THE YELLOW GOD

AN IDOL OF AFRICA

By H. Rider Haggard

CHAPTER I

SAHARA LIMITED

Sir Robert Aylward, Bart. , M. P. , sat in his office in the City ofLondon. It was a very magnificent office, quite one of the finest thatcould be found within half a mile of the Mansion House. Its exteriorwas built of Aberdeen granite, a material calculated to impress theprospective investor with a comfortable sense of security. Other stucco, or even brick-built, offices might crumble and fall in an actual or afinancial sense, but this rock-like edifice of granite, surmounted by alife-sized statue of Justice with her scales, admired from either cornerby pleasing effigies of Commerce and of Industry, would surely endureany shock. Earthquake could scarcely shake its strong foundations; panicand disaster would as soon affect the Bank of England. That at leastwas the impression which it had been designed to convey, and not withoutsuccess. 

"There is so much in externals, " Mr. Champers-Haswell, Sir Robert'spartner, would say in his cheerful voice. "We are all of us influencedby them, however unconsciously. Impress the public, my dear Aylward. Letsolemnity without suggest opulence within, and the bread, or rather thegranite, which you throw upon the waters will come back to you aftermany days. "

Mr. Aylward, for this conversation occurred before his merits or thedepth of his purse had been rewarded by a baronetcy, looked at hispartner in the impassive fashion for which he was famous, and answered:

"You mix your metaphors, Haswell, but if you mean that the public arefools who must be caught by advertisement, I agree with you. Only thisparticular advertisement is expensive and I do not want to wait manydays for my reward. However, £20, 000 one way or the other is a smallmatter, so tell that architect to do the thing in granite. "

Sir Robert Aylward sat in his own quiet room at the back of thisenduring building, a very splendid room that any Secretary of Statemight have envied, but arranged in excellent taste. Its walls werepanelled with figured teak, a rich carpet made the footfall noiseless, an antique Venus stood upon a marble pedestal in the corner, and overthe mantelpiece hung a fine portrait by Gainsborough, that of a certainMiss Aylward, a famous beauty in her day, with whom, be it added, itspresent owner could boast no connection whatsoever. 

Sir Robert was seated at his ebony desk playing with a pencil, and thelight from a cheerful fire fell upon his face. 

In its own way it was a remarkable face, as he appeared then in hisfourth and fortieth year; very pale but with a natural pallor, very wellcut and on the whole impressive. His eyes were dark, matching his blackhair and pointed beard, and his nose was straight and rather prominent. Perhaps the mouth was his weakest feature, for there was a certainshiftiness about it, also the lips were thick and slightly sensuous. Sir Robert knew this, and therefore he grew a moustache to veil themsomewhat. To a careful observer the general impression given by thisface was such as is left by the sudden sight of a waxen mask. "Howstrong! How lifelike!" he would have said, "but of course it isn'treal. There may be a man behind, or there may be wood, but that's onlya mask. " Many people of perception had felt like this about Sir RobertAylward, namely, that under the mask of his pale countenance dwelt adifferent being whom they did not know or appreciate. 

If these had seen him at this moment of the opening of our story, theymight have held that Wisdom was justified of her children. For nowin the solitude of his splendid office, of a sudden Sir Robert's maskseemed to fall from him. His face broke up like ice beneath a thaw. Herose from his table and began to walk up and down the room. He talked tohimself aloud. 

"Great Heavens!" he muttered, "what a game to have played, and it willgo through. I believe that it will go through. "

He stopped at the table, switched on an electric light and made a rapidcalculation on the back of a letter with a blue pencil. 

"Yes, " he said, "that's my share, a million and seventeen thousandpounds in cash, and two million in ordinary shares which can be workedoff at a discount--let us say another seven hundred and fifty thousand, plus what I have got already--put that at only two hundred and fiftythousand net. Two millions in all, which of course may or may not beadded to, probably not, unless the ordinaries boom, for I don't meanto speculate any more. That's the end of twenty years' work, RobertAylward. And to think of it, eighteen months ago, although I seemed sorich, I was on the verge of bankruptcy--the very verge, not worth fivethousand pounds. Now what did the trick? I wonder what did the trick?"

He walked down the room and stopped opposite the ancient marble, staringat it--

"Not Venus, I think, " he said, with a laugh, "Venus never made any manrich. " He turned and retraced his steps to the other end of the room, which was veiled in shadow. Here upon a second marble pedestal stood anobject that gleamed dimly through the gloom. It was about ten inches ora foot high, but in that place nothing more could be seen of it, exceptthat it was yellow and had the general appearance of a toad. For somereason it seemed to attract Sir Robert Aylward, for he halted to stareat it, then stretched out his hand and switched on another lamp, in thehard brilliance of which the thing upon the pedestal suddenly declareditself, leaping out of the darkness into light. It was a terribleobject, a monstrosity of indeterminate sex and nature, but surmounted bya woman's head and face of extraordinary, if devilish loveliness, sunkback between high but grotesquely small shoulders, like to those of alizard, so that it glared upwards. The workmanship of the thing wasrude yet strangely powerful. Whatever there is cruel, whatever thereis devilish, whatever there is inhuman in the dark places of the world, shone out of the jewelled eyes which were set in that yellow femaleface, yellow because its substance was of gold, a face which seemed notto belong to the embryonic legs beneath, for body there was none, butto float above them. A hollow, life-sized mask with two tiny frog-likelegs, that was the fashion of it. 

"You are an ugly brute, " muttered Sir Robert, contemplating this effigy, "but although I believe in nothing in heaven above or earth below, except the abysmal folly of the British public, I am bothered if I don'tbelieve in you. At any rate from the day when Vernon brought you intomy office, my luck turned, and to judge from the smile on your sweetcountenance, I don't think it is done with yet. I wonder what thosestones are in your eyes. Opals, I suppose, from the way they changecolour. They shine uncommonly to-day, I never remember them so bright. I----"

At this moment a knock came on the door. Sir Robert turned off the lampand walked back to the fireplace. 

"Come in, " he said, and as he spoke once more his pale face grewimpassive and expressionless. 

The door opened and a clerk entered, an imposing-looking clerk withiron-grey hair, who wore an irreproachable frock coat and patent leatherboots. Advancing to his master, he stood respectfully silent, waiting tobe addressed. For quite a long while Sir Robert looked over his head asthough he did not see him; it was a way of his. Then his eyes rested onthe man dreamily and he remarked in his cold, clear voice:

"I don't think I rang, Jeffreys. "

"No, Sir Robert, " answered the clerk, bowing as though he spoke toRoyalty, "but there is a little matter about that article in _TheCynic_. "

"Press business, " said Sir Robert, lifting his eyebrows; "you shouldknow by this time that I do not attend to such details. See Mr. Champers-Haswell, or Major Vernon. "

"They are both out at the moment, Sir Robert. "

"Go on, then, Jeffreys, " replied the head of the firm with a resignedsigh, "only be brief. I am thinking. "

The clerk bowed again. 

"The _Cynic_ people have just telephoned through about that article wesent them. I think you saw it, sir, and you may remember it begins----"and he read from a typewritten copy in his hand which was headed "SaharaLimited":

"'We are now privileged to announce that this mighty scheme which willturn a desert into a rolling sea bearing the commerce of nations andcause the waste places of the earth to teem with population and toblossom like the rose, has been completed in its necessary if dullfinancial details and will within a few days be submitted to investorsamong whom it has already caused so much excitement. These details wewill deal with fully in succeeding articles, and therefore now need onlypause to say that the basis of capitalization strikes us as wonderfullyadvantageous to the fortunate public who are asked to participate inits vast prospective prosperity. Our present object is to speak of itsnational and imperial aspects----'"

Sir Robert lifted his eyes in remonstrance:

"How much more of that exceedingly dull and commonplace puff do youpropose to read, Jeffreys?" he asked. 

"No more, Sir Robert. We are paying _The Cynic_ thirty guineas to insertthis article, and the point is that they say that if they have to put inthe 'national and imperial' business they must have twenty more. "

"Indeed, Jeffreys? Why?"

"Because, Sir Robert--I will tell you, as you always like to hear thetruth--their advertisement-editor is of opinion that Sahara Limited is anational and imperial swindle. He says that he won't drag the nation andthe empire into it in an editorial under fifty guineas. "

A faint smile flickered on Sir Robert's face. 

"Does he, indeed?" he asked. "I wonder at his moderation. Had I beenin his place I should have asked more, for really the style is a littleflamboyant. Well, we don't want to quarrel with them just now--feed thesharks. But surely, Jeffreys, you didn't come to disturb me about such atrifle?"

"Not altogether, Sir Robert. There is something more important. _TheDaily Judge_ not only declines to put any article whatsoever, butrefuses our advertisement, and states that it means to criticize theprospectus trenchantly. "

"Ah!" said his master after a moment's thought, "that _is_ ratherserious, since people believe in the _Judge_ even when it is wrong. Offer them the advertisement at treble rates. "

"It has been done, sir, and they still refuse. "

Sir Robert walked to the corner of the room where the yellow objectsquatted on its pedestal, and contemplated it a while, as a man oftenstudies one thing when he is thinking of another. It seemed to give himan idea, for he looked over his shoulder and said:

"That will do, Jeffreys. When Major Vernon comes in, give him mycompliments and say that I should be obliged by a word or two with him. "

The clerk bowed and went as noiselessly as he had entered. 

"Let's see, " added Sir Robert to himself. "Old Jackson, the editor of_The Judge_, was a great friend of Vernon's father, the late Sir WilliamVernon, G. C. B. I believe that he was engaged to be married to his sisteryears ago, only she died or something. So the Major ought to be able toget round him if anybody can. Only the worst of it is I don't altogethertrust that young gentleman. It suited us to give him a share in thebusiness because he is an engineer who knows the country, and thisSahara scheme was his notion, a very good one in a way, and for otherreasons. Now he shows signs of kicking over the traces, wants to knowtoo much, is developing a conscience, and so forth. As though thepromoters of speculative companies had any business with consciences. Ah! here he comes. "

Sir Robert seated himself at his desk and resumed his calculations upona half-sheet of note-paper, and that moment a clear, hearty voice washeard speaking to the clerks in the outer office. Then came the sound ofa strong, firm footstep, the door opened and Major Alan Vernon appeared. 

He was still quite a young man, not more than thirty-two or three yearsof age, though he lacked the ultra robust and rubicund appearance whichis typical of so many Englishmen of his class at this period of life. Aheavy bout of blackwater fever acquired on service in West Africa, whichwould have killed anyone of weaker constitution, had robbed his face ofits bloom and left it much sallower, if more interesting than once ithad been. For in a way there was interest about the face; also a certaincharm. It was a good and honest face with a rather eager, rather puzzledlook, that of a man who has imagination and ideas and who searches forthe truth but fails to find it. As for the charm, it lay for the mostpart in the pleasant, open smile and in the frank but rather round browneyes overhung by a somewhat massive forehead which projected a little, or perhaps the severe illness already alluded to had caused the restof the face to sink. Though thin, the man was bigly built, with broadshoulders and well-developed limbs, measuring a trifle under six feet inheight. 

Such was the outward appearance of Alan Vernon. As for his mind, it wasable enough in certain fashions, for instance those of engineering, and the soldier-like faculties to which it had been trained; frankand kindly also, but in other respects not quick, perhaps from itsunsuspiciousness. Alan Vernon was a man slow to discover ill and slowerstill to believe in it even when it seemed to be discovered, a weaknessthat may have gone far to account for his presence in the officeof those eminent and brilliant financiers, Messrs. Aylward &Champers-Haswell. Just now he looked a little worried, like a fish outof water, or rather a fish which has begun to suspect the quality of thewater, something in its smell or taste. 

"Jeffreys tells me that you want to see me, Sir Robert, " he said in hislow and pleasant voice, looking at the baronet rather anxiously. 

"Yes, my dear Vernon, I wish to ask you to do something, if you kindlywill, although it is not quite in your line. Old Jackson, the editor of_The Judge_, is a friend of yours, isn't he?"

"He was a friend of my father's, and I used to know him slightly. "

"Well, that's near enough. As I daresay you have heard, he is anunreasonable old beggar, and has taken a dislike to our Sahara scheme. Someone has set him against it and he refuses to receive advertisements, threatens criticisms, etc. Now the opposition of _The Judge_ or anyother paper won't kill us, and if necessary we can fight, but at thesame time it is always wise to agree with your enemy while he is in theway, and in short--would you mind going down and explaining his mistaketo him?"

Before answering Major Vernon walked to the window leisurely and lookedout. 

"I don't like asking favours from family friends, " he replied at length, "and, as you said, I think it isn't quite my line. Though of course ifit has anything to do with the engineering possibilities, I shall bemost happy to see him, " he added, brightening. 

"I don't know what it has to do with; that is what I shall be obliged ifyou will find out, " answered Sir Robert with some asperity. "One can'tdivide a matter of this sort into watertight compartments. It istrue that in so important a concern each of us has charge of hisown division, but the fact remains that we are jointly and severallyresponsible for the whole. I am not sure that you bear this sufficientlyin mind, my dear Vernon, " he added with slow emphasis. 

His partner moved quickly; it might almost have been said that heshivered, though whether the movement, or the shiver, was produced bythe argument of joint and several liability or by the familiarity of the"my dear Vernon, " remains uncertain. Perhaps it was the latter, sincealthough the elder man was a baronet and the younger only a retiredMajor of Engineers, the gulf between them, as any one of discernmentcould see, was wide. They were born, lived, and moved in differentspheres unbridged by any common element or impulse. 

"I think that I do bear it in mind, especially of late, Sir Robert, "answered Alan Vernon slowly. 

His partner threw a searching glance on him, for he felt that there wasmeaning in the words, but only said:

"That's all right. My motor is outside and will take you to Fleet Streetin no time. Meanwhile you might tell them to telephone that you arecoming, and perhaps you will just look in when you get back. I haven'tgot to go to the House to-night, so shall be here till dinner time, andso, I think, will your cousin Haswell. Muzzle that old bulldog, Jackson, somehow. No doubt he has his price like the rest of them, in meal ormalt, and you needn't stick at the figure. We don't want him hanging onour throat for the next week or two. "

Ten minutes later the splendid, two-thousand guinea motor brougham drewup at the offices of the _Judge_ and the obsequious motor-footman bowedMajor Vernon through its rather grimy doorway. Within, a small boy ina kind of box asked his business, and when he heard his name, said thatthe "Guvnor" had sent down word that he was go up at once--third floor, first to the right and second to the left. So up he went, and whenhe reached the indicated locality was taken possession of by aworried-looking clerk who had evidently been waiting for him, and almostthrust through a door to find himself in a big, worn, untidy room. Ata huge desk in this room sat an elderly man, also big, worn, anduntidy-looking, who waved a long slip of galley-proof in his hand, andwas engaged in scolding a sub-editor. 

"Who is that?" he said, wheeling round. "I'm busy, can't see anyone. "

"I beg your pardon, " answered the Major with humility, "your people toldme to come up. My name is Alan Vernon. "

"Oh! I remember. Sit down for a moment, will you, and--Mr. Thomas, oblige me by taking away this rot and rewriting it entirely in the senseI have outlined. "

Mr. Thomas snatched his rejected copy and vanished through another door, whereon his chief remarked in an audible voice:

"That man is a perfect fool. Lucky I thought to look at his stuff. Well, he is no worse than the rest, in this weary world, " and he burst into ahearty laugh and swung his chair round, adding, "Now then, Alan, whatis it? I have a quarter of an hour at your service. Why, bless me! Iwas forgetting that it's more than a dozen years since we met; youwere still a boy then, and now you have left the army with a D. S. O. Andgratuity, and turned financier, which I think wouldn't have pleased yourold father. Come, sit down here and let us talk. "

"I didn't leave the army, Mr. Jackson, " answered his visitor; "it leftme; I was invalided out. They said I should never get my health backafter that last go of fever, but I did. "

"Ah! bad luck, very bad luck, just at the beginning of what should havebeen a big career, for I know they thought highly of you at theWar Office, that is, if they can think. Well, you have grown into afine-looking fellow, like your father, very, and someone else too, " andhe sighed, running his fingers through his grizzled hair. "But you don'tremember her; she was before your time. Now let us get to business;there's no time for reminiscences in this office. What is it, Alan, forlike other people I suppose that you want something?"

"It is about that Sahara flotation, Mr. Jackson, " he began ratherdoubtfully. 

The old editor's face darkened. "The Sahara flotation! Thataccursed----" and he ceased abruptly. "What have you, of all people inthe world, got to do with it? Oh! I remember. Someone told me that youhad gone into partnership with Aylward the company promoter, and thatlittle beast, Champers-Haswell, who really is the clever one. Well, setit out, set it out. "

"It seems, Mr. Jackson, that _The Judge_ has refused not only ourarticle, but also the advertisement of the company. I don't know muchabout this side of the affair myself, but Sir Robert asked me if I wouldcome round and see if things couldn't be arranged. "

"You mean that the man sent you to try and work on me because he knewthat I used to be intimate with your family. Well, it is a poor errandand will have a poor end. You can't--no one on earth can, while I sit inthis chair, not even my proprietors. "

There was silence broken at last by Alan, who remarked awkwardly:

"If that is so, I must not take up your time any longer. "

"I said that I would give you a quarter of an hour, and you have onlybeen here four minutes. Now, Alan Vernon, tell me as your father's oldfriend, why you have gone to herd with these gilded swine?"

There was something so earnest about the man's question that it did noteven occur to his visitor to resent its roughness. 

"Of course it is not original, " he answered, "but I had this idea aboutflooding the Desert; I spent a furlough up there a few years ago andemployed my time in making some rough surveys. Then I was obliged toleave the Service and went down to Yarleys after my father's death--it'smine now, you know, but worth nothing except a shooting rent, which justpays for the repairs. There I met Champers-Haswell, who lives nearand is a kind of distant cousin of mine--my mother was a Champers--andhappened to mention the thing to him. He took it up at once andintroduced me to Aylward, and the end of it was, that they offered me apartnership with a small share in the business, because they said I wasjust the man they wanted. "

"Just the man they wanted, " repeated the editor after him. "Yes, thelast of the Vernons, an engineer with an old name in his county, aclean record and plenty of ability. Yes, you would be just the man theywanted. And you accepted?"

"Yes. I was on my beam ends with nothing to do; I wanted to make somemoney. You see Yarleys has been in the family for over five hundredyears, and it seemed hard to have to sell it. Also--also----" and hepaused. 

"Ever meet Barbara Champers?" asked Mr. Jackson inconsequently. "I didonce. Wonderfully nice girl, and very good-looking too. But of courseyou know her, and she is her uncle's ward, and their place isn't far offYarleys, you say. Must be a connection of yours also. "

Major Vernon started a little at the name and his face seemed to redden. 

"Yes, " he said, "I have met her and she is a connection. "

"Will be a big heiress one day, I think, " went on Mr. Jackson, "unlessold Haswell makes off with her money. I think Aylward knows that; at anyrate he was hanging about when I saw her. "

Vernon started again, this time very perceptibly. 

"Very natural--your going into the business, I mean, under all thecircumstances, " went on Mr. Jackson. "But now, if you will take myadvice, you'll go out of it as soon as you can. "

"Why?"

"Because, Alan Vernon, I am sure you don't want to see your name draggedin the dirt, any more than I do. " He fumbled in a drawer and produceda typewritten document. "Take that, " he said, "and study it at yourleisure. It's a sketch of the financial career of Messrs. Aylward andChampers-Haswell, also of the companies which they have promoted andbeen connected with, and what has happened to them and to those whoinvested in them. A man got it out for me yesterday and I'm going to useit. As regards this Sahara business, you think it all right, and so itmay be from an engineering point of view, but you will never live tosail upon that sea which the British public is going to be asked to findso many millions to make. Look here. We have only three minutes more, soI will come to the point at once. It's Turkish territory, isn't it, andputting aside everything else, the security for the whole thing is aFirman from the Sultan?"

"Yes, Sir Robert Aylward and Haswell procured it in Constantinople. Ihave seen the document. "

"Indeed, and are you well acquainted with the Sultan's signature? I knowwhen they were there last autumn that potentate was very ill----"

"You mean----" said Major Vernon, looking up. 

"I mean, Alan, that I like not the security. I won't say any more, as there is a law of libel in this land. But _The Judge_ has certainsources of information. It may be that no protest will be made at once, for baksheesh can stop it for a while, but sooner or later the protestor repudiation will come, and perhaps some international bother;also much scandal. As to the scheme itself, it is shamelesslyover-capitalized for the benefit of the promoters--of whom, remember, Alan, you will appear as one. Now time's up. Perhaps you will take myadvice, and perhaps you won't, but there it is for what it's worth asthat of a man of the world and an old friend of your family. As for yourpuff article and your prospectus, I wouldn't put them in _The Judge_if you paid me a thousand pounds, which I daresay your friend, Aylward, would be quite ready to do. Good-bye. Come and see me again sometime, and tell me what has happened--and, I say"--this last was shoutedthrough the closing door, --"give my kind regards to Miss Barbara, forwherever she happens to live, she is an honest woman. "

CHAPTER II

THE YELLOW GOD

Alan Vernon walked thoughtfully down the lead-covered stairs, hustledby eager gentlemen hurrying up to see the great editor, whose bellwas already ringing furiously, and was duly ushered by the obsequiousassistant-chauffeur back into the luxurious motor. There was an electriclamp in this motor, and by the light of it, his mind being perplexed, he began to read the typewritten document given to him by Mr. Jackson, which he still held in his hand. 

As it chanced they were blocked for a quarter of an hour near theMansion House, so that he found time, if not to master it, at least togather enough of its contents to make him open his brown eyes very widebefore the motor pulled up at the granite doorway of his office. Alandescended from the machine, which departed silently, and stood for amoment wondering what he should do. His impulse was to jump into a busand go straight to his rooms or his club, to which Sir Robert did notbelong, but being no coward, he dismissed it from his mind. 

His fate hung in the balance, of that he was well aware. Either he mustdisregard Mr. Jackson's warning, confirmed as it was by many secretfears and instincts of his own, and say nothing except that he hadfailed in his mission, or he must take the bull by the horns and breakwith the firm. To do the latter meant not only a good deal of moralcourage, but practical ruin, whereas if he chose the former course, probably within a fortnight he would find himself a rich man. WhateverJackson and a few others might say in its depreciation, he was certainthat the Sahara flotation would go through, for it was underwritten, of course upon terms, by responsible people, moreover the unissuedpreferred shares had already been dealt in at a heavy premium. Now tosay nothing of the allotment to which he was entitled upon his holdingin the parent Syndicate, the proportion of cash due to him as a partner, would amount to quite a hundred thousand pounds. In other words, he, whohad so many reasons for desiring money, would be wealthy. After workingso hard and undergoing so much that he felt to be humiliating and evendegrading, why should he not take his reward and clear out afterwards?

This he remembered he could do, since probably by some oversight ofAylward's, who left such matters to his lawyers, his deed of partnershipdid not bind him to a fixed term. It could be broken at any moment. To this argument there was only one possible answer, that of hisconscience. If once he were convinced that things were not right, it would be dishonest to participate in their profits. And he wasconvinced. Mr. Jackson's arguments and his damning document had thrown aflood of light upon many matters which he had suspected but never quiteunderstood. He was the partner of, well, adventurers, and the moneywhich he received would in fact be filched from the pockets ofunsuspecting persons. He would vouch for that of which he was doubtfuland receive the price of sharp practice. In other words he, Alan Vernon, who had never uttered a wilful untruth or taken a halfpenny that was nothis own, would before the tribunal of his own mind, stand convicted asa liar and a thief. The thing was not to be borne. At whatever cost itmust be ended. If he were fated to be a beggar, at least he would be anhonest beggar. 

With a firm step and a high head he walked straight into Sir Robert'sroom, without even going through the formality of knocking, to findMr. Champers-Haswell seated at the ebony desk by his partner'sside examining some document through a reading-glass, which on hisappearance, was folded over and presently thrust away into a drawer. It seemed, Alan noticed, to be of an unusual shape and written in somestrange character. 

Mr. Haswell, a stout, jovial-looking, little man with a floridcomplexion and white hair, rose at once to greet him. 

"How do you do, Alan, " he said in a cheerful voice, for as a cousin bymarriage he called him by his Christian name. "I am just this minuteback from Paris, and you will be glad to learn that they are going tosupport us very well there; in fact I may say that the Government hastaken up the scheme, of course under the rose. You know the French havepossessions all along that coast and they won't be sorry to findan opportunity of stretching out their hand a little further. Ourdifficulties as to capital are at an end, for a full third of it isguaranteed in Paris, and I expect that small investors and speculatorsfor the rise will gobble a lot more. We shall plant £10, 000, 000 worth ofSahara scrip in sunny France, my boy, and foggy England has underwrittenthe rest. It will be a case of 'letters of Allotment and regret, ' _and_regret, Alan, financially the most successful issue of the last dozenyears. What do you say to that?" and in his elation the little manpuffed out his chest and pursing up his lips, blew through them, makinga sound like that of wind among wires. 

"I don't know, Mr. Haswell. If we are all alive I would prefer to answerthe question twelve months hence, or later, when we see whether thecompany is going to be a practical success as well, or not. "

Again Mr. Haswell made the sound of wind among wires, only this timethere was a shriller note in it; its mellowness was gone, it was asthough the air had suddenly been filled with frost. 

"A practical success!" he repeated after him. "That is scarcely ouraffair, is it? Promoters should not bother themselves with long views, Alan. These may be left to the investing public, the speculativeparson and the maiden lady who likes a flutter--those props of modernenterprise. But what do you mean? You originated this idea and alwayssaid that the profits should be great. "

"Yes, Mr. Haswell, on a moderate capitalization and provided that we aresure of the co-operation of the Porte. "

Mr. Haswell looked at him very searchingly and Sir Robert, who had beenlistening, said in his cold voice:

"I think that we thrashed out these points long ago, and to tell you thetruth I am rather tired of them, especially as it is too late to changeanything. How did you get on with Jackson, Vernon?"

"I did not get on at all, Sir Robert. He will not touch the thing on anyterms, and indeed means to oppose it tooth and nail. "

"Then he will find himself in a minority when the articles come outto-morrow. Of course it is a bore, but we are strong enough to snap ourfingers at him. You see they don't read _The Judge_ in France, and noone has ever heard of it in Constantinople. Therefore we have nothing tofear--so long as we stick together, " he added meaningly. 

Alan felt that the crisis had come. He must speak now or for ever holdhis peace; indeed Aylward was already looking round for his hat. 

"Sir Robert and Mr. Haswell, " he broke in rather nervously, "I havesomething to say to you, something unpleasant, " and he paused. 

"Then please say it at once, Vernon. I want to dress for dinner, I amgoing to the theatre to-night and must dine early, " replied Aylward in avoice of the utmost unconcern. 

"It is, Sir Robert, " went on Alan with a rush, "that I do not like thelines upon which this business is being worked, and I wish to give up myinterest in it and retire from the firm, as I have a right to do underour deed of partnership. "

"Have you?" said Aylward. "Really, I forget. But, my dear fellow, do notthink that we should wish to keep you for one moment against your will. Only, might I ask, has that old puritan, Jackson, hypnotized you, or isit a case of sudden madness after influenza?"

"Neither, " answered Alan sternly, for although he might be diffident onmatters that he did not thoroughly understand, he was not a man to brooktrifling or impertinence. "It is what I have said, no more nor less. Iam not satisfied either as to the capitalization or as to the guaranteethat the enterprise can be really carried out. Further"--and hepaused, --"Further, I should like what I have never yet been able toobtain, more information as to that Firman under which the concession isgranted. "

For one moment a sort of tremor passed over Sir Robert's impassivecountenance, while Mr. Haswell uttered his windy whistle, this time in atone of plaintive remonstrance. 

"As you have formally resigned your membership of the firm, I do not seethat any useful purpose can be served by discussing such matters. The fullest explanations, of course, we should have been willing togive----"

"My dear Alan, " broke in Mr. Champers-Haswell, who was quite upset, "Ido implore you to reflect for one moment, for your own sake. In a singleweek you would have been a wealthy man; do you really mean to throw awayeverything for a whim?"

"Perhaps Vernon remembers that he holds over 1700 of the Syndicateshares which we have worked up to £18, and thinks it wiser to capturethe profit in sight, generally speaking a very sound principle, "interrupted Aylward sarcastically. 

"You are mistaken, Sir Robert, " replied Alan, flushing. "The way thatthose shares have been artificially put up is one of the things to whichI most object. I shall only ask for mine the face value which I paid forthem. "

Now notwithstanding their experience, both of the senior partnersdid for a moment look rather scared. Such folly, or such honesty, wasabsolutely incredible to them. They felt that there must be much behind. Sir Robert, however, recovered instantly. 

"Very well, " he said; "it is not for us to dictate to you; you must makeyour own bed and lie on it. To argue or remonstrate would only be rude. "He put out his hand and pushed the button of an electric bell, adding ashe did so, "Of course we understand one thing, Vernon, namely, that asa gentleman and a man of honour you will make no public use of theinformation which you have acquired during your stay in this office, either to our detriment, personal or financial, or to your ownadvantage. "

"Certainly you may understand that, " replied Vernon. "Unless mycharacter is attacked and it becomes necessary for me to defend myself, my lips are sealed. "

"That will never happen--why should it?" said Sir Robert with a politebow. 

The door opened and the head clerk, Jeffreys, appeared. 

"Mr. Jeffreys, " said Sir Robert, "please find us the deed of partnershipbetween Major Vernon and ourselves, and bring it here. One moment. Please make out also a transfer of Major Vernon's parcel of SaharaSyndicate shares to Mr. Champers-Haswell and myself at par value, andfill in a cheque for the amount. Please remove also Major Vernon's namewherever it appears in the proof prospectus, and--yes--one thing more. Telephone to Specton--the Right Honourable the Earl of Specton, I mean, and say that after all I have been able to arrange that he shall have aseat on the Board and a block of shares at a very moderate figure, and that if he will wire his assent, his name shall be put into theprospectus. You approve, don't you, Haswell?--yes--then that is all, Ithink, Jeffreys, only please be as quick as you can, for I want to getaway. "

Jeffreys, the immaculate and the impassive, bowed, and casting one swiftglance at Vernon out of the corner of his eye, departed. 

What is called an awkward pause ensued; in fact it was a very awkwardpause. The die was cast, the matter ended, and what were the principalsto do until the ratifications had been exchanged or, a better simileperhaps, the _decree nisi_ pronounced absolute. Mr. Champers-Haswellremarked that the weather was very cold for April, and Alan agreed withhim, while Sir Robert found his hat and brushed it with his sleeve. ThenMr. Haswell, in desperation, for in minor matters he was a kindly sortof man who disliked scenes and unpleasantness, muttered something asto seeing him--Alan--at his house, The Court, in Hertfordshire, fromSaturday to Monday. 

"That was the arrangement, " answered Alan bluntly, "but possibly afterwhat has happened you will not wish that it should be kept. "

"Oh! why not, why not?" said Mr. Haswell. "Sunday is a day of rest whenwe make it a rule not to talk business, and if we did, perhaps we mightall change our minds about these matters. Sir Robert is coming, and Iam sure that your cousin Barbara will be very disappointed if you do notturn up, for she understands nothing about these city things which areGreek to her. "

At the mention of the name of Barbara Sir Robert Aylward looked up fromthe papers which he affected to be tidying, and Alan thought that therewas a kind of challenge in his eyes. A moment before he had made up hismind that no power on earth would induce him to spend a Sunday with hislate partners at The Court. Now, acting upon some instinct or impulse, he reversed his opinion. 

"Thanks, " he said, "if that is understood, I shall be happy to come. Iwill drive over from Yarleys in time for dinner to-morrow. Perhaps youwill say so to Barbara. "

"She will be glad, I am sure, " answered Mr. Haswell, "for she toldme the other day that she wants to consult you about some outdoortheatricals that she means to get up in July. "

"In July!" answered Alan with a little laugh. "I wonder where I shall bein July. "

Then came another pause, which seemed to affect even Sir Robert'snerves, for abandoning the papers, he walked down the room till he cameto the golden object that has been described, and for the second timethat day stood there contemplating it. 

"This thing is yours, Vernon, " he said, "and now that our relations areat an end, I suppose that you will want to take it away. What is itshistory? You never told me. "

"Oh! that's a long story, " answered Alan in an absent voice. "My uncle, who was a missionary, brought it from West Africa. I rather forget thefacts, but Jeekie, my negro servant, knows them all, for as a lad myuncle saved him from sacrifice, or something, in a place where theyworship these things, and he has been with us ever since. It is a fetishwith magical powers and all the rest of it. I believe they call it theSwimming Head and other names. If you look at it, you will see that itseems to swim between the shoulders, doesn't it?"

"Yes, " said Sir Robert, "and I admire the beautiful beast. She is crueland artistic, like--like finance. Look here, Vernon, we have quarrelled, and of course henceforth are enemies, for it is no use mincing matters, only fools do that. But in a way you are being hardly treated. Youcould get £10 apiece to-day for those shares of yours in a block on themarket, and I am paying you £1. I understand your scruples, but thereis no reason why we should not square things. This fetish of yours hasbrought me luck, so let's do a deal. Leave it here, and instead of acheck for £1700, I will make you one out for £17, 000. "

"That's a very liberal offer, " said Vernon. "Give me a moment to thinkit over. "

Then he also walked into the corner of the room and contemplated thegolden mask that seemed to float between the frog-like shoulders. Theshimmering eyes drew his eyes, though what he saw in them does notmatter. Indeed he could never remember. Only when he straightenedhimself again there was left on his mind a determination that notfor seventeen or for seventy thousand pounds would he part with hisownership in this very unique fetish. 

"No, thank you, " he said presently. "I don't think I will sell theYellow God, as Jeekie calls it. Perhaps you will kindly keep her herefor a week or so, until I make up my mind where to stow her. "

Again Mr. Champers-Haswell uttered his windy whistle. That a man shouldrefuse £17, 000 for a bit of African gold worth £100 or so, struck himas miraculous. But Sir Robert did not seem in the least surprised, onlyvery disappointed. 

"I quite understand your dislike to selling, " he said. "Thank you forleaving it here for the present to see us through the flotation, " and helaughed. 

At that moment Jeffreys entered the room with the documents. Sir Roberthanded the deed of partnership to Alan, and when he had identified it, took it from him again and threw it on the fire, saying that of coursethe formal letter of release would be posted and the dissolutionnotified in the _Gazette_. Then the transfer was signed and the chequedelivered. 

"Well, good-bye till Saturday, " said Alan when he had received thelatter, and nodding to them both, he turned and left the room. 

The passage ran past the little room in which Mr. Jeffreys, the headclerk, sat alone. Catching sight of him through the open door, Alanentered, shutting it behind him. Finding his key ring he removed fromit the keys of his desk and of the office strongroom, and handed themto the clerk who, methodical in everything, proceeded to write a formalreceipt. 

"You are leaving us, Major Vernon?" he said interrogatively as he signedthe paper. 

"Yes, Jeffreys, " answered Alan, then prompted by some impulse, added, "Are you sorry?"

Mr. Jeffreys looked up and there were traces of unwonted emotion uponhis hard, regulated face. 

"For myself, yes, Major--for you, on the whole, no. "

"What do you mean, Jeffreys? I do not quite understand. "

"I mean, Major, that I am sorry because you have never tried to shuffleoff any shady business on to my back and leave me to bear the brunt ofit; also because you have always treated me as a gentleman should, notas a machine to be used until a better can be found, and kicked asidewhen it goes out of order. "

"It is very kind of you to say so, Jeffreys, but I can't remember havingdone anything particular. "

"No, Major, you can't remember what comes natural to you. But I and theothers remember, and that's why I am sorry. But for yourself I am glad, since although Aylward and Haswell have put a big thing through and aregoing to make a pot of money, this is no place for the likes of you, and now that you are going I will make bold to tell you that I alwayswondered what you were doing here. By and by, Major, the row will come, as it has come more than once in the past, before your time. "

"And then?" said Alan, for he was anxious to get to the bottom of thisman's mind, which hitherto he had always found so secret. 

"And then, Major, it won't matter much to Messrs. Aylward andChampers-Haswell, who are used to that kind of thing and will probablydissolve partnership and lie quiet for a bit, and still less to folklike myself, who are only servants. But if you were still here it wouldhave mattered a great deal to you, for it would blacken your name andbreak your heart, and then what's the good of the money? I tell you, Major, " the clerk went on with quiet intensity, "though I am nobody andnothing, if I could afford it I would follow your example. But I can't, for I have a sick wife and a family of delicate children who have tolive half the year on the south coast, to say nothing of my old mother, and--I was fool enough to be taken in and back Sir Robert's last littleventure, which cost me all I had saved. So you see I must make a bitbefore the machine is scrapped, Major. But I tell you this, that if Ican get £5000 together, as I hope to do out of Saharas before I am amonth older, for they had to give me a look-in, as I knew too much, I amoff to the country, where I was born, to take a farm there. No moreof Messrs. Aylward and Haswell for Thomas Jeffreys. That's my bell. Good-bye, Major, I'll take the liberty to write you a line sometimes, for I know you won't give me away. Good-bye and God bless you, as I amsure He will in the long run, " and stretching out his hand, he took thatof the astonished Alan and wrung it warmly. 

When he was gone Alan went also, noticing that the clerks, whom somerumour of these events seemed to have reached, eyed him curiouslythrough the glass screens behind which they sat at their desks, ashe thought not without regret and a kind of admiration. Even themagnificent be-medalled porter at the door emerged from the carved teakbox where he dwelt and touching his cap asked if he should call a cab. 

"No, thank you, Sergeant, " answered Alan, "I will take a bus, and, Sergeant, I think I forgot to give you a present last Xmas. Will youaccept this?--I wish I could make it more, " and he presented him withten shillings. 

The Sergeant drew himself up and saluted. 

"Thank you kindly, Major, " he said. "I'd rather take that from you than£10 from the other gentlemen. But, Major, I wish we were out on the WestCoast again together. It's a stinking, barbarous hole, but not so bad asthis 'ere city. "

For once these two had served as comrades, and it was through Alan thatthe sergeant obtained his present lucrative but somewhat uncongenialpost. 

He was outside at last. The massive granite portal vanished behind himin the evening mists, much as a nightmare vanishes. He, Alan Vernon, whofor a year or more had been in bondage, was a free man again. All hisdreams of wealth had departed; indeed if anything, save in experience, he was poorer than when first the shadow of yonder doorway fell uponhim. But at least he was safe, safe. The deed of partnership which hadbeen as a chain about his neck, was now white ashes; his name was erasedfrom that fearful prospectus of Sahara Limited, wherein millions whichsomeone would provide were spoken of like silver in the days of Solomon, as things of no account. The bitterest critic could not say that hehad made a halfpenny out of the venture, in fact, if trouble came, hisvoluntary abandonment of the profits due to him must go to his credit. He had plunged into the icy waters of renunciation and come up clean ifnaked. Never since he was a boy could Alan remember feeling so utterlylight-hearted and free from anxiety. Not for a million pounds would hehave returned to gather gold in that mausoleum of reputations. As forthe future, he did not in the least care what happened. There was noone dependent on him, and in this way or in that he could always earn acrust, a nice, honest crust. 

He ran down the street and danced for joy like a child, yes, andpresented a crossing-sweeper against whom he butted with a wholesixpence in compensation. Thus he reached the Mansion House, notunsuspected of inebriety by the police, and clambered to the top of abus crowded with weary and anxious-looking City clerks returning homeafter a long day's labour at starvation wage. In that cold company anda chilling atmosphere some of his enthusiasm evaporated. He rememberedthat this step of his meant that sooner or later, within a year or twoat most, Yarleys, where his family had dwelt for centuries, must go tothe hammer. Why had he not accepted Aylward's offer and sold that oldfetish to him for £17, 000? There was no question of share-dealing there, and if a very wealthy man chose to give a fancy price for a curiosity, he could take it without doubt or shame. At least it would have sufficedto save Yarleys, which after all was only mortgaged for £20, 000. For thelife of him he could not tell. He had acted on impulse, a very curiousimpulse, and there was an end of it perhaps; it might be because hisuncle had told him as a boy that the thing was unique, or perhapsbecause old Jeekie, his negro servant, venerated it so much and sworethat it was "lucky. " At any rate he had declined and there was an end. 

But another and a graver matter remained. He had desired wealth to saveYarleys, but he desired it still more for a different purpose. Aboveeverything on earth he loved Barbara, his distant cousin and the nieceof Mr. Champers-Haswell, who until an hour ago had been his partner. Now she was a great heiress, and without fortune he could not marry her, even if she would marry him, which remained in doubt. For one thingher uncle and guardian Haswell, under her father's will, had absolutediscretion in this matter until she reached the age of twenty-five, andfor another he was too proud. Therefore it would seem that in abandoninghis business, he had abandoned his chance of Barbara also, which was atruly dreadful thought. 

Well, it was in order that he might see her, that he had agreed to visitThe Court on the morrow, even though it meant a meeting with his latepartners, who were the last people with whom he desired to foregatheragain so soon. Then and there he made up his mind that before he badeBarbara farewell, he would tell her the whole story, so that she mightnot misjudge him. After that he would go off somewhere--to Africaperhaps. Meanwhile he was quite tired out, as tired as though he hadlain a week in the grip of fever. He must eat some food and get tobed. Sufficient unto the day was the evil thereof, yet on the whole heblessed the name of Jackson, editor of _The Judge_ and his father's oldfriend. 

When Alan had left the office Sir Robert turned to Mr. Champers-Haswelland asked him abruptly, "What the devil does this mean?"

Mr. Haswell looked up at the ceiling and whistled in his own peculiarfashion, then answered:

"I cannot say for certain, but our young friend's strange conduct seemsto suggest that he has smelt a rat, possibly even that Jackson, the oldbeast, has shown him a rat--of a large Turkish breed. "

Sir Robert nodded. 

"Vernon is a fellow who doesn't like rats; they seem to haunt hissleep, " he said; "but do you think that having seen it, he will keep itin the bag?"

"Oh! certainly, certainly, " answered Mr. Haswell with cheerfulness;"the man is the soul of honour; he will never give us away. Look how hebehaved about those shares. Still, I think that perhaps we are well ridof him. Too much honour, like too much zeal, is a very dangerous qualityin any business. "

"I don't know that I agree with you, " answered Sir Robert. "I am notsure that in the long run we should not do better for a little more ofthe article. For my part, although it will not hurt us publicly, for thething will never be noticed, I am sorry that we have lost Vernon, verysorry indeed. I don't think him a fool, and awkward as they may be, Irespect his qualities. "

"So do I, so do I, " answered Mr. Haswell, "and of course we have actedagainst his advice throughout, which must have been annoying to him. The scheme as he suggested it was a fair business proposition that mighthave paid ten per cent. On a small capital, but what is the good of tenper cent. To you and me? We want millions and we are going to get them. Well, he is coming to The Court to-morrow, and perhaps after all weshall be able to arrange matters. I'll give Barbara a hint; she hasgreat influence with him, and you might do the same, Aylward. "

"Miss Champers has great influence with everyone who is fortunate enoughto know her, " answered Sir Robert courteously. "But even if she choosesto use it, I doubt if it will avail in this case. Vernon has been makingup his mind for a long while. I have watched him and am sure of that. To-night he determined to take the plunge and I do not think that weshall see any more of him in this office. Haswell, " he added with suddenenergy, "I tell you that of late our luck has been too good to last. Theboom, the real boom, came in with Vernon, and with Vernon I think thatit will go. "

"At any rate it must leave something pretty substantial behind it thistime, Aylward, my friend. Whatever happens, within a week we shall berich, really rich for life. "

"For life, Haswell, yes, for life. But what is life? A bubble that anypin may prick. Oh! I know that you do not like the subject, but it isas well to look it in the face sometimes. I'm no church-goer, but ifI remember right we were taught to pray the good Lord to deliver usespecially 'in all times of our wealth, ' which is followed by somethingabout tribulation and sudden death, for when they wrote that prayer thewheel of human fortune went round just as it does to-day. There, let'sget out of this before I grow superstitious, as men who believe innothing sometimes do, because after all they must believe in something, I suppose. Got your hat and coat? So have I, come on, " and he switchedoff the light, so that the room was left in darkness except for thefaint glimmering of the fire. 

His partner grumbled audibly, for in turning he had knocked his handagainst the desk. 

"Leave me my only economy, Haswell, " he answered with a hard littlelaugh. "Electricity is strength and I hate to see strength burning towaste. Why do you mind?" he went on as he stepped towards the door. "Is it the contrast? In all times of our wealth, in all times of ourtribulation, from sickness and from sudden death----"

"Good Lord deliver us, " chimed in Mr. Haswell in a shaking voice behindhim. "What the devil's that?"

Sir Robert looked round and saw, or thought that he saw, something verystrange. From the pillar on which it stood the golden fetish with awoman's face, appeared to have floated. The firelight showed it glidingtowards them across, but a few inches above the floor of the great room. It came very slowly, but it came. Now it reached them and paused, and now it rose into the air until it attained the height of Mr. Champers-Haswell and stayed there, staring into his face and not ahand's breadth away, just as though it were a real woman glaring at him. 

He uttered a sound, half whistle and half groan, and fell back, as itchanced on to a morocco-covered seat behind him. For a moment or twothe gleaming, golden mask floated in the air. Then it turned verydeliberately, rose a little way, and moving sidelong to where Sir Robertstood, hung in front of _his_ face. 

Presently Aylward staggered to the mantelpiece and began to fumble forthe switch; in the silence his nails scratching at the panelling madea sound like to that of a gnawing mouse. He found it at last, and nextinstant the office broke into a blaze of light, showing Mr. Haswell, his rubicund face quite pale, his hat and umbrella on the floor, gaspinglike a dying man upon the couch, and Sir Robert himself clinging to themantel-shelf as a person might do who had received a mortal wound, whilethe golden fetish reposed calmly on its pillar, to all appearance asimmovable and undisturbed as the antique Venus which matched it at theother end of the room. For a while there was silence. Then Sir Robert, recovering himself, asked:

"Did you notice anything unusual just now, Haswell?"

"Yes, " whispered his partner. "I thought that hideous African thingwhich Vernon brought here, came sliding across the floor and stared intomy face with its glittering eyes, and in the eyes----"

"Well, what was in the eyes?"

"I can't remember. It was a kind of picture and the meaning of it wasSudden Death--oh Lord! Sudden Death. Tell me it was a fancy bred of thatill-omened talk of yours?"

"I can't tell you anything of the sort, " answered Aylward in a hollowvoice, "for I saw something also. "

"What?" asked his partner. 

"Death that wasn't sudden, and other things. "

Again the silence fell till it was broken by Aylward. 

"Come, " he said, "we have been over-working--too much strain, and nowthe reaction. Keep this rubbish to yourself, or they will lock you up inan asylum. "

"Certainly, Aylward, certainly. But can't you get rid of that beastlyimage?"

"Not on any account, Haswell, even if it haunts us all day. Here itshall stop until the Saharas are floated on Monday, if I have to lock itin the strongroom and throw the keys into the Thames. Afterwards Vernoncan take it, as he has a right to do, and I am sure that with it will goour luck. "

"Then the sooner our luck goes, the better, " replied Haswell, witha mere ghost of his former whistle. "Life is better than luck, and--Aylward, that Yellow God you are so fond of means to murder us. Weare being fatted for the sacrifice, that is all. I remember now, thatwas one of the things I saw written in its eyes!"

