Adventure Magazine, March 1916 — page 198: what you’re looking at

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

196 of flies about a treacle-barrel’s spigot. There was a vast multitude of the Poonan within that Dobo, to judge from that; per- haps every man and woman in the Jallan Batoe; a multitude so very vast, in fact, that the Dobo could not house them all, and so some, of necessity, had overflowed out upon that white cascade of stairs. They had gathered silently enough, like so many golden rats, those Poonan; but now that. they were gathered, they no longer were so silent. That sound which first had halted me was repeated now in my ears. A ground-shaking swell of sound, it was, like the boom of an organ. But it was no boom of organ. It was the sound of men’s angry voices—a deep, ominous, menacing sound. They had discovered, of course, that the Green, Green God was gone from the Dobo. Old Mohong had told them, or maybe L1p- Plak-Tengga; but, either way, gathered as they now were in the Dobo, they could see for themselves that the Green, Green God was gone from that Dobo. And that was the meaning of that menacing swell of sound. They knew! 7 Like a rush of blood to my head, an in- sane thought fired my brains. What ifI should march boldly into that Dobo, into that vast multitude, and return the god for all the world as though I, as King and Man- Child, had the divine right to take and re- turn it. Of a certainty I knew that if ever I could get up upon that lofty Nine-Times- Nine Throne,:I could outface all the Poo- nan, prevail against them, dominate them —in the end, cause them all to cower and cringe before me. But the trouble was, I never could get into that Dobo—let alone, up upon that lofty throne—alive. There were the Poo- nan upon the top of the stairs. They would not make way forme. They would pull the god from my hands, ere I got into that Dobo. With a hundred hands, with that merciless brutality bred of awful fear, they would tear me to bits, pluck my limbs right out of me, mash me into repulsiveness, grind me under heel into a nothingness, unspeaka- ble and vile! ? I turned around, and like one possessed, back the way I had come, I sped. Once I looked back. The Poonan were issuing from the doorway of that Dobo. They were pouring down that cascade of stairs like flies down a stream of milk. And once at Adventure the bottom of those stairs, they were swing- ing up the avenue. They were heading for the Elephant Cave. They were running! ‘Iran. Dread sped my legs. Dread of the Poonan. Dread for Belun-Mea Poa-Poa, left alone in the darkness of the Elephant Cave. The Poonan had not seen me yet; perhaps I could reach that cave and Belun- Mea Poa-Poa ere they did see me. At the top of my speed I ran. From the right-hand side of the avenue, suddenly, came a low cry. I halted, with a sharp clutching of breath, and edged away. And then, from the shadow of one of the palm-trees which lined that side of the avenue, my long .38 glinting in her hand, came forth my own Golden Feather of Flame. I dropped that rattan basket into the softness of the grassy avenue, and in my arms I caught her as, with a little choking sob, she rushed toward me. “My wife!” I exclaimed. followed me?” “T could not help it,” she sobbed. “Oh, I could not help following you, Raj. I was afraid for you—afraid that they might come upon you and close about you, and I not be near to die wi ee “Hush, hush, my brave one! They are coming now. They know we have the god. They are coming to the Elephant Cave.” She gave a little frightened cry, then look- ing swiftly behind, even as I spoke, she saw them. They were like a black flood sweep- ing up the moon-bathed avenue, and like the muttering that comes from a swirling black flood, so there came from them now a continuous distance-dulled roar. She grasped my right hand bravely. “Tung moolongl”’ shé breathed. ‘We must run for the tunnel, the outside!” “But they will have it guarded!” I ob- jected in a rush of apprehension. “Lip- Plak-Tengga—she will have it guarded!” “We do not know, we can not know, we can only try. There is no other way, Raj. In that way only is there hope. Before they come we may reach that tunnel. They may not have thought to guard it. Come!” And she made to rush on. But I halted her to stoop down and pick up that rattan basket. “My revenge!” Icried. ‘If ever we make that outer world, ! We'll make it with the Green, Green God!”’ Like a far away baying of hounds came ““You—you 4 Eomichbooks (Eo)