Evening star., 1936-06-21
Chapter VIII
The Beat of the Tomfom

~ Y NOON that day the clouds
| - that Betty had noticed piled
up behind the nearby hills,
~ launched a torrent of rain.
1t rained all afternoon, and the at
mosphere of the lonely old house
seemed to grow more tense and
ominous with every passing hour.
Betty. Bill and Tuck passed the
time as best they could in the library.
Betty was nervous and jumpy. and
once when Wambi appeared suddenly
from the hall, she was barely able to
! choke down a scream. Bill and Tuck
watched her with concern in their
eyes, and purpoSely refrained from
discussing the situation, for fear that
| they might alarm her further.
But when they finally went to bed
that night, Bill Immediately spoke to
Tuck about Betty.
We've got to get Betty out OF
here" he said determinedly. II hate
to go away and leave Uncle Joel to
the mercy of those two men, but
Betty's in bad shape, and she's get
ting worse all the time. She's simply
frightened to death-and I don't
blame her"
Neither do l." Tuck replied. But
the point is, how can we get her
away? Will Capt. Gregg let her go?
know it sounds ridiculous to say that
Betty is prisoner herein America,
in the twentieth century. But as q
matter of fact, she is, simply be-
cause to Capt Gregg and Wambi,
this isn't America, but the African
jungle"
Bills face had darkened at the
mention of Capt. Gregg. TITS up to
us to figure out a way to get her out
Of here" he said. Well talk it over
tomorrow. Maybe we can all leave
after the house is quiet tomorrow
night. They wouldn't discover our
absence until morning, and by that
time we could be out of their reach"
THE two boys fell asleep with the
sound of the rain on the roof
beating steadily in their ears. It must
have been several hours later that Bill
stirred restlessly and awakened. At
first he thought he had been having
bad dream, for his nerves were tin
Cling with alarm and apprehension.
Then gradually he realized that he
had not been dreaming. The rain had
become merely light patter on the
porch roof, and as Bill sat up In bed,
he heard sound that was not the
rain. It brought him sharply awake
and he shook Tuck violently.
"Tuck!" he whispered tensely.
There's something going on down in
the Summer house!"
Tuck was awake In an instant. To-
gether they hurried to the window,
where they crouched, shivering in the
chill dampness of the night air
Through the misty rain they could
make out the dark bulk of the Sum-
mer house down the slope. A faint
light was stealing out through the
cracks of its boards.
"Listen!" Bill breathed. From the
Summer house, low and muff1ed, came
the regular, pulsing beat Of a TOM
tom. Endlessly, over and over again,
its throbbing measure was repeated.
Bill felt his scalp prickle, and he saw
that Tuck's face was strained and set.
Then gradually, ominously, the
tempo of the drums beat increased.
Faster and faster 1t came, and sud-
denly wild cry rent the night air.
Bill clutched the window sill until his
fingers ached, and Tuck's lips breathed
q low, tremulous whistle.
"Boy!" gasped Tuck. 1T gets you,
doesn't it?"
THE drum had stopped for a mo-
ment after the wild cry, but now
1t started up again, slow and muffled
as before. With an impulsive gesture,