CHAPTER III

JEEKIE TELLS A TALE

The Court, Mr. Champers-Haswell's place, was a very fine house indeed, of a sort. That is, it contained twenty-nine bedrooms, each of them witha bathroom attached, a large number of sitting-rooms, ample garages, stables, and offices, the whole surrounded by several acres ofnewly-planted gardens. Incidentally it may be mentioned that it wasbuilt in the most atrocious taste and looked like a suburban villa seenthrough a magnifying glass. 

It was in this matter of taste that it differed from Sir RobertAylward's home, Old Hall, a few miles away. Not that this was oldeither, for the original house had fallen down or been burnt a hundredyears before. But Sir Robert, being gifted with artistic perception, hadreared up in place of it a smaller but really beautiful dwelling of softgrey stone, long and low, and built in the Tudor style with many gables. 

This house, charming as it was, could not of course compare withYarleys, the ancient seat of the Vernons in the same neighbourhood. Yarleys was pure Elizabethan, although it contained an oak-roofed hallwhich was said to date back to the time of King John, a remnant of aformer house. There was no electric light or other modern convenienceat Yarleys, yet it was a place that everyone went to see because of itsexceeding beauty and its historical associations. The moat by which itwas surrounded, the grass court within, for it was built on three sidesof a square, the mullioned windows, the towered gateway of red brick, the low-panelled rooms hung with the portraits of departed Vernons, the sloping park and the splendid oaks that stood about, singly or ingroups, were all of them perfect in their way. It was one of the mostlovely of English homes, and oddly enough its neglected gardens and theair of decay that pervaded it, added to rather than decreased its charm. 

But it is with The Court that we have to do at present, not withYarleys. Mr. Champers-Haswell had a week-end party. There were tenguests, all men, and with the exception of Alan, who it will beremembered was one of them, all rich and in business. They included twoFrench bankers and three Jews, everyone a prop of the original SaharaSyndicate and deeply interested in the forthcoming flotation. Todescribe them is unnecessary, for they have no part in our story, beingonly financiers of a certain class, remarkable for the riches they hadacquired by means that for the most part would not bear examination. Theriches were evident enough. Ever since the morning the owners of thiswealth had arrived by ones or twos in their costly motorcars, attendedby smart chauffeurs and valets. Their fur coats, their jewelled studsand rings, something in their very faces suggested money, which indeedwas the bond that brought and held them together. 

Alan did not come until it was time to dress for dinner, for he knewthat Barbara would not appear before that meal, and it was her societyhe sought, not that of his host or fellow guests. Accompanied by hisnegro servant, Jeekie, for in a house like this it was necessary to havesomeone to wait upon him, he drove over from Yarleys, a distance of tenmiles, arriving about eight o'clock. 

"Mr. Haswell as gone up to dress, Major, and so have the othergentlemen, " said the head butler, Mr. Smith, "but Miss Champers told meto give you this note and to say that dinner is at half-past eight. "

Alan took the note and asked to be shown to his room. Once there, although he had only five and twenty minutes, he opened it eagerly, while Jeekie unpacked his bag. 

"Dear Alan, " it ran: "Don't be late for dinner, or I may not be able tokeep a place next to me. Of course Sir Robert takes me in. They are aworse lot than usual this time, odious--odious!--and I can't stand oneon the left hand as well as on the right. Yours, "B. 

"P. S. What _have_ you been doing? Our distinguished guests, to saynothing of my uncle, seem to be in a great fuss about you. I overheardthem talking when I was pretending to arrange some flowers. One of themcalled you a sanctimonious prig and an obstinate donkey, and anotheranswered--I think it was Sir Robert --'No doubt, but obstinate donkeyscan kick and have been known to upset other people's applecarts erenow. ' Is the Sahara Syndicate the applecart? If so, I'll forgive you. 

"P. P. S. Remember that we will walk to church together to-morrow, butcome down to breakfast in knickerbockers or something to put them off, and I'll do the same--I mean I'll dress as if I were going to golf. We can turn into Christians later. If we don't--dress like that, Imean--they'll guess and all want to come to church, except the Jews, which would bring the judgment of Heaven on us. 

"P. P. P. S. Don't be careless and leave this note lying about, for theunder-footman who waits upon you reads all the letters. He steams themover a kettle. Smith the butler is the only respectable man in thishouse. "

Alan laughed outright as he finished this peculiar and outspokenepistle, which somehow revived his spirits, that since the previous dayhad been low enough. It refreshed him. It was like a breath offrosty air from an open window blowing clean and cold into a scented, overheated room. He would have liked to keep it, but rememberingBarbara's injunctions and the under-footman, threw it onto the fire andwatched it burn. Jeekie coughed to intimate that it was time for hismaster to dress, and Alan turned and looked at him in an absent-mindedfashion. 

He was worth looking at, was Jeekie. Let the reader imagine a very talland powerfully-built negro with a skin as black as a well-polished boot, woolly hair as white as snow, a little tufted beard also white, ahand like a leg of mutton, but with long delicate fingers and pink, filbert-shaped nails, an immovable countenance, but set in it beneath amassive brow, two extraordinary humorous and eloquent black eyes whichexpressed every emotion passing through the brain behind them, that iswhen their owner chose to allow them to do so. Such was Jeekie. 

"Shall I unlace your boots, Major?" he said in his full, melodious voiceand speaking the most perfect English. "I expect that the gong willsound in nine and a half minutes. "

"Then let it sound and be hanged to it, " answered Alan; "no, I forgot--Imust hurry. Jeekie, put that fire out and open all the windows as soonas I go down. This room is like a hot-house. "

"Yes, Major, the fire shall be extinguished and the sleeping-chamberventilated. The other boot, if you please, Major. "

"Jeekie, " said Alan, "who is stopping in this place? Have you heard?"

"I collected some names on my way upstairs, Major. Three of thegentlemen you have never met before, but, " he added suddenly breakingaway from his high-flown book-learned English, as was his custom whenin earnest, "Jeekie think they just black niggers like the rest, thiefpeople. There ain't a white man in this house, except you and MissBarbara and me, Major. Jeekie learnt all that in servant's hall palaver. No, not now, other time. Everyone tell everything to Jeekie, poor oldAfrican fool, and he look up an answer, 'O law! you don't say so?' butkeep his eyes and ears open all the same. "

"I'll be bound you do, Jeekie, " replied Alan, laughing again. "Well, goon keeping them open, and give me those trousers. "

"Yes, Major, " answered Jeekie, reassuming his grand manner, "I shallcontinue to collect information which may prove to your advantage, butpersonally I wish that you were clear of the whole caboodle, except MissBarbara. "

"Hear, hear, " ejaculated Alan, "there goes the gong. Mind you come inand help to wait, " and hurrying into his coat he departed downstairs. 

The guests were gathered in the hall drinking sherry and bitters, aproceeding that to Alan's mind set a stamp upon the house. His host, Mr. Champers-Haswell, came forward and greeted him with much affectionateenthusiasm, and Alan noticed that he looked very pale, also that histhoughts seemed to be wandering, for he introduced a French banker tohim as a noted Jew, and the noted Jew as the French banker, althoughthe distinction between them was obvious and the gentlemen concernedevidently resented the mistake. Sir Robert Aylward, catching sight ofhim, came across the hall in his usual, direct fashion, and shook him bythe hand. 

"Glad to see you, Vernon, " he said, fixing his piercing eyes upon Alanas though he were trying to read his thoughts. "Pleasant change thisfrom the City and all that eternal business, isn't it? Ah! you arethinking that one is not quite clear of business after all, " and heglanced round at the company. "That's one of your cousin Haswell'sfaults; he can never shake himself free of the thing, never get any realrecreation. I'd bet you a sovereign that he has a stenographer waitingby a telephone in the next room, just in case any opportunity shouldarise in the course of conversation. That is magnificent, but it is notwise. His heart can't stand it; it will wear him out before his time. Listen, they are all talking about the Sahara. I wish I were there; itmust be quiet at any rate. The sands beneath, the eternal stars above. Yes, I wish I were there, " he repeated with a sigh, and Alan noted thatalthough his face could not be more pallid than its natural colour, itlooked quite worn and old. 

"So do I, " he answered with enthusiasm. 

Then a French gentleman on his left, having discovered that he was theengineer who had formulated the great flooding scheme, began to addresshim as "Cher maitre, " speaking so rapidly his own language that Alan, whose French was none of the best, struggled after him in vain. Whilsthe was trying to answer a question which he did not understand, the doorat the end of the hall opened, and through it appeared Barbara Champers. 

It was a large hall and she was a long way off, which caused her to looksmall, who indeed was only of middle height. Yet even at that distanceit was impossible to mistake the dignity of her appearance. A slim womanwith brown hair, cheerful brown eyes, a well-modelled face, a roundedfigure and an excellent complexion, such was Barbara. Ten thousand youngladies could be found as good, or even better looking, yet somethingabout her differentiated her from the majority of her sex. There wasdetermination in her step, and overflowing health and vigour in herevery movement. Her eyes had a trick of looking straight into any othereyes they met, not boldly, but with a kind of virginal fearlessnessand enterprise that people often found embarrassing. Indeed she wasextremely virginal and devoid of the usual fringe of feminine airs andgraces, a nymph of the woods and waters, who although she was three andtwenty, as yet recked little of men save as companions whom she likedor disliked according to her instincts. For the rest she was sweetlydressed in a white robe with silver on it, and wore no ornaments savea row of small pearls about her throat and some lilies of the valley ather breast. 

Barbara came straight onwards, looking neither to the right or to theleft, till she reached her uncle, to whom she nodded. Then she walked toAlan and, offering him her hand, said:

"How do you do! Why did you not come over at lunch time? I wanted toplay a round of golf with you this afternoon. "

Alan answered something about being busy at Yarleys. 

"Yarleys!" she replied. "I thought that you lived in the City now, making money out of speculations, like everyone else that I know. "

"Why, Miss Champers, " broke in Sir Robert reproachfully, "I asked you toplay a round of golf before tea and you would not. "

"No, " she answered, "because I was waiting for my cousin. We are bettermatched, Sir Robert. "

There was something in her voice, usually so soft and pleasant, as shespoke these words, something of steeliness and defiance that causedAlan to feel at once happy and uncomfortable. Apparently also it causedAylward to feel angry, for he flashed a glance at Alan over her head ofwhich the purport could not be mistaken, though his pale face remainedas immovable as ever. "We are enemies. I hate you, " said that glance. Probably Barbara saw it; at any rate before either of them could speakagain, she said:

"Thank goodness, there is dinner at last. Sir Robert, will you take mein, and, Alan, will you sit on the other side of me? My uncle will showthe rest their places. "

The meal was long and magnificent; the price of each dish of it wouldhave kept a poor family for a month, and on the cost of the exquisitewines they might have lived for a year or two. Also the last were wellpatronized by everyone except Barbara, who drank water, and Alan, whosince his severe fever took nothing but weak whiskey and soda and alittle claret. Even Aylward, a temperate person, absorbed a good dealof champagne. As a consequence the conversation grew animated, and undercover of it, while Sir Robert was arguing with his neighbour on theleft, Barbara asked in a low voice:

"What is the row, Alan? Tell me, I can't wait any longer. "

"I have quarrelled with them, " he answered, staring at his mutton asthough he were criticizing it. "I mean, I have left the firm and havenothing more to do with the business. "

Barbara's eyes lit up as she whispered back:

"Glad of it. Best news I have heard for many a day. But then, may I askwhy you are here?"

"I came to see you, " he replied humbly--"thought perhaps you wouldn'tmind, " and in his confusion he let his knife fall into the mutton, whence it rebounded, staining his shirt front. 

Barbara laughed, that happy, delightful little laugh of hers, presumablyat the accident with the knife. Whether or no she "minded" did notappear, only she handed her handkerchief, a costly, last-fringed trifle, to Alan to wipe the gravy off his shirt, which he took thinking it wasa napkin, and as she did so, touched his hand with a little caressingmovement of her fingers. Whether this was done by chance or on purposedid not appear either. At least it made Alan feel extremely happy. Alsowhen he discovered what it was, he kept that gravy-stained handkerchief, nor did she ever ask for it back again. Only once in after days when shehappened to come across it stuffed away in the corner of a despatch-box, she blushed all over, and said that she had no idea that any man couldbe so foolish out of a book. 

"Now that _you_ are really clear of it, I am going for them, " she saidpresently when the wiping process was finished. "I have only restrainedmyself for your sake, " and leaning back in her chair she stared at theceiling, lost in meditation. 

Presently there came one of those silences which will fall upondinner-parties at times, however excellent and plentiful the champagne. 

"Sir Robert Aylward, " said Barbara in that clear, carrying voice ofhers, "will you, as an expert, instruct a very ignorant person? I want alittle information. "

"Miss Champers, " he answered, "am I not always at your service?" andall listened to hear upon what point their hostess desired to beenlightened. 

"Sir Robert, " she went on calmly, "everyone here is, I believe, whatis called a financier, that is except myself and Major Vernon, who onlytries to be and will, I am sure, fail, since Nature made him somethingelse, a soldier and--what else did Nature make you, Alan?"

As he vouchsafed no answer to question, although Sir Robert muttered anuncomplimentary one between his lips which Barbara heard, or read, shecontinued:

"And you are all very rich and successful, are you not, and are going tobe much richer and much more successful--next week. Now what I want toask you is--how is it done?"

"Accepting the premises for the sake of argument, Miss Champers, "replied Sir Robert, who felt that he could not refuse the challenge, "the answer is that it is done by finance. "

"I am still in the dark, " she said. "Finance, as I have heard of it, means floating companies, and companies are floated to earn money forthose who invest in them. Now this afternoon as I was dull, I got holdof a book called the Directory of Directors, and looked up all yournames in it, except those of the gentlemen from Paris, and the companiesthat you direct--I found out about those in another book. Well, I couldnot make out that any of these companies have ever earned any money, adividend, don't you call it? Therefore how do you all grow so rich, andwhy do people invest in them?"

Now Sir Robert frowned, Alan coloured, two or three of the companylaughed outright, and one of the French gentlemen who understood Englishand had already drunk as much as was good for him, remarked loudly tohis neighbour, "Ah! she is charming. She do touch the spot, like thatointment you give me to-day. How do we grow rich and why do the peopleinvest? _Mon Dieu!_ why do they invest? That is the great mystery. Isay that _cette belle demoiselle, votre nièce, est ravissante. Elle ad'esprit, mon ami Haswell. _"

Apparently her uncle did not share these sentiments, for he turned asred as any turkey-cock, and said across the great round table:

"My dear Barbara, I wish that you would leave matters which you do notunderstand alone. We are here to dine, not to talk about finance. "

"Certainly, Uncle, " she answered sweetly. "I stand, or rather sit, reproved. I suppose that I have put my foot into it as usual, and theworst of it is, " she added, turning to Sir Robert, "that I am just asignorant as I was before. "

"If you want to master these matters, Miss Champers, " said Aylward witha rather forced laugh, "you must go into training and worship at theshrine of"--he meant to say Mammon, then thinking that the word soundedunpleasant, substituted--"the Yellow God as we do. "

At these words Alan, who had been studying his plate, looked up quickly, and her uncle's face turned from red to white. But the irrepressibleBarbara seized upon them. 

"The Yellow God, " she repeated. "Do you mean money or that fetish thingof Major Vernon's with the terrible woman's face that I saw at theoffice in the City. Well, to change the subject, tell us, Alan, what isthat yellow god of yours and where did it come from?"

"My uncle Austin, who was my mother's brother and a missionary, broughtit from West Africa a great many years ago. He was the first to visitthe tribe who worship it; in fact I do not think that anyone has evervisited them since. But really I do not know all the story. Jeekie cantell you about it if you want to know, for he is one of that people andescaped with my uncle. "

Now Jeekie having left the room, some of the guests wished to sendfor him, but Mr. Champers-Haswell objected. The end of it was thata compromise was effected, Alan undertaking to produce his retainerafterwards when they went to play billiards or cards. 

Dinner was over at length and the diners, who had dined well, weregathered in the billiard room to smoke and amuse themselves as theywished. It was a very large room, sixty feet long indeed, with a widespace in the centre between the two tables, which was furnished as alounge. When the gentlemen entered it they found Barbara standing bythe great fireplace in this central space, a little shape of white andsilver in its emptiness. 

"Forgive me for intruding on you, " she said, "and please do not stopsmoking, for I like the smell. I have sat up expressly to hear Jeekie'sstory of the Yellow God. Alan, produce Jeekie, or I shall go to bed atonce. "

Her uncle made a movement as though to interfere, but Sir Robert saidsomething to him which appeared to cause him to change his mind, whilethe rest in some way or another signified an enthusiastic assent. All ofthem were anxious to see this Jeekie and hear his tale, if he had oneto tell. So Jeekie was sent for and presently arrived clad in the dressclothes which are common to all classes in England and America. Therehe stood before them white-headed, ebony-faced, gigantic, imperturbable. There is no doubt that his appearance produced an effect, for it wasunusual and indeed striking. 

"You sent for me, Major?" he said, addressing his master, to whom hegave a military salute, for he had been Alan's servant when he was inthe Army. 

"Yes, Jeekie. Miss Barbara here and these gentlemen, wish you to tellthem all that you know about the Yellow God. "

The negro started and rolled his round eyes upwards till the whites ofthem showed, then began in his school-book English:

"That is a private subject, Major, upon which I should prefer not todiscourse before this very public company. "

A chorus of remonstrance arose and one of the Jewish gentlemenapproaching Jeekie, slipped a couple of sovereigns into his great hand, which he promptly transferred to his pocket without seeming to noticethem. 

"Jeekie, " said Barbara, "don't disappoint me. "

"Very well, miss, I fall in with your wishes. The Yellow God that allthese gentlemen worship, quite another god to that of which you desirethat I should tell you. You know all about him. My god is of femalesex. "

At this statement his audience burst into laughter while Jeekie rolledhis eyes again and waited till they had finished. "My god, " he went onpresently, "I mean, gentlemen, the god I used to pray to, for I am agood Christian now, has so much gold that she does not care for anymore, " and he paused. 

"Then what does she care for?" asked someone. 

"Blood, " answered Jeekie. "She is god of Death. Her name is LittleBonsa or Small Swimming Head; she is wife of Big Bonsa or Great SwimmingHead. "

Again there was laughter, though less general--for instance, neither SirRobert nor Mr. Champers-Haswell laughed. This merriment seemed to exciteJeekie. At any rate it caused him to cease his stilted talk and relapseinto the strange vernacular that is common to all negroes, tincturedwith a racy slang that was all his own. 

"You want to hear Yellow God palaver?" he said rapidly. "Very well, Itell you, you cocksure white men who think you know everything, butknow nothing at all. My people, people of the Asiki, that mean people ofSpirits, what you call ghosts and say you no believe in, but always lookfor behind door, they worship Yellow God, Bonsa Big and Bonsa Little, worship both and call them one; only Little Bonsa on trip to thiscountry just now and sit and think in City office. Yellow God live longway up a great river, then turn to the left and walk six days throughbig forest where dwarf people shoot you with poisoned arrow. Then turnto the right, walk up stream where many wild beasts. Then turn to theleft again and go in canoe through swamp where you die of fever, andacross lake. Then walk over grassland and mountains. Then in kloof ofthe mountains where big black trees make a roof and river fall likethunder, find Asiki and gold house of the Yellow God. All that mountaingold, full of gold and beneath gold house Yellow God afloat in water. She what you call Queen, priestess, live there also, always there, verybeautiful woman called Asika with face like Yellow God, cruel, cruel. She take a husband every year, and every year he die because she alwayshunt for right man but never find him. "

"Does she kill him then?" asked Barbara. 

"Oh! no, she no kill him, Miss, he kill himself at end of year, glad toget away from Asika and go to spirits. While he live he have a very goodtime, plenty to eat, plenty wives, fine house, much gold as he like, only nothing to spend it on, pretty necklace, nice paint for face. ButAsika, little bit by little bit she eat up his spirit. He see too manyghosts. The house where he sleep with dead men who once have his billet, full of ghosts and every night there come more and sit with him, sit allround him, look at him with great eyes, just like you look at me, tillat last when Asika finish eating up his spirit, he go crazy, he howllike man in hell, he throw away all the gold they give him, and then, sometimes after one week, sometimes after one month, sometimes after oneyear if he be strong but never more, he run out at night and jump intocanal where Yellow God float and god get him, while Asika sit on thebank and laugh, 'cause she hungry for new man to eat up his spirit too. "

Jeekie's big voice died away to a whisper and ceased. There was asilence in the room, for even in the shine of the electric light andthrough the fumes of champagne, in more than one imagination there rosea vision of that haunted water in which floated the great Yellow God, and of some mad being casting himself to his death beneath the moon, while his beautiful witch wife who was "hungry for more spirits" satupon its edge and laughed. Although his language was now commonplaceenough, even ludicrous at times, the negro had undoubtedly the art ofnarration. His auditors felt that he spoke of what he knew, or had seen, that the very recollection of it frightened him, therefore he frightenedthem. 

Again Barbara broke the silence which she felt to be awkward. 

"Why do more ghosts come very night to sit with the queen's husband, Jeekie?" she asked. "Where do they come from?"

"Out of the dead, miss, dead husbands of Asika from beginning of theworld; what they call Munganas. Also always they make sacrifice toYellow God. From far, far away them poor niggers send people to besacrifice that their house or tribe get luck. Sometimes they send kings, sometimes great men, sometimes doctors, sometimes women what have twinbabies. Also the Asiki bring people what is witches, or have drunkpoison stuff which blacks call _muavi_ and have not been sick, orperhaps son they love best to take curse off their roof. All these cometo Yellow God. Then Asiki doctor, they have Death-palaver. On night offull moon they beat drum, and drum go Wow! Wow! Wow! and doctors pickout those to die that month. Once they pick out Jeekie, oh! good Lord, they pick out _me_, " and as he said the words he gasped and with hisgreat hand wiped off the sweat that started from his brow. "But YellowGod no take Jeekie that time, no want him and I escape. "

"How?" asked Sir Robert. 

"With my master, Major's uncle, Reverend Austin, he who come try to makeAsiki Christian. He snap his fingers, put on small mask of Yellow Godwhich he prig, Little Bonsa herself, that same face which sit in youroffice now, " and he pointed to Sir Robert, "like one toad upon a stone. Priests think that god make herself into man, want holiday, take me outinto forest to kill me and eat my life. So they let us go by and we gojust as though devil kick us--fast, fast, and never see the Asiki anymore. But Little Bonsa I bring with me for luck, tell truth I no dareleave her behind, she not stand that; and now she sit in your office andthink and think and make magic there. That why you grow rich, becauseshe know you worship her. "

"That's a nice way for a baptized Christian to talk, " said Barbara, adding, "But Jeekie, what do you mean when you say that the god did nottake you?"

"I mean this, miss; when victim offered to Big Yellow God, priest-menbring him to edge of canal where the great god float. Then if Yellow Godwant him, it turn and swim across water. "

"Swim across water! I thought you said it was only a mask of gold?"

"I don't know, miss, perhaps man inside the mask, perhaps spirit. I sayit swim across water in the night, always in the night, and liftitself up and look in victim's face. Then priest take him and kill him, sometimes one way--sometimes another. Or if he escape and they not killhim, all same for that Johnnie, he die in about one year, always die, no one ever live long if Yellow God swim to him in dark and rise up andsmile in his face. No matter if it Big Bonsa or Little Bonsa, for theyman and wife joined in holy matrimony and either do trick. "

As these words left Jeekie's lips Alan became aware of some unusualmovement on his left and looking round, saw that Mr. Champers-Haswell, who stood by him, had dropped the cigar which he held and, white as asheet, was swaying to and fro. Indeed in another instant he would havefallen had not Alan caught him in his arms and supported him till otherscame to his assistance, when between them they carried him to a sofa. Ontheir way they passed a table where spirits and soda water were set out, and to his astonishment Alan noticed that Sir Robert Aylward, lookinglittle if at all better than his partner, had helped himself to half atumbler of cognac, which he was swallowing in great gulps. Then therewas confusion and someone went to telephone the doctor, while the deepvoice of Jeekie was heard exclaiming:

"That Yellow God at work--oh yes, Little Bonsa on the job. JeekieChristian man but no doubt she very powerful fetish and can do anythingshe like to them that worship her, and you see, she sit in office ofthese gentlemen. 'Spect she make Reverend Austin and me bring herto England because she got eye on firm of Messrs. Aylward & Haswell, London, E. C. Oh, shouldn't wonder at all, for Bonsa know everything. "

"Oh, confound you and your fetish! Be off, you old donkey, " almostshouted Alan. 

"Major, " replied the offended Jeekie, assuming his grand mannerand language, "it was not I who wished to narrate this history ofblood-stained superstitions of poor African. Mustn't blame old Jeekie ifthey make Christian gents sick as Channel steamer. "

"Be off, " repeated Alan, stamping his foot. 

So Jeekie went, but outside the door, as it chanced, he encountered oneof the Jew gentlemen who also appeared to be a little "sick. " An ideastriking him, he touched his white hair with his finger and said:

"You like Jeekie's pretty story, sir? Well, Jeekie think that if youmake little present to him, like your brother in there, it please YellowGod very much, and bring you plenty luck. "

Then acting upon some unaccustomed impulse, that Jew became exceedinglygenerous. In his pocket was a handful of sovereigns which he had beenprepared to stake at bridge. He grasped them all and thrust them intoJeekie's outstretched palm, where they seemed to melt. 

"Thank you, sir, " said Jeekie. "Now I sure you have plenty luck, justlike your grandpa Jacob in Book when he do his brudder in eye. "

CHAPTER IV

ALAN AND BARBARA

There was no bridge or billiards at the Court that night, whereordinarily the play ran high enough. After Mr. Haswell had been carriedto his room, some of the guests, among them Sir Robert Aylward, went tobed, remarking that they could do no good by sitting up, while others, more concerned, waited to hear the verdict of the doctor, who must drivefrom six miles away. He came, and half an hour later Barbara enteredthe billiard room and told Alan, who was sitting there smoking, that heruncle had recovered from his faint, and that the doctor, who was to stayall night, said that he was in no danger, only suffering from a heartattack brought on apparently by over-work or excitement. 

When Alan woke next morning the first thing that he heard through hisopen window was the sound of the doctor's departing dogcart. Then Jeekieappeared and told him that Mr. Haswell was all right again, but thatall night he had shaken "like one jelly. " Alan asked what had been thematter with him, but Jeekie only shrugged his shoulders and said that hedid not know--"perhaps Yellow God touch him up. "

At breakfast, as in her note she had said she would, Barbara appearedwearing a short skirt. Sir Robert, who was there, also looked extremelypale even for him and with black rims round his eyes, asked her if shewere going to golf, to which she answered that she would think it over. It was a somewhat melancholy meal, and as though by common consent nomention was made of Jeekie's tale of the Yellow God, and beyond theusual polite inquiries, very little of their host's seizure. 

As Barbara went out she whispered to Alan, who opened the door for her, "Meet me at half-past ten in the kitchen garden. "

Accordingly, having changed his clothes surreptitiously, Alan, avoidingthe others, made his way by a circuitous route to this kitchen garden, which after the fashion of modern places was hidden behind a belt oftrees nearly a quarter of a mile from the house. Here he wandered abouttill presently he heard Barbara's pleasant voice behind him saying:

"Don't dawdle so, we shall be late for church. "

So they started, somewhat furtively like runaway children. As they wentAlan asked how her uncle was. 

"All right now, " she answered, "but he has had a bad shake. It wasthat Yellow God story which did it. I know, for I was there when hewas coming to, with Sir Robert. He kept talking about it in a confusedmanner, saying that it was swimming to him across the floor, till atlast Sir Robert bent over him and told him to be quiet quite sternly. Do you know, Alan, I believe that your pet fetish has been manifestingitself in some unpleasant fashion up there in the office?"

"Indeed. If so, it must be since I left, for I never heard of anythingof the sort, nor are Aylward and your uncle likely people to see ghosts. In fact Sir Robert wished to give me about £17, 000 for the thing onlythe day before yesterday, which doesn't look as though it had beenfrightening him. "

"Well, he won't repeat the offer, Alan, for I heard him promise my uncleonly this morning that it should be sent back to Yarleys at once. Butwhy did he want to buy it for such a lot of money? Tell me quickly, Alan, I am dying to hear the whole story. "

So he began and told her, omitting nothing, while she listened eagerlyto every word, hardly interrupting him at all. As he finished his talethey reached the door of the quaint old village church just as the clockwas striking eleven. 

"Come in, Alan, " she said gently, "and thank Heaven for all its mercies, for you should be a grateful man to-day. "

Then without giving him time to answer she entered the church and theytook their places in the great square pew that for generations had beenoccupied by the owners of the ancient house which Mr. Haswell pulleddown when he built The Court. There were their monuments upon thewall and their gravestones in the chancel floor. But now no one exceptBarbara ever sat in their pew; even the benches set aside for theservants were empty, for those who frequented The Court were notchurch-goers and "like master, like man. " Indeed the gentle-faced oldclergyman looked quite pleased and surprised when he saw two inhabitantsof that palatial residence amongst his congregation, although it is truethat Barbara was his friend and helper. 

The simple service went on; the first lesson was read. It cried woe uponthem that joined house to house and field to field, that draw iniquitywith cords of vanity and sin as it were with a cart rope; that call evilgood and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that justify the wicked for reward; that feast full but regard not thework of the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hand, for ofsuch it prophesied that their houses great and fair should be withoutinhabitant and desolate. 

It was very well read, and Alan, listening, thought that thedenunciations of the old seer of thousands of years ago were notinappropriate to the dwellers in some houses great and fair of his ownday, who, whatever they did or left undone, regarded not the work ofthe Lord, neither considered the operation of His hand. Perhaps Barbarathought so too; at any rate a rather sad little smile appeared once ortwice upon her sweet, firm face as the immortal poem echoed down theaisle. 

The peace that passeth understanding was invoked upon their heads, andrising with the rest of the scanty congregation they went away. 

"Shall we walk home by the woods, Alan?" asked Barbara. "It is threemiles round, but we don't lunch till two. "

He nodded, and presently they were alone in those woods, the beautifulwoods through which the breath of spring was breathing, treading uponcarpets of bluebells, violet and primrose; quite alone, unaccompaniedsave by the wild things that stole across their path, undisturbed saveby the sound of the singing birds and of the wind among the trees. 

"What did you mean, Barbara, when you said that I should be a gratefulman to-day?" asked Alan presently. 

Barbara looked him in the eyes in that open, virginal fashion of hersand answered in the words of the lesson, "'Woe unto them that drawiniquity with the cords of vanity and sin as it were with a cart-rope, that lay house to house, '" and through an opening in the woods shepointed to the roof of The Court standing on one hill, and to the roofof Old Hall standing upon another--"'and field to field, '" and with asweep of her hand she indicated all the country round, "'for many housesgreat and fair that have music in their feasts shall be left desolate. '"Then turning she said:

"Do you understand now, Alan?"

"I think so, " he answered. "You mean that I have been in bad company. "

"Very bad, Alan. One of them is my own uncle, but the truth remains thetruth. Alan, they are no better than thieves; all this wealth is stolen, and I thank God that you have found it out in time before you became oneof them in heart as well as in name. "

"If you refer to the Sahara Syndicate, " he said, "the idea is soundenough; indeed, I am responsible for it. The thing can be done, greatbenefits would result, too long to go into. "

"Yes, yes, Alan, but you know that they never mean to do it, they onlymean to get the millions from the public. I have lived with my uncle forten years, ever since my poor father died, and I know the backstairsof the business. There have been half a dozen schemes like this, andalthough they have had their bad times, very bad times, he and SirRobert have grown richer and richer. But what has happened to those whohave invested in them? Oh! let us drop the subject, it is unpleasant. For myself it doesn't matter, because although it isn't under mycontrol, I have money of my own. You know we are a plebeian lot on themale side, my grandfather was a draper in a large way of business, myfather was a coal-merchant who made a great fortune. His brother, myuncle, in whom my father always believed implicitly, took to what iscalled Finance, and when my father died he left me, his only child, in his guardianship. Until I am five and twenty I cannot even marry ortouch a halfpenny without his consent; in fact if I should marry againsthis will the most of my money goes to him. "

"I expect that he has got it already, " said Alan. 

"No, I think not. I found out that, although it is not mine, it is nothis. He can't draw it without my signature, and I steadily refuse tosign anything. Again and again they have brought me documents, and Ihave always said that I would consider them at five and twenty, whenI came of age under my father's will. I went on the sly to a lawyerin Kingswell and paid him a guinea for his advice, and he put me up tothat. 'Sign nothing, ' he said, and I have signed nothing, so, except byforgery nothing can have gone. Still for all that it may have gone. For anything I know I am not worth more than the clothes I stand in, although my father was a very rich man. "

"If so, we are about in the same boat, Barbara, " Alan answered with alaugh, "for my present possessions are Yarleys, which brings in about£100 a year less than the interest on its mortgages and cost of upkeep, and the £1700 that Aylward paid me back on Friday for my shares. If Ihad stuck to them I understand that in a week or two I should have beenworth £100, 000, and now you see, here I am, over thirty years of agewithout a profession, invalided out of the army and having failed infinance, a mere bit of driftwood without hope and without a trade. "

Barbara's brown eyes grew soft with sympathy, or was it tears?

"You are a curious creature, Alan, " she said. "Why didn't you take the£17, 000 for that fetish of yours? It would have been a fair deal andhave set you on your legs. "

"I don't know, " he answered dejectedly. "It went against the grain, sowhat is the use of talking about it? I think my old uncle Austin toldme it wasn't to be parted with--no, perhaps it was Jeekie. Bother theYellow God! it is always cropping up. "

"Yes, " replied Barbara, "the Yellow God is always cropping up, especially in this neighbourhood. "

They walked on a while in silence, till suddenly Barbara sat down upon abole of felled oak and began to cry. 

"What is the matter with you?" asked Alan. 

"I don't know, " she answered. "Everything goes wrong. I live in a kindof gilded hell. I don't like my uncle and I loath the men he bringsabout the place. I have no friends, I scarcely know a woman intimately, I have troubles I can't tell you and--I am wretched. You are the onlycreature I have left to talk to, and I suppose that after this row youmust go away too to make your living. "

Alan looked at her there weeping on the log and his heart swelled withinhim, for he had loved this girl for years. 

"Barbara, " he gasped, "please don't cry, it upsets me. You know you area great heiress----"

"That remains to be proved, " she answered. "But anyway, what has it todo with the case?"

"It has everything to do with it, at least so far as I am concerned. Ifit hadn't been for that I should have asked you to marry me a longwhile ago, because I love you, as I would now, but of course it isimpossible. "

Barbara ceased her weeping, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and looked up at him. 

"Alan, " she said, "I think that you are the biggest fool I everknew--not but that a fool is rather refreshing when one lives amongknaves. "

"I know I am a fool, " he answered. "If I wasn't I should not havementioned my misfortune to you, but sometimes things are too much forone. Forget it and forgive me. "

"Oh! yes, " she said; "I forgive you; a woman can generally forgive aman for being fond of her. Whatever she may be, she is ready to takea lenient view of his human weakness. But as to forgetting, that isa different matter. I don't exactly see why I should be so anxious toforget, who haven't many people to care about me, " and she looked at himin quite a new fashion, one indeed which gave him something of a shock, for he had not thought the nymph-like Barbara capable of such a look asthat. She and any sort of passion had always seemed so far apart. 

Now after all Alan was very much a man, if a modest one, with all aman's instincts, and therefore there are appearances of the female facewhich even such as he could not entirely misinterpret. 

"You--don't--mean, " he said doubtfully, "you don't really mean----" andhe stood hesitating before her. 

"If you would put your question a little more clearly, Alan, I might beable to give you an answer, " she replied, that quaint little smile ofhers creeping to the corners of her mouth like sunshine through a mistof rain. 

"You don't really mean, " he went on, "that you care anything about me, like, like I have cared for you for years?"

"Oh! Alan, " she said, laughing outright, "why in the name of goodnessshouldn't I care about you? I didn't say that I do, mind, but whyshouldn't I? What is the gulf between us?"

"The old one, " he answered, "that between Dives and Lazarus--thatbetween the rich and the poor. "

"Alan, " said Barbara, looking down, "I don't know what has come over me, but for some unexplained and inexplicable reason I am inclined togive Lazarus a lead--across that gulf, the first one, I mean, not thesecond!"

Like the glance which preceded it, this was a saying that even Alancould not misunderstand. He sat himself on the log beside her, whileshe, still looking down, watched him out of the corners of her eyes. He went red, he went white, his heart beat very violently. Then hestretched out his big brown hand and took her small white one, and asthis familiarity produced no remonstrance, let it fall, and passing hisarm about her, drew her to him and embraced her, not once, butoften, with such vigour that a squirrel which had been watching theseproceedings from a neighbouring tree, bolted round it scandalized andwas seen no more. 

"I love you, I love you, " he said huskily. 

"So I gather, " she answered in a feeble voice. 

"Do you care for me?" he asked. 

"It would seem that I must, Alan, otherwise I should scarcely--oh! youfoolish Alan, " and heedless of her Sunday hat, which never recoveredfrom this encounter, but was kept as a holy relic, she let her head fallupon his shoulder and began to cry again, this time for very happiness. 

He kissed her tears away, then as he could think of nothing else to say, asked her if she would marry him. 

"It is the general sequel to this kind of thing, I believe, " sheanswered; "or at any rate it ought to be. But if you want a directanswer--yes, I will, if my uncle will let me, which he won't, as youhave quarrelled with him, or at any rate two years hence, when I am fiveand twenty and my own mistress; that is if we have anything to marryon, for one must eat. At present our worldly possessions seem to consistchiefly of a large store of mutual affection, a good stock of clothesand one Yellow God, which after what happened last night, I do not thinkyou will get another chance of turning into cash. "

"I must make money somehow, " he said. 

"Yes, Alan, but I am afraid it is not easy to do--honestly. Nobodywants people without capital whose only stock in trade is a brief butdistinguished military career, and a large experience of African fever. "

Alan groaned at this veracious but discouraging remark, and she went onquickly:

"I mean to spend another guinea upon my friend the lawyer at Kingswell. Perhaps he can raise the wind, by a post-obit, or something, " she addedvaguely, "I mean a post-uncle-obit. "

"If he does, Barbara, I can't live on your money alone, it isn't right. "

"Oh! don't you trouble about that, Alan. If once I can get hold of thosedim thousands you will soon be able to make more, for unto him that hathshall be given. But at present they are very dim, and for all I know maybe represented by stock in deceased companies. In short, the financialposition is extraordinarily depressed, as they say in the MarketIntelligence in _The Times_. But that's no reason why we should bedepressed also. "

"No, Barbara, for at any rate we have got each other. "

"Yes, " she answered, springing up, "we have got each other, dear, untilDeath do us part, and somehow I don't think he'll do that yet awhile;it comes into my heart that he won't do that, Alan, that you and I aregoing to live out our days. So what does the rest matter? In two yearsI shall be a free woman. In fact, if the worst comes to the worst, I'lldefy them all, " and she set her little mouth like a rock, "and marry youstraight away, as being over age, I can do, even if it costs me everyhalfpenny that I've got. "

"No, no, " he said, "it would be wrong, wrong to yourself and wrong toyour descendants. "

"Very well, Alan, then, we will wait, or perhaps luck will come ourway--why shouldn't it? At any rate for my part I never felt so happy inmy life; for, dear Alan, we have found what we were born to find, foundit once and for always, and the rest is mere etceteras. What would bethe use of all the gold of the Asiki people that Jeekie was talkingabout last night, to either of us, if we had not each other? We canget on without the wealth, but we couldn't get on apart, or at least Icouldn't and I don't mind saying so. "

"No, my darling, no, " he answered, turning white at the very thought, "we couldn't get on apart--now. In fact I don't know how I have done soso long already, except that I was always hoping that a time wouldcome when we shouldn't be apart. That is why I went into that infernalbusiness, to make enough money to be able to ask you to marry me. And now I have gone out of the business and asked you just when Ishouldn't. "

"Yes, so you see you might as well have done it a year or two ago whenperhaps things would have been simpler. Well, it is a fine example ofthe vanity of human plans, and, Alan, we must be going home to lunch. Ifwe don't, Sir Robert will be organizing a search party to look for us;in fact, I shouldn't wonder if he is doing that already, in the wrongdirection. "

The mention of Sir Robert Aylward's name fell on them both like a blastof cold wind in summer, and for a while they walked in silence. 

"You are afraid of that man, Barbara, " said Alan presently, guessing herthoughts. 

"A little, " she answered, "so far as I can be afraid of anything anymore. And you?"

"A little also. I think that he will give us trouble. He can be verymalevolent and resourceful. "

"Resourceful, Alan; well, so can I. I'll back my wits against his anyday. He shan't separate us by anything short of murder, which he won'tgo in for. Men like that don't like to break the law; they have too muchto lose. But no doubt he will make things uncomfortable for you, if hecan, for several reasons. "

Again they walked on lost in reflections, when Barbara suddenly saw herlover's face brighten. 

"What is it, Alan?" she asked. 

"Something that is rare enough with me, Barbara--an idea. You rememberspeaking about that Asiki gold just now. Well, why shouldn't I go andget it?"

She stared at him. 

"It sounds a little speculative, " she said; "something like one of myuncle's companies. "

"Not half so speculative as you think. I have no doubt it is there andJeekie knows the way. Also I seem to remember that there is a map and anaccount of the whole thing in Uncle Austin's diaries, though to tell youthe truth the old fellow wrote such a fearful hand, that I have nevertaken the trouble to read it. You see, " he went on with enthusiasm, "itis the kind of business that I can do. I am thoroughly salted to fever, I know the West Coast, where I spent three years on that BoundaryCommission, I have studied the natives and can talk several of theirdialects. Of course there would be a risk, but there are risks ineverything, and like you I am not afraid about that, for I believe thatwe have got our lives before us. "

"Read up those diaries, Alan, and we will talk the thing over again. I'll pump Jeekie, who will tell me anything by coaxing, and try to getat the truth. Meanwhile what are you going to do about my uncle?"

"Speak to him, of course, and have the row over. "

"Yes, " she answered, "that is the best and the most honest. Of coursehe can turn you out, but he can't prevent my seeing you. If he does, gohome to Yarleys and I'll come over and call. Here we are, let us go inby the back door, " and she pointed to her crushed hat, and laughed. 

CHAPTER V

BARBARA MAKES A SPEECH

While Alan and Barbara, on the most momentous occasion of their lives, were seated upon the fallen oak in the woods that thrilled withthe breath of spring, another interview was taking place in Mr. Champers-Haswell's private suite at The Court, the decorations ofwhich, as he was wont to inform his visitors, had cost nearly £2000. SirRobert, whose taste at any rate was good, thought them so appalling thatwhile waiting for his host and partner, whom he had come to see, he tooka seat in the bow window of the sitting-room and studied the view thatnobody had been able to spoil. Presently Mr. Haswell emerged from hisbedroom, wrapped in a dressing gown and looking very pale and shaky. 

"Delighted to see you all right again, " said Sir Robert as he wheeled upa chair into which Mr. Haswell sank. 

"I am not all right, Aylward, " he answered; "I am not all right at all. Never had such an upset in my life; thought I was going to die when thataccursed savage told his beastly tale. Aylward, you are a man of theworld, tell me, what is the meaning of the thing? You remember what wethought we saw in the office, and then--that story. "

"I don't know, " he answered; "frankly I don't know. I am a man who hasnever believed in anything I cannot see and test, one who utterly lacksfaith. In my leisure I have examined into the various religioussystems and found them to be rubbish. I am convinced that we are buthighly-developed mammals born by chance, and when our day is done, departing into the black nothingness out of which we came. Everythingelse, that is, what is called the higher and spiritual part, I attributeto the superstitions incident to the terror of the hideous position inwhich we find ourselves, that of gods of a sort hemmed in by a few yearsof fearful and tormented life. But you know the old arguments, so whyshould I enter on them? And now I am confronted with an experiencewhich I cannot explain. I certainly thought that in the office on Fridayevening I saw that gold mask to which I had taken so strange a fancythat I offered to give Vernon £17, 000 for it because I thought that itbrought us luck, swim across the floor of our room and look first intoyour face and then into mine. Well, the next night that negro tells hisstory. What am I to make of it?"

"Can't tell you, " answered Mr. Champers-Haswell with a groan. "All Iknow is that it nearly made a corpse of me. I am not like you, Aylward, I was brought up as an Evangelical, and although I haven't given muchthought to these matters of late years--well, we don't shake them off ina hurry. I daresay there is something somewhere, and when the blackman was speaking, that something seemed uncommonly near. It got up andgripped me by the throat, shaking the mortal breath out of me, and uponmy word, Aylward, I have been wishing all the morning that I had led adifferent kind of life, as my old parents and my brother John, Barbara'sfather, who was a very religious kind of man, did before me. "

"It is rather late to think of all that now, Haswell, " said Sir Robert, shrugging his shoulders. "One takes one's line and there's an end. Personally I believe that we are overstrained with the fearful andanxious work of this flotation, and have been the victims of anhallucination and a coincidence. Although I confess that I came to lookupon the thing as a kind of mascot, I put no trust in any fetish. Howcan a bit of gold move, and how can it know the future? Well, I havewritten to them to clear it out of the office to-morrow, so it won'ttrouble us any more. And now I have come to speak to you on anothermatter. "

"Not business, " said Mr. Haswell with a sigh. "We have that all the weekand there will be enough of it on Monday. "

"No, " he answered, "something more important. About your niece Barbara. "

Mr. Haswell glanced at him with those little eyes of his which were sosharp that they seemed to bore like gimlets. 

"Barbara?" he said. "What of Barbara?"

"Can't you guess, Haswell? You are pretty good at it, generally. Well, it is no use beating about the bush; I want to marry her. "

At this sudden announcement his partner became exceedingly interested. Leaning back in the chair he stared at the decorated ceiling, anduttered his favourite wind-in-the-wires whistle. 

"Indeed, " he said. "I never knew that matrimony was in your line, Aylward, any more than it has been in mine, especially as you are alwayspreaching against it. Well, has the young lady given her consent?"

"No, I have not spoken to her. I meant to do so this morning, but shehas slipped off somewhere, with Vernon, I suppose. "

Mr. Haswell whistled again, but on a new note. 

"Pray do stop that noise, " said Sir Robert; "it gets upon my nerves, which are shaky this morning. Listen: It is a curious thing, one lessto be understood even than the coincidence of the Yellow God, but atmy present age of forty-four, for the first time in my life I havecommitted the folly of what is called falling in love. It is not thecase of a successful, middle-aged man wishing to _ranger_ himself andsettle down with a desirable _partie_, but of sheer, stark infatuation. I adore Barbara; the worse she treats me the more I adore her. I hadrather that the Sahara flotation should fail than that she should refuseme. I would rather lose three-quarters of my fortune than lose her. Doyou understand?"

His partner looked at him, pursed up his lips to whistle, thenremembered and shook his head instead. 

"No, " he answered. "Barbara is a nice girl, but I should not haveimagined her capable of inspiring such sentiments in a man almost oldenough to be her father. I think that you are the victim of a kind ofmania, which I have heard of but never experienced. Venus--or is itCupid?--has netted you, my dear Aylward. "

"Oh! pray leave gods and goddesses out of it, we have had enough of themalready, " he answered, exasperated. "That is my case at any rate, andwhat I want to know now is if I have your support in my suit. Remember, I have something to offer, Haswell, for instance, a large fortune ofwhich I will settle half--it is a good thing to do in our business, --anda baronetcy that will be a peerage before long. "

"A peerage! Have you squared that?"

