Movie Classic (Mar-Aug 1936)

ficent gifts of fruit, sago and meat for the White Master. Two days of this intercourse of preliminary gifts went on before they settled down to the monotony of bargaining. Immediately Flynn realized that there was some undercurrent, something dangerous afoot. Dangerous because it was unlike these simple, direct people to beat around the bush. At last, by threatening to order his boys to pack up and shove on, he forced a show-down with the crafty elders of the tribe. "Yes, Master, we savvy trade with you. You want boy fellow go work. Boy fellow go;. Mission say good for boy fellow work plantation, but village poor without boy." Promptly all the elders began to moan and sadly wag their heads in unison. Erroll recognized the cue. "Good; Boy fellow come! I savvy; what does village father want?" At long length it came out. These crafty head-hunters, long in contact with the missions, had learned about white man's money, and realized the Christian possibilities of making such money themselves. A faint disgust filled Flynn ; all this sanctimonious show of the tribes was nothing but a coverup . . . "Great and Noble White Master give us money-making machine, White Master can have all boys he wants !" A moment's careful thought and Erroll nodded. "Tomorrow. Come here with the moon. Only in the full of the moon can white man's money be made. I will teach you how, but bring twenty strong boys — strong here, here and here!" He indicated head, limbs and chest as the crafty chieftains nodded delightedly. They would have sold their eternal souls for a counterfeiter's outfit. FLYNN and Maru worked for about half an hour the next afternoon — a few pieces of sago wood, four quickly bored holes, some strips of liana vine, a vial of mercury from the medicine chest and four shiny, new florins — genuine — and he was ready. That night, a strange group banded together excitedly in front of the White Master's tent. Maru beat a simple rhythm on a borrowed tom-tom as Erroll expertly filled a small vial with water and local herbs. An easy mumbojumbo followed and then came the dangerous point. If one of those sharp jungle eyes detected his shift of the vials — well, the story would never be told ! But the Gods are kind to the Irish. From the other vial hidden in his hand be poured into the funnel of his sago wood box a stream of gleaming, flowing silver — mercury. More abracadabra, a sliding tray deftly pulled out and there under the equatorial moon were four brand new florins ! It wasn't until after carefully cautioning the greedy natives not to try counterfeiting except at the full of the moon that Erroll started down stream with his twenty boys. He wanted to be far away before they tried it themselves . . . On the long trip down came the labor recruiter's toughtest task — teaching the boys pidgin English of the sort they would have to know in the labor camps. Their first contact was always with a government inspector who, to make sure of their voluntary willingness to work under a one, two or three year indenture contract, would ask them the question, usually holding up one, two or three fingers to simplify their answers. The length of time they agreed to labor had a surprising effect on the recruiter's pay . . . Erroll, therefore, called them for*th on deck twice a day. Like one training puppies, he would take them one at a time, "You work one year?" If the boy nodded, Erroll smiled and handed him one cookie. It was amazing how quickly they all caught on ! Next week he varied it by saying, "You work two year?" It took more patience than you'd think to accustom them to the change until they got hep to getting two cookies for nodding at the word "two." From then on it was a lead pipe cinch ! At the word three those boys would jump through hoops of fire in their eagerness to get the three cookies . . . Erroll prayed silently, as he thought of his entire investment in these miscellaneous boys, that he'd get them -there alive and still eager for cookies, three cookies to be precise . . . Everything went well until they started across the low lands of the river deltas. It was impossible to carry the launch so it was left behind to be called for later. They'd ford the streams as best they could — which was Erroll's biggest worry at the time. THERE are many streams in that country, but the technique is simple — build your raft of sago and liana where you are and ferry it across until the whole party is safe on the other side. Wading or swimming is impossible because of snakes and crocodiles . . . The second stream forded on that trek Erroll has bodily reason never to forget. The first trip across was made by Maru, a few labor boys, and supplies ; the second by another of his own safari and more labor boys, supplies and so on. Flynn and Gonai, his Number Two boy, three "guests" and the guns went on the last run across the four hundred yard river. Half way over he heard a strangled moan from Gonai. He turned — and paled. The liana rope binding the bamboo logs together had frayed apart ! In less time than it takes to tell the whole lot were pitched into crocodile infested water two hundred yards from shore ! Struggling to free himself of heavy boots, Flynn glanced about to make sure that his men were all able to swim. With vast relief he saw that they all were making slow headway against the current. And then, suddenly, he heard Gonai shriek . . . "Vie ela, Master! Vie ela ! Puk-Puk! Puk-Puk !" He needed no interpreter to tell him what that meant, "Faster, Master ! Faster ! Crocodiles ! Crocodiles !" They were attacking — unseen monsters with horrid, ripping jaws! — To Be Continued CONSTIPATION? Get Real Relief— and End the Laxative Habit IF you've come to rely on cathartics — habit-forming, and giving only temporary relief at best — science offers you wonderful news. For repeated clinical tests have proved this fact: The real cause of countless stubborn cases of constipation is shortage of Vitamin B Complex! And in such cases, constipation goes — headaches end — energy returns — when this precious natural factor is added to the diet ! That is why Yeast Foam Tablets have freed thousands after years of slavery to cathartics. 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