EXHIBIT A

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 177, 29 July 1938, Page 15

EXHIBIT A

Short Story

THE trail turned through a thicket of ehrubs and thorns and descended sharply to a river. Tom Fleet's pony swung wide because of a line of safari ants in the trail which he did not want to collect on his hairy fetlocks; he brushed the greenery, and a branch tipped up the scabbard of Tom's knife, allowing that necessary implement to fall to the ground.

I lorn swore, dismounted, and walked back, holding the bridle over his arm. , Jhe knife had fallen in the edge of the bush. Tom parted the boughs' and ":iw a hand lying outstretched, with tue fingers half-closed.. For a long minute he stood looking at it. It was a white hand; on one linger was a heavy gold ring fashioned in the shape of two snake* entertwined. But the stone which should have been gripped in the reptiles' mouths was missing. Tom knew that ring well. He had .-oen it on the finger of his late partner, Fred Cobb; he had been with him when the stone came out of its setting, and had watched him put it in his pocket. It was a poor quality diamond, but had r.entimental value, for it was the first I vtone Cobb had found at the Free DigI iiings when he was a young man. j A fortnight before. Tom, had taken ja parting drink with Fred in the (Joan Mar at Kuril. The two prospectors no , linger travelled in company, for Fred j was mad about oil and Tom thought | waste of time looking for the stuff. 1 Well, here was Fred; good and done I for. ) Tom parted the leaves carefully for • :'e ar there might be a snake. He looked down on a body lying on its back, swarming with ants. The pony snorted ami allied away. Tom led it down the trail a little way and tethered it II comely. Then he returned to invostiI gate.

Therc were two big wounds in Fred Cobb's back; he had been dead at least a day. Tom pushed about in the bush, examining the ground. "Not a buffalo, but men," he said softly, and pursed hitlips in a silent whistle. He had found the spoor of Bomogo natives. He went back to the body and stood looking dgwn at" it reflectively. In the gia<=s was an old. dirty notebook. Tom picked it up, blew the ants off it, and read in a shaky scrawl: "They arc after me to get the diamond. Jaraga's men.'' Jaraga was chief of the village five miles away. Tom's thoughts went back to the night when he and Fred had stopped there and received the chief's hospitality. He had vivid recollections of the old man taking from a bag at his -neck a large, unpolished diamond and exhibiting it to the white men in the light of the fire. It was his fetish; he, had found it while hunting, but would not say where'. So Fred had fallen to temptation; and this was his reward! He ought to have known better, a man of his experience. Tom went through the dead man's pocket*, gingerly; then he stepped out on the trail and stood looking afar. Hill and plain were apparently deserted. He could see for miles, and nothing moved;in that hazy, sun-dried expanse. But "', "a Way on the elopes of a distant /hill : Were"several dots which might be. antelopes, or goats. Tom took out his binoculars and focused them. They were

