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Show The Wrath of the Idol By Will Seaton - ! I APTAIX HAYES I rf?lTfhir placed the tiny lm- I uU(Lj age of Brahma on nrT camp table, Pvfrf jfWvtf 1 where ihe instraying i attc&il sunbeams illumined I FSKvPftlPl t8 Puc'kered mouth I tsySSS wonder you li didn't convert it Into mlHiVliS hard cash long ago, cap'n." Mr. Howe, the first mate of the sehooncr Three Moons, eyes the golden image reverently. rever-ently. "I knew a man In Bombay who stole a similar article from a temple, and uJb shipmates found him " "Nailed feet and ears to the temple rfcor," broke in Capt. Hayes gruffly. "And served him right too; I've no patience with temple thieves." i The mates glance wandered from I the small golden Image on the camp table to the perturbed face of Capt j Hayes. 1 The buccaneer flushed sllghtlv. "Never mind how I got the idol. Bill I j It doeen't affect the business in hand. " ! "What Lubiness'' asked the other, simply "The mine-selling business. Do you think I've been boring into the earth j for the last half year without sizing up tho show? We've struck rock at last, and there isn't enough gold In I it '0 buy a dog license. I'm going to ; fait the show, Bill, and se'i u to that '& ' Hindoo crowd at White Marble Their H coolie agents have been syplng around here lately." I I "But that image!" gasped the mate j- "You ain't going to " I 1 "Bvoak It up into email pieces and jfr I j hammer It Into the blamed roof Salt H I tne show with a sc.ven ounce god, H " that's what I'm going to do!" H I Capt. Hayca had cast anchor some IYj month before at the inlet's mouth, LV 'j In his schooner the Three Moono', -'.jj hoping to obtain some of the rich Bfey'i wash dirt that was being bucketed WQ.A fr0m tllP KU'I,ea aml creek beds by By gangs of alien adventurers, raM Hayes had n0 capital to oupport hi:j Youturo; hln crew were unpaid, and each week ww him tanking into TBta the heart of the hill, where thorn wut rowl neither gold nor payable wash dirt. ffiEO The Idea of salting his claim had Kjyfl come as a desperate alternative. HroU The local Hindoos desired his claim; day and night they watched Epyig his entry Into the tunnel, fully bellev- lb&3 log that ha had struck the northern 9$Sa limit of the great Aladdin reef, which LS had returned over 1606,000 in dlvl- Bwa donds to Kb shareholders only u few Bgfll months boforo. Bully Hayes was IMl III 1 ! I I I IIBIMI II Jill hardly the man to disappoint a party of Hindu mining speculators. For two day3 he sweated In the narrow tunnel under the hill, drilling, I plugging tiny pieces of the broken idol into the veins and crevices of the reef. With the skill of a dentist, he scraped and filled the putting fangs of quartz overhead. Layer on layer of finely beaten metal was I morticed Into the body of the lode, j with the aid of a trowel, until tho! I mine spargled from floor to roof with j I glittering specks of gold. Two days after the salting operations, opera-tions, a party of Hindoos, headed by Ganem Singh, a wealthy mining spectator, spec-tator, strolled leisurely from the township and scrambled down the hillside Hayes was standing stripped strip-ped to the waist, shoveling gravel and stone from the mouth of tho tunnel. i I Ganem saluted the buccaneer brief-I brief-I ly. "Not too much gold In that mine, ' J he began, pointing to the wide-mouthed wide-mouthed tunnel that penetrated the i hillside. "I'm not a reef expert," snapped Hayes. "And nobody's asking vou to buy it." Gauem's jeweled fingers seemed to : glow in the fierce sun-glare as he plucked at his wisp of beard. "How I much will you take if I buy, eh?" Hayes pondered briefly, and hU ; mariner became less stern. "I don't ; m!nd you having a look round the mine if you mean business, ' he declared. de-clared. "I want to go to sea; tkis mining racket dooa not agree with my ; health.' Ganem Singh consulted with the others, and, after a short argument , in tho vernacular, entered the tunnel I alone. He w as absent nearly '80 min-utes. min-utes. There were yellow water stains on his silk sleeves when ho came