The Black Phantom

elty of

, headman, sorcerer and oracle of the Cantanas, scanned

s whisper the sickening message. Yesterday I saw the nest of a partridge; where there should have been four eggs there were six, for in this manner the knowing bird

hunters panted, "I pursued a she-pig in the forest.

s cracking! Tumwah is angry. Soon his fiery breath will sweep the green earth, parching the vegetation

eavenward with terror in their eyes an

shes with the oil of their eggs. A sacrifice must be made to Tumwah. Tonight, a crocodile shall be killed and eaten in his honor. Everyone must partake of it.

went to their shelters of palm-leaves dotting

an irresistible attraction to Myla, the monkey, and to her sorrow, had grown into a creature of great size and powerful build, capable of more than holding his own with any other denizen of the jungle. Seen from a distance his coa

oonlight he moved like a specter in the blackness. In the open country his shadowy form was equally inconspicuous. Quick and terrible were his attacks. Like an avalanche he descended upo

of marshlands, swampy forest islands and pampas bordering the great river compared to which

outright migrated, and Suma had followed the living stream as a matter of self-preservation for, without food and water, life could not be sustained. But the venture had proved painful in at least one respect for men dwelt along the border of the master river, and in the very first encounter with them Suma had suffered the loss of on

m the sky seemed to lap up the water in the lakes and marshes, leaving nothing but vast areas of cracked and peeling mudflats sprinkled with br

d to ?stivate until the coming of the rainy season; also the lung-fishes, queer little creatures resembling tadpole

hey swam was thick and black. The smaller ones attacked one another savagely tearing at fin and tail; and the larger devoured their mutilated remains in the mad struggle to prolong life. But there came the day

the decaying masses that dotted the country for hundreds u

. And Warruk, even if the urge to explore and to conquer new fields were not impelling him, fled the sc

rly morning hours. Nor was he alone. Others of the larger creatures, terrified, hun

own came as a blessed relief. Upon reaching it, Warruk found it a veritable oasis in the deser

distance that appeared greener and still more cheerful. Overhead, in the gnarled branches and leafy boughs were scores of snowy birds, egrets that had chosen the place for a nesting site. Some of them squatted on

bered the tender partridges of more bountiful days. However, there were oth

an overwhelming insistency and he turned his face eastward where the grass wa

and then to dart their long, sharp bills into the throngs of fish dashing about their feet. Others stood motionless on the margin, like statuettes hewn out of purest marble; though seemingly dozing, they were very much on the alert as Warr

andering and exploration Warruk returned to the spot so densely populated by the creatures that had fled before the drought. They were there still; in fact, many newcomers had been added to their number. As before, they moved noiselessly in the deep shadows and drank of the black water in the silent pools. But something

s of twinkling wings linking the nesting site with the marsh in which they fed were lacking. The place seem

orest island. Gaunt, dusky forms sat ghoul-like on the stick platforms that had been nests fil

d upon it, had been deprived of its attractiveness and Warruk lost no time in leaving it. He

em! Now, not one stirred although he was less than half that distance away and the slight wind that blew ruffled their feathers in a most peculiar manner. He drew still nearer. Then it dawned upon him that they were dead. Rafts of fish, also dead, floating on the surface of the water dotted the

ted to get another one. Like the one he had just eaten, the bird had been mutilated by some ruthless hand; a part of its back had been torn away. Warruk started off with the prize in his mouth but before he had taken many steps a strange feeling came over him. A shu

s senses long enough to lap up water in great gulps and that always seemed, at least partially, to quench the fire that was consu

trange scent they conveyed. And he was right, for the first time in his life he had come

ater. The birds ate and died. Then the men returned, stripped the plumes from their luckless victims and departed in their canoes. The young in the platform nests in the forest island called in vain for their elders and for the foo

to him and of a subtle quality. If the creatures whose footprints he had seen and with whose scent the border of the mars

ountry. The animals that had found a temporary refuge in the oasis were moving onward also, for the water in the pools was vanish

Tumwah's onslaught. Where ordinarily a wide expanse of water greeted the eye, stretching in a ruffled, brown sheet to the dimly outlined fringe of palms on the distant bank, there was now a series of sun-baked sa

s, too, were in evidence, for here there were water and food so there was not the need to bury themselves in the mud

world veiled with an impenetra

the muddy river-bottom and sought the hot sand to lay their eggs. The shuffle of their feet and the scraping of their heavy shells was audible some distance away in a muffled conglomeration of sounds. They moved rather rapidly for such cumbersome creatures and mad

mazement at the se

An instant later his own voice rang loud and sharp in answer to the challenge and he started across the crumbling sand toward the water. In the distance a dark form loomed up, motionless as a statue and Warruk too sto

was, of course, spotted. He listened patiently until the roar had end

river, plunged into the water and swam for the other side. Members of his tribe, of his own spotted color he feared not and was ready to battle with at any time. But, when the appa

se they feared him. And being thus made an outcast intensifie

er the fugitive and then turned his at

or encasing the body was not so easy to dispose of; it required a number of powerful strokes of the