"I think so. There will be a General Election within the next threemonths, and on such occasions a couple of hundred thousand in cool cashcome in useful to a Party that is short of ready money. I think I maysay that it is settled. She will be the Lady Aylward, or any other nameshe may fancy, and one of the richest women in England. Now have I yoursupport?"

"Yes, my dear friend, why not, though Barbara does not want money, forshe has plenty of her own, in first-class securities that I could neverpersuade her to vary, for she is shrewd in that way and steadily refusesto sign anything. Also she will probably be my heiress--and, Aylward, "here a sickly look of alarm spread itself over his face, "I don't knowhow long I have to live. That infernal doctor examined my heart thismorning and told me that it was weak. Weak was his word, but from thetone in which he said it, I believe that he meant more. Aylward, Igather that I may die any day. "

"Nonsense, Haswell, so may we all, " he replied, with an affectation ofcheerfulness which failed to carry conviction. 

Presently Mr. Haswell, who had hidden his face in his hand, looked upwith a sigh and said:

"Oh! yes, of course you have my support, for after all she is my onlyrelation and I should be glad to see her safely married. Also, as ithappens, she can't marry anyone without my consent, at any rate untilshe is five and twenty, for if she does, under her father's will all herproperty goes away, most of it to charities, except a beggarly £200 ayear. You see my brother John had a great horror of imprudent marriagesand a still greater belief in me, which as it chances, is a good thingfor you. "

"Had he?" said Sir Robert. "And pray why is it a good thing for me?"

"Because, my dear Aylward, unless my observation is at fault, there isanother Richard in the field, our late partner, Vernon, of whom, bythe way, Barbara is extremely fond, though it may only be in a friendlyfashion. At any rate she pays more attention to his wishes and opinionsthan to mine and yours put together. "

At the mention of Alan's name Aylward started violently. 

"I feared it, " he said, "and he is more than ten years my junior anda soldier, not a man of business. Also there is no use disguising thetruth, although I am a baronet and shall be a peer and he is nothingbut a beggarly country gentleman with a D. S. O. Tacked on to his name, he belongs to a different class to us, as she does too on her mother'sside. Well, I can smash him up, for you remember I took over thatmortgage on Yarleys, and I'll do it if necessary. Practically our friendhas not a shilling that he can call his own. Therefore, Haswell, unlessyou play me false, which I don't think you will, for I can be a nastyenemy, " he added with a threat in his voice, "Alan Vernon hasn't muchchance in that direction. "

"I don't know, Aylward, I don't know, " replied Haswell, shaking hiswhite head. "Barbara is a strong-willed woman and she might choose totake the man and let the money go, and then--who can stop her? Also Idon't like your idea of smashing Vernon. It isn't right, and it may comeback on our own heads, especially yours. I am sorry that he has left us, as you were on Friday night, for somehow he was a good, honest stick tolean on, and we want such a stick. But I am tired now, I really can'ttalk any more. The doctor warned me against excitement. Get the girl'sconsent, Aylward, and we'll see. Ah! here comes my soup. Good-bye forthe present. "

When Sir Robert came down to luncheon he found Barbara lookingparticularly radiant and charming, already presiding at that meal andconversing in her best French to the foreign gentlemen, who were payingher compliments. 

"Forgive me for being late, " he said; "first of all I have beentalking to your uncle, and afterwards skimming through the articles inyesterday's papers on our little venture which comes out to-morrow. Acheerful occupation on the whole, for with one or two exceptions theyare all favourable. "

"Mon Dieu, " said the French gentlemen on the right, "seeing whatthey did cost, that is not strange. Your English papers they are soexpensive; in Paris we have done it for half the money. "

Barbara and some of the guests laughed outright, finding this franknesscharming. 

"But where have you been, Miss Champers? I thought that we were going tohave a round of golf together. The caddies were there, I was there, thegreens had been specially rolled this morning, but there was no You. "

"No, " she answered, "because Major Vernon and I walked to church andheard a very good sermon upon the observance of the Sabbath. "

"You are severe, " he said. "Do you think it wrong for men who work hardall the week to play a harmless game on Sunday?"

"Not at all, Sir Robert. " Then she looked at him and, coming to a suddendecision, added, "If you like I will play you nine holes this afternoonand give you a stroke a hole, or would you prefer a foursome?"

"No, let us fight alone and let the best player win. "

"Very well, Sir Robert; but you mustn't forget that I am handicapped. "

"Don't look angry, " she whispered to Alan as they strolled out into thegarden after lunch, "I must clear things up and know what we have toface. I'll be back by tea-time, and we will have it out with my uncle. "

The nine holes had been played, and by a single stroke Barbara had wonthe match, which pleased her very much, for she had done her best, andwith such heavy odds in his favour Sir Robert, who had also done hisbest, was no mean opponent, even for a player of her skill. Indeed thefight had been quite earnest, for each party knew that it was but aprelude to another and more serious fight, and looked upon the result asin some sense an omen. 

"I am conquered, " he said in a voice in which vexation struggled with alaugh, "and by a woman over whom I had an advantage. It is humiliating, for I confess I do not like being beaten. "

"Don't you think that women generally win if they mean to?" askedBarbara. "I believe that when they fail, which is often enough, itis because they don't care, or can't make up their minds. A woman inearnest is a dangerous antagonist. "

"Yes, " he answered, "or the best of allies. " Then he gave the clubs andhalf-a-crown to the caddies, and when they were out of hearing, added, "Miss Champers, I have been wondering for some time whether it ispossible that you would become such an ally to me. "

"I know nothing of business, Sir Robert; my tastes do not lie that way. "

"You know well that I was not speaking of business, Miss Champers. I wasspeaking of another kind of partnership, that which Nature has ordainedbetween men and women--marriage. Will you accept me as a husband?"

She opened her lips to speak, but he lifted his hand and went on. "Listen before you give that ready answer which it is so hard to recall, or smooth away. I know all my disadvantages, my years, which to you mayseem many; my modest origin; my trade, which, not altogether withoutreason, you despise and dislike. Well, the first two cannot be changedexcept for the worse; the second can be, and already is, buried beneaththe gold and ermine of wealth and titles. What does it matter if I amthe son of a City clerk who never earned more than £2 a week and wasborn in a tenement at Battersea, when I am one of the rich men of thisrich land and shall die a peer in a palace, leaving millions and honoursto my children? As for the third, my occupation, I am prepared to giveit up. It has served my turn, and after next week I shall have earnedthe amount that years ago I determined to earn. Thenceforth, set abovethe accidents of fortune, I propose to devote myself to higher aims, those of legitimate ambition. So far as my time would allow I havealready taken some share in politics as a worker; I intend to continuein them as a ruler which I still have the health and ability to do. Imean to be one of the first men in this Empire, to ride to power overthe heads of all the nonentities whose only claim upon the confidence oftheir countrymen is that they were born in a certain class, with moneyin their pockets and without the need to spend the best of their manhoodin work. With you at my side I can do all these things and more, andsuch is the future that I have to offer you. "

Again she would have broken in upon his speech and again he stopped her, reading the unspoken answer on her lips. 

"Listen: I have not told you all. Perhaps I have put first what shouldhave come last. I have not told you that I love you earnestly andsincerely, with the settled, unalterable love that sometimes comes tomen in middle-age who have never turned their thought that way before. I will not attempt the rhapsodies of passion which at my time of lifemight sound foolish or out of place; yet it is true that I am filledwith this passion which has descended on me and taken possession of me. I who often have laughed at such things in other men, adore you. Youare a joy to my eyes. If you are not in the room, for me it is empty. Iadmire the uprightness of your character, and even your prejudices, andto your standard I desire to approximate my own. I think that no man canever love you quite so well as I do, Barbara Champers. Now speak. I amready to meet the best or the worst. "

After her fashion Barbara looked him straight in the face with hersteady eyes, and answered gently enough, for the man's method ofpresenting his case, elaborate and prepared though it evidently was, hadtouched her. 

"I fear it is the worst, Sir Robert. There are hundreds of womensuperior to myself in every way who would be glad to give you the helpand companionship you ask, with their hearts thrown in. Choose one ofthem, for I cannot do so. "

He heard and for the first time his face broke, as it were. All thiswhile it had remained masklike and immovable, even when he spoke of hislove, but now it broke as ice breaks at the pressure of a sudden floodbeneath, and she saw the depths and eddies of his nature and understoodtheir strength. Not that he revealed them in speech, angry or pleading, for that remained calm and measured enough. She did not hear, she saw, and even then it was marvellous to her that a mere change in a man'sexpression could explain so much. 

"Those are very cruel words, " he said. "Are they unalterable?"

"Quite. I do not play in such matters, it would be wicked. "

"May I ask you one question, for if the answer is in the negative, Ishall still continue to hope? Do you care for any other man?"

Again she looked at him with her fearless eyes and answered:

"Yes, I am engaged to another man. "

"To Alan Vernon?"

She nodded. 

"When did that happen? Some years ago?"

"No, this morning. "

"Great Heavens!" he muttered in a hoarse voice turning his head away, "this morning. Then last night it might not have been too late, and lastnight I should have spoken to you, I had arranged it all. Yes, if it hadnot been for the story of that accursed fetish and your uncle's illness, I should have spoken to you, and perhaps succeeded. "

"I think not, " she said. 

He turned upon her and notwithstanding the tears in his eyes they burnedlike fire. 

"You think--you think, " he gasped, "but I know. Of course after thismorning it was impossible. But, Barbara, I say that I will win you yet. I have never failed in any object that I set before myself, and donot suppose that I shall fail in this. Although in a way I liked andrespected him, I have always felt that Vernon was my enemy, one destinedto bring grief and loss upon me, even if he did not intend to do so. Now I understand why, and he shall learn that I am stronger than he. Godhelp him! I say. "

"I think He will, " Barbara answered, calmly. "You are speaking wildly, and I understand the reason and hope that you will forget your words, but whether you forget or remember, do not suppose that you frightenme. You men who have made money, " she went on with swelling indignation, "who have made money somehow, and have bought honours with the moneyssomehow, think yourselves great, and in your little day, your little, little day that will end with three lines in small type in _The Times_, you are great in this vulgar land. You can buy what you want and peoplecreep round you and ask you for doles and favours, and railway porterscall you 'my Lord' at every other step. But you forget your limitationsin this world, and that which lives above you. You say you will do thisand that. You should study a book which few of you ever read, where ittells you that you do not know what you will be on the morrow; that yourlife is even as a vapour appearing for a little time and then vanishingaway. You think that you can crush the man to whom I have given my heartbecause he is honest and you are dishonest, because you are rich and heis poor, and because he chances to have succeeded where you have not. Well, for myself and for him I defy you. Do your worst and fail, andwhen you have failed, in the hour of your extremity remember my wordsto-day. If I have given you pain by refusing you it is not my fault andI am sorry, but when you threaten the man who has honoured me withhis love and whom I honour above every creature upon the earth, then Ithreaten back, and may the Power that made us all judge between you andme, as judge it will, " and bursting into tears she turned and left him. 

Sir Robert watched her go. 

"What a woman!" he said meditatively, "what a woman--to have lost. Wellshe has set the stakes and we will play out the game. The cards all seemto be in my hands, but it would not in the least surprise me if shewon the rubber, for the element that I call Chance and she would callsomething else, may come in. Still, I never refused a challenge yet andwe will play the game out without pity to the loser. "

That night the first trick was played. When he got back to The Court SirRobert ordered his motorcar and departed on urgent business, eitherto his own place, Old Hall, or to London, saying only that he had beensummoned away by telegram. As the 70-horse-power Mercedes glided out ofthe gates a pencilled note was put into Mr. Haswell's hand. 

It ran: "I have tried and failed--for the present. By ill-luck A. V. Hadbeen before me, only this morning. If I had not missed my chance lastnight owing to your illness, it would have been different. I do not, however, in the least abandon my plan, in which of course I rely on andexpect your support. Keep V. In the office or let him go as you like. Perhaps it would be better if you could prevail upon him to stop thereuntil after the flotation. But whatever you say at the moment, I trustto you to absolutely veto any engagement between him and your niece, andto that end to use all your powers and authority as her guardian. Burnthis note. 

"R. A. "

CHAPTER VI

MR. HASWELL LOSES HIS TEMPER

Alan and Barbara sat in Mr. Champers-Haswell's private sitting-room withthe awful decorations, and before them by the fire Mr. Champers-Haswellreclined upon his couch. Alan in a few, brief, soldier-like words hadjust informed him of his engagement to Barbara. During the recital ofthis interesting fact Barbara said nothing, but Mr. Haswell had whistledseveral times. Now at length he spoke, in that tone of forced genialitywhich he generally adopted towards his cousin. 

"You are asking for the hand of a considerable heiress, Alan my boy, " hesaid, "but you have neglected to inform me of your own position. "

"Where is the use of telling you what you know already, Mr. Haswell? Ihave left the firm, therefore I have practically nothing. "

"You have practically nothing, and yet----Well, in my young days menwere more delicate, they did not like being called fortune-hunters, butof course times have changed. "

Alan bit his lip and Barbara sat up quite straight in her chair, observing which indications, Mr. Haswell went on hurriedly:

"Now if you had stopped in the firm and earned the very handsomecompetence in a small way which would have become due to you this week, instead of throwing us over at the last moment for some quixotic reasonsof your own, it might have been a different matter. I do not say itwould have been, I say it might have been, and you may remember aproverb about winks and nods and blind horses. So I ask you whether youare inclined to withdraw that resignation of yours and bring up thisquestion again let us say, next Sunday?"

Alan thought a while before he answered. As he understood Mr. Haswellpractically was promising to assent to the engagement upon these terms. The temptation was enormously great, the fiercest that he had ever beencalled upon to face. He looked at Barbara. She had closed her eyes andmade absolutely no sign. For some reason of her own she had elected thathe should determine this vital point without the slightest assistancefrom her. And it must be determined at once; procrastination wasimpossible. For a moment he hesitated. On the one side was Barbara, onthe other his conscience. After long doubts he had come to a certainconclusion which he quite understood to be inconvenient to his partners. Should he throw it over now? Should he even try to make a sure andcertain bargain as the price of his surrender? Probably he wouldnot suffer if he did. The flotation was underwritten and bound to gothrough; the scandal would come afterwards, months or years hence, longbefore which he might get out, as most of the others meant to do. No, hecould not. His conscience was too much for him. 

"I do not see any use in reconsidering that question, Mr. Haswell, " hesaid quietly; "we settled it on Friday night. "

Barbara reopened her brown eyes and stared amiably at the paintedceiling, and Mr. Haswell whistled. 

"Then I am afraid, " he said, "that I do not see any use in discussingyour kind proposal for my niece's hand. Listen--I will be quite openwith you. I have other views for Barbara, and as it happens I have thepower to enforce them, or at any rate to prevent their frustration byyou. If Barbara marries against my will before she is five and twenty, that is within the next two years, her entire fortune, with theexception of a pittance, goes elsewhere. This I am sure is a fact thatwill influence you, who have nothing and even if it did not, I presumethat you are scarcely so selfish as to wish to beggar her. "

"No, " answered Alan, "you need not fear that, for it would be wrong. Iunderstand that you absolutely refuse to sanction my suit on the groundof my poverty, which under the circumstances is perhaps not wonderful. Well, the only thing to do is to wait for two years, a long time, butnot endless, and meanwhile I can try to better my position. "

"Do what you will, Alan, " said Mr. Haswell harshly, for now all his_faux bonhomme_ manner had gone, leaving him revealed in his truecharacter of an unscrupulous tradesman with dark ends of his own toserve. "Do what you will, but understand that I forbid all communicationbetween you and my niece, and that the sooner you cease to trespass upona hospitality which you have abused, the better I shall be pleased. "

"I will go at once, " said Alan, rising, "before my temper gets thebetter of me and I tell you some truths that I might regret, for afterall you are Barbara's uncle. But on your part I ask you to understandthat I refuse to cut off from my cousin, who is of full age and haspromised to be my wife, " and he turned to go. 

"Stop a minute, Alan, " said Barbara, who all this while had sat silent. "I have something to say which I wish you to hear. You told us just now, uncle, that you have other views for me, by which you meant that youwish me to marry Sir Robert Aylward, whom, as you are probably aware, Irefused definitely this afternoon. Now I wish to make it clear at oncethat no earthly power will induce me to take as a husband a man whom Idislike, and whose wealth, of which you think so much, has in my opinionbeen dishonestly acquired. "

"What are you saying?" broke in her uncle furiously. "He has been mypartner for years, you are reflecting upon me. "

"I am sorry, uncle, but I withdraw nothing. Even if Alan here were dead, I would not marry that man, and perhaps you will make him understandthis, " she added with emphasis. "Indeed I had sooner die myself. Youtold us also that if I marry against your will, you can take away allthe property that my father left to me. Uncle, I shall not give you thatsatisfaction. I shall wait until I am twenty-five and do what I pleasewith myself and my fortune. Lastly, you said that you forbade us to seeeach other or to correspond. I answer that I shall both write to and seeAlan as often as I like. If you attempt to prevent me from doing so, I shall go to the Court of Chancery, lay all the facts before it, as Ihave been advised that I can do--not by Alan--please remember, _all_ thefacts, and ask for its protection and for a separate maintenance out ofmy estate until I am twenty-five. I am sure that the Court would grantme this and would declare that considering his distinguished family andrecord Alan is a perfectly proper person to be my affianced husband. Ithink that is all I have to say. "

"All you have to say!" gasped Mr. Haswell, "all you have to say, youimpertinent and ungrateful minx!" Then he fell into a furious fit ofrage and in language that need not be repeated, poured a stream ofthreats and abuse upon Alan and herself. Barbara waited until he ceasedfrom exhaustion. 

"Uncle, " she said, "you should remember that your heart is weak andyou must not overexcite yourself, also when you are calmer, that if youspeak to me like that again, I shall go to the Court at once, for I willnot be sworn at by you or by any other man. I apologize to you, Alan;I am afraid I have brought you into strange company. Come, my dear, we will go and order your dogcart, " and putting her arm affectionatelythrough his, she went with him from the room. 

"I wonder who put her up to all this?" gasped Haswell, as the doorclosed behind them. "Some infernal lawyer, I'll be bound. Well, she hasgot the whip hand of me, and I can't face an investigation in Chancery, especially as the only thing against Vernon is that the value of hisland has fallen. But I swear that she shall never marry him while Ilive, " he ended in a kind of shout and the domed and painted ceilingechoed back his words--"_while I live_" after which the room was silent, save for the heavy thumping of his heart. 

When Alan reached home that night after his ten-mile drive he sentJeekie to tell the housekeeper to find him some food. In his mysteriousAfrican fashion the negro had already collected much intelligence asto the events of the day, mostly in the servants' hall, and moreparticularly from the two golf-caddies, sons of one of the gardeners, who it seemed instead of retiring with the clubs, had taken shelter insome tall whins and thence followed the interview between Barbara andSir Robert with the intensest interest. Reflecting that this was notthe time to satisfy his burning curiosity, Jeekie went and in due coursereturned with some cold mutton and a bottle of claret. Then came hischance, for Alan could scarcely touch the mutton and demanded toast andbutter. 

"Very inferior chop"--that was his West African word for food--"for agentleman, Major, " he said, shaking his white head sympathetically andpointing to the mutton, --"specially when he has unexpectedly departedfrom magnificent eating of The Court. Why did you not wait till afterdinner, Major, before retiring?"

Alan laughed at the man's inflated English, and answered in a morenervous and colloquial style:

"Because I was kicked out, Jeekie. "

"Ah! I gathered that kicking was in the wind, Major. Sir Robert Aylward, Bart. , he also was kicked out, but by smaller toe. "

Again Alan laughed and, as it was a relief to talk even to Jeekie, askedhim:

"How do you know that?"

"I gathered it out of atmosphere, Major; from Sir Robert's gentleman, from two youths who watch Sir Robert and Miss Barbara talking upon golfgreen No. 9, from the machine driver of Sir Robert whose eyes he damn inpublic, and last but not least from his own noble countenance. "

"I see that you are observant, Jeekie. "

"Observation, Major, it is art of life. I see Miss Barbara's eyesred like morning sky and I deduct. I see you shot out and gloomy likeevening cloud, and I deduct. I listen at door of Mr. Haswell's room, I hear him curse and swear like holy saint in Book, and you and MissBarbara answer him not like saint, though what you speak I cannot hear, and I deduct. Jeekie deduct this--that you make love to Miss Barbarain proper gentlemanlike, 'nogamous, Christian fashion such as your lateReverend Uncle approve, and Miss Barbara, she make love to you withten per cent. Compound interest, but old gent with whistle, he _not_approve; he say, 'Where corresponding cash!' He say 'Noble Sir Roberthave much cash and interested in identical business. I prefer SirRobert. Get out, you Cashless. ' Often I see this same thing when boy inWest Africa, very common wherever sun shine. I note all these mattersand I deduct--that Jeekie's way and Jeekie seldom wrong. "

Alan laughed for the third time, until the tears ran down his faceindeed. 

"Jeekie, " he said, "you are a great rascal----"

"Yes, yes, " interrupted Jeekie, "great rascal. Best thing to be inthis world, Major. Honourable Sir Robert, Bart. , M. P. , and Mr. Champers-Haswell, D. L. , J. P. , they find that out long ago and sit ontop of tree of opulent renown. Jeekie great rascal and therefore haveSavings Bank account--go on, Major. "

"Well, Jeekie, because if you are a rascal you are kind-hearted andbecause I believe that you care for me----"

"Oh! Major, " broke in Jeekie again, "that most 'utterably true. Honourbright I love you, Major, better than anyone on earth, except my lateold woman, now happily dead, gone and forgotten in best oak coffin, £410 without fittings but polished, and perhaps your holy uncle, ReverendMr. Austin, also coffined and departed, who saved me from earlyextinction in a dark place. Major, I no like graves, I see too much ofthem, and can't tell what lie on other side. Though everyone say theyknow, Jeekie not quite sure. May be all light and crowns of glory, maybe damp black hole and no way out. But this at least true, that I loveyou better, yes, better than Miss Barbara, for love of woman very poor, uncertain thing, quick come, quick go. Jeekie find that out--often. Yes, if need be, though death most nasty, if need be I say I die for you, which great unpleasant sacrifice, " and Jeekie in the genuine enthusiasmof his warm heart, throwing himself upon his knees after the Africanfashion, seized his master's hand and kissed it. 

"Thanks, Jeekie, " said Alan, "very kind of you, I am sure. But wehaven't come to that yet, though no one knows what may happen later on. Now sit upon that chair and take a little whisky--not too much--for I amgoing to ask your advice. "

"Major, " said Jeekie, "I obey, " and seizing the whisky bottle in acasual manner, he poured out half a tumbler full, for Jeekie was fond ofwhisky. Indeed before now this taste had brought him into conflict withthe local magistrates. 

"Put back three parts of that, " said Alan, and Jeekie did so. "Now, " hewent on, "listen: this is the case, Miss Barbara and I are----" and hehesitated. 

"Oh! I know; like me and Mrs. Jeekie once, " said Jeekie, gulping downsome of the neat whisky. "Go on, Major. "

"And Sir Robert Aylward is----"

"Same thing, Major. Continue. "

"And Mr. Haswell has----"

"Those facts all ascertained, Major, " said Jeekie, contemplating hisglass with a mournful eye. "Now come to the point, Major. "

"Well, the point is, Jeekie, that I am what you called just nowcashless, and therefore----"

"Therefore, " interrupted Jeekie again, "stick fast in honourableintention towards Miss Barbara owing to obstinate opposition of Mr. Haswell, legal uncle with control of property fomented by noble SirRobert who desire same girl. "

"Quite right, Jeekie, but if you would talk a little less and let metalk a little more, we might get on better. "

"I henceforth silent, Major, " and lifting his empty tumbler Jeekielooked through it as if it were a telescope, a hint that Alan ignored. 

"Jeekie, you infernal old fool, I want money. "

"Yes, Major, I understand, Major. Forgive me for breaking conspiracy ofsilence, but if £500 in Savings Bank any use, very much at your service, Major; also £20 more extracted last night from terror of wealthy Jew whofear fetish. "

"Jeekie, you old donkey, I don't want your £500; I want a great dealmore, £50, 000 or £500, 000. Tell me how to get it. "

"City best place, Major. But you chuck City, too much honest man, greatmistake to be honest in this terrestrial sphere. Often notice that inWest Africa. "

"Perhaps, Jeekie, but I have done with the City. As you would say, forme it is 'wipe out, finish. '"

"Yes, Major, too much pickpocket, too much dirt. Bottom always drop outof bucket shop at last. I understand, end in police court and severemagistrate, or perhaps even 'Gentlemen of Jury'; etcetera. "

"Well, Jeekie, then what remains? Now last night when you told us thatamazing yarn of yours, you said something about a mountain full of gold, and houses full of gold, among your people. Jeekie, do you think----"and he paused, looking at him. 

Jeekie rolled his black eyes round the room and in a fit ofabsentmindedness helped himself to some more whisky. 

"Do I think, Major, that this useless lucre could be converted into coinof gracious King Edward? Not at all, Major, by no one, Major, by no onewhatsoever, except possibly by Major Alan Vernon, D. S. O. , and by one, Jeekie, Christian surname Smith. "

"Proceed, Jeekie, " said Alan, removing the whisky bottle, "proceed andexplain. "

"Major, thus: The Asiki tribe care nothing about all that gold, it nogood to them. Dead people who live long, long ago, no one know when, digit up and store it there and make the great fetish which they call Bonsato keep away enemy who want to steal. Also old custom when any one incountry round find big nugget, or pretty stone, like ladies wear onbosom, to bring it as offering to Bonsa, so that there now great plentyof all this stuff. But no one use it for anything except to set on wallsof house of Asiki, or to make basin, stool, table and pot to cook with. Once Arab come there and I see the priests give him weight in gold foriron hoe, though afterwards they murder him, not for the gold, but lesthe go away and tell their secret. "

"One might trade with them then, Jeekie?"

He shook his white head doubtfully. 

"Yes, perhaps, if you can find anything they want buy and can carry itthere. But I think there only one thing they want, and you got that, Major. "

"I, Jeekie! What have I got?"

The negro leant forward and tapped his master on the knee, saying in aportentous whisper:

"You got Little Bonsa, which much more holy than anything, even thanBig Bonsa her husband, I mean greater, more powerful devil. That LittleBonsa sit in front room Asika's house, and when she want see things, sheput it in big basin of gold, but I no tell you what it float in. Alsoonce or twice every year they take out Little Bonsa; Asika wear it onhead as mask, and whoever they meet they kill as offering to LittleBonsa, so that spirit come back to world to be priest of Bonsa. I tellyou, Major, that Yellow God see many thousand of people die. "

"Indeed, " said Alan. "A pleasing fetish truly. I should think that theAsiki must be glad it is gone. "

"No, not glad, very sorry. No luck for them when Little Bonsa go away, but plenty luck for those who got her. That why firm Aylward & Haswellmake so much money when you join them and bring her to office. She dropgreen in eye of public so they no smell rat. That why you so lucky, notdie of blackwater fever when you should; get safe out of den of thievesin City with good name; win love of sweet maiden, Miss Barbara. LittleBonsa do all those things for you, and by and by do plenty more, asLittle Bonsa bring my old master, your holy uncle, safe out of thatcountry because all the Asiki run away when they see him wear her onhead, for they think she come sacrifice them after she eat up my life. "

"I don't wonder that they ran, " said Alan, laughing, for the vision of amissionary with Little Bonsa on his head caught his fancy. "But come tothe point, you old heathen. What do you mean that I should do?"

"Jeekie not heathen now, Major, but plenty other things true in thisworld, besides Christian religion. I no want you do anything, but I saythis--you go back to Asiki wearing Little Bonsa on head and dressedlike Reverend uncle whom you very like, for he just your age then thirtyyears ago, and they give you all the gold you want, if you give themback Little Bonsa whom they love and worship for ever and ever, forLittle Bonsa very, very old. "

Alan sat up in his chair and stared at Jeekie, while Jeekie nodded hishead at him. 

"There is something in it, " he said slowly, speaking more to himselfthan to the negro, "and perhaps that is why I would not sell the fetish, for as you say, there are plenty of true things in the world besidesthose which we believe. But, Jeekie, how should I find the way?"

"No trouble, Major, Little Bonsa find way, want to get back home, veryhungry by now, much need sacrifice. Think it good thing kill pig toLittle Bonsa--or even lamb. She know you do your best, since human beingnot to be come at in Christian land, and say 'thank you for life ofpig. '"

"Stop that rubbish, " said Alan. "I want a guide; if I go, will you comewith me?"

At this suggestion the negro looked exceedingly uncomfortable. 

"Not like to, not like to at all, " he said, rolling his eyes. "Asiki-land very funny place for native-born. But, " he added sadly, "ifyou go Jeekie must, for I servant of Little Bonsa and if I stay behind, she angry and kill me because I not attend her where she walk. Butperhaps if I go and take her to Gold House again, she pleased and let meoff. Also I able help you there. Yes, if you and Little Bonsa go, thinkI go too. "

After this announcement Jeekie rose and walked down the room, carryingthe cold mutton in his hand. Then he returned, replaced it on the tableand standing in front of Alan, said earnestly:

"Major, I tell you all truth, just this once. Jeekie believe he _got_go with you to Asiki-land. Jeekie have plenty bad dream lately, LittleBonsa come in middle of the night and sit on his stomach and scratch hisface with her gold leg, and say, 'Jeekie, Jeekie, you son of Bonsa, youget up quick and take me back Bonsa Town, for I darned tired of City fogand finished all I come here to do. Now I want jolly good sacrifice andgot plenty business attend to there at home, things you not understandjust yet. You take me back sharp, or I make you sit up, Jeekie, myboy;'" and he paused. 

"Indeed, " said Alan; "and did she tell you anything else in her midnightvisitations?"

"Yes, Major. She say, 'You take that white master of yours along also, for I want come back Asiki-land on his head, and someone wish see himthere, old pal, what he forget but what not forget him. You tell himLittle Bonsa got score she wants settle with that party and wish use himto square account. You tell him too that she pay him well for trip; helose nothing if he play her game 'cause she got no score against him. But if he not go, that another matter, then he look out, for LittleBonsa very nasty customer if she riled, as his late partners find outone day. '"

"Oh! shut up, Jeekie. What's the use of wasting time telling me yournightmares?"

"Very well, Major, just as you like, Major. But I got other reasons whyI willing go. Jeekie want see his ma. "

"Your ma? I never heard you had a ma. Besides she must be dead longago. "

"No, Major, 'cause she turn up in dream too, very much alive, swear atme 'cause I bag her blanket. Also she tough old woman, take lot killher. "

"Perhaps you have a pa too, " suggested Alan. 

"Think not, Major, my ma always say she forget him. What she mean, she not like talk about him, he such a swell. Why Jeekie so strong, soclever and with such beautiful face? No doubt because he is son ofvery great man. All this true reason why he want to go with you, Major. Still, p'raps poor old Jeekie make mistake, p'raps he dream 'cause heeat too much supper, p'raps his ma dead, after all. If so, p'raps betterstay at home--not know. "

"No, " answered Alan, "not know. What between Little Bonsa and one thingand another my head is swimming--like Little Bonsa in the water. "

"Big Bonsa swim in water, " interrupted Jeekie. "Little Bonsa swim ingold tub. "

"Well, Big Bonsa, or Little Bonsa, I don't care which. I'm going to bedand you had better clear away these things and do the same. But, Jeekie, if you say a word of our talk to anyone, I shall be very angry. Do youunderstand?"

"Yes, Major, I understand. I understand that if I tell secrets of LittleBonsa to anyone except you with whom she live in strange land far awayfrom home, Little Bonsa come at me like one lion, and cut my throat. No fear Jeekie split on Little Bonsa, oh! no fear at all, " and stillshaking his head solemnly, for the second time he seized the cold muttonand vanished from the room. 

"A farrago of superstitious nonsense, " thought Alan to himself whenhe had gone. "But still there may be something to be made out of it. Evidently there is lots of gold in this Asiki country, if only one canpersuade the people to deal. "

Then weary of Jeekie and his tribal gods, Alan lit his pipe and sat awhile thinking of Barbara and all the events of that tumultuousday. Notwithstanding his rebuff at the hands of Mr. Haswell and thedifficulties and dangers which threatened, he felt even then that it hadbeen a happy and a fortunate day. For had he not discovered that Barbaraloved him with all her heart and soul as he loved Barbara? And as thiswas so, he did not care a--Little Bonsa about anything else. The futuremust look to itself, sufficient to the day was the abiding joy thereof. 

So he went to bed and for a while to sleep, but he did not sleep verylong, for presently he fell to dreaming, something about Big Bonsa andLittle Bonsa which sat, or rather floated on either side of his couchand held an interminable conversation over him, while Jeekie and SirRobert Aylward, perched respectively at its head and its foot, like thesymbols of the good and evil genii on a Mahommedan tomb, acted as a kindof insane chorus. He struck his repeater, it was only one o'clock, so hetried to go to sleep again, but failed utterly. Never had he been morepainfully awake. 

For an hour or more Alan persevered, then at last in despair he jumpedout of bed wondering what he could do to occupy his mind. Suddenly heremembered the diary of his uncle, the Rev. Mr. Austin, which he hadinherited with the Yellow God and a few other possessions, but neverexamined. They had been put away in a box in the library about fifteenyears before, just at the time he entered the army, and there doubtlessthey remained. Well, as he could not sleep, why should he not examinethem now, and thus get through some of this weary night?

He lit a candle and went down to the library, an ancient and beautifulapartment with black oak panelling between the bookcases, set there inthe time of Elizabeth. In this panelling there were cupboards, and inone of the cupboards was the box he sought, made of teak wood. On itslid was painted, "The Reverend Henry Austin. Passenger to Acra, " showingthat it had once been his uncle's cabin box. The key hung from thehandle, and having lit more candles, Alan drew it out and unlocked it, to be greeted by a smell of musty documents done up in great bundles. One by one he placed them on the floor. It was a dreary occupation alonethere in that great, silent room at the dead of night, one indeed withwhich he was soon satisfied, for somehow it reminded him of riflingcoffins in a vault. Before him so carefully put away lay the records ofa good if not a distinguished life, and until this moment he had neverfound the energy even to look through them. 

At length he came to the end of the bundles and saw that beneath laya number of manuscript books packed closely with their backs upwards, marked--"Journal"--and with the year and sometimes the place of theauthor's residence. As he glanced at them in dismay, for they were many, his eye caught the title of one inscribed--as were several others--"WestAfrica, " and written in brackets beneath--"This vol. Contains allthat is left of the notes of my escape with Jeekie from the AsikiDevil-worshippers. "

Alan drew it out, and having refilled and closed the box, bore it off tohis room, where he proceeded to read it in bed. As a matter of fact hefound that there was not very much to read, for the reason that mostof the closely-written volume had been so damaged by water, that thepencilled writing had run and become utterly illegible. The centrepages, however, not having been soaked, could still be deciphered, atany rate in part, also there was a large manuscript map, executed inink, apparently at a later date, on the back of which was written: "Ipurpose, D. V. , to re-write at some convenient time all the history of myvisit to the unknown Asiki people, as my original notes were practicallydestroyed when the canoe overset in the rapids and most of our fewpossessions were lost, except this book and the gold fetish mask whichis called Little Bonsa or Small Swimming Head. This I think I cando with the aid of Jeekie from memory, but as the matter has only apersonal and no religious interest, seeing that I was not able even topreach the Word among those benighted and blood-thirsty savages inwhose country, as I verily believe, the Devil has one of his principalhabitations, it must stand over till a convenient season, such as thetime of old age or sickness. H. A. "

"P. S. I ought to add with gratitude that even out of this hell fire Iwas enabled to snatch one brand from the burning, namely, the negrolad, Jeekie, to whose extraordinary resource and faithfulness I owemy escape. After a long hesitation I have been able to baptize him, although I fear that the taint of heathenism still clings to him. Thusnot six months ago I caught him sacrificing a white cock to the image, Little Bonsa, in gratitude, as to my horror he explained, for my havingbeen appointed an Honorary Canon of the Cathedral. I have told him totake that ugly mask which has been so often soaked in human blood, andmelt it down over the kitchen stove, after picking out the gems in theeyes, that the proceeds may be given to the poor. _Note. _ I had bettersee to this myself, as where Little Bonsa is concerned, Jeekie is not tobe trusted. He says (with some excuse) that it has magic, and that ifhe melts it down, he will melt down too, and so shall I. How dark andridiculous are the superstitions of the heathen! Perhaps, however, instead of destroying the thing, which is certainly unique, I might sellit to a museum, and thus spare the feelings of that weak vessel, Jeekie, who otherwise would very likely take it into his head to waste away anddie, as these Africans do when their nerves are affected by terror oftheir fetish. "

CHAPTER VII

THE DIARY

Reflecting that time evidently had made little change in Jeekie, Alanstudied this route map with care, and found that it started from OldCalabar, in the Bight of Biafra, on the west coast of Africa, whence itran up to the Great Qua River, which it followed for a long way. Then itstruck across country marked "dense forest, " northwards, and came to ariver called Katsena, along the banks of which the route went eastwards. Thence it turned northward again through swamps, and ended in mountainscalled Shaku. In the middle of these mountains was written "Asiki Peoplelive here on Raaba River. "

The map was roughly drawn to scale, and Alan, who was an engineeraccustomed to such things, easily calculated that the distance of thisRaaba River from Old Calabar was about 350 miles as the crow flies, though probably the actual route to be travelled was nearer five hundredmiles. 

Having mastered the map, he opened the water-soaked diary. Turning pageafter page, only here and there could he make out a sentence, such as"so I defied that beautiful but terrific woman. I, a Christian minister, the husband of a heathen priestess! Perish the thought. Sooner would Ibe sacrificed to Bonsa. "

Then came more illegible pages and again a paragraph that could beread--"They gave me 'The Bean' in a gold cup, and knowing its deadlynature I prepared myself for death. But happily for me my stomach, always delicate, rejected it at once, though I felt queer for daysafterwards. Whereon they clapped their hands and said I was evidentlyinnocent and a great medicine man. "

And again, further on--"never did I see so much gold whether in dust, nuggets, or worked articles. I imagine it must be worth millions, butat that time gold was the last thing with which I wished to troublemyself. "

After this entry many pages were utterly effaced. 

The last legible passage ran as follows--"So guided by the lad Jeekie, and wearing the gold mask, Little Bonsa, on my head, I ran throughthem all, holding him by the hand as though I were dragging him away. A strange spectacle I must have been with my old black clergyman's coatbuttoned about me, my naked legs and the gold mask, as pretending to bea devil such as they worship, I rushed through them in the moonlight, blowing the whistle in the mask and bellowing like a bull. . . . Suchwas the beginning of my dreadful six months' journey to the coast. Setting aside the mercy of Providence that preserved me for its ownpurposes, I could never have lived to reach it had it not been forLittle Bonsa, since curiously enough I found this fetish known anddreaded for hundreds of miles, and that by people who had never seen it, yes, even by the wild cannibals. Whenever it was produced food, bearers, canoes, or whatever else I might want were forthcoming as though bymagic. Great is the fame of Big and Little Bonsa in all that part ofWest Africa, although, strange as it may seem, the outlying tribesseldom mention them by name. If they must speak of either of theseimages which are supposed to be man and wife, they call it the'Yellow-God-who-lives-yonder. '"

Not another word of all this strange history could Alan decipher, sowith aching eyes he shut up the stained and tattered volume, and atlast, just as the day was breaking, fell asleep. 

At eleven o'clock on that same morning, for he had slept late, Alan rosefrom his breakfast and went to smoke his pipe at the open door of thebeautiful old hall in Yarleys that was clad with brown Elizabethanoak for which any dealer would have given hundreds of pounds. It was acharming morning, one of those that comes to us sometimes in an EnglishApril when the air is soft like that of Italy and the smell of the earthrises like that of incense, and little clouds float idly across a skyof tender blue. Standing thus he looked out upon the park where the elmsalready showed a tinge of green and the ash-buds were coal black. Onlythe walnuts and the great oaks, some of them pollards of a thousandyears of age, remained stark and stern in their winter dress. 

Alan was in a reflective mood and involuntarily began to wonder how manyof his forefathers had stood in that same spot upon such April morningsand looked out upon those identical trees wakening in the breath ofspring. Only the trees and the landscape knew, those trees which hadseen every one of them borne to baptism, to bridal and to burial. Themen and women themselves were forgotten. Their portraits, each in thegarb of his or her generation, hung here and there upon the walls of theancient house which once they had owned or inhabited, but who rememberedanything of them to-day? In many cases their names even were lost, forbelieving that they, so important in their time, could never sink intooblivion, they had not thought it necessary to record them upon theirpictures. 

And now the thing was coming to an end. Unless in this way or in thathe could save it, what remained of the old place, for the outlying landshad long since been sold, must go to the hammer and become the propertyof some pushing and successful person who desired to found a family, andperhaps in days to be would claim these very pictures that hung upon thewalls as those of his own ancestors, declaring that he had brought inthe estate because he was a relative of the ancient and ruined race. 

Well, it was the way of the world, and perhaps it must be so, but thethought of it made Alan Vernon sad. If he could have continued thatbusiness, it might have been otherwise. By this hour his late partners, Sir Robert Aylward and Mr. Champers-Haswell, were doubtless sitting intheir granite office in the City, probably in consultation with LordSpecton, who had taken his place upon the Board of the great Companywhich was being subscribed that day. No doubt applications for shareswere pouring in by the early posts and by telegram, and from time totime Mr. Jeffreys respectfully reported their number and amount, whileSir Robert looked unconcerned and Mr. Haswell rubbed his hands andwhistled cheerfully. Almost he could envy them, these men who wererealizing great fortunes amidst the bustle and excitement of that fiercefinancial life, whilst he stood penniless and stared at the trees andthe ewes which wandered among them with their lambs, he who, after allhis work, was but a failure. With a sigh he turned away to fetch hiscap and go out walking--there was a tenant whom he must see, a shifty, new-fangled kind of man who was always clamouring for fresh buildingsand reductions in his rent. How was he to pay for more buildings? Hemust put him off, or let him go. 

Just then a sharp sound caught his ear, that of an electric bell. Itcame from the telephone which, since he had been a member of a Cityfirm, he had caused to be put into Yarleys at considerable expense inorder that he might be able to communicate with the office in London. "Were they calling him up from force of habit?" he wondered. He went tothe instrument which was fixed in a little room he used as a study, andtook down the receiver. 

"Who is it?" he asked. "I am Yarleys. Alan Vernon. "

"And I am Barbara, " came the answer. "How are you, dear? Did you sleepwell?"

"No, very badly. "

"Nerves--Alan, you have got nerves. Now although I had a worse day thanyou did, I went to bed at nine, and protected by a perfect conscience, slumbered till nine this morning, exactly twelve hours. Isn't it cleverof me to think of this telephone, which is more than you would ever havedone? My uncle has departed to London vowing that no letter from youshall enter this house, but he forgot that there is a telephone inevery room, and in fact at this moment I am speaking round by hisoffice within a yard or two of his head. However, he can't hear, so thatdoesn't matter. My blessing be on the man who invented telephones, which hitherto I have always thought an awful nuisance. Are you feelingcheerful, Alan?"

"Very much the reverse, " he answered; "never was more gloomy in my life, not even when I thought I had to die within six hours of blackwaterfever. Also I have lots that I want to talk to you about and I can't doit at the end of this confounded wire that your uncle may be tapping. "

"I thought it might be so, " answered Barbara, "so I just rang you up towish you good-morning and to say that I am coming over in the motor tolunch with my maid Snell as chaperone. All right, don't remonstrate, I_am coming_ over to lunch--I can't hear you--never mind what peoplewill say. I am coming over to lunch at one o'clock, mind you are in. Good-bye, I don't want much to eat, but have something for Snell and thechauffeur. Good-bye. "

Then the wire went dead, nor could all Alan's "Hello's" and "Are youthere's?" extract another syllable. 

Having ordered the best luncheon that his old housekeeper could provideAlan went off for his walk in much better spirits, which were furtherimproved by his success in persuading the tenant to do without the newbuildings for another year. In a year, he reflected, anything mighthappen. Then he returned by the wood where a number of new-felled oakslay ready for barking. This was not a cheerful sight; it seemed so cruelto kill the great trees just as they were pushing their buds for anothersummer of life. But he consoled himself by recalling that they had beentoo crowded and that the timber was really needed on the estate. As hereached the house again carrying a bunch of white violets which hehad plucked in a sheltered place for Barbara, he perceived a motortravelling at much more than the legal speed up the walnut avenue whichwas the pride of the place. In it sat that young lady herself, and hermaid, Snell, a middle-aged woman with whom, as it chanced, he was onvery good terms, as once, at some trouble to himself, he had been ableto do her a kindness. 

The motor pulled up at the front door and out of it sprang Barbara, laughing pleasantly and looking fresh and charming as the spring itself. 

"There will be a row over this, dear, " said Alan, shaking his headdoubtfully when at last they were alone together in the hall. 

"Of course, there'll be a row, " she answered. "I mean that there shouldbe a row. I mean to have a row every day if necessary, until they leaveme alone to follow my own road, and if they won't, as I said, to go tothe Court of Chancery for protection. Oh! by the way, I have broughtyou a copy of _The Judge_. There's a most awful article in it about thatSahara flotation, and among other things it announces that you have leftthe firm and congratulates you upon having done so. "

"They'll think I have put it in, " groaned Alan as he glanced at the headlines, which were almost libellous in their vigour, and the summariesof the financial careers of Sir Robert Aylward and Mr. Champers-Haswell. "It will make them hate me more than ever, and I say, Barbara, we can'tlive in an atmosphere of perpetual warfare for the next two years. "

"I can, if need be, " answered that determined young woman. "But I admitthat it would be trying for you, if you stay here. "

"That's just the point, Barbara. I must not stay here, I must go away, the further the better, until you are your own mistress. "

"Where to, Alan?"

"To West Africa, I think. "

"To West Africa?" repeated Barbara, her voice trembling a little. "Afterthat treasure, Alan?"

"Yes, Barbara. But first come and have your lunch, then we will talk. Ihave got lots to tell and show you. "

So they lunched, speaking of indifferent things, for the servant wasthere waiting on them. Just as they were finishing their meal Jeekieentered the room carrying a box and a large envelope addressed to hismaster, which he said had been sent by special messenger from the officein London. 

"What's in the box?" asked Alan, looking somewhat nervously at theenvelope, which was addressed in a writing that he knew. 

"Don't know for certain, Major, " answered Jeekie, "but think LittleBonsa; think I smell her through wood. "

"Well, look and see, " replied Alan, while he broke the seal of theenvelope and drew out its contents. They proved to be sundry documentssent by the firm's lawyers, among which were a notice of the formaldissolution of partnership to be approved by him before it appearedin the _Gazette_, a second notice calling in a mortgage for fifteenthousand and odd pounds on Yarleys, which as a matter of business hadbeen taken over by the firm while he was a partner; a cash accountshowing a small balance against him, and finally a receipt for him tosign acknowledging the return of the gold image that was his property. 