out, which suggested that he had been secretly examining the reef with his email pick and spade He shot a : twin, reassuring glance' at his friends. "One thousand for your stone heap, Oapateen Hayes," ho drawled lazily "Eh. what you think?" Hayes shrugged, while hl:i eyes I grew hard at the points. "Make it ; 2000, Ganem Singh, and I'll hand you j tho certificate." The buccaneer went aboard the schooner, six hours later, and de-1 de-1 posited a parcel of English and i American money lnsldn the Iron safe ; that, utood In his cabin, I "The Hindoo gold-aoouters have I bought me out. Bill," he confided to the mate. "And the point that troubles me Is that wc can't put to sea without '11 mm 1 iiBiiHianm h ai stores and a new rig-out" While Hajes was at Emu creek, j ordering stores to be taken aboard the schooner, Ganem Singh had collected col-lected a gang of coolies and was soon pushing on work within the gold-saltcd gold-saltcd mine under the hill Late in the afternoon the serang In charge of the tunnel loosened with a pick several small plecs of gold that shune between the crannies of an J overhanging reef Ganem was beside ; Um like a panther on the blood 6cent. Other tiny pellets were dug out from the fact of the reef and placed in Ganem's trembling palm. "Scraps, scraps'" he cried fiercely. "There is nothing behind them! Still, we must work on tho wall of the rock may conceal undreamt of richer. 1 Lec us " A coolie rushed forward from the end of the workings exhibiting several sev-eral small slugs of hammered gold. One piece, larger than the others, bora a partially effaced Hindu inscription inscrip-tion that brought a cry of rage from the coolie gang. Another pellet, tak-en tak-en from a water-worn chink In the roof, proved to be one of the hnely chiseled features or the god "By Ganesh, it is the nose of Brah- I ma!" coughed the serang "What; magic la this?" Other portions of the god were I swiftly unearthed, until it lay In 50 pieces before the scowling mob within with-in the tunnel The following morning, while on his way to the schooner, Hayes had a sin- gular experience. Purchasing a cigar, ci-gar, as wag his custom, from a Par-see Par-see vendor near the wharf, he noticed that the weed burned strangely at first, as though the leaves had re- : celved a chemical preparation Casting Cast-ing it from him instinctively, he was ! about to step on the pier when It exploded ex-ploded with a heart-shaking bang'. Satisfied that he was the viptim of a practicar joke on the part of some 1 local humorist, he boarded the schooner and wai- about to descend ; to the cabin. A halfempty paint pot i had been left on the stairhead. Stooping, he raised It curiously, and then uttered a cry of surprise. Inside the pot sat a small brass image ot Brahma. With an oath he cast It ' overboard in time to see a sheet of ' flame burst from the pot, followed by 1 a muffled roar as It sank In the water By degrooe It dawned on the bucca-near bucca-near that Ganem Singh was responsi-ble responsi-ble for the attempts on his life. Ho felt certain, too, that the Hindoos had unearthed po.-tiona of tho god from tho mlno, and he was now exDorlenc- I III III Will ttttrtttlfcMMMT lng the first svmptome of their anger. I The schooner hands commented loudly on the paint pot Incident, but Hayes snarled them to silence as he I made his way to the cabin. Drawing the cash box from the cabin safe, he glanced at the tightly packed rows of English and American gold coins he had received from Ganem Singh In all his life Hayos had never felt his limbs tremble so violently; the cash box rattled In hla hands as though n score of fingers were rapping its sides and bottom The rows of coins broke from tho bottom bot-tom of the box, scattering over his hand tn a chinking wave. Tho buccaneer drew away astound-1 od, a touch of fear in his eyes. His I brain was perfectly free from alcohol, j his senses keen as a new blade, yet 1 before him, Inside the safe, stood his I old familiar cash box, a Jangling 1 pandemonium of dancing corns Parcels of tightly packed dollars I and sovereigns spilled over