The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1920-01-31
CHAPTER VtI.-Continued.

She dropped her head against him
and sobbed. He put his arm around
her and patted her awkwardly on the
back. There! There" 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.
lie pushed her roughly from him.
"Here." he said in quite a different
voice, "this isn't my funeral. Come
and cry on the elephant"
"All right" said Andrea, docilely.
'How many were there? / heard a
troupe-an army of them"
"YOu heard just one" said Msungo.
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
nwe OH thtir faces, for the dead bull
was q mighty tusker, carrying ivory to
the value of eighty women. At Msun-
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 a sound came to them
through the bush that froZe them into
listening silence. Their faces expressed
unbelief but their knowledge was in
sistent. 1t told them that they were
hearing death struggle, the whisper
ing gush of blood from mighty lungs,
nightly pierced. With a yell they
broke toward that music and suddenly
stopped, remembering that II Is al
ways wise with elephant to let the gun
| go first.
Andrea. frightened, stopped SWIVEL
ing. "What is it?" she asked.
81 got two" said M'sungo apollo
getically. That's the one that KEEP
me waiting between heaven and hell
81 remember. 1t was awful. But
why did you wait? What did he have
to do with II. poor dear?'
Msungo smiled In spite of himself
"He had great deal to do with it," he
answered. "Until he started tearing
the tree to pieces and took a half turf
to dodge the damage. he was headed
right down our trail, wasn't hep"
Andrea nodded.
"Well," continued M'sungo, kickin,
the mountain of flesh at his side. "jus
as long as he was facing us. couldp'
take the fair mark of this old boy
That's one of the bits of knowledg
that has been paid for with the live
of many men. A startled elephan
doesn't charge; he bolts whicheve
way he's headed"
Tie looked up and added with pan
donable pride: "And that, too, is hoy
/ knew where to get him running-th
other way. ! made up my mind wher
to shoot before he was there"
They went to survey the secon
beast. He was quite dead; one Ion
tusk cleaning white. an ivory islam
in lake of bright blood. "COm
away" said Msungo quickly. He lie
her to the shade of one of the hi
trees where Marguerite, newly arrived
was already browsing and dreamin
happily of all the evil in the worl,
Around the nearby elephant, the n;
tives swarmed like maggots.
"Bathtubw shouted Msungo. "Ch'
cula y
Bathtub turned lingeringly from tn
carcass. rushed over, dropped tn
lunch box at M'sungo's feet an
plunged back again. "We'll have
forgive him." said Msungo, sittir
down and proceeding to open the Il
and lay out Andrea's lunch for he
1.-The elephant-especially a dead OF
holds q place in the native cosm'
that no white man has ever quite su
ceeded In grasping. All those boy
are quite mad. I've seen one sew
: his thumb from his body when he WI
like that and never notice 1t till
reeled from loss of blood"
Andrea shivered but M'sungo
not notice it. "They believe" he co
compound of the flesh of all anima
and that by eating il they acquire ,
the leading attributes-the courage
. the lion, the slyness of the jackal, q
gorging capacity of the snake, the ey
sight of the hawk by day and of 4
felines by night, the industry of {
. ant and the homing instinct of the b,
You see the linef It's endless; a
just because they have more than
smattering of the qualities they sc,
: the superstition will never die"
:, He stopped to give Andrea a dri
!. of water and to feed her a first sar
witch. "And that isn't the only thi
that never dies" he went on. his ey
narrowing to peculiar look she h
:, never seen In them before. such 10
e as one Is apt to connect only W
:, mystics, fanatics, ardent believers, a
h thoroughly out of keeping with
q conception of the White Man she b
Il builded for herself.
{. "Why, White Mani" she cri
u "what do you mean? What's CO
+ over your
He looked away and then back
her. "Wen." he said, quizzical gle
" creeping into his eyes, "who's afra
Why shouldn't tell once more tn
hats been written a hundred tin
greater adopts than / and never