. Never had the moon shed such velvety, silvery light; never had the stars flashed with such sup

p up all the water in the mighty river. But, throughout the night a gentle breeze stirred ne

er from some distant inlet and his own hoarse voice was raised in answer to the roar, it was never repeated. News travels fast in the wilderness, and in a mysterious way. And his presence was known far and wide and he was avoi

it possible that one of the stars had fallen from overhead to take up its abode on the earth? Had

ed their orange-red trails across the curtain of black. But this light in the distance, growing constantly brighter, was a deep red. It was

and powers he could either maintain his supremacy of the wilderness for years to come or risk everything in battle with creatures of superior intelligence who possessed

stes that were his kingdom, to have and to hold so long as he chose. He faced the river; the turtle battalions were emerging from the water as before, causing scarcely

d not on man, the unknown, and had he known it is not improbable but that he should have acted exactly a

st. Fate had stepped into Warruk's life and while luring him onward

out the hours of darkness, had guided him unerringly on his way; but with the coming of dawn it had been allowed

er of the marsh and near the stream flowing out of it where the dead egrets lay in heaps and rows, their feathers ruffled by the wind. And the recollection also came of the illness he had suffered as the result of eating of the bi

heaps of turtle shells, bones, feathers, fish scales and numerous other objects. But, of the creatures themselves he saw nothin

and which was the beginning of the forest. The wind, blowing the sand before it in rippling waves, soon filled the imprints of his massive feet and obliterated all trace of his visit.

e was roasted at night. A great fire was kindled and as the flames mounted skyward they threw a red glow upon the dusky faces of the Indians. Not in seven years had such a huge fire been made and its glare could be seen many miles u

ed dance around the fire. He wore an anklet of dried seeds that rattled above his right foot; as he stepped over the sand in rhythm with the music of a wind instrument made of a long-necked calabash, and the thrumming of

arth as relentlessly as before. Tumwah had not taken note of the sacrifice. He was more than angry; he was enraged, for his onslaught w

, been despoiled of its buried treasures. There they fell to work probing the sand with sharpened sticks and when it yielded easily to the thrust they dug with their hands until the pocket containing the oblong, tough-sk

and paddle away. And he marvelled at the strange creatures that were taller than any of the animals of the forest or plain and that walked on two feet. He felt no antagonism toward

dared not show himself for he well remembered his experi

and warping in the heat came a solitary form. It was not unlike the others that had appeared

one of the shelters and sat down. Then it began to d

and was gliding shadow-like across the sandbar. So silent and so stealthy were his movements that the child was not aware

vious to all else. Had he been suffering from hunger his intentions might have been di

rruk as only a mother can in defense of her young. The machete was upraised and flashed in the sunlight. It was not until this occurred that the mighty cat became conscious of her presence, so absorbed had he been. At the same time a streak of fire shot through his shoulder where the point of the knife slashed its way through skin and muscle. He gave

rance while the women squatted in the outer circle with swaying bodies and raised their voices in loud

ag. There were the teeth of crocodiles, pebbles worn round and smooth in the riverbed and a tuft of snowy feather

oice. "My magic tells me so. The terrible god has sent a Black Phantom from the lower world to haunt us and t

ro and smote their breasts

ffered to Tumwah. Then, and only then will he recall the evi

he other side. When they returned, long after, the creatures, their feet bound together, were heaped on the fire to which the women had added bun

their fury. "Go to your shelters. I alone will remain

ers departed than Choflo t

acked when his intentions had been of the friendliest? All the other creatures of the wilderness respected his position and these too should have their lesson. He would show them the savagery of which he was capable. Never again would he trust man; he was cruel and unfair. Two experien

d in a few minutes he stood before the entrance of Mata's shelter. None stirred inside but his ears caught the sound of deep breathing. There was no hesitation, no indecision. One quick bo

nothing compared to the power that held her in its grip. And the Jaguar, forgetful of all else in this moment of triumph felt a sav

ring embers, seized thick branches still glowing at one end and waved them aloft until they burst in

face, burning him painfully, he was compelled to relinquish his victim. But he did

er; with a terrible roar he charged through the barrage of missiles into the midst of the yelling group, striking to right and to left. The men, panic-stricken, dropped their weapons and fled to their shelters. When none was in sight the great cat voiced his victory in a series of cries and grunt

hen only at the imperious summons of Choflo's voice. Three fires were hastily kindled and between

of darkness and is ravaging the earth; it has entered the body of a monstrous tiger and has changed it into a black demon, a Black Phantom w

gguk had thrown the spear that grazed Warruk's flank. "For, did I not thrust my spear full into his heart so that the blood

f a turtle," another added. "The phantom bears a charmed life. Our weapons

arth. Therefore, by drying up the land and the water Tumwah hopes to destroy the great tiger so that the demon must leave the dead body and return to the pl

less our weapons are against t

ned point. Someone must go to seek out the lair of the

s a tiger, possessed of an evil spirit though it be, shall come under a spell? And that the spell sh

fall upon the slayer will be great for, even as he sends the charmed arrow crashing on its mission of beneficent destruction

fore the sun rises the Great Spirit will decide. A white feather resting in the sand before the doorway will announce the selection of the honored one, who must pursue and slay

ir huts the voice of Choflo, raised in incantations and accompanied by the rattle

ns cowering and trembling in their dark hovels. The white feather was on its way to announce the fateful sele