Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-02-06

act OF the woman and the child was omit
ted, in our case there was another act OF
the play to follow OF which | had received
no inkling In my Ragnall experience
Indeed, II I had received It, should not
have been there that night. for no induce.
ment on earth would have brought me 10
Kendall Land.
This was the act. Jana, having prodded
mis- dead brother to his satisfaction,
whether from Viclousness or to put IL out
of pain, I cannot say, stood over the car
cass In an attitude OF grief or pious medi-
tation. At this time, l should mention. tnn
wind. which had been rustllng the hall
stripped reeds at the lake border, had died
away almost, but not completely; that is TO
say, only n very faint gust blew now and
again. which, with hunters instinct |
observed with satisfaction drew from the
direction Of Jana toward ourselves rms
! knew, because IL struck on my forehead
which was wet with perspiration. and
cooled the skin.
Presently however, by cursed spite OF
fate, one of these gusts-a very little one
came from some quarter behind us, for
felt Il in my back hair. that was as damp
as the rest of me. Just then ! was glanc-
ing TO my right, where IL seemed TO me
that out of the corner of my eye ! had
caught sight of something passing among
the stones at a distance OF 100 yards or so,
possibly the shadow of a cloud or another
elephant. At the time / did not ascertain
which II was, since n faint rattle from
Jana's trunk reconcentrated all my facul-
ties on him in n painfully vivid fashion.
looked TO see that all the contemplation
had departed from his attitude. now as
alert as that of foXterrier which i'm.
agincs he has seen n rat His vast ears
were cooked. his bulk trembled, his
enormous trunk shifted the air
Great heavcnsu' ! thought to myself.
ur,
consolation as | could from the fact that
the next faint gust once more struck upon
my forehead, for I hoped he would con-
clude that he had made a mistake
Not a bit of II Jana was far too old
a bird--or beast--to make any mistake.
lie grunted, got himself going like n lug
gage train and with great deliberatlon
walked toward us, smelling at the ground
smelling at the air, smelling To the right
to the left and even toward heaven above.
as though he expected that thence might
fall upon him vengeance for his many sins
4 dozen times he came did ] cover him
with an imaginary rife, marking the exact
spots where | might have hoped to send
bullet to his vitals, in kind of auto
matte fashion, for all my real brain was
contemplating my own approaching end.
| wondered how IL would happen. Would
he drive that great tusk through me would
he throw me into the air or would he -neel
upon my poor little body and thus avenge
the deaths of all his kin that had fallen
at my hands? Marut was speaking in a
rafting whisper:
His priest has told Jana to kill us; we
are about to die" he said. Before | die
want to say that the lady. the wife of
the lord"
silence" hisscd. "He will hear you"
for at that instant | took not the slightest
! interest in any lady on the earth Fiercely
| | glared at Marut and noted even then how
| ,,iti ftI Ia hic ton M
| smile there now. All its jovial roundness
| had vanished. II had sunk In II was blue
and ghastly with large, protruding eyes
| like to that of man who had been three
days dead.
/ was right-Iana had heard Low as
the whisper was, through that intense
| silence 1t had penetrated to his almost
preternatural senses
| Forward he came at run for twenty
| PAGES or more with his trunk held straight
out in front of him. Then he halted again
| perhaps the length of a cricket pitch away
| and Smelt as before.
! The sight was too much for Marut. HI
sprang up and ran for his life toward tn,
lake, purposing, I suppose, to take refuge
in the water oh how he ran. After hin
went Jana like a railway engine-expres
| this time-trumpeting as he charged. Maru
reached the lake, which was quite close
about ten yards ahead, and plunging int
1t with bound began to swim.
Now, | thought, he may get away il th
crocodiles don't have him, for that devi
will scarcely take to the water. But thi
was just where | made a mistake, for will
a mighty splash in went Jana, too. Also
he the better swimmer. Marut sooi
saw this and swung round to the shore. b.
which maneuver he gained little, as h
could turn quicker than Jana.
Back they came, Jana just behind Marut
| striking at him with his great trunk. The,
| dnMblinI
in and out among the rocks like hare and
| to my horror making for where ] lay
whether by accident or in mad hope o
obtaining protection l do not know.
1t may be asked why had not taken tn
| opportunity to run also in the opposite direc
tion. There are several answers. The frs
was that there seemed to be nowhere I
run the second. that l felt sure. IL l d
run, l should trip up over the skeletons o
| those elephants or stones the third, that
did not think of it at once the fourth, tina
| Jana had not yet seen me, and | had n
craving to introduce myself to him person
ally, and the fifth and greatest, that i wa
so paralyzed with fear that did not feel a
though / could lift myself frcm the ground
Everything about me seemed to be dead
except my powers of observation, whic
were painfully alive.
OF n sudden Marut gave up. Less than
stones throw from me he wheeled roun
and facing Jana, hurled at him some fear
full and concentrated curse, of which all tina
| could distinguish were the words, 9TH
Child -
oddly enough. It seemed to have an effeC
upon the furious rogue, which halted in II
rush and, putting its four feet together, sli
few PAGES nearer and stood still. 1t wa
just as though the beast had understood III
words and were considering them. If 81
their effect was to rouse him to perfect mad
ness. He screamed terribly he lashed h
sides with his trunk; his red and wicke
eyes rolled foam few from the cavern
his opened mouth he danced upon his gres
feet a sort of hideous Scottish reel The
he charged.
CONTINUED TOMORROW