Lukundoo | Page 2

of Stone as far off, if still in Africa at all, and here he
turned up ahead of us and probably forestalling our quest.
Chapter II
Etcham's naming of Stone brought back to us all his tantalizing story,
his fascinating parents, their tragic death; the brilliance of his college
days; the dazzle of his millions; the promise of his young manhood; his
wide notoriety, so nearly real fame; his romantic elopement with the
meteoric authoress whose sudden cascade of fiction had made her so
great a name so young, whose beauty and charm were so much
heralded; the frightful scandal of the breach-of-promise suit that
followed; his bride's devotion through it all; their sudden quarrel after it
was all over; their divorce; the too much advertised announcement of
his approaching marriage to the plaintiff in the breach-of-promise suit;
his precipitate remarriage to his divorced bride; their second quarrel
and second divorce; his departure from his native land; his advent in
the dark continent. The sense of all this rushed over me and I believe

Van Rieten felt it, too, as he sat silent.
Then he asked:
"Where is Werner?"
"Dead," said Etcham. "He died before I joined Stone."
"You were not with Stone above Luebo?"
"No," said Etcham, "I joined him at Stanley Falls."
"Who is with him?" Van Rieten asked.
"Only his Zanzibar servants and the bearers," Etcham replied.
"What sort of bearers?" Van Rieten demanded.
"Mang-Battu men," Etcham responded simply.
Now that impressed both Van Rieten and myself greatly. It bore out
Stone's reputation as a notable leader of men. For up to that time no one
had been able to use Mang-Battu as bearers outside of their own
country, or to hold them for long or difficult expeditions.
"Were you long among the Mang-Battu?" was Van Rieten's next
question.
"Some weeks," said Etcham. "Stone was interested in them and made
up a fair-sized vocabulary of their words and phrases. He had a theory
that they are an offshoot of the Balunda and he found much
confirmation in their customs."
"What do you live on?" Van Rieten enquired.
"Game, mostly," Etcham lisped.
"How long has Stone been laid up?" Van Rieten next asked.

"More than a month," Etcham answered.
"And you have been hunting for the camp?" Van Rieten exclaimed.
Etcham's face, burnt and flayed as it was, showed a flush.
"I missed some easy shots," he admitted ruefully. "I've not felt ve'y fit
myself."
"What's the matter with your chief?" Van Rieten enquired.
"Something like carbuncles," Etcham replied.
"He ought to get over a carbuncle or two," Van Rieten declared.
"They are not carbuncles," Etcham explained. "Nor one or two. He has
had dozens, sometimes five at once. If they had been carbuncles he
would have been dead long ago. But in some ways they are not so bad,
though in others they are worse."
"How do you mean?" Van Rieten queried.
"Well," Etcham hesitated, "they do not seem to inflame so deep nor so
wide as carbuncles, nor to be so painful, nor to cause so much fever.
But then they seem to be part of a disease that affects his mind. He let
me help him dress the first, but the others he has hidden most carefully,
from me and from the men. He keeps his tent when they puff up, and
will not let me change the dressings or be with him at all."
"Have you plenty of dressings?" Van Rieten asked.
"We have some," said Etcham doubtfully. "But he won't use them; he
washes out the dressings and uses them over and over."
"How is he treating the swellings?" Van Rieten enquired.
"He slices them off clean down to flesh level, with his razor."
"What?" Van Rieten shouted.

Etcham made no answer but looked him steadily in the eyes.
"I beg pardon," Van Rieten hastened to say. "You startled me. They
can't be carbuncles. He'd have been dead long ago."
"I thought I had said they are not carbuncles," Etcham lisped.
"But the man must be crazy!" Van Rieten exclaimed.
"Just so," said Etcham. "He is beyond my advice or control."
"How many has he treated that way?" Van Rieten demanded.
"Two, to my knowledge," Etcham said.
"Two?" Van Rieten queried.
Etcham flushed again.
"I saw him," he confessed, "through a crack in the hut. I felt impelled to
keep a watch on him, as if he was not responsible."
"I should think not," Van Rieten agreed. "And you saw him do that
twice?"
"I conjecture," said Etcham, "that he did the like with all the rest."
"How many has he had?" Van Rieten asked.
"Dozens," Etcham lisped.
"Does he eat?" Van Rieten enquired.
"Like a wolf," said Etcham. "More than any two bearers."
"Can he walk?" Van Rieten asked.
"He crawls a bit, groaning," said