Adventure Magazine Cover — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

: 18) the palm of the witch-doctor so that he could suitably propitiate the spirits. There was to be another skauri on the morrow at sunrise. The returning porters were due to leave at the same time, but that did not matter much, as they, at any rate, had the donkeys for transport. Not yet realizing the power of superstition among natives, Dorsay suggested that the doctor use his personal influence with the chief to make the warriors think differently or the wizard alter his interpretation. “No, my lad,” vetoed the doctor. ‘‘Noth- ing in that. The chief is as scared of the witch-doctor as—well, as kings used to be of black magic. Even if he could persuade ’em to come along they would never be any good. ‘First time we struck trouble their hearts would stick to their ribs, as they say, and they’d bolt, believing that the awful things the wizard had said were coming true. No, no, leave it to me. The only way out is to try to hold over for a few days and give the oracle a chance to change its mind—with the assistance of sheep or maybe a calf.” ‘You mean some one trying to get at us through the wizard, eh? But who could be doing that here, doc?” “Dunno, my lad. Maybe just jealousy, or maybe some superstition about the color of your hair for instance. Lesser things than that have slaughtered tribes, as the Bible will tell you if you ever read it. If any one wishes to undersand the Old Testament let him live in Africa.” 44 IN THE morning Dorsay awoke ag about the hour. of the monkey. = Somewhere far away a jackal was yelping dismally; ard close by a night bird screeched harshly at regular intervals. He lay still sleepily formulating the fifty-first theory of the origin of the mysterious mes- sage which he wore on the aborigine’s chain around his neck. As he glanced through the tent, remark- ing that the stars were still brilliant, he noticed the canvas flap move. He re- marked vaguely that there was no wind. As his eyes grew accustomed to the light he saw his coat, which was hanging ona camp-chair on the other side of the small tent, disappear. “What the ” he began and sat up. He saw something like an enormous snake wriggling across the floor. As it Adventure came beneath the light of the stars he caught the gleam of a black body. He snatched up his revolver, which he kept beneath his pillow, and dived from under the mosquito-bar. Opposite to his was the doctor’s tent; to the right their servants’ and shikaris’; to the left a zareba of branches and saplings. He prowled around the encampment but nothing moved. Beginning to doubt whether he had really seen a man or whether he had dreamed it, he returned to the tent. Undoubtedly his coat was gone. Money, he supposed, the thief was after. There had been some thousand rupees in paper, a check-book and some loose car- tridges. But the loss of his coat was annoy- ing, in spite of the fact that he, of course, had a spare one. Naturally he related his experience to the doctor at breakfast. The doctor expressed surprize as the Wakikuyu are not very notorious thieves, and con- cluded that the thief had probably been one of-the porters. After a prolonged zmdaba the doctor con- trived to arrange that they should stop for five days until a new quarter of the moon was due, when the wizard would again con- sult the oracle. [Sl that night when, as usual before the camp-fire, he was in a loquacious mood, “I’ve good news for you, my lad. Talking with Yanganga, I very gently pumped him about the Turkana and tribes around there. Of course these people call "em shenzi—savages, you know—and he says that they say they have a white god who is, of course, invulnerable and all that. He is, it seems, the spirit of the Elgon Mountain.” : “Oh Lordy!” exclaimed Dorsay delight- edly. “Then there is some truth in it, you think?” ) “Very weird things are possible in Mother Africa, my son. As a matter of fact,. these people here are jealous and think that the Turkana are trying to imi- tate them, for they too had once a white king. What? Oh,.yes, I knew him. Asa matter of fact, I made him king. He de- serted from a ship in Mombasa and Mahomet! Boy! Whisky—soda! Upesi!” Older and inured to native ways, the doc- tor was less impatient than Dorsay. How- eyer, they now filled in time with shooting. “BY THE way,” the doctor said COMMICLMOOOKS . (C@)