Adventure, February 1917 — page 75: what you’re looking at

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

Nobody’s Island again. Quite—certainly the Lalang men | must have caught and eaten her. The verdict of the ship’s company was “served her right,” with a rider to the ef- fect that they could have enjoyed the feast as well as any one had they only known it was attainable; but without doubt the sinuabada was mistress of great sorceries, and only the Lalang men, who were sorcer- ers of the first class themselves, had a fair chance of overcoming her spells. Still. “She been good kat-kaz all together, ? te. gretted a dark Orokolo with a feathered head. “That sinuabada no old - fellow, - young, good all-e-same young pig.” “‘All-e-same young pig,” chorused a wist- ful band of mixed New Guineans. The Orokolo went on. “Altogether finish that simuabada. I think this-fellow schooner he belong we-fel- low boy. More better we take him, we go along country belonga we-fellow.” “El”? came an approving yell. “Suppose we no go —— quick, some plenty spilit come out alonga bush, bite New Guinea boy. I think more better we go today.” “FE, more better,”’ came the chorus. And the Tagula, with much creaking and flapping, much shouting patterned on the example of the white man’s" strong talk, spread her dusky wings with their zig-zag tears and patched weak places, and sailed clumsily out to sea. And the bay below Lalang Mountain was empty. So, when the launch Black Snake came in tearing up the red shadows of sunset in the quiet waters of the bay, and disturbing the silent cliffs with the fussy p7t-pit of her en- gine, there was never a hull or a sail to guide the passengers on the launch, Camp- bell and litthe Murua. And, the place be- ing Jamieson Island, there was never a visi- ble native about the shore or the edge of the forest, never a brown hut showing among the green, where they could find a guide. Murua, hanging over the rail, looked puz- zled. “Captain Campbell,” she said primly, “‘T don’t understand the ways of these man- eaters beyond a certain point, but it does look to me as if somebody had been playing the goat about something.” ~ Campbell, cool, polite, and a trifle snap- ped-off in manner, as became a naval officer on something very like duty, came out of the cabin and remarked— 13 “Was this the bay you thought they had gone to?” “T thought so, but this is a country you mustn’t think in, Captain Campbell. You have to know. It’s no good thinking, or saying you will do this or the other. When a thing is put on your plate, you eat it and don’t make faces.” “TI shall endeavor not to make faces,” said Campbell gravely. “In this case, it seems that something’s been taken off the plate rather than put on it. We thought we had a guide to the place Mrs. Slade went, but it seems we have none. Let’s have a look at the chart.” He spread it on the cabin table. “Only thing that I can see to do is to run round the island, looking for the Ta- gula. That shouldn’t take long.” “It shouldn’t, but then nothing ever ought to take as long as it does take, in . Papua,” was Murua’s comment, “There are ever so many places where a schooner of that size could be lying without your knowing anything about it, if you only looked as you passed,”’ “TI see them; well, we'll rout them all out as quick as this very decent launch can take us. So you know this island well, Miss Murua?” “Oh, yes, Captain Campbell. I have been all round it, and some way in- land too. We have acquired a considerable knowledge of the natives, though they are not often seen. It was in this island that Pups found Larder Valley.” “Larder Valley?” asked the captain, spread out over his chart, and studying it. “Lalang Bay—Siporo Creek—Clive Bay— Rainy Bay—hallo! Larder Valley! What was it?” “Tt was an unpleasant and deleterious ar- rangement of the natives, Captain Camp- bell. Pups went up the valley on a patrol after a man who had eaten one of his wives.” “Whose?” “The Papuan’s, Captain Campbell. It is quite true that Pups was a widower when he married my mother, but neither of his wives died any but a natural death. And he found this valley on the way, and there had been a feast in it the week before when - the natives had disposed of some neighbors who were very unpopular in the district. And they had left a good deal of the meat, meaning-to come back and finish it another day, and it was hung up on trees, and did Pups and (Ee) JOO (9) Ss (E) Sh ny