| Show fn an ac k RUN ps 9 s gol go d BY BEATRICE illustrations by irwin mym myers copyright by hughea massie co CHAPTER X continued ia not so the wretched alcer spicer with isome come stage idea of it himself a as a mighty hero urging him on he seized belze his bis rille and before either of us its could stop him had pumped purn pid luiu hall a dozen bullets into the chodd the star shell of profanity that touched of upon this would have done credit to flanders l where by the way he had probably learned it if spicer hold himself with fr forearms Ir eurma earms could and did but the time had passed pas ed for chrit ono one luan juan had fallen and the rest hoo hoo ing ns as headhunters hend head huntera hunters do were right on the top of us ila you could not blaire them T they hey ivere were defending their homes and their women from incredible white monsters who had bad made the first attack if we had bad avoided the village there would have been no trouble so I 1 remember thinking fit at the time but there was not much chance for thought we had all we could do in the next few minutes to keep our skulls from being smashed by stone clubs and our bodies spitted by the effective broad blade arrow used for infighting there can be only one end to such a light fight carriers fairly ran amuck mine followed them rind and though and I 1 tried our best to hold the brutes as well as we could while defending ourselves they made a shambles of the village square in about six minutes almost nil all that were left of the tribe bolted into the bush and the carriers pursued hoo bloing booing in triumph there Is nobody braver than your papuan when upheld by superiority oi of arms I 1 have said that almost all left one remained a huge powerful fellow with flery aery sunken eyes like a gorillas and arms that could have hugged a bear I 1 notice him until the carriers had charged out of the village then som something thing happened and happened so quickly that I 1 time to realize it before it was done the big fellow who had bad been biding his time made a leap half across the village square caught spicer in his gorilla like arms and sprang with him right over the precipice still spouting the eloquence of flanders and bart bair followed as fast as he could but fast enough lie he stood hanging over the edge alternately cursing spicer and the chief I 1 gathered from it a few red hot sentences that the black gorrilla gorr llla was one of the party into which spicer had foolishly fired some borne days earlier that the whole trouble which beset u us was duo due to his earlier folly this explained what had been puzzling we me the reason for an ambush that the tribe had sprung on us it would have been more natural for them to clear out when they saw us coming I 1 time to think nebout that how ever nor time to think about anything save one tact fact which blazoned itself on my mind that a white man captured alive by it a new guinea tribe is very much worse than dead and as the savage lind done I 1 jumped clear over the precipice I 1 heard shout ns as I 1 went no doubt he thought I 1 had suddenly gone toad naad perhaps there was a little madness in the act because I 1 could not he be 1 quite sure abat I 1 should light where I 1 X ilk spicer Inson insensible sible I 1 judged but he waa limp and powerless with sheer fright reckoned the chief had lighted on some sate safe unseen ledge I 1 saw the led ledge ge as I 1 leaped managed to hit it and then having boot soles luste instead adof of bare prehensile feet to hold va with I 1 lost footing it was touch and go but I 1 did not go that time I 1 got one elbow round a stone clasped clashed a projecting root with the other hand band anti managed to wriggle lack to safety the chief had bad disappeared I 1 made after him fm round the corner comer of the cliff 1 I did not look down the path was not ns as wide as a bouk book cover I 1 carne ou the savage in a few mb moments ments ile he was carrying carryl nit spicer with due regard to itier b the luw law of centrifugal force well on the outside of the ledge so that the luckless fellows les legs tiling hung out over oer no not tiling liln ut fill spicer insensible I 1 but lie he was limp and powerless with sheer right fright there was no will of getting him unless unites ine fine risked tits his life so boring bering what want ans to happen to liln jilin it if the savage KO got away with him I 1 toppled that worthy over with a s shot right into the back anc from my 45 colt and stood by to grub grab it wits a near than thing so BO near that I 1 used to vake up tit in the night and remember it afterward the chief went down with a yell jell that was like the long screech of it u train going into a tun tunnel tiel I 1 never lapard lils hla crash I 1 had selled Sp leers legs almost as I 1 tired but dewent oer ever tle cliff too and if I 1 luid had not drol dropped ped into a sitting position and luckily jammed one foot against a stone I 1 should have gone after As it was I 1 had to hold up his entire weight until coxon who lind been scrambling anti and cursing nil all I 1 this time trying to get down the cliff face managed to reach us and take hold I 1 was pretty nearly done then between us its we got up and bullied and shoved him somehow onto level grou ground nl ile he wits barely able to speak we gave blin whisky and started collecting the carr carriers lers we were oft off the line