Amazing Stories, August 1927 — page 38: what you’re looking at

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

452 on the ground, and proceeded to more genuflection and ritual murmurings. As soon as this was over, the toad was replaced, and the squatting giant tran- quilly regarded the landscape. Beyond the hollow or dell lay an undulating coun- try, with clumps of bush. A sound in the middle distance attracted attention; glimpses of color moved through the scrub; and a party of three or four dozen men were seen approaching, most of them as gigantie as our first acquaintance. All marched in order, armed with great spears, and wearing colored loin straps with a sort of sporran, it seemed, in front. They were preceded by an in- telligent-looking negro of ordinary stature armed with a club, and accompanied by two figures more remarkable than the giants. They were under-sized, almost dwarfish, with huge heads, and enormously fat and brawny both in face and body. They wore bright yellow cloaks over their black shoulders. At sight of them, our giant rose and stood stiffly by the side of his basket. The party approached and halted. Some order was given, a giant stepped out from the ranks towards ours, picked up the basket, handed it stiffly to the newcomer, and fell into place in the little company. We were clearly witnessing some regular routine of relieving guard, and I was racking my brains to think what the whole thing might signify—guards, giants, dwarfs, toads—when to my dismay I heard an exclamation at my shoulder. It was one of those damned porters, a confounded fellow who always liked to show his independence. Bored with waiting, I suppose, he had self-impor- tantly crept up to see what it was all about, and the sudden sight of the company of giants had been too much for his nerves. I made a signal to lie quiet, but it was too late. The exclamation had been heard; the leader gave a quick command, and the giants rushed up and out in two groups to sur- round us. Violence and resistance were clearly out of the question. With my heart in my mouth, but with as much dignity as I could muster, I jumped up and threw out my empty hands, at the same time telling the tracker not to shoot. A dozen spears seemed tewering over me, but none were launched; the leader ran up the slope and gave a command. Two giants came up and put my hands through their arms, The tracker and the porter were herded in front at the spear point. The other porters now discovered there was something amiss, and began to shout and run away, with half the spearmen after them. We three were gently but firmly marched down and across the hollow. T understood nothing of the language, and called to my tracker to try his hand. It turned out that there was some dialect of which he had a little un- derstanding, and we could learn nothing save the fact that we were being taken to some superior authority. For two days we were marched through pleasant park-like country, with villages at intervals. Every now and then some new monstrosity in the shape of a dwarf or an incredibly fat woman or a two-headed animal would be visible, until I thought id stumbled on the original source of supply of circus freaks, : ; “AMAZING STORIES The country at last began to slope gently down to a pleasant river-valley; and presently we neared the capital. It turned out to be a really large town for Africa, its mud walls of strangely impressive architectural form, with their heavy, slabby but- tresses, and giants standing guard upon them. See- ing us approach, they shouted, and a crowd poured out of the nearest gate. My God, what a crowd! I was getting used to giants by this time, but here was a regular Barnum and Bailey show; more semi- dwarfs; others like them but more so—one could ‘not tell whether the creatures were precociously mature children or horribly stunted adults; others portentously fat, with arms like sooty legs of mut- ton, and rolls and volutes of fat crisping out of their steatopygous posteriors; still others preco- ciously senile and wizened, others hateful and im- becile in looks. Of course, there were plenty of ordinary negroes too, but enough of the extraordi- nary to make one feel pretty queer. Soon after we got inside, I suddenly noted something else which appeared inexplicable—a telephone wire, with per- fectly good insulators, running across from tree to tree. A telephone—in an unknown African town. I gave it up. UT another surprise was in store for me. I saw a figure pass across from one large building to another—a figure unmistakably that of a white man. In the first place, it was wearing white ducks and sun helmet; in the second, it had a pale face. He turned at the sound of our cavalcade and stood looking a moment; then walked towards us. “Halloa!” I shouted. “Do you speak English?” “Yes,” he answered, “but keep quiet a moment,” and began talking quickly to our leaders, who treated him with the greatest deference. He dropped back to me and spoke rapidly: “You are to be taken into the council hall to be examined: but I will see to it that no harm comes to you. This is a forbidden land to strangers, and you must be prepared to be held up for a time. You will be sent down to see me in the temple buildings as soon as the formalities are over, and I’ll explain things. They want a bit of explaining,” he added with a dry laugh. “By the way, my name is Hascombe, lately research worker at Middlesex Hospital, now relig- ious adviser to His Majesty King Mgobe.” He laughed again and pushed ahead. He was an inter- esting figure—perhaps fifty years old, spare body, thin face, with a small beard, and rather sunken, hazel eyes. As for his expression, he looked cynical, but also as if he were interested in life. By this time we were at the entrance to the hall. Our giants formed up outside, with my men behind them, and only I and the leader passed in. The ex- amination was purely formal, and remarkable chiefly for the ritual and solemnity which charac- terized all the actions of the couple of dozen fine- looking men in long robes who were our examiners. My men were herded off to some compound. I was escorted down to a little hut, furnished with some Z attempt at. ron an Sue: ner I found ed ote rs