Between Snow and Fire — page 129: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

<4 aon et — slightest sign of resistance or even of life. A Berserk feroc- ity seemed to have seized the man. His hair and beard fairly bristled, his eyes glared, as he stood erect, whirling the heavy club, spattered dnd shiny with blood and brains. He roared again : “Ho, dogs! Come and stand before the lion! Come, feel his bite—who dares? Ha, ha!” he laughed, bringing the kerrie down with a sickening crash upon the head of a prostrate warrior whom he had detected in the act of makinga last desperate stab at him with an assegai—shattering the skullto atoms. ‘ Come, stand before me, cowards. Come, and be ground to atoms.” But to this challange no answer was returned. There was a Strange silence among the enemy. What did it por- tend? That he was about to throw up the game and with- draw? Nosuch luck. Hisstrength was too great, and he was burning with vengeful rage at the loss of so many men. It could only mean that he was planning some new and desperate move. “J say, Milne, lend us a few cartridges; I’ve shot away all mine.” Eustace, without a word, handed half a dozen to the speaker. The latter, a fine young fellow of twenty-one, was enjoying his first experience in the noble game of war. He had been blazing away throughout the day as though con- scious of the presence of a waggon-load of ammunition in the patrol. “Thanks awfully—Ah-h !” The last ejaculation escaped him in a kind of shuddering sigh. His features grew livid, and the cartridges which he had just grasped dropped from his grasp as he sank to the ground with scarcely astruggle. A Kafirhad crawled up be- hind him, and had stabbed him between the shoulders with a broad-bladed assegai—right through to the heart. A deep vengeful curse went up from his comrades, and they looked wildly around for an object on which to exact retri- bution. In vain. The wily foe was not going to show himself. : But the incident threw a new light upon the state of affairs, and a very lurid oneit was. Several had run out of ammunition, but had refrained from saying so lest the fact, becoming known, should discourage the others. Now it was of no use disguising matters further. There were / ' i ' i & ¥ - = 29 a “=e Al st a y "e ‘ho 3 ; y | -— : — © THE i CA. Cite [LICGLS, eos a) > 3s ae ™ : — —— - - “* - = i sm > § . \ n* =— — ——- ot a i oe, — pdr’. 24 ieee Me gs | comicbooks.com