The Concordia sentinel. (Vidalia, Concordia Parish, La.) 1882-current, 1920-02-21
CHAPTER VII.-contInued.

and sObbed. lie put his arm around
her and patted her awkwardly on the
back. "There! Therew 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 a different
voice, 'this isn't nv funeral. Come
and cry on the elephant"
"All right" said Andrea, docilely.
"How many were there? l 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, sort of glazed
awe Oh their faces, for the dead bull
was mighty tuslIer, carrying ivory to
the value of eighty women. At M'sun-
COS approach their arms went up in n
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
unbelief but their knowledge was in
sistent. 1t told them that they were
hearing a 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 1t is al
ways wise with elephant to let the gun
go first.
Andrea. frightened. stopped sniveI-
ing. "What is it?" she asked.
Il got two" said Msungo apollo
getically. That's the one that kept
me waiting between heaven and hell"
Il remember. 1t was awful. But
why did you wait? What did he have
to do with it. poor dear?"
Msungo smiled in spite of himself.
HE had q 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 he?"
Andrea nodded.
"Well," continued M'sungo, kicking
the mountain of flesh at his side. ''just
as long as he was1Hacing 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"
He looked up and added with par
donable pride: "And that, too. is how
knew where TO get him running-the
other way. l made up my mind where
to shoot before he was there"
They went to survey the second
beast. He was quite dead; one long
tusk cleaning white, an ivory island
in a lake of bright blood. "Come
away" said M'sungo quickly. He led
her to the shade of one Of the big
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 p
Bathtub turned lingeringly from the
carcass, rushed over dropped the
lunch box at Msungo's feet and
plunged back again. "We1l have TO
forgive him." said Msungo. sitting
down and proceeding to open the tin
and lay out Andrea's lunch for her.
'The elephant-especiall dead one
holds q place in the native cosmos
that no white man has ever quite sue
ceeded In grasping All those boys
are quite mad. I've seen one sever
his thumb from his body when he was
like that and never notice 1t till he
reeled from loss Of blood"
Andrea shivered but Msungo did
not notice It. ''They believe" he con-
tinued, "that the meat Of elephant is
compound of the flesh of all animals
and that by eating 1t they acquire all
the leading attributts-the courage of
the lion, the slyness Of the jackal. the
gorging capacity of the snake. the eye
sight of the hawk by day and of the
felines by night. the industry of the
ant and the homing instinct Of the bee.
You see the line? It's endless; and
inst because they have more than
s,nattering of the qualities they seek.
the superstition will never die"
He stopped to give Andrea a drink
OF water and TO feed her first sand
witch. "And thfst isn't the only thing
that never dies" he went on, his ewes
narrowing to peculiar look she had
never seen in them before, such look
as one is apt to connect only with
mystics. fanatics, ardent believers. and
thoroughly out of keeping with the
conception Of the White Man she ha :
builded for herself.
aWhy, White Mani she cried,
s'what do you meant What's come
over your
He looked away and then back at
her. "WelI," he said. a quizzical CLEAN
creeping into his eyes, "who's afraidf
why shouldn't tell once more a thing
that's heen written q hundred times