The Project Gutenberg EBook of "Martin Of Nitendi"; and The River Of Dreams, by
Louis Becke

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Title: "Martin Of Nitendi"; and The River Of Dreams
1901

Author: Louis Becke

Release Date: February 18, 2008 [EBook #24641]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTIN OF NITENDI ***

Produced by David Widger

"MARTIN OF NITENDI"; and THE RIVER OF DREAMS

By Louis Becke

T. Fisher Unwin, 1901

"MARTIN OF NITENDI"

Half-way up the side of the mountain which overlooked the waters of
the little land-locked harbour there was a space clear of timber. Huge,
jagged rocks, whose surfaces were covered with creepers and grey moss,
protruded from the soil, and on the highest of these a man was lying at
full length, looking at the gunboat anchored half a mile away. He was
clothed in a girdle of _ti_ leaves only; his feet were bare, cut, and
bleeding; round his waist was strapped a leather belt with an empty
cartridge pouch; his brawny right hand grasped a Snider rifle; his
head-covering was a roughly made cap of coconut-nut leaf, with a
projecting peak, designed to shield his blood-shot, savage eyes from
the sun. Yet he had been a White Man. For nearly an hour he had been
watching, ever since the dawn had broken. Far below him, thin, wavering
curls of pale blue smoke were arising from the site of the native
village, fired by the bluejackets on the previous evening. The ruins of
his own house he could discern by the low stone wall surrounding it;
as for the native huts which, the day before, had clustered so thickly
around his own dwelling, there was now no trace save heaps of grey
ashes.

A boat put off from the ship, and as the yellow-bladed oars flashed in
the sunlight the man drew his rifle close up to his side and his eyes
gleamed with a deadly hatred.

"Officers' shootin' party," he muttered, as he watched the boat ground
on the beach and three men, carrying guns, step out and walk up the
beach--"officer's shootin' party. Christ A'mighty! I'd like to pot every
one o' the swine. An' I could do it, too, I could do it. But wot's the
use o' bein' a blarsted fool for nothin'?"

The boat'