Part 38 (1/2)

From every side was this wail echoed: ”Fly, People of the Black Kendah, for the Gods are dead!”

They turned; they sped away like shadows, carrying their wounded with them, nor did any attempt to stay them Thirtymen, not one of theone, leaving none but the dead behind theht that had seeround As I gainedfeet, for now that all was over I felt as if I were nall loose their grip of hi to where his as and stood before her as though confused, ainst whose head he rested, his left hand holding to the brute's gigantic tusk, for I think that he also ith toil, terror, loss of blood and e on the shoulder of a Kendah man, I drew nearer to see what passed between the while she stared at hih a soul were arising in their e the voice, the tones of which I ree, that dreadful brute,” and she pointed to the dead elephant, ”has killed our baby Look at it! Look at it! Weto each other now, dear, as ere before it came--unless God sends us another”

Then she burst into a flood of weeping and fell into his arms, after which I turned away So, to their honour be it said, did the Kendah, leaving the pair alone behind the bulk of dead Jana

Here I nall, whose bodily health had rehout, entirely recovered her reason fro of the Ivory Child some spell had been lifted off her What this spell may have been I am quite unable to explain, but I presuy with her own lost infant and that while she held and tended it her intellect remained in abeyance If so, she must also have connected its destruction with the death of her own child which, strangely enough, it will be remembered, was likewise killed by an elephant The first death that occurred in her presence took away her reason, the second seeht it back again!

Secondly, from the lish country town to that of the shattering of the Ivory Child in Central Africa her memory was an utter blank, with one exception

This exception was a dreanall in e sleeping together in a native house one night In view of a certain incident recorded in this history I leave the reader to draw his own conclusions as to this curious incident I have none to offer, or if I have I prefer to keep theered off to look for Hans and found hi senseless near the north wall of the temple Evidently he was beyond human help, for Jana seemed to have crushed most of his ribs in his iron trunk We carried him to one of the priest's cells and there I watched him till the end, which came at sundown

Before he died he becaood deal

”Don't grieve aboutJana, Baas,” he said, ”for it wasn't you who missed him but some devil that turned your bullets You see, Baas, he was bewitched against you white men When you look at hieza e as it ed to hit the tip of his tusk with the last ball theoff him, that's all

But, Baas, those Black Kendah wizards forgot to bewitch hiainst the little yellow h every time I fired at hireat mouth of his He kneho had sent them there very well That's why he left you alone and made for me, as I had hoped he would Oh! Baas, I die happy, quite happy since I have killed Jana and he caught me and not you, h I didn't say anything about it, a thrown spear struckIt was only a s went on soh I tied it up with a bit of cloth, which of course means death in a day or two” (Subsequent examination showed me that Hans's story of this wound was perfectly true He could not have lived for very long)

”Baas,” he went on after a pause, ”no doubt I shall ht Tell me, is she really entitled to the royal salute?

Because if not, when I aain She never gave ood ones in their way, so why should I give her the _Bayete_, unless it is hers by right of blood, although I a' as she chose to call h upon his mind I told him that Mameena was not even of royal blood and in nowise entitled to the salute of kings

”Ah!” he said with a feeble grin, ”then now I shall kno to deal with her, especially as she cannot pretend that I did not playof her when Jana charged, Baas, because I thought I did?”

”I see, but no doubt it was only a fancy”

”A fancy? Explain to in and whether e think are fancies are not soht so of late, Baas”

I could not answer this riddle, so instead I gave him some water which he asked for, and he continued:

”Baas, have you anyones, for her whose name is holy and her sister, and for the child of her whose name is holy, the Missie Marie, and for your reverend father, the Predikant? If so, tell it quickly before rows too empty to hold the words”

I will confess, however foolish it es, but what they were I shall not write down Let them remain secret between me and him Yes, between me and him and perhaps those to whom they were to be delivered For after all, in his oords, who can know exactly where fancies end and truth begin, and whether at times fancies are not the veritable truths in this universal mystery of which the individual life of each of us is so small a part?

Hans repeated what I had spoken to him word for word, as a native does, repeated it twice over, after which he said he knew it by heart and re while Then he asked ht look at the sun setting for the last ti far beyond the sun”

He stared at it for a while, re that fro, ”which will be good for your journey towards the Black Water, Baas, with all that ivory to carry”

I answered that perhaps I should never get the ivory froht prevent this

”No, no, Baas,” he replied, ”now that Jana is dead the Black Kendah will go away I know it, I know it!”