Prev | Current Page 230 | Next

Oppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips), 1866-1946

"A Millionaire of Yesterday"

If you want to preach, come and take a pick now, and
preach when they're resting,' and he did and worked well too, and
afterwards when we had to knock off, he preached, and Trent took
the chair and made 'em all listen. Well, when we got a bit inland
we had the natives to deal with, and if you ask me I believe that's
one reason Cathcart hated the whole thing so. He's a beastly coward
I think, and he told me once he'd never let off a revolver in his
life. Well, they tried to surprise us one night, but Trent was up
himself watching, and I tell you we did give 'em beans. Great,
ugly-looking, black chaps they were. Aunt Ernie, I shall never
forget how I felt when I saw them come creeping through the long,
rough grass with their beastly spears all poised ready to throw.
And now for my own special adventure. Won't you shiver when you
read this! I was taken prisoner by one of those chaps, carried off
to their beastly village and very nearly murdered by a chap who
seemed to be a cross between an executioner and a high-priest, and
who kept dancing round me, singing a lot of rot and pointing a knife
at me. You see, I was right on the outside of the fighting and I
got a knock on the head with the butt-end of a spear, and was a bit
silly for a moment, and a great chap, who'd seen me near Trent and
guessed I was somebody, picked me up as though I'd been a baby and
carried me off.


Pages:
218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242