The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-02-24
chapter I5
Worship OF The Gun

Worship OF The Gun
over there through the heat
" waves, the whole coast was
pulsing with the excitement Of
Dyak drums and agongs.
please explain to me now that
there's war on shore" said.
Christine ignored this. eff you
don't believe me. you and your men
viii be cut 20 pieces before you
have got into the Siderong river a
mile"
you may as well remember
this" i told her. James ClyGe
doesn't 1--we by luck. His life IS
n yer dependent upon the kindness
the natives sometimes show to N.
nocent old fussbudgets. The tribes
probably thought your father was
a coconut head, and no doubt il
saved his life. But IL you're going
to tell me how Clyde ought to ight
a river you're wasting your time.
and mine too"
Some color came into her face
then. You are very glib, for an
ignorant man. But you're going to
have TO forget that you thought my
father was a fool What I'm trying
to tell you IS that the rifles we've
put into the jungles are in the
hands of sharpshooters, and they
are sharpshooters that my father
made"
remembered a bullet that had
come a good 400 Yard to miss
Grogan by a whisper; but I could
not believe her In the dark reaches
OF the Siderong | had felt that
something strange was going on,
and that this girl knew wlla' it was.
But here in bright loon on my own
deck ! was simply impatien. and
angrily worried.
Seen ia broad sunlight, Christine
Forester seemed more nearly an
ordinary human--a girl in slacks
and q silk shirt slapped against
her body by the heat and the slug
gish wind. Daylight was kird to
her, in spite of her fatigue. She
had dark eyes and wide, impa-
tient mouth. and there were freck-
les across her nose, showing
through the deep-ivory tan which
comes from water-rehected sum
light. liked all this, but none Of ID
made her mysterious To imply
that she knew more about what
was going on n the jungle than ]
did seemed nonsense.
She said. "You don't understand
this because you don't know Su-
mantang-you don't bother 70
know Il" A fare of spirit came
into her voice. offsetting her IA
tigue. AN African from Seneeam-
bia and . Dyak from the Tomarrup
are the same thing 10 you You say
that we don't know our business. ]
tell you that you don't know yours
or even begin TO. You don't know
the least of your working mate
rails. How many island languages
do you speak. Mr.. Thorne? One7
She turned on me. "Let me hear
you say elephant in Malay" she
commanded
"Hathi." said.
@You see? You brought q cor
rupted word out OF India. hardly
known even there. / viii say 'ele-
plant for you: gaji in Singapore.
Opdh in Kanoyan. elliddh In To-
narrup. chidan in Palowit. Want
some more?"
God forbidl"
The drawing down Of her mouth
matched the contemr in her voice.
you've made il your sole business
10 swindle ignorant islanders Sut Of
their thinEs--and how you bungle
III How do you expect 20 cheat
them skillfully, when you can't
even understand what shey say?"
Secret Society
I WAS silent for the moment and
i she took advantage Of this run.
ming ahead with her quick, nervous
speech She said. III tell you ex-
actly how these sharpshooterx
were made
Il seemed that seven years ago
her father had lived for six months
with q small tribe of hill DyhbEs. up
at the headwate-s OF the Tomar-
rup. Forester knew Dyaks: he
knew things about their religion
that their priestesses didn't know
And he was able to bring them the
white mans semi-maaical gifts.
Somehow he managed to form q
little secret society. admitting 10
chiefs and sons OF chiefs - the
picked men of the tribe. Upon these
he brought to bear everything he
knew about their reliaion--all TO .
single purpose. And the thing he
centered bis society upon was q
single gun.
They surely must have seen
guns before | said brlsouely.
They had a few gaSpipe guns.
But they had never seen = gun ike
this. Nv father could knock the eye
out OF 4 calao az 200 yards with