Wilton Hazzard

“ Quinton pointed to where the grass bent and swayed as if disturbed by an undercurrent.
Then he said: "They're creeping up on us!"
A HORN blared on their left. The warriors answered it in a thunderous shout. As their battle-cry rolled across the veldt, painted shields flared above the yellow grass and the sun flashed on steel. Like a black wave, the massed warriors swept down on them, their white plumes tossing like spindrift whipped up by the wind.
Jean screamed and covered her face with her hands. Raymer raised his rifle, but Quinton caught his arm. ”

“ Maddon was advancing upon them, his rifle held at the ready, evidently coming to see the effect of his shot. The wizard, Nkoi, remained by the fire, peering out into the shadows.
A grim smile came to Quinton's face as he watched Maddon's cautious approach. Nkoi and Maddon's rifle were the things that worried him most and he saw that luck was offering him a chance to rid himself of both.
"They do not know we are here, Bogembwe," he whispered tensely. "The white man is mine; the wizard is yours!" ”

“ Quinton noticed that Raymer's hand shook: "You all right?" he asked.
"Never mind me, son. Just get her out. You can have anything I've got. I've been through hell, watching her suffer. These black devils—"
"There's one standing beside you, Raymer," Quinton interrupted him coldly. "We're a long way from out yet. If we do get out, you'll have him to thank for it."
Raymer got to his feet: "Chief," he began, offering his hand.
But Bogembwe stood with folded arms and his eyes flashed in the moonlight: "I do nothing for you," he said bitterly. "What I do, I do for my own people. ”

“ A sharp gasp ran through the ranks of the warriors and ended in an angry growl.
But Quinton's anger had carried him beyond fear: "Who is this Nkoi?" he demanded, his voice ringing clearly. "How is it that no man has seen his face? It is because he is a cheat and a fool. And he will destroy the Ovambos!"
Bogembwe strode up to him, his eyes flashing with anger.
"Be quiet, you fool!" Then his deep voice addressed the Elders: "Losako is angry with us because he cannot help his friends. Could he be otherwise and be the Losako the Ovambos know as a true friend?" ”

“ With a shrug Raymer also flung down his rifle.
Four Ovambos jumped forward. They bound the wrists of both men behind their backs.
"What's on your mind, Maddon?" Quinton asked.
"I'll show yer!" Maddon took a pace forward and kicked Quinton's feet from under him. Then he walked over to Quinton's horse and came back with the whip in his hand.
Quinton gritted his teeth as the lash fell across his shoulders. When the blood spurted, Maddon's hatred became a frenzy. Bestial grunts came from between his thick, slobbering lips. Soon Quinton's shirt was in ribbons; his back a mass of raw flesh. ”

“ Then the trail they followed began an abrupt ascent. The noise of the river increased in volume. By sunset they were up on a plateau with miles of parkland stretching out before them, and rolling up to the foothills like a green tide.
Instead of making camp, they rested for only an hour. Just before night came, they marched into Bogembwe's kraal called Lotumbe, after Bogembwe's grandfather, the fabled Croesus of Ovamboland.
The village was more than the usual haphazard collection of bee-hive huts surrounded by a mud wall. It was a small, well-built town, with cultivated ground on all sides. ”

“ Quinton rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully: 'Usually we don't ask questions in this town. But I'm wondering what brought you here."
"Ever hear of Lotumbe's Tomb?"
"Oh, good Lord! Don't tell me you're after Lotumbe's treasure! Why, there isn't a man in this country who hasn't wasted a couple of years of his life on account of that yarn!"
"It's not a fairy tale," said Raymer gravely. "Let's check your version with mine. As I have it, Lotumbe was chief of the Ovambos in Paul Kruger's day. He collected a sort of tax from all the Ovambos who went to work in the mines. ”

“ Quinton smiled: "We've got all the diseases known to science but damn little law, Mister."
"I'm John Raymer. An American."
"Well, I'm glad to meet a countryman!" said Quinton. "At least I was born there. Folks brought me here when I was an infant. Always wanted to go back but somehow ..." He finished with an expressive shrug.
"I know how it is," Raymer chuckled. "A man sweats for years in the jungle, building up a stake. He makes it and decides to go home. ”

