Argosy, Vol. 1 (1882) — page 227: what you’re looking at

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

218 rest until he has killed you and exter- minated your followers.” The old man turned about as if he would put his threat into instant exe- cution. Bradshaw seized him and held him firmly. It may be that the struggle of the evening previous was in his mind to deter him from futile resistance, and it may be that the threat was but a ruse to bring Bradshaw to terms; at all events he was passive in Bradshaw’s grasp, waiting for the younger man to speak. : “Wait, Mr. Murdock,” said Brad- shaw; “remember, I know nothing about this mine except what you have vaguely told me. I do not know that the place where I had my adventure was a mine, though it may be so. How do you know that a mine exists?” “T want to tell you, Elmer. I will give you all the information that I have been years in acquiring if you will promise to help me gain possession of the mine.” “T will do anything in reason to 1n- duce you to return to America with me, but I must know clearly what 1 am about.” “Yes, that is right. Then listen, Elmer. The tribe that holds this coun- try is superstitious, powerful and bloodthirsty to the last degree.” “What are they called?” asked Bradshaw, as he released the old man and pointed to a moss covered stone on which Murdock seated himself. ‘“Marotse. Their king is Bangwe, and while he, in ordinary respects, is an absolute monarch, and while he profits by the mine that lies within his territory, he does not know where it is and he is himself ruled by three Arabs who have played upon his superstition until they are able to work the mine for their own gain and that possibly of confederates at a distance.” “Was the man Dirik, I think you called him, whom Pan shot, one of the three?” “Yes. The others, fortunately for THE ARGOSY. us, are away and will not return for a long tinre. Arabs in Africa, as perhaps you know, are traders, and their traffic is mainly in slaves. They are the ter- ror of most tribes, but the Marotses, so far in the intertor, had not suffered from them until Dirik and his partners appeared. I may not know all the de- tails of Dirik’s first ventures here, and such as | know I have been long in get- ting, but I know enough to be sure of the situation. “These three Arabs were the fore- runners of a great slave hunting expe- dition. Following the usual custom, they planned to buy a number of peo- ple from Bangwe, the king, or, failing to make a bargain, to bring a small, well armed body of their followers and subdue the tribe. “ Before they had approached the king they accidentally discovered a de- posit of diamonds that seemed to be and probably is inexhaustible. Here was business that might be made far more profitable than slave dealing. The question was how to utilize their discovery. “ There were a number of obvious considerations to take into account. If they subdued the tribe and thus gained possession of the diamond field, knowledge of their conquest would in time spread over the continent and come to the ears of Europeans. “Now Arabs are held in suspicion by whites of all nationalities, and there is a general effort to prevent the slave trade. That in ttself would be likely to cause interference with the designs of these three, but more than that, if they opened up diamond mines and dealt openly in their product, there would certainly ensue an influx of Europeans who would deprive the Arabs of their discovery, or at least rival them in op- erating it. ‘More important than these consid- erations, however, was the possibility of turning the discovery to their indi- UN CO vidual profit. That they determined to _ do without incurring Mic chiniaigo _____ SRE or