Adventure Magazine Cover — page 19: what you’re looking at

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

Buried Gods wandered too far away he might lose it al- together decided him to wait until morning. He sat down beside a big boulder near a tree. He still had his revolver and a belt full of cartridges and also the Somali’s sword. Where he had lost the rifle he could not recol- lect. He reckoned that, if the caravan had beaten off the raiders, the doctor would surely camp right where he was. The night was warm. ‘The moon was like a gigantic arc lamp. A bird some way off kept screaming harshly. Presently, as he sat semi-dozing with the loaded revolver on his knees, a slight sound startled him. In the open glade in front of him ap- peared the form of a big buck with the twisted horns flat upon his withers; behind him was the herd in full gallop. Again came the noise like a strangled cough which had startled him, and on their heels came swift gray shapes. They looked like wolves but as none are in Africa, Dorsay knew that they must be wild dogs. The procession passed within a hundred feet of him as if across a film screen. About an hour later jackals began to yelp not far away. Then above them rose a weird howl ending in a sound like a hoarse scream. ‘The jackals and a hyena had found the two dead bodies. The air grew fresher as the moon sank. When the foreglare of the sun was crimson- ing distant Mount Elgon, Dorsay was up and began to hunt about for the trail, which after some difficulty he found, but only to loose it again a few hundred yards farther on. He adopted the same method of cast- ing in circles, but this time he failed to pick it up. Possibly he had reached the point, he reflected, where he had shot the horse and the beast had darted off at right angles. If that were so he would not be so far away from the scene of the attack as he had reckoned. He decided to fire three shots in rapid succession, trusting that the doctor would hear and understand—that is, if he were free. The alternative seemed no pleasant situation. After firing, he climbed a small.tree and waited on the lookout. Within twenty min- utes he caught the glint of a spear. . Pres- ently he saw some.half-dozen natives spread out in hunting fashion, evidently searching. “Thank the Lord,” he thought, “the doc- tor’s all right. These must have been some of our Wakikuyu friends.” 13 Then he made out that one was driving a donkey. “Now, that’s mighty thoughtful of the little man,’ commented Dorsay. “But what on earth did he send him loaded for?” He slid down the tree to meet them. As soon as they saw him they promptly dropped into the grass. “Now, what the—” began Dorsay, and then he realized that they must be strangers who were scared of him. ‘‘Now, what am I to do? Isuppose if I don’t look out they'll skewer me on general principles. Hi!” he shouted, using one of the few Kiswahili words he had already picked up, “Njemal Njema! (Good! Good!)” Immediately a voice cried back at him from out of the grass. Of course he couldn’t understand a word, but taking a chance he yelled: ‘“Tndiol Njema! (Yes! Good!)” SIX figures rose out of the grass within a spear’s throw of him. “Good Lord,” he thought, “they a have had me sure enough. They must have come through the grass like greased snakes. “Hodi? Njema? Huh?” he inquired, grinning and holding out his left hand. The six jabbered at him simultaneously. He shook his head. “No sabee?”’ added: “Friend, mjema, huh? El Hakkim,”’— and pantomimed to represent one looking around for something. He pointed to the donkey, repeating the doctor’s native name, and then touched himself. “Mine. Sabee?” They stared. He be- gan to imitate a donkey braying and con- tinued tapping his chest. A scared expres- sion flitted across the leader’s face, and he tightened his grip on his spear suggestively. Then the donkey lifted up his muzzle and began to bray. Dorsay stopped the performance, think- ing correctly that the natives might suppose he was mad. One pointed toward the dis- tant Elgon and beckoned him to follow. He reflected swiftly. ‘They were too close for him to bring them down before one got home with a spear—that is, unless they bolted at the first shot. But supposing he were rid of them, what could he do? by any mischance been captured or wiped Tapping his chest, he CORNICGLOOOKS If the doctor had . (E@)