goats. ' "Jor a long time he" considered. The natives had murdered Cobb but they would not touch his" dead body. Unluckily for them Tom had come along before the hyenas had scented the corpse. It was doubtful if he would get out of the reserve alive. He hoped he had not been seen, but those goats must have a herdsman, and the vigilance of the herdsmen missed nothing. It was five miles to Jaraga's kraal, and a further 15 to Kuru, the Government post. It was 40 miles to the Tonga country from which he had come. His porters had gone on the day before; it was probable they had passed here just after the murder. They would have told Jaraga that Bwana Fleet was coming. Tom thought it likely he was under observation from many eyes. The "hot silence had suddenly become chill with portent; Tom shivered. As he rode stowly on his course, he pondered the ways of the Bomogo. They were still a wild, dangerous people; their favourite punishment for their enemies was to tie them on ant hills to die by slow torture. Tom had moved freely among them for years; they had always been friendly. That fool Cobb! Presently he unscrewed a lens from his binoculars and began to work at the brass frame with his knife. He removed the glass and slipped it into his pocket. What had possessed OabbT Jaraga's diamond would be worth a J tidy sum, but to steal it and then ride on along a well-known trail was madness! Well, Cobb was always reckless to the point of lunacy. • • In the late afternoon he rode among the huts at Jaraga's kraal. He was singing to himself, and, seeing a man hoeing, he shouted gaily for news of the chief. The man pointed. Jaraga was coming out of his hut by the big tamarind tree, the" huge branches of which formed a council chamber for the elders of the tribe. Jaraga was old and dirty; he wore a goatskin robe, and carried a long stick.. He acknowledged the white man's salutation joyfully, and called for men to take his horse. "But I'm not going to stay here tonight, Jaraga/' Tom protested; "I must push oh to Kuru." The chief would not listen; two men laid hands on the pony's reins. 'It will soon be dark, there is no moon, and Kuru is far. Stay here to-night, Bwana; theTe is a hut for you; and tonight we will hold an n'goma." Tom noticed the little skin bag about his neck; it was new. Evidently the chief had got his property back and wafe wearing it as before. Tom dismounted. The game must be played with skill. or Jaraga's suspicions . would be aroused. He wished he knew for certain if he had been watched on the trail; one never knew what these people would do, they Were incredibly careless: at times, and at times diabolically cunning. But "play safe" was the best motto in the wilderness. A boy led him to a clean hut, where skins had been laid on the floor and a charpoy bed placed as though they had prepared for his coming. Tom dumped his saddle and blanket roll, took out soap and towel, and went to the river to The huts clustered everywhere among palms; there were hundreds of people in this village, and- one could not escape their surveillance. While he washed, a couple of youths chattered on the bank near by; a woman filled a gourd farther up ; strearii. "■ •' * , " • , ' I They seemed' to be watching the white man with unusual curiosity—or was it Ihte imagination? Of course they were always curious; there was nothing strange about that. And Jaraga had always been tht perfect host, he would ' not hurt Tom- who-had taMWftOum «•

long and been on such good terms with him. Across the river were some ant hills, and in one a thick stake had been driven. Tom looked at it and shuddered. The District Commissioner at Kuril had 12 policemen, what was the good of a force like that to control these people? Someone had been pegged on that ant hill since the last rains; the ants had eaten his flesh, and the hyenas his bones; there was nothing left of him. A criminal probably, justly condemned according to tribal law. but he had met his fate withip the jurisdiction of the white magistrate, and Tom knew the magistrate had never heard of it. They kept their secrets well, the Bomogo. The sun had set. the village was in peaceful shadow when he returned to the hut. From various points among the huts came the tattoo of drums, and afar off across the darkening velt the sounds were repeated where other villages announced their readiness to participate in the dance .Taraga would hnrfl that nicht. Men and women were coming in. little groups of them. The men wore ostrich-feather plumes and carried war spears; the jrirls had on their blue-bead necklaces and embroidered girdles.

