Edgar Wallace

“ A sergeant of Houssas grasped the chief and deftly swung him round; a corporal of Houssas snapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists.
"Lord," he whined, "why this shame?"
"Because you are a great thief," said the Houssa officer, "a provoker of war and a dealer in slaves."
"If any man says that, it is a lie," said the chief, "for no Government man has witnessed such abominations."
Imgani stepped forward.
"Chief," he said, "I have seen it."
"You are a great liar," fumed the portly capita, trembling with rage, "and Sandi, who is my friend, will not believe you." ”

“ A silence reigned in court circles, which was broken by the voice of the Akasava chief.
"I think I will go home," he said. "I have a feeling of sickness; also, it is the season when my goats have their young."
"Do not be afraid," said Sato-Koto brutally. "The king's shadow is over you, and he is so mighty that the earth shakes at his tread, and the waters of the big river part at his footfall; also, the white men fear him."
"Nevertheless," said the chief, with some agitation, "I must go, for my youngest son is sickening with fever, and calls all the time for me." ”

“ Therefore, because we have suffered equally, and are one in misfortune, we go up against the Lulungo people, for we are human, and our hearts are sore."
A grin, a wicked, mirthless grin, parted Sanders' lips.
"And you would burn and slay?" he asked.
"Master, such was the pleasure we had before us."
"Burning the city and slaying the chief, and scattering the people who hide in the forest?"
"Lord, though they hide in hell we will find them," said Bosambo; "yet, if you, who are as a father to us all, say 'nay,' we will assemble our warriors and tell them it is forbidden." ”

“ Sanders was a dispassionate man who swore on the slightest provocation, and had no use for women any way.
When you place a man upon a throne, even though that throne be a wooden stool worth in the mart fourpence more or less, you assume a responsibility which greatly outweighs all the satisfaction or personal gratification you may derive from your achievement. There is a grave in Toledo, a slab of brass, over a great king-maker who lived long enough to realise his insignificance. The epitaph upon that brass tomb of his is eloquent of his sum knowledge of life and human effort. ”

“ You may say of Sanders that he was a statesman, which means that he had no exaggerated opinion of the value of individual human life. When he saw a dead leaf on the plant of civilisation, he plucked it off, or a weed growing with his "flowers" he pulled it up, not stopping to consider the weed's equal right to life. When a man, whether he was capita or slave, by his bad example endangered the peace of his country, Sanders fell upon him. In their unregenerate days, the Isisi called him "Ogani Isisi," which means "The Little Butcher Bird," and certainly in that time Sanders was prompt to hang. ”

“ That night by the light of a fire, to the accompaniment of dancing and drum-beating, the son of the headman brought his firstborn, ten hours old, squealing noisily, as if with knowledge of the doom ahead, and laid it at his father's feet.
"People," said the little chief, "it is a wise saying of all, and has been a wise saying since time began, that the firstborn has a special virtue; so that if we sacrifice him to sundry gods and devils, good luck will follow us in all our doings." ”

“ Sanders grinned internally.
"Spare your breath," he said gently. "You who go hunting elephants, for it is a long journey to the Great Forest, and there are many swamps to be crossed, many rivers to be swum. My heart is glad that I have come in time to bid you farewell."
There was a most impressive silence, for this killing of elephants was a stray excuse of the chief's. The Great Forest is a journey of two months, one to get there and one to return, and is moreover through the most cursed country, and the Akasava are not a people that love long journeys save with the current of the river. ”

“ The rainy season came round and the springtime, before Sanders again stood in the presence of the Great King. All around him was desolation and death. The plain was strewn with the bodies of men, and the big city was a smoking ruin. To the left, three regiments of Houssas were encamped; to the right, two battalions of African Rifles sat at "chop," and the snappy notes of their bugles came sharply through the still air.
"I am an old man," mumbled the king; but the girl who crouched at his side said nothing. Only her eyes never left the brick-red face of Sanders. ”

“ There had been a village there, for Isisi palms grew luxuriously, and pushing aside the grass they came upon a rotting roof. Also there were millions of weaver birds in the nut-palms, and a choked banana grove.
The graves, covered with broken cooking pots, Elebi found, and was satisfied.
In the forest, a league beyond the dead village, they came upon an old man, so old that you might have lifted him with a finger and thumb.
"Where do the young men go in their strength?" he mumbled childishly; "into the land of small devils? Who shall guide them back to their women? ”

“ In the grey of the morning the Akasava chief mustered six hundred spears and three score of canoes, and he delivered his oration:
"First, we will destroy the mission men, for they are white, and it is not right that they should live and Sandi be dead; then we will go against Bosambo, the chief of the Ochori. When rains came in the time of kidding, he who is a foreigner and of no human origin brought many evil persons with him and destroyed our fishing villages, and Sandi said there should be no killing. Now Sandi is dead, and, I do not doubt, in hell, and there is none to hold our pride." ”

“ He saw the flames lick away the house he had built with such labour.
"They are foolish people," he mused, "for they burn their own, and perhaps the spirits of the dead will be displeased and give them boils."
When all that was left of his habitation was a white heap of ash, a dark-red glow, and a hazy wisp of smoke, Imgani turned his face to the forest.
All day long he walked, halting only to eat the fish he carried, and at night time he came upon another Isisi village, which was called O'Fasi. ”

