The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-11-11

dreams.
I took as many as I could carry
back to the portrait, and OF the fol-
lowing morning I returned for more.
They lured me strangely with their
fox-fire of sheer beauty, until I had
penetrated the jungle for the distance
of a quarter of q mile and stood in q
small opening.
: Suddenly, startled by the sound of
cautiously rustled foliage, l looked up.
Here, there, from a dozen shadows
peered the dark faces of the men I
had no wish to meet. One young war.
rior alone stood out in the open. All
of them were naked except for neck
laces, and were daubed with indigo.
All carried spears or war clubs.
The young mans face had the col.
rugated brow of one who thinks Ia
boriously but unendingly. In his eyes
burned the greedy fire OF ambition
ambition and skepticism. The other
faces were still enthralled by dread
of the unknown, and I felt no fear Of
them.
But with this doubling youth it was
different. I fancied I could trace his
trend of thought. If I were falsely
i~mpersonating a god, and he should
be the first to penetrate my spurious
assumption, he would stand at the
forefront Of enterprise and valor.
On the other hand If I were a gen.
uine divinity a spear-thrust would not
injure me. Therefore a spear thrust
might serve as a conclusive test.
No word was spoken as we stood
challenging each other with locked
gazes. He did not at once raise the
barbed and tasseled weapon, but !
saw his itching fingers tighten on its
haft. Suddenly his insolent express
sion changed and became fearful. The
pendulum of his reasoning had swung
back to the reflection that, ven
though no injury result from such an
experiment., an immortal god might
resent the affront of a blow and visit
upon him immortal wrath.
Confident that I had read the ex-
preston truly, I turned my back upon
him, meaning to seize the psychology
cal moment Of indecision to stalk
boldly between the others and leave
the place as I had done ono before.
I had taken only two or three steps
when an ejaculation of startled sur
prise at my back warned me to wheel
about. At the same instant I felt
a biting pang in my left shoulder, and
I knew I had been speared.
The sudden turn had saved my life
for the moment at least. The spear
fell to the ground, but not bfore 1t
had gashed my flesh and left upon
the tattered remnants of my jacket a
telltale smear of blood. My assailant
leaped for the shadows with incredi.
BILE agility, but a realization of his
great audacity confused him and
marred his ingrained woodcraft so
that he caught his foot in a trailing
vine.
He fell but was up again like a pam
Their with his snarling face turned to-
ward me. He rose only to meet the
blow of my slung-shot and to drop
back with his skull crushed.
The whole incident was we'll nigh
instantaneous, and to those who saw
It must have seemed that my bare
hand had stretched him lifeless at my
feet.
For a moment I stood loking down,
half dazed, at his body, while a stilec
murmur of indrawn breaths voiced
the awed and profound impression on
the minds of the spectors.
Then I raised my eyes to find the
place about me empty. The other
warriors had vanished into the brush
like lizards into tall grass.
Civilization lay too close behind to
permit my looking down, mistaken,
on a life snuffed out by my hand.
He had been a questioner who had
dared to put to the test his theory of
immortal things. Death had answered
his venturing and other skeptics
would have a lesson in w%ariness.
But for me the victory seemed
tardy. l believed myself to have e
MORALLY poisoned by the spear, and
my one wish now was to escape the
semblance of greatness still upon me,
and die unseen
I went with as much dignity as pos.
sible toward the beach, backing
through the tangle to keep my flow
of blood concealed. I had M doubt
that unseen eyes followed my exit.
Wicked pains shot, in white-hot cur.
rents, through my blood and racked
my muscles. I was weak with nau
seating pain and dizziness swan in
my brain.
At last the merciful rocks gave me
concealment. I dropped on my knees
my teeth gritted, and I dragged my
self back to my cave where / turned
my face to the rock wall to die.
Continued Next Week.
Adhesive Plaster
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