Wallace West

“ If we came, Tolo would agree to let bygones be bygones, withdraw his request for the marriage price of his thirty-second cousin and allow trade to return to the compound. If not, things would be rather dull at Maraban in the future. Also I rather suspected that Buhu was planning a coup of some kind to get the loud mouf juju into his possession, for there is no more jealous person in the world than a witch doctor when he thinks some one is stealing his thunder. I suppose they live so close to the edge of discovery that they become jumpy. ”

“ The message was written by some mission-bred negro who had drawn it up in what he conceived to be strictly legal form, with such a sprinkling of “hereinbefores” and “whereas’s” as to make the muggy paper almost unintelligible. After we had deciphered it, it became apparent that King Tolo was greatly hurt and grieved—that one Eta, a cousin of the king—now residing with the agent at Maraban, one Charles Markley—had been married without the knowledge or consent of the aforesaid Tolo, or worse yet, that she had never been married. ”

“ Hanging onto a chair with one hand, gesticulating wildly with the other, he made a speech to the natives in such an amazing mixture of English, Latin and pidgin as must have rivaled the gibberish of their own witch doctors.
“About a week after that a runner from King Tolo appeared at the station with a message. Now Tolo, as you know, is an imperialist with the idea that he owns a large per cent of the Niger. He has no more love for the English than they have for him, but he just manages to keep inside the deadline. ”

“ I had wanted to stay at the station, but Markley wouldn’t hear of it. Said there was no danger at Maraban—that the big show would come at Mobungo, one of Chief Tolo’s villages, and he might need me there. We locked the bungalow and store, placed things in charge of the most trusted negroes—a poor policy, but the best I could do, and started upriver in the station’s motor launch.
“I steered. Markley sat in the middle where he watched the engine. Eta sat near the bow, staring steadily upriver. She was a weird creature, that girl. Light on her feet as a shadow and about as quick. ”

“ I could see her lips moving in a vehement exhortation of some kind, although not a word of it could be heard above the voice of the orator.
“ ‘A new era for the world has begun,’ thundered the voice to the uncomprehending natives. ‘Men are being drawn closer together by this new marvel, and will become one great brotherhood. If only there can be found some way to eliminate static our problem will be solved, and, I wish to add, that great monetary rewards now are available to the man who will step forward to eliminate this great obstruction to radio communication.’
“I glanced at Markley. ”

“ Markley was willing to let it go at that, so that without much further parleying, details were arranged for the exhibition next morning, and we turned in for the night, leaving the niggers dancing and prancing in some kind of a ceremonial outside the hut.
“ ‘Mark,’ I asked, as we were undressing in the dark. ‘You noticed that phonograph in the throne room. How do you expect to make much of an impression when they’re acquainted with such things.’
“ ‘Sound and fury, sound and fury, me lad,’ he chuckled. ‘I’m not expecting to impress the king of Buhu, much. But one must always consider the mob. ”

“ He big juju fo’ sure. Eta come ’long big boss. By an’ by, my juju he win, Eta stay along me. By an’ by, Buhu win, Tolo take Eta and have dash, too. Palaver set.’
“As soon as the messenger had departed Markley set about preparations for the trip. In his half-delirious mind, it became a huge joke, reality being all mixed up with the whisky phantoms which peopled his brain. He wouldn’t listen when I told him that there was probably danger in the undertaking, but proceeded to pack all the radio apparatus in a big case. ”

“ Todd,’ he snaps, ‘but that’s just what I want to inquire into immediately. If you should happen to know of any reasonably clean, good-looking negro girl of not over seventeen, I wish you’d buy her for me, or whatever their beastly custom is here, and send her over to Maraban as soon as you can. I’d greatly appreciate it, and pay well.’
“You can imagine that shut me up right quickly and I left Mr. Markley to his own sour thoughts, whatever they were. ”

“ Great, strappin’ youngsters, most of them, pink and white and blond, brought up to play cricket and football. It fair makes my heart bleed to think how they came out for the bonus—to make enough to marry, perhaps, or to lift the mortgage. ”

“ Todd,” the new agent continued savagely, puffing rapidly at his cigarette, which winked brightly in the shadows, “it’s only leather bellies like you and me who should be sent up to the lonely stations where all the people one sees are negroes. I tell you, they’ve got to come to it. I never knew but one youngster who came through decently. That was Charles Markley. ’Member him?”
“Well, rather,” chuckled the captain. “I was just reading in the Times about his success as a radio wizard back home. Seems he’s succeeded in eliminating static, or something.” ”

“ Markley simply appropriated her. Not, I sincerely believe, because he particularly wanted her, but because she fitted into some gloomy picture of his final demise which he had built up. ‘Mac, my boy,’ he grinned at me after he had moved her into the bungalow, over my almost tearful protests. ‘She is rather chic, you know. ”

“ He was in the bath-towel stage, the next step being for him to ‘go native’ and spend the rest of his days rotting in some nigger village, ashamed to let white men see him.
“ ‘Greetings, cap’n,’ he called. ‘Come up and refresh yourself. Ruth,’ he shouted to some one inside, ‘bring a glass for a gentleman, a clean one. Pardon me,’ he added, turning back to me, ‘I was referring to the glass, not the gentleman, though I suppose it would be equally appropriate.’ During the pause which followed I tried to imagine who this ‘Ruth’ might be. ”