MEN OF THE TREES 



breeze from the rich man's table. And the Judge called 

 for his tallest and strongest askari and ordered him to 

 make ready the great whip with many tails, and take 

 the prisoner before the Court House and to flog it with 

 twenty-five mighty strokes when the sun cast the pris- 

 oner's shadow on the ground. 



"The same day, towards four o'clock, a crowd gath- 

 ered before the Court House, and in front of all was the 

 rich man who was greedy to see the punishment in- 

 flicted. Exactly at four o'clock the prisoner was brought 

 forth, followed by the askari carrying the great whip 

 with many tails, and as the prisoner stood, the sun cast 

 his shadow on the ground and the askari raised his 

 mighty whip with the many thongs in the air, and 

 brought it down with a crash on the ground by the side 

 of the poor man. Again he raised his whip, and again he 

 brought it down with equal strength, and so he did 

 twenty-five times. The rich man, standing near by the 

 poor man, was choked with the dust raised from the 

 ground by the crashing thongs, and he went off to the 

 Judge in a great rage, choking all the time with the dust 

 which he had swallowed, and said to him, *See here, I 

 called you to punish this man and you are making a fool 

 of me; your askari is merely beating the ground and 

 making a great dust.' And the Judge said to the rich 

 man, 'Did this poor man steal your food?' The rich man 

 replied, *No, but he stole the scent of my food.' And 

 the Judge said, 'Very well. I do not flog him. I flog his 

 shadow.' " 



90 



