Evening star., 1920-11-28

"HELLO, DEAR"
to the river. At this point it widens
into q kongo or pool, and it was here,
they told me, that the crocodile most
ly lived, subsisting on the native
oxen-the short-horned Jongos-
while crossing the ford above. We're
carried down on the longos or rapids.
1t was not. however. till the second
evening that I managed to catch
sight of his ugly snout above the
surface. I waited around, and on
come out Of the water and heave his
whole length upon Sandbar in mid
stream and go to sleep In the sun.
He was certainly a monster-fuliy
thirty-you have never been IN cen
tral Africa. have you. Miss Weston?
fifty feet from tip to tail. There he
lay, glistening. / shall never forget
the sight"
He broke of to light cigarette. J
heard Betty draw in her breath
sharply. Mortimer wa was beaming an, n
the owner of a dog which is aston
ishing a drawing room with its clever
tricks.
"And what did you do then. Mr..
Denton?' asked Betty breathlessly.
Eyes. what did you do then, old
chap?' said Mortimer.
Denton. blew out the match and
dropped it on the ash-tray.
"Eh? Oh" he said carelessly. II
swan across and shot him."
Swan across and shot him..
Yes. 1t seemed to me- that the
chance was too good to be missed. OF
course might have had a pot at him
from the bank. but the chances were
wouldn't have hit him in a. vital
place. So swan across to the sand
bar. put the muzzle Of my gun in his
mouth. and pulled the trigger. have
rarely seen a crocodile SO taken
aback."
but how dreadfully dangerous
"Oh, DANGER Eddie Denton laugh
ed lightly. Zone drops into the habit
of taking a few risks out there, you
know. Talking Of danger. the time
when things really did look little
nasty was when Il wounded congo
cornered me in narrow tongo and 1
only had pocket knife with every
thing in it broken except the cork
out of horses hooves. 1t was like
this - ."
could bear no more am a tender
cuse and got away. From the ex-
preston on the girls face / could see
that it was only q. question of days
before she gave her heart to this ro-
mantle newcomer.
AS matter of fact. 1t was on the
following afternoon that she called
on me and told me that the worst had
hap. ned. I had known her from a
child. you understand. and she ale
ways connded her troubles in me.
Il want your advice" she began.
I'm SO wretched"
She burst into tears. I could see the
poor girl was in a highly nervous con-
dition. 30 ! did my best to calm her
by describing how / had once done
the long hole in four. My friends tell
me that there is no finer soporific,
and it seemed as though they may be
right, for presently. just as ! had
reached the point where I laid my ap-
proach-putt dead from q distance of
fifteen feet, she became quieter. She
dried her eyes. yawned once or twice,
and looked at me bravely.
II love Eddie Denton" she said. L
II feared as much. When did you
feel this coming on?''
at crashed OF me like thunder
bolt last night after dinner We were
walking in the garden, and he was
just telling me how he had been bit
ten by a poisonous congo. when
seemed to go all giddy. When l came
to myself / was in Eddie's arms. His
face was pressed against mine. and
he was gargling."
"GarglingT
Il thought so at first. But he reas-
sured me. He was merely speaking in
one of the fesser-known dialects OF
nIv r.f
Uganda, into which he always drops
in moments of great emotion. He
soon recovered sufficiently to give me
a rough translation. and then i knew
that he loved me. He kissed me.
kissed him. We kissed each other.
"And where was Mortimer all this
while?" -
Indoors. cataloguing his collection
Of vases"
For q moment. ] confess. I was in.
clined to abandon Mortimer's cause. A
man, felt. who could stay indoors
cataloguing vases while his fiancet
wandered the moonlight with ex.
plorers deserved all that was coming
| to him. l. Iovercame the feeling.
Have you told him.
"Or course not"
You don't think it might be of in.
tterest to him.
How can tell him? 1t would
/ break his heart. / am awfully font
of Mortimer. So is Eddie. We would
both die rather than dc anything ts
ihurt him. Eddie is the soul Of honor
He agrees with me that Mortimer
must never know"
| Then you aren't going to break of
Iyour engagement"
! II couldn't. Eddie feels the same
iHe says that. unless something can b.
Icreep far. far away to some distant
desert, and there. in the great still
ness broken only by the cry Of thu
Iprowling yongo. try to forget"
When you say unless something
What can be done?"
II thought you might have some
thing to suggest. Don't you think i