“Look!” he hissed, pointing to an ivory figure on a shelf at the back of the stall.
Bud’s eyes widened. “Wow! Except for the fact that’s ivory, it’s just like the devil doll with the poison-gas capsule!”
Tom felt a surge of excitement. Perhaps the figure would provide a clue to his unknown en-54 REPELATRON SKYWAY
emy! He noticed that the carver had stopped work and was watching them closely.
Indicating the small ivory statue, Tom asked, “How much?”
IVORY IDOL 55
“Nkb mo nto wi.” The carver shrugged and went back to work.
“Maybe he doesn’t speak English,” Bud murmured.
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“I’ll bet he does!” Tom took out his wallet. “We want to buy it. Please name a price.”
“Kise tita!” The carver shook his head.
As Tom persisted, the native grew excited. A crowd began to gather, muttering ominously.
“Anything wrong? Perhaps I can help.”
Hearing a familiar American voice, the boys turned in relief and saw Darcy Creel shouldering his way toward the booth.
“I’d like to buy that ivory figure,” Tom explained, “but this man doesn’t seem to want to sell it.”
Creel glanced at the statue. His face immediately took on a worried look. He spoke a few hasty words to the carver in some African tongue, then turned back to the boys.
“The figure’s not for sale,” he told Tom. “It represents a native god-Uoshu, or Satan.
The statue is sacred.”
“But we’ve seen one just like it back in America!” Bud blurted out.
Creel shrugged. “Uoshu is always represented the same way-with that queer headdress, medicine gourds, and necklace of cowrie shells. Collectors sometimes obtain a sacred idol, but usually the natives are afraid to sell them, for fear of provoking the god’s anger.”