ded off his neck and shoulders as from the horny
back of a turtle," another added. "The phantom bears a charmed life. Our
weapons cannot harm this monster from the other world that has come to
destroy us."
"Listen!" Choflo commanded. "Thus have I solved the mystery. Tumwah is
not angry with us. He is angry with this evil spirit which is usurping
his power on earth. Therefore, by drying up the land and the water
Tumwah hopes to destroy the great tiger so that the demon must leave the
dead body and return to the place of blackness from which it escaped,
even if in so doing all others that live must perish in the battle. To
save ourselves we must kill the Black Phantom."
"But, have we not seen how useless our weapons are against this
monster?" Sagguk interposed.
"True. But I will prepare a charmed arrow with a poisoned point. Someone
must go to seek out the lair of the great tiger that harbors the evil
spirit and slay it."
"Is it not true, all-knowing one," Yaro, who was of great age ventured
to inquire, "that he who slays a tiger, possessed of an evil spirit
though it be, shall come under a spell? And that the spell shall not be
broken until his nearest of kin shall have forfeited his life in
atonement for the deed?"
"It is true. But what is one life compared to the lives of all of us?
Better that one die than all. But the honor that shall fall upon the
slayer will be great for, even as he sends the charmed arrow crashing on
its mission of beneficent destruction knowing that in so doing he is
sacrificing the life of his most beloved, he shall also know that he is
the savior of the race."
Choflo paused so that his words might have their full effect. Then he
continued. "Now go!" he commanded, rising. "And let no man look toward
the entrance of his shelter, for before the sun rises the Great Spirit
will decide. A white feather resting in the sand before the doorway will
announce the selection of the honored one, who must pursue and slay the
Black Phantom. The responsibility will be great, for upon the success
or failure of the chosen one will depend not only the survival of the
race but of all life on earth."
Once again the group dissolved itself. And as the frightened people
huddled in their huts the voice of Choflo, raised in incantations and
accompanied by the rattle of charms floated out over the still night
air. After a time the sounds were hushed.
The silence was ominous. The suspense was awful. Now a
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