"You see, " said Alan with a sigh, pushing over the papers to Barbara, who read them carefully one by one. 

"I see, " she answered presently. "It is war to the knife. Alan, I hatethe idea of it, but perhaps you had better go away. While you are herethey will harass the life out of you. "

Meanwhile with the aid of a big jack-knife and the dining-room poker, Jeekie had prized off the lid of the box. Chancing to look round Barbarasaw him on his knees muttering something in a strange tongue, and bowinghis white head until it touched an object that lay within the box. 

"What are you doing, Jeekie?" she asked. 

"Make bow to Little Bonsa, Miss Barbara, tell her how glad I am see hercome back from town. She like feel welcome. Now you come bow too, LittleBonsa take that as compliment. "

"I won't bow, but I will look, Jeekie, for although I have heard so muchabout it I have never really examined this Yellow God. "

"Very good, you come look, miss, " and Jeekie propped up the case uponthe end of the dining-room table. As from its height and position shecould not see its contents very well whilst standing above it, Barbaraknelt down to get a better view of it. 

"My goodness!" she exclaimed, "what a terrible face, beautiful too inits way. "

Hardly had the words left her lips when for some reason unexplained thatprobably had to do with the shifting of the centre of gravity, LittleBonsa appeared to glide or fall out of her box with a startlingsuddenness, and project herself straight at Barbara, who, with a faintscream, fearing lest the precious thing should be injured, caught it inher arms and for a moment hugged it to her breast. 

"Saved!" she exclaimed, recovering herself and placing it on the table, whereon Jeekie, to their astonishment, began to execute a kind of wardance. 

"Oh! yes, " he said, "saved, very much saved. All saved, most magnificentomen. Lady kneel to Little Bonsa and Little Bonsa nip out of box, makebow and jump in lady's arms. That splendid, first-class luck, for missand everybody. When Little Bonsa do that need fear nothing no more. Allcome right as rain. "

"Nonsense, " said Barbara, laughing. Then from a cautious distance shecontinued her examination of the fetish. 

"See, " said Jeekie, pointing to the misshapen little gold legs whichwere yet so designed that it could be stood up upon them, "when anyonewear Little Bonsa, tie her on head behind by these legs; look, here sameold leather string. Now I put her on, for she like to be wornagain, " and with a quick movement he clapped the mask on to his face, manipulated the greasy black leather thongs and made them fast. Thusadorned the great negro looked no less than terrific. 

"I see you, miss, " he said, turning the fixed eyes of opal-like stone, bloodshot with little rubites, upon Barbara, "I see you, though you nosee me, for these eyes made very cunning. But listen, you hear me, "and suddenly from the mask, produced by some contrivance set within it, there proceeded an awful, howling sound that made her shiver. 

"Take that thing off, Jeekie, " said Alan, "we don't want any bansheeshere. "

"Banshees? Not know him, he poor English fetish p'raps, " said Jeekie, ashe removed the mask. "This real African god, howl banshee and all thatsort into middle of next week. This Little Bonsa and no mistake, tenthousand years old and more, eat up lives, so many that no one cancount them, and go on eating for ever, yes unto the third and fourthgeneration, as Ten Commandments lay it down for benefit of Christianman, like me. Look at her again, Miss Barbara. "

Miss Barbara took the hateful, ancient thing in her hands and studiedit. No one could doubt its antiquity, for the gold plate of which it wasmade was literally worn away wherever it had touched the foreheads ofthe high priests or priestesses who donned it upon festive occasions ordays of sacrifice, showing that hundreds and hundreds of them must haveused it thus in succession. So was the vocal apparatus within the mouth, and so were the little toad-like feet upon which it was stood up. Alsothe substance of the gold itself as here and there pitted as though withacid or salts, though what those salts were she did not inquire. And yet, so consummate was the art with which it had originally beenfashioned, that the battered beautiful face of Little Bonsa still peeredat them with the same devilish smile that it had worn when it left thehands of its maker, perhaps before Mohammed preached his holy war, oreven earlier. 

"What is all that writing on the back of it?" asked Barbara, pointing tothe long lines of rune-like characters which were inscribed within it. 

"Not know, miss, think they dead tongue cut in the beginning when blackmen could write. But Asiki priests swear they remember every one ofthem, and that why no one can copy Little Bonsa, for they look insideand see if marks all right. They say they names of those who died forLittle Bonsa, and when they all done, Little Bonsa begin again, forLittle Bonsa never die. But p'raps priests lie. "

"I daresay, " said Barbara, "but take Little Bonsa away, for howeverlucky she may be, she makes me feel sick. "

"Where I put her, Major?" asked Jeekie of Alan. "In box in library whereshe used to live, or in plate-safe with spoons? Or under your bed whereshe always keep eye on you?"

"Oh! put her with the spoons, " said Alan angrily, and Jeekie departedwith his treasure. 

"I think, dear, " remarked Barbara as the door closed behind him, "thatif I come to lunch here any more, I shall bring my own christeningpresent with me, for I can't eat off silver that has been shut up withthat thing. Now let us get to business--show me the diary and the map. "

"Dearest Alan, " wrote Barbara from The Court two days later, "I havebeen thinking everything over, and since you are so set upon it, I suppose that you had better go. To me the whole adventure seemsperfectly mad, but at the same time I believe in our luck, or rather inthe Providence which watches over us, and I don't believe that you, or Ieither, will come to any harm. If you stop here, you will only eatyour heart out and communication between us must become increasinglydifficult. My uncle is furious with you, and since he discovered that wewere talking over the telephone, to his own great inconvenience he hashad the wires cut outside the house. That horrid letter of his toyou saying that you had 'compromised' me in pursuance of a 'mercenaryscheme' is all part and parcel of the same thing. How are you to stophere and submit to such insults? I went to see my friend the lawyer, andhe tells me that of course we can marry if we like, but in that case myfather's will, which he has consulted at Somerset House, is absolutelydefinite, and if I do so in opposition to my uncle's wishes, I must loseeverything except £200 a year. Now I am no money-grubber, but I will notgive my uncle the satisfaction of robbing me of my fortune, which maybe useful to both of us by and by. The lawyer says also that he does notthink that the Court of Chancery would interfere, having no power to doso as far as the will is concerned, and not being able to make a wardof a person like myself who is over age and has the protection of thecommon law of the country. So it seems to me that the only thing to dois to be patient, and wait until time unties the knot. 

"Meanwhile, if you can make some money in Africa, so much the better. So go, Alan, go as soon as you like, for I do not wish to prolong thisagony, or to see you exposed daily to all you have to bear. Whenever youreturn you will find me waiting for you, and if you do not return, stillI shall wait, as you in like circumstances will wait for me. But I thinkyou will return. "

Then followed much that need not be written, and at the end a postscriptwhich ran:

"I am glad to hear that you have succeeded in shifting the mortgage onYarleys, although the interest is so high. Write to me whenever you geta chance, to the care of the lawyer, for then the letters will reach me, but never to this house, or they may be stopped. I will do the same toyou to the address you give. Good-bye, dearest Alan, my true and onlylover. I wonder where and when we shall meet again. God be with us bothand enable us to bear our trial. 

"P. P. S. I hear that the Sahara flotation was _really_ a success, notwithstanding the _Judge_ attacks. Sir Robert and my uncle have mademillions. I wonder how long they will keep them. "

A week after he received this letter Alan was on the seas heading forthe shores of Western Africa. 

CHAPTER VIII

THE DWARF FOLK

It was dawn at last. All night it had rained as it can rain in WestAfrica, falling on the wide river with a hissing splash, sullen andcontinuous. Now, towards morning, the rain had ceased and everywhererose a soft and pearly mist that clung to the face of the waters andseemed to entangle itself like strands of wool among the branches ofthe bordering trees. On the bank of the river at a spot that had beencleared of bush, stood a tent, and out of this tent emerged a white manwearing a sun helmet and grey flannel shirt and trousers. It was AlanVernon, who in these surroundings looked larger and more commanding thanhe had done at the London office, or even in his own house of Yarleys. Perhaps the moustache and short brown beard which he had grown, orhis skin, already altered and tanned by the tropics, had changed hisappearance for the better. At any rate it was changed. So were hismanner and bearing, whereof all the diffidence had gone. Now they werethose of a man accustomed to command who found himself in his rightplace. 

"Jeekie, " he called, "wake up those fellows and come and light theoil-stove. I want my coffee. "

Thereon a deep voice was heard speaking in some native tongue andsaying:

"Cease your snoring, you black dogs, and arouse yourselves, for yourlord calls you, " an invocation that was followed by the sound of kicks, thumps, and muttered curses. 

A minute or two later Jeekie himself appeared, and he also was muchchanged in appearance, for now instead of his smart, European clothes, he wore a white robe and sandals that gave him an air at once dignifiedand patriarchal. 

"Good-morning, Major, " he said cheerfully. "I hope you sleep well, Major, in this low-lying and accursed situation, which is more than wedo in boat that half full of water, to say nothing of smell of black manand prevalent mosquito. But the rain it over and gone, and presently thesun shine out, so might be much worse, no cause at all complain. "

"I don't know, " answered Alan, with a shiver. "I believe that I am feverproof, but otherwise I should have caught it last night, and--just giveme the quinine, I will take five grains for luck. "

"Yes, yes, for luck, " answered Jeekie as he opened the medicine chestand found the quinine, at the same time glancing anxiously out of thecorner of his eye at his master's face, for he knew that the spot wherethey had slept was deadly to white men at this season of the year. "Younot catch fever, Little Bonsa, " here he dropped his voice and lookeddown at the box which had served Alan for a pillow, "see to that. Butquinine give you appetite for breakfast. Very good chop this morning. Which you like best? Cold ven'son, or fish, or one of them ducks youshoot yesterday?"

"Oh! some of the cold meat, I think. Give the ducks to the boatmen, Idon't fancy them in this hot place. By the way, Jeekie, we leave the QuaRiver here, don't we?"

"Yes, yes, Major, just here. I 'member spot well, for your uncle he prayon it one whole hour; I pretend pray too, but in heart give thanksto Little Bonsa, for heathen in those days, quite different now. Thismorning we begin walk through forest where it rather dark and cooland comfortable, that is if we no see dwarf people from whom good Lorddeliver us, " and he bowed towards the box containing Little Bonsa. 

"Will those four porters come with us through the forest, Jeekie, asthey promised?"

"Yes, yes, they come. Last night they say they not come, too much afraidof dwarf. But I settle their hash. I tell them I save up bits of theirhair and toe nails when they no thinking, and I mix it with medicine, and if they not come, they die every one before they get home. Theythink me great doctor and they believe. Perhaps they die if they go on. If so, I tell them that because they want show white feather, and theythink me greater doctor still. Oh! they come, they come, no fear, orelse Jeekie know reason why. Now, here coffee, Major. Drink him hotbefore you go take tub, but keep in shallow water, because crocodile hevery early riser. "

Alan laughed, and departed to "take tub. " Notwithstanding the mosquitoesthat buzzed round him in clouds, the water was cool and pleasant bycomparison with the hot, sticky air, and the feel of it seemed to ridhim of the languor resulting from his disturbed night. 

A month had passed since he had left Old Calabar, and owing to theincessant rains the journeying had been hard. Indeed the white men therethought that he was mad to attempt to go up the river at this season. Of course he had said nothing to them of the objects of his expedition, hinting only that he wished to explore and shoot, and perhaps prospectfor mines. But knowing as they did, that he was an Engineer officer witha good record and much African experience, they soon made up their mindsthat he had been sent by Government upon some secret mission that forreasons of his own he preferred to keep to himself. This conclusion, which Jeekie zealously fostered behind his back, in fact did Alan a goodturn, since owing to it he obtained boatmen and servants at a seasonwhen, had he been supposed to be but a private person, these wouldscarcely have been forthcoming at any price. Hitherto his journey hadbeen one long record of mud, mosquitoes, and misery, but otherwisedevoid of incident, except the eating of one of his boatmen by acrocodile which was a particularly "early riser, " for it had pulledthe poor fellow out of the canoe in which he lay asleep at night. Now, however, the real dangers were about to begin, since at this spot heleft the great river and started forward through the forest on foot withJeekie and the four bearers whom he had paid highly to accompany him. 

He could not conceal from himself that the undertaking seemed somewhatdesperate. But of this he said nothing in the long letter he had writtento Barbara on the previous night, sighing as he sealed it, at thethought that it might well be the last which would ever reach her fromhim, even if the boatmen got safely back to Calabar and remembered toput it in the post. The enterprise had been begun and must be carriedthrough, until it ended in success--or death. 

An hour later they started. First walked Alan as leader of theexpedition, carrying a double-barrelled gun that could be used eitherfor ball or shot, about fifty cartridges with brass cases to protectthem from the damp, a revolver, a hunting-knife, a cloth mackintosh, andlastly, strapped upon his back like a knapsack, a tin box containingthe fetish, Little Bonsa, which was too precious to be trusted to anyoneelse. It was quite a sufficient load for any white man in that climate, but being very wiry, Alan did not feel its weight, at any rate at first. 

After him in single file came the four porters, laden with a small tent, some tinned provisions and brandy, ammunition, a box containing beads, watches, etc. For presents, blankets, spare clothing and so forth. Thesewere stalwart fellows enough, who knew the forest, but their dejectedair showed that now they had come face to face with its dangers, theyheartily wished themselves anywhere else. Indeed, notwithstanding theirterror of Jeekie's medicine, at the last moment they threw down theirloads intending to make a wild rush for the departing boat, only to bemet by Jeekie himself who, anticipating some such move, was waiting forthem on the bank with a shotgun. Here he remained until the canoe wastoo far out in the stream for them to reach it by swimming. Then heasked them if they wished to sit and starve there with the devils hewould leave them for company, of if they would carry out their bargainlike honest men?

The end of it was they took up their loads again and marched, whilebehind them walked the terrible and gigantic Jeekie, the barrels ofthe shotgun which he carried at full cock and occasionally used toprod them, pointing directly at their backs. A strange object he lookedtruly, for in addition to the weapons with which he bristled, severalcooking-pots were slung about him, to say nothing of a cork mattressand a mackintosh sheet tied in a flat bundle to his shoulders, a boxcontaining medicines and food which he carried on his head, and fastenedto the top of it with string like a helmet on a coffin, an enormoussolar-tope stuffed full of mosquito netting, of which the ends fellabout him like a green veil. When Alan remonstrated with him as to thecork mattress, suggesting that it should be thrown away as too hot towear, Jeekie replied that he had been cold for thirty years, and wishedto get warm again. Guessing that his real reason for declining to partwith the article, was that his master should have something to lie on, other than the damp ground, Alan said no more at the time, which, aswill be seen, was fortunate enough for Jeekie. 

For a mile or more their road ran through fantastic-looking mangrovetrees rooted in the mud, that in the mist resembled, Alan thought, many-legged arboreal octopi feeling for their food, and tall reeds onthe tops of which sat crowds of chattering finches. Then just as the sunbroke out, strongly, cheering them with its warmth and sucking up thevapours, they entered sparse bush with palms and great cotton treesgrowing here and there, and so at length came to the borders of themighty forest. 

Oh! dark, dark was that forest; he who entered it from the cheerfulsunshine felt as though suddenly and without preparation he had wanderedout of the light we know into some dim Hades such as the old Greek fancypainted, where strengthless ghosts flit aimlessly, mourning the lostlight. Everywhere the giant boles of trees shooting the height of achurch tower into the air without a branch; great rib-rooted trees, andbeneath them a fierce and hungry growth of creepers. Where a tree hadfallen within the last century or so, these creepers ramped upwards inluxuriance, their stems thick as the body of a man, drinking the shaftof light that pierced downwards, drinking it with eagerness ere theboughs above met again and starved them. Where no tree had fallen thecreepers were thin and weak; from year to year they lived on feebly, biding their time, but still they lived, knowing that some day it wouldcome. And always it was coming to those expectant parasites, since fromminute to minute, somewhere in the vast depths, miles and miles awayperhaps, a great crash echoed in the stillness, the crash of a treethat, sown when the Saxons ruled in England, or perhaps before Cleopatrabewitched Anthony, came to its end at last. 

On the second day of their march in the forest Alan chanced to see sucha tree fall, and the sight was one that he never could forget. As ithappened, owing to the vast spread of its branches which had killed outall rivals beneath, for in its day it had been a very successful treeembued with an excellent constitution by its parent, it stood somewhatalone, so that from several hundred yards away as these six human beingscrept towards it like ants towards a sapling in a cornfield, its mightygirth and bulk set upon a little mound and the luxuriant greenness ofits far-reaching boughs made a kind of landmark. Then in the hot noonwhen no breath of wind stirred, suddenly the end came. Suddenly thatmighty bole seemed to crumble; suddenly those far-reaching arms werethrown together as their support failed, gripping at each other likeliving things, flogging the air, screaming in their last agony, and withan awful wailing groan sinking, a tumbled ruin, to the earth. 

Silence again, and in the midst of the silence Jeekie's cheerful voice. 

"Old tree go flop! Glad he no flop on us, thanks be to Little Bonsa. Geton, you lazy nigger dog. Who pay you stand there and snivel? Get on orI blow out your stupid skull, " and he brought the muzzle of thefull-cocked, double-barrelled gun into sharp contact with that part ofthe terrified porter's anatomy. 

Such was the forest. Of their march through it for the first fourdays, there is nothing to tell. Its depths seemed to be devoid oflife, although occasionally they heard the screaming of parrots in thetreetops a couple of hundred feet above, or caught sight of the dimshapes of monkeys swinging themselves from bough to bough. That was inthe daytime, when, although they could not see it, they knew that thesun was shining somewhere. But at night they heard nothing, since beastsof prey do not come where there is no food. What puzzled Alan was thatall through these impenetrable recesses there ran a distinct roadwhich they followed. To the right and left rose a wall of creepers, butbetween them ran this road, an ancient road, for nothing grew on it, andit only turned aside to avoid the biggest of the trees which must havestood there from time immemorial, such a tree as that which he had seenfall; indeed it was one of those round which the road ran. 

He asked Jeekie who made the road. 

"People who come out Noah's Ark, " answered Jeekie, "I think they run uphere to get out of way of water, and sent them two elephants ahead tomake path. Or perhaps dwarf people make it. Or perhaps those who go upto Asiki-land to do sacrifice like old Jews. "

"You mean you don't know, " said Alan. 

"No, of course don't know. Who know about forest path made beforebeginning of world. You ask question, Major, I answer. More livelyanswer than to shake head and roll eyes like them silly fool porters. "

It was on the fourth night that the trouble began. As usual they had lita huge fire made of the fallen boughs and rotting tree trunks that layabout in plenty. There was no reason why the fire should be so large, since they had little to cook and the air was hot, but they made itso for the same reason that Jeekie answered questions, for the sake ofcheerfulness. At least it gave light in the darkness, leaping up in redtongues of flame twenty or thirty feet high, and its roar and cracklewere welcome in the primeval silence. 

Alan lay upon the cork mattress in the open, for here there was no needto pitch the tent; if any rain fell above, the canopy of leaves absorbedit. He was amusing himself while he smoked his pipe with watching thereflection of the fire-light against a patch of darkness caused probablyby some bush about twenty yards away, and by picturing in his own mindthe face of Barbara, that strong, pleasant English face, as it mightappear on such a background. Suddenly there, on the identical spot hedid see a face, though one of a very different character. It was roundand small and hideous, resembling in its general outline that of abloated child. At this distance he could not distinguish the features, except the lips, which were large and pendulous, and between them theflash of white teeth. 

"Look here, " he whispered to Jeekie in English, and Jeekie looked, thenwithout saying a word, lifted the shotgun that lay at his side and firedstraight at the bush. Instantly there arose a squeaking noise, such asmight be made by a wounded animal, and the four porters sprang up inalarm. 

"Sit down, " said Jeekie to them in their own tongue, "a leopard wasstalking us and I fired to frighten it away. Don't go near the place, as it may be wounded and angry, but drag up some boughs and make a fenceround the fire, for fear of others. "

The men who dreaded leopards, looking on these animals, indeed, withsuperstitious reverence, obeyed readily enough, and as there was plentyof wood lying within a few yards, soon constructed a _boma_ fence that, rough as it was, would serve for protection. 

"Jeekie, " said Alan presently as they laboured at the fence, "that wasnot a leopard, it was a man. "

"No, no, Major, not man, little dwarf devil, him that have poisonedarrow. I shoot at once to make him sit up. Think he no come backto-night, too much afraid of shot fetish. But to-morrow, can't say. Nottell those fellows anything, " and he nodded towards the porters, "orperhaps they bolt. "

"I think you would have done better to leave the dwarf alone, " saidAlan, "and they might have left us alone. Now they will have a bloodfeud against us. "

"Not agree, Major, only chance for us put him in blue funk. If I notshoot, presently he shoot, " and he made a sound that resembled thewhistling of an arrow, then added, "Now you go sleep. I not tired, Iwatch, my eyes see in dark better than yours. Only two more days of thisdamn forest, then open land with tree here and there, where dwarf nocome because he afraid of lion and cannibal man, who like eat him. "

As there was nothing else to be done Alan took Jeekie's advice and intime fell fast asleep, nor did he wake again till the faint light whichfor the want of a better name they called dawn, was filtering down tothem through the canopy of boughs. 

"Been to look, " said Jeekie as he handed him his coffee. "Hit that dwarfman, see his blood, but think others carry him away. Jeekie very goodshot, stone, spear, arrow, or gun, all same to him. Now get off as quickas we can before porters smell a rat. You eat chop, Major, I pack. "

Presently they started on their trudge through those endless trees, with Fear for a companion. Even the porters, who had been told nothing, seemed more afraid than usual, though whether this was because they"smell rat, " as Jeekie called it, or owing to the progressive breakdownof their nervous systems, Alan did not know. About midday they stoppedto eat because the men were too tired to walk further without rest. Foran hour or more they had been looking for a comparatively open place, but as it chanced could find none, so were obliged to halt in denseforest. Just as they had finished their meal and were preparing toproceed, that which they had feared, happened, since from somewherebehind the tree boles came a volley of reed arrows. One struck a porterin the neck, one fixed itself in Alan's helmet without touching him, and no less than three hit Jeekie on the back and stuck there, providentially enough in the substance of the cork mattress that hestill carried on his shoulders, which the feeble shafts had not thestrength to pierce. 

Everybody sprang up and with a curious fascination instead of attemptingto do anything, watched the porter who had been hit in the necksomewhere in the region of the jugular vein. The poor man rose to hisfeet with great deliberation, reminding Alan in some grotesque way of aspeaker who has suddenly been called on to address a meeting and seeksto gain time for the gathering of his thoughts. Then he turnedtowards that vast audience of the trees, stretched out his hand with adeclamatory gesture, said something in a composed voice, and fell uponhis face stone dead! The swift poison had reached his heart and done itswork. 

His three companions looked at him for a moment and the next with a yellof terror, rushed off into the forest, hurling down their loads as theyran. What became of them Alan never learned, for he saw them no more, and the dwarf people keep their secrets. At the time indeed he scarcelynoticed their departure, for he was otherwise engaged. 

One of their hideous little assailants, made bold by success, venturedto run across an open space between two trees, showing himself fora moment. Alan had a gun in his hand, and mad with rage at what hadhappened, he raised it and swung on him as he would upon a rabbit. Hewas a quick and practised shot and his skill did not fail him now, forjust as the dwarf was vanishing behind a tree, the bullet caught him andnext instant he was seen rolling over and over upon its further side. 

"That very nice, " said Jeekie reflectively, "very nice indeed, but Ithink we best move out of this. "

"Aren't you hurt?" gasped Alan. "Your back is full of arrows. "

"Don't feel nothing, Major, " he answered, "best cork mattress, 25/3 atStores, very good for poisoned arrow, but leave him behind now, becauseperhaps points work through as I run, one scratch do trick, " and ashe spoke Jeekie untied a string or several strings, letting the littlemattress fall to the ground. 

"Great pity leave all those goods, " said Jeekie, surveying the loadsthat the porters had cast away, "but what says Book? Life more thanraiment. Also take no thought for morrow. Dwarf people do that for us. Come, Major, make tracks, " and dashing at a bag of cartridges which hecast about his neck, a trifling addition to his other impedimenta, anda small case of potted meats that he hitched under his arm, he poked hismaster in the back with the muzzle of his full-cocked gun as a signalthat it was time to start. 

"Keep that cursed thing off me, " said Alan furiously. "How often have Itold you never to carry firearms at full cock?"

"About one thousand times, Major, " answered Jeekie imperturbably, "buton such occasion forget discreetness. My ma just same, it run in family, but story too long tell you now. Cut, Major, cut like hell. Them dwarfsbe back soon, but, " he puffed, "I think, I think Little Bonsa comesquare with them one day. "

So Alan "cut" and the huge Jeekie blundered along after him, theparaphernalia with which he was hung about rattling like the hoofs of agalloping giraffe. Nor for all his load did he ever turn a hair. Whetherit were fear within or a desire to save his master, or a belief in thevirtues of Little Bonsa, or that his foot was, as it were, once moreupon his native heath, the fact remained that notwithstanding thefifty years, almost, that had whitened his wool, Jeekie was absolutelyinexhaustible. At least at the end of that fearful chase, which lastedall the day, and through the night also, for they dared not camp, heappeared to be nearly as fresh as when he started from Old Calabar, nordid his spirits fail him for one moment. 

When the light came on the following morning, however, they perceivedby many signs and tokens that the dwarf people were all about them. Somearrows were shot even, but these fell short. 

"Pooh!" said Jeekie, "all right now, they much afraid. Still, no timefor coffee, we best get on. "

So they got on as they could, till towards midday the forest began tothin out. Now as the light grew stronger they could see the dwarfs, ofwhom there appeared to be several hundred, keeping a parallel courseto their own on either side of them at what they thought to be a safedistance. 

"Try one shot, I think, " said Jeekie, kneeling down and letting fly ata clump of the little men, which scattered like a covey of partridges, leaving one of its number kicking on the ground. "Ah! my boy, " shoutedJeekie in derision, "how you like bullet in tummy? You not know Paradoxguaranteed flat trajectory 250 yard. You remember that next time, sonny. " Then off they went again up a long rise. 

"River other side of that rise, " said Jeekie. "Think those tree-monkeysno follow us there. "

But the "monkeys" appeared to be angry and determined. They would notcome any more within the range of the Paradox, but they still marchedon either side of the two fugitives, knowing well that at last theirstrength must fail and they would be able to creep up and murder them. So the chase went on till Alan began to wonder whether it would not bebetter to face the end at once. 

"No, no, if say die, can't change mind to-morrow morning, " gasped Jeekiein a hoarse voice. "Here top rise, much nearer than I thought. Oh, myaunt! who those?" and he pointed to a large number of big men armed withspears who were marching up the further side of the hill from the riverthat ran below. 

At the same moment these savages, who were not more than two hundredyards away, caught sight of them and of their pursuers, who just thenappeared on the ridge to the right and left. The dwarfs, on perceivingthese strangers, uttered a shrill yell of terror, and wheeled about tofly to their fastnesses in the forest, which evidently they regrettedever having left. It was too late. With an answering shout thespearsmen, who were extended in a long line, apparently hunting forgame, charged after them at full speed. They were fresh and their legswere long. Therefore very soon they overtook the dwarfs and even gotin front of them, heading them off from the forest. The end maybe guessed, --save a few whom they reserved alive, they killed themmercilessly, and almost without loss to themselves, since the littleforest folk were too terrified and exhausted to shoot at them with theirpoisoned arrows, and they had no other weapons. 

In fact, as Alan discovered afterwards, for generations there had beenwar between them, since all the other tribes hate the dwarfs, whom theylook upon as dangerous human monkeys, and never before had the big menfound such a chance of squaring their account. 

When Jeekie saw this fearful-looking company, for the first time hisspirits seemed to fail him. 

"Ogula!" he exclaimed with a groan and sat himself upon a flat rock, pulling Alan down beside him. "Ogula! Know them by hair and spears, " herepeated. "Up gum tree now, say good-night. "

"Why? Who are they?" gasped Alan. 

"Great cannibal, Major, eat man, eat us to-night, or perhaps to-morrowmorning when we nice and cool. Say prayers, Major, quick no time waste. "

"I think I will shoot an Ogula or two first, " said Alan grimly, as hestood up and lifted his gun. 

"No, not shoot, no good. Pretend not be afraid, best chance. Let Jeekiethink, let Jeekie think, " and he slapped his forehead with his largehand. 

Apparently the action brought inspiration, for next instant he grabbedhis master by the arm and dragged him back behind the shelter of abig boulder which they had just passed. Then with really marvellousswiftness he cut the straps of the tin box that Alan wore upon his back, and since there was no time to find the key and unlock it, seized thelittle padlock with which it was fastened between his finger and thumb, and putting out his great strength, with a single wrench twisted it off. 

"What are you----" began Alan. 

"Hold tongue, " he answered savagely, "make you god, I priest. Ogula knowLittle Bonsa. Quick, quick!"

In a minute it was done, the golden mask was clapped on to Alan's head, and the leather thongs were fastened. Moreover, Jeekie himself wasarrayed in the solar-tope to which all this while he had clung, allowingstreams of green mosquito netting to hang down over his white robe. 

"Come out now, Major, " he said, "and play god. You whistle, I dopalaver. "

Then hand in hand they walked from behind the rock. By this time theparticular company of the cannibals that was opposite to them, whichhappened to include their chief, had climbed the steep slope of the hilland arrived within a distance of twenty yards. Having seen the two menand guessed that they had taken refuge behind the rock, their spearswere lifted to kill them, since when he beholds anything strange, thefirst impulse of a savage is to bring it to its death. They looked; theysaw. Of a sudden down went the raised spears. 

Some of those who held them fell upon their faces, while others turnedto fly, appalled by the vision of this strangely clad man with the headof gold. Only their chief, a great yellow-toothed fellow who wore anecklace of baboon claws, remained erect, staring at them with openmouth. 

Alan blew the whistle that was set between the lips of the mask, andthey shivered. Then Jeekie spoke to them in some tongue which theyunderstood, saying:

"Do you, O Ogula, dare to offer violence to Little Bonsa and herpriests? Say now, why should we not strike you dead with the magic ofthe god which she has borrowed from the white man?" and he tapped thegun he held. 

"This is witchcraft, " answered the chief. "We saw two men running, hunted by the dwarfs, not three minutes ago, and now we see--what wesee, " and he put his hand before his eyes, then after a pause wenton--"As for Little Bonsa, she left this country in my father's day. Hegave her passage upon the head of a white man and the Asiki wizards havemourned her ever since, or so I hear. "

"Fool, " answered Jeekie, "as she went, so she returns, on the head ofa white man. Yonder I see an elder with grey hair who doubtless knew ofLittle Bonsa in his youth. Let him come up and look and say whether orno this is the god. "

"Yes, yes, " exclaimed the chief, "go up, old man, go up, " and he jabbedat him with his spear until, unwillingly enough, he went. 

The elder arrived, making obeisance, and when he was near, Alan blew thewhistle in his face, whereon he fell to his knees. 

"It is Little Bonsa, " he said in a trembling voice, "Little Bonsawithout a doubt. I should know, as my father and my elder brother weresacrificed to her, and I only escaped because she rejected me. Down onyour face, Chief, and do honour to the Yellow God before she slay you. "

Instantly every man within hearing prostrated himself and lay still. Then Jeekie strode up and down among them shouting out:

"Little Bonsa has come back and brought to you, Man-eaters, a fatoffering, an offering of the dwarf-people whom you hate, of thetreacherous dwarf-people who when you walk the ancient forest path, murder you with their poisoned arrows. Praise Little Bonsa who deliversyou from your foes, and hearken to her bidding. Send on messengers tothe Asiki saying that Little Bonsa comes home again from across theBlack Water bringing the White Preacher, whom she led away in the day oftheir fathers. Say to them that the Asiki must send out a company thatLittle Bonsa and the Magician with whom she ran away, may be escortedback to her house with the state which has been hers from the beginningof time. Say to them also that they must prepare a great offering ofpure gold out of their store, as much gold as fifty strong men cancarry, not one handful less, to be given to the White Magician whobrings back Small Swimming Head, for if they withhold such an offering, he and Little Bonsa will vanish never to be seen again, and cursesand desolation will fall upon their land. Rise and obey, Chief of theOgula. "

Then the man scrambled to his feet and answered:

"It shall be done, O Priest of the Yellow God. To-morrow at the dawnswift messengers will start for the Gold House of the Asiki. To-nightthey cannot leave, as we are all very hungry and must eat. "

"What must you eat?" asked Jeekie suspiciously. 

"O Priest, " answered the chief with a deprecatory gesture, "when firstwe saw you we hoped that it would be the white man and yourself, for wehave never tasted white man. But now we fear that you will not consentto this, and as you are holy and the guardian of the god, we cannot eatyou without your own consent. Therefore fat dwarf must be our food, ofwhich, however, there will be plenty for you as well as us. "

"You dog!" exclaimed Jeekie in a voice of furious indignation. "Do youthink that white men and their high-born companions, such as myself, were made to fill your vile stomachs? I tell you that a meal of thedeadly Bean would agree better with you, for if you dare so much as tolook on us, or on any of the white race with hunger, agony shall seizeyour vitals and you and all your tribe shall die as though by poison. Moreover, we do not touch the flesh of men, nor will we see it eaten. It is our '_orunda_, ' it is consecrate to us, it must not pass ourlips, nor may our eyes behold it. Therefore we will camp apart from youfurther up the stream and find our own food. But to-morrow at the dawnthe messengers must leave as we have commanded. Also you shall providestrong men and a large canoe to bear Little Bonsa forward towards herown home until she finds her people coming out to greet her. 

"It shall be done, " answered the chief humbly, "Everything shall be doneaccording to the will of Little Bonsa spoken by her priest, that shemay leave a blessing and not a curse upon the heads of the tribe of theOgula. Say where you wish to camp and men shall run to build a house ofreeds for the god to dwell in. "

CHAPTER IX

THE DAWN

Jeekie looked up and down the river and saw that in the centre of itabout half a mile away, there was an island on which grew some trees. 

"Little Bonsa will camp yonder, " he said. "Go, make her house ready, light fire and bring canoe to paddle us across. Now leave us, all ofyou, for if you look too long upon the face of the Yellow God she willask a sacrifice, and it is not lawful that you should see where shehides herself away. "

At this saying the cannibals departed as one man, and at top speed, someof the canoes and others to warn their fellows who were engaged inthe congenial work of hunting and killing the dwarfs, not to dare toapproach the white man and his companion. A third party ran to the bankof the river that was opposite to the island to make ready as they hadbeen bidden, so that presently Alan and Jeekie were left quite alone. 

"Ah!" said Jeekie, with a gasp of satisfaction, "_that_ all right, everything arranged quite comfortable. Thought Little Bonsa come out topsomehow and score off dirty dwarf monkeys. _They_ never get home to teaanyway--stay and dine with Ogula. "

"Stop chattering, Jeekie, and untie this infernal mask, I am almostchoked, " broke in Alan in a hollow voice. 

"Not say 'infernal mask, ' Major, say 'face of angel. ' Little Bonsa womanand like it better, also true, if on this occasion only, for she saveour skins, " said Jeekie as he unknotted the thongs and reverentlyreplaced the fetish in its tin box. "My!" he added, contemplating hismaster's perspiring countenance, "you blush like garden carrot; well, gold hot wear in afternoon sun beneath Tropic of Cancer. Now we walkon quietly and I tell you all I arrange for night's lodging and futureprogress of joint expedition. "

So gathering together what remained of their few possessions, theystarted leisurely down the slope towards the island, and as they wentJeekie explained all that had happened, since Ogula was not one of theAfrican languages with which Alan was acquainted and he had only beenable to understand a word here and there. 

"Look, " said Jeekie when he had finished, and turning, he pointed to thecannibals who were driving the few survivors of the dwarfs before themto the spot where their canoes were beached. "Those dwarfs done for;capital business, forest road quite safe to travel home by; Ogula bestfriends in world; very remarkable escape from delicate situation. "

"Very remarkable indeed, " said Alan; "I shall soon begin to believe inthe luck of Little Bonsa. "

"Yes, Major, you see she anxious to get home and make path clear. But, "he added gloomily, "how she behave when she reach there, can't say. "

"Nor can I, Jeekie, but meanwhile I hope she will provide us with somedinner, for I am faint for want of food and all the tinned meat islost. "

"Food, " repeated Jeekie. "Yes, necessity for human stomach, whichunhappily built that way, so Ogula find out, and so dwarfs find outpresently. " Then he looked about him and in a kind of aimless mannerlifted his gun and fired. "There we are, " he said, "Little Bonsaunderstand bodily needs, " and he pointed to a fat buck of the sort thatin South Africa is called Duiker, which his keen eyes had discoveredin its form against a stone where it now lay shot through the head anddying. "No further trouble on score of grub for next three day, " headded. "Come on to camp, Major. I send one savage skin and bring thatbuck. "

So on they went to the river bank, Alan so tired now that the excitementwas over, that he was not sorry to lean upon Jeekie's arm. Reaching thestream they drank deep of its water, and finding that it was shallow atthis spot, waded through it to the island without waiting for a canoeto ferry them over. Here they found a party of the cannibals already atwork clearing reeds with their large, curved knives, in order to make asite for the hut. Another party under the command of their chief himselfhad gone to the top end of the island, to cut the stems of a willow-likeshrub to serve as uprights. These people stared at Alan, which was notstrange, as they had never before seen the face of a white man and werewondering, doubtless, what had become of the ancient and terrible fetishthat he had worn. Without entering into explanations Jeekie in a greatvoice ordered two of them to fetch the buck, which the white man, whomhe described as "husband of the goddess, " had "slain by thunder. " Whenthese had departed upon their errand, leaving Jeekie to superintend thebuilding operations, Alan sat down upon a fallen tree, watching one ofthe savages making fire with a pointed stick and some tinder. 

Just then from the head of the island where the willows were beingcut, rose the sound of loud roarings and of men crying out in affright. Seizing his gun Alan ran towards the spot whence the noise came. Forcinghis way through a brake of reeds, he saw a curious sight. The Ogula incutting the willows which grew about some tumbled rocks, had disturbeda lioness that had her lair there, and being fearless savages, had triedto kill her with their spears. The brute, rendered desperate by wounds, and the impossibility of escape, for here the surrounding water wasdeep, had charged them boldly, and as it chanced, felled to the groundtheir chief, that yellow-toothed man to whom Jeekie gave his orders. Nowshe was standing over him looking round her royally, her great paw uponhis breast, which it seemed almost to cover, while the Ogula ran roundand round shouting, for they feared that if they tried to attack her, she would kill the chief. This indeed she seemed about to do, for justas Alan arrived she dropped her head as though to tear out the man'sthroat. Instantly he fired. It was a snap shot, but as it chanced agood one, for the bullet struck the lioness in the back of the neck justforward of and between the shoulders, severing the spine so that withouta sound or any further movement she sank stone dead upon the prostratecannibal. For a while his followers stood astonished. They might haveheard of guns from the coast people, but living as they did in theinterior where white folk did not dare to travel, they had never seentheir terrible effects. 

"Magic!" they cried. "Magic!"

"Of course, " exclaimed Jeekie, who by now had arrived upon the scene. "What else did you expect from the husband of Little Bonsa? Magic, thegreatest of magic. Go, roll that beast away before your chief is crushedto death. "

They obeyed, and the man sat up, a fearful spectacle, for he wassmothered with the blood of the lion and somewhat cut by her claws, though otherwise unhurt. Then feeling that the life was still whole inhim, he crept on his hands and knees to where Alan stood, and kissed hisfeet. 

"Aha!" said Jeekie, "Little Bonsa score again. Cannibal tribe our slavehenceforth for evermore. Yes, till kingdom come. Come on, Major, andcook supper in perfect peace. "

The supper was cooked and eaten with gratitude, for seldom had two menneeded a square meal more, and never did venison taste better. By thetime that it was finished darkness had fallen, and before they turned into sleep in the neat reed hut that the Ogula had built, Alan and Jeekiewalked up the island to see if the lioness had been skinned, as theydirected. This they found was done; even the carcase itself had beenremoved to serve as meat for these foul-feeding people. They climbed onto the pile of rocks in which the beast had made her lair, and lookeddown the river to where, two hundred yards away, the Ogula wereencamped. From this camp there rose a sound of revelry, and by the lightof the great fires that burned there, they perceived that the hungrysavages were busy feasting, for some of them sat in circles, whilstothers, their naked forms looking at that distance like those of imps inthe infernal regions, flitted to and fro against the glowing backgroundof the fires, bearing strange-looking joints on prongs of wood. 

"I suppose they are eating the lioness, " said Alan doubtfully. 

"No, no, Major, not lioness; eat dwarf by dozen--just like oystersat seaside. But for Little Bonsa _we_ sit on those forks now and lookuncommon small. "

"Beasts!" said Alan in disgust; "they make me feel uncommon sick. Let usgo to bed. I suppose they won't murder us in our sleep, will they?"

"Not they, Major, too much afraid. Also we their blood-brothers now, because we bring them first-class dinner and save chief from lion'sfury. No blame them too much, Major, good fellows really with gentleheart, but grub like that from generation to generation. Every mother'sson of them have many men inside, that why they so big and strong. Ogulapeople cover great multitude like Charity in Book. No doubt sent byProvidence to keep down extra pop'lation. Not right to think too hardof poor fellows who, as I say, very kind and gentle at heart and mostloving in family relation, except to old women whom they eat also, sothat they no get bored with too long life. "

Weary and disgusted by this abominable sight though he was, Alan burstout laughing at his retainer's apology for the sweet-natured Ogula, whostruck him as the most repulsive blackguards that he had ever met orheard of in all his experience of African savages. Then wishing to seeand hear no more of them that night, he retreated rapidly to the hutand was soon fast asleep with his head pillowed on the box that hid thecharms of Little Bonsa. When he awoke it was broad daylight. Rising hewent down to the river to wash, and never had a bath been more welcome, for during all their journey through the forest no such thing wasobtainable. On his return he found his garments well brushed with dryreeds and set upon a rock in the hot sun to air, while Jeekie in acheerful mood, was engaged cooking breakfast in the frying-pan, to whichhe had clung through all the vicissitudes of their flight. 

"No coffee, Major, " he said regretfully, "that stop in forest. But nevermind, hot water better for nerve. Ogula messengers gone in little canoeto Asiki at break of day. Travel slow till they work off dwarf, butafterwards go quick. I send lion skin with them as present from you togreat high-priestess Asika, also claws for necklace. No lions there andshe think much of that. Also it make her love mighty man who can killfierce lion like Samson in Book. Love of head woman very valuable allyamong beastly savage peoples. "

"I am sure I hope it won't, " said Alan with earnestness, "but no doubtit is as well to keep on the soft side of the good lady if we can. Whattime do we start?"

"In one hour, Major. I been to camp already, chosen best canoe andfinest men for rowers. Chief--he called Fanny--so grateful that he comewith them himself. "

"Indeed. That is very kind of him, but I say, Jeekie, what are thesefellows going to live on? I can't stand what you call their 'favouritechop. '"

"No, no, Major, that all right. I tell them that when they travel withLittle Bonsa, they must keep Lent like pious Roman Catholic family thatlive near Yarleys. They catch plenty fish in river, and perhaps we shootgame, or rich 'potamus, which they like 'cause he fat. "

Evidently the Ogula chief, Fahni by name, not Fanny, as Jeekie calledhim, was a man of his word, for before the hour was up he appeared atthe island in command of a large canoe manned by twelve splendid-lookingsavages. Springing to land, he prostrated himself before Alan, kissinghis feet as he had done on the previous night, and making a long speech. 

"That very good spirit, " exclaimed Jeekie. "Like to see heathen in hisdarkness lick white gentleman's boot. He say you his lord and greatmagician who save his life, and know all Little Bonsa's secrets, whichmany and unrepeatable. He say he die for you twice a day if need be, andgo on dying to-morrow and all next year. He say he take you safe tillyou meet Asiki and for your sake, though he hungry, eat no man for onewhole month, or perhaps longer. Now we start at once. "

So they started up the river that was called Katsena, Alan and Jeekieseated in a lordly fashion near the stern of the canoe beneath an awningmade out of some sticks and a grass mat. In truth after their severetoil and adventures in the forest, this method of journeying provedquite luxurious. Except for a rapid here and there over or round whichthe canoe must be dragged, the river was broad and the scenery on itsbanks park-like and beautiful. Moreover the country, perhaps owingto the appetites of the Ogula, appeared to be practically uninhabitedexcept by vast herds of every sort of game. 

All day they sat in the canoe which the stalwart rowers propelled, insilence for the most part, since they were terribly afraid of the whiteman, and still more so of the renowned fetish which they knew he carriedwith him. Then when evening came they moored their craft to the bankand camped till the following morning. Nor did they lack for food, sincegame being so plentiful, it was only necessary for Alan to walk a fewhundred yards and shoot a fat eland, or hartebeest, or other buckwhich in its ignorance of guns would allow him to approach quite close. Elephants, rhinoceros, and buffalo were also common, while great herdsof giraffe might be seen wandering between the scattered trees, but asthey were not upon a hunting trip and their ammunition was very limited, with these they did not interfere. 

Having their daily fill of meat which their souls loved, the Ogulaoarsmen remained in an excellent mood, indeed the chief, Fahni, informedAlan that if only they had such magic tubes wherewith to slaughter game, he and his tribe would gladly give up cannibalism--except on feast days. He added sadly that soon they would be obliged to do so, or die, sincein those parts there were now few people left to eat, and they hatedvegetables. Moreover, they kept no cattle, it was not the custom of thattribe, except a very few for milk. Alan advised them to increase theirherds, since, as he pointed out to them, "dog should not eat dog" or thehuman being his own kind. 

The chief answered that there was a great deal in what he said, whichon his return he would lay before his head men. Indeed Alan, to hisastonishment, discovered that Jeekie had been quite right when healleged that these people, so terrible in their mode of life, wereyet "kind and gentle at heart. " They preyed upon mankind because forcenturies it had been their custom so to do, but if anyone had beenthere to show them a better way, he grew sure that they would follow itgladly. At least they were brave and loyal and even after their firstfear of the white man had worn off, fulfilled their promises without amurmur. Once, indeed, when he chanced to have gone for a walk unarmedand to be charged by a bull elephant, these Ogula ran at the brute withtheir spears and drove it away, a rescue in which one of them lost hislife, for the "rogue" caught and killed him. 

So the days went on while they paddled leisurely up the river, Alanemploying the time by taking lessons in the Asiki tongue from Jeekie, alanguage which he had been studying ever since he left England. The taskwas not easy, as he had no books and Jeekie himself after some thirtyyears of absence, was doubtful as to many of its details. Still being alinguist by nature and education and finding in the tongue similaritiesto other African dialects which he knew, he was now able to speak it alittle, in a halting fashion. 

On the fifth day of their ascent of the river, they came to a tributarythat flowed into it from the north, up which the Ogula said theymust proceed to reach Asiki-land. The stream was narrow and sluggish, widening out here and there into great swamps through which it was noteasy to find a channel. Also the district was so unhealthy that evenseveral of the Ogula contracted fever, of which Alan cured them by heavydoses of quinine, for fortunately his travelling medicine chest remainedto him. These cures were effected after their chief suggested that theyshould be thrown overboard, or left to die in the swamp as useless, with the result that the white man's magical powers were thenceforthestablished beyond doubt or cavil. Indeed the poor Ogula now lookedon him as a god superior even to Little Bonsa, whose familiar he wassupposed to be. 

