Avon Fantasy Reader No. 11 — page 49: what you’re looking at

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

The black man opened his eyes, looked at Mogglesby, then his glance 1ckered irresistibly at the charred circle. “Brother,” shivered the new convert, ‘the M’Bembi have been here. They ave, killed this—this poor man—danced about him—cooked and eaten im. Implications of the macabre and the repulsive flickered through the white man’s head. “How in the devil are you framing this up in your head as a—a tempta- tion, as anything attractive ?"’ “Brother, I—I once belonged to the M’Bembi. Once I would have danced and—murdered and—eaten—" “So this attracts you ?’’ ejaculated Mogglesby incredulously. “The bad part of me,” hastened Mokato, tapping the right side of his chest, ‘but my heart, which I have piven to the Lord, it hates this.” “Well, I don’t see how it is possible—but that’s neither here nor there. Come on; let’s be getting on.” Mokato shook his head, “Brother, I am going back to my village and pray that I may never think of the M’Bembi again.”’ : “Why the change?” asked Mogglesby, amazed. “I am a weaker man than I thought, brother,” said the Negro, fingering the empty lobes of his ears. : At that moment the conformation of the skinned and mutilated figure caught the big man’s attention. “Why look here, Mokato,” he cried. ‘“That’s not a man anyway.” “It’s a wood-man, brother,” said the black man, evidently holding his eyes away from the thing by force of wiill. “Exactly, a gorilla.’’ Mogplesby nodded. “I can’t say much for the nice- ness of such a meal, but I can’t see why you have any moral objection to the M'Bembi killing and eating a gorilla if they feel like it.” ‘But, brother, it’s a wood-man!"’ cried Mokato. “If you mustn’t eat a gorilla because he’s a wood-man,” satirized Mog- glesby, “then you mustn’t eat an oyster because he’s a sea-man, or smoke a pipe full of tobacco because it is a field-man.” The ‘black man arose slowly from his knees. ““Wouldn’t the Reverend Spence condemn eating—’’ Mokato nodded to- ward the prone figure. “Listen,” said Mogglesby, tufning his nose from the thing. “The pov- ernor and Parson Spence sent me out here mainly to tell the Baloongas that a gorilla is not a man. Of course, now it does look a little like a man.”’ “They break down the Baloonga banana trees, brother,” pointed out Mokato. “Well, they may commit sabotage like a man,” “And they talk—" “Oh, come now.” ‘Yes, brother, they talk. My cousin, old Luoma, can talk with the wood. men. 47 Comicbooks.com