrive or
he would have to do something.
The bell had hardly rung. sending
the laborers into the fields. when Shell.
don had a visitor. Forty men. armed
with spears. bows and arrows and
war clubs. gathered outside the gate
of the compound. but only one enter
ed. They knew the law of Berande.
as every native knew the law of every
white mans compound in all the thou
sand miles of the far flung Solomons.
The n man who came up the path
Sheldon recognized as Seelee. the chief
of Balesuna village. The savage did
not mount the steps, but stood be-
meath and talked to the white lord
above.
Seelee was more intelligent than the
average of bis kind. but his intelli-
gence only emphasized the lowness of
that kind. His eyes. close together and
small. advertised cruelty and crafti-
less. A gee string and a cartridge
belt were all the clothes he wore
As he talked. or listened. he made
grimaces like a monkey. He said yes
by dropping his eyelids and thrusting
his chin forward He spoke with
childish arrogance strangely ut vari-
ance with the subseryient position he
occupied beneath the -yeranda. He,
with his many followers, was lord and
master OF B%alesuna village. But the
white man. without followers. was
lord and master of B~erande-ay. and
occasion. single handed. had made
himself lord and master of Balesuna
village as well. Seelee did not like to
remember that episode. 1t had &C.
CURED In the course of learning the
Of white lei and Of learning
to abominate them. He had once been
guilty of sheltering three runaways
from Berande.
Unfortunately. he was ignorant Of
the ways of white men. This particu-
lar white man educated him by arriv-
ing at his grass house in the gray of
dawn. In the first moment he had felt
amused. He was so perfectly safe In
the midst of his village. But the next
moment. and before he could cry out,
O pair of handouts on the white mans
knuckles had landed on his mouth,
knocking the cry OF alarm back down
his throat. Also, the white mans other
had caught him under the ear and
left him without further interest In
what was happening. When he came
to b. found himself in the white mans
When his tribe had returned the three
runaways, he was given his freedom.
And finally, the terrible white man
had fined him and Balesuna village
ten thousand cocoanuts. After that he
had sheltered no more runaway Ma
laita men. Instead, he had gone Into
the business of catching them. 1t was
safer. Besides, be was paid one case
of tobacco per head. But If he ever
got d chance ut hat white man. If he
ever caught him sick or stood at his
back when he stumbled and fell on a
bush trail-well, there would be a head
that would fetch a price in Mala-
tia.
Sheldon was pleased with what See
lee told him. The seventh man OF the
last batch of runaways had been
caught and was even then at the gate.
He was brought in, heavy featured
and defiant, his arms bound with CO
coanut sennit. the. dry blood still on
his body from the struggle with his
captors.
me savvee you good fella. Seelee.'
Sheldon said, as the chief gulped down
a quarter tumbler of raw trade gin.
"Fella boy belong me you catch short
time little bit. This fella boy strong
fella too much. | give you fella one
case tobacco-my word, one case To-
bacco. Then, you good fella along
me, / give you three fathom calico
n fella knife big fella too much
The tobacco and trade goods were
brought from the store room by two
house boys and turned over to the
chief of B~alesuua village, who accept
ed the additional reward with a non
committal gruut and went away dowr
the path to his anoes Under Shel
| don's directions. the house boys hand
cuffed the prisoner, by hands and feet
around one of the pile supports OF TN
house. AT eleven o'clock, when tn'
Iaborers came in from the neld' she'
don had them assembled In the com
pound before the veranda. Every api
man was there, including those wh'
were helping about the hospital. Evel
the women and the several pickanin
Mos of the plnutation were lined u