Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-12-14
CHAPTER XVII.
Left in the Jungle.


the saloon of an ocean liner She sa"
him eating with his hands. tearing his
food like q beast Of prey and wiping
his greasy fingers upon his thighs.
She shuddered.
She saw him as she introduced him
to her friends-uncouth, illiterate,
boor-and she WINGED.
She had reached her room now, ana
as she sat upon the edge Of her bed OF
ferns and grasses, with one hand rest
ing upon her rising and falling BOSOM
she felt the hard outlines Of the mans
locket beneath her waist.
She drew it out, holding 1t in the
palm of her hand for moment with
tear-blurred eyes bent upon it. Then
she raised it to her lips, and crushing
1t there, buried her face in the SOFT
ferns, sobbing.
"Beast?" she murmured. Then
heaven make me a beast, for, man or
beast, I am yours!"
She did not see Clayton again that
day. Esmeralda brought her supper TO
her, and she sent word to her father
that she was suffering from the re-ac-
ton following her adventure.
The next morning Clayton left early
with the relief expedition in search OF
Lieutenant dArnot. There were 2Oo
armed men this time, with ten officers
and two surgeons and provisions for
q week.
They carried bedding and hammocks,
the latter for transporting their sick
and wounded.
It was a determined and angry COM
pany-a punitive expedition as we'll as
one of relief. They reached the scene
Of the skirmish of the previous expedi-
ton shortly after noon, for they were
now travelling a known trail, and no
time was lost in exploring.
From there on the elephant trail led
straight to Mbonga's village. 1t was
but o'clock when the head Of the col
umn halted upon the edge of the clear
ing.
In a few minutes the village street
was filled with armed men fighting in
an inextricable tangle. The revolvers.
carbines and cutlasses Of the French
men crumpled the native spearmen
and struck down the black archers
with their bolts half drawn.
Soon the battle turned to wild rout
and then to grim massacre, for the
French sailors had seen bits Of D'Ar-
not's uniform upon several Of the black
warriors who opposed them.
They spared the children and those
of the women whom they were not
forced to kill in self-defense, but when
at length they stopped, painting, blood
covered and sweating, 1t was because
there lived to oppose them no single
warrior Of all the savage village of
Mbonga-
Carefully they ransacked every hut
and corner Of the village, but no sign
Of D'Arnot could they find. They
questioned the prisoners by signs.
Only excited gestures and expressions
Of fear could they obtain in response
to their inquiries concerning their fell
low.
At length all hope left them, and
they prepared to camp for the night
within the village.
The prisoners were herded into three
huts, where they were heavily guard
ed. Sentries were posted at the barred
gates, and finally the village was wrap
ped in the silence Of slumber except
for the wailing of the native women
for their dead.
The next morning they set out upon
the return march. Their original in
tention had been to burn the village,
but this idea was abandoned, and the
prisoners were left behind, weeping
and moaning, but with roofs to cover
them and a palisade for refuge from
the beasts Of the jungle.
Slowly the expedition retraced its
steps Of the preceding day. Ten load
ed hammocks retarded it's pace. In
eight Of them lay the more seriously
wounded, while two swung beneath
the weight Of the dead.
Clayton and Lieutenant Charpentier
brought up the rear Of the column, the
Englishman silent in respect for the
others grief for DArnot and Charpen-
tier had been inseparable since boy
hood.
1t was quite late when they reached
the cabin by the beach. The dead and
wounded men were tenderly placed in
boats and rowed silently toward the
cruiser
Clayton, exhausted from his five
days of laborious marching through
the jungle and from the effects Of his
two battles with blacks, turned to-
ward the cabin, to seek mouthful of
food and then the comparative ease of
his bed of grasses after two nights in
the jungle.
BY the cabin door stood Jane Porter.
1.-The poor lieutenant" she asked
Did you find no trace Of him?'
We were too late, Miss Porter,".he
replied sadly.
Tell me-what had happened" she
asked.
Il cannot, Miss Porter. 1t is too hor
rible.'
She thought of what Clayton had
said of the forest mans probable rela-
tionship to this tribe.
To him, too. suddenly came the
thought Of the forest man. The strange
jealously he had felt two days before
swept over him once more.
In sudden brutality that was unlike
him he blurted out:
When your forest god left you he
was doubtless hurrying to the feast"
He was sorry ere the words were
spoken, though he did not know how
cruelty they had cut the girl. His re-
gret was for his baseless disloyalty to
one who had saved the lives Of every
member of his party nor ever offered
harm to one.
The girls head went high.
There could be but one suitable re-