Adventure Magazine, December 10, 1924 — page 34: what you’re looking at

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

I2 great excitement, mouthing and pointing over a rolling country of scrub to the south- west toward what appeared to be a long low range of hills forest-covered; then, drawing the same circle he began throwing in twigs as there were no pebbles. This action seemed to indicate that the diamond field—if that was what he had meant—was not far away. To the west, black against the setting sun, were jagged, volcanic peaks marking the approximate line of the vast cleavage through Africa caused by some remote up- heaval of the earth’s crust. There were no signs of native villages, but with the spoor of game the country was crisscrossed. Directly for the long low range the dumb guide led them, frequently uttering excited noises. On the following day, veering a bit to the east for water, they came in the scrub upon vulture - and jackal- picked skeletons and fifty yards farther on entered a clearing covered with charred stumps of huts, among which were many more skeletons and scattered spears and arrowheads. “Must have had a raid and been wiped out,” opined Tony. “Ain’t no raid, gov’nor,” said Plessons, who had been poking about. ‘See them bangles? Womenand kids! Natives don’t wipe aht women; they taike ’em as slaves and mostly all the warriors captured alive. No; white men done that.” “But this is British territory according to the mandate!” “VYus; but the Belgian frontier ain’t far away. And see here, gov’nor!”’ The Aus- tralian stooped to pick up an empty cart- ridge case. “See, Mauser sure as gum trees grow!” “Boche! But the British and others use Mauser sporting guns. Anyway there can’t be any boches here now. They haven’t got a square yard left in all Africa.” “T dunno,” said Plessons. ‘‘“Maybe they’re German tourists!”’ Farther on near the water was the site of an old camp with the marks of a tent, not more, according to Plessons, than a week old—if that. “Good ——!”’ exclaimed Tony, recalling what they had considered the dying man’s delirium. Maybe he wasn’t raving after all and these were the fellows who appar- ently took his sack of stones and letters. Don’t you remember, he insisted that we Adventure weren’t the men who had rescued him?” “Yus,”’ answered Plessons; “but if these were the blokes they don’t look as if they’d have stuck at putting him out.” “‘No, but he may have escaped. Pity the poor old fellow didn’t live long enough to give us the real story. And say, maybe it was these people who mutilated this poor -—— here?” “No, gov’nor, the coves what done this wouldn’t have bothered about that; they’d have just have put him out. That’s native, that is. Keep his marf shut and get the work out of him.”’ They camped there that night. Over the camp-fire talk Tony suddenly interrupted wild speculations on the mystery of the old man and the white camp. “Say,” he said, “I’ve got a hunch. If these whites had a tent they, or he, must have had quite a bunch of porters. They should have left something of a trail.” With the rising of the sun they were on the job. Even if the trail was a week old the spoor was fairly easy to read. There had been two whites, one a big heavy man by his boots. They had evidently con- tinued to the northeast; but their back trail came directly from the hills. Thirty-six hours later they came upon another old camp, where a little of the veil of mystery was lifted. Mouthing his ghastly noises excitedly, the dumb guide began by touching Tony as he pointed to- ward the forest-clad hills and holding up one finger; then, tapping his chest, he in- dicated five. “One white and five natives,” inter preted Tony. “Get that, Plessons?” The man touched his ears and his mouth and again lifted five fingers. ““Good ——, four others deaf and dumb!”” Then the Swahili imitated a man asleep, sudden horror, and put his hands up. After that, dragging Tony with him, he went to the tent site and pantomimed one white within and five natives lying outside all bound. Pointing to the sun and making a gesture of disappearing, he lay down, glided to the tent site on his belly and went through the motions of cutting bonds and crawling away. Then he rose and pointed to Tony and Plessons. There proceeded a horrible gust of uncouth noises, evidently registering anger, and he began to cast about in the adjacent scrub like a setter. CoOMmicbook ) CO 5}