Avon Fantasy Reader No. 11 — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

her and asked which was Loaga’s hut. The girl stopped her pounding and pointed it out. Mogglesby strode to the entry, brushed aside the curtain and called sharply: “Loaga! Loaga!”’ In the dark interior he heard the head-man swing abruptly out of sleep into a defensive posture without that interim of yawaing and blinking common to civilizees. The blade of Loaga’s assegai appeared in the doorway, thea above it the black head, thick lips and pendulous earplates. “What is it, master?’ asked the black man, peering up and dowa. the palisade around the village. “Are the wood-men upon us?” “Where is Mokato?” asked the Englishman in a hard voice, ‘“‘Mokato—Mokato is dead. Last night we found a wood-man and before we could spear him, he killed Mokato.” Somehow the ey of the lie infuriated Mogglesby. “Loaga, Mokato’s head is in the pit wrapped in clay this moment.” The head-man stood blinking his eyes. “Is that why you wakened me? I thought the wood-men were attacking our village.” Mogglesby’s wrath paused a moment in its flight to inquire shacply— “Why did you think that?” “Because we did eat a wood-man the other night,” said Loaga, admitting what he had done the preceding evening. “Would that cause them to attack?” “Certainly.” Loaga nodded and wagped his earplates. “The wood-men know that the Baloongas have taken the dead wood-man’s strength.” “Well, that’s neither here noc there. Don’t you know I will have to te- port Mokato’s murder to the governor at Ghandis!” “Murder, master!" cried the head-man, “What else can you call it?” | “It was the sacrifice of one man that his brothers might live!” “What in the hell has Mokato’s death got to do with you living?” cried Mogglesby. “Master,” cried Loaga, loosing his assegar to gesticulate, “you know when the brothers of the M’Bembi eat a strong man they share his strength between them. That is natural. A man is what he eats! Take Mokato, a strong brave man. Mokato’s heart is in me now!" Loaga struck his chest a sharp blow. “I am afraid of nothing.” For a moment Mogglesby was about to tell the head-man that the chem- ical composition of his body had little reference to the sort of meat he ate, but he knew such an argument would be wasted. So he came down to orders. ‘Look here, Loaga,”” he said. “ I came down here from Ghandis to stop cannibalism. Then for the whole village to march off on the very evening I artive and eat the man who guided me here—what in the hell will the goveroor think of that?” 61 comicbooks.com