Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-11-21

thar primal moment Of suspenss. usa-
orr was an asonizins blxak and Moth
Ing more. she followed blindly In the
cautiously pausis,g foo STEPS OF the
single glnhenrer that rrcnt before her,
close on the heels OF his MASTER,
Inhnity seemed ~ cone md 70 be-
fore they had advanced twenty pases.
She cane to the bare trunk Of a big
tree whose top had hsen failed By
il-hining and OF thnt momen, Msungo
looked back, a terrible frown on his
face. without taking her eyes from
his she leaned against the stump OF
the tree and put her arms around u.
Memory came to her. She remembered
what he had told her 10 40. She
Rugged the tree IN a great rcftef While
her eyes still followed the white man
and the two blacS shadows that he
seemed to throw. one before. one be-
hind.
Sutidenlv the tracker psusod with On
unn,lstakabls 6natty. Ms haais wenr
up In an even. swift gesture Of wnsn-
Ing. His body sank gradually Loser
and lower till It stretched Hat and stu
as a log at the side OF tie narrow
trail With long-studied. caatiNus
movements the white man passed over
him aud stood erect, ut once stendy
and quivcring, rs heat waves CULVER
steadily In the air arising from
parchcd soil. So.
Not fer-y PAGES from where Andrea
Rugged her protecting trunk and
scarcely twenty In advance OF Msungo.
the domes Of two trees topped the
even mass Of the saplings about them.
Into tho shadows beneath these trees
he was peertns with an !nrepsity that
comm unicated itself to Andrea. She
too stared desperately az though By
an effort she might send light into
darkness with. her gaze.
Presently she was rewarded; three
shadows within the shadow slowly
took form. Once seen. they advanced
in distinction until they stood out to
vision as does the Coal Pit on starry,
moonless night. They were three
clouds, ominous, dusky, thunderous.
Suddenly from one of them came
rumble that rolled ponderously away
through the silent world. Andrea,
ignorant of the majesty of the intes-
final CONNEXIONS of the mightlest OF
beasts, snatched a fleetlng impression
that somewhere beyond the brazen
sky, q storm was brewing. ~
The white man st!ll stood, tense but
immovable. Gradually Andrea's senses
eat:Ared to the fact that this was no
pause. He was waiting-waitlng de-
Nbcrately or was It as one who stands
fatally fascinated and paralyzed on
the threshold Of d!saster7 Her heart
was beating with q dcafening throb.
She was sure the natives about her
could hear the equal tumult In their
own breasts. ~ - III. .
Then her eyes, glued to the three
black clouds, saw one Of the lesser~of
them move, raise vast blankets Of ears
and Dap them. starting an audible gust
Of wind. A great trunk wound and
unwound. rose lasiIy to incredible
heights reached q limb and tore it
with q scream Of rending flbers from
the parent tree. The beast turned
slightly to avoid tho avalanche OF
boughs. Instantly the white mans
arms swept Into motion. he leseled
the big gun at IN upward slant upon
the still immovable central cloud and
fred.
All the silence In tho world vas rent
asunder by that shot With q rending
crash as Of a thousand gatling guns,
one. two. twenty elephants swept
through the sea Of saplings and away.
It was as though an angry god bad
snatched up the forest like sheet and
ripped It apart. In the terrific whirl-
wind Of sound gone mad. the second
bark Of the rife was quite lost to the
ear.
Nsungo turned and automatically
seized his supporting gun. His eyes
swept the back trail. looking for An
drea. She was gone. "Bathtub r he
roared.
The boy ran to him, his face work
ing with every emotion known to the
black breast-joy. triumph, greed,
cupidity and fear. The last was pre-