Ingratitude

By H.J.E.S.

MR. GALLFULL seemed annoyed. He was. generally. His face always looked as though he was smelling something. At this moment his expres sion was of one suddenly faced with a dog, long dead.

He was holding, in each hand, an ear of two black youths. They had been enjoying an old-time fight, and still were at it, in spirit.

Gallfull dragged them along the road.

“You’ll come to the Government”, he gasped. “Attempted murder, that’s what I’ll charge you with, Ezekiel. You were trying to kill Jacob! Cain is the name I should have given you”.

The boys writhed along, reluctantly, two hands trying to readjust loin cloths and the other two wiping blood from crescent noses. Gallfull pulled them up the steep steps to the magistrate’s of fice. He forced Ezekiel into the presence of the man-of-law, who was busily typ ing tax returns.

“I charge this boy with attempted mur der”, declared Gallfull, dramatically.

“Poor Jacob was almost strangled when I came up”.

The magistrate took his fingers from the keys. “Oh, boys of that size never finish each other, Mr. Gallfull”, he said.

“I don’t think they feel so murderous towards each other as we whites do some times. Why not call it a case of com mon assault? I’ll deal with it to-morrow; I’m terribly busy now”.

“I don’t want to keep a murderer on my place for 24 hours”, cried Gallfull.

“I want the case tried now”.

“Believe me, if there are any murder ers around here, you won’t keep them with you”, said the R.M., quietly. “At present, I can’t take the case, so I will hand it over to my assistant, Mr. Hope ful”.

A sturdy young man stepped from the next office. “Take up this matter”, be gan the magistrate, “and see ”

“I protest!” interposed Gallfull. “I won’t be turned over to an office boy!

The case is serious”.

“Mr. Hopeful is the Assistant Magis trate of this District, Mr. Gallfull”, said the R.M. “I understood you knew that.

Please take the parties into the court room, Mr. Hopeful”.

“I refuse to be dictated to as to how I am to charge my own boys”, splutter ed Gallfull.

“If the case is as you claim you have no say in the matter at all, Mr. Gall full. If Jacob or anybody claims that Ezekiel tried to kill him, then the mat ter is out of your hands altogether”.

The R.M. stood up. “What kind talk you make along this boy, Jacob. Ezekiel try to kill you finish?”

“O, no, we play along ground. Tau bada he talk we die. We no die!”

Gallfull seemed to smell two dead dogs.

“Don’t lie before me”, he shrieked, “I saw you clutch ”

“Now, Mr. Gallfull”, said the magis trate, “I will see that no lies are told to me—that is the most important part of this matter. If Jacob wants to make court against Ezekiel, I’ll hear him —or any other patriarch or prophet in Papua —and there will be no lying”.

“I know what I saw”, screamed Gall full. “Do you imply that I lie?”

“Now, now, Mr. Gallfull”, replied the R.M., “I think that when you come into this court you should be sober!”

“I’m drunk, am I? I’ll have you up for libel!” bellowed the infuriated man.

“Oh, no. I don’t imply that you are drunk. I mean that one should come into a court with a sober mien, not over wrought with fury”.

“I’ll show you how sober I am”, stut tered the informer. “I’ll write to head quarters. My complaint will be clear enough”.

Gallfull moved to depart with dramatic dignity. Unfortunately, his pose was so perpendicular that he could not see the steps. The top one was nearer than he thought. He was uttering a prophecy of retribution. It broke suddenly into a yell of wonder, as his feet skidded over the edge of the verandah, and his body bumped down the stairs.

Hurriedly the magistrate descended to assist the sprawling, little, fat form; but

with groanings which, fortunately, could not be uttered, Gallfull squirmed unaided to his feet. He gave an ungrateful glance at his would-be helpers and, with out a . word of farewell lurched up the path.

“Well, well”, exclaimed the R.M. “I don’t think that Ezekiel could have felt so like Cain as Gallfull looks”.

A sound of smothered laughter came from above. The men of law looked up and saw Ezekiel and Jacob clasping each other in an ecstasy of mirth.

“Good!” said the A.R.M. “Mr. Gallfull has settled that case splendidly, after all”.

Mr, and Mrs. C. G. Kilner received numerous congratulations on the birth of a son, Peter, at Namanula, New Guinea, early in February.