“ Bogembwe pointed to the krantz that loomed out above them: "He is Nkoi's friend. He went to the lair of The Leopard and that is where we are going, Losako, because my young men dare not follow us there."
"True," Quinton agreed. "They would catch us before sunrise. How many are up yonder?"
Bogembwe shrugged. "Who knows? As you know Nkoi dwells there with his servants. He shows himself to no man and he speaks with the mouth of his messengers. ”

“ He worked in the Kaokovelds for ten years. He converted a witch doctor. Now that witch doctor knew where Lotumbe was buried."
"Sure, but it's one witch doctor you'll have to worry about. That's Nkoi, The Leopard. He's a ju-ju. Scares the hell out of the other natives."
"Sure, I know," replied Raymer calmly. "Nkoi is the witch doctor Brother Joe converted."
"Converted!" Quinton's face flushed with anger. "What are you trying to sell me, Raymer?" ”

“ You will do well to leave Lotumbe before he returns, Losako."
"And what will be done with my friends?" demanded Quinton.
"They must die!"
Quinton looked at Raymer and Jean and felt a tumult of sudden fear.
"Have you gone crazy, Chief?" he cried in anger. "You're under British rule. You know what will happen if you allow these two to be killed!"
Bogembwe rose, scowling at him. He pointed to Raymer: "Why did he come here, Losako? I will tell you. He came to steal. Did we ask him to do this? No. But because of it, Nkoi says, kill. The witchmen say, kill, kill! ”

“ Awake!"
"Blimey!" gasped Biles from between chattering teeth.
"Truly," observed Bogembwe, "Fear is an evil thing. I, Chief of the Ovambos, have feared this thing. Aie! All the Ovambos have feared him and we dared not disobey the commands his messenger gave us. Ho! What will the Elders say? What will the witch doctors say when I show them this?"
Quinton chuckled: "You are wise, Bogembwe. Show The Leopard to them just as he is and witchcraft will die in the Kaokovelds. Shame and laughter will kill it. But put him down, there may be others."
"There were others, Losako."
"Maddon done it!" ”

“ After the first bottle Raymer said, "What about Biles and Maddon?"
Quinton shrugged: "Don't know much about Maddon; he's a new man here. But Cock Biles is an old-timer. I don't know what he does for a living. He comes and goes and he's always got money. ”

“ Raymer checked him with a touch on his arm: "I had that comin' to me," said he, and turned away.
"We must go," urged Bogembwe. "If the woman cannot walk, carry her." He turned and strode off toward the gate.
RAYMER and Quinton lifted the girl between them and followed in his wake. They skirted the village and came out on a trail that ran along the bank of the river. After they had gone some distance, Jean declared herself able to walk with the help of her father. Quinton moved ahead and fell into step beside Bogembwe. "What became of the other white man, Maddon?" ”

“ The stakes enclosed a circle of ground, a flat arena. A row of saplings, stripped of their lower branches, stood in the centre like slender flag poles. Two of them were bent over bow-like with their tips lashed to stakes driven into the ground. ”

“ In the course of years the old boy collected a sizeable fortune and when he died, it was buried with him. Where, only a couple of witch doctors knew."
"Check!" said Quinton with a broad grin. "I don't question the yarn. It's known that Lotumbe did collect that tax. But listen, his tomb is somewhere in the Kaokovelds, that means you'd have to comb a mountain range and about ten thousand square miles of jungle for it. And another thing, the chief in that country is a particular friend of mine. Bogembwe is his name. Went to the coast and got himself an education. ”

“ Quinton and Raymer were soon hemmed in by a ring of steel. The two men exchanged glances.
"It was the gun," Quinton explained. "They'll stand for anything but shooting."
THE SQUAD of policemen marched them out and down the dusty road toward the Barracoon, as the Portuguese called the barbed-wire compound and collection of lousy huts on the outskirts of the town.
"How long will they keep us?" Raymer said, after the police had escorted them into a stinking, mud-walled cell which boasted only one bench and a pile of mouldy straw on the floor. ”

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GORDON Quinton rode into Dom Luis in the late afternoon. Native laborers, Ovambos for the most part, were streaming through the town on their way to the mines in Damaraland and Namqualand. On the way out the poor devils usually lost their pay for a year, all of five pounds. ”