In its sickly
light about half-way between us and the edge of the clearing, say
thirty yards off, I saw--oh! what did I see! The devil destroying a
lost soul. At least, that is what it looked like. A huge, grey-black
creature, grotesquely human in its shape, had the thin Kalubi in its
grip. The Kalubi's head had vanished in its maw and its vast black
arms seemed to be employed in breaking him to pieces.
Apparently he was already dead, though his feet, that were lifted off
the ground, still moved feebly.
I sprang up and covered the beast with the rifle which was cocked,
getting full on to its head which showed the clearest, though this was
rather guesswork, since I could not see distinctly the fore-sight. I
pulled, but either the cap or the powder had got a little damp on the
journey and hung fire for the fraction of a second. In that
infinitesimal time the devil--it is the best name I can give the thing
--saw me, or perhaps it only saw the light gleaming on the barrel. At
any rate it dropped the Kalubi, and as though some intelligence warned
it what to expect, threw up its massive right arm--I remember how
extraordinarily long the limb seemed and that it looked thick as a
man's thigh--in such a fashion as to cover its head.
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