the box I edge on to the cabin floor Nothing could suppress the electric voltage of the madly spinning coins, they flowed from the safe as though an unseen hand were scooping them out Up and over his bare feet they rolled and spun, 2000 strong, ringing, floating around bin body until each 1 gold piece appeared to bo invested j with the vitality of a swallow. The mellow chink of the money ceaaed suddenly, the sound took on I a new note a thudding, bullet-like whang as the flying coins struck the joists and sides of the cabin The mass of displaced money became a tornado of milled-edged discs, clashing clash-ing above and around him with the cunning of sabre-points. An hour later the mate hurried down-stairs and knocked at the cabin door. Receiving no reply, he entered. The floor of the cabin was strewn with money; it lay In yellow piles beside the open safe and bunk as though a juggler had been at work only a moment before. The mate stared dumbly, rubbed his eyes and stooped to the floor Then seizing the inanimate Hayes, he shook him into a sitting position. "What's this, cap't?" ho gasped. "Who's been up-ending the money cheBt? I'm up to my knees In bullion." bul-lion." There were blood marks on Hayes' face and hands, dark bruises on his brow and shoulders. Taking some hfandy from a cupboard the mate poured a little between the half-closod half-closod Hps and rubbed the stiff, coin-bruleod coin-bruleod hands smartly. i Hayes opened his eyes drowsily and turned with a grunt of pain to the heap of coins laying beside the bunk. "Must have gone to sleep while I was counting It," he explained huskily. "Put it back in the cash box, Bill; my nerves are getting out of order." Hayes crawled from the bunk unsteadily, un-steadily, his eyes wandering from the open safe to the door. "You'd better bet-ter go on deck," he said after a while, "and clean that carronade lying for'rd." During the morning Hayes super-vleed super-vleed the landing and mounting of hla big carronade a troublesome task in the heat and swelter of a tropic sun Ashore, the gun was covered with a sail and dragged down the crooked street of the township, Hayes walking sullenly ahead, his coin-bruised hands thrust deep in his pockets Halting near a clump of cypress pines tbat overlooked tho mine Hayes spoke In an undertone to the mate and de- 1 scended the track leading to the open j tunnel. A score of coolies were visible In the cutting, shoveling the broken quartz on to a heap of tailings at the j tunnel mouth. Hayes halted. "It is the sahib thief who sold us the mine!" Ganem Singh spoke from tho darkness of the tunnel. "Let him come." He came They watched his big shadow leap across the cutting, and, at a sign from Ganem, they withdrew Into the dark drive A muffled whisper whisp-er disturbed the hot silence, then a slow heckling laugh as the white man hesitated near the tunnel mouth. I "Peace, Ganem Singh!" he said, I horsely. "I have tasted your magic 1 and I'm willing to adimit that it has made me feel tired." Another smothered laugh greeted his words. Not a foot stirred within the tunnel. The buccaneer lit a cheroot with painful deliberation; the little gasping gasp-ing noises coming from the dark drive suggested that the Hindoos were intensely in-tensely amused at his sudden appearance appear-ance He smiled forgivingly "That coin-spinning trick was prettily pret-tily done, Ganem Singh. Now' 'he advanced a few paces nearer the tunnel, tun-nel, his chin thrust out "I want to know if you intend to make my life a nuisance with your exploding cigars and your dollar-spinning acts? Are you going to follow me from port to port practicing your black art on my schooner and crew?" he demanded. "The magic of our people will yet deBtroy theo, Sahib Hayes I" A tur- 1 baned shape loomed from the darkness dark-ness of the tunnel. "Go thy ways; there is no peace between us." Hayes reflected swiftly. He saw himself shadowed from port to port by relentless fakirs and worshipers of j Brahma His life would be a constant struggle against malevolent Jadoo-workers Jadoo-workers men capable of harassing