Avon Fantasy Reader No. 11 — page 59: what you’re looking at

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

plate-like stones in his hands. He stood for a moment blinking his eyes ta the light, then saw Mogglesby and said— “I thought you were asleep, brother.” “No, I was sitting here smoking. What do you want, Mokato?” “Brother Mogglesby,”” said the black man seriously, “the M’Bembi are going on a great hunt for the wood-men,” “Yes, so I understand.” “They want to attack the wood-men now so the wood-men won't come and ruin their banana fields and steal their girls.” “Do they expect the gorillas to do this?’ asked Mogglesby curiously. “Oh, yes, they will do that after the M’Bembi have killed one of the wood- men.” “Then just what did you want to ask me?” , “I was thinking about going on the hunt myself, Brother Mogglesby. Do you think Brother Spence would approve of killing and eating a.wood-man ?” “Why, of course he would, Mokato,” declared the Englishman roundly. “What's the difference between a gorilla and any other noxious animal.” “You don’t think the commandment to return good for evil applies to wood-men, brother ?”’ “Listen, Mokato,”” said Mogglesby. “That commandment really applies only inside of a race or a nation, much less to the whole animal kingdom. For example, I’m an Englishman. If another Englishman came along and treated me shabbily, I might do him a favor afterward, but I wouldn’t act that way by a Turk. A Turk would have to come clean. Now, of course, the animals - nowhere at all. Go on and hunt. My heavens, I used to hunt foxes with a bishop.” “A bishop!” cried the black man. “Why certainly, certaintly, Mokato. Come right down to it, Christ was a very reasonable fellow; he hardly asks a Christian to give up the sport of huoting. But, here’s the point—draw a line between eating gorillas and eat- ing men.” The fact that a bishop had gone fox hunting seemed to impress Mokato. He began inserting the round plates of stone in his empty ear lobes. After some frowning he got them in and swung his head with the satisfaction a white man feels in evening wear. Then he asked Mogglesby if he could leave his shirt and trousers in his hut. The Englishman was complaisant and Mokato finished his full dress by taking off his clothes and donning a breech clout. After he had completed his toilet, Mokato straightened himself as if he felt freer. He made a lithe, serious bow to the white man on the skin, ‘God be with you, brother,"’ he said, and took himself out into the night. When Mokato had gone, Mogglesby blew out his lamp and fell into a nightmarish sleep—for how long a period the Englishman did not know. All sorts of hallucinations floated through his head. He thought he was standing in the idol house and all of the gorilla heads came alive and began protesting their fate in horrible voices. Then he a7 comicbooks.com