Tn the clearing by the tamarind tree boys were preparing, a bisr lire, and women brought gourds of beer to sot them in a ring round the dancing floor. Tom looked at bis possessions piled in the hut. One could not take a rifle to a dance—not without arousing suspicion. In the finish he went without it. Two stools were set tinder the tree for .Taraga and his guest. The lire was kindled; girls began to bring the dishes from the huts. There was roasted mutton, sweet potatoes, and a stew of beans, wild spinach and mealies. It was all placed on an ox-hide on the ground, and they dipped into it at will. Tom, was hungry and he made a good meal. After eating, he gave the chief a cigarette, and they settled down to drink pombe and watch the dancers. It was now dark; tires lit up the clearing; lines of men and girls shuffled to and fro to the thunder of the drums, engaged in the ritual of the n'goma. Everyone was singing; the warriors in a deep, hoarse chant, the. jrirls in a high, quivering falsetto. The rap-a-tap of the little drums, and the boom of the large ones made that rhythm from which the rumba was copied with exactitude. The chief and his guest talked idly of various things, until Jaraga asked for news of Fred. Cobb. Then Tom was on his guard. He had last seen Fred in Kuru a couple of weeks ago, he volunteered. He knew nothing of his movements since; and he did not care, for he had quarrelled with Fred. "He can go to blazes, for my part!" "Did you not come by the elephant trail from Usembe to-day?" Jaraga inquired smoothly. "I did, and I had to hurry to get in here by dark." "Then you saw nothing of your friend —when you stopped, before crossing the river?" Tom's hand went to his pocket, and to his mouth. The lens fitted into his cheek, and did not impede his utterance as he ; answered with simulated surprise. "No; was he travelling that way?" He was aware of two big morani standing by the tree behind him. "You lie," said Jaraga quietly. "The m'zungu Cobb lies dead in the bushes there, and you found him. Now you will go to Kufu to tell the Bwana D.C." "What is Ihat you tell me? By the sacred stone of the Tonga, I know nothing of it!" "You were his friend," said Jaraga, unmoved. "When we caught him and surrounded him, he cried out: 'Upesi knows all I do; he will avenge me if you harm me.' Then he shot two of men and we speared him. You did not know thia when you rode into Bomogo country. I think that Cobb was to await your coming before stealing my mungu, and you were late." "Jaraga, I was no party to it," said Tom, earnestly. "I tell you Cobb was no longer my friend and I would not have joined him in stealing from you. Have we not always respected each other, and wished each other well?"

The chief ground his teeth, staring with white eye-balls-"That is why I will kill you, white man!" he shouted. "You are a jackal, a thief who eats my food and plans my ruin! The wazungu are all bloodbrothers; they held each other in everything; and you would have helped this enemy who drank with me. at night and stole from me at dawn."

He made a signal, and instantly two spears were levelled at Tom's breast. Tom made no movement.

"This is unjust, Jaraga," he said with dignity. "I was not aware of the plot against you; I wish you well." "Then why come here with honeyed words, seeking to deceive me? —when your heart is black with anger for the sight you saw in the bushes by the river. " You rode into my village singing. To-morrow you would return with the police, singing my death song." Tom protested no further; he knew the uselessness of it. A length of rawhide reim was brought; his wrists were bound firmly. "What do you intend to do with me T" he asked as they pulled him to his feet. "The ant heap. It is the proper death for treacherous dogs. It is a pity Cobb did not live to suffer it." "My boys will return to look for me." "But they will not find you, for we shall take you away into the bush." Tom was guarded in the hut until the morning sun had dried the herbage and Jaraga felt like making an excur-

By C. T. STONEHAMI

sion. They had taken off his bush-shirt, and in shorts and singlet he had been half-frozen during the night but the walk loosened his muscles.

They took him into the thick of the thorns to a small glade, in which was a conical ant hill. In the top of it a stake had been driven; evidently Tom was not the first to be brought here. They fastened his feet to the stake, so that he hung head downwards. Then they turned up the earth of the hill with their spears. But in daylight the ants were far down; it would take a little time before they discovered the feast prepared for them. Jaraga and his men. after a few jibes, to which Tom did not reply, went off about their affairs, promising they would return the next morning to see how their victim had passed the night. Tom hung silent and motionless until he judged them far away. The sun was very hot, his position was uncomfortable* and already he felt insects wandering over his creeping flesh. Presently they would begin to bite; in a few hours he would be smothered in them, eyes, nose and ears would be full of the rapacious creatures. It was time to act.

He took the lens from his mouth, wiped it on his singlet, and held it to focus the sun's rays on the reim which bound his wrists. Smoke and a tiny ilame rose from the burning hide. In " ten minutes Tom had freed bis hands. He then drew up his body, to catch the stake with one hand while clutching the burning-glass firmly in the other. The bonds on his ankles yielded as' readily as those on his wrists. Standing at the ant hill, where, but for his cunning, he would have suffered a dreadful death, he picked ants from his clothing and chafed the circulation back into his limbs. His pony, saddle and rifle were lost to him, and that was a matter for regret. He was not inclined to let these people rob him with impunity. After a while, being much in need of refreshment, he struck out for the river, which lie reached at a point far below the village. There he passed the day in concealment, getting the sleep which had been denied him during the night.. At midnight, in bright starlight, Tom entered the sleeping village and made his way to Jaraga's hut. The entrance was blocked by a' door of plaited withes against the intrusion of hyenas. Tom listened for several minutes; then he lifted the door from its place, and crawled within.

