Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1921-07-28


The mighty herd travelled quietly now.
Bcneuth the thousands of padded feet
Che forest gave for,h no greater sound
than might have been produced 10y the
Increased ,ougling OF stronger breeze
through the leafy branches of the
trees.
Korali was in The lead. Close beside
the village they halted until the Strag-
glcrs had closed up. Now utter silence
rcisncd.
The king of the balloons was anxious
20 revenge himself upon koNudoO, and
So The band was quickly organized.
Korak, creeping Stealthlly, entered
the tree that o,crlUng the palisude.
lie glanced behind him. The pack
was close upon his heels. The time
had come. lie had warned them CON
tlnuously during the long march that
no harm must hefall the white woman
ape who lay prisoner within the viii
lugc. All others were their legitimate
prey.
Then, raising his face toward the
Sky, me- gave voice TO a single cry 1t
W. the signal.
In response 1900 hairy bulls lcapcd
screaming and barking into the village
of the terrified blacks. Warriors pour
eel from every hut. Mothers gathered
their babies in their arms and He'd to-
ward the gates as they saw the horrid
horde pouring into the village street.
Kovudoo marshlcd his fighting men
about him and leaping and yelling To
arouse their courage, offered Il brs-
Ting, >pcar-tipped front to the charg-
Ing horde.
Korak as he had led the march, led
the charge The blacks were struck
with horror and di~may at the sight of
This Vhtc-skinncd youth at the head
of pack OF hdcous balloons
For an instant they held their
ground hurting their spears once at
the advancing multitude. BUT before
they could nit arrows To their bows
they Waycrcd gave ana turned in ter
rified rout Into their ranks, upon
their backs sinking strong fangs into
the muscles of their necks, sprang the
balloons and first among them, most
feroclou~ most bloodthirSty, most ter.
lible, was Koruk, the Killer.
Az the Village gates. through which
the blacks poured in panic, Korak left
them To the tender mercies of his al
lies and turned himself eagerly toward
the hut i'm which Meriem had been Al
prisoner.
IL was empty. one after another
the filthy interiors revealed the same
dishear.cnlug fact Meriem was IN
none Of them That she had not been
taken by the blacks in their flight from
the village korak knew, for he had
watched carefully for glimpse of her
among the fusitiyes.
To the mind of the ape man. know
ing as he did the procliNities OF the
saNugcs, there was but "a single eN-
plantation Meriem had been killed and
eaten With the conviction that Me
ricm was dead. there surged through
Korak's brain wave of bloodred
rage against those he believed 10 be
her murderers. in the distance lac
could hear the snarling of the balloons
mixed with the screams of their vic
Tins and toward this he made his
way.
In the distance Kovudoo was gath
cring his scattered tribeSmen and talk
ing ACCOUNT of injuries and losses His
people were panic-strichen. Nothing
could prevail upon them To remain
longer m this country. They would
not even return To tie village for their
belongings. Instead they insisted upon
continuing their flight until they had
put many miles between themselves
and the stamping ground of the white
demon whose hordes had SO bitterly
attacked them.
And thus ii bcfell that Korak drove
from their homes the only people who
might have aided him in Il search for
Mcriem and cut off the only conncct-
ing link between him and her from
whomSoever might come ina search of
him from the douar of the kindly Bwa-
ma who had befrlended his little Jungle
sweetheart.
1T WIS ~ NVNl ANU CIV u.s. ANEltth W Nv
bid farewell W his babOOn allies upon
the following morning. They wished
him to accompany them, but the ape
man had no heart for society. Jungle
life had encouraged taciturnity i'm him.
His sorrow had dccpened this 10 II sui
len morosmcss that could not brook
oven the savage companionshlp Of the
ill-natured balloons.
Broodng and Respondent he took
his solitary way into the deepest jun
gle. lie moved along the ground when
he knew that Numa was abroad and
hungry. He took to the same trees
that harbored Shceta. the panther. lie
courtcd death In hundred ways and
a hundred forms. Ills mind was ever
occupied With "reminiscences of Meri-
EN- and the happy years that they had
spent together.
He realized now TO the full what she
had meant to him. The sweet face,
the tanned, supple little body, the
bright smile that always had welcomed
his return from the hunt, haunted him