Ki-Gor and the Nirvana of the Seven Voodoos | Page 9

crowd quieted down. Then Robert launched into an
impassioned oration.
Presently the crowd began to sway and murmur. As Robert's emotions
mounted higher and higher, the responsive murmur grew louder and
rhythmic. And finally, when he wound up his oration at fever heat, the
men of the Whalla leaped to their feet shouting and brandishing their
assegais.
Robert made his way through the howling gesticulating mob over to
Ki-Gor.
"Well, I got the ahmy lined up," he said. "They didn't like the idea so
good, at first, but I talked 'em around. In about an hour we-all'll be
ready to go beat up on the gorilla-men, an' see whut kin' of a place this
yere Land of the Livin' Dead is."
Ki-Gor and Robert Spelvin, Chief of the M'balla regarded each other
with mutual respect. In spite of the fact that each one was a complete
puzzle to the other. Together they went into the Chief's house to plan
their strategy.
An hour later, when the little army filed out of the village and headed
eastward toward the mountain, each warrior, at Ki-Gor's, suggestion,
carried a long, throwing spear, in addition to the short stabbing assegai.

Ki-Gor's reasoning was that if they met gorilla-men in any quantity
they could do considerable preliminary damage with the throwing
spears at long range, before they closed in on the powerful brutes.
Robert carried his rifle in his hand and the Luger holstered on a belt.
Over each shoulder he had draped a bandolier with ammunition for
both weapons. Ki-Gor wore a long knife in a scabbard strapped around
his waist, and in each hand he carried a broad-bladed M'balla assegai.
After a half a day's brisk climb, the swift African dusk caught the party
still several miles short of their destination. They made camp on a bare
shoulder of the mountain, taking care to build many bright fires, and
detailing plenty of sentries. They had no intention of allowing
themselves to be surprised by a night raid of gorilla-men.
The night passed without incident, and before sunup the little army was
on its way again, climbing once, more. Ki-Gor noticed that many of the
strapping M'balla warriors seemed to be less than enthusiastic over the
expedition, as they drew nearer to the high, mountain gateway to the
Land of the Living Dead, and its dread defenders. But if Chief Robert
noticed it he gave no sign of it.
The line of march lay down hill for a while, down the eastern slope of
the great mountain. But still in front of them was an even higher
mountain, or rather, range of mountains. High up in a niche between
two peaks, Robert said, was the Gateway. Soon the M'balla army
skirted a rim, and started on the final upgrade. A nervous silence settled
down over the party, and the rate of speed noticeably slackened. As
they toiled higher and higher up the mountainside, the vegetation began
to thin out a little. Tall trees gave way to more stunted growths, and
odd-shaped bushes, twisted by high winds.
And a hot, dry west wind baked the bent backs of the M'balla.
Suddenly the party came in at right angles on what appeared to be a
well-worn trail. It was a strip of bare, hard-packed ground, six feet wide,
that twisted up the slope, flanked on either side by high banks. Ki-Gor
crinkled his nose.

"Gorilla!" he said, laconically.
Robert nodded and detailed two of the M'balla to go up the trail as
scouts, in advance of the party. Then, he growled an order over his
shoulder and led the little army forward.
They had not proceeded far, when the two scouts came tumbling down
the path, faces gray with fear. They immediately started babbling about
gorillas, but Robert hushed them with a stern command, and with
Ki-Gor, took them off to one side, out of earshot of the rest of the
M'balla. Then, he listened to the scouts as they described what they had
seen. The Gateway, which was hardly more than a thousand yards away,
up the trail, was fairly swarming with gorilla-men. They had evidently
scented the approaching M'balla, and reinforcements were pouring out
of the narrow opening in the natural rock bastion.
"You have done well," Robert commented, and turned to Ki-Gor. "This
ain't goin' to be so easy, Mr. Ki-Gor. I think you-all better take this yere
Luger. There ain't no trick to usin' it. Jest point it like you'd point your
finger at somethin', and squeeze this yere little thing. And when it stops
goin' 'bang,' jest give it back to me, and I'll reload for you."
Then Robert wheeled and strode back to his army.
"Follow me up the bank," he said, in the M'balla dialect, "we will
ambush the men-apes from