THE DOCTOR'S PROTÉGÉE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 524, 7 December 1912, Page 2

THE DOCTOR'S PROTÉGÉE.

(All Rights Reserved.)

By ALBERT LEE,

Author of "The Baronet in Corduroy," "The Key of the Holy House," King Stork of the Hothcrlandu," " The Black Disc," &o. Published By .Special Akkaxgement.

CHAPTER XXXVll— {Continued.) We had come to a point where our night camp was fixed upon in a village among a mass of hills, where the ixv'l was ridh and water was abundant, a deep well being near to the- .centre of the place. Teresina and I were allotted a roomy hut in a banana grove, and, worn out by a hard day's travel, we retired as soon as the darkness set in, instead of watching the dances of the warriors which began at moonrise. Wo had been sleeping for some time, when I awoke and had the impression that someone was moving near, if not within the hut. The bed of leaves which had been spread on the floor to the right of the entrance under the personal supervision of Komch had not proved pleasant, and consequently, gathering the leaves up in our arms, we carried them to another spot where we should not have the moonlight falling on our faces. At the time the moon was shining brilliantly, and ono half of the hut seemed to be almost as light as day, but where we lay it must have been dark. The feeling fcfc*t- someone war, stirring awoke me thoroughly, and 1 rose in silence to my feet, with the idea of discovering the reason for this midnight intrusion. Stepping softly along by the wall until I was near the door, I waited, anxious lest some harm might come to my darling, who slept peacefully, suspecting no, danger, since Komeh had been so kind, and had planted sentries about the huts in which our party slept. Suddenly, on my right, came the low scrape of a foot on the floor, and then the sound of a man's nervous breathing, as if he were on a mission that meant danger, and he was anxious' to avoid discovery. The door was in tho shadow, just as I was, but I had grown used to the mixed moonlight and the darkness, and could sec what was going on. A man's head appeared, and presently his body, and with him came the gleam of steel; but what the face was like I could not discover. It might have been Komeh for aught I could tell, or one of the villagers intent on looting the hut, hoping to do so undetected, but ready to use his weapon if seen. That I cared not; for chieftain or villager was alike to me. It was sufficient to know that someone was entering the hut who had no business there, and entering so stealthily that ho surelymeant mischief, and probably death to one or bqth of us. Thrusting out my hand suddenly I gripped a man's wrist, and as quickly bent it back, causing the intruder to howl with pain. Something fell with a clang at my feet, and the owner of the hand, using his teeth and nails to free himself, wrenched himself away and fled. CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE AUDIENCE WITH KING SECHELE. "Wilfred!" came Teresina's call from her bed, 'and it was spoken so anxiously that I hastened to reassure her. "All right, my dear. Someone was coming in, thinking, perhaps, to gain possession of the trident; but I have broken his wrist, or at all events, made him unfit for fighting for some days to come." Bending down to discover what had fallen across my feet, I found that it was a spear, elaborately carved. Without doubt, the gleam which I saw when I was roused was from its polished head of steel, which, held carelessly, had come in the path of the moon's rays. Angry at the intrusion, and at the probable treachery which this indicated, I went out of the hut at once, bidding Teresina keep watch at the doorway, holding in readiness the little revolver which she had acquired when we were preparing for this venturesome expedition. Then, brushing aside the gaunt, black sentries who stood immobile in tho moonlight, neither turning to right nor left to see me when I hurried away, I crossed to the hut where Khonko slept. No sentry was standing before his door, so that my entrance was not challenged. "Khonko!" I cried, hurrying across the floor to the place where he was lying asleep with three or four of our carriers. "Awake, and come with me!" The interpreter was On his feet at the instant, and wide awake. "What is the matter, master?" he asked, quickly. "Come with me to Komeh'a hut. I want to talk with him." With that I stalked out of the hut and across the open space to the spot where the.spear was driven into, the ground, to indicate where the chief of the warriors lay. Two naked fel-

