Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 4, 1925 — page 47: what you’re looking at

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

THE GOLD-DUST RAJAH. ‘“‘ Ha-a-a-a!” answered the voice of Du- kut, scornfully. ‘‘ The hand that loosed them is the same hand which is so cunning with cures.” And he laughed wisely. Lansdell made a curt denial. Then find- ing his medicine and surgical kits, and giv- ing them to a man to carry on ahead of him, he led Marcia up the bank to the level of the clearing. “Young lady,” he said cheerfully, ‘ you and I are about to patch up some punctured Dyaks.” “Philip,” she answered tremulously, “ I don’t believe that will save us!” ‘“ Nonsense!” he exclaimed. aren’t so bad as you think.” A glance toward those upright, black pil- lars of Mabong’s burned house, where a few figures were moving about, each with a lighted torch in hand, told Lansdale that the Scene was more than ever unfit for the eyes of the girl. Many dark forms were stretched upon the ground. Not a few lay quiet. Others were moving—a head wagged, or an arm was tossed, or a knee was flexed in agony. There was plenty of work ahead for the white dukun. Toward the left, standing close to the river, Lansdell remembered a house he had once visited. Abruptly he veered that way. ‘Fetch the hurt ones where water 1s close for bathing,” he directed in Dyak. Obediently the leading torches answered his order: and the company now hurried directly toward the spot upon which Lans- dell and Marcia had sat to watch the dig- ging, with the good-natured Malay, Goboh, at their back. When Lansdale saw that the men holding the torches were stepping over, or around, something which was in their path, quickly he put a hand over Marcia’s eyes. Barker’s steersman was still stretched where a stealthy foe had struck him down. And one glance told the white man that he was right in foreseeing that a savage cus- tom of the natives had already been car- tied out upon the dead. Even to the trained surgeon the sight of his former guard was one to sicken. True to head-hunting proclivities, the victim had been decapitated; but not at the throat. Instead, a lazy villager had taken his prize “ Things 837 by a skillful cut through the mouth, so that the lower jaw was still attached to the body. Marcia whispered from under the hand that rested firmly over her face. “Is it— is it anybody we know?” she faltered. “It is not,” Lansdell managed to reply heartily. He uncovered her eyes then, and smiled down at her. The voice of Dukut spoke at his other elbow. ‘ The short instruments which send lead,” he began; “ these will not be needed in the curing of wounds.” Knowing that resistance was worse than useless, Lansdell thrust his pistol into the man’s hand. ‘“ Fetch fresh mats,” he com- manded. “Also cotton cloth and vessels of clean water.” Dukut fell to the rear, making no reply. Just ahead was the house that Lansdell hacl had in mind, its platform spacious, and breast-high from the ground. He lifted Marcia to a seat on the edee of it, then climbed the notched timber which did duty for a ladder. “ Here’s our receiving station,” he an- nounced. Fortunately, there were neither native women nor children on hand to crowd about and get under foot. He ordered every Dyak from the flooring, peremptorily stationed torches in a circle about the platform, and sent men hurrying in various directions to bring what necessities were available. But the majority of the Dyaks ran off to where lay the dead and living victims of the bat- tle, to fetch back the wounded. While Lansdell rolled up his sleeves, \ar- cia, following out his directions, opened the bag holding his small stock of medicines and spread out the contents on a small mat. It helped to divert her thoughts from their predicament. “ There’s relief in having something to do,” she told him. ‘And remember that we're going to win the gratitude of our friends here,” he re- minded her. ‘ They’re going to feel all right about us when they see us making a fight to save their men.” He opened a second bag holding his few instruments. But since white-rimmed black eyes were watching all these preparations An CO GIOok