The journey through that swamp was very trying, since in this wet seasonoften they could find no place on which to sleep at night, but must stayin the canoe tormented by mosquitoes, and in constant danger of beingupset by the hippopotami that lived there. Moreover, as no game was nowavailable, they were obliged to live on these beasts, fish when theycould catch them, and wildfowl, which sometimes they were unable to cookfor lack of fuel. This did not trouble the Ogula, who ate them raw, asdid Jeekie when he was hungry. But Alan was obliged to starve until theycould make a fire. This it was only possible to do when they found driftor other wood, since at that season the rank vegetation was in fullgrowth. Also the fearful thunderstorms which broke continually and in afew minutes half filled their canoe with water, made the reeds and thesoil on which they grew, sodden with wet. As Jeekie said:

"This time of year only fit for duck and crocodile. Human shouldremember uncontrollable forces of nature and wait till winter come indue course, when quagmire bear sole of his foot. "

This elaborate remark he made to Alan during the progress of aparticularly fearful tempest. The lightning blazed in the black skyand seemed to strike all about them like stabbing swords of fire, thethunder crashed and bellowed as it may be supposed that it will do onthat day when the great earth, worn out at last, shall reel and staggerto its doom. The rain fell in a straight and solid sheet; the tall reedswaved confusedly like millions of dim arms and while they waved, uttereda vast and groaning noise; the scared wildfowl in their terror, withscreams and the sough of wings, rushed past them in flocks a thousandstrong, now seen and now lost in the vapours. To keep their canoe afloatthe poor, naked Ogula oarsmen, shivering with cold and fear, baledfuriously with their hands, or bowls of hollowed wood, and called backto Alan to save them as though he were the master of the elements. EvenJeekie was depressed and appeared to be offering up petitions, thoughwhether these were directed to Little Bonsa or elsewhere it wasimpossible to know. 

As for Alan, the heart was out of him. It is true that so far he hadescaped fever or other sickness, which in itself was wonderful, but hewas chilled through and through and practically had eaten nothing fortwo days, and very little for a week, since his stomach turned fromhalf-cooked hippopotamus fat and wildfowl. Moreover, they had lost thechannel and seemed to be wandering aimlessly through a wilderness ofreeds broken here and there by lines of deeper water. 

According the Ogula they should have reached the confines of the greatlake several days before and landed on healthful rising ground thatwas part of the Asiki territory. But this had not happened, and now hedoubted whether it ever would happen. It was more likely that they wouldcome to their deaths, there in the marsh, especially as the few ball andshot cartridges which they had saved in their flight were now exhausted. Not one was left; nothing was left except their revolvers with somecharges, which of course were quite useless for the killing of game. Therefore they were in a fair way to die of hunger, for here if fishexisted, they refused to be caught and nought remained for them to fillthemselves with except water slugs, and snails which the boatmen werealready gathering and crunching up in their great teeth. Or, perhapsthe Ogula, forgetting friendship under the pressure of necessity, wouldmurder them as they slept and--revert to their usual diet. 

Jeekie was right, he should have remembered the "uncontrollable forcesof Nature. " Only a madman would have undertaken such an expedition inthe rains. No wonder that the Asiki remained a secret and hidden peoplewhen their frontier was protected by such a marsh as this upon the oneside and, as he understood, by impassable mountains upon the other. 

There came a lull in the tempest and the boatmen began to get the betterof the water, which now was up to their knees. Alan asked Jeekie if hethought it was over, but that worthy shook his white head mournfully, causing the spray to fly as from a twirling mop, and replied:

"Can't say, cats and dogs not tumble so many for present, only pups andkitties left, so to speak, but think there plenty more up there, " and henodded at the portentous fire-laced cloud which seemed to be spreadingover them, its black edges visible even through the gloom. 

"Bad business, I am afraid, Jeekie. Shouldn't have brought you here, orthose poor beggars either, " and he looked at the scared, frozen Ogula. "I begin to wonder----"

"Never wonder, Major, " broke in Jeekie in alarm. "If wonder, notlive, if wonder, not be born, too much wonder about everywhere. Can'tunderstand nothing, so give it up. Say, 'Right-O and devil hindermost!'Very good motto for biped in tight place. Better drown here than in Citybucket shop. But no drown. Should be dead long ago, but Little Bonsaplay the game, she not want to sink in stinking swamp when so near herhappy home. Come out all right somehow, as from dwarf. Every cloud havesilver lining, Major, even that black chap up there. Oh! my golly!"

This last exclamation was wrung from Jeekie's lips by a suddendevelopment of "forces of Nature" which astonished even him. Instead ofa silver lining the "black chap" exhibited one of gold. In an instant itseemed to turn to acres of flame; it was as though the heavens had takenfire. A flash or a thunderbolt struck the water within ten yards oftheir canoe, causing the boatmen to throw themselves upon their facesthrough shock or terror. Then came the hurricane, which fortunately wasso strong that it permitted no more rain to fall. The tall reeds werebeaten flat beneath its breath; the canoe was seized in its grip andwhirled round and round, then driven forward like an arrow. Only theweight of the men and the water in it prevented it from oversetting. Dense darkness fell upon them and although they could see no star, theyknew that it must be night. On they rushed, driven by that shriekinggale, and all about and around them this wall of darkness. No one spoke, for hope was abandoned, and if they had, their voices could not havebeen heard. The last thing that Alan remembered was feeling Jeekiedragging a grass mat over him to protect him a little if he could. Thenhis senses wavered, as does a dying lamp. He thought that he was back inwhat Jeekie had rudely called "City bucket shop, " bargaining across thetelephone wire, upon which came all the sounds of the infernal regions, with a financial paper for an article on a Little Bonsa Syndicate thathe proposed to float. He thought he was in The Court woods with Barbara, only the birds in the trees sang so unnaturally loud that he could nothear her voice, and she wore Little Bonsa on her head as a bonnet. Thenshe departed in flame, leaving him and Death alone. 

Alan awoke. Above the sun shone hotly, warming him back to life, but infront was a thick wall of mist and rising beyond it in the distance hesaw the rugged swelling forms of mountains. Doubtless these had beenvisible before, but the tall reeds through which they travelled hadhid the sight of them. He looked behind him and there in a heap lay theOgula around their chief, insensible or sleeping. He counted them andfound that two were gone, lost in the tempest, how or where no man everlearned. He looked forward and saw a peculiar sight, for in the prow ofthe drifting canoe stood Jeekie clad in the remains of his white robeand wearing on his head the battered helmet and about his shoulders thetorn fragments of green mosquito net. While Alan was wondering strangelywhy he had adopted this ceremonial garb, from out of the mist there camea sound of singing, of wild and solemn singing. Jeekie seemed to listento it; then he lifted up his great musical voice and sang as though inanswer. What he sang Alan could not understand, but he recognized thatthe language which he used was that of the Asiki people. 

A pause and a confused murmuring, and now again the wild song rose andagain Jeekie answered. 

"What the deuce are you doing? Where are we?" asked Alan faintly. 

Jeekie turned and beamed upon him; although his teeth were chatteringand his face was hollow, still he beamed. 

"You awake, Major?" he said. "Thought good old sun do trick. Feel yourheart now and find it beat. Pulse, too, strong, though temp'raturenot normal. Well, good news this morning. Little Bonsa come out top asusual. Asiki priests on bank there. Can't see them, but know their songand answer. Same old game as thirty years ago. Asiki never change, whichgood business when you been away long while. "

"Hang the Asiki, " said Alan feebly, "I think all these poor beggars aredead, and he pointed to the rowers. 

"Look like it, Major, but what that matter now since you and I alive?Plenty more where they come from. Not dead though, think only sleep, nolike cold, like dormouse. But never mind cannibal pig. They serve ourturn, if they live, live; if they die, die and God have mercy on souls, if cannibal have soul. Ah! here we are, " and from beneath six inches ofwater he dragged up the tin box containing Little Bonsa, from which heextracted the fetish, wet but uninjured. 

"Put her on now, Major. Put her on at once and come sit in prow ofcanoe. Must reach Asiki-land in proper style. Priests think it yourreverend uncle come back again, just as he leave. Make very goodimpression. "

"I can't, " said Alan feebly. "I am played out, Jeekie. "

"Oh! buck up, Major, buck up!" he replied imploringly. "One kick moreand you win race, mustn't spoil ship for ha'porth of tar. You just wearfetish, whistle once on land, and then go to sleep for whole week if youlike. I do rest, say it all magic, and so forth--that you been dead andjust come out of grave, or anything you like. No matter if you turn upas announced on bill and God bless hurricane that blow us here when weexpect die. Come, Major, quick, quick! mist melt and soon they see you. "Then without waiting for an answer Jeekie clapped the wet mask on hismaster's head, tied the thongs and led Alan to the prow of the canoe, where he set him down on a little cross bench, stood behind supportinghim and again began to sing in a great triumphant voice. 

The mist cleared away, rolling up like a curtain and revealing on theshore a number of men and women clad in white robes, who were martialledin ranks there, chanting and staring out at the dim waters of thelagoon. Yonder upon the waters, driven forward by the gentle breeze, floated a canoe and lo! in the prow of that canoe sat a white man andon his head the god which they had lost a whole generation gone. Onthe head of a white man it had departed; on the head of a white man itreturned. They saw and fell upon their knees. 

"Blow, Major, blow!" whispered Jeekie, and Alan blew a feeble notethrough the whistle in the mouth of the mask. It was enough, they knewit. They sprang into the water and dragged the canoe to land. They setAlan on the shore and worshipped him. They haled up a lad as though forsacrifice, for a priest flourished a great knife above his head, butJeekie said something that caused them to let him go. Alan thought itwas to the effect that Little Bonsa had changed her habits across theBlack Water, and wanted no blood, only food. Then he remembered no more;again the darkness fell upon him. 

CHAPTER X

BONSA TOWN

When consciousness returned to Alan, the first thing of which he becamedimly aware was the slow, swaying motion of a litter. He raised himself, for he was lying at full length, and in so doing felt that there wassomething over his face. 

"That confounded Little Bonsa, " he thought. "Am I expected to spend therest of my life with it on my head like the man in the iron mask?"

Then he put up his hand and felt the thing, to find that it was notLittle Bonsa, but something made apparently of thin, fine linen, fittedto the shape of his face, for there was a nose on it, and eyeholesthrough which he could see, yes, and a mouth whereof the lips by someingenious contrivance could be moved up and down. 

"Little Bonsa's undress uniform, I expect, " he muttered, and tried todrag it off. This, however, proved to be impossible, for it was fittedtightly to his head and laced or fastened at the back of his neck sosecurely that he could not undo it. Being still weak, soon he gave upthe attempt and began to look about him. 

He was in a litter, a very fine litter hung round with beautifullywoven and coloured grass mats, inside of which were a kind of couch andcushions of soft wool or hair, so arranged that he could either sit upor lie down. He peeped between two of these mats and saw that they weretravelling in a mountainous country over a well-beaten road or trail, and that his litter was borne upon the shoulders of a double line ofwhite-robed men, while all around him marched numbers of other men. Theyseemed to be soldiers, for they were arranged in companies and carriedlarge spears and shields. Also some of them wore torques and braceletsof yellow metal that might be either brass or gold. Turning himselfabout he found an eyehole in the back of the litter so contrived thatits occupant could see without being seen, and perceived that his escortamounted to a veritable army of splendid-looking, but sombre-facedsavages of a somewhat Semitic cast of countenance. Indeed many of themhad aquiline features and hair that, although crisped, was long andcarefully arranged in something like the old Egyptian fashion. Alsohe saw that about thirty yards behind and separated from him by abodyguard, was borne a second litter. By means of a similar aperture infront he discovered yet more soldiers, and beyond them, at the head ofthe procession, was what appeared to be a body of white-robed men andwomen bearing strange emblems and banners. These he took to be priestsand priestesses. 

Having examined everything that was within reach of his eye, Alan sankback upon his cushions and began to realize that he was very faint andhungry. It was just then that the sound of a familiar voice reached hisears. It was the voice of Jeekie, and he did not speak, he chanted inEnglish to a melody which Alan at once recognized as a Gregorian tone, apparently from the second litter. 

"Oh, Major, " he sang, "have you yet awoke from refre-e-eshing sleep?If so, please answer me in same tone of voice, for remember that youde-e-evil of a swell, Lord of the Little Bonsa, and must not speak likeco-o-ommon cad. "

Feeble as he was Alan nearly burst out laughing, then remembering thatprobably he was expected not to laugh, chanted his answer as directed, which having a good tenor voice, he did with some effect, to the evidentawe and delight of all the escort within hearing. 

"I am awake, most excellent Jee-e-ekie, and feel the need of food, ifyou have such a thing abou-ou-out you and it is lawful for the Lord ofLittle Bonsa to take nu-tri-ment. "

Instantly Jeekie's deep voice rose in reply. 

"That good tidings upon the mountain tops, Ma-ajor. Can't come out tobring you chop because too i-i-infra dig, for now I also biggish bug, the little bird what sit upon the rose, as poet sa-a-ays. I tell theseJohnnies bring you grub, which you eat without qualm, for Asiki Alcoo-o-ook. "

Then followed loud orders issued by Jeekie to his immediate _entourage_, and some confusion. 

As a result presently Alan's litter was halted, the curtains were openedand kneeling women thrust through them platters of wood upon which, wrapped up in leaves, were the dismembered limbs of a bird which he tookto be chicken or guinea-fowl, and a gold cup containing water pleasantlyflavoured with some essence. This cup interested him very much both onaccount of its shape and workmanship, which if rude, was strikingin design, resembling those drinking vessels that have been found inMycenian graves. Also it proved to him that Jeekie's stories ofthe abundance of the precious metal among the Asiki had not beenexaggerated. If it were not very plentiful, they would scarcely, hethought, make their travelling cups of gold. Evidently there was wealthin the land. 

After the food had been handed to him the litter went on again, andseated upon his cushions, he ate and drank heartily enough, for now thatthe worst of his fatigue had passed away, his hunger was great. In someabsurd fashion this meal reminded him of that which a traveller makesout of a luncheon basket upon a railway line in Europe or America. Only there the cups are not of gold and among the Asiki were no papernapkins, no salt and mustard, and no three and sixpence or dollar topay. Further, until he got used to it, luncheon in a linen mask witha moveable mouth was not easy. This difficulty he overcame at last bypropping the imitation lips apart with a piece of bone, after whichthings were easier. 

When he had finished he threw the platter and the remains out of thelitter, retaining the cup for further examination, and recommenced hisintoned and poetical converse with Jeekie. 

To set it out at length would be wearisome, but in the course of an houror so he collected a good deal of information. Thus he learned that theywere due to arrive at the Asiki city, which was called Bonsa Town, bynightfall, or a little after. Also he was informed that the mask he worewas, as he had guessed, a kind of undress uniform without which he mustnever appear, since for anyone except the Asika herself to look upon thenaked countenance of an individual so mysteriously mixed up with LittleBonsa, was sacrilege of the worst sort. Indeed Jeekie assured him thatthe priests who had put on the headdress when he was insensible werefirst blindfolded. 

This news depressed Alan very much, since the prospect of living in alinen mask for an indefinite period was not cheerful. Recovering, hechanted a query as to the fate of the Ogula crew and their chief Fahni. 

"Not de-ad, " intoned Jeekie in reply, "and not gone back. A-all alive-O, somewhere behind there. Fanny very sick about it, for he think Asikibring them along for sacrifice, poo-or beg-gars. "

Finally he inquired where Little Bonsa was and was answered that hehimself as its lawful guardian, was sitting on the fetish in its tinbox, tidings that he was able to verify by groping beneath the cushions. 

After this his voice gave out, though Jeekie continued to sing items ofinteresting news from time to time. Indeed there were other things thatabsorbed Alan's attention. Looking through the peepholes and cracks inthe curtains, he saw that at last they had reached the crest of a ridgeup which they had been climbing for hours. Before them lay a vast andfertile valley, much of which seemed to be under cultivation, and downit flowed a broad and placid river. Opposite to him and facing west agreat tongue of land ran up to a wall of mountains with stark precipicesof black rock that seemed to be hundreds, or even thousands, of feethigh, and at the tip of this tongue a mighty waterfall rushed overthe precipice, looking at that distance like a cascade of smoke. Thistorrent, which he remembered was called Raaba, fell into a great pooland there divided itself into two rushing branches that enclosedan ellipse of ground, surrounded on all sides by water, for on itswesternmost extremity the branches met again and after flowing a whileas one river, divided once more and wound away quietly to north andsouth further than the eye could reach. On the island thus formed, whichmay have been three miles long by two in breadth, stood thousands ofstraw-roofed, square-built huts with verandas, neatly arranged in blocksand lines and having between them streets that were edged with palms. 

On the hither side of the pool was what looked like a park, for heregrew great, black trees, which from their flat shape Alan took to besome variety of cedar, and standing alone in the midst of this parkwhere no other habitations could be discovered, was a large, lowbuilding with dark-coloured walls and gabled roofs that flashed likefire. 

"The Gold House!" said Alan to himself with a gasp. "So it is not adream or a lie. "

The details at that distance he could not discover, nor did he try todo so, for the general glory of the scene held him in its grip. At thisevening hour, for a little while, the level rays of the setting sunpoured straight up the huge, water-hollowed kloof. They struck upon theface of the fall, staining it and the clouds of mist that hung above, to a hundred glorious hues; indeed the substance of the foaming waterseemed to be interlaced with rainbows whereof the arch reached theircrest and the feet were lost in the sullen blackness of the poolbeneath. Beautiful too was the valley, glowing in the quiet light ofevening, and even the native town thus gilded and glorified, looked likesome happy home of peace. 

The sun was sinking rapidly, and before the litter reached the foot ofthe hill and began to cross the rich valley, all the glory had departedand only the cataract showed white and ghost-like through the gloom. But still the light, which seemed to gather to itself, gleamed upon thatgolden roof amid the cedar trees; then the moon rose and the gold wasturned to silver. Alan lay back upon his cushions full of wonder, almostof awe. It was a marvellous thing that he should have lived to reachthis secret place hidden in the heart of Africa and defended by swamps, mountains and savages to which, so far as he knew, only one white manhad ever penetrated. And to think of it! That white man, his own uncle, had never even held it worth while to make public any account of itswonders, which apparently had seemed to him of no importance. Or perhapshe thought that if he did he would not be believed. Well, there theywere before and about him, and now the question was, what would be hisfate in this Gold House where the great fetish dwelt with its priestess?

Ah! that priestess! Somehow he shivered a little when he thought of her;it was as though her influence were over him already. Next moment heforgot her for a while, for they had come to the river brink and thelitter was being carried on to a barge or ferry, about which weregathered many armed men. Evidently the Gold House was well defended bothby Nature and otherwise. The ferry was pulled or rowed across the river, he could not see which, and they passed through a gateway into the townand up a broad street where hundreds of people watched his advent. Theydid not seem to speak, or if they spoke their voices were lost in thesound of the thunder of the great cataract which dominated the placewith its sullen, continuous roar. It took Alan days to become accustomedto that roar, but by the inhabitants of Asiki-land apparently it was notnoticed; their ears and voices were attuned to overcome its volume whichtheir fathers had known from the beginning. 

Presently they were through the town and a wooden gate in an inner wallwhich surrounded the park where the cedars grew. At this spot Alan notedthat everybody left them except the bearers and a few men whom he tookto be priests. On they stole like ghosts beneath the mighty trees, fromwhose limbs hung long festoons of moss. It was very dark there, only inplaces where a bough was broken the moonlight lay in white gules uponthe ground. Another wall and another gate, and suddenly the litter wasset down. Its curtains opened, torches flashed, women appeared clad inwhite robes, veiled and mysterious, who bowed before him, then half ledand half lifted him from his litter. He could feel their eyes on himthrough their veils, but he could not see their faces. He could seenothing except their naked, copper-coloured arms and long thin handsstretched out to assist him. 

Alan descended from the litter as slowly as he could, for somehow heshrank from the quaint, carved portal which he saw before him. He didnot wish to pass it; its aspect filled him with reluctance. The womendrew him on, their hands pulled at his arms, their shoulders pressed himfrom behind. Still he hung back, looking about him, till to his delighthe saw the other litter arrive and out of it emerge Jeekie, stillwearing his sun-helmet with its fringe of tattered mosquito curtain. 

"Here we are, Major, " he said in his cheerful voice, "turned up allright like a bad ha'penny, but in odd situation. "

"Very odd, " echoed Alan. "Could you persuade these ladies to let go ofme?"

"Don't know, " answered Jeekie. "'Spect they doubtfully your wives;'spect you have lots of wives here; don't get white man every day, somake most of him. Best thing you do, kick out and teach them place. Rub nose in dirt at once and make them good, that first-class plan withfemale. I no like interfere in such delicate matter. "

Terrified by this information, Alan put out his strength and shook thewomen off him, whereon without seeming to take any offence they drewback to a little distance and began to bow, like automata. Then Jeekieaddressed them in their own language, asking them what they meant bydefiling this mighty lord, born of the Heavens, with the touch of theirhands, whereat they went on bowing more humbly than before. Nexthe threw aside the cushions of the litter and finding the tin boxcontaining Little Bonsa, held it before him in both hands and bade thewomen lead on. 

The march began, a bewildering march. It was like a nightmare. Veiledwomen with torches before and behind, Jeekie stalking ahead carrying thebattered tin box, long passages lined with gold, a vision of black wateredged with a wide promenade, and finally a large lamp-lit room whereofthe roof was supported by gilded columns, and in the room couches ofcushions, wooden stools inlaid with ivory, vessels of water, greatbasins made of some black, hard wood, and in the centre a block of stonethat looked like an altar. 

Jeekie set down the tin box upon the altar-like stone, then he turnedto the crowd of women and said, "Bring food. " Instantly they departed, closing the door of the room behind them. 

"Now for a wash, " said Alan, "unlace this confounded mask, Jeekie. "

"Mustn't, Major, mustn't. Priests tell me that. If those girls see youwithout mask, perhaps they kill them. Wait till they gone after supper, then take it off. No one allowed see you without mask except Asikaherself. "

Alan stepped to one of the wooden bowls full of water which stood undera lamp, and gazed at his own reflection. The mask was gilded; the shamlips were painted red and round the eye-holes were black lines. 

"Why, it is horrible, " he exclaimed, starting back. "I look like a devilcrossed with Guy Fawkes. Do you mean to tell me that I have got to livein this thing?"

"Afraid so, Major, upon all public occasion. At least they say that. Youholy, not lawful see your sacred face. "

"Who do the Asiki think I am, then, Jeekie?"

"They think you your reverend uncle come back after many, many year. You see, Major, they not believe uncle run away with Little Bonsa; theybelieve Little Bonsa run away with uncle just for change of air and soon, and that now, when she tired of strange land, she bring him backagain. That why you so holy, favourite of Little Bonsa who live with youall this time and keep you just same age, bloom of youth. "

"In Heaven's name, " asked Alan, exasperated, "what is Little Bonsa, beyond an ancient and ugly gold fetish?"

"Hush, " said Jeekie, "mustn't call her names here in her own house. Little Bonsa much more than fetish, Little Bonsa alive, or so, " he addeddoubtfully, "these silly niggers say. She wife of Big Bonsa, you see, to-morrow p'raps. But their story this, that she get dead sick of BigBonsa and bolt with white Medicine man, who dare preach she nothing butheathen idol. She want show him whether or no she only idol. That theyarn, priests tell it me to-day. They always watch for her there by theedge of the lake. They always sure Little Bonsa come back. Not at allsurprised, but as she love you once, you stop holy; and I holy also, thank goodness, because she take me too as servant. Therefore we sleepin peace, for they not cut out throats, at any rate at present, though Ithink, " he added mournfully, "they not let us go either. "

Alan sat down on a stool and groaned at the appalling prospect suggestedby this information. 

"Cheer up, Major, " said Jeekie sympathetically. "Perhaps manage hook itsomehow, and meanwhile make best of bad business and have high old time. You see you want to come Asiki-land, though I tell you it rum place, and, " he added with certitude and a circular sweep of his hand, "byJingo! you here now and I daresay they give you all the gold you want. "

"What's the good of gold unless one can get away with it? What's thegood of anything if we are prisoners among these devils?"

"Perhaps time show, Major. Hush! here come dinner. You sit still onstool and look holy. "

The door opened and through it appeared four of the women bearing dishesand cups full of drink, fashioned of gold like that which had been givento Alan in the litter. He noticed at once that they had removed theirveils and outer garments, if indeed they were the same women, and now, like many other Africans, were but lightly clad in linen capes open infront that hung over their shoulders, short petticoats or skirts abouttheir middles, and sandals. Such was their attire which, scanty as itmight be, was yet becoming enough and extremely rich. Thus the cape wasfastened with a brooch of worked gold, so were the sandal straps, while the petticoat was adorned with beads of gold that jingled as theywalked, and amongst them strings of other beads of various and beautifulcolours, that might be glass or might be precious stones. Moreover, these women were young and handsome, having splendid figures andwell-cut features, soft, dark eyes and rather long hair worn in theformal and attractive fashion that has been described. 

Advancing to Alan two of them knelt before him, holding out the traysupon which was the food. So they remained while he ate, like bronzestatues, nor would they consent to change their posture even whenhe told them in their language to be pleased to go away. On hearingthemselves addressed in the Asiki language, they seemed surprised, fortheir faces changed a little, but go they would not. The result wasthat Alan grew extremely nervous and ate and drank so rapidly that hescarcely noted what he was putting into his mouth. Then before Jeekie, to whom the women did not kneel, had half finished his dinner, Alanrose and walked away, whereon two of the women gathered up everything, including the dishes that had been given to Jeekie, and in spite of hisremonstrances carried them out of the room. 

"I say, Major, " said Jeekie, "if you gobble chop so fast you go illinside. Poor nigger like me can't keep up with you and sleep hungryto-night. "

"I am sorry, Jeekie, " said Alan with a little laugh, "but I can't eatoff living tables, especially when they stare at one like that. You tellthem that to-morrow we will breakfast alone. "

"Oh, yes, I tell them, Major, but I don't know if they listen. They meanit great compliment and only think you not like those girls and sendothers. "

"Look here, Jeekie, " exclaimed Alan, turning his masked face towards thetwo who remained, "let us come to an understanding at once. Clear themout. Tell them I am so holy that Little Bonsa is enough for me. SayI can't bear the sight of females, and that if they stop here I willsacrifice them. Say anything you like, only get rid of them and lock thedoor. "

Thus adjured, Jeekie began to reason with the women, and as they treatedhis remarks with lofty disdain, at last seized first one and then theother by the elbows and literally ran them out of the room. 

"There, " he said, "baggage gone since you make such fuss about it, though I 'spect they try to give me Bean for this job" (here he spokenot in figurative English slang, but of the Calabar bean, which is afavourite native poison). "Well, dinner gone and girls gone, and wetired, so best go to bed. Think we all private here now, though in GoldHouse never can be sure, " and he looked round him suspiciously, adding, "rummy place, Gold House, full of all sort of holes made by old fellowsthousand year ago, which no one know but Bonsa priests. Still, best riskit and take off your face so that you have decent wash, " and he began tounlace the mask on his master's head. 

Never has a City clerk dressed up for a fancy ball in the armour of aNorman knight, been more glad to get rid of his costume than was Alan ofthat hateful head-dress. At length it was gone with his other garmentsand the much-needed wash accomplished, after which he clothed himself ina kind of linen gown which apparently had been provided for him, and laydown on one of the couches, placing his revolver by his side. 

"Will those lamps burn all night, Jeekie?" he asked. 

"Hope so, Major, as we haven't got no match. Not fond of dark in GoldHouse, " answered Jeekie sleepily. Then he began to snore. 

Alan fell asleep, but was too excited and tired to rest very soundly. All sorts of dreams came to him, one of which he remembered onawakening, perhaps because it was the last. He dreamed that he heardsome noise and opened his eyes, to see that they were no longer alone inthe room. The oil lamps had burned quite low, indeed some of them wereout, but by the light of those that remained he saw a tall figure whichseemed to appear at the edge of the surrounding blackness, a woman'sfigure. It walked forward to the altar-like stone upon which lay the tinbox containing Little Bonsa, and after several rather awkward attempts, succeeded in opening it, thereby making a noise which, in his dream, finally awoke Alan. For a while the figure gazed at the fetish. Then itshut the box, glided to his bed and bent down as though to study him. Out of the corners of his eyes he peered up at it, pretending all thewhile to be fast asleep. 

It was that of a woman wonderfully clad in gold-spangled, veil-likegarments with round bosses shaped to the breast, covered with thinplates of gold fashioned like the scales of a fish which showed off theextraordinary elegance of her lithe form. The low lamp-light shone uponher face and the coronet of gold set upon her dark hair. What a face itwas! Never in all his days had he seen its like for evil loveliness. The great, languid, oblong eyes, the rich red lips bent like a bow, thecruel smile of the mouth, the broad forehead on which the hair grew low, the delicately arched eyebrows and the long curving lashes of the heavylids beneath them, the rounded cheeks, smooth as a ripe fruit, the firm, shapely chin, the snake-like poise of the head, the long bending neck, and the feline smile; all of these combined made such a dream-visionas he had never seen before, and to tell the truth, notwithstandingits beauty, for that could not be doubted, never wished to see again. Somehow he felt that if Satan should happen to have a copper-colouredwife, the exact picture of that lady had projected itself upon hissleeping senses. 

She seemed to study him very earnestly, with a kind of passionateeagerness, indeed, moving a little now and again to let the light fallupon some part that was in shadow. Once even she stretched out herrounded arm and just lifted the edge of the blanket so as to expose hishand, the left. As it chanced on the little finger of this hand Alanwore a plain gold ring which Barbara had given him; once it had been hergrandfather's signet. This ring, which had a coat of arms cut upon itsbezel seemed to interest her very much as she examined it for a longwhile. Then she drew off from her own finger another ring of goldfashioned of two snakes curiously intertwined, and gently, so gentlythat in his sleep he scarcely felt it, slipped it on to his finger aboveBarbara's ring. 

After this she seemed to vanish away, and Alan slept soundly until themorning, when he awoke to find the light of the sun pouring into theroom through the high-set latticed window places. 

CHAPTER XI

THE HALL OF THE DEAD

Alan rose and stretched himself, and hearing him, Jeekie, who had adog's faculty of instantly awaking from what seemed to be the deepestsleep, sat up also. 

"You rest well, Major? No dream, eh?" he asked curiously. 

"Not very, " answered Alan, "and I had a dream, of a woman who stood overme and vanished away, as dreams do. "

"Ah!" said Jeekie. "But where you find that new ring on finger, Major?"

Alan stared at his hand and started, for there set on it above that ofBarbara, was the little circlet formed of twisted snakes which he hadseen in his sleep. 

"Then it must have been true, " he said in a low and rather frightenedvoice. "But how did she come and go?"

"Funny place, Gold House. I tell you that yesterday, Major. People comeup through hole, like rat. Never quite sure you alone in Gold House. Butwhat this lady like?"

Alan described his visitor to the best of his ability. 

"Ah!" said Jeekie, "pretty girl. Big eyes, gold crown, gold stays whichfit tight in front, very nice and decent; sort of night-shirt withlittle gold stars all over--by Jingo! I think that Asika herself. Ifso--great compliment. "

"Confound the compliment, I think it great cheek, " answered Alanangrily. "What does she mean by poking about here at night and puttingrings on my finger?"

"Don't know, Major, but p'raps she wish make you understand that shelike cut of your jib. Find out by and by. Meanwhile you wear ring, forwhile that on finger no one do you any harm. "

"You told me that this Asika is a married woman, did you not?" remarkedAlan gloomily. 

"Oh, yes, Major, always married; one down, other come on, you see. Butshe not always like her husband, and then she make him sit up, poordevil, and he die double quick. Great honour to be Asika's husband, butsoon all finished. P'raps----"

Then he checked himself and suggested that Alan should have a bath whilehe cleaned his clothes, an attention that they needed. 

Scarcely had Alan finished his toilet, donned the Arab-looking linenrobe over his own fragmentary flannels, and above it the hateful maskwhich Jeekie insisted he must wear, when there came a knocking on thedoor. Motioning to Alan to take his seat upon a stool, Jeekie undid thebars, and as before women appeared with food and waited while theyate, which this time, having overcome his nervousness, Alan did moreleisurely. Their meal done, one of the women asked Jeekie, for to hismaster they did not seem to dare to speak, whether the white lord didnot wish to walk in the garden. Without waiting for an answer she ledhim to the end of the large room and, unbarring another door that theyhad not noticed, revealed a passage, beyond which appeared trees andflowers. Then she and her companions went away with the fragments of themeal. 

"Come on, " said Alan, taking up the box containing Little Bonsa, whichhe did not dare to leave behind, "and let us get into the air. "

So they went down the passage and at the end of it through gates ofcopper or gold, they knew not which, that had evidently been left openfor them, into the garden. It was a large place, a good many acres inextent indeed, and kept with some care, for there were paths in it andflowers that seemed to have been planted. Also here grew certain ofthe mighty cedar trees that they had seen from far off, beneath thosespreading boughs twilight reigned, while beyond, not more than half amile away, the splendid river-fall thundered down the precipice. Forthe rest they could find no exit to that garden which on one side wasenclosed by a sheer cliff of living rock, and on the others with steepstone walls beyond which ran a torrent, and by the buildings of the GoldHouse itself. 

For a while they walked up and down the rough paths, till at lastJeekie, wearying of this occupation, remarked:

"Melancholy hole this, Major. Remind me of Westminster Abbey in Londonfog, where your uncle of blessed mem'ry often take me pray and look atfusty tomb of king. S'pose we go back Gold House and see what happen. Anything better than stand about under cursed old cedar tree. "

"All right, " said Alan, who through the eyeholes of his mask had beenstudying the walls to seek a spot in them that could be climbed ifnecessary, and found none. 

So they returned to the room, which had been swept and garnished intheir absence. No sooner had they entered it than the door opened andthrough it came long lines of Asiki priests, each of whom staggeredbeneath the weight of a hide bag that he bore upon his shoulder, whichbags they piled up about the stone altar. Then, as though at somesignal, each priest opened the mouth of his bag and Alan saw that theywee filled with gold, gold in dust, gold in nuggets, gold in vesselsperfect or broken; more gold than Alan had ever seen before. 

"Why do they bring all this stuff here?" he asked, and Jeekie translatedhis question. 

"It is an offering to the lord of Little Bonsa, " answered the headpriest, bowing, "a gift from the Asika. The heaven-born white man sentword by his Ogula messengers that he desired gold. Here is the gold thathe desired. "

Alan stared at the treasure, which after all was what he had come toseek. If only he had it safe in England, he would be a rich man andhis troubles ended. But how could he get it to England? Here it wasworthless as mud. 

"I thank the Asika, " he said. "I ask for porters to bear her gift backto my own country, since it is too heavy for me and my servant to carryalone. "

At these words the priest smiled a little, then said that the Asikadesired to see the white lord and to receive from him Little Bonsa inreturn for the gold, and that he could proffer his request to her. 

"Good, " replied Alan, "lead me to the Asika. "

Then they started, Alan bearing the box containing Little Bonsa, andJeekie following after him. They went down passages and through sundrydoors till at length they came to a long and narrow hall that seemed tobe lined with plates of gold. At the end of this hall was a large chairof black wood and ivory placed upon a dais, and sitting in this chairwith the light pouring on her from some opening above, was the woman ofAlan's dream, beautiful to look on in her crown and glitteringgarments. Upon a stool at the foot of the dais sat a man, a handsomeand melancholy man. His hair was tied behind his head in a pigtail andgilded, his face was painted red, white and yellow; he wore ropes ofbright-coloured stones about his neck, middle, arms and ankles, and helda kind of sceptre in his hand. 

"Who is that creature?" asked Alan over his shoulder to Jeekie. "TheCourt fool?"

"That husband of Asika, Major. He not fool, very big gun, but look alittle low now because his time soon up. Come on, Major, Asika beckonus. Get on stomach and crawl; that custom here, " he added, going down onto his hands and knees, as did all the priests who followed them. 

"I'll see her hanged first, " answered Alan in English. 

Then accompanied by the creeping Jeekie and the train of prostratepriests, he marched up the long hall to the edge of the dais and therestood still and bowed to the woman in the chair. 

"Greeting, white man, " she said in a low voice when she had studied himfor a while. "Do you understand my tongue?"

"A little, " he answered in Asiki, "moreover, my servant here knows itwell and can translate. "

"I am glad, " she said. "Tell me then, in your country do not peoplego on to their knees before their queen, and if not, how do they greether?"

"No, " answered Alan with the help of Jeekie. "They greet her by raisingtheir head-dress or kissing her hand. "

"Ah!" she said. "Well, you have no head-dress, so kiss _my_ hand, " andshe stretched it out towards him, at the same time prodding the man whomJackie had said was her husband, in the back with her foot, apparentlyto make him get out of the way. 

Not knowing what to do, Alan stepped on to the dais, the painted manscowling at him as he passed. Then he halted and said:

"How can I kiss your hand through this mask, Asika?"

"True, " she answered, then considered a little and added, "White man, you have brought back Little Bonsa, have you not, Little Bonsa who ranaway with you a great many years ago?"

"I have, " he said, ignoring the rest of the question. 

"Your messengers said that you required a present of gold in return forLittle Bonsa. I have sent you one, is it sufficient? If not, you canhave more. "

"I cannot say, O Asika, I have not examined it. But I thank you for thepresent and desire porters to enable me to carry it away. "

"You desire porters, " she repeated meditatively. "We will talk of thatwhen you have rested here a moon or two. Meanwhile, give me Little Bonsathat she may be restored to her own place. "

Alan opened the tin box and lifting out the fetish, gave it to thepriestess, who took it and with a serpentine movement of extraordinarygrace glided from her chair on to her knees, holding the mask above herhead in both hands, then thrice covered her face with it. This done, shecalled to the priests, bidding them take Little Bonsa to her own placeand give notice throughout the land that she was back again. She addedthat the ancient Feast of Little Bonsa would be held on the night of thefull moon within three days, and that all preparations must be made forit as she had commanded. 

Then the head medicine-man, raising himself upon his knees, crept on tothe dais, took the fetish from her hands, and breaking into a wild songof triumph, he and his companions crawled down the hall and vanishedthrough the door, leaving them alone save for the Asika's husband. 

When they had gone the Asika looked at this man in a reflective way, andAlan looked at him also through the eyeholes of his mask, finding himwell worth studying. As has been said, notwithstanding his paint andgrotesque decorations, he was very good-looking for a native, withwell-cut features of an Arab type. Also he was tall and muscular and notmore than thirty years of age. What struck Alan most, however, was noneof these things, nor his jewelled chains, nor even his gilded pigtail, but his eyes, which were full of terrors. Seeing them, Alan rememberedJeekie's story, which he had told to Mr. Haswell's guests at The Court, of how the husband of the Asika was driven mad by ghosts. 

Just then she spoke to the man, addressing him by name and saying:

"Leave us alone, Mungana, I wish to speak with this white lord. "

He did not seem to hear her words, but continued to stare at Alan. 

"Hearken!" she exclaimed in a voice of ice. "Do my bidding and begone, or you shall sleep alone to-night in a certain chamber that you knowof. "

Then Mungana rose, looked at her as a dog sometimes does at a cruelmaster who is about to beat it, yes, with just that same expression, puthis hands before his eyes for a little while, and turning, left thehall by a side door which closed behind him. The Asika watched him go, laughed musically and said:

"It is a very dull thing to be married, --but how are you named, whiteman?"

"Vernon, " he answered. 

"Vernoon, Vernoon, " she repeated, for she could not pronounce the O waswe do. "Are you married, Vernoon?"

He shook his head. 

"Have you been married?"

"No, " he answered, "never, but I am going to be. "

"Yes, " she repeated, "you are going to be. You remember that you werenear to it many years ago, when Little Bonsa got jealous and ran awaywith you. Well, she won't do that again, for doubtless she is tired ofyou now, and besides, " she added with a flash of ferocity, "I'd melt herwith fire first and set her spirit free. "

While Jeekie was trying to explain this mysterious speech to Alan, theAsika broke in, asking:

"Do you always want to wear that mask?"

He answered, "Certainly not, " whereon she bade Jeekie take it off, whichhe did. 

"Understand me, " she said, fixing her great languid eyes upon his in afashion that made him exceedingly uncomfortable, "understand, Vernoon, that if you go out anywhere, it must be in your mask, which you can onlyput off when you are alone with me?"

"Why?"

"Because, Vernoon, I do not choose that any other woman should seeyour face. If a woman looks upon your uncovered face, remember that shedies--not nicely. "

Alan stared at her blankly, being unable to find appropriate Asiki wordsin which to reply to this threat. But the Asika only leaned back inher chair and laughed at his evident confusion and dismay, till a newthought struck her. 

"Your lips are free now, " she said; "kiss my hand after the fashionof your own country, " and she stretched it out to Alan, leaving him nochoice but to obey her. 

"Why, " she went on mischievously, taking his hand and in turn touchingit with her red lips, "why, are you a thief, Vernoon? That ring was mineand you have stolen it. How did you steal that ring?"

"I don't know, " he answered, through Jeekie, "I found it on my finger. I cannot understand how it came there. I understand nothing of all thistalk. "

"Well, well, keep it, Vernoon, only give me that other ring of yours inexchange. "

"I cannot, " he replied, colouring. "I promised to wear it always. "

"Whom did you promise?" she asked with a flash of rage. "Was it a woman?Nay, I see, it is a man's ring, and that is well, for otherwise I wouldbring a curse on her, however far off she may be dwelling. Say no moreand forgive my anger. A vow is a vow--keep your ring. But where is thatone you used to wear in bygone days? I recall that it had a cross uponit, not this star and figure of an eagle. "

Now Alan remembered that his uncle owned such a ring with a cross uponit, and was frightened, for how did this woman know these things?

"Jeekie, " he said, "ask the Asika if I am mad, or if she is. How canshe know what I used to wear, seeing that I was never in this place tillyesterday, and certainly I have not met her anywhere else. "

"She mean when you your reverend uncle, " said Jeekie, wagging his greathead, "she think you identical man. "

"What troubles you, Vernoon, " the Asika asked softly, then addedanything but softly to Jeekie, "Translate, you dog, and be swift. "

So Jeekie translated in a great hurry, telling her what Alan had said, and adding on his own account that he, silly white man that he was, could not understand how, as she was quite a young woman, she could haveseen him before she was born. If that were so, she would be old and uglynow, not beautiful as she was. 

"I never saw you before, and you never saw me, Lady, yet you talk asthough we had been friends, " broke in Alan in his halting Asiki. 

"So we were in the spirit, Vernoon. It was she who went before me wholoved that white man whose face was as your face is, but her ghostlives on in me and tells me the tale. There have been many Asikas, forthousands of years they have ruled in this land, yet but one spiritbelongs to them all; it is the string upon which the beads of theirlives are threaded. White man, I, whom you think young, know everythingback to the beginning of the world, back to the time when I was a monkeywoman sitting in those cedar trees, and if you wish, I can tell it you. "

"I should like to hear it very much indeed, " answered Alan, when he hadmastered her meaning, "though it is strange that none of the rest of usremember such things. Meanwhile, O Asika, I will tell you that I desireto return to my own land, taking with me that gift of gold that you havegiven me. When will it please you to allow me to return?"

"Not yet a while, I think, " she said, smiling at him weirdly, for noother word will describe that smile. "My spirit remembers that it wasalways thus. Those wanderers who came hither always wished to returnagain to their own country, like the birds in spring. Once there was awhite man among them, that was more than twenty hundred years ago; hewas a native of a country called Roma, and wore a helmet. He wished toreturn, but my mother of that day, she kept him and by and by I willshow him to you if you like. Before that there was a brown man who camefrom a land where a great river overflows its banks every year. He wasa prince of his own country, who had fled from his king and the desertfolk made a slave of him, and so he drifted hither. He wished to returnalso, for my mother of that day, or my spirit that dwelt in her, showedto him that if he could but be there they would make him king in his ownland. But my mother of that day, she would not let him go, and by and byI will show him to you, if you wish. "

Bewildered, amazed, Alan listened to her. Evidently the woman was mad, or else she played some mystical part for reasons of her own. 

"When will you let me go, O Asika?" he repeated. 

"Not yet a while, I think, " she said again. "You are too comely and Ilike you, " and she smiled at him. There was nothing coarse in the smile, indeed it had a certain spiritual quality which thrilled him. "I likeyou, " she went on in her dreamy voice, "I would keep you with me untilyour spirit is drawn up into my spirit, making it strong and rich as allthe spirits that went before have done, those spirits that my mothersloved from the beginning, which dwell in me to-day. "

Now Alan grew alarmed, desperate even. 

"Queen, " he said, "but just now your husband sat here, is it right thenthat you should talk to me thus?"

"My husband, " she answered, laughing. "Why, that man is but a slave whoplays the part of husband to satisfy an ancient law. Never has he somuch as kissed my finger tips; my women--those who waited on you lastnight--are his wives, not I, --or may be, if he will. Soon he will dieof love for me, and then when he is dead, though not before, I may takeanother husband, any husband that I choose, and I think that no blackman shall be my lord, who have other, purer blood in me. Vernoon, fivecenturies have gone by since an Asika was really wed to a foreign manwho wore a green turban and called himself a son of the Prophet, a manwith a hooked nose and flashing eyes, who reviled our gods until theyslew him, even though he was the beloved of their priestess. She whowent before me also would have married that white man whose face waslike your face, but he fled with Little Bonsa, or rather Little Bonsafled with him. So she passed away unwed, and in her place I came. "

"How did you come, if she whom you call your mother was not yourmother?" asked Alan. 

"What is that to you, white man?" she replied haughtily. "I am here, as my spirit has been here from the first. Oh! I see you think I lie toyou, come then, come, and I will show you those who from the beginninghave been the husbands of the Asika, " and rising from her chair she tookhim by the hand. 

They went through doors and by long, half-lit passages till they came togreat gates guarded by old priests armed with spears. As they drewnear to these priests the Asika loosed a scarf that she wore over herbreast-plate of gold fish scales, and threw the star-spangled thing overAlan's head, that even these priests should not see his face. Then shespoke a word to them and they opened the gates. Here Jeekie evinceda disposition to remain, remarking to his master that he thought thatplace, into which he had never entered, "much too holy for poor niggerlike him. "

The Asika asked him what he had said and he explained his sense ofunworthiness in her own tongue. 

"Come, fellow, " she exclaimed, "to translate my words and to bearwitness that no trick is played upon your lord. "

Still Jeekie lingered bashfully, whereon at a sign from her one of thepriests pricked him behind with his great spear, and uttering a low howlhe sprang forward. 

The Asika led the way down a passage, which they saw ended in a big halllit with lamps. Now they were in it and Alan became aware that they hadentered the treasure house of the Asiki, since here were piled up greatheaps of gold, gold in ingots, gold in nuggets, in stone jars filledwith dust, in vessels plain or embossed with monstrous shapes infetishes and in little squares and discs that looked as though they hadserved as coins. Never had he seen so much gold before. 

"You are rich here, Lady, " he said, gazing at the piles astonished. 

