Show FIVE BLACK MARKS the most miserable time I 1 ever bad in my life said dr macpherson one day as ha sat chatting in his cozy drawing room was spent in a gunboat off the coast of guinea I 1 began my professional life as a surgeon in the navy you know I 1 did not know but as the doctor seemed intent on telling the story I 1 did not interrupt him by saying so we had been cruising about in the mediterranean he went on when we where unexpectedly ordered to the bay of lagos to overawe some miserable little tribe near the coast which had not been behaving itself as a properly regulated little tribe under the protection of the british empire ought to do kakovas Ka kogas tribe it was called and kakoda came in for a good share of honest abuse from the officers and men of the dragon ily when our orders came alie of it was as far as the officers and men were concerned that we were not at unity among ourselves the engineer called bashton Lash ton had been disappointed in love and was naturally morose in consequence what made him more so was the fact that his successful rival was the lieutenant sub an awfully nice fellow only man on board that I 1 cared for gilby had met miss callan at malta and had become engaged to her without the idea that the engineer had intentions that way not that it would have made any difference to him ii he had I 1 suppose Lash tons nn concealed enmity against him made life on board pretty unpleasant and divided us into two cliques the lieutenants clique consisting of himself and me certainly had the liveliest timo of it for the successful suitor of miss callan was the merriest fellow on earth and while we were in the mediterranean we suffered very little from the engineers hostility but directly we steamed off for lagos a most remarkable change came over my friend and he turned as taciturn as bashton himself it puzzled me to discover the reason for though we were all sorry to leave the mediterranean still it was not like gilby to sulk over it he could not see less of his fiancee than he had been doing for two or three months and we had the prospect before ns of a small fight for which he had been wishing labaton suggested to me in his sinister way that it was the prospect of fighting which caused the change in my friend and though I 1 answered the suggestion in the tone it deserved haill it seemed the only explanation gilby said when I 1 asked him tha it was the weather and the irritation with which he answered prevented me continuing my inquiries and made me more ever convinced that it was funk and a very severe form of the disease too in fact he took very little pains to conceal it 1 hops to goodness that I 1 shall not have to go on shore he said when we had nearly reached our destination 1 I wish the commander would lead the party and leave me here to look after the ship it is not likely I 1 answered gruffly and I 1 was glad that bashton was not about to overhear him I 1 answered his nest suggestion more gruffly still 1 I suppose you would not like to certify that I 1 ought to be on the sick list would you macpherson he asked me hesitatingly 1 refused flatly if he had told me the true reason of his fear I 1 might have acted differently for he looked ill enough poor fellow his face had grown quite white and wan bince we started it looked whiter still next day when he had to go in command of the landing party which I 1 accompanied of course when we were fairly embarked on the enterprise his one idea beamed to be to get it over with all possible speed and the haste with which he advanced to kakovas Ka kogas country would have been impossible it the men under him had not themselves been so anxious to get into action and introduce a little chango into the monotony of life on a gunboat however the change was less than the majority of the blue jackets hoped for the miserable little tribe did not show fight and our business was soon accomplished in five days from the time we left the draghu fly we were back again none the worse for our trip except that wo were all worn out by gilbes forced marches the lieutenant seemed more exhausted than any of us and as soon as he had received the congratulations of the commander he retired at once to his berth what surprised me was that his spirits did not show any im eat after the chance of fighting was at an end it seemed to me ass if he were expecting some calamity to happen to him and I 1 began to wonder there might not bs something seriously wrong with his health to account for all that had surprised me in his manner this explanation which had not occurred to me while there was any real danger struck me forcibly now that gewere safe on the gunboat and as r had enjoyed the luxury of a bath after my five days of discomfort down to tha lieutenants cabba cabia to have a look a him in the new light of a pa client the door of my friends cabin was ajar as I 1 approached it and when I 1 glanced into the room before knocking 1 was surprised to catch sight of engineer bashton standing by the side of the lieutenants bunk the fact of Laah tons enmity for my friend was so undisputed that at the sight of his figure in his cabin I 1 felt quite justified in watching what was going on before making my presence known gilby waa lying across his bunk half undressed and apparently fast asleep the engineer was standing over him with a bottle of somo black fluid in his hand while