of the village by now nothing more was seen oi 01 the tribe who had ambushed us two carriers had been clubbed and a third damaged we had to carry him hoping he might recover again Tata tata had drawn blood on the road once more I 1 forgot the whole business it seemed that did not however when we were camped that night lie he got me away from spicer who seemed to like we me rather less than he had done before on account of that mornings business and spoke as I 1 had not expected to hear him sp speak ettIc jle lie seemed to think absurdly that my hurried dive of the morning and my rescue of spicer were something to be praised he seemed to want inexplicably to make up for or it reward it this was bonzer what you did lie said looked for a word and falling failing to find it repeated bonzer I 1 have then he fell silent and his hands bands dangled loose at his sides he looked at them as if they belong to him before ae went on 1 I 1 tell you clear out you clear out what 1 I cant go back on my mates but clear out I 1 looked at him puzzled was he trying to win the race into port moresby get first with tin an application to the P mines was it IL a trick caxton was notoriously tricky or what was it tie he saw my doubt seemed to lose his temper about it ft ive warned you he snapped ill say one more thing because it was bonzer take another road get to daru get across to the island clear there are countries youre not 61 believing leving me well vell go your own way go to h 1 I 1 ile he added a few embroideries and stalked oft off he seemed to be annoyed with himself I 1 gave the matter little thought it I 1 had considered it ft had acted otherwise than lhnn I 1 did the course of two lives certainly three or four possibly would have been changed but what Is to be will be I 1 went on so we came back to the romilly river we crashed through the last of the alomas we left the heat and heavy smell of the bush and came into the tresh fresh scents of flowing water and the sweep of the river wind before us showed the green marshy bank and on the batik bank ft a little group of tents white ridged with separate files dies government tents there were white people near the tents I 1 did not look at them or even wonder who they were for unbelievably I 1 saw a womans comans figure detach itself from the group and move towards roe me I 1 heard it speak nay my name and it was pla CHAPTER XI I 1 suppose that the appearance of pla there on the romilly river far from civilization when I 1 bad thought tier her safe with her parents by this time might well have aston astonished libed me alfr t K K ihm HH started me guessing and wondering it did not athirst at first nothing on earth seemed so natural and right as aa that she should be there should be anywhere where I 1 she was my mate she only out of all the women to in the world all whom I 1 had known nil all whom I 1 haid had not known this was as plain to me as the swing of the 8 sun un frum from enst to west the rest ot of it followed some way apart from fro inthe the othero othera she eho stood on a clear space of marshy grass it came to me that she had something private to say I 1 walked towards her and stopped I 1 can recall the wimpling sound bound of the romilly waters against the anchored launch smell the smoke of the camp fires seo see the little group of white men standing f I dy then phil I 1 want you to marry manow me M an now 11 ceremoniously apart I 1 remembered that 1 I was just beginning to feel fee ft a certain uneasiness that struggled for supremacy against the mastering joy of her presence her face when I 1 saw caw it 11 near seemed unusually grave then I 1 caught her hands and held them for ian tan endless minute and I 1 was sure that the trouble did not cot matter whatever it was because it had bad left lefi her alive and myself alive and both of us together phil she said with curt directness as if seconds minutes were counted will you do something for me I 1 want you to make a blindfold promise and you wont like that I 1 want you to promise ask ash no questions I 1 did not like li keit it still I 1 Lan answered ill promise anything you choo cli seand and asli ask nothing then fall I 1 want you to marry me now the promise held as a heel ropo holds it a horse that would break away if only it dared A hundred questions were in my eyes I 1 have no doubt I 1 have no doubt either that the whole hundred were drowned swept out of sight in the he tide of fierce triumph that caught me when I 1 realized that pin was to be mine today she read me theres a mission ary with us she said air gartney hes coming now hell marry us but I 1 cant go with you go with me ive come back bacal I 1 I 1 had her hand I 1 held it as if never in life or death I 1 meant to let it go again tes she said dereyes her he reyes eyes looking at me and through me in the same moment as though she saw something very far beyond yes but its goodby all the same you promised phil I 1 ill ask nothing I 1 told her but 11 1 kept that slim brown hand band in inamine mine and I 1 never let it go gowl until rev mr gartney and his two witnesses had bad done with her and ald with me until my seal ring was on her marriage finger and tny my name the black cheeps name was hers till death should part us then I 1 lot let go to place my arms about her and before many any and every creature who might bo be looking on to usa kiss my wife TO BE BB CONTINUED i X X K |
