{"product_id":"2940014061520","title":"The Wood Devil Thing","description":"Fresh from the government press, they announced, in English on one\u003cbr\u003ehalf and neat, round Burmese on the other, that five thousand rupees\u003cbr\u003ewere offered for the capture, dead or alive, of one Boh Lu-Bain,\u003cbr\u003econvicted of dacoity, with murder, robbery under arms, arson, and an\u003cbr\u003eappalling list of subsidiary crimes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe windproof acetylene camp lantern threw sharp, angular shadows\u003cbr\u003eacross the hard-grain mahogany of the sergeant's face as it suddenly\u003cbr\u003ecracked into a grim smile.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Huh! Looks like a pretty durn safe offer---seein' things is as they\u003cbr\u003eis,\" he grunted to himself aloud, after the manner of white men who\u003cbr\u003espend much time in the far corners of the earth, with only natives to\u003cbr\u003etalk to. \"Mister Boh is some slick conundrum.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis lips pressed slowly together again, and he caressed his wooden\u003cbr\u003eblock of a chin in perplexed introspection. As he turned the case over\u003cbr\u003ein his mind and swore impatiently at the queerness of its attendant\u003cbr\u003ecircumstances, another link was suddenly added to the chain of\u003cbr\u003euncanniness. From out of the dense, black jungles that ringed the\u003cbr\u003eclearing there sounded a wild, quavering cry, so long-drawn and so\u003cbr\u003epitiful that the subdued clamor from the other tents of the little\u003cbr\u003ecamp stopped short as though cut off with a knife.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBefore the long wail had ceased to vibrate through the still, hot air,\u003cbr\u003ein some miraculous manner a rifle had appeared in Sergeant McGrath's\u003cbr\u003ehands and he stood outside of his tent, stepping with instinctive\u003cbr\u003ecaution away from the thin shaft of light which cut far out across the\u003cbr\u003eblackness from the tent flap. He listened in the intense silence which\u003cbr\u003ehad fallen. Then---\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Hussein Jemadar!\" he called.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Huzoor!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA tall, uniformed figure appeared out of the darkness and saluted.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Take two men and see what that cry was about.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe jemadar saluted again and disappeared; and McGrath stood peering\u003cbr\u003elike a nighthawk into the blacker shadows across the clearing.\u003cbr\u003ePresently an altercation was apparent among the men's tents. It waxed\u003cbr\u003efiercer; and shortly the jemadar loomed up again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Huzoor, the men are mutinous. They insist that it is the Nat devil\u003cbr\u003ewho shrieks as he rends some unfortunate, and their knees are limp\u003cbr\u003ewith fear.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Fathers of many fools!\" barked the sergeant. \"This is no time to make\u003cbr\u003emonkey-chatter. There is need of speed. I'll attend to the men later--\u003cbr\u003ewhen I come back. Make lights and double the sentry. Swift, now!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor an instant he was a darker blot under the shadow of the trees, and\u003cbr\u003ethen he merged into the blackness. The native jemadar had to marvel\u003cbr\u003efor the hundredth time at the speed and silence with which his\u003cbr\u003esuperior melted into the undergrowth; and then he went to carry out\u003cbr\u003ehis order and to acquaint the men who were afraid of nats of the\u003cbr\u003egreater hell which would presently occur to them when the sahib\u003cbr\u003ereturned.","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47069355376880,"sku":"2940014061520","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940014061520_p0.jpg?v=1763600016","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940014061520","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}