The Black Phantom

John Stuart Mill · en
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THE BLACK PHANTOM

       *       *       *       *       *

BY LEO E. MILLER

The Black Phantom
The Hidden People
In the Tiger's Lair

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

       *       *       *       *       *

THE BLACK PHANTOM

by

LEO E. MILLER

Illustrated

[Illustration: Here, where he had rested before, he would sleep again
Page 217]

Charles Scribner's Sons
New York
1922

Copyright, 1922, By Charles Scribner's Sons
Copyright, 1922, By The Open Road

Printed in the United States of America

TO MY SON SPENCER KELSEY MILLER

INTRODUCTION

The dried or mounted skins of animals from out-of-the-way places are
familiar to every one who has visited museums and other similar
institutions. But, no matter how cleverly arranged, they suggest
comparatively little of the creatures' real appearance in their native
environment.

The comedies, the tragedies, and the life stories of the untrammelled
wild creatures are infinitely more fascinating than a survey of their
lifeless and often faded forms, only too frequently collected by the
hundreds with little other thought than that of classification or the
possession first of rare or undescribed species.

It was with the view of bringing to light the home life of some of the
jungle's inhabitants that "The Black Phantom" was written.

                                                        Leo E. Miller.
Floral Park,
Stratford, Conn.
August 1, 1922.

CONTENTS
                                                                    PAGE
When the Deluge Came                                                   1
Oomah, the Story-teller                                               30
The Terror of Claws and Fangs                                         44
As It Was in the Beginning                                            82
The Struggle for Existence                                           114
The Cruelty of Tumwah                                                150
The White Feather                                                    189

ILLUSTRATIONS

Here where he had rested before, he would sleep again       Frontispiece

                                                             FACING PAGE
Suma waited with bated breath and blazing eyes                        96

There was the twang of the bow and the deadly missile
whined through the air                                               208

"Tumwah, send the rain-clouds here"                                  222

THE BLACK PHANTOM

CHAPTER I

WHEN THE DELUGE CAME