The Lamar register., 1919-11-12

SHlltu uliHtSt iht DOy.
One OF the wizened produced thin
wand, about twenty inches in length,
freshly broken at one end. He passed
IL to his companions; who stared at II
as though they saw II for the hrst ID
stead of the hundredth time, fingered
il. gurgled over II and finally graveiy
hauded IL TO M'sungo. lie went through
more or less the same process and re-
turned it to the man who first pro-
duced 1t with what was apparently
sighting remark.
The man glanced up with a paineo
look on his face, arose, laid the wand
on the ground AS measure and with
iaborious fingers began to trace
mighty oval. M'sungo leaned across
the table and gazed with fascinated
eye; Andrea, watching him. could see
the pulse throbbing at his temples. He
y.as a new M'sungo. somebody young,
approachable, lOvable. an eager boy.
She leaned close to his shoulder
Please, White Man." she murmured,
please tell me-"
Without turning he put one hand
out and grasped her wrist as though
to still her. THE little man." he ex-
planned. 'is drawing the spoor of
mighty beast. Look at 1t and learn il
by heat. for 1t will he a photograph"
Having completed the circumference
of his oval, the native was making
various tracings on its face. dividing IT
as with maze of tracks. When he
had apparently finished. he sank back
on his heels and gazed critically at his
handiwork.
watch" said M'sungo. Before he
gets up. he'll put In some mark. some
distinctive feature that distinguishes
this spoor from all others"
No sooner had he spoken than the
black leaned forward and with sure
touch deepened two of the cracks till
they formed long narrow v running
diagonaiiy half across the oval. That
done he turned abruptly from his
drawing. Joined his comrades. turned
his back on M'sungo and unstoppering
q cartridge case. proceeded to take
SNUFF.
M'sungo Strengthened with q long
quivering sigh. "It Is WELL" he said In
dialect I'VE will 60" The three
wizened men nodded their heads many
times and Erunted. With no further
instruction. gunbenrers. water boys.
trackers and MarguerIte's attendant
scattered to their various prepera-
tions. hindered by excited women and
children. The camp hunmed. Bathtub
slapped breakfast on the table and
then stood on one foot. then on the
other in impstience. On the faces of
all was the same half.smile. the same
look of suppressed but mighty antici.
patton.
N'sungo ate a few mouthfuls but
they seemed to choke him. He pushed
back his plate. stuffed his pipe full
and lit 1t. His eyes. played over An
drea's face and fired hers with their
own brilliance. When he spoke every
derful morning were surcharged with
an emotional current sensitive to
every sound and movement
Andrea Pellor." he said with a hap
ny twinkle Of mock solemnity In his
glance. you are about to be Initiated
into the mysteries Of the major guild
of many centuries, the closest corpo-
ration OF sport in the world: in three
words, the society Of elephant hunters.
You will probably witness death and
hope and pray 1t will be the death Of
the hunted. hut for the comfort Of
your soft heart let me tell you that to
day we go forth not to slaughter but
to battle
He turned his eyes from her face
and continued In 4 more serious
strain: "The hunting Of elephant is q
science. II is a crescendo of delicate
ly balanced factors that starts from
two distant points and beginning on a
cool foundation OF mutual respect
passes upward through stages Of In
telligence against intelligence, caution
for caution. perseverance on the heels
OF endurance, until It meets on the
high plane Of naked courage and
sweeps to its tragic climax of white
hot battle and DEATH
His eyes came back to hers frankly.
Like all the great sciences" he con-
tinued, cit has used the lives Of val
liant men for stepping-stones so that
we who go out today are backed by
the age-long sacrifice of noble COM
pany. Looking back only to the days
OF black powder and the four-bore