The Washington herald., 1921-09-11

sus Palace Of the Jackals-a splendor lost
70 the world forever when the sluggish waters
q the srsat river awakened to sudden action
5 had broken their leash and in suhsidinE had
teft the stately structures buried beneath
OF the past now stood the modest and pro-
saic town Of Gondokoro.
Despite its lack Of charm and luxury, the
present town was of no little strategic i'm
portance. By accident Of location It formed
ths gateway for all trading between the in
erior and the coast towns. Any caravan
passing above the town must brave the hor-
rors OF unbreken jungle; any attempting to
pass below was confronted by great stretches
OF bottomless swamp. backed sy rugged hill
ssuntry. - y. p
To this historic spot the Black Horse Tros,
had bean ordered for temporary duty under
Colonel O. @. Gordon, better kpovn =,
oninese Gordon, Governor Of the equatorial
resiens' Tor the purpose Of putting an end to
. nourishins slave trafnc.
Following our initial attack upon IN. ...
petition led by Zobeir Pasha. I'm which IN.
latter escaped with his life only by aba ndon
ing his large train of slaves, a bulletin had
oeen posted far and wide to the effect that
nose chiefs engaged in this unholy traffic
must either furnish satisfactory bond for
sneir oiscontinuance Of the practice or be
seemed outlaws By the Crown and dealt with
accordingly.
number Of the Arab leaders readily
accepted the new order of things and estab-
hSned themselves along more respectable II
'ehs prontaole lines, but a dozen or more Of
tne shelks, including Zobeir Pasha, con-
'nued to ply their trade in /. small vsy in
open defiance, although to be trn. tb.,
painstakingly avoided Gondokoro. -knor;n,
thst an attempt to pass the guards a. ~.
city gates would result in their inn.d,...
apprehension, court t-marti.l and 80.
convictioa. 'ain
OUCH was the status Of affair,
- nawiess day Ioitered ju,, o,,.-.,
gates aimlessly watching all th.. ue . tne
Ou'o me IN sort OF impersonaI y,y =
was just finishing my pipe when . I,,,.
caravan came winding its way toward N.
city. The animals were evideptlv -
from their journey under the weight ~ ,ho,,
ourdens-great casks of wine and o,I tn.
atter were stained and streaked WITH
and use and silently testified as to tb. on.I,,,
Of the contents tUah''
turning To Stevens, who was squanderi,,
the hour with me, remarked:
Our presence in town appear. =, \.
eausing revival Of trade From all
earned from the shopkeepers, IL ...n,s +h.,
no real consignment of wine or oil b,. h.s-,
received from the interior for months. Tb,.
II really fair sized caravan"
And judging from sp,.,r.,. ct.
stevens replied, this is a lot which .o,n.-
'ne has bad stored for years. Look .t n.
Of those hosshesds."
Continuing our Conversation
rack toward the gates. Nv srots -
over l subconsciously tapnad
'"e OF tne barrels to rid the bowl IT tb,
1s' and much as one strikes each bos,,.
on picket fence when mssing, I con-
',nued to tap each barrel as we passed down
'ne line OF beasts. Il was only when W.
we're nearing the end Of the string Of wait :
ing animals that my senses were rou.ed
from their state Of satisfied meditation unoD
the perfect beauty Of the day and our inn
mediate surroundings. Why had not been
alive to Il from the first cannot imagine,
but with a start I realized tha. tn. not,
produced by the striking Of my pipe axain.t
the casks was not rs 1t should be not that
II had the sound Of an empty barrett
did not-rather It lacked the dead thump
one expects when . full eoutainer is struck
This was after all but q tridinx thinx
yet intuition and experience both whispered
insistently that either the abnormal or ~.
abnormal demanded Investigation. was
about to call Stevens attention to IN, sound
when the ovsrseer Of the caravan returned
from q parlsJ at the gate and met us
Bowins low, he greeted US with every marx
Of deferential courtesy. We in turn con
graduated him upon the size of bis caravan
and wished him the best of fortune in tn.
disposition Of his merchandise. This he
considered hattering.
Nowhere in the whole river country can
you find its equal" be declared, and, put
ting bis finger to bis lips a. q warning for
silence, he continued, Ssh! will show
.'ou the wine for which the gods quarrel. I"
Producing a testing tube from his belt,
he motioned Us to the opposite side of the
lead animal and dextsrously drew q hask
Of sparkling native wine.
"A bit warm, sire, but the flavor cannot
be equaled."
We both tasted his wine, finding 1t not
displeasing and again wishing him a sue
ee.eful day at bargaining, we once more
started for the gstes. I could not resist
the temptation to tap the casks with my pipe,
which I still held In my hand. A dull,
sluggish thump, lacking the peculiar sound
the others had produced, was my answer.
What did it mean? Was It only q typical
traders trick, an attempt to short measure
hi, customers or -, my brain failed to
srer any other suggestion.
Ny childish, perhaps foolish, prsmonitiOn
,d evil would not be shaken of, and upon
re-entering the city 1 ordered Stevens 70
remain near the gates, follow the caravan.
I...--.in. its destination and renort any I'm