She shrugged her shoulders. "Yes, as I have heard that some people countwealth. These are the offerings brought to our gods from the beginning;also all the gold found in the mountains belongs to the gods, and thereis much of it there. The gift I sent to you was taken from this heap, but in truth it is but a poor gift, seeing that although this stuff isbright and serves for cups and other things, it has no use at all andis only offered to the gods because it is harder to come by than othermetals. Look, these are prettier than the gold, " and from a stone tableshe picked up at hazard a long necklace of large, uncut stones, red andwhite in colour and set alternatively, that Alan judged to be crystalsand spinels. 

"Take it, " she said, "and examine it at your leisure. It is very old. For hundreds of years no more of these necklaces have been made, " andwith a careless movement she threw the chain over his head so that ithung upon his shoulders. 

Alan thanked her, then remembered that the man called Mungana, who wasthe husband, real or official, of this priestess, had been somewhatsimilarly adorned, and shivered a little as though at a presage ofadvancing fate. Still he did not return the thing, fearing lest heshould give offence. 

At this moment his attention was taken from the treasure by the soundof a groan behind him. Turning round he perceived Jeekie, his great eyesrolling as though in an extremity of fear. 

"Oh my golly! Major, " he ejaculated, pointing to the wall, "look there. "

Alan looked, but at first in that dim light could only discover longrows of gleaming objects which reached from the floor to the roof. 

"Come and see, " said the Asika, and taking a lamp from that table onwhich lay the gems, she led him past the piles of gold to one side ofthe vault or hall. Then he saw, and although he did not show it, likeJeekie he was afraid. 

For there, each in his own niche and standing one above the other, werewhat looked like hundreds of golden men with gleaming eyes. At firstuntil the utter stillness undeceived him, he thought that they _must_ bemen. Then he understood that this was what they had been; now they werecorpses wrapped in sheets of thin gold and wearing golden masks witheyes of crystal, each mask being beaten out to a hideous representationof the man in life. 

"All these are the husbands of my spirit, " said the priestess, wavingthe lamp in front of the lowest row of them, "Munganas who were marriedto the Asikas in the past. Look, here is he who said that he ought tobe king of that rich land where year after year the river overflows itsbanks, " and going to one of the first of the figures in the bottom row, she drew out a fastening and suffered the gold mask to fall forward on ahinge, exposing the face within. 

Although it had evidently been treated with some preservative, this headnow was little more than a skull still covered with dark hair, but setupon its brow appeared an object that Alan recognized at once, a simpleband of plain gold, and rising from it the head of an asp. Without doubtit was the _uraeus_, that symbol which only the royalties of Old Egyptdared to wear. Without doubt also either this man had brought it withhim from the Nile, or in memory of his rank and home he had fashioned itof the gold that was so plentiful in the place of his captivity. So thiswoman's story was true, an ancient Egyptian had once been husband to theAsika of his day. 

Meanwhile his guide had passed a long way down the line and halting infront of another gold-wrapped figure, opened its mask. 

"This is that man, " she said, "who told us he came from a land calledRoma. Look, the helmet still rests upon his head, though time has eateninto it, and that ring upon your hand was taken from his finger. I havea head-dress made upon the model of that helmet which I wear sometimesin memory of this man who, my soul remembers, was brave and pleasant anda gallant lover. "

"Indeed, " answered Alan, looking at the sunken face above which a rim ofcurls appeared beneath the rusting helmet. "Well, he doesn't look verygallant now, does he?" Then he peered down between the body and its goldcasing and saw that in his body hand the man still held a short Romansword, lifted as though in salute. So she had not lied in this mattereither. 

Meanwhile the Asika had glided on to the end of the hall behind theheaps of treasure. 

"There is one more white man, " she said, "though we know little of him, for he was fierce and barbarous and died without learning our tongue, after killing a great number of the priests of that day because theywould not let him go; yes, died cutting them down with a battle-axe andsinging some wild song of his own country. Come hither, slave, and bendyourself so, resting your hands upon the ground. "

Jeekie obeyed, and actively as a cat the priestess leaped on to hisback, and reaching up opened the mask of a corpse in the second row andheld her lamp before its face. 

It was better preserved than the others, so that its features remainedcomparatively perfect, and about them hung a tangle of golden hair. Moreover, a broad battle-axe appeared resting on the shoulder. 

"A viking, " thought Alan. "I wonder how _he_ came here. "

When he had looked the Asika leaped from Jeekie's back to the groundand waving her arm around her, began to talk so rapidly that Alan couldunderstand nothing of her words, and asked Jeekie to translate them. 

"She say, " explained Jeekie between his chattering teeth, "that allrest these Johnnies very poor crew, natives and that lot except one whoworship false Prophet and cut throat of Asika of that time, because sheinfidel and he teach her better; also eat his dinner out of Little Bonsaand chuck her into water. Very wild man, that Arab, but priests catchhim at last and fill him with hot gold before Little Bonsa because he nocare a damn for ghosts. So he die saying Hip, hip, hurrah! for houri andgreen field of Prophet and to hell with Asika and Bonsa, Big and Little!Now he sit up there and at night time worst ghost of all the crowd, always come to finish off Mungana. That all she say, and quite enoughtoo. Come on quick, she want you and no like wait. "

By now the Asika had passed almost round the hall, and was standingopposite to an empty niche beyond and above which there were perhaps ascore of bodies gold-plated in the usual fashion. 

"That is your place, Vernoon, " she said gently, contemplating him withher soft and heavy eyes, "for it was prepared for the white man withwhom Little Bonsa fled away, and since then, as you see, there have beenmany Munganas, some of whom belong to me; indeed, that one, " and shetouched a corpse on which the gold looked very fresh, "only left me lastyear. But we always knew that Little Bonsa would bring you back again, and so you see, we have kept your place empty. "

"Indeed, " remarked Alan, "that is very kind of you, " and feeling that hewould faint if he stayed longer in this horrible and haunted vault, hepushed past her with little ceremony and walked out through the gatesinto the passage beyond. 

CHAPTER XII

THE GOLD HOUSE

"How you like Asiki-land, Major?" asked Jeekie, who had followed himand was now leaning against a wall fanning himself feebly with his greathand. "Funny place, isn't it, Major? I tell you so before you come, butyou no believe me. "

"Very funny, " answered Alan, "so funny that I want to get out. "

"Ah! Major, that what eel say in trap where he go after lob-worm, but heonly get out into frying pan after cook skin him alive-o. Ah! here comecook--I mean Asika. She only stop shut up those stiff 'uns, who all lovelob-worm one day. Very pretty woman, Asika, but thank God she not setcap at me, who like to be buried in open like Christian man. "

"If you don't stop it, Jeekie, " replied Alan in a concentrated rage, "I'll see that you are buried just where you are. "

"No offence, Major, no offence, my heart full and bubble up. I wonderwhat Miss Barbara say if she see you mooing and cooing with dark-eyedgirl in gold snake skin?"

Just then the Asika arrived and by way of excuse for his flight, Alanremarked to her that the treasure-hall was hot. 

"I did not notice it, " she answered, "but he who is called my husband, Mungana, says the same. The Mungana is guardian of the dead, " sheexplained, "and when he is required so to do, he sleeps in the Place ofthe Treasure and gathers wisdom from the spirits of those Munganas whowere before him. "

"Indeed. And does he like that bed-chamber?"

"The Mungana likes what I like, not what he likes, " she repliedhaughtily. "Where I send him to sleep, there he sleeps. But come, Vernoon, and I will show you the Holy Water where Big Bonsa dwells; alsothe house in which I have my home, where you shall visit me when youplease. "

"Who built this place?" asked Alan as she led him through more dark andtortuous passages. "It is very great. "

"My spirit does not remember when it was built, Vernoon, so old is it, but I think that the Asiki were once a big and famous people who tradedto the water upon the west, and even to the water on the east, and thatwas how those white men became their slaves and the Munganas of theirqueens. Now they are small and live only by the might and fame of Bigand Little Bonsa, not half filling the rich land which is theirs. But, "she added reflectively and looking at him, "I think also that this isbecause in the past fools have been thrust upon my spirit as Munganas. What it needs is the wisdom of the white man, such wisdom as yours, Vernoon. If that were added to my magic, then the Asiki would grow greatagain, seeing that they have in such plenty the gold which you haveshown me the white man loves. Yes, they would grow great and from coastto coast the people should bow at the name of Bonsa and send him theirsons for sacrifice. Perhaps you will live to see that day, Vernoon. Slave, " she added, addressing Jeekie, "set the mask upon your lord'shead, for we come where women are. "

Alan objected, but she stamped her foot and said it must be so, havingonce worn Little Bonsa, as her people told her he had done, his nakedface might not be seen. So Alan submitted to the hideous head-dress andthey entered the Asika's house by some back entrance. 

It was a place with many rooms in it, but they were all remarkable forextreme simplicity. With a single exception no gilding or gold was tobe seen, although the food vessels were made of this material here aseverywhere. The chambers, including those in which the Asika lived andslept, were panelled, or rather boarded with cedar wood that was almostblack with age, and their scanty furniture was mostly made of ebony. They were very insufficiently lighted, like his own room, by means ofbarred openings set high in the wall. Indeed gloom and mystery werethe keynotes of this place, amongst the shadows of which handsome, half-naked servants or priestesses flitted to and fro at their tasks, or peered at them out of dark corners. The atmosphere seemed heavywith secret sin; Alan felt that in those rooms unnameable crimes andcruelties had been committed for hundreds or perhaps thousands of years, and that the place was yet haunted by the ghosts of them. At any rate itstruck a chill to his healthy blood, more even than had that Hall of theDead and of heaped-up golden treasure. 

"Does my house please you?" the Asika asked of him. 

"Not altogether, " he answered, "I think it is dark. "

"From the beginning my spirit has ever loved the dark, Vernoon. I thinkthat it was shaped in some black midnight. "

They passed through the chief entrance of the house which had pillars ofwoodwork grotesquely carved, down some steps into a walled and roofed-inyard where the shadows were even more dense than in the house they hadleft. Only at one spot was there light flowing down through a hole inthe roof, as it did apparently in that hall where Alan had found theAsika sitting in state. The light fell on to a pedestal or column madeof gold which was placed behind an object like a large Saxon font, also made of gold. The shape of this column reminded Alan of something, namely of a very similar column, although fashioned of a differentmaterial which stood in the granite-built office of Messrs. Aylward &Haswell in the City of London. Nor did this seem wonderful to him, sinceon top of it, squatting on its dwarf legs, stood a horrid but familiarthing, namely Little Bonsa herself come home at last. There she satsmiling cruelly, as she had smiled from the beginning, forgetfuldoubtless of her wanderings in strange lands, while round her stood aband of priests armed with spears. 

Followed by the Asika and Jeekie, Alan walked up and looked her inthe face and to his excited imagination she appeared to grin at him inanswer. Then while the priests prostrated themselves, he examined thegolden basin or laver, and saw that at the further side of it was alittle platform approached by steps. On the top of these golden stepswere two depressions such as might have been worn out in the course ofages by persons kneeling there. Also the flat edge of the basin whichstood about thirty inches above the level of the topmost step, wasscored as though by hundreds of sword cuts which had made deep lines inthe pure metal. The basin itself was empty. 

Seeing that these things interested him, the Asika volunteered theinformation through Jeekie, that this was a divining-bowl, and that ifthose who went before her had wished to learn the future, they causedLittle Bonsa to float in it and found out all they wanted to know byher movements. She, however, she added, had other and better methods oflearning things that were predestined. 

"Where does the water come from?" asked Alan thoughtlessly searching thebowl for some tap or inlet. 

"Out of the hearts of men, " she answered with a low and dreadful laugh. "These marks are those of swords and every one of them means a life. "Then seeing that he looked incredulous she added, "Stay, I will showyou. Little Bonsa must be thirsty who has fasted so long, also thereare matters that I desire to know. Come hither--you, and you, " and shepointed at hazard to the two priests who knelt nearest to her, "and doyou bid the executioner bring his axe, " she went on to a third. 

The dark faces of the men turned ashen, but they made no effort toescape their doom. One of them crept up the steps and laid his neck uponthe edge of gold, while the other, uttering no word, threw himself onhis face at the foot of them, waiting his turn. Then a door opened andthere appeared a great and brutal-looking fellow, naked except for aloin cloth, who bore in his hand a huge weapon, half knife and half axe. 

First he looked at the Asika, who nodded almost imperceptibly, thensprang on to a prolongation of the golden steps, bowed to Little Bonsaon her column behind and heaved up his knife. 

Now for the first time Alan really understood what was about to happen, and that what he had imagined a stage rehearsal, was to become a hideousmurder. 

"Stop!" he shouted in English, being unable to remember the native word. 

The executioner paused with his axe poised in mid-air; the victim turnedhis head and looked, as though surprised; the second victim and thepriests their companions looked also. Jeekie fell on to his knees andburst into fervent prayer addressed apparently to Little Bonsa. TheAsika smiled and did nothing. 

Again the weapon was lifted and as he felt that words were no longerof any use, even if he could find them, Alan took refuge in action. Springing on to the other side of the little platform, he hit out withall his strength across the kneeling man. Catching the executioner onthe point of the chin, he knocked him straight backwards in such fashionthat his head struck upon the floor before any other portion of hisbody, so that he lay there either dead or stunned. Alan never learnedwhich, since the matter was not thought of sufficient importance to bementioned. 

At this sight the Asika burst into a low laugh, then asked Alan why hehad felled the executioner. He answered because he would not stand byand see two innocent men butchered. 

"Why not, " she said in an astonished voice; "if Little Bonsa, whosepriests they are, needs them, and I, who am the Mouth of the godsdeclare that they should die? Still, she has been in your keeping for along while and you may know her will, so if you wish it, let them live. Or perhaps you require other victims, " and she fixed her eyes uponJeekie with a glance of suggestive hope. 

"Oh my golly!" gasped Jeekie in English, "tell her not for Joe, Major, tell her most improper. Say Yellow God my dearest friend and go mad ashatter if my throat cut----"

Alan stopped his protestations with a secret kick. 

"I choose no victims, " he broke in, "nor will I see man's blood shed--tome it is _orunda_--unholy; I may not look on human blood, and if youcause me to do so, Asika, I shall hate you because you make me break myoath. "

The Asika reflected for a moment, while Jeekie behind muttered betweenhis chattering teeth:

"Good missionary talk that, Major. Keep up word in season, Major. Ifshe make Christian martyr of Jeekie, who get you out of this confoundedhole?"

Then the Asika spoke. 

"Be it as you will, for I desire neither that you should hate me, northat you should look on that which is unlawful for your eyes to see. Thefeasts and ceremonies you must attend, but if I can help it, no victimshall be slain in your presence, not even that whimpering hound, yourservant, " she added with a contemptuous glance at Jeekie, "who it seems, fears to give his life for the glory of the god, but who because he isyours, is safe now and always. "

"That _very_ satisfactory, " said Jeekie, rising from his knees, his facewreathed in smiles, for he knew well that a decree of the Asika couldnot be broken. Then he began to explain to the priestess that it was notfear of losing his own life that had moved him, but the certainty thatthis occurrence would disagree morally with Little Bonsa, whose entireconfidence he possessed. 

Taking no notice of his words, with a slight reverence to the fetish, she passed on, beckoning to Alan. As he went by the two prostratepriests whose lives he had saved, lifted their heads a little and lookedat him with heartfelt gratitude in their eyes; indeed one of them kissedthe place where his foot had trodden. Jeekie, following, gave him a kickto intimate that he was taking a liberty, but at the same time stoopeddown and asked the man his name. It occurred to him that these rescuedpriests might some day be useful. 

Alan followed her through a kind of swing door which opened into anotherof the endless halls, but when he looked for her there she was nowhereto be seen. A priest who was waiting beyond the door bowed and informedhim that the Asika had gone to her own place, and would see him thatevening. Then bowing again he led them back by various passages to theroom where they had slept. 

"Jeekie, " said Alan after their food had been brought to them, thistime, he observed, by men, for it was now past midday, "you were bornin Asiki-land; tell me the truth of this business. What does thatwoman mean when she talks about her spirit having been here from thebeginning. "

"She mean, Major, that every time she die her soul go into someone else, whom priests find out by marks. Also Asika always die young, they neverlet her become old woman, but how she die and where they bury her, noone know 'cept priests. Sometimes she have girl child who become Asikaafter her, but if they have boy child, they kill him. I think this Asikadaughter of her who make love to your reverend uncle. All that story'bout her mother not being married, lies, and all her story lies too, she often marry. "

"But how about the spirit coming back, Jeekie?"

"'Spect that lie too, Major, though she think it solemn fact. Prieststeach her all those old things. Still, " he added doubtfully, "Asikagreat medicine-woman and know a lot we don't know, can't say how. Veryawkward customer, Major. "

"Quite so, Jeekie, I agree with you. But to come to the point, what isher game with me?"

"Oh! Major, " he answered with a grin, "_that_ simple enough. She tiredof black man, want change, mean to marry you according to law, that iswhen Mungana dies, and he die jolly quick now. She mustn't kill him, but polish him off all the same, stick him to sleep with those dead uns, till he go like drunk man and see things and drown himself. Then shemarry you. But till he dead, you all right, she only talk and make eyes, 'cause of Asiki law, not 'cause she want to stop there. "

"Indeed, Jeekie, and how long do you think that Mungana will last?"

"Perhaps three months, Major, and perhaps two. Think not more than two. Strong man, but he look devilish dicky this morning. Think he begin seesnakes. "

"Very well, Jeekie. Now listen to me--you've got to get us out ofAsiki-land by this day two months. If you don't, that lady will doanything to oblige me and no doubt there are more executioners left. "

"Oh! Major, don't talk like silly fool. Jeekie always hate fools andsuffer them badly--like holy first missionary bishop. You know very wellthis no place for ultra-Christian man like Jeekie, who only come hereto please you. Both in same bag, Major, if I die, you die and leaveMiss Barbara up gum tree. I get you out if I can. But this stuff thetrouble, " and he pointed to the bags of gold. "Not want to leaveall that behind after such arduous walk. No, no, I try get you out, meanwhile you play game. "

"The game! What game, Jeekie?"

"What game? Why, Asika-game of course. If she sigh, you sigh; if shelook at you, you look at her; if she squeeze hand, you squeeze hand; ifshe kiss, you kiss. "

"I am hanged if I do, Jeekie. "

"Must, Major; must or never get out of Asiki-land. What all thatmatter?" he added confidentially. "Miss Barbara never know. Jeekiedoesn't split, also quite necessary in situation, and you can't bemarried till that Mungana dead. All matter business, Major; make timepass pleasant as well. Asika jolly enough if you stroke her fur rightway, but if you put her back up--oh Lor! No trouble, sit and smile andsay, 'Oh, ducky, how beautiful you are!' that not hurt anybody. "

In spite of himself Alan burst out laughing. 

"But how about the Mungana?" he asked. 

"Mungana, he got take that with rest. Also I try make friends with thatpoor devil. Tell him it all my eye. Perhaps he believe me--not sure. Ifhe me, I no believe _him_. Mungana, " he added oracularly, "Mungana takehis chance. What matter? In two months' time he nothing but gold figure, No. 2403; just like one mummy in museum. Now I try catch my ma. I hearshe alive somewhere. They tell me she used keep lodging house for Bonsapilgrim, but steal grub, say it cat, all that sort of thing, and get runin as thief. Afraid my ma come down very much in world, not society ladynow, shut up long way off in suburb. Still p'raps she useful so bestsend her message by p'liceman, say how much I love her; say her dearlittle Jeekie turn up again just to see her sweet face. Only don't knowif she swallow that or if they let her out prison unless I pay for allshe prig. "

CHAPTER XIII

THE FEAST OF LITTLE BONSA

It was the night of full moon and of the great feast of the return ofLittle Bonsa. Alan sat in his chamber waiting to be summoned to takepart in this ceremony and listening the while to that _Wow! Wow! Wow!_of the death drums, whereof Jeekie had once spoken in England, whichcould be clearly heard even above the perpetual boom of the cataracttumbling down its cliff behind the town. By now he had recovered fromthe fatigue of his journey and his health was good, but the same couldnot be said of his spirits, for never in his life had he felt moredownhearted, not even when he was sickening for blackwater fever, or layin bondage in the City, expecting every morning to wake up and find hisreputation blasted. He was a prisoner in this dreadful, gloomyplace where he must live like a second Man in the Iron Mask, withoutrecreation or exercise other than he could find in the walled gardenwhere grew the black cedar trees, and, so far as he could see, aprisoner without hope of escape. 

Moreover, he could no longer disguise from himself the truth; Jeekie wasright. The Asika had fallen in love with him, or at any rate made up hermind that he should be her next husband. He hated the sight of the womanand her sinuous, evil beauty, but to be free of her was impossible, andto offend her, death. All day long she kept him about her, and from hissleep he would wake up and as on the night of his arrival, distinguish her leaning over him studying his face by the light ofthe faintly-burning lamps, as a snake studies the bird it is about tostrike. He dared not stir or give the slightest sign that he saw her. Nor indeed did he always see her, for he kept his eyes closely shut. But even in his heaviest slumber some warning sense told him of herpresence, and then above Jeekie's snores (for on these occasions Jeekiealways snored his loudest) he would hear a soft footfall, as cat-like, she crept towards him, or the sweep of her spangled robe, or thetinkling of the scales of her golden breastplate. For a long whileshe would stand there, examining him greedily and even the few littlebelongings that remained to him, and then with a hungry sigh glide awayand vanish in the shadows. How she came or how she vanished Alan couldnot discover. Clearly she did not use the door, and he could findno other entrance to the room. Indeed at times he thought he must besuffering from delusion, but Jeekie shook his great head and did notagree with him. 

"She there right enough, " he said. "She walk over me as though I logand I smell stuff she put on hair, but I think she come and go by magic. Asika do that if she please. "

"Then I wish she would teach me the secret, Jeekie. I should soon be outof Asiki-land, I can tell you. "

All that day Alan had been in her company, answering her endlessquestions about his past, the lands that he had visited, and especiallythe women that he had known. He had the tact to tell her that none ofthese were half so beautiful as she was, which was true in a sense andpleased her very much, for in whatever respects she differed from them, in common with the rest of her sex she loved a compliment. Emboldened byher good humour, he had ventured to suggest that being rested and havingrestored Little Bonsa, he would be glad to return with her gifts to hisown country. Next instant he was sorry, for as soon as she understoodhis meaning she grew almost white with rage. 

"What!" she said; "you desire to leave me? Know, Vernoon, that I willsee you dead first and myself also, for then we shall be born againtogether and can never more be separated. "

Nor was this all, for she burst into weeping, threw her arms about him, drew him to her, kissed him on the forehead, and then thrust him away, saying:

"Curses on the priests' law that makes us wait so long, and curses onthat Mungana who will not die and may not be killed. Well, he shall payfor it and within two months, Vernoon, oh! within two months----" andshe stretched out her arms with a gesture of infinite passion, thenturned and left him. 

"My!" said Jeekie afterwards, for he had watched all this sceneopen-mouthed, "my! but she mean business. Mrs. Jeekie never kiss me likethat, nor any other female either. She dead nuts on you, Major. Verygreat compliment! 'Spect when you Mungana, she keep you alive a longtime, four or five years perhaps, if no other white man come this way. Pity you can't take it on a bit, Major, " he added insidiously, "becausethen she grow careless and make you chief and we get chance scoop outthat gold house and bolt with bally lot. Miss Barbara sensible woman, when she see all that cash she not mind, she say 'Bravo, old boy, quiteright spoil Lady Potiphar in land of bondage, but Jeekie must have tenper cent. Because he show you how do it. '"

Alan was so depressed, and indeed terrified by this demonstration on thepart of his fearful hostess, that he could neither laugh at Jeekie, norswear at him. He only sat still and groaned, feeling that bad as thingswere they were bound to become worse. 

Above the perpetual booming of the death drums rose a sound of wildmusic. The door burst open, and through it came a number of priests, their nearly naked bodies hideously painted and on their heads the mostdevilish-looking masks. Some of them clashed cymbals, some blew hornsand some beat little drums all to time which was given to them by abandmaster with a golden rod. In front of them with painted face anddecked in his gorgeous apparel, walked the Mungana himself. 

"They come to take us to Bonsa worship, " explained Jeekie. "Cheer up, Major, very exciting business, no go to sleep there, as in Englishchurch. See the god all time and no sermon. "

Alan, who wore a linen robe over the remains of his European garments, and whose mask was already on his head, rose listlessly and bowed tothe gorgeous Mungana who, poor man, answered him with a stare of hate, knowing that this wanderer was destined to fill his place. Then theystarted, Jeekie accompanying them, and walked a long way through varioushalls and passages, bearing first to the left and then to the rightagain, till suddenly through some side door they emerged upon amarvellous scene. The first impressions that reached Alan's mind werethose of a long stretch of water, very black and still and not more thaneighty feet in width. On the hither edge of this canal, seated upon araised dais in the midst of a great open space of polished rock, wasthe Asika, or so he gathered from her gold breastplate and sparklinggarments, for her fierce and beautiful features were hid beneath anobject familiar enough to him, the yellow, crystal-eyed mask of LittleBonsa. Arranged in companies about and behind her were hundreds ofpeople, male and female, clad in hideous costumes to resemble demons, with masks to match. Some of these masks were semi-human and some ofthem bore a likeness to the heads of animals and had horns on them, while their wearers were adorned with skins and tails. To describe themin their infinite variety would be impossible; indeed the recollectionthat Alan carried away was one of a mediæval hell as it is occasionallyto be found portrayed upon "Doom pictures" in old churches. 

On the further side of the water the entire Asiki people seemed to begathered, at least there were thousands of them seated upon a risingrocky slope as in an amphitheatre, clad only in the ordinary costume ofthe Western African native, and in some instances in linen cloaks. Thisgreat amphitheatre was surrounded by a high wall with gates, but in themoonlight he found it difficult to discern its exact limits. 

Jeekie nudged Alan and pointed to the centre of the canal or pool. Helooked and saw floating there a huge and hideous golden head, twentytimes as large as life perhaps, with great prominent eyes that glared upto the sky. Its appearance was quite unlike anything else in the world, more loathsome, more horrible, man, fish and animal, all seemed tohave their part in it, human mouth and teeth, fish-like eyes and snout, bestial expression. 

"Big Bonsa, " whispered Jeekie. "Just the same as when I sweet littleboy. --He live here for thousand of years. "

Preceded by the Mungana and followed by Jeekie and the priests, the bandbringing up the rear, Alan was marched down a lane left open for himtill he came to some steps leading to the dais, upon which in additionto that occupied by the Asika, stood two empty chairs. These steps theMungana motioned him to mount, but when Jeekie tried to follow him heturned and struck him contemptuously in the face. At once the Asika, whowas watching Vernon's approach through the eye-holes in the Little Bonsamask, said fiercely:

"Who bade you strike the servant of my guest, O Mungana? Let him comealso that he may stand behind us and interpret. "

Her wretched husband, who knew that this public slight was put upon himpurposely, but did not dare to protest against it, bowed his head. Thenall three of them climbed to the dais, the priests and the musiciansremaining below. 

"Welcome, Vernoon, " said the Asika through the lips of the mask, whichto Alan, notwithstanding the dreadful cruelty of its expression, lookedless hateful than the lovely, tigerish face it hid. "Welcome and beseated here on my left hand, since on my right you may not sit--as yet. "

He bowed and took the chair to which she pointed, while her husbandplaced himself in the other chair upon her right, and Jeekie stoodbehind, his great shape towering above them all. 

"This is a festival of my people, Vernoon, " she went on, "such afestival as has not been seen for years, celebrated because Little Bonsahas come back to them. "

"What is to happen?" he asked uneasily. "I have told you, Lady, thatblood is _orunda_ to me. I must not witness it. "

"I know, be not afraid, " she answered. "Sacrifice there must be, sinceit is the custom and we may not defraud the gods, but you shall not seethe deed. Judge from this, Vernoon, how greatly I desire to please you. "

Now Alan, looking about him, saw that immediately beneath the daisand between them and the edge of the water, were gathered his cannibalfriends, the Ogula, and Fahni their chief who had rowed him toAsiki-land, and with them the messengers whom they had sent on ahead. Also he saw that their arms were tied behind them and that they wereguarded by men dressed like devils and armed with spears. 

"Ask Fahni why he and his people are bound, Jeekie, " said Alan, "and whyhave they not returned to their own country. "

Jeekie obeyed, putting the question in the Ogula language, whereon thepoor men turned and began to implore Alan to save their lives, Fahniadding that he had been told they were to be killed that night. 

"Why are these men to be slain?" asked Alan of the Asika. 

"Because I have learned that they attacked you in their own country, Vernoon, " she answered, "and would have killed you had it not been forLittle Bonsa. It is therefore right that they should die as an offeringto you. "

"I refuse the offering since afterwards they dealt well with me. Setthem free and let them return to their own land, Asika. "

"That cannot be, " she replied coldly. "Here they are and here theyremain. Still, their lives are yours to take or to spare, so keep themas your servants if you will, " and bending down she issued a commandwhich was instantly obeyed, for the men dressed like devils cut thebonds of the Ogula and brought them round to the back of the dais, wherethey stood blessing Alan loudly in their own tongue. 

Then the ceremonies began with a kind of infernal ballet. On the smoothspace between them and the water's edge appeared male and female bandsof dancers who emerged from the shadows. For the most part they weredressed up like animals and imitated the cries of the beasts that theyrepresented, although some of them wore little or no clothing. To thesound of wild music of horns and drums these creatures danced a kind ofinsane quadrille which seemed to suggest everything that is cruel andvile upon the earth. They danced and danced in the moonlight till themadness spread from them to the thousands who were gathered upon thefarther side of the water, for presently all of these began to dancealso. Nor did it stop there, since at length the Asika rose from herchair upon the dais and joined in the performance with the Mungana herhusband. Even Jeekie began to prance and shout behind, so that at lastAlan and the Ogula alone remained still and silent in the midst of ascene and a noise which might have been that of hell let loose. 

Leaving go of her husband, the Asika bounded up to Alan and tried todrag him from his chair, thrusting her gold mask against his mask. Herefused to move and after a while she left him and returned to Mungana. Louder and louder brayed the music and beat the drums, wilder and wildergrew the shrieks. Individuals fell exhausted and were thrown into thewater where they sank or floated away on the slow moving stream, as partof some inexplicable play that was being enacted. 

Then suddenly the Asika stood still and threw up her arms and they fellupon their faces and lay as though they were dead. A third time shethrew up her arms and they rose and remained so silent that the onlysound to be heard was that of their thick breathing. Then she spoke, orrather screamed, saying:

"Little Bonsa has come back again, bringing with her the white man whomshe led away, " and all the audience answered, "Little Bonsa has comeback again. Once more we see her on the head of the Asika as our fathersdid. Give her a sacrifice. Give her the white man. "

"Nay, " she screamed back, "the white man is mine. I name him as the nextMungana. "

"Oho!" roared the audience, "Oho! she names him as the next Mungana. Good-bye, old Mungana! Greeting, new Mungana! When will be the marriagefeast?"

"Tell us, Mungana, tell us, " cried the Asika, patting her wretchedhusband on the cheek. "Tell us when you mean to die, as you are bound todo. "

"On the night of the second full moon from now, " he answered with aterrible groan that seemed to be wrung out of his heavy heart; "on thatnight my soul will be eaten up and my day done. But till then I amlord of the Asika, and if she forgets it, death shall be her portion, according to the ancient law. "

"Yes, yes, " shouted the multitude, "death shall be her portion, and herlover we will sacrifice. Die in honour, Mungana, as all those died thatwent before you. "

"Thank Heaven!" muttered Alan to himself, "I am safe from that witchfor the next two months, " and through the eye-holes of his mask hecontemplated her with loathing and alarm. 

At the moment, indeed, she was not a pleasing spectacle, for in the heatand excitement of her mad dance she had cast off her gold breast-plateor stomacher, leaving herself naked except for her kirtle and the thin, gold-spangled robe upon her shoulders over which streamed her black, disordered hair. Contrasting strangely in the silver moonlight with herglistening, copper-coloured body, the mask of Little Bonsa on her headglared round with its fixed crystal eyes and fiendish smile as sheturned her long neck from side to side. Seen thus she scarcely lookedhuman, and Alan's heart was filled with pity for the poor bedizenedwretch she named her husband, who had just been forced to announce thedate of his own suicide. 

Soon, however, he forgot it, for a new act in the drama had begun. Twopriests clad in horns and tails leapt on to the dais and at a signalunlaced the mask of Little Bonsa. Now the Asika lifted it from herstreaming face and held it on high, then she lowered it to the levelof her breast, and holding it in both hands, walked to the edge ofthe dais, whereon priests, disguised as fiends, began to leap at it, striving to reach it with their fingers and snatch it from her grasp. One by one they leapt with the most desperate energy, each man beingallowed to make three attempts, and Alan noted that this novel jumpingcompetition was watched with the deepest interest by all the audience, at the time he knew not why. 

The first two were evidently elderly men who failed to come anywherenear the mark. Their failure was received with shouts of derision. Theysank exhausted to the ground and from the motion of his body Alan couldsee that one of them was weeping, while the other remained sullenlysilent. Then a younger man advanced and at the third try almost graspedthe fetish. Indeed he would have grasped it had he not met with foulplay, for the Asika, seeing that he was about to succeed, lifted it aninch or two, so that he also missed and with a groan joined the band ofthe defeated. Next appeared a fourth priest, even more horribly arrayedthan those before him, but Alan noticed that his mask was of thelightest, and that his garments consisted chiefly of paint, the mainidea of his make-up being that of a skeleton. He was a thin activefellow, and all the watching thousands greeted him with a shout. Fora few seconds he stood back gazing at the mask as a wolf might at anunapproachable bone. Then suddenly he ran forward and sprang into theair. Such an amazing jump Alan had never seen before. So high wasit indeed that his head came level with that of the fetish, which hesnatched with both hands tearing it from Asika's grasp. Coming to theground again with a thud, he began to caper to and fro, kissing themask, while the audience shouted:

"Little Bonsa has chosen. What fate for the fallen? Ask her, priest?"

The man stopped his capering and held the mouth of Little Bonsa to hisear, nodding from time to time as though she were speaking to him and heheard what she said. Then he passed round the dais where Alan could notsee him, and presently reappeared holding Little Bonsa in his righthand and in his left a great gold cup. A silence fell upon the place. He advanced to the first man who had jumped and offered him the cup. Heturned his head away, but a thousand voices thundered "Drink!" Then hetook it and drank, passing it to a companion in misfortune, who in turndrank also and gave it to the third priest, he who would have snatchedthe mask had not the Asika lifted it out of his reach. 

This man drained it to the dregs, and with an exclamation of rage dashedthe empty vessel into the face of the chosen priest with such fury thatthe man rolled upon the ground and for a while lay there stunned. Nowhe who had drunk first began to spring about in a ludicrous fashion, andpresently was joined in his dance by the other two. So absurd were theirmotions and tumblings and clownlike grimaces, for they had dragged offtheir masks, that roars of brutal laughter rose from the audience, inwhich the Asika joined. 

At first Alan thought that the thing was a joke, and that the men hadmerely been made mad drunk, till catching sight of their eyes inthe moonlight, he perceived that they were in great pain and turnedindignantly to remonstrate with the Asika. 

"Be silent, Vernoon, " she said savagely, "blood is your _orunda_ andI respect it. Therefore by decree of the god these die of poison, " andagain she fell to laughing at the contortions of the victims. 

Alan shut his eyes, and when at length, drawn by some fearfulfascination, he opened them once more, it was to see that the three poorcreatures had thrown themselves into the water, where they rolled overand over like wounded porpoises, till presently they sank and vanishedthere. 

This farce, for so they considered it, being ended and the stage, so tospeak, cleared, the audience having laughed itself hoarse, set itself towatch the proceedings of the newly chosen high-priest of Little Bonsa, who by now had recovered from the blow dealt to him by one of themurdered men. With the help of some other priests he was engaged inbinding the fetish on to a little raft of reeds. This done he laidhimself flat upon a broad plank which had been made ready for him atthe edge of the water, placing the mask in front of him and with afew strokes of his feet that hung over the sides of the plank, paddledhimself out to the centre of the canal where the god called Big Bonsafloated, or was anchored. Having reached it he pushed the little raftoff the plank into the water, and in some way that Alan could not see, made it fast to Big Bonsa, so that now the two of them floated onebehind the other. Then while the people cheered, shouting out thathusband and wife had come together again at last, he paddled his plankback to the water's edge, sat down and waited. 

Meanwhile, at a sign from the Asika, all the scores of priests andpriestesses who were dressed as devils had filed off to right and left, and vanished, presumably to cross the water by bridges or boats thatwere out of sight. At any rate now they began to appear upon its furtherside and to wind their way singly among the thousands of the Asikipeople who were gathered upon the rocky slope beyond in order to witnessthis fearsome entertainment. Alan observed that the spectators did notappear to appreciate the arrival amongst them of these priests, fromwhom they seemed to edge away. Indeed many of them rose and tried todepart altogether, only to be driven back to their places by a doubleline of soldiers armed with spears, who now for the first time becamevisible, ringing in the audience. Also other soldiers and with thembodies of men who looked like executioners, showed themselves upon thefurther brink of the water and then marched off, disappearing to leftand right. 

"What's the matter now?" Alan asked of Jeekie over his shoulder. 

"All in blue funk, " whispered Jeekie back, "joke done. Get to businessnow. Silly fools forget that when they laugh so much. Both Bonsas veryhungry and Asika want wipe out old scores. Presently you see. "

Presently Alan did see, for at some preconcerted signal the devilpriests, each of them, jumped with a yell at a person near to them, gripping him or her by the hair, whereon assistants rushed in anddragged them down to the bank of the canal. Here to the number of ahundred or more, a wailing, struggling mass, they were confined in apen like sheep. Then a bar was lifted and one of them allowed to escape, only to find himself in a kind of gangway which ran down into shallowwater. Being forced along this he came to an open space of water exactlyopposite to the floating fetishes, and there was kept a while by menarmed with spears. As nothing happened they lifted their spears and theman bolted up an incline and was lost among the thousands of spectators. 

The next one, evidently a person of rank, was not so fortunate. Jumpinginto the pool off the gangway, he stood there like a sheep about to bewashed, the water reaching up to his middle. Then Alan saw a terrifyingthing, for suddenly the horrid, golden head of Big Bonsa, towing LittleBonsa behind it, began to swim with a deliberate motion across thestream until, reaching the man, it seemed to rear itself up and pokehim with its snout in the chest as a turtle might do. Then it sank againinto the water and slowly floated back to its station, directed by someagency or power that Alan could not discover. 

At the touch of the fetish the man screamed like a horse in pain orterror, and soldiers leaping on him with a savage shout, dragged him upanother gangway opposite to that by which he had descended, whereon, toall appearances more dead than alive, he departed into the shadows. Thehorns and drums set up a bray of triumph, the Asika clapped her handsapprovingly, the spectators cheered, and another victim was bundled downthe gangway and submitted to the judgment of the Bonsas, which cameat him like a hungry pike at a frog. Then followed more and more, somebeing chosen and some let go, till at last, growing weary, the priestsdirected the soldiers to drive the prisoners down in batches until thepen in the water was full as though with huddled sheep. If the horriblegolden masks swam at them and touched one of their number, they were alldragged away; if these remained quiescent they were let go. 

So the thing went on until at length Alan could bear no more of it. 

"Lady, " he said to the Asika when she paused for a moment from herhand-clapping, "I am weary, I would sleep. "

"What!" she exclaimed, "do you wish to sleep on such a glorious nightwhen so many evil doers are coming to their just doom? Well, well, go ifyou will, for then my promise is off me and I can hasten this businessand deal with the wicked before the people according to our custom. Good-night to you, Vernoon, to-morrow we will meet, " and she called tosome priests to lead him away, and with him the Ogula cannibals whom shehad given to him as servants. 

Alan went thankfully enough. As he plunged into one of the passagesthe sound of frightful yelling reached his ears, followed by loud, triumphant shouts. 

"Now you gone they kill those who Bonsa smell out, " said Jeekie. "Whyyou no wait and see? Very interesting sight. "

"Hold your tongue, " answered Alan savagely. "Did you think so years agowhen you were put into that pen to be butchered?"

"No, Major, " replied the unabashed Jeekie, "not think at all then, toofar gone. But see other people in there and know it not _you_, quitedifferent matter. "

They reached their room. At the door of it Fahni and his followers wereled off to some quarters near by, blessing Alan as they went because hehad saved their lives. 

"Jeekie, " he said when they were alone, "tell me, what makes thathellish idol swim about in the water picking out some people and leavingothers alone?"

"Major, I not know, no one know except top priest and Asika. Perhapsthere man underneath, perhaps they pull string, or perhaps fetishalive and he do what he like. Please don't call him names, Major, orhe remember and come after us one time, and that bad job, " and Jeekieshivered visibly. 

"Bosh!" answered Alan, but all the same he shivered also. "Jeekie, " heasked again, "what happens to those people whom the Bonsas smell out?"

"Case of good-bye, Major. Sometimes they chop off nut, sometimes theyspiflicate in gold tub, sometimes priest-man make hole in what whitedoctor call _diagram_--and shake hands with heart. --All matter of taste, Major, just as Asika please. If she like victim or they old friends, chop off head; if she not like him--do worse things. "

More than satisfied with his information Alan went to bed. For hourafter hour that night he lay tossing and turning, haunted by therecollections of the dreadful sights that he had seen and of thehorrible Asika, horrible and half-naked, glaring at him amorouslythrough the crystal eyes of Little Bonsa. When at last he fell asleep itwas to dream that he was alone in the water with the god which pursuedhim as a shark pursues a shipwrecked sailor. Never did he experience anightmare that was half so awful. Only one thing could be more awful, the reality itself. 

CHAPTER XIV

THE MOTHER OF JEEKIE

"Jeekie, " said Alan next morning, "I tell you again that I have hadenough of this place, I want to get out. "

"Yes, Major, that just what mouse say when he finish cheese in trap, but missus come along, call him 'Pretty, pretty, ' and drown him all thesame, " and he nodded in the direction of the Asika's house. 

"Jeekie, it has got to be done--do you hear me? I had rather die tryingto get away than stop here till the next two months are up. If I am hereon the night of the next full moon but one, I shall shoot that Asika andthen shoot myself, and you must take your chance. Do you understand?"

"Understand that foolish game and poor lookout for Jeekie, Major, butcan't think of any plan. " Then he rubbed his big nose reflectively andadded, "Fahni and his people your slaves now, 'spose we have talk withhim. I tell priests to bring him along when they come with breakfast. Leave it to me, Major. "

Alan did leave it to him, with the result that after long argumentthe priests consented or obtained permission to produce Fahni and hisfollowers, and a little while after the great men arrived looking verydejected, and saluted Alan humbly. Bidding the rest of them be seated, he called Fahni to the end of the room and asked him through Jeekie ifhe and his men did not wish to return home. 

"Indeed we do, white lord, " answered the old chief, "but how can we? TheAsika has a grudge against our tribe and but for you would have killedevery one of us last night. We are snared and must stop here till wedie. "

"Would not your people help you if they knew, Fahni?"

"Yes, lord, I think so. But how can I tell them who doubtless believe usdead? Nor can I send a messenger, for this place is guarded and he wouldbe killed at once. We came here for your sake because you had LittleBonsa, a god that is known in the east and the west, in the north andthe south, and because you saved me from the lion, and here, alas! wemust perish. "

"Jeekie, " said Alan, "can you not find a messenger? Have you, who wereborn of this people, no friend among them at all?"

Jeekie shook his white head and rolled his eyes. Then suddenly an ideastruck him. 

"Yes, " he said, "I think one, p'raps. I mean my ma. "

"Your ma!" said Alan. "Oh! I remember. Have you heard anything moreabout her?"

"Yes, Major. Very old girl now, but strong on leg, so they say. Believeshe glad go anywhere, because she public nuisance; they tired of her inprison and there no workhouse here, so they want turn her out starve, which of course break my heart. Perhaps she take message. Some use thatway. Only think she afraid go Ogula-land because they nasty cannibal andeat old woman. "

When all this was translated to Fahni he assured Jeekie with earnestnessthat nothing would induce the Ogula people to eat his mother; moreover, that for her sake they would never look carnivorously on another oldwoman, fat or thin. 

"Well, " said Jeekie, "I try again to get hold of old lady and we see. Ipray priests, whom you save other day, let her out of chokey as I sickto fall upon bosom, which quite true, only so much to think of that notime to attend to domestic relation till now. "

That very afternoon, on returning to his room from walking in the dismalcedar garden, Alan's ears were greeted by a sound of shrill quarrelling. Looking up he saw an extraordinary sight. A tall, gaunt, withered femalewho might have been of any age between sixty and a hundred, had gotJeekie's ear in one hand, and with the other was slapping him in theface while she exclaimed:

"O thief, whom by the curse of Bonsa I brought into the world, whathave you done with my blanket? Was it not enough that you, my onlyson, should leave me to earn my own living? Must you also take my bestblanket with you, for which reason I have been cold ever since. Where isit, thief, where is it?"

"Worn out, my mother, worn out, " he answered, trying to free himself. "You forget, honourable mother, that I grow old and you should have beendead years ago. How can you expect a blanket to last so long? Leave goof my ear, beloved mother, and I will give you another. I have travelledacross the world to find you and I want to hear news of your husband. "

"My husband, thief, which husband? Do you mean your father, the one withthe broken nose, who was sacrificed because you ran away with the whiteman whom Bonsa loved? Well, you look out for him when you get into theworld of ghosts, for he said that he was going to wait for you therewith the biggest stick that he could find. Why I haven't thought of himfor years, but then I have had three other husbands since his time, badenough, but better than he was, so who would? And now Bonsa has got thelot, and I have no children alive, and they say I am to be driven out ofthe prison to starve next week as they won't feed me any longer, I whocan still work against any one of them, and--you've got my blanket, youugly old rascal, " and collapsing beneath the weight of her recited woes, the hag burst into a melancholy howl. 

"Peace, my mother, " said Jeekie, patting her on the head. "Do what Itell you and you shall have more blankets than you can wear and, as youare still so handsome, another husband too if you like, and a garden andslaves to work for you and plenty to eat. "

"How shall I get all these things, my son?" asked the old woman, lookingup. "Will you take me to your home and support me, or will that whitelord marry me? They told me that the Asika had named him as the Mungana, and she is very jealous, the most jealous Asika that I have ever known. "

"No, mother, he would like to, but he dare not, and I cannot support youas I should wish, as here I have no house or property. You will get allthis by taking a walk and holding your tongue. You see this man here, he is Fahni, king of a great tribe, the Ogula. He wants you to carry amessage for him, and by and by he will marry you, won't you, Fahni?"

"Oh! yes, yes, " said Fahni; "I will do anything she likes. No one shallbe so rich and honoured in my country, and for her sake we will nevereat another old woman, whereas if she stays here she will be driven tothe mountains to starve in a week. "

"Set out the matter, " said the mother of Jeekie, who was by no means sofoolish as she seemed. 

So they told her what she must do, namely, travel down to the Ogula andtell them of the plight of their chief, bidding them muster all theirfighting men and when the swamps were dry enough, advance as near asthey dared to the Asiki country and, if they could not attack it, waittill they had further news. 

The end of it was that the mother of Jeekie, who knew her case to bedesperate at home, where she was in no good repute, promised to attemptthe journey in consideration of advantages to be received. Since shewas to be turned adrift to meet her fate with as much food as she couldcarry, this she could do without exciting any suspicion, for who wouldtrouble about the movements of a useless old thief? Meanwhile Jeekiegave her one of the robes which the Asika had provided for Alan, alsovarious articles which she desired and, having learned Fahni's messageby heart and announced that she considered herself his affianced bride, the gaunt old creature departed happy enough after exchanging embraceswith her long lost son. 