I 1 watched ho mado five small marks with it on tha sleeping mana arm the operation a mystery T oua and inexplicable ona that I 1 watched him till ha put the cork back into the bottle without moving a step to interfere with the man but I 1 pounced upon him he turned to leave the cabin 11 what on earth hare you been doing I 1 asked unceremoniously and the fellow seemed rather taken back it is only a practical joke he said with a feebly attempt to smile unconcern e adly joke or no joke I 1 demand to see what is in that bottle I 1 said authoritatively tat ively my mind full of mysterious poisons and the engineer handed it over tamely the bottle contained nothings but ink dinkl I 1 exclaimed when the great brain specialist reached this point in his narrative and macpherson smiled in the peculiarly quiet way he has when he has perfectly mystified a hearer yes ordinary ink he went on the discovery naturally made me feel rather foolish but not so much as it would have done if I 1 had not been convinced still that his action was in bome way a malicious one what his idea could be however it was impossible for me to divine and I 1 felt so curious about it that I 1 should have roused my friend at once to inquire how five black marks on his arm could possibly affect his happiness if he had not looked so thoroughly worn out and in need of sleep As soon as bashton was gone I 1 left the cabin at once for fear of disturbing the sleeper without stopping even to try and remove the ink stains a piece of stupidity at which I 1 have not ceased to wonder you see it was impossible for me to gness how desperately serious the plot was that the engineer had formed against the man whom he considered his rival I 1 retired to my own cabin opposite gilbes Gil bys keeping alie door open to make sure that bashton did not return to do more mischief but I 1 made a poor sentry I 1 was tired out like the young lieutenant through not having had my proper amount of rest for four nights and I 1 fell asleep still wondering about the five black marks when I 1 woke I 1 do not know how long after it was to find gilby standing in my room half undressed as I 1 had seen him in his bunk but with his shirt sleeve buttoned up over the ink stains on his arm I 1 was too full of sleep however to notice the fact at the time or even to remember for the moment anything about what I 1 had seen sleepy as I 1 was I 1 could not help noticing the look of complete misery and despair on my friends face he was standing at the side of my bunk holding an envelope and when I 1 started up rubbing my eyes he put it into my hand 1 I am glad you are awake macpherson he said in a strangely constrained tone 1 I want to ask you to do me a favor will you give this letter to miss callan personally when you see her I 1 do not want to take the risk of bending it by mail but you will see her yourself as soon as 1 shall I 1 said in surprise at the request ana trilby did not reply instead he turned and walked out of the cabin leaving me staring at the letter in my hand and wondering what it meant I 1 waa so stupid with sleep still that it took me two minutes to think of any explanation at all when I 1 did I 1 was out of my bunk and running across to the opposite cabin in a second just in time too for gilby was in the act of locking his door when I 1 burst it open and rushed in without ceremony the fact that the young lieutenants revolver and a couple of letters one of them addressed to me were lying on the table served to assure me that my fears were not ungrounded the first thing I 1 did was to secure the revolver then I 1 turned to my friend what the devil are you going to shoot yourself for I 1 demanded bluntly gilby made no attempt to deny his intention 1 I am sorry you have disturbed roe macpherson he said with perfect coolness because it cannot make any difference and the reason I 1 asked with interest for the doctor had paused to light another cigarette macpherson blew a whiff of smoke from his mouth and continued his story 1 I suppose you have never heard of a disease called guinea madness he asked and when I 1 shook my head he went on neither had I 1 until gilby told me about it although I 1 am a doctor it is one of those strange diseases that limit themselves luckily to a particular district and is only found among a few tribes along the coast of guinea it is generally thought that europeans cannot take it but the idea is an erroneous one or at any rate there are exceptions for gilbes father died of I 1 it when my friend was a boy of ten his father was captain ot a trading vessel and the lieutenant was accompanying pa nying him on a voyage when they called at the guinea coast ho therefore saw his father in all the indescribable agony of the disease which seems more like hydrophobia than anything else although it is infectious the sight made n great impression on him and since his constitution was quite similar to his fathers he had always suffered from an almost supernatural terror of the guinea coast lie was quite persuaded that if ever he went ashore there he w catch the disease find die like his father bashton it seems was aware of this monomania of his for it almost amounted to monomania and he really had caught the disease I 1 asked macpherson lac pherson smiled he thought he had the first symptom is the appearance of small black marks on the arm or leg pall mall budget |