Argosy, Vol. 117, No. 2 — page 60: what you’re looking at

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

210 his warriors, cried: ‘‘ Seize him and bind him!” : Enro leaped to the pile of blazing leaves, stamped them swiftly out, and stood, swing- ing the flaming brand, and not a man of the negroes stepped forward—none ‘rose from his knees! A rustle, a whisper, ran through the crowd, but not one moved, and Meng glared about, his anger rising; his breath came hard, his chest heaved, he looked from one to another of his men, then, lifting his Spear, rushed across the open space and plunged the weapon full into the breast of the nearest man. The warrior swayed, toppled sidewise, and fell dead, but still none rose to his feet. Instead there ran a gasp through the ranks, and one said humbly, fearfully: ‘Spare us, Lord! We dare not! man commands the gods!” Meng looked irresolutely about him for a moment, then rushed away into the forest —this was beyond any experience he had ever known! Thereafter En-ro was not molested as, Nu-kzen at his heels like a faithful dog, he wandered about the camp; indeed, the ne- groes, timidly at first, then more boldly, made friendly advances, bringing him food and small gifts, which he accepted graci- ously, whereat the givers were delighted— pleased to be noticed in friendly manner by one who, single-handed, had slain a lion, flattered and grateful for the kindness of one who could command the gods. Meng, however, did not appear, nor did his sons; all seven remained hidden in the forest, together with the three priests of the tribe, and En-ro was uneasily conscious that they might be planning an attack on him. Still, he could not leave without Va- m’rai, and though he questioned one ofter another of the negroes, none could tell him where she was concealed. The camp lay in the form of a rough circle perhaps three hundred paces across, in the deep forest, there being numbers of little paths, just wide enough for one man, going out from the central space, though one could not see more than a few steps along any one of them, for they twisted and turned confusingly. * , Did one follow one of the paths to the This THE ARGOSY. end, however, he found an open space like the central one, but smaller, with possibly half a dozen or a dozen rude shelters made of two sticks thrust slanting into the ground with brush laid across them, or, more likely, simply a few spots where, having cleared away the underbrush, the negroes lay on the ground to sleep, for each of these little clearings was the home of a family. Elsewhere the brush grew thick and dense, so that in most places a man could hardly make his way through it except by cutting a passage before him as he went. En-ro explored one after another of these clearings in the hope of finding the girl he loved, but, though the families invariably received him with reverence, prostrating themselves on the ground, while the head of the family reverently lifted En-ro’s foot and placed it on his own head, they could tell him nothing; Va-m’rai seemed to have disappeared utterly. He dared not seek out Meng and pro- voke or challenge him to a duel; he felt confident that he could overcome the Bison in fight, and he knew that the main body of the negro tribe feared and worshiped him far more than they did their chief; but he feared that at the first hint of such an attempt one of Meng’s sons or one of the priests would slay Va-m’rai. Plan after plan to discover the girl’s whereabouts he turned over in his mind, but could find no satisfactory one, and he was beginning to grow discouraged; he was almost ready to attack the Bison and run the risk of Va-m’rai’s death. On the other hand, he knew that Meng dared make no attempt on the girl beyond holding her hidden; such an act would be carried to En-ro’s ears, and would bring about what Meng most feared—an assault from the Red God. Late one afternoon En-ro and Nu-kzen were squatting under a tree, the former looking steadily into the forest, thinking, the latter gazing adoringly at the white man, the master whom he worshiped. At length En-ro turned toward the little negro and smiled at his evident admiration, whereat the latter, encouraged by the sign of favor, spoke: ‘““ Master,” he said, ‘“‘ do you desire your CORMICLOOOKS (C©@)