Argosy All-Story Weekly, January 13, 1923 — page 130: what you’re looking at

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

: Lhe oat a : ras cE oY - HRGALST A! AYA, ehh, \W . Ny oneal ™ Y bg) bs tty ef eth y ’ ay.7 ite } ; 7 AAS, Vib >, Mia “aL : » iy +e wr LAN , Vil ar ay yeeh ore | ne 3 is | na } AA iy Vai 5 $y Py Vieeee d ai iF women from the tree above them, the figure of a white giant, naked except for loin cloth and leopard skin—his god-like contour picked out by the light of the beast fire. “John!” exclaimed Lady Greystoke. “ Thank God it is you.” “S-s-sh!” cautioned the white giant, placing a forefinger to his lips, and then suddenly he wheeled upon Flora Hawkes. “Tt is you I want,” he cried, and, seizing the girl, he threw her lightly across his shoulders, and before Lady Greystoke could interfere—before she half realized what had occurred—he had lightly leaped the pro- tecting boma in the rear of the camp and disappeared into the jungle beyond. For a moment Jane Clayton stood reel- ing as one stunned from an unexpected blow, and then, with a stifled moan, she sank sobbing to the ground, her face buried in her arms. It was thus that Luvini and his warriors found her as they crept stealthily over the éoma and into the camp in the rear of the defenders upon the opposite side of the beast fire. They had come for a white weman and they had found one, and rough- ly they dragged her to her feet, and smoth- _ ering her cries with rough and filthy palms, - they bore her out into the jungle toward the palisaded village of the ivory raiders. Ten minutes later the white men and the Waziri saw the West Coast blacks retire slowly into the jungle, still yelling and threatening, as though bent on the total annihilation of their “enemies — the battle was over without a shot fired or a spear hurled. “ Blime,” said Throck, “ what was all the bloomin’ fuss about anyway?” “ Hi thought they was goin’ to heat hus hup, an’ the blighters never done nothin’ but yell, an’ ere we are ’n that’s that.” The jew swelled out his chest. “ It takes more as a bunch of niggers to bluff Adolph Bluber,” he said pompously. Kraski looked after the departing blacks, and then, scratching his head, turned back teward the camp fire. “‘ I can’t understand it,” he said, and then, suddenly. “‘ Where are Flora and Lady Greystoke?”’ It was then that they discovered that the twe women were missing. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. Ca an Sen The Waziri were frantic. They called the name of their mistress aloud, but there was no reply. “ Come,” cried Usula, “ we, the Waziri, shall fight, after all,” and run- ning to the boma, he leaped it, and followed by his fifty blacks, set out in pursuit of the West Coast boys. It was but a moment or two before they overtook them, and that which ensued re- sembled more a rout than a battle. Fleeing in terror toward their palisade with the Wa- ziri at their heels, the West Coast blacks threw away their rifles that they might run the faster, but Luvini and his party had had sufficient start so that they were able to reach the village and gain the safety of the palisade before pursued and pursuers reached it. Once inside the gate the de- fenders made a stand, for they realized that if the Waziri entered they should all be massacred, and so they fought as a cornered rat will fight, with the result that they man- aged to hold off the attackers until they could close and bar the gate. Built as it had been as a defense against far greater numbers the village was easy to defend, for there were less than fifty Waziri now, and nearly two hundred fighting men within the village to defend it against them. Realizing the futility of blind attack, Usula withdrew his forces a short distance from the palisade, and there they squatted, their fierce, scowling faces glaring at the gateway while Usula pondered schemes for outwitting the enemy, which he realized he could net overcome by force alone. . “Tt is only Lady Greystoke that we want,” he said to his companions. ‘“‘ Ven- geance can wait until another day.” “ But we do not even know that she is within the village,” reminded one of his men. ‘““ Where else could she be, then?” asked Usula. “It is true that you may be right —she may not be within the village, but that I intend to find out. I have a plan. See; the wind is from the opposite side of the village. Ten of you will accompany me, the others will advance again before the gate and make much noise, and pretend that you are about te attack. After a while the gate will open and they will come out. That I promise you. I will try to be here TA CORDIC DOO) Ss (E@) im : ee ee OE Ao et ~ SN ee ee a NN hes