“ The boy stood on one leg in his embarrassment, and eyed Sanders askance.
There is a hillock behind the town. A worn path leads up to it, and a-top is a thatched hut without sides. From this hillock you see the broad river with its sandy shoals, where the crocodiles sleep with open mouth; you see the rising ground toward Akasava, hills that rise one on top of the other, covered with a tangle of vivid green. In this house sits the king in judgment, beckoning the litigants forward. Sato-Koto was wont to stand by the king, bartering justice. ”

“ Who would follow the fortunes of Elebi must paddle in his wake as far as Okau, where the Barina meets the Lapoi, must take the left river path, past the silent pool of the White Devil, must follow the winding stream till the elephants' playing ground be reached. Here the forest has been destroyed for the sport of the Great Ones; the shore is strewn with tree trunks, carelessly uprooted and as carelessly tossed aside by the gambolling mammoth. The ground is innocent of herbage or bush; it is a flat wallow of mud, with the marks of pads where the elephant has passed. ”

“ Sanders was nonplussed.
"And they cry 'war,'" said the chief. "This is the greatest shame of all, for my young men dance the death dance and streak their bodies with paint and talk boastfully."
"Go to your hut," said Sanders; "presently I will come and join you."
He thought and thought, smoking one black cigar after another, then he sent for Abiboo, his servant.
"Abiboo," he said, "by my way of thinking, I have been a good master to you."
"That is so, lord," said Abiboo.
"Now I will trust you to go amongst my crew discovering their gods. ”

“ Sanders nodded slowly. "Why did you not send for me?"
For a moment the squatting figure made no reply, then he rose and stretched himself.
"Master," he said, speaking in Arabic—which is a language which allows of nice distinctions—"this man was happy; he walked in the Forest of Happy Thoughts; why should I call him back to a land where there was neither sunshine nor happiness, but only night and pain and sickness?"
"You're a philosopher," said Sanders irritably.
"I am a follower of the Prophet," said Abiboo, the Kano boy; "and all things are according to God's wisdom." ”

“ Sanders could be very patient.
"I am as your father and your mother," he said. "I carry you in my arms; when the waters came up and destroyed your gardens I came with manioc and salt and saved you; when the sickness came I brought white men who scraped your arms and put magic in your blood; I have made peace, and your wives are safe from M'Gombi and Isisi folk, yet you are for killing me." ”

“ Akasava adjoins that king's territory, and the chief came to give hints in military affairs.
He came with drums a-beating, with presents of fish and bananas and salt.
"You are a great king!" he said to the sleepy-eyed boy who sat on a stool of state, regarding him with open-mouthed interest. "When you walk the world shakes at your tread; the mighty river that goes flowing down to the big water parts asunder at your word, the trees of the forest shiver, and the beasts go slinking to cover when your mightiness goes abroad." ”

“ Generally they saw by the dull glow of the log that smouldered in every habitation that it was empty. Once a sick woman called to them in passing. It was near her time, she said, and there was none to help her in the supreme moment of her agony.
"God help you, sister!" said Sanders, ever in awe of the mysteries of birth. "I will send women to you. What is your name?"
"They will not come," said the plaintive voice. "To-night the men go out to war, and the women wait for the great dance."
"To-night?"
"To-night, master—so the ghosts of brass decree."
Sanders made a clicking noise with his mouth. ”

“ Three hours from the city the Zaire came up to a long canoe with four men standing at their paddles singing dolefully. Sanders remembered that he had passed a village where women, their bodies decked with green leaves, wailed by the river's edge.
He slowed down till he came abreast of the canoe, and saw a dead man lying stark in the bottom.
"Where go you with this body?" he asked.
"To Isisi, lord," was the answer.
"The middle river and the little islands are places for the dead," said Sanders brusquely. "It is folly to take the dead to the living." ”

“ In course of time the chief of the Akasava died the death for various misdoings, and peace came to the land that fringes Togo.
Sanders has been surprised twice in his life. Once was at Ikeli, which in the native tongue means "little river." It is not a little river at all, but, on the contrary, a broad, strong, sullen stream that swirls and eddies and foams as it swings the corner of its tortuous course seaward. Sanders sat on a deck-chair placed under the awning of his tiny steamer, and watched the river go rushing past. He was a contented man, for the land was quiet and the crops were good. ”

“ Six days later Sanders went back to headquarters, leaving behind him a chastened people.
Ill-news travels faster than steam can push a boat, and the little Zaire, keeping to mid-stream with the blue flag flying, was an object of interest to many small villages, the people of which crowded down to their beaches and stood with folded arms, or with clenched knuckles at their lips to signify their perturbation, and shouted in monotonous chorus after the boat. ”

“ He went on to give, as only a native memory can recall, the minutest detail of the king's march; how he slew white men and women and put their house to flames; how his legions went dancing before him.
"And all this happened at the full of the moon," he finished; "therefore we, too, went out to slay, and, knowing that your Highness would be coming as is your custom to give judgment at this season of the year, it was thought wise to kill you, also the Christ-man." ”

“ None, for the devils will confuse them, opening new roads and closing the old. Oh, Ko Ko!"
He snivelled miserably.
"Father," said Elebi, dangling strips of red flannel from his hand, "this is white man's magic, we come back by the way we go."
Then the old man fell into an insane fit of cursing, and threw at them a thousand deaths, and Elebi's followers huddled back in frowning fear.
"You have lived too long," said Elebi gently, and passed his spear through the old man's neck. ”

“ Sanders stood before the fire, one hand raised, and silence fell, curiosity dominating resentment.
"People of the Isisi," said Sanders, "let no man move until the god-stone has passed, for death comes quickly to those who cross the path of gods." ”