Part 1 (1/2)

Sanders of the River

by Edgar Wallace

CHAPTER I

THE EDUCATION OF THE KING

Mr Coraduated to West Central Africa by such easy stages that he did not realise when his acquaintance with the back lands began Long before he was called upon by the British Government to keep a watchful eye upon some quarter of a arded white ard the unicorn; he had o, the Pondo, Matabele, Mashona, Barotse, Hottentot, and Bechuana Then curiosity and interest took hiola folk, then northward to the Congo, ard to the Masai, and finally, by way of the Pigmy people, he came to his own land

Now, there is a subtle difference between all these races, a difference that only such men as Sanders know

It is not necessarily a variety of colour, though some are brown and some yellow, and some-a very few-jet black The difference is in character By Sanders' code you trusted all natives up to the same point, as you trust children, with a few notable exceptions The Zulu were rave faith The black men ore the fez were subtle, but trustworthy; but the browny lish, wore European clothing, and called one another ”Mr,” were Sanders' pet aborowth, it follows that he absorbed h in London, a confidence trick was played on him, and only his natural honesty pulled hiold-brick ot, all Sanders'”bunco steerer” to the nearest station, charging him, to the astonishment of a sorely-puzzled police Sanders did not doubt that the ingot was gold, but he was equally certain that the gold was not honestly coold-leaf imposed upon the lead of commerce was pathetic

You may say of Sanders that he was a stateserated opinion of the value of individual human life When he saw a dead leaf on the plant of civilisation, he plucked it off, or a weed groith his ”flowers” he pulled it up, not stopping to consider the weed's equal right to life When a ered the peace of his country, Sanders fell upon hiani Isisi,” which means ”The Little Butcher Bird,” and certainly in that tioverned a people three hundred e of civilisation Hesitation to act, delay in awarding punishs would have been st a people who had neither power to reason, nor will to excuse, nor any large charity

In the land which curves along the borders of Togo the people understand punish else counts There was a foolish Coreat humanitarian, and he went up to Akasava-which is the name of this land-and triedpalaver Some of the people of Akasava had crossed the river to Ochori and stolen wooats, and I believe there was a oats and the woeance They cried so loud that down at headquarters they were heard and Mr Commissioner Niceman-that was not his name, but it will serve-went up to see what all the noise was about He found the Ochori people very angry, but htened

”If,” said their spokesoats, they oats are very valuable”

So Mr Co palaver that lasted days and days, with the chief of the Akasava people and his councillors, and in the end moral suasion triumphed, and the people promised on a certain day, at a certain hour, when the ht, the wooats also

So Mr Nice with adenius and his ade of the native, which was afterwards published in Blue Book (Africa) 7943-96

It so happened that Mr Niceh, so that he did not hear the las of the Ochori folk when they did not get their wo round the Isisi River, with ten Houssas and an attack of e:

”Go Akasava and settle that infernal woirded up his loins, took 25 grains of quinine, and leaving his good work-he was searching for M'Beli, the witch-doctor, who had poisoned a friend-trekked across country for the Akasava

In the course of time he came to the city and was met by the chief

”What about these women?” he asked

”We will have a palaver,” said the chief ”I will su,” said Sanders shortly ”Send back the wooats you stole from the Ochori”

”Master,” said the chief, ”at full ns of Gods and devils are propitious, I will do as you bid”

”Chief,” said Sanders, tapping the ebony chest of the other with the thin end of his walking-stick, ”o back to the Ochori folk by sunset, or I tie you to a tree and flog you till you bleed”

”Master,” said the chief, ”the wooats,” said Sanders