to distraction any simple-minded mariner marin-er who happened to fall foul of their gods. Stepping back a few paces, he whistled shrilly, and was answered Immediately by the mate, standing in the pine shadows. The carronade waa dragged Into the cutting by the grinning schooner hands, a charge of powder rammed in at a nod from their captain. "I'm going to return your monev, Ganem Singh." Hayes bent before the black gun muzzle and drove in a heavy package of coins with the rammer ram-mer "I've got a fit of honesty, and I want to stop you and your tribe exploding ex-ploding things In my face." A cry from the mine, followed bv a sudden rushing of feet. Sixteen coolies appeared midway down the tunnel, each carrying a long bladed knife; without a word of command they charged swiftly up the slope Hayes laughed jeerlnglv and signaled sig-naled the mate. The responding gun-flash gun-flash lit up the black mouth of the tunnel, the charge of dollars swept through the close packed mob with tho force of shrapnel, hewing dcnn the stabbing arms and bodies in a struggling heap. Tho carronade was swiftly sponged and reloaded; Ganem Singh, crouching crouch-ing beyond a jutting arm of reef heard the rammer striking a second parcel of coins. He stood up slowly and stared at the crowd of coolies lying within a few yards of the cannon. can-non. "Any more fighting men in there'" 1 called out Hayes. "I'm waiting" The gun-smoke oozed lazily from the drive and floated Into the hot sun- ' light overhgead Ganem Singh ap- peared at the tunnel mouth, a misty gleam in his eyes, as though the un- 3 expected dlschargo had affected his reason. t The buccaneer measured him foot and eye. "You'll swear off annoying me in future, Ganem. You'll call off s your agents, If there are any left, or e I'll rip the Brahmin soul out of vou s with your own dollars." h Ganem Singh remained motionless, his head bent 3llghtly forward "Cease a your work; It is butchery. Some of my men are disabled. Let us talk." a KP3fiSBHH9BHHIIHIiBH9HHHH li Hayes spoke to the mate and withdrew with-drew several paces. The gun was run forward and sighted. "No, no, Sahib!" Ganem a voice quivered to the breaking point. "Spare them that death! It was because you defiled our god that we worked our magic on board your ship." Pausing, he strode forward and pointed to a white-bearded fakir in a blue tunic laying among the huddled shapes In the cutting "It was Radlzar Singh who brought about the Jadoo, Sahib. He Is dead. Let there be peace now." Hauling the gun from the cutting, the schooner party returned slowly to the pier Hayes was first to gain the shelter of the fo'c's'le awning. Here his eye fell upon the mate ascending the steep gangway, his coat pockets bulging over his hips. He frowned I darkly. "Guess there was no need for you to stay behind and load yourself with the Hindus' dollars, Mr. Howe. One thief at a time, please." Dollars!" The mate wiped his hot brow, and drew a handful of smoke-blackened smoke-blackened coins from his pocket. "Pieces of brasa with their faces washed in gold! There wasn't a real one among the whole 2000!" The buccaneer stroked his chin S thoughtfully. "Guess I made that 1 sufficiently clear to the Hindus," he i said after a while. Tommy's Inquiry. Small Tommy (at dinner) Say, maw, what is conservation of natural t resources, anyway? Mama It means the saving of them 8 for future use. my boy. Small Tommy Well, It Isn't necessary neces-sary to conserve tho pie, is it. maw 7 A Bright Pupil. a Teacher "In this sentence, "The man purchased a phonograph." wbat part of speech is 'phonograph'?" l Bright Boy (in grammar class) 'Phonograph is a noun, feminine gen- tl ,er " hi Teacher (interrupting) "Why do j 'ou think it is feminine gender?" It Bright Boy "Because It always has ! he last word." They had been making hay while the til un shone, and when they had finish- ' fL d a high haystack the farmer's bov houted from the top: "Say, mister. IX ow am I going to get down?" The farmer considered the problem nd finally solved it: B "Oh, jest shot yer eyes an' walk J round a bit. . m m |