Terry / A Tale of the Hill People

ugh the Celebes Sea. Afternoon found her laboring over a becalmed mirror of sea, past rippled reefs, through clusters of little coral islands from whic

ted by the movement of the vessel through the still atmosphere. Upon the cooler side of the upper deck the first class passengers had disposed themselves under the once-white awning. Two natives, a Tagalog planter named Ledesma and his big-eyed, full-bosomed daughte

ckoned Terry to join them and introduced him to t

his face was flushed, and he answered Terry's pleasant salutat

get acquainted with you. We shall

voice broke in: "Yes, none of us

ce Sears. He met his surly stare squarely: their eyes battled, but under the level gaze S

inks the constraint had abated. Sears, the only one who had ordered whiskey, settled back in his

among us," he off

, sir," Ter

!" suggest

ds and breeders and breeding!" he grinned: it

for Sears, but he h

, and when do you think you can come down to my place? I w

asey for his wild enthusiasms. His latest hobby was the

uch attention to your plantation as you do to your

ou'll sing another tune! And wait till I get some half-breed pigs-instead of the ho

Thoroughly respected for his sterling character, he was made the target of much good-natured hilarity because of his constant hobby-riding and th

stripping machine which Lindsey had purchased in Manil

ll have it set up in a couple of weeks and if it works as well in the field as it did in the agent'

lded inventions which worked well experimentally but failed in

shortage! Hell!-there's plenty of labor in the Gulf-i

at him but refrained from comm

with me! I'm goin' to run my own place from now on

ficer he continued despite Lindsey's distressed

ittle fairy god-father to the Bogobos-to protect the poor hea

ct the Bogobos from any oppression-and to aid the p

hick veil of rage saw the lines of worry that had aged him prematurely: the black hair was streaked wi

discuss the matter. In a week o

"Terry, if any government man comes-snoopin' rou

that the trio of Americans who listened experienced something of the faint qualm which sickens a man when he witnesses an

your place first. I w

ng officer. Terry rose easily, looking frail in comparison with the burly figu

oelace, retieing it with meticulous care. Lindsey rose with s

ut on the deck hammering a Chinese dinner gong, and in the strident din the crisi

rough fellow, but he is half-crazed wi

see that he is worr

d now that he has his first big crop he can't harvest it-the Bogobos won't work for him. He is pretty rou

earnestly, "can't you stay away from his place-a while-till he gets his

ndsey, I am much obliged to you

s of the Gulf to the line of palm-fringed beach which edged the distant shoreline. From the shore the land sloped gently to the west and north, mile after mile of primeval jungle broken here and there where brush and thorn and creeper had yielded to man's demand for more and m

at the distant mo

"Where the Hil

live: no one really knows ... you

lights on the steamer shone murkily. The three lay back watching the stars brighten overhead. For a

e silence: "Wh

d off the more explicit Casey:

or an opening in the silence his fr

pretty soon. There's a rough outfit gathering down here i

g of it, but I would

coast, north of Davao, but they aren't working: just loafing around all day. They seem to be waiting for something-or somebody. The natives are scared, and the whites

un 'em out-they're no good, pro

Cochran. "Horse thi

es or under the vagabond law! They're no good-they won't work-and they're the toughest lookin' lot I ever did see

ed: "Sears' crocod

r a great snake they swear haunts Lindsey's woods, and none of them wants to go near a pool on Sears' places just below the ford-they claim it is the home of a monstrous

they done

s that it is all bosh. But they insist it's all true, and stay away-and loss of man power means loss of

not quite convinced:

iards but where our flag flies things seem to sober down. Yet I've usually found that back of all these Bogobo tales there is an el

ightening him with a running talk of the problems confronting the planters. He was well educated, progressive, and backed by ample family means had developed the best holding in the Gulf. He told Terry that on this trip he had succeeded

er the rail, debating the ethics of uttering what might be thought a criticism of his associates. "And they need farming intelligence most-too many of them were army men o

Now, of course it's none of my business, but if I were you I would keep away from Sears' place-he will make his

rail near the forward lifeboat gazing into the soft shadows which shrouded the muttering ship. At Te

ches, Se?o

tongue: "Good Evening, Se

ing campfires in jungles through which crept hostile men and marauding beasts-had fastened upon him, stripping him of the thin veneer

ome complain ... drift through the black mists searching for those they have long

ce upturned to the big stars which burned in the soft depths of the warm sky: the Southern Cross poised just over the crest of Apo. Below, on the black sea, the thrust of the vessel threw up a great welt which bordered the wedge of disturbed wate

d the spirits of those who loved him. They came to him through the night-Susan fretting, Ellis affectionately gruff, Enrico boisterously cheerful, Father

e black mantle that draped the Gulf. The low wailing of an infant and the guttural endeavors of the mother to soothe it came up from the forward deck where the native passengers lay s

ghted passage toward his cabin he hea

upstart! Just let him show his fac

down the dark corridor, he heard Lindsey

e distinguished a figure outlined against the door, listenin

ollowed Terry to h

talk about you. He make figh

n way to a great depression swept over Terry-friends were in the making, this splendid friend alr

not understand. You go to you

red. "Anything

call me 'master': c

r." He left

door. Looking out into the dim corridor he saw that Matak was standing guard over his s

lay back on the pillow, the rhythmic beat of the propeller in his ears. Asleep, he dreamed, and

wistful lines that marked the competent young face. While he stood brooding over his young master the dawn streaked throu

d come i