"Tell them, Khonko, that I must see Komeh now." The sentries exchanged words with each other, and one of thorn, leaving tho other, with his spear-point still in uncomfortable nearness to my body, turned on his heel and entered the hut. A few moments passed, and then the man returned and beckoned to me to follow into the place where the chief was resting. I went without delay, Khonko at my heels. Komch was seated on his bed, but 1 knew from his restlessness that he was in pain, although he bore himself with stolidity while he inquired of me the reason for my intrusion at such an hour. With. Khonko interpreting, I told the chieftain what had happened in my hut, and bade him tell his warriors that I would shoot down without mercy any man who dared to set foot upon our privacy. "Master," came his answer, "I will make inquiries when the warriors are astir, and he who ventured to trouble you shall die." Pretending to bo content, I returned : but a gruesome sight met my gaze when I went out of my hwt at daydawn. A black warrior lay at the threshold, his head severed from his body, and on looking down I saw that his wrist was broken. Komeh had swiftly avenged the terror of the night. But, strangely enough, his own right hand was useless. He was careful to explain that after he had witnessed the execution of the intruder he had fallen, and had seriously hurt his own hand. He followed up the explanation that the spear which had been left behind in our but might be given to him. The day which had begun so tragically wont on through its long and wearisome hours as we travelled to Machodi. We reached the town before the darkness set in, and, being told that the king- would probably give mo audience before we retired for the night, Teresina, Hesketh, and I were left alone. We were too tired to do more than sit at tho hut door and look about us: but we wiled away the time by deciding on the presents we should offer to his sable majesty and his family. A messenger came at last with word that I was to appear bofore his majesty at once. His |)alace was on the summit of the hill, but it was nothing more than a grass hut on a large scale, before which were ranged scores of black warriors whoso "spears were levelled in should riesketh and I prove to be enemies instead of friends. Our arrival was heralded by the beating of drums and the loud blowing of innumerable horns, so that noise enough was made almost to awake the dead.. Carrying the Qemsbok Trident in my hand, my pass to the royal presence, and probably tho key to untold wealth, we entered a great chamber lit by a hundred torches, each held by a stalwart negro, about whose waist was fastened an apron of re--' cloth—a costly decoration in the wilus of Africa, but necessary in order :i„> maintain the dignity of the dusky monarch into whose presence we had been ushered. Sechele was seated on an iron stool, and about him stood his councillors', while before hiir. knelt, in two long rows from the doorway to the throne, those who were menials awaiting his majesty's commands. Khonko prostrated himself, but Hesketh and I, white men who were ignorant of the ways of African courts, contented ourselves with a conventional bow, and waited to hear his majesty's will. "White man, you have the Gemsbok Trident," exclaimed Scchole, after a few words had passed between us. "Why do you bring it here I'' "It was declared by Gian Galeazzo that whosoever showed the trident to your majesty should be taken to the place where his treasure lay, and that you would help him to secure it for his own use. And I have como that I might take it away with me." Sechele took the trident into his hands and examined it carefully, then, nodding his head in approval, returned it to me. "The treasure was placed in my hands for safe keeping by Gian Galeazzo whom I loved," said he, as I took the trident, from him. "I shall keep my promise mado to him, and you shall receive that for which you have come to-morrow. Meanwhile be content, and go where you will with freedom. I will see that your safety is assured." The king was graciousness itself, and leaving the royal presence I returned with a glad heart. Our mission was to be crowned with success; the treasure would be carried down to tho coast, and then i But when I entered my hut and called for Teresina, no answer came. I called again, but there was no reply, nor were there any guards

had been stuck ondwi:-o in the ::oi' about the open space bofore the huts where my men wore lodged, we could find her' nov/hero. Teresina had gone —but how, and where rhc hid been taken, we could not teli. Yet there was a great hole torn in the sido of tho hut, and we concluded that those who had taken her away had made their entranco there. CHAPTER XXXIX. TERESINA'S ABDUCTION. Filled with consternation, I called our men together, and telling them what had happened bado them bo in tho squaro fully armed within the next few minutes. In the interval, while every man was preparing with a will, I consulted with Hesketh and Peel as to the course we should puiv sue. It was clear to us that nothing but a bold front would secure my wile's restoration after she had so strangely disappeared. While I saw to tho loading of my revolvers, the impression grew strong upon me that Komeh had done this thing: that he had carried out the plan I had frustrated the night before, when he entered the hut, thinking to kill mo and gain possession of Teresina, whom he designed to have as one of his wives. The time that passed before the men assembled covered but a few minutes, yet to me, in my impatience, it appeared interminable. The plan agreed upon was to leave a few men to collect our belongings into one or two huts and guard them well against any serious attempt to rob us of them, while with the others Hesketh and I should march to Sechele's palace—if the huge strawroofed hut could be so dignified—demand an audience, notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, ancf if the monarch was slow to take measures to recover Teresina for us, to take all risks, and hold him as hostage for her safety and our own. (■The sound-of our steady tramp in the dead of night alarmed the people of Machodi, who came out of their huts and gazed at us with every expression of fear. They knew by experience—perhaps at the hands of Arab slave-raiders—the power of firearms, for as we marched up on the hill those who were at their doors fell on their faces as if in token of the absence of any wish on j their part to harm us. But when ] we reached the palace, the guards] gathered before the entrance to the outer court, spears and shields all ready, and presented a formidable obstacle to our further progress. After a short parley among ourselves I stepped forward, my rifle slung at my back, and my revolvers in my belt, so that I approached with empty hands to shew that my .intentions were peaceful. Khonko accompanied me, and with his assistance I was able to express my wish to see the king at once. "He is asleep," said the captain of the guards." "That matters not. I must see him." "It is death to disturb him." "Neither does that matter. I must see the king." "I dare not do this thing," the officer of the guard protested, speaking with much respect. ."Then I must disturb him myself." "But that cannot be." \ "I say it must be," I declared, firmly. "Go, tell those who arc above you that if I am denied admission to' his majesty my men will kill your guards and burn the palace. I have pressing need to see the king at omjre. Say that it is a matter of life and death." The captain of the guards stuck his spear head into the ground, and left it there as a token of his wish to do his best to please and trust me. He then entered the enclosure, and left me standing near the spear. But a long time passed during which 1 waited for the man's return. I was consumed with impatience, and frantic with the thought that Teresina might be dead, or experiencing some horrible indignities at the hands of that black savage, Komeh, who had undoubtedly abducted her in his infatuation. At last—when more than half-an-hour had pessed—Hesketh and Khonko accompanied me past the warriors into the palace-court. Hefore us was a long lane of guards, a treble row of blacks on either side, standing in close order, with spears half levelled, and shields so formed as make a long wall of whiteness in the moonlight. At the palace gate there was another halt, but we were presently admitted into the presence-chamber, where the king was seated, as if he had not moved from the spot where I had left him some time before. "Why have you come to see me at this late hour?" Sechele demanded, angrily, for the tone in which he put the question left me in no doubt as to his displeasure. But when I told him of Teresina's disappear- j ance, and of what had taken place the night before, and how I suspected Komeh of having abducted my wife while I was with the king, his anger seemed to know no bounds. He turned to one who was apparently the general of his warrior forces. "Go search for Komeh!" he cried; "and bring to me the white woman! See that no harm comes ..tn..W. and lnnk to her comfort!"