Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1919-12-12
CHAPTER vII.-contlnued.

3
She dropped her head against him
and sobbed. He put his arm around
her and patted her awkwardly on the
back. "Therel Therei" he said.
Don't. Please don't" Seemingly with
out his volition his arms drew closer
and closer until he suddenly awoke to
the fact that he was just plainly hug
ging Andrea Pellor.
He pushed her roughly from him,
"Here," he said in quite different
voice, "this isn't my funeral. Come
and cry on the elephant"
"All right" said Andrea. docllely.
"How many were there? heard a
troupe-an army of them"
"You heard just one" said M'sungo.
Dabbing at her eyes with soiled fists,
she followed him to the side OF the
fallen monarch around which were
gathered the natives, a sort of glazed
awe on their faces, for the dead bull
was q mighty tusker, carrying ivory to
the value Of eighty women. At M'sln-
COS approach their arms went up In a
single gesture and from one throat
they yelled, "Bai-ye-te"
{ Scarcely had the cry of homage died
away when sound came to them
through the bush that froze. them into
listening silence. Their faces expressed
unbelicf but their knowledge was In
Sistcnt. 1t told them that they were
hearing O death struggle, the whisper
ing gush Of blood from mighty lungs,
nightly pierced. With O yell they
broke toward that music and suddenly
stopped, remembering that 1t is al
ways wise with elephant to let the gun
10 first.
Andrea. frightened, stopped SWIVEL
Ing. "What is it?" she asked.
II got two" said M'sungo apollo
getically. 'Thats the one that kept
me waiting between heaven md hell
II remember. 1t was awful. But
why did you wait? What did he have
to do with 1t, poor ccar?"
Msungo smiled In spite of himself
HE had a great deal to do with it." he
answered. Until he started tearing
the tree to pieces and took half turn
to dodge the damage, he was headed
right down our trail, wasn't her"
Andrea nodded.
SWELL" continued M'sungo, kicking
the mountain of flesh at his side, "just
as long as he was facing us, couldn't
take the fair mark of. this old boy
That's one of the bits of knowledge
that has been paid for with the lives
of many men. A startled elephant
doesn't charge; he bolts whichever
way he's headed.| FsE
He looked up and added with par
adonable pride: "And that. too, is how
/ knew where to get him running-th,
other way. made up my mind where
to shoot before he was there"
They went to survey the seconC
beast. He was quite dead; one lonl
tusk cleaning white, an ivory islant
IN a lake of bright blood. Soon,
away" said Msungo quickly. He LEI
her to the shade of one of the bill
trees where Marguerite, newly arrived
was already browsing and dreaming
happily of all the evil In the world
Around the nearby elephant, the ma
tives swarmed like maggots.
'Bathtub |" shouted M'sungo. 'Cho
cula |"
Bathtub turned lingeringly from tn
carcass, rushed over. dropped tn
lunch box at M'sungo's feet an,
plunged back again. even have t
forgive him." said Nf'sungo, sittin
down and proceeding to open the til
and lay out Andrea's lunch for hel
The elephant-espccially dead on
holds a place In the native cosmO
hat no white man has ever quite sue
ceeded in grasping. All those boys
ire quite mad. I've seen one seve
his thumb from his body when he wa
ike that and never notice 1t till b
'eeled from loss of blood" W
Andrea shivered but M'sungo di
not notice it. "They believe" he con
inued, shat the meat of elephant is
compound of the flesh OF, nll animal
and that by eating It they acquire al
the leading attributcs-the courage o
the lion, the slyncss of the jackal, tn
gorging capacity of the snake, the eye
sight of the hawk by day and OF tn
felines by night. the industry of tn
ant and the homing instinct of the bee
You rec the line? It's endless; an
just because they have more than
Fmnttering Of the qualities they seel
the superstition will never die"
He. stopped to give Andrea q drin
OF ,safer aud TO feed her first sand
witch. "And that isn't the only thin
that lever dies" lie went on, his eye