The hut was a large one; in the centre burnt a small fire which cast a glow on walls and roof; at- one side was the chief's bed, shielded by skin curtains. Tom crouched, counting the heavy breathing of his enemy. Jaraga was sunk in the profound slumber of the black man which little short of an earthquake will break. The intruder took a rungu from the weapons in the corner, drew back the curtains inch by inch and struck the sleeping man firmly on the head with the war-club.

Jaraga made no sound; his body stiffened, and then relaxed. Tom was not sure if he had killed the man, but was quite indifferent on the matter. Without haste, he removed the skin bag from the Chief's neck. "

His rifle and bush-shirt hung from a wall peg; in the pockets of the garment were tobacco pouch, pipe and matches, together with the things he had taken from Cobb's body. He collected his belongings and left the hut, taking care to replace the door as he had found it. Then he struck out for Kuru, filling his pipe as he strode along. The following morning Tom Fleet entered the district commissioner's office, and greeted Evans, the official in charge, with his usual grave courtesy. He explained the finding of Cobb's body, and his own capture and escape. Evans was first astonished, and then angry. He interrupted Tom's narrative to summon his askari sergeant. "Take all your men and bring me the Chief Jaraga, wanted for murder," he ordered. The sergeant saluted and withdrew. From the police lines a bugle shrilled. Evans tapped the notebook before him. "'They are after me to get the diamond,' " he quoted. "What diamond T" Tom rolled an object across the table. The. district commissioner stared at the small, discoloured stone with a flaw across it. "I've seen this before, it is the stone Cobb wore on his finger." He smiled grimly. "So that was it! The beastly thing is not worth £10—Cobb told me so. himself, and he was an expert." "Experts ain't always right," said Tom thoughtfully. He picked up his rifle and turned to depart. "Don't leave here," Evans warned him. "I shall want you as a witness." Late that night Evans sent for Tom Fleet. "Jaraga is in the cells," he told him. "Like all the Bomogo, he will say nothing; but I promise you he'll hang for murder. He accuses you of robbing him of a valuable diamond. He claims you entered his hut, clubbed him, and took the thing from his neck." "I did," said Tom calmly. "I wasn't going to let him keep his ill-gotten gains." "Then where is it?"

Tom pointed to the stone on the table. Evens picked it up and held it in his palm. "Oh, I see," he said. "He killed Cobb to get jbhis, • and then you took it back from him. What a nerve to complain that he was robbed! He'd better not bring that up again." He dropped the diamond into a drawer. Said Tom slowly: "After the trial I'd like to have that as a keepsake. Cobb had no relations, and we wa* partners for a long time. He'd like me to profit, if anyone does." "I don't see why not," Evans replied, "you deserve a souvenir of this business." Six months later Tom Fleet came to Kurn again. He called to pay his respects to the district commissioner. "I have been wanting to see you." said Evans sternly. "I hear you sold a diamond in Nairobi lately for £400. Jaraga persisted that you stole a diamond from him. right up to the moment they hanged him. What about it?" "You sent me the stone yourself," Tom" reminded him, "after the trial." Evans gasped. "You don't mean it was Cobb's diamond ?" Tom nodded. "Experts are frequently mistaken," he remarked. "I sold it to a fellow from the Band. He's gone off back there now, and he's well pleased with his bargain." When he left the Government office he walked down to the river. There he stood contemplating ffthe swirling current for some minutes. Then he took from his pocket a small, discoloured diamond, with a flaw across it, and hurled it far out into the water. "Too risky to have that knocking around," ha muttered as he went back to his teat.