"She will tell somebody all about it and we shall only get our throatscut, " said Alan wearily, for the whole thing seemed to him a foolishfarce. 

"No, no, Major. I make her swear not split on ghosts of all her husbandsand by Big Bonsa hisself. She sit tight as wax, because she think theyhaunt her if she don't and I too by and by when I dead. P'raps she getto Ogula country and p'raps not. If she don't, can't help it and noharm done. Break my heart, but only one old woman less. Anyhow she holdtongue, that main point, and I really very glad find my ma, who neverhoped to see again. Heaven very kind to Jeekie, give him back to familybosom, " he added, unctuously. 

That day there were no excitements, and to Alan's intense relief he sawnothing of the Asika. After its orgy of witchcraft and bloodshed on theprevious night, weariness and silence seemed to have fallen upon thetown. At any rate no sound came from it that could be heard above thelow, constant thunder of the great waterfall rushing down its precipice, and in the cedar-shadowed garden where Alan walked till he was weary, attended by Jeekie and the Ogula savages, not a soul was to be seen. 

On the following morning, when he was sitting moodily in his room, twopriests came to conduct him to the Asika. Having no choice, followed byJeekie, he accompanied them to her house, masked as usual, for withoutthis hateful disguise he was not allowed to stir. He found her lyingupon a pile of cushions in a small room that he had never seen before, which was better lighted than most in that melancholy abode, and seemedto serve as her private chamber. In front of her lay the skin of thelion that he had sent as a present, and about her throat hung a necklacemade of its claws, heavily set in gold, with which she was playing idly. 

At the opening of the door she looked up with a swift smile that turnedto a frown when she saw that he was followed by Jeekie. 

"Say, Vernoon, " she asked in her languorous voice, "can you not stira yard without that ugly black dog at your heels? Do you bring him toprotect your back? If so, what is the need? Have I not sworn that youare safe in my land?"

Alan made Jeekie interpret this speech, then answered that the reasonwas that he knew but little of her tongue. 

"Can I not teach it to you alone, then, without this low fellow hearingall my words? Well, it will not be for long, " and she looked at Jeekiein a way that made him feel very uncomfortable. "Get behind us, dog, andyou, Vernoon, come sit on these cushions at my side. Nay, not there, Isaid upon the cushions--so. Now I will take off that ugly mask of yours, for I would look into your eyes. I find them pleasant, Vernoon, " andwithout waiting for his permission, she sat up and did so. "Ah!" shewent on, "we shall be happy when we are married, shall we not? Do notbe afraid, Vernoon, I will not eat out your heart as I have those of themen that went before you. We will live together until we are old, anddie together at last, and together be born again, and so on and on tillthe end which even I cannot foresee. Why do you not smile, Vernoon, andsay that you are pleased, and that you will be happy with me who lovedyou from the moment that my eyes fell upon you in sleep? Speak, Vernoon, lest I should grow angry with you. "

"I don't know what to say, " answered Alan despairingly through Jeekie, "the honour is too great for me, who am but a wandering trader who camehere to barter Little Bonsa against the gold I need"--to support my wifeand family, he was about to add, then remembering that this statementmight not be well received, substituted, "to support my old parents andeight brothers and sisters who are dependent upon me, and remain hungryuntil I return to them. "

"Then I think they will remain hungry a long time, Vernoon, for while Ilive you shall never return. Much as I love you I would kill you first, "and her eyes glittered as she said the words. "Still, " she added, notingthe fall in his face, "if it is gold that they need, you shall send itthem. Yes, my people shall take all that I gave you down to the coast, and there it can be put in a big canoe and carried across the water. Seeto the packing of the stuff, you black dog, " she said to Jeekie over hershoulder, "and when it is ready I will send it hence. "

Alan began to thank her, though he thought it more than probable thateven if she kept her word, this bullion would never get to Old Calabar, and much less to England. But she waived the matter aside as one inwhich she was not interested. 

"Tell me, " she asked; "would you have me other than I am? First, do youthink me beautiful?"

"Yes, " answered Alan honestly, "very beautiful when you are quiet asnow, not when you are dancing as you did the other night without yourrobes. "

When she understood what he meant the Asika actually blushed a little. 

"I am sorry, " she answered in a voice that for her was quite humble. "Iforget that it might seem strange in your eyes. It has always beenthe custom for the Asika to do as I did at feasts and sacrifices, butperhaps that is not the fashion among your women; perhaps they alwaysremain veiled, as I have heard the worshippers of the Prophet do, andtherefore you thought me immodest. I am very, very sorry, Vernoon. Ipray you to forgive me who am ignorant and only do what I have beentaught. "

"Yes, they always remain veiled, " stammered Alan, though he was notreferring to their faces, and as the words passed his lips he wonderedwhat the Asika would think if she could see a ballet at a Londonmusic-hall. 

"Is there anything else wrong?" she went on gently. "If so, tell me thatI may set it right. "

"I do not like cruelty or sacrifices, O Asika. I have told you thatbloodshed is _orunda_ to me, and at the feast those men were poisonedand you mocked them in their pain; also many others were taken away tobe killed for no crime. "

She opened her beautiful eyes and stared at him, answering:

"But, Vernoon, all this is not my fault; they were sacrifices to thegods, and if I did not sacrifice, I should be sacrificed by the priestsand wizards who live to sacrifice. Yes, myself I should be made to drinkthe poison and be mocked at while I died like a snake with a brokenback. Or even if I escaped the vengeance of the people, the godsthemselves would kill me and raise up another in my place. Do they notsacrifice in your country, Vernoon?"

"No, Asika, they fight if necessary and kill those who commit murder. But they have no fetish that asks for blood, and the law they have fromheaven is a law of mercy. "

She stared at him again. 

"All this is strange to me, " she said. "I was taught otherwise. Gods aredevils and must be appeased, lest they bring misfortune on us; men mustbe ruled by terror, or they would rebel and pull down the great House;doctors must learn magic, or how could they avert spells? wizards mustbe killed, or the people would perish in their net. May not we who livein a hell, strive to beat back its flame with the wisdom our forefathershave handed on to us? Tell me, Vernoon, for I would know. "

"You make your own hell, " answered Alan when with the help of Jeekie heunderstood her talk. 

She pondered over his words for a while, then said:

"I must think. The thing is big. I wander in blackness; I will speakwith you again. Say now, what else is wrong with me?"

Now Alan thought that he saw opportunity for a word in season and made agreat mistake. 

"I think that you treat your husband, that man whom you call Mungana, very badly. Why should you drive him to his death?"

At these words the Asika leapt up in a rage, and seeking something tovent her temper on, violently boxed Jeekie's ears and kicked him withher sandalled foot. 

"The Mungana!" she exclaimed, "that beast! What have I to do with him?I hate him, as I hated the others. The priests thrust him on me. He hashad his day, let him go. In your country do they make women live withmen whom they loathe? I love _you_, Bonsa himself knows why? Perhapsbecause you have a white skin and white thoughts. But I hate that man. What is the use of being Asika if I cannot take what I love and rejectwhat I hate? Go away, Vernoon, go away, you have angered me, and if itwere not for what you have said about that new law of mercy, I thinkthat I would cut your throat, " and again she boxed Jeekie's ears andkicked him in the shins. 

Alan rose and bowed himself towards the door while she stood with herback towards him, sobbing. As he was about to pass it she wheeled round, wiping the tears from her eyes with her hand, and said:

"I forgot, I sent for you to thank you for your presents; that, " and shepointed to the lion skin, "which they tell me you killed with some kindof thunder to save the life of that old cannibal, and this, " and shepulled off the necklace of claws, then added, "as I am too bad to wearit, you had better take it back again, " and she threw it with all herstrength straight into Jeekie's face. 

Fearing worse things, the much maltreated Jeekie uttered a howl andbolted through the door, while Alan, picking up the necklace, returnedit to her with a bow. She took it. 

"Stop, " she said. "You are leaving the room without your mask and mywomen are outside. Come here, " and she tied the thing upon his head, setting it all awry, then pushed him from the place. 

"Very poor joke, Major, very poor indeed, " said Jeekie when they hadreached their own apartment. "Lady make love to _you_; _you_ play prigand lecture lady about holy customs of her country and she box _my_ eartill head sing, also kick me all over and throw sharp claws in face. Please you do it no more. The next time, who knows? she stick knife in_my_ gizzard, then kiss _you_ afterward and say she so sorry and hopeshe no hurt _you_. But how that help poor departed Jeekie who get allkicks, while you have ha'pence?"

"Oh! be quiet, " said Alan; "you are welcome to the halfpence if youwould only leave me the kicks. The question is, how am I to get out ofthis mess? While she was a beautiful savage devil, one could deal withthe thing, but if she is going to become human it is another matter. "

Jeekie looked at him with pity in his eyes. 

"Always thought white man mad at bottom, " he said, shaking his big head. "To benighted black nigger thing so very simple. All you got to do, makelove and cut when you get chance. Then she pleased as Punch, everythinggo smooth and Jeekie get no more kicks. Christian religion business verygood, but won't wash in Asiki-land. Your reverend uncle find out that. "

Not wishing to pursue the argument, Alan changed the subject by askinghis indignant retainer if he thought that the Asika had meant what shesaid when she offered to send the gold down to the coast. 

"Why not, Major? That good lady always mean what she say, and what shedo too, " and he dabbed wrathfully at the scratches made by the lion'sclaws on his face, then added, "She know her own mind, not likeshilly-shally, see-saw white woman, who get up one thing and go to bedanother. If she love she love, if she hate she hate. If she say shesend gold, she send it, though pity to part with all that cash, because'spect someone bag it. "

Alan reflected a while. 

"Don't you see, Jeekie, that here is a chance, if a very small one, ofgetting a message to the coast. Also it is quite clear that if we areever able to escape, it will be impossible for us to carry this heavystuff, whereas if we send it on ahead, perhaps some of it might getthrough. We will pack it up, Jeekie, at any rate it will be something todo. Go now and send a message to the Asika, and ask her to let us havesome carpenters, and a lot of well-seasoned wood. "

The message was sent and an hour later a dozen of the native craftsmenarrived with their rude tools and a supply of planks cut from a kind ofiron-wood or ebony tree. They prostrated themselves to Alan, then themaster of them rising, instantly began to measure Jeekie with a markedreed. That worthy sprang back and asked what in the name of Bonsa, Bigand Little, they were doing, whereon the man explained with humilitythat the Asika had said that she thought the white lord wanted thewood to make a box to bury his servant in, as he, the said servant, hadoffended her that morning, and doubtless the white lord wished to killhim on that account, or perhaps to put him away under ground alive. 

"Oh, my golly!" said Jeekie, shaking till his great knees knockedtogether, "oh! my golly! here pretty go. She think you want bury me allalive. That mean she want to be rid of Jeekie, because he got sit thereand play gooseberry when she wish talk alone with you. Oh, yes! I seeher little game. "

"Well, Jeekie, " said Alan, bursting into such a roar of laughter that henearly shook off his mask, "you had better be careful, for you just toldme that the Asika is not like a see-saw white woman and never changesher mind. Say to this man that he must tell the Asika there is amistake, and that however much I should like to oblige her, I can't buryyou because it has been prophesied to me that on the day you are buried, I shall be buried also, and that therefore you must be kept alive. "

"Capital notion that, Major, " said Jeekie, much relieved. "She not wantbury you just at present; next year perhaps, but not now. I tell him. "And he did with much vigour. 

This slight misconception having been disposed of, they explained to thecarpenters what was wanted. First, all the gold was emptied out of thesacks in which it remained as the priests had brought it, and dividedinto heaps, each of which weighed about forty pounds, a weight thatwith its box Alan considered would be a good load for a porter. Of theseheaps there proved to be fifty-three, their total value, Alan reckoned, amounting to about £100, 000 sterling. Then the carpenters were set towork to make a model box, which they did quickly enough and with greatingenuity, cutting the wood with their native saws, dovetailing it asa civilized craftsman would do, and finally securing it everywhere withebony pegs, driven into holes which they bored with a hot iron. Theresult was a box that would stand any amount of rough usage and whenfinally pegged down, one that could only be opened with a hammer and acold chisel. 

This box-making went on for two whole days. As each of them was filledand pegged down, the gold within being packed in sawdust to keep it fromrattling, Alan amused himself in adding an address with a feather brushand a supply of red paint such as the Asiki priests used to decoratetheir bodies. At first he was puzzled to know what address to put, butfinally decided upon the following:

_Major A. Vernon, care of Miss Champers, The Court, near Kingswell, England. _ Adding in the corner, _From A. V. , Asiki Land, Africa. _

It was all childish enough, he knew, yet when it was done he regardedhis handiwork with a sort of satisfaction. For, reflected Alan, if butone of those boxes should chance to get through to England, it wouldtell Barbara a great deal, and if it were addressed to himself, heruncle could scarcely dare to take possession of it. 

Then he bethought him of sending a letter, but was obliged to abandonthe idea, as he had neither pen, pencil, ink, nor paper left to him. Whatever arts remained to them, that of any form of writing was nowtotally unknown to the Asiki, although marks that might be writing, itwill be remembered, did appear on the inner side of the Little Bonsamask, an evidence of its great antiquity. Even in the days when they hadwrapped up the Egyptian, the Roman, and other early Munganas in sheetsof gold and set them in their treasure-house, apparently they had noknowledge of it, for not even an hieroglyph or a rune appeared uponthe imperishable metal shrouds. Since that time they had evidentlydecreased, not advanced, in learning till at the present day, except forthese relics and some dim and meaningless survival of rites that oncehad been religious and were still offered to the same ancient idols, there was little to distinguish them from other tribes of CentralAfrican savages. Still Alan did something, for obtaining a piece ofwhite wood, which he smoothed as well as he was able with a knife, hepainted on it this message:

"Messrs. Aston, Old Calabar. Please forward accompanying fifty-threepackages, or as many as arrive, and cable as follows (all costs will beremitted): Miss Champers, Kingswell, England. Prisoner among Asiki. No present prospect of escape, but hope for best. Jeekie and I well. Allowed send this, but perhaps no future message possible. Good-bye. Alan. "

As it happened just as Alan was finishing this scrawl with a sad heart, he heard a movement and glancing up, perceived standing at his sidethe Asika, of whom he had seen nothing since the interview when she hadbeaten Jeekie:

"What are those marks that you make upon the board, Vernoon?" she askedsuspiciously. 

With the assistance of Jeekie, who kept at a respectful distance, heinformed her that they were a message in writing to tell the white menat the coast to forward the gold to his starving family. 

"Oh!" she said, "I never heard of writing. You shall teach it me. Itwill serve to pass the time till we are married, though it will notbe of much use afterwards, as we shall never be separated any more andwords are better than marks upon a board. But, " she added cheerfully, "Ican send away this black dog of yours, " and she looked at Jeekie, "andhe can write to us. No, I cannot, for an accident might happen to him, and they tell me you say that if he dies, you die also, so he must stophere always. What have you in those little boxes?"

"The gold you gave me, Asika, packed in loads. "

"A small gift enough, " she answered contemptuously; "would you not likemore, since you value that stuff? Well, another time you shall send allyou want. Meanwhile the porters are waiting, fifty men and three, as yousent me word, and ten spare ones to take the place of any who die. Buthow they will find their way, I know not, since none of them have everbeen to the coast. "

An idea occurred to Alan, who had small faith in Jeekie's "ma" as amessenger. 

"The Ogula prisoners could show them, " he said; "at any rate as far asthe forest, and after that they could find out. May they not go, Asika?"

"If you will, " she answered carelessly. "Let them be ready to startto-morrow at the dawn, all except their chief, Fahni, who must stophere as a hostage. I do not trust those Ogula, who more than once havethreatened to make war upon us, " she added, then turned and bade thepriests bring in the bearers to receive their instructions. 

Presently they came, picked men all of them, under the command of anAsiki captain, and with them the Ogula, whom she summoned also. 

"Go where the white lord sends you, " she said in an indifferent voice, "carrying with you these packages. I do not know where it is, butthese man-eaters will show you some of the way, and if you fail in thebusiness but live to come back again, you shall be sacrificed to Bonsaat the next feast; if you run away then your wives and children will besacrificed. Food shall be given you for your journey, and gold to buymore when it is gone. Now, Vernoon, tell them what they have to do. "

So Alan, or rather Jeekie, told them, and these directions were solong and minute, that before they were finished the Asika grew tiredof listening and went away, saying as she passed the captain of thecompany:

"Remember my words, man, succeed or die, but of your land and itssecrets say nothing. "

"I hear, " answered the captain, prostrating himself. 

That night Alan summoned the Ogula and spoke to them through Jeekie intheir own language. At first they declared that they would not leavetheir chief, preferring to stay and die with him. 

"Not so, " said Fahni; "go, my children, that I may live. Go and gatherthe tribe, all the thousands of them who are men and can fight, andbring them up to attack Asiki-land, to rescue me if I still live, or toavenge me if I am dead. As for these bearers, do them no harm, but sendthem on to the coast with the white man's goods. "

So in the end the Ogula said that they would go, and when Alan wokeup on the following morning, he was informed that they and the Asikiporters had already departed upon their journey. Then he dismissed thematter from his mind, for to tell the truth he never expected to hear ofthem any more. 

CHAPTER XV

ALAN FALLS ILL

After the departure of the messengers a deep melancholy fell upon Alan, who was sure that he had now no further hope of communicating with theoutside world. Bitterly did he reproach himself for his folly in havingever journeyed to this hateful place in order to secure--what? About£100, 000 worth of gold which of course he never could secure, as itwould certainly vanish or be stolen on its way to the coast. For thisgold he had become involved in a dreadful complication which must costhim much misery, and sooner or later life itself, since he could notmarry that beautiful savage Asika, and if he refused her she wouldcertainly kill him in her outraged pride and fury. 

Day by day she sent for him, and when he came, assumed a new character, that of a woman humbled by a sense of her own ignorance, which she wasanxious to amend. So he must play the role of tutor to her, telling herof civilized peoples, their laws, customs and religions, and instructingher how to write and read. She listened and learned submissively enough, but all the while Alan felt as one might who is called upon to teachtricks to a drugged panther. The drug in this case was her passion forhim, which appeared to be very genuine. But when it passed off, or whenhe was obliged to refuse her, what, he wondered, would happen then?

Anxiety and confinement told on him far more than all the hardships ofhis journey. His health ran down, he began to fall ill. Then as bad luckwould have it, walking in that damp, unwholesome cedar garden, out ofwhich he might not stray, he contracted the germ of some kind of feverwhich in autumn was very common in this poisonous climate. Three dayslater he became delirious, and for a week after that hung between lifeand death. Well was it for him that his medicine-chest still remainedintact, and that recognizing his own symptoms before his head gave way, he was able to instruct Jeekie what drugs to give him at the differentstages of the disease. 

For the rest his memories of that dreadful illness always remained veryvague. He had visions of Jeekie and of a robed woman whom he knew to bethe Asika, bending over him continually. Also it seemed to him that fromtime to time he was talking with Barbara, which even then he knew mustbe absurd, for how could they talk across thousands of miles of land andsea. 

At length his mind cleared suddenly, and he awoke as from a nightmare tofind himself lying in the hall or room where he had always been, feelingquite cool and without pain, but so weak that it was an effort to him tolift his hand. He stared about him and was astonished to see the whitehead of Jeekie rolling uneasily to and fro upon the cushions of anotherbed near by. 

"Jeekie, " he said, "are you ill too, Jeekie?"

At the sound of that voice his retainer started up violently. 

"What, Major, you awake?" he said. "Thanks be to all gods, white andblack, yes, and yellow too, for I thought your goose cooked. No, no, Major, I not ill, only Asika say so. You go to bed, so she make me goto bed. You get worse, she treat me cruel; you seem better, she stuff mewith food till I burst. All because you tell her that you and I die sameday. Oh, Lord! poor Jeekie think his end very near just now, for he knowquite well that she not let him breathe ten minutes after you peg out. Jeekie never pray so hard for anyone before as he pray this week foryou, and by Jingo! I think he do the trick, he and that medicine stuffwhich make him feel very bad in stomach, " and he groaned under theweight of his many miseries. 

Weak as he was Alan began to laugh, and that laugh seemed to do him moregood than anything that he could remember, for after it he was sure thathe would recover. 

Just then an agonized whisper reached him from Jeekie. 

"Look out!" it said, "here come Asika. Go sleep and seem better, Major, please, or I catch it hot. "

So Alan almost shut his eyes and lay still. In another moment she wasstanding over him and he noticed that her hair was dishevelled and hereyes were red as though with weeping. She scanned him intently for alittle while, then passed round to where Jeekie lay and appeared topinch his ear so hard that he wriggled and uttered a stifled groan. 

"How is your lord, dog?" she whispered. 

"Better, O Asika, I think that last medicine do us good, though it makeme very sick inside. Just now he spoke to me and said that he hopedthat your heart was not sad because of him and that all this time in hisdreams he had seen and thought of nobody but you, O Asika. "

"Did he?" asked that lady, becoming intensely interested. "Then tell me, dog, why is he ever calling upon one Bar-bar-a? Surely that is a woman'sname?"

"Yes, O Asika, that is the name of his mother, also of one of hissisters, whom, after you, he loves best of anyone in the whole world. When you are here he talks of them, but when you are not here he talksof no one but you. Although he is so sick he remembers white man'scustom, which tells him that it is very wrong to say sweet things tolady's face till he is quite married to her. After that they say themalways. "

She looked at him suspiciously and muttering, "Here it is otherwise. Foryour own sake, man, I trust that you do not lie, " left him, anddrawing a stool up beside Alan's bed, sat herself down and examined himcarefully, touching his face and hands with her long thin fingers. Then noting how white and wasted he was, of a sudden she began to weep, saying between her sobs:

"Oh! if you should die, Vernoon, I will die also and be born again notas Asika, as I have been for so many generations, but as a white womanthat I may be with you. Only first, " she added, setting her teeth, "Iwill sacrifice every wizard in this land, for they have brought thesickness on you by their magic, and I will burn Bonsa-town and cast itsgods to melt in the flames, and the Mungana with them. And then amidtheir ashes I will let out my life, " and again she began to weep verypiteously and to call him by endearing names and pray him that he wouldnot die. 

Now Alan thought it time to wake up. He opened his eyes, stared at hervacantly, and asked if it were raining, which indeed it might have been, for her big tears were falling on his face. She uttered a gasp of joy. 

"No, no, " she answered, "the weather is very fine. It is I--I who haverained because I thought you die. " She wiped his forehead with the softlinen of her robe, then went on, "But you will not die; say that youwill live, say that you will live for me, Vernoon. "

He looked at her, and feeble though he was, the awfulness of thesituation sank into his soul. 

"I hope that I shall live, " he answered. "I am hungry, please give mesome food. "

Next instant there was a tumult near by, and when Alan looked up againit was to see Jeekie, very lightly clad, flying through the door. 

"It will be here presently, " she said. "Oh! if you knew what I havesuffered, if you only knew. Now you will recover whom I thought dead, for this fever passes quickly and there shall be such a sacrifice--no, Iforgot, you hate sacrifices--there shall be no sacrifice, there shallbe a thanksgiving, and every woman in the land shall break her bonds tohusband or to lover and take him whom she desires without reproach orloss. I will do as I would be done by, that is the law you taught me, isit not?"

This novel interpretation of a sacred doctrine, worthy of Jeekiehimself, so paralyzed Alan's enfeebled brain that he could make noanswer, nor do anything except wonder what would happen in Asiki-landwhen the decree of its priestess took effect. Then Jeekie arrivedwith something to drink which he swallowed with the eagerness of theconvalescent and almost immediately went to sleep in good earnest. 

Alan's recovery was rapid, since as the Asika had told him, if a patientlives through it, the kind of fever that he had taken did not last longenough to exhaust his vital forces. When she asked him if he neededanything to make him well, he answered:

"Yes, air and exercise. "

She replied that he should have both, and next morning his hated maskwas put upon his face and he was supported by priests to a door where alitter, or rather litters were waiting, one for himself and anotherfor Jeekie who, although in robust health, was still supposed to beofficially ill and not allowed to walk upon his own legs. They enteredthese litters and were borne off till presently they met a third litterof particularly gorgeous design carried by masked bearers, wherein wasthe Asika herself, wearing her coronet and a splendid robe. 

Into this litter, which was fitted with a second seat, Alan wastransferred, the Mungana, for whom it was designed, being placed in thatvacated by Alan, which either by accident or otherwise, was no more seenthat day. They went up the mountain side and to the edge of the greatfall and watched the waters thunder down, though the crest of themthey could not reach. Next they wandered off into the huge forests thatclothed the slopes of the hills and there halted and ate. Then as thesun sank they returned to the gloomy Bonsa-Town beneath them. 

For Alan, notwithstanding his weakness and anxieties, it was a heavenlyday. The Asika was passive, some new mood being on her, and scarcelytroubled him at all except to call his attention to a tree, a flower, ora prospect of the scenery. Here on the mountain side, too, the air wassweet, and for the rest--well, he who had been so near to death, wasescaped for an hour from that gloomy home of bloodshed and superstition, and saw God's sky again. 

This journey was the first of many. Every day the litters were waitingand they visited some new place, although into the town itself theynever went. Moreover, if they passed through outlying villages, thoughAlan was forced to wear his mask, their inhabitants had been warned toabsent themselves, so that they saw no one. The crops were left untendedand the cattle and sheep lowed hungrily in their kraals. On certaindays, at Alan's request, they were taken to the spots where the gold wasfound in the gravel bed of an almost dry stream that during the rainswas a torrent. 

He descended from the litter and with the help of the Asika and Jeekie, dug a little in this gravel, not without reward, for in it they foundseveral nuggets. Above, too, where they went afterwards, was a hugequartz reef denuded by water, which evidently had been worked in pastages and was still so rich that in it they saw plenty of visible gold. Looking at it Alan bethought him of his City days and of the hundredsof thousands of pounds capital with which this unique proposition mighthave been floated. Afterwards they were carried to the places wherethe gems were found, stuck about in the clay, like plums in a pudding, though none ever sought them now. But all these things interested theAsika not at all. 

"What is the good of gold, " she asked of Alan, "except to make thingsof, or the bright stones except to play with? What is the good ofanything except food to eat and power and wisdom that can open thesecret doors of knowledge, of things seen and things unseen, and lovethat brings the lover joy and forgetfulness of self and takes away theawful loneliness of the soul, if only for a little while?"

Not wishing to drift into discussion on the matter of love, Alan askedthe priestess to define her "soul, " whence it came and whither shebelieved it to be going. 

"My soul is I, Vernoon, " she answered, "and already very, very old. Thusit has ruled amongst this people for thousands of years. "

"How is that?" he asked, "seeing that the Asika dies?"

"Oh! no, Vernoon, she does not die; she only changes. The old body dies, the spirit enters into another body which is waiting. Thus until I wasfourteen I was but a common girl, the daughter of a headman of thatvillage yonder, at least so they tell me, for of this time I have nomemory. Then the Asika died and as I had the secret marks and the beautythat is hers the priests burnt her body before Big Bonsa and suffocatedme, the child, in the smoke of the burning. But I awoke again and whenI awoke the past was gone and the soul of the Asika filled me, bringingwith it its awful memories, its gathered wisdom, its passion of love andhate, and its power to look backward and before. "

"Do you ever do these things?" asked Alan. 

"Backward, yes, before very little; since you came, not at all, becausemy heart is a coward and I fear what I might see. Oh! Vernoon, Vernoon, I know you and your thoughts. You think me a beautiful beast who loveslike a beast, who loves you because you are white and different from ourmen. Well, what there is of the beast in me the gods of my people gave, for they are devils and I am their servant. But there is more than that, there is good also which I have won for myself. I knew you would comeeven before I had seen your face, I knew you would come, " she wenton passionately, "and that is why I was yours already. But what wouldbefall after you came, that I neither knew, nor know, because I will notseek, who could learn it all. "

He looked at her and she saw the doubt in his eyes. 

"You do not believe me, Vernoon. Very well, this night you shall see, you and that black dog of yours, that you may know I do not trick you, and he shall tell me what you see, for he being but a low-born pig willspeak the truth, not minding if it hurts me, whereas you are gentle andmight spare, and myself I have sworn not to search the future by an oaththat I may not break. "

"What of the past?" asked Alan. 

"We will not waste time on it, for I know it all. Vernoon, have you nomemories of Asiki-land? Do you think you never visited it before?"

"Never, " said Alan; "it was my uncle who came and ran away with LittleBonsa on his head. "

"That is news indeed, " she replied mockingly. "Did you then think that Ibelieved it to be you, though it is true that she who went before, ormy spirit that was in her, fell into error for an hour, and thought thatfool-uncle of yours was _the Man_. When she found her mistake shelet him go, and bade the god go with him that it might bring back theappointed Man, as it has done; yes, that Little Bonsa, who knew him ofold, might search him out from among all the millions of men, born orunborn, and bring him back to me. Therefore also she chose a young blackdog who would live for many years, and bade the god to take him withher, and told him of the wealth of our people that it might be a baitupon the hook. Do you see, Vernoon, that yellow dirt was the bait, thatI--I am the hook? Well, you have felt it before, so it should not gallyou overmuch. "

Now Alan was more frightened than he had been since he set foot inAsiki-land, for of a sudden this woman became terrible to him. He feltthat she knew things which were hidden from him. For the first timehe believed in her, believed, that she was more than a mere passionatesavage set by chance to rule over a bloodthirsty tribe; that she was onewho had a part in his destiny. 

"Felt the hook?" he muttered. "I do not understand. "

"You are very forgetful, " she answered. "Vernoon, we have lived andloved before, who were twin souls from the first. That man now, whomI told you lived once on the great river called the Nile, have you nomemory of him? Well, well, let it be, I will tell you afterwards. Herewe are at the Gold House again, to-night when I am ready I will send foryou, and this I promise, you shall leave me wiser than you were. "

When they were alone in their room Alan told Jeekie of the expectedentertainment of crystal gazing, or whatever it might be, and the partthat he was to play in it. 

"You say that again, Major, " said Jeekie. 

Alan repeated the information, giving every detail that he couldremember. 

"Oh!" said Jeekie, "I see Asika show us things, 'cause she afraid tolook at them herself, or take oath, or can't, or something. She no askyou tell her what she see, because you too kind hurt her feeling, ifhappen to be something beastly. But Jeekie just tell her because he sotruthful and not care curse about her feeling. Well, that all right, Jeekie tell her sure enough. Only, Major, don't you interrupt. Quitepossible these magic things, I see one show, you see another. So don'tyou go say, 'Jeekie, that a lie, ' and give me away to Asika just becauseyou think you see different, 'cause if so you put me into dirty hole, and of course I catch it afterwards. You promise, Major?"

"Oh! yes, I promise. But, Jeekie, do you really think we are going tosee anything?"

"Can't say, Major, " and he shook his head gloomily. "P'raps all put upjob. But lots of rum things in world, Major, specially among beastlyAfrican savage who very curious and always ready pay blood to badSpirit. Hope Asika not get this into her head, because no one know whathappen. P'raps we see too much and scared all our lives; but p'raps alltommy rot. "

"That's it--tommy rot, " answered Alan, who was not superstitious. "Well, I suppose that we must go through with it. But oh! Jeekie, I wish youwould tell me how to get out of this. "

"Don't know, Major, p'raps never get out; p'raps learn how to-night. Have to do something soon if want to go. Mungana's time nearly up, andthen--oh my eye!"

It was night, about ten o'clock indeed, the hour at which Alan generallywent to bed. No message had come and he began to hope that the Asika hadforgotten, or changed her mind, and was just going to say so to Jeekiewhen a light coming from behind him attracted his attention and heturned to see her standing in a corner of the great room, holding a lampin her hand and looking towards him. Her gold breastplate and crown weregone, with every other ornament, and she was clad, or rather muffled inrobes of pure white fitted with a kind of nun's hood which lay back uponher shoulders. Also on her arm she carried a shawl or veil. Standingthus, all undecked, with her long hair fastened in a simple knot, shestill looked very beautiful, more so than she had ever been, thoughtAlan, for the cruelty of her face had faded and was replaced by amystery very strange to see. She did not seem quite like a naturalwoman, and that was the reason, perhaps, that Alan for the first timefelt attracted by her. Hitherto she had always repelled him, but thisnight it was otherwise. 

"How did you come here?" he asked in a more gentle voice than hegenerally used towards her. 

Noting the change in his tone, she smiled shyly and even coloured alittle, then answered:

"This house has many secrets, Vernoon. When you are lord of it you shalllearn them all, till then I may not tell them to you. But, come, thereare other secrets which I hope you shall see to-night, and, Jeekie, comeyou also, for you shall be the mouth of your lord, so that you may tellme what perhaps he would hide. "

"I will tell you everything, everything, O Asika, " answered Jeekie, stretching out his hands and bowing almost to the ground. 

Then they started and following many long passages as before, althoughwhether they were the same or others Alan could not tell, came at lastto a door which he recognized, that of the Treasure House. As theyapproached this door it opened and through it, like a hunted thing, ranthe bedizened Mungana, husband of the Asika, terror, or madness, shiningin his eyes. Catching sight of his wife, who bore the lamp, he threwhimself upon his knees and snatching at her robe, addressed somepetition to her, speaking so rapidly that Alan could not follow hiswords. 

For a moment she listened, then dragged her dress from his hand andspurned him with her foot. There was something so cruel in the gestureand the action, so full of deadly hate and loathing, that Alan, whowitnessed it, experienced a new revulsion of feeling towards theAsika. What kind of a woman must she be, he wondered, who could treat adiscarded lover thus in the presence of his successor?

With a groan or a sob, it was difficult to say which, the poor man roseand perceived Alan, whose face he now beheld for the first time, sincethe Asika had told him not to mask himself as they would meet no one. The sight of it seemed to fill him with jealous fury; at any rate heleapt at his rival, intending, apparently, to catch him by the throat. Alan, who was watching him, stepped aside, so that he came into violetcontact with the wall of the passage and, half-stunned by the shock, reeled onwards into the darkness. 

"The hog!" said the Asika, or rather she hissed it, "the hog, who daredto touch me and to strike at you. Well, his time is short--would that Icould make it shorter! Did you hear what he sought of me?"

Alan, who wished for no confidences, replied by asking what the Munganawas doing in the Treasure House, to which she answered that the spiritswho dwelt there were eating up his soul, and when they had devoured itall he would go quite mad and kill himself. 

"Does this happen to all Munganas?" inquired Alan. 

"Yes, Vernoon, if the Asika hates them, but if she loves them it isotherwise. Come, let us forget the wretch, who would kill you if hecould, " and she led the way into the hall and up it, passing between theheaps of gold. 

On the table where lay the necklaces of gems she set down her lamp, whereof the light, all there was in that great place, flickered feeblyupon the mask of Little Bonsa, which had been moved here apparently forsome ceremonial purpose, and still more feebly upon the hideous, goldencountenances and winding sheets of the ancient, yellow dead who stoodaround in scores placed one above the other, each in his appointedniche. It was an awesome scene and one that oppressed Jeekie very much, for he murmured to Alan:

"Oh my! Major, family vault child's play to this hole, just like----"here his comparison came to an end, for the Asika cut it short with asingle glance. 

"Sit here in front of me, " she said to Alan, "and you, Jeekie, sit atyour lord's side, and be silent till I bid you speak. "

Then she crouched down in a heap behind them, threw the cloth or veilshe carried over her head, and in some way that they did not see, suddenly extinguished the lamp. 

Now they were in deep darkness, the darkness of death, and in uttersilence, the silence of the dead. No glimmer of light, and yet to Alanit seemed as though he could feel the flash of the crystal eyes ofLittle Bonsa, and of all the other eyes set in the masks of thosedeparted men who once had been the husbands of the bloodstainedpriestess of the Asiki, till one by one, as she wearied of them, theywere bewitched to madness and to doom. In that utter quiet he thoughteven that he could hear them stir within their winding sheets, or it mayhave been that the Asika had risen and moved among them on some errandof her own. Far away something fell to the floor, a very light object, such as flake of rock or a scale of gold. Yet the noise of it struck hisnerves loud as a clap of thunder, and those of Jeekie also, for he felthim start at his side and heard the sudden hammerlike beat of his heart. 

What was the woman doing in this dreadful place, he wondered. Well, it was easy to guess. Doubtless she had brought them here to scare andimpress them. Presently a voice, that of some hidden priest, would speakto them, and they would be asked to believe it a message from the spiritworld, or a spirit itself might be arranged--what could be easier intheir mood and these surroundings?

Now the Asika was speaking behind them in a muffled voice. From the toneof it she appeared to be engaged in argument or supplication in somestrange tongue. At any rate Alan could not understand a word of what shesaid. The argument, or prayer, went on for a long while, with pausesas though for answers. Then suddenly it ceased and once more they wereplunged into that unfathomable silence. 

CHAPTER XVI

WHAT THE ASIKA SHOWED ALAN

It seemed to Alan that he went to sleep and dreamed. 

He dreamed that it was late autumn in England. Leaves drifted down fromthe trees beneath the breath of a strong, damp wind, and ran or floatedalong the road till they vanished into a ditch, or caught against a pileof stones that had been laid ready for its repair. He knew the road wellenough; he even knew the elm tree beneath which he seemed to stand onthe crest of a hill. It was that which ran from Mr. Champers-Haswell'ssplendid house, The Court, to the church; he could see them both, thehouse to the right, the church to the left, and his eyesight seemed tohave improved, since he was able to observe that at either place therewas bustle and preparation as though for some big ceremony. 

Now the big gates of The Court opened and through them came a funeral. It advanced toward him with unnatural swiftness, as though it floatedupon air, the whole melancholy procession of it. In a few seconds it hadcome and gone and yet during those seconds he suffered agony, for therearose in his mind a horrible terror that this was Barbara's burying. Hecould not have endured it for another moment; he would have cried out ordied, only now the mourners passed him following the coffin, and in thefirst carriage he saw Barbara seated, looking sad and somewhat troubled, but well. A little further down the line came another carriage, and init was Sir Robert Aylward, staring before him with cold, impassive face. 

In his dream Alan thought to himself that he must have borrowed thiscarriage, which would not be strange, as he generally used motors, for there was a peer's coronet upon the panels and the silver-mountedharness. 

The funeral passed and suddenly vanished into the churchyard gates, leaving Alan wondering why his cousin Haswell was not seated atBarbara's side. Then it occurred to him that it might be because he wasin the coffin, and at that moment in his dream he heard the Asika askingJeekie what he saw; heard Jeekie answering also, "A burying in thecountry called England. "

"Of whom, Jeekie?" Then after some hesitation, the answer:

"Of a lady whom my lord loves very much. They bury her. "

"What was her name, Jeekie?"

"Her name was Barbara. "

"Bar-bara, why that you told me was the name of his mother and hissister. Which of them is buried?"

"Neither, O Asika. It was another lady who loved him very much andwanted to marry him, and that was why he ran away to Africa. But now sheis dead and buried. "

"Are all women in England called Barbara, Jeekie?"

"Yes, O Asika, Barbara means woman. "

"If your lord loved this Barbara, why then did he run away from her?Well, it matters not since she is dead and buried, for whatever theirspirits may feel, no man cares for a woman that is dead until sheclothes herself in flesh again. That was a good vision and I will rewardyou for it. "

"I have earned nothing, O Asika, " answered Jeekie modestly, "who onlytell you what I see as I must. Yet, O Asika, " he added with a note ofanxiety in his voice, "why do you not read these magic writings foryourself?"

"Because I dare not, or rather because I can not, " she answeredfiercely. "Be silent, slave, for now the power of the good broods uponmy soul. "

The dream went on. A great forest appeared, such a forest as they hadpassed before they met the cannibals, and set beneath one of the trees, a tent and in that tent Barbara, Barbara weeping. Someone began to liftthe flap of the tent. She sprang up, snatching at a pistol that laybeside her, turning its muzzle towards her breast. A man entered thetent. Alan saw his face, it was his own. Barbara let fall the pistoland fell backwards as though a bullet from it had pierced her heart. Heleapt towards her, but before he came to where she lay everything hadvanished and he heard Jeekie droning out his lies to the Asika, tellingher that the vision he had seen was one of her and his master seatedwith their arms about each other in a chamber of the Golden House. 

A third time the dream descended on Alan like a cloud. It seemed to himthat he was borne beyond the flaming borders of the world. Everythingaround was new and unfamiliar, vast, changing, lovely, terrible. Hestood alone upon a pearly plain and the sky above him was lit with redmoons, many and many of them that hung there like lamps. Spirits beganto pass him. He could catch something of their splendour as they spedby with incredible swiftness; he could hear the music of their laughter. One rose up at his side. It was the Asika, only a thousand times moresplendid; clothed in all the glory of hell. Majestically she benttowards him, her glowing eyes held his, the deadly perfume of her breathbeat upon his brow and made him drunken. 

She spoke to him and her voice sounded like distant bells. 

"Through many a life, through many a life, " she said, "bought with muchblood, paid for with a million tears, but mine at last, the soul that Ihave won to comfort my soul in the eternal day. Come to the place I havemade ready for you, the hell that shall turn to heaven at your step, come, you by whom I am redeemed, and drive away those gods that tortureme because I was their servant that I might win you. "

So she spoke, and though all his soul revolted, yet the fearful strengththat was in her seemed to draw him onward whither she would go. Then alight shone and that light was the face of Barbara and with a suddennessthat was almost awful, the wild dream came to an end. 

Alan was in his own room again, though how he got there he did notrecollect. 

"Jeekie, " he said, "what has happened? I seem to have had a very curiousdream, there in the Treasure-place, and to have heard you telling theAsika a string of incredible falsehoods. "

"Oh! no, Major, Jeekie can't lie, too good Christian; he tell her what_he_ see, or what he think she see if she look, 'cause though p'rapshe see nothing, she never believe that. And, " he added with a burst ofconfidence, "what the dickens it matter what he tell her, so long as sheswallow same and keep quiet? Nasty things always make women like Asikaquite outrageous. Give them sweet to suck, say Jeekie, and if they illafterwards, that no fault of his. They had sweet. "

"Quite so, Jeekie, quite so, only I should advise you not to play toomany tricks upon the Asika, lest she should happen to find you out. Howdid I get back here?"

"Like man that walk in his sleep, Major. She go first, you follow, justas little lamb after Mary in hymn. "

"Jeekie, did you really see anything at all?"

"No, Major, nothing partic'lar, except ghost of Mrs. Jeekie and of yourreverend uncle, both of them very angry. That magic all stuff, Major. Asika put something in your grub make you drunk, so that you think hervery wise. Don't think of it no more, Major, or you go off your chump. If Jeekie see nothing, depend on it there nothing to see. "

"Perhaps so, Jeekie, but I wish I could be sure you had seen nothing. Listen to me; we must get out of this place somehow, or as you say, Ishall go off my chump. It's haunted, Jeekie, its haunted, and I thinkthat Asika is a devil, not a woman. "

"That what priests say, Major, very old devil--part of Bonsa, " heanswered, looking at his master anxiously. "Well, don't you fret, Jeekienot afraid of devils, Jeekie get you out in good time. Go to bed andleave it all to Jeekie. "

Fifteen more days had gone by, and it was the eve of the night of thesecond full moon when Alan was destined to become the husband of theAsika. She had sent for him that morning and he found her radiant withhappiness. Whether or no she believed Jeekie's interpretation of thevisions she had called up, it seemed quite certain that her mind wasvoid of fears and doubts. She was sure that Alan was about to become herhusband, and had summoned all the people of the Asiki to be present atthe ceremony of their marriage, and incidentally of the death of theMungana who, poor wretch, was to be forced to kill himself upon thatoccasion. 

Before they parted she had spoken to Alan sweetly enough. 

"Vernoon, " she said, "I know that you do not love me as I love you, butthe love will come, since for your sake I will change myself. I willgrow gentle; I will shed no more blood; that of the Mungana shall be thelast, and even him I would spare if I could, only while he lives I maynot marry you; it is the one law that is stronger than I am, and ifI broke it I and you would die at once. You shall even teach me yourfaith, if you will, for what is good to you is henceforth good to me. Ask what you wish of me, and as an earnest I will do it if I can. "

Now Alan looked at her. There was one thing that he wished above allothers--that she would let him go. But this he did not dare to ask;moreover, it would have been utterly useless. After all, if the Asika'slove was terrible, what would be the appearance of her outraged hate?What could he ask? More gold? He hated the very name of the stuff, forit had brought him here. He remembered the old cannibal chief, Fahni, who, like himself, languished a prisoner, daily expecting death. Onlythat morning he had implored him to obtain his liberty. 

"I thank you, Asika, " he said. "Now, if your words are true, set Fahnifree and let him return to his own country, for if he stays here he willdie. "

"Surely, Vernoon, that is a small thing, " she answered, smiling, "thoughit is true that when he gets there he will probably make war uponus. Well, let him, let him. " Then she clapped her hands and summonedpriests, whom she bade go at once and conduct Fahni out of Bonsa-Town. Also she bade them loose certain slaves who were of the Ogula tribe, that they might accompany him laden with provisions, and send on ordersto the outposts that Fahni and his party should pass unmolested from theland. 

This done, she began to talk to Alan about many matters, however littlehe might answer her. Indeed it seemed almost as though she feared to lethim leave her side; as though some presentiment of loss oppressed her. 

At length, to Alan's great relief, the time came when they mustpart, since it was necessary for her to attend a secret ceremony ofpreparation or purification that was called "Putting-off-the-Past. "Although she had been thrice summoned, still she would not let him go. 

"They call you, Asika, " said Alan. 

"Yes, yes, they call me, " she replied, springing up. "Leave me, Vernoon, till we meet to-morrow to part no more. Oh! why is my heart so heavy inme? That black dog of yours read the visions that I summoned but mightnot look on, and they were good visions. They showed that the womanwho loved you is dead; they showed us wedded, and other deeper things. Surely he would not dare to lie to me, knowing that if he did I wouldflay him living and throw him to the vultures. Why, then, is my heartso heavy in me? Would you escape me, Vernoon? Nay, you are not so cruel, nor could you do it except by death. Moreover, man, know that even indeath you cannot escape me, for there be sure I shall follow you andclaim you, to whose side my spirit has toiled for ages, and what isthere so strong that it can snatch you from my hand?"

She looked at him a moment, and seizing his hand burst into a flood oftears, and seizing his hand threw herself upon her knees and kissed itagain and again. 

"Go now, " she said, "go, and let my love go with you, through lives anddeaths, and all the dreams beyond, oh! let my love go with you, as itshall, Vernoon. "

So he went, leaving her weeping on her knees. 

During the dark hours that followed Alan and madness were not far apart. What could he do? Escape was utterly impossible. For weeks he and Jeekiehad considered it in vain. Even if they could win out of the Gold Housefortress, what hope had they of making their way through the crowded, tortuous town where, after the African fashion, peopled walked about allnight, every one of whom would recognize the white man, whether he weremasked or no? Besides, beyond the town were the river and the guardedwalls and gates and beyond them open country where they would be cut offor run down. No, to attempt escape was suicide. Suicide! That gave himan idea, why should he not kill himself? It would be easy enough, forhe still had his revolver and a few cartridges, and surely it wasbetter than to enter on such a life as awaited him as the plaything of apriestess of a tribe of fetish-worshipping savages. 

