scular arms and legs were dull in their
blackness.

There was a whisper of terror--"The Walker of the Night!--" and the
people fell back ... a woman screamed and fell into a fit.

"O woman," said M'gani, "deliver to me these little children who have
done no evil."

Open-mouthed the half-demented daughter of B'limi Saka stared at him.

He walked forward, lifted the children in his two arms and went slowly
through the people, who parted in terror at his coming.

He turned at the top of the basin to speak.

"Do no wickedness," said he; then he gently stooped to put the children
on the ground, for mouthing and bellowing senseless sounds Lamalana came
furiously after him, her long, crooked knife in her hand. He thrust his
hand into the leopard skin as for a weapon, but before he could withdraw
it, a man of Lombobo, half in terror, fell upon and threw his arms about
M'gani.

"Bo'ma!" boomed the woman, and drew back her knife for the stroke....

Bones, from the edge of the clearing, jerked up the rifle he carried and
fired.

* * * * *

"What man is this?" asked Bones.

Bosambo looked at the stranger.

"This is M'gani," he said, "he who walks in the night."

"The dooce it is!" said Bones, and fixing his monocle glared at the
stranger.

"From whence do you come?" he asked.

"Lord, I come from the Coast," said the man, "by many strange ways,
desiring to arrive at this land secretly that I might learn the heart of
these people and understand." Then, in perfect English, "I don't think
we've ever met before, Mr. Tibbetts--my name is Sanders."

CHAPTER VIII

A RIGHT OF WAY

The Borders of Territories may be fixed by treaty, by certain
mathematical calculations, or by arbitrary proclamation. In the
territories over which Sanders ruled they were governed as between tribe
and tribe by custom and such natural lines of demarkation as a river or
a creek supplied.

In forest land this was not possible, and there had ever been between
the Ochori and the Lombobo a feud and a grievance, touched-up border
fights, for hereabouts there is good hunting. Sanders had tried many
methods and had hit upon the red gum border as a solution to a great
difficulty. For some curious reason there were no red gum trees in the
northern fringe of the forest for five miles on the Ochori side of the
great wood; it was innocent of this beautiful tree and Sanders' fiat had
gone forth that there should