Adventure Magazine Cover — page 96: what you’re looking at

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

gO feeling, that the boy arrived at the cave with his teeth chattering. Mee | KOS reached the donga, filled his 4 Z calabash with the sweet water, got on his baboon’s back and slapped the simian steed hard on its flank. The brute gave a cough-bark—gwoof, gwoof!— and shot away into the night toward the king’s kraal at a fast side gallop with Kos hanging on tight to its stump of a tail, his feet locked under its stomach. The outline of the thorn surrounding the kraal had hardly loomed up in the darkness for Kos to see when several women’s voices broke out in a wail that made him almost pull out the baboon’s stump of a tail. The ape leaped forward with a baying growl and shot into the gate like an animated ball. Kos called out, “Hz ma!” and the baboon came to a dead stop. The natives who were about, seeing the witch-doctor riding a baboon, retreated into the first hut handy. Children yelled in fright, whilst strong, stalwart warriors told them to be quiet in voices that seemed unnecessarily loud. A shrill wailing of women’s voices came from a certain hut. Kos was off the ape’s back in a second and walked rapidly to the hut where the wailing came from. At the door he met a whole band of warriors who were crowding against each other. One of their number caught a glimpse of Kos’ face and immediately exclaimed— “T giral” (The witch-doctor!) The crowd of abafan gave way instantly. Kos walked into the low door of the hut. The fire in the middle of the floor was burn- ing brightly. On the right-hand side a pow- erfully built man lay; his head was in an old woman’s lap. She should not have been -there. An wmfazi (woman) is not allowed on the men’s side; but this was the king’s hut, and she the king’s first wife. She stroked the man’s chin in a soothing manner, tears streaming down her face. The man’s eyes seemed to be starting out of his head; but the life- luster was gone from them even as the wo- man at his head and two others on the left side of the fire wailed: “Tnkosi 7 filel Inkosi i file!’ (The great king is dead! The great king is dead!) Kos bent down and looked closely at those wide-open, staring eyes and then noticed that the dead man had one of his Adventure hands over his~stomach. Kos shook his head slowly, straightened up and said— “Inkosi yetu a yi seko.”’ (Our king is no more. ) There was a commotion at the door, and six men trooped in. The one in the lead looked and resembled the dead man and was the son of him that was dead and also of the woman who held the dead man’s head in her lap. Four others were his brothers by his father’s later five wives. ° The sixth man was tall and spare, whose very being gave an impression of strength. This was Kos’ rival, another and younger witch-doctor. They both eyed each other intently for a long second, and then the new-comer questioned Kos— “U file?’’ (Finished?) “U file,” Kos answered. The younger witch-doctor pointed to the king’s son and asked— “U yi nkosi?” (Is he the king?) Kos nodded his head in assent. The young witch-doctor turned toward the door and in a ringing voice spoke to the warriors crowded there— “Tnkosi zt file, U Songela yi nkos mbetan ama gubu.” (The great king is dead; the Songela is now the king; let the world know; let the drums speak.) There was a scamper of feet, and a mo- ment later the war-drums boomed and throbbed out their message, which was taken up by other drums until the hills and valleys resounded with drum-beats. The king of beasts roared out his greeting to the new man-king, and the other denizens of the forests paid their tribute to Songela, the new king. Songela, the new king, spoke a few words and informed every one in the hut that when the dead king had been buried on the morrow there would be a “smelling | out” as to who had bewitched his parent, for he had been up and about at sundown, but had died suddenly just after dark. With that he strode out with a newer dig- nity than when he had come in. His broth- ers followed him. The young witch-doctor looked at Kos for a long minute with a faint smile on his face and then remarked, “The king is dead, and Kos is dead too,” and stalked out into the midst of the warriors around the door. The deceased king was highly thought of as his rule had been a just and kindly one, and with a certain statesman-like ability COmMicloookKs (E@