Part 17 (1/2)

To his astonish He owed this condescension to the influence of the little dancing girl, for she, woman-like, had a memory for rebuffs, and had a score to settle with Mr Co arrived, and across the e the river on both sides Sanders watched the winding procession withhalted a hundred yards fro scarlet u out on either hand for three hundred yards

Then a party detached itself and ca liland

”This,” said Sanders to hio dead one time”

It is evidence of the seriousness of the situation, as it appealed to hilish

”The king, the Great One, awaits you, white 's er; and Sanders nodded He walked leisurely toward the massed troops, and presently appeared before the oldlike an ape in the sunlight

”Lord king, live for ever,” said Sanders glibly, and as he raised his hand in salute he saw the girl regarding him from under knit brows

”What is your wish, white , that you callno presents,” said Sanders boldly; ”but a reater than you, whose soldiers outnumber the sands of the river, and whose lands extend from the east to the west, fro,” snarled the old ue into little strips”

”Let hiirl

”This is the e,” said Sanders He stood easily, with his hands in the pockets of his white unifor was nearer death than he knew ”My i has eaten up the Icheli folk: because he has crossed the borderland and brought suffering towill pay a fine of one thousand head of cattle and will allow free access to his country for my soldiers and my commissioners, I will live in peace with hih

”Oh, ko!” he chuckled; ”a great king!”

Then the girl stepped forward

”Sandi,” she said, ”once you put me to shame, for when I would have danced for you, you slept”

”To you, Daihili,” said Sanders steadily, ”I say nothing; I make no palaver omen, for that is not the custoirls My business is with Li rapidly behind his hand to a man who bent over him, and Sanders, his hands still in his jacket pockets, snapped down the safety catches of his auto fro He saw him disappear in the crowd of soldiers who stood behind the squatting figures, and prepared for the worst

”Since Iwould have you dance for me”

”That is folly,” said Sanders: then he saw the line on either side wheel forward, and out came his pistols

”Crack! Crack!”

The shot intended for the kingof a soldier behind

It had been hopeless from the first; this Sanders realised with some philosophy, as he lay stretched on the baked earth, trussed like a fowl, and exceedingly unco his instructions, would turn the bows of the steamer down stream; this was the only poor satisfaction he could derive fro day, with a pitiless sun beating down upon hi for the death which must come in some dreadful forical end of the business Toward the evening they gave hiuards he gathered that the evening had been chosen for his exit, but the uess