Page:Germ Growers.djvu/60

Rh enough." He paused for a moment, and looked me steadily in the face, and went on—

"But, governor, if you go for the second part of the programme you'll never see a white man again."

"Why so?" said I.

"Well," said he, "you are depending on Gioro. Now Gioro is a good fellow, far the best black fellow I ever knew by a very long way. And my best hope for you is that Gioro will take you back once he has had a look at his people. He will, if he knows what will happen as well as I know it."

"And what will happen?" said I.

"Well, they'll kill Gioro before he has been very long among them. Sooner or later they always kill the blacks that have been among white men."

"And then," struck in Jack, "I suppose they will kill us."

"They may and they may not. You have ten times a better chance that Gioro. But if they don't you will be as good as their slaves for life. You won't be able to get back unless they take you back, and they will never take you back."

"Suppose we start to return on our own account?"

"Well," said the man, "if you are not more than forty or fifty miles to the west of the wire when you