The Argosy, Vol. XXIV No. 2 — page 61: what you’re looking at

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

THE TRACK OF MIDNIGHT. 253 “You keep plenty quiet, my word. Midnight all round.”’ ‘This would not be a bad place for him,’’ Johnson said. “Vou get it rifle ready ?’’ Warrigal asked. ‘Both ready,’’ Wilton answered. | ‘By and by we go along, quiet. Nospeak. Plenty soon find it cave. Sit down and wait sun come up. Midnight wake up. Come out. Bang, bang. Midnight he fall down dead.’’ He accompanied his brief, disjointed oration with pa Ras gestures and danced round the two at his concluding words. “ Vou’ve arranged it all,’’ Johnson said with a hearty laugh. ‘When you shoot it you aim there,’’ Warrigal exclaimed, placing his hand in front of his eyes. ‘‘He’s always telling me that,’’ Wilton said. “There may be something in it,’’ Johnson answered. ‘‘In the mean time we may as well arrange our plans, in case things should turn out as he says, because it will be no use trying to discuss them when we are alongside the cave.’’ — ‘We might challenge him to surrender if, as Warrigal says, he comes out when the sun gets up.’’ 3 ‘One will have to do that, and the other will have to rest under shelter and cover him. He is bound to make an attempt to escape, and then—well, the one under shelter must fire.’’ It was the best plan they could’ think of, and agreeing that Wilton should challenge him and Johnson stay out of sight, they explained their scheme to the black. He could not understand why they should not fire directly they saw their man, whether he was asleep or awake, moving or standing, and the idea of capturing him alive was quite out of the question in his opinion. . f Well, we will try it, anyhow,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘ Now we will start for the cave.’ Warrigal led the way from the gully and up the steep bank of the larger one, the two white men following close upon his heels. At the top of the bank he stopped and bent down to the ground. ‘‘ Plenty guiet,’’ he whispered, and resumed his walk, going very slowly and carefully down the gully which lay on the other side of the rise they had just climbed. They soon found that they were walking down a narrow, well defined path- way, which turned and twisted round boulders and trees until it was impos- sible for either of them to say in which direction they were traveling. The night was very dark, and as they descended lower they had to walk hand in hand, Warrigal leading, with Johnson in the rear and Wilton in the center. Then the ground became level, and they went along straight for some distance through what appeared to be thick bush, judging by the even greater darkness. Suddenly Warrigal stopped again and lifted Wilton’s arm until it pointed. ‘‘ Him sleep there,’’ he whispered. Wilton turned to Johnson and repeated the information. } COMIC OOOKSseO)