Part 30 (2/2)

”It would be better if you killed yourself,” she said

”I think so,” said Sanders dully, and fumbled for his revolver

It was half drawn, his thued in the bushes and the woman fell forithout a word

Ahmid, the Houssa, was ever a bad shot

”I believe,” said Sanders, later, ”that you took your rifle to killunder the influence of M'Lino, so I will ainst you”

”Master,” said the Houssa si of the ave the order tosurprised Sanders except the ignorance of the average stay-at-hoe peoples of Africa Queer things happened in the ”black patch”-so the coast officials called Sanders' territory-s, but Sanders was never surprised He had dealings with folks who believed in ghosts and personal devils, and he sy that it is very difficult to ascribe all the evils of life to huencies

Sanders was an unquiet ht him, and a little mad; this also was the native view Worst of all, there was no ht be depended upon to arrive after the rains, sending word ahead of their coood way-the Isisi, the Ochori, and the N'Goreed upon this-because, with ti of the Coht the ugly evidence of fault, to clean up and make tidy the muddle of folly

It was bad to step sheepishly forth fro sun, with all the debris of an overnight feastto your discredit, and face the cold, unwavering eyes of a little brown-faced man in immaculate white The switch he carried in his hand would be sestively, and there were always four Houssa soldiers in blue and scarlet in the background, immobile, but alert, quick to obey

Once Sanders cae at dahen by every known convention he should have been resting in his coalow some three hundred h the village street just as the sun topped the trees and long shadows ran along the ground before the flood of lee was silent and deserted, which was a bad sign, and spoke of overnight orgies Sanders walked on until he ca square near the palaver house, and there the black ruin of a dead fire so raking ast the embers

”Pah!” said Sanders, with a wry face

He sent back to the steauard, then he walked into the chief's hut and kicked hi, though thearm

”Telemi, son of O'ari,” said Sanders, ”tellyou-man-eater and beast”

”Lord,” said the chief, ”we chopped this ht, and carrying away our goats and our dogs Besides which, we did not know that you were near by”

”I can believe that,” said Sanders

A lo-koli beat the villages to wakefulness, and before a silent assee was scientifically flogged

Then Sanders called the elders together and said a feords of cheer and comfort

”Only hyenas and crocodiles eat their kind,” he said, ”also certain fishes” (There was a general shudder, for ast the N'Gombi to be likened to a fish is a deadly insult) ”Cannibals I do not like, and they are hated by the King's Government Therefore when it comes to my ears-and I have many spies-that you chop man, whether he be ene sorely; and if it should again happen I will bring with me a rope, and I will find me a tree, and there will be broken huts in this land”

Again they shuddered at the threat of the broken hut, for it is the custom of the N'Goive his spirit free egress