The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1918-01-03

Korak had constructed for Merlem.
Further thar this the brute could do
nothing. Nature must accomplish the
rest unaided or Korak must die.
He did not die, however. For days
he lay helpless with fever, while Akut
and the apes hunted close by that they
might protect him from such birds and
beasts as might reach his lofty retreat.
Occasionally Akut brought him juicy
fruits which helped to Stake his thirst
and a1lay his fever, and little by little
his powerful constitution Overcame the
effects OF the spear thrusts. The
wounds healed and his strength re-
turned.
All during his rational moments az
he had lain upon the soft furs which
lined Meriem's nest he had suffered
q acutely from fears for Meriem
han from the pain Of his own wounds
For her he must live; for her he must
regain his strength that he might set
out In search of her. But 1t was many
81 DAY before Strength returned To iIi1.
F
Mcricm. bound and under heavy
guard in Koyudoos own hut, had no
doubt bur that Korak would come
back and still less that he would cas-
lily free her.
So now as she lay waiting for him
she dreamed Of him and of an that he
meant to her. She compared him with
the sheik, her father, and at the
thought of the stern, grizzled old Arab
she s%huddered. Even the savage blacks
had been less harsh to her than he.
Not understanding their tongue, she
could not guess what purpose they had
that man ate man, and she had ex-
pected to be eaten, but she had been
with them for some time now, and no
harm had befallen her.
She did not know that a runner had
been dispatched to the distant village
of the sheik to barter with him for a
ransom. She did not know, nor did
Kovud0o. that the runner had never
reached his destination that he had
fallen In with the Safari of Jensen
and MalbIhn and with the talk
ativeneSs Of a native had I'M
folded his whole mission to the
black servants of the two Swedes.
These had not been long In retailing
the matter to their masters, and the
result was hat when the runner left
their camp to continue his journey he
had scarce passed from sight before
there came the report of Il rifle, and
he rolled lifeless into the underbrush
with a bullet hole in his back.
A few moments later Malbihn
strOlled back into the encampment,
where he went to some pains to let II
be Known that he had had a shot at
a fine buck and missed. The Swedes
that an overt act against Kovudoo
would quickly be carried to the chief
at the iirst opportunity. Nor were they
sufficiently strong in either guns or
loyal followers to risk a~ntagoniZing
the willy old chief.
The next day the Swedes set out for
kovudoo's village, bent on securing pos
session of the person Of the white girl
whom Kovudoo's runner had told them
lay captive in the chiefs village. How
they were to accomplish their end
they did not know. Force was out Of
the question. though they would not
have hesitated to use 1t had they pos
sessed 1t.
In former years they had marched
yer enormous areas, TAX
ing toll by brute force even when kind
liness or diplomacy would have ac-
complished more. But now they were
In bad straits-so bad that they had
not shown their true cOlors scarce
twice in a year, and then only when
they came upon an isolated weak vii
lage.
Kovudoo was not Of these, and.
though his village was in a way re-
mote from the more populOus district
to the north, his power was such that
he maintained an acknowledged suze-
rainty Over the thin thread of villages
which connected him with the savage
lords to the north.
To have a%ntagonized him would have
spelled ruin for the Swedes. 1t would
have meant that they might never
reach civilization by the northern
route. To the west the village of the
sheik lay directly in their path, barring
them ~effectually. To the east the trail
was unknown to them, and to the
south there was no trail.
(TO BE CONTINUED)