But if he killed himself, how about Barbara and how about poor oldJeekie, who would certainly be killed also? Besides, it was not theright thing to do, and while there is life there is always hope. 

Alan paused in his walk up and down the room and looked at Jeekie, who sat upon the floor with his back resting against the stone altar, reflectively pulling down his thick under-lip and letting it fly back, negro-fashion. 

"Jeekie, " he said, "time's up. What am I to do?"

"Do, Major?" he replied with affected cheerfulness. "Oh! that quitesimple. Jeekie arrange everything. You marry Asika and by and by, whenyou master here and tired of her, you give her slip. Very interestingexperience; no white man ever have such luck before. Asika not half bad, _if_ she fond of you; she like little girl in song, when she good, she very, very good. At any rate, nothing else to do. Marry Asika orspiflicate, which mean, Major, that Jeekie spiflicate too, and, " headded, shaking his white head sadly, "he no like _that_. One or twolittle things on his mind that no get time to square up yet. Daren'tpray like Christian here, 'cause afraid of Bonsas, and Bonsas come evenwith him by and by, 'cause he been Christian, so poor Jeekie fall downbump between two stools. 'Postles kick him out of heaven and Bonsas kickhim out of hell, and where Jeekie go to then?"

"Don't know, I am sure, " answered Alan, smiling a little in spite of hissorrow, "but I think the Bonsas might find a corner for you somewhere. Look here, Jeekie, you old scamp, I am sorry for you, for you have beena good friend to me and we are fond of each other. But just understandthis, I am not going to marry that woman if I can help it. It's againstmy principles. So I shall wait till to-morrow and then I shall walk outof this place. If the guards try to stop me I shall shoot them while Ihave any cartridges. Then I shall go on until they kill me. "

"Oh! But Major, they not kill you--never; they chuck blanket over yourhead and take you back to Asika. It Jeekie they kill, skin him alive-o, and all the rest of it. "

"Hope not, Jeekie, because they think we shall die the same day. But ifso, I can't help it. To-morrow morning I shall walk out, and now that'ssettled. I am tired and going to sleep, " and he threw himself down uponthe bed and, being worn out with weariness and anxiety, soon fell fastasleep. 

But Jeekie did not sleep, although he too lay down upon his bed. On thecontrary, he remained wide awake and reflected, more deeply perhapsthan he had ever done before, being sure the superstition as to thedependence of Alan's life upon his own was now worn very thin, and thathis hour was at hand. He thought of making Alan's wild attempt todepart impossible by the simple method of warning the Asika, but, notwithstanding his native selfishness, was too loyal to let that ideatake root in his mind. No, there was nothing to be done; if the Majorwished to start, the Major must start, and he, Jeekie, must pay theprice. Well, he deserved it, who had been fool enough to listen to thesecret promptings of Little Bonsa and conduct him to Asiki-land. 

Thus he passed several hours, for the most part in melancholyspeculations as to the exact fashion of his end, until at lengthweariness overcame him also and, shutting his eyes, Jeekie began todoze. Suddenly he grew aware of the presence of some other person inthe room, but thinking that it was only the Asika prowling about in heruncanny fashion, or perhaps her spirit, for how her body entered theplace he could not guess, he did not stir, but lay breathing heavily andwatching out of the corner of his eye. 

Presently a figure emerged from the shadows into the faint light thrownby the single lamp that burned above, and though it was wrapped ina dark cloak, Jeekie knew at once that it was not the Asika. Verystealthily the figure crept towards him, as a leopard might creep, and bent down to examine him. The movement caused the cloak to slipa little, and for an instant Jeekie caught sight of the wasted, half-crazed face of the Mungana, and of a long, curved knife thatglittered in his hand. Paralyzed with fear, he lay quite still, knowingthat should he show the slightest sign of consciousness that knife wouldpierce his heart. 

The Mungana watched him a while, then satisfied that he slept, turned round and, bending himself almost double, glided with infiniteprecautions towards Alan's bed, which stood some twelve or fourteenfeet away. Silently as a snake that uncoils itself, Jeekie slipped frombetween his blankets and crept after him, his naked feet making no noiseupon the mat-strewn floor. So intent was the Mungana upon the deed whichhe had come to do that he never looked back, and thus it happened thatthe two of them reached the bed one immediately behind the other. 

Alan was lying on his back with his throat exposed, a very easy victim. For a moment the Mungana stared. Then he erected himself like a snakeabout to strike, and lifted the great curved knife, taking aim at Alan'snaked breast. Jeekie erected himself also, and even as the knife beganto fall, with one hand he caught the arm that drove it and with theother the murderer's throat. The Mungana fought like a wild-cat, butJeekie was too strong for him. His fingers held the man's windpipe likea vise. He choked and weakened; the knife fell from his hand. He sank tothe ground and lay there helpless, whereon Jeekie knelt upon his chestand, possessing himself of the knife, held it within an inch of hisheart. 

It was at this juncture that Alan woke up and asked sleepily what wasthe matter. 

"Nothing, Major, " answered Jeekie in low and cheerful tones. "Snakejust going to bite you and I catch him, that all, " and he gave an extrasqueeze to the Mungana's throat, who turned black in the face and rolledhis eyes. 

"Be careful, Jeekie, or you will kill the man, " exclaimed Alan, recognizing the Mungana and taking in the situation. 

"Why not, Major? He want kill you, and me too afterwards. Good riddanceof bad rubbish, as Book say. "

"I am not so sure, Jeekie. Give him air and let me think. Tell him thatif he makes any noise, he dies. "

Jeekie obeyed, and the Mungana's darkening eyes grew bright again as hedrew his breath in great sobs. 

"Now, friend, " said Alan in Asiki, "why did you wish to stab me?"

"Because I hate you, " answered the man, "who to-morrow will take myplace and the wife I love. "

"As a year or two ago you took someone else's place, eh? Well, supposenow that I don't want either your place or your wife. "

"What would that matter even it if were true, white man, since she wantsyou?"

"I am thinking, friend, that there is someone else she will want whenshe hears of this. How do you suppose that you will die to-morrow? Notso easily as you hope, perhaps. "

The Mungana's eyes seemed to sink into his head, and his face to sickenwith terror. That shaft had gone home. 

"Suppose I make a bargain with you, " went on Alan slowly. "SupposingI say: 'Mungana, show me the way out of this place, as you can, now atonce. Or if you prefer it, refuse and be given up to the Asika?' Come, you are not too mad to understand. Answer--and quickly. "

"Would you kill me afterwards?" he asked. 

"Not I. Why should I wish to kill you? You can come with us and go whereyou will. Or you can stay here and die as the Asika directs. "

"I cannot believe you, white man. It is not possible that you shouldwish to run away from so much love and glory, or to spare one whowould have slain you. Also it would be difficult to get you out ofBonsa-town. "

"Jeekie, " said Alan, "this fellow is mad after all, I think you hadbetter go to the door and shout for the priests. "

"No, no, lord, " begged the wretched creature, "I will trust you; I willtry, though it is you who must be mad. "

"Very good. Stand over him, Jeekie, while I put on my things and, yes, give me that mask. If he stirs, kill him at once. "

So Alan made himself ready. Then he mounted guard over the Mungana, asdid Jeekie, although he shook his head over their prospect of escape. 

"No go, " he muttered, "no go! If we get past priests, Asika catch uswith her magic. When I bolt with your reverend uncle last time, LittleBonsa arrange business because she go abroad fetch you. Now likely asnot she bowl you out, and then good-bye Jeekie. "

Alan sternly bade him be quiet and stop behind if he did not wish tocome. 

"No, no, Major, " he answered, "I come all right. Asika very prejudicedbeggar, and if she find me here alone--oh my! Better die double afterall, Two's company, Major. Now, all ready, _March!_" and he gave theunfortunate Mungana a fearful kick as a hint to proceed. 

So utterly crushed was the poor wretch that even this insult did notstir him to resentment. 

"Follow me, white man, " he said, "and if you desire to live, be silent. Throw your cloaks about your heads. "

They did so, and holding their revolvers in their right hands, glidedafter the Mungana. In the corner of the big room they came to a littlestair. How it opened in that place where no stair had been, they couldnot see or even guess, for it was too dark, only now they knew the meansby which the Asika had been able to visit them at night. 

The Mungana went first down the stair. Jeekie followed, grasping him bythe arm with one hand, while in the other he kept his own knife readyto stab him at the first sign of treachery. Alan brought up the rear, keeping hold of Jeekie's cloak. They passed down twelve steps of stair, then turned to the right along a tunnel, then to the left, then to theright again. In the pitch darkness it was an awful journey, since theyknew not whither they were being led, and expected that every momentwould be their last. At length, quite of a sudden, they emerged intomoonlight. 

Alan looked about him and knew the place. It was where the feast hadbeen held two months before, when the priests were poisoned and theBonsas chose the victims for sacrifice. Already it was prepared for thegreat festival of to-morrow, when the Mungana should drown himself andAlan be married to the Asika. There on the dais were the gold chairs inwhich they were to sit, and green branches of trees mixed with curiousflags decked the vast amphitheatre beyond. Moreover, there was the broadcanal, and floating in the midst of it the hideous gold fetish, BigBonsa. The moon shone on its glaring, deathly eyes, its fish-like snoutand its huge, pale teeth. Alan looked at it and shivered, for the thingwas horrid and uncanny, and the utter loneliness in which it lay staringup at the moon, seemed to accentuate the horror. 

The Mungana noticed his fear and whispered:

"We must swim the water. If you have a god, white man, pray him toprotect you from Bonsa. "

"Lead on, " answered Alan, "I do not dread a foul fetish, only the lookof it. But is there no way round?"

The Mungana shook his head and began to enter the canal. Jeekie, whoseteeth were chattering, hung back, but Alan pushed him from behind, sosharply that he stumbled and made a splash. Then Alan followed, and asthe cold, black water rose to his chest, looked again at Big Bonsa. 

It seemed to him that the thing had turned round and was staring atthem. Surely a few seconds ago its snout pointed the other way. No, thatmust be fancy. He was swimming now, they were all swimming, Alan andJeekie holding their pistols and little stock of cartridges abovetheir heads to keep them dry. The gold head of Big Bonsa appeared to belifting itself up in the water, as a reptile might, in order to get abetter view of these proceedings, but doubtless it was the ripples thatthey caused which gave it this appearance. Only why did the ripples makeit come towards them, quite gently, like an investigating fish?

It was about ten yards off and they were in the middle of the canal. TheMungana had passed it. It was in a line with Alan's head. Oh Heavens! asudden smother of foam, a rush like that of a torpedo, and set low downbetween two curving waves, a flash of gold. Then a gurgling, inhumanlaugh and a weight upon his back. Down went Alan, down and down!

CHAPTER XVII

THE END OF THE MUNGANA

The moonlight above vanished. Alan was alone in the depths with thisdevil, or whatever it might be. He could feel hands and feet grippingand treading on him, but they did not seem to be human, for there weretoo many of them. Also they were very cold. He gave himself up for deadand thought of Barbara. 

Then something flashed into his mind. In his hand he still held therevolver. He pressed it upwards against the thing that was smotheringhim, and pulled the trigger. Again he pulled it, and again, for it was aself-cocking weapon, and even there deep down in the water he heard thethud of the explosion of the damp-proof copper cartridges. His lungswere bursting, his senses reeled, only enough of them remained to tellhim that he was free of that strangling grip and floating upwards. Hishead rose above the surface, and through the mouth of his mask he drewin the sweet air with quick gasps. Down below him in the clear waterhe saw the yellow head of Big Bonsa rocking and quivering like a greatreflected mon, saw too that it was beginning to rise. Yet he could notswim away from it, the fetish seemed to have hypnotized him. He heardJeekie calling to him from the shallow water near the further bank, butstill he floated there like a log and stared down at Big Bonsa wallowingbeneath. 

Jeekie plunged back into the canal and with a few strong strokes reachedhim, gripped him by the arm and began to tow him to the shore. Beforethey came there Big Bonsa rose like a huge fish and tried to followthem, but could not, or so it seemed. At any rate it only whirled roundand round upon the surface, while from it poured a white fluid thatturned the black water to the hue of milk. Then it began to scream, making a thin and dreadful sound more like that of an infant in painthan anything they had ever heard, a very sickening sound that Alannever could forget. He staggered to the bank and stood staring at itwhere it bled, rolled and shrieked, but because of the milky foam couldmake nothing out in that light. 

"What is it, Jeekie?" he said with an idiotic laugh. "What is it?"

"Oh! don't know. Devil and all, perhaps. Come on, Major, before it catchus. "

"I don't think it will catch anyone just at present. Devil or nothollow-nosed bullets don't agree with it. Shall I give it another, Jeekie?" and he lifted the pistol. 

"No, no, Major, don't play tomfool, " and Jeekie grabbed him by the armand dragged him away. 

A few paces further on stood the Mungana like a man transfixed, and eventhen Alan noticed that he regarded him with something akin to awe. 

"Stronger than the god, " he muttered, "stronger than the god, " andbounded forward. 

Following the path that ran beside the canal, they plunged into atunnel, holding each other as before. In a few minutes they were throughit and in a place full of cedar trees outside the wall of the GoldHouse, under which evidently the tunnel passed, for there it rose behindthem. Beneath these cedar trees they flitted like ghosts, now in themoonlight and now in the shadow. 

The great fall to the back of the town was on their left, and in frontof them lay one of the arms of the river, at this spot a ragingtorrent not much more than a hundred feet in width, spanned by a narrowsuspension bridge which seemed to be supported by two fibre ropes. Onthe hither side of this bridge stood a guard hut, and to their dismayout of this hut ran three men armed with spears, evidently to cut themoff. One of these men sped across the bridge and took his stand at thefurther end, while the other two posted themselves in their path at theentrance to it. 

The Mungana slacked his speed and said one word--"Finished!" and Jeekiealso hesitated, then turned and pointed behind them. 

Alan looked back and flitting in and out between the cedar trees, sawthe white robes of the priests of Bonsa. Then despair seized them all, and they rushed at the bridge. Jeekie reached it first and dodgingbeneath the spears of the two guards, plunged his knife into the breastof one of them, and butted the other with his great head, so that hefell over the side of the bridge on to the rocks below. 

"Cut, Major, cut!" he said to Alan, who pushed past him. "All rightnow. "

They were on the narrow swaying bridge--it was but a single plank--Alanfirst, then the Mungana, then Jeekie. When they were half way acrossAlan looked before him and saw a sight he could never forget. 

The third guard at the further side was sawing through one of the fibreropes with his spear. There they were on the middle of the bridge withthe torrent raving fifty feet beneath them, and the man had nearlysevered the rope! To get over before it parted was impossible; behindwere the priests; beneath the roaring river. All three of them stoppedas though paralyzed, for all three had seen. Something struck againstAlan's leg, it was his pistol that still remained fastened to his wristby its leather thong. He cocked and lifted it, took aim and fired. The shot missed, which was not wonderful considering the light and theplatform on which the shooter stood. It missed, but the man, astonished, for he had never seen or heard such a thing before, stopped his sawingfor a moment, and stared at them. Then as he began again Alan fired oncemore, and this time by good fortune the bullet struck the man somewherein the body. He fell, and as he fell grasped the nearly separated ropeand hung to it. 

"Get hold of the other rope and come on, " yelled Alan, and once morethey bounded forward. 

"My God! it's going, " he yelled again. "Hold fast, Jeekie, hold fast!"

Next instant the rope parted and the man vanished. The bridge tippedover, and supported by the remaining rope, hung edgeways up. To thisrope the three of them clung desperately, resting their feet upon theedge of the swaying plank. For a few seconds they remained thus, afraidto stir, then Jeekie called out:

"Climb on, Major, climb on like one monkey. Look bad, but quite safereally. "

As there was nothing else to be done Alan began to climb, shifting hisfeet along the plank edge and his hands along the rope, which creakedand stretched beneath their threefold weight. 

It was a horrible journey, and in his imagination took at least an hour. Yet they accomplished it, for at last they found themselves huddledtogether but safe upon the further bank. The sweat pouring down fromhis head almost blinded Alan; a deadly nausea worked within him, sicklytremors shot up and down his spine; his brain swam. Yet he could hearJeekie, in whom excitement always took the form of speech, sayingloudly:

"Think that man no liar what say our great papas was monkeys. Never lookdown on monkey no more. Wake up, Major, those priests monkey-men too, for we all brothers, you know. Wait a bit, I stop their little game, "and springing up with three or four cuts of the big curved knife, hesevered the remaining rope just as their pursuers reached the furtherside of the chasm. 

They shouted with rage as the long bridge swung back against the rock, the cut end of it falling into the torrent, and waved their spearsthreateningly. To this demonstration Jeekie replied with gesturesof contempt such as are known to street Arabs. Then he looked at theMungana, who lay upon the ground a melancholy and dilapidated spectacle, for the perspiration had washed lines of paint off his face and patchesof dye from his hair, also his gorgeous robes were water-stained andhis gem necklaces broken. Having studied him a while Jeekie kickedhim meditatively till he got up, then asked him to set out the exactsituation. The Mungana answered that they were safe for a while, sincethat torrent could only be crossed by the broken bridge and was toorapid to swim. The Asiki, he added, must go a long journey round throughthe city in order to come at them, though doubtless they would hunt themdown in time. 

Here Jeekie cut him short, since he knew all that country well andonly wished to learn whether any more bridges had been built across thetorrent since he was a boy. 

"Now, Major, " he said, "you get up and follow me, for I know every inchof ground, also by and by good short cut over mountains. You seeJeekie very clever boy, and when he herd sheep and goat he made note ofeverything and never forget nothing. He pull you out of this hole, neverfear. "

"Glad to hear it, I am sure, " answered Alan as he rose. "But what's tobecome of the Mungana?"

"Don't know and don't care, " said Jeekie; "no more good to us. Can goand see how Big Bonsa feel, if he like, " and stretching out his big handas though in a moment of abstraction, he removed the costly necklacesfrom their guide's neck and thrust them into the pouch he wore. Also hepicked up the gilded linen mask which Alan had removed from his head andplaced it in the same receptacle, remarking, that he "always taught thatit wicked to waste anything when so many poor in the world. "

Then they started, the Mungana following them. Jeekie paused and wavedhim off, but the poor wretch still came on, whereon Jeekie produced thebig, crooked knife, Mungana's own knife. 

"What are you going to do, " said Alan, awaking to the situation. 

"Cut off head of that cocktail man, Major, and so save him lot oftrouble. Also we got no grub, and if we find any he want eat a lot. Chopwhat do for two p'raps, make very short commons for three. Also he mightplay dirty trick, so much best dead. "

"Nonsense, " said Alan sternly; "let the poor devil come along if helikes. One good turn deserves another. "

"Just so, Major; that hello-swello want cut our throats, so I want cuthis--one good turn deserve another, as wise king say in Book, whenhe give half baby to woman what wouldn't have it. Well, so be, Major, specially as it no matter, for he not stop with us long. "

"You mean that he will run away, Jeekie?"

"Oh! no, he not run away, he in too blue funk for that. But somethingrun away with him, because he ought die to-morrow night. Oh! yes, yousee, you see, and Jeekie hope that something not run away with you too, Major, because you ought be married at same time. "

"Hope not, I am sure, " answered Alan, and bethinking him of Big Bonsawallowing and screaming on the water and bleeding out white blood, heshivered a little. 

By this time, advancing at a trot, the Mungana running after them like adog, they had entered the bush pierced with a few wandering paths. Alongthese paths they sped for hour after hour, Jeekie leading them withouta moment's hesitation. They met no man and heard nothing, exceptoccasional weird sounds which Alan put down to wild beasts, but Jeekieand the Mungana said were produced by ghosts. Indeed it appeared thatall this jungle was supposed to be haunted, and no Asiki would enter itat night, or unless he were very bold and protected by many charms, byday either. Therefore it was an excellent place for fugitives who sorelyneeded a good start. 

At length the day began to dawn just as they reached the main road whereit crossed the hills, whence on his journey thither Alan had his firstview of Bonsa Town. Peering from the edge of the bush, they perceived afire burning near the road and round it five or six men, who seemedto be asleep. Their first thought was to avoid them, but the Mungana, creeping up to Alan, for Jeekie he would not approach, whispered:

"Not Asiki, Ogula chief and slaves who left Bonsa Town yesterday. "

They crept nearer the fire and saw that this was so. Then rejoicingexceedingly, they awoke the old chief, Fahni, who at first thought theymust be spirits. But when he recognized Alan, he flung himself on hisknees and kissed his hand, because to him he owed his liberty. 

"No time for all that, Fahni, " said Alan. "Give us food. "

Now of this as it chanced there was plenty, since by the Asika's ordersthe slaves had been laden with as much as they could carry. They ate ofit ravenously, and while they ate, told Fahni something of the story oftheir escape. The old chief listened amazed, but like Jeekie asked Alanwhy he had not killed the Mungana, who would have killed him. 

Alan, who was in no mood for long explanations, answered that he hadkept him with them because he might be useful. 

"Yes, yes, friend, I see, " exclaimed the old cannibal, "although he isso thin he will always make a meal or two at a pinch. Truly white menare wise and provident. Like the ants, you take thought for the morrow. "

As soon as they had swallowed their food they started all together, foralthough Alan pointed out to Fahni that he might be safer apart, the oldchief who had a real affection for him, would not be persuaded to leavehim. 

"Let us live or die together, " he said. 

Now Jeekie, abandoning the main road, led them up a stream, walking inthe water so that their footsteps might leave no trace, and thus awayinto the barren mountains which rose between them and the great swamp. On the crest of these mountains Alan turned and looked back towardsBonsa Town. There far across the fertile valley was the hateful, river-encircled place. There fell the great cataract in the roar ofwhich he had lived for so many weeks. There were the black cedars andthere gleamed the roofs of the Gold House, his prison where dwelt theAsika and the dreadful fetishes of which she was the priestess. To himit was like the vision of a nightmare, he could scarcely think it real. And yet by this time doubtless they sought him far and wide. What mood, he wondered, would the Asika be in when she learned of his escape andthe fashion of it, and how would she greet him if he were recaptured andtaken back to her? Well, he would not be recaptured. He had still somecartridges and he would fight till they killed him, or failing that, save the last of them for himself. Never, never could he endure to bedragged back to Bonsa Town there to live and die. 

They went on across the mountains, till in the afternoon once more theysaw the road running beneath them like a ribbon, and at the end of itthe lagoon. Now they rested a while and held a consultation while theyate. Across that lagoon they could not escape without a canoe. 

"Lord, " said the Mungana presently, "yesterday when these cannibalswere let go a swift runner was sent forward commanding that a good boatshould be provisioned and made ready for them, and by now doubtless thishas been done. Let them descend to the road, walk on to the bay and askfor the boat. Look, yonder, far away a tongue of land covered with treesjuts out into the lake. We will make our way thither and after nightfallthis chief can row back to it and take us into the canoe. "

Alan said that the plan was good, but Jeekie shook his head, asking whatwould happen if Fahni, finding himself safe upon the water, thought itwisest not to come to fetch them. 

Alan translated his words to the old chief, whereon Fahni wanted tofight Jeekie because of the slur that he had cast upon his honour. Thischallenge Jeekie resolutely declined, saying that already there wereplenty of ways to die in Asiki-land without adding another to them. ThenFahni swore by his tribal god and by the spirit of every man he hadever eaten, that he would come to that promontory after dark, if he werestill alive. 

So they separated, Fahni and his men slipping down to the road, whichthey did without being seen by anyone, while Alan, Jeekie and theMungana bore away to the right towards the promontory. The road was longand rough and, though by good fortune they met no one, since the few whodwelt in these wild parts had gone up to Bonsa Town to be present atthe great feast, the sun was sinking before ever they reached the place. Moreover, this promontory proved to be covered with dense thorn scrub, through which they must force a way in the gathering darkness, notwithout hurt and difficulty. Still they accomplished it and at length, quite exhausted, crept to the very point, where they hid themselvesbetween some stones at the water's edge. 

Here they waited for three long hours, but no boat came. 

"All up a gum-tree now, Major, " said Jeekie. "Old blackguard, Fanny, bolt and leave us here, and to-morrow morning Asika nobble us. Betterhave gone down to bay, steal his boat and leave him behind, becauseAsika no want _him_. "

Alan made no answer. He was too tired, and although he trusted Fahni, itseemed likely enough that Jeekie was right, or perhaps the cannibals hadnot been able to get the boat. Well, he had done his best, and if Fateovertook them it was no fault of his. He began to doze, for even theirimminent peril could not keep his eyes open, then presently awoke witha start, for in his sleep he thought he heard the sounds of paddlesbeating the quiet water. Yes, there dimly seen through the mist, was acanoe, and seated in the stern of it Fahni. So that danger had gone byalso. 

He woke his companions, who slept at his side, and very silently theyrose, stepping from rock to rock till they reached the canoe and enteredit. It was not a large craft, barely big enough to hold them all indeed, but they found room, and then at a sign from Fahni the oarsmen gave wayso heartily that within half an hour they had lost sight of the accursedshores of Asiki-land, although presently its mountains showed up clearlybeneath the moon. 

Meanwhile Fahni had told his tale. It appeared that when he reached thebay he found the Asiki headman who dwelt there, and those under him, ina state of considerable excitement. 

Rumours had reached them that someone had escaped from Bonsa Town; theythought it was the Mungana. Fahni asked who had brought the rumour, whereon the headman answered that it came "in a dream, " and would say nomore. Then he demanded the canoe which had been promised to him and hispeople, and the headman admitted that it was ready in accordance withorders received from the Asika, but demurred to letting him have it. Along argument followed, in the midst of which Fahni and his men got intothe canoe, the headman apparently not daring to use force to preventhim. Just as they were pushing off a messenger arrived from Bonsa Town, reeling with exhaustion and his tongue hanging from his jaws, who calledout that it was the white man who had escaped with his servant and theMungana, and that although they were believed to be still hidden in theholy woods near Bonsa Town, none were to be allowed to leave the bay. Sothe headman shouted to Fahni to return, but he pretended not to hearand rowed away, nor did anyone attempt to follow him. Still it was onlyafter nightfall that he dared to put the boat about and return to theheadland to pick up Alan and the others as he had promised. That was allhe had to say. 

Alan thanked him heartily for his faithfulness and they paddled onsteadily, putting mile after mile of water between them and Asiki-land. He wondered whether he had seen the last of that country and itsinhabitants. Something within him answered No. He was sure that theAsika would not allow him to depart in peace without making somedesperate effort to recapture him. Far as he was away, it seemed to himthat he could feel her fury hanging over him like a cloud, a cloud thatwould burst in a rain of blood. Doubtless it would have burst alreadyhad it not been for the accident that he and his companions were stillsupposed to be hiding in the woods. But that error must be discovered, and then would come the pursuit. 

He looked at the full moon shining upon him and reflected that at thisvery hour he should have been seated upon the chair of state, wedding, or rather being wedded by the Asika in the presence of Big and LittleBonsa and all the people. His eye fell upon the Mungana, who had alsobeen destined to play a prominent part in that ceremony. At once he sawthat there was something wrong with the man. A curious change had comeover his emaciated face. It was working like that of a maniac. Foamappeared upon his dyed lips, his haunted eyes rolled, his thin handsgripped the side of the canoe and he began to sing, or rather howl likea dog baying at the stars. Jeekie hit him on the head and bade him besilent, but he took no notice, even when he hit him again more heavily. Presently came the climax. The man sprang up in the canoe, causing itto rock from side to side. He pointed to the full moon above and howledmore loudly than before; he pointed to something that he seemed to seein the air near by and gibbered as though in terror. Then his eyes fixedthemselves upon the water at which he stared. 

Harder and harder he stared, his head sinking lower every moment, tillat length without another sound, very quietly and unexpectedly hewent over the side of the boat. For a few seconds they saw hisbright-coloured garments sinking to the depths, then he vanished. 

They waited a while, expecting that he would rise again. But he neverrose. A shot-weighted corpse could not have disappeared more finally andcompletely. The thing was very awful, and for a while there was silence, which as usual was broken by Jeekie. 

"That gay dog gone, " he said in a reflective voice. "All those oldghosts come to fetch him at proper time. No good run away from ghosts;they travel too quick; one jump, and pop up where you no expect. Well, more place for Jeekie now, " and he spread himself out comfortably in theempty seat, adding, "like hello-swello's room much better than company, he go in scent-bath every day and stink too much, all that water neverwash _him_ clean. "

Thus died the Mungana, and such was the poor wretch's requiem. Witha shiver Alan reflected that had it not been for him and his insanejealousy, he too might have been expected to go into that samescent-bath and have his face painted like a chorus girl. Only would heescape the spell that had destroyed his predecessor in the affections ofthe priestess of the Bonsas? Or would some dim power such as had drawnMungana to the death drag him back to the arms of the Asika or to thetorture pit of "Great Swimming Head. " He remembered his dream in theTreasure Hall and shuddered at the very thought of it, for all he hadundergone and seen made him superstitious; then bade the men paddlefaster, ever faster. 

All that night they rowed on, taking turns to rest, except Alan andJeekie, who slept a good deal and as a consequence awoke at dawn muchrefreshed. When the sun rose they found themselves across the lagoon, over thirty miles from the borders of Asiki-land, almost at the spotwhere the river up which they had travelled some months before, flowed out of the lake. Whether by chance or skill Fahni had steered awonderfully straight course. Now, however, they were face to face with anew trouble, for scarcely had they begun to descend the river when theydiscovered that at this dry season of the year it was in many placestoo shallow to allow the canoe to pass over the sand and mud banks. Evidently there was but one thing to be done--abandon it and walk. 

So they landed, ate from their store of food and began a terrible andtoilsome journey. On either side of the river lay dessicated swampcovered with dead reeds ten or twelve feet high. Doubtless beyond theswamp there was high land, but in order to reach this, if it existed, they would be obliged to force a path through miles of reeds. Thereforethey thought it safer to follow the river bank. Their progress was veryslow, since continually they must make detours to avoid a quicksand ora creek, also the stones and scrubby growth delayed them so that fifteenor at most twenty miles was a good day's march. 

Still they went on steadily, seeing no man, and when their food wasexhausted, living on the fish which they caught in plenty in theshallows, and on young flapper ducks that haunted the reeds. So atlength they came to the main river into which this tributary flowed, andcamped there thankfully, believing that if any pursuit of them had beenundertaken, it was abandoned. At least Alan and the rest believed this, but Jeekie did not. 

On the following morning, shortly after dawn, Jeekie awoke his master. 

"Come here, Major, " he said in a solemn voice, "I got something prettyshow you, " and he led him to the foot of an old willow tree, adding, "now up you go, Major, and look. "

So Alan went up and from the topmost fork of that tree saw a sight atwhich his blood turned cold. For there, not five miles behind them, on either side of the river bank, the light gleaming on their spears, marched two endless columns of men, who from their head-dresses hetook to be Asiki. For a minute he looked, then descended the tree andapproaching the others, asked what was to be done. 

"Hook, scoot, bolt, leg it!" exclaimed Jeekie emphatically; then helicked his finger, held it up to the wind and added, "but first firereeds and make it hot for Bonsa crowd. "

This was a good suggestion and one on which they acted without delay. Taking red embers, they blew them into a flame and lit torches, whichthey applied to the reeds over a width of several hundred yards. Thestrong northward wind soon did the rest; indeed with a quarter of anhour a vast sheet of flame twenty or thirty feet in height was rushingtowards the Asiki columns. Then they began their advance along the riverbank, running at a steady trot, for here the ground was open. 

All that day they ran, pausing at intervals to get their breath, and atnight rested because they must. When the light came upon the followingmorning they looked back from a little hill and saw the outposts of theAsiki advancing not a mile behind. Doubtless some of the army had beenburned, but the rest, guessing their route, had forced a way throughthe reeds and cut across country. So they began to run again harder thanbefore, and kept their lead during the morning. But when afternoon camethe Asika gained on them. Now they were breasting a long rise, the riverrunning in the cleft beneath, and Jeekie, who seemed to be absolutelyuntiring, held Alan by the hand, Fahni following close behind. Two oftheir men had fallen down and been abandoned, and the rest straggled. 

"No go, Jeekie, " gasped Alan, "they will catch us at the top of thehill. "

"Never say die, Major, never say die, " puffed Jeekie, "they get blowntoo and who know what other side of hill?"

Somehow they struggled to the crest and behold! there beneath them was agreat army of men. 

"Ogula!" yelled Jeekie, "Ogula! Just what I tell you, Major, who knowwhat other side of _any_ hill. "

CHAPTER XVIII

A MEETING IN THE FOREST

In five minutes more Alan and Jeekie were among the Ogula, who, havingrecognized their chief while he was yet some way off, greeted him withrapturous cheers and the clapping of hands. Then as there was no timefor explanation, they retreated across a little stream which ran downthe valley, four thousand or more of them, and prepared for battle. Thatevening, however, there was no fighting, for when the first of the Asikireached the top of the rise and saw that the fugitives had escaped tothe enemy, who were in strength, they halted and finally retired. 

Now Alan, and Fahni also, hoped that the pursuit was abandoned, butagain Jeekie shook his big head, saying:

"Not at all, Major, I know Asiki and their little ways. While one ofthem alive, not dare go back to Asika without _you_, Major. "

"Perhaps she is with them herself, " suggested Alan, "and we might treatwith her. "

"No, Major, Asika never leave Bonsa Town, that against law, and if shedo so, priests make another Asika and kill her when they catch her. "

After this a council of war was held, and it was decided to camp therethat night, since the position was good to meet an attack if one shouldbe made, and the Ogula were afraid of being caught on the march withtheir backs towards the enemy. Alan was glad enough to hear thisdecision, for he was quite worn out and ready to take any risk for afew hours' rest. At this council he learned also that the Asiki bearerscarrying his gold with their Ogula guides had arrived safely amongthe Ogula, who had mustered in answer to their chief's call and wereadvancing towards Asiki-land, though the business was one that did notplease them. As for these Asiki bearers, it seemed that they had gone oninto the forest with the gold, and nothing more had been heard of them. 

As they were leaving the council Alan asked Jeekie if he had any tidingsof his mother, who had been their first messenger. 

"No, Major, " he answered gloomily, "can't learn nothing of my ma, don'tknow where she is. Ogula camp no place for old girl if they short ofchop and hungry. But p'raps she never get there; I nose round and findout. "

Apparently Jeekie did "nose round" to some purpose, for just as Alanwas dropping off to sleep in his bough shelter a most fearful dinarose without, through which he recognized the vociferations of Jeekie. Running out of the shelter he discovered his retainer and a great Ogulawhom he knew again as the headman who had been imprisoned with him andfreed by the Asika to guide the bearers, rolling over and over on theground, watched by a curious crowd. Just as he arrived Jeekie, whonotwithstanding his years was a man of enormous strength, got the betterof the Ogula and kneeling on his stomach, was proceeding to throttlehim. Rushing at him, Alan dragged him off and asked what was the matter. 

"Matter, Major!" yelled the indignant Jeekie. "My ma inside this blackvillain, _that_ the matter. Dirty cannibal got digestion of one ostrichand eat her up with all his mates, all except one who not like her tasteand tell me. They catch poor old lady asleep by road so stop and lunchat once when Asiki bearers not looking. Let me get at him, Major, let meget at him. If I can't bury my ma, as all good son ought to do, I buryhim, which next best thing. "

"Jeekie, Jeekie, " said Alan, "exercise a Christian spirit and letbygones be bygones. If you don't, you will make a quarrel between us andthe Ogula, and they will give us up to the Asiki. Perhaps the mandid not eat your mother; I understand that he denies it, and when youremember what she was like, it seems incredible. At any rate he has aright to a trial, and I will speak to Fahni about it to-morrow. "

So they were separated, but as it chanced that case never came on, fornext morning this Ogula was killed in the fighting together with two ofhis companions, while the others involved in the charge kept themselvesout of sight. Whether Jeekie's "ma" was or was not eaten by the Ogula noone ever learned for certain. At least she was never heard of any more. 

Alan was sleeping heavily when a sound of rushing feet and of strange, thrilling battle-cries awoke him. He sprang up, snatching at a spear andshield which Jeekie had provided for him, and ran out to find from theposition of the moon that dawn was near. 

"Come on, Major, " said Jeekie, "Asiki make night attack; they alwayslike do everything at night who love darkness, because their eye evil. Come on quick, Major, " and he began to drag him off toward the rear. 

"But that's the wrong way, " said Alan presently. "They are attackingover there. "

"Do you think Jeekie fool, Major, that he don't know that? He take youwhere they _not_ attacking. Plenty Ogula to be killed, but not _many_white men like you, and in all world only _one_ Jeekie!"

"You cold-blooded old scoundrel!" ejaculated Alan as he turned andbolted back towards the noise of fighting, followed by his reluctantservant. 

By the time that he reached the first ranks, which were some way off, the worst of the attack was over. It had been short and sharp, for theAsiki had hoped to find the Ogula unprepared and to take their camp witha rush. But the Ogula, who knew their habits, were waiting for them, so that presently they withdrew, carrying off their wounded and leavingabout fifty dead upon the ground. As soon as he was quite sure that theenemy were all gone, Jeekie, armed with a large battle-axe, went off toinspect these fallen soldiers. Alan, who was helping the Ogula wounded, wondered why he took so much interest in them. Half an hour later hiscuriosity was satisfied, for Jeekie returned with over twenty heavy goldrings, torques, and bracelets slung over his shoulder. 

"Where did you get those, Jeekie?" he asked. 

"Off poor chaps that peg out just now, Major. Remember Asiki soldiersnearly always wear these things and that they no more use to them. Butif ever he get out of this Jeekie want spend his old age in respectablepeace. So he fetch them. Hard work, though, for rings all in one bitand Asiki very tough to chop. Don't look cross, Major; you rememberwhat 'postle say, that he who no provide for his own self worse thancannibal. "

Just then Fahni came up and announced that the Asiki general had sent amessenger into the camp proposing terms of peace. 

"What terms?" asked Alan. 

"These, white man: that we should surrender you and your servant and goour way unharmed. "

"Indeed, Fahni, and what did you answer?"

"White man, I refused; but I tell you, " he added warningly, "that mycaptains wished to accept. They said that I had come back to them safeand that they fear the Asiki, who are devils, not men, and who willbring the curse of Bonsa on us if we go on fighting with them. Still Irefused, saying that if they gave you up I would go with you, who savedmy life from the lion and afterwards from the priests of Bonsa. So themessenger went back and, white man, we march at once, and I pray youalways to keep close to me that I may watch over you. "

Then began that long tramp down the river, which Alan always thoughtafterwards tried him more than any of the terrible events of his escape. For although there was but little fighting, only rearguard actionsindeed, every day the Asiki sent messengers renewing their offers ofpeace on the sole condition of the surrender of himself and Jeekie. Atlast one evening they came to that place where Alan first met the Ogula, and once more he camped upon the island on which he had shot the lion. At nightfall, after he had eaten, Fahni visited him here and Alan bodedevil from his face. 

"White man, " he said, "I can protect you no longer. The Asiki messengershave been with us again and they say that unless we give you upto-morrow at the dawn, their army will push on ahead of us and destroymy town, which is two days' march down the river, and all the women andchildren in it, and that afterwards they will fight a great battle withus. Therefore my people say that I must give you up, or that if I do notthey will elect another chief and do so themselves. "

"Then you will give up a dead man, Fahni. "

"Friend, " said the old chief in a low voice, "the night is dark and theforest not so far away. Moreover, I have set no guards on that side ofthe river, and Jeekie here does not forget a road that he has travelled. Lastly, I have heard it said that there are some other white people withsoldiers camped in the edge of the forest. Now, if you were not here inthe morning, how could I give you up?"

"I understand, Fahni. You have done your best for me, and now, good-night. Jeekie and I are going to take a walk. Sometimes you willthink of the months we spent together in Bonsa-Town, will you not?"

"Yes, and of you also, white man, for so long as I shall live. Walkfast and far, for the Asiki are clever at following a spoor. Good-night, Friend, and to you, Jeekie the cunning, good-night also. I go to tell mycaptains that I will surrender you at dawn, " and without more words hevanished out of their sight and out of their lives. 

Meanwhile Jeekie, foreseeing the issue of this talk, was already engagedin doing up their few belongings, including the gold rings, some food, and a native cooking pot, in a bundle surrounded by a couple of barkblankets. 

"Come on, Major, " he said, handing Alan one spear and taking anotherhimself. "Old cannibal quite right, very nice night for a walk. Come on, Major, river shallow just here. I think this happen and try it beforedark. You just follow Jeekie, that all you got to do. "

So leaving the fire burning in front of their bough shelter, they wadedthe stream and started up the opposing slope, meeting no man. Dark asit was, Jeekie seemed to have no difficulty in finding the way, for asFahni said, a native does not forget the path he has once travelled. Allnight long they walked rapidly, and when dawn broke found themselves atthe edge of the forest. 

"Jeekie, " said Alan, "what did Fahni mean by that tale about whitepeople?"

"Don't know, Major, think perhaps he lie to let you down easy. My golly!what that?"

As he spoke a distant echo reached their ears, the echo of a rifle shot. "Think Fanny not lie after all, " went on Jeekie; "that white man's gun, sharp crack, smokeless powder, but wonder how he come in this place. Well, we soon find out. Come on, Major. "

Tired as they were they broke into a run; the prospect of seeing a whiteface again was too much for them. Half a mile or so further on theycaught sight of a figure evidently engaged in stalking game among thetrees, or so they judged from his cautious movements. 

"White man!" said Jeekie, and Alan nodded. 

They crept forward silently and with care, for who knew what this whiteman might be after, keeping a great tree between them and the man, tillat length, passing round its bole, they found themselves face to facewith him and not five yards away. Notwithstanding his unaccustomedtropical dress and his face burnt copper colour by the sun, Alan knewthe man at once. 

"Aylward!" he gasped; "Aylward! You here?"

He started. He stared at Alan. Then his countenance changed. Itshabitual calm broke up as it was wont to do in moments of deep emotion. It became very evil, as though some demon of hate and jealousy were atwork behind it. The thin lips quivered, the eyes glared, and withoutspoken word or warning, he lifted the rifle and fired straight at Alan. The bullet missed him, for the aim was high. Passing over Alan's head, it cut a neat groove through the hair of the taller Jeekie who wasimmediately behind him. 

Next instant, with a spring like that of a tiger Jeekie was on Aylward. The weight of his charge knocked him backwards to the ground, and therehe lay, pinned fast. 

"What for you do that?" exclaimed the indignant Jeekie. "What for youshoot through wool of respectable nigger, Sir Robert Aylward, Bart. ? NowI throttle you, you dirty hog-swine. No Magistrates' Court here in DwarfForest, " and he began to suit the action to the word. 

"Let him go, Jeekie. Take his rifle and let him go, " exclaimed Alan, whoall this while had stood amazed. "There must be some mistake, he cannothave meant to murder me. "

"Don't know what he mean, but know his bullet go through my hair, Major, and give me new parting, " grumbled Jeekie as he obeyed. 

"Of course it was a mistake, Vernon, for I suppose it is Vernon, " saidAylward, as he rose. "I do not wonder that your servant is angry, butthe truth is that your sudden appearance frightened me out of my witsand I fired automatically. We have been living in some danger here andmy nerves are not as strong as they used to be. "

"Indeed, " answered Alan. "No, Jeekie will carry the rifle for you; yes, and I think that pistol also, every ounce makes a difference walkingin a hot climate, and I remember that you always were dangerous withfirearms. There, you will be more comfortable so. And now, who do youmean by 'we'?"

"I mean Barbara and myself, " he answered slowly. 

Alan's jaw dropped, he shook upon his feet. 

"Barbara and yourself!" he said. "Do I understand----"

"Don't you understand nothing, Major, " broke in Jeekie. "Don't youbelieve one word what this pig dog say. If Miss Barbara marry him heno want shoot you; he ask you to tea to see the Missus and how much shelove him, ducky! We just go on and call on Miss Barbara and hear thenews. Walk up, Sir Robert Aylward, Bart. , and show us which way. "

"I do not choose to receive you and your impertinent servant at mycamp, " said Aylward, grinding his teeth. 

"We quite understand that, Sir Robert Aylward----"

"Lord Aylward, if you please, Major Vernon. "

"I beg your pardon--Lord Aylward. I was aware of the contemplatedpurchase of that title, I did not know that it had been completed. I wasabout to add that all the same we mean to go to that camp, and thatif any violence towards us is attempted as we approach it, you willremember that you are in our hands. "

"Yes, my Lord, " added Jeekie, bowing, "and that monkeys don't tell notales, my Lord, and that here there ain't no twelve Good-Trues to siton noble corpse unhappily deceased, my Lord, and to bring in Crowner'sverdict of done to death lawful or unlawful, according as evidence mayshow when got, my Lord. So march on, for we no breakfast yet. No, notthat way, round here to left, where I think I hear kettle sing. "

So having no choice, Aylward came, marching between the other two andsaying nothing. When they had gone a couple of hundred yards Alan alsoheard something, and to him it sounded like a man crying out in pain. Then suddenly they passed round some great trees and reached a glade inthe forest where there was a spring of water which Alan remembered. Inthis glade the camp had been built, surrounded by a "boma" or palisadeof rough wood, within which stood two tents and some native sheltersmade of tall grass and boughs. Outside of this camp a curious andunpleasant scene was in progress. 

To a small tree that grew there was tied a man, whom from the fashionof his hair Alan knew to belong to the Coast negroes, while two greatfellows, evidently of another tribe, flogged him unmercifully with hidewhips. 

"Ah!" exclaimed Jeekie, "that the kettle I hear sing. Think you bettertaken him off the fire, my Lord, or he boil over. Also his brothers noseem to like that music, " and he pointed to a number of other men whowere standing round watching the scene with sullen dissatisfaction. 

"A matter of camp discipline, " muttered Aylward. "This man has disobeyedorders. "

By now Jeekie was shouting something to the natives in an unknowntongue, which they seemed to understand well enough. At any rate theflogging ceased, the two fellows who were inflicting it slunk away, andthe other men ran towards them, shouting back as they came. 

"All right, Major. You please stop here one minute with my Lord, lateBart. Of Bloody Hand. Some of these chaps friends of mine, I meet themOld Calabar while we get ready to march last rains. Now I have littletalk with them and find out thing or two. "

Aylward began to bluster about interference with his servants and soforth. Jeekie turned on him with a very ugly grin, and showing his whiteteeth, as was his fashion when he grew fierce. 

"Beg pardon, Right Honourable Lord, " he said, or rather snarled, "youdo what I tell you just to please Jeekie. Jeekie no one in England, butJeekie damn big Lord too out here, great medicine man, pal of LittleBonsa. You remember Little Bonsa, eh! These chaps think it great honourto meet Jeekie, so, Major, if he stir, please shoot him through head;Jeekie 'sponsible, not you. Or if you not like do it, I come back andsee to job myself and don't think those fellows cry very much. "

There was something about Jeekie's manner that frightened Aylward, whounderstood for the first time that beneath all the negro's grotesquetalk lay some dreadful, iron purpose, as courage lay under his affectedcowardice and under his veneer of selfishness, fidelity. At any rate hehalted with Alan, who stood beside him, the revolver of which Aylwardhad been relieved by Jeekie, in his hand. Meanwhile Jeekie, who held therifle which he had reloaded, went on and met the natives about twentyyards away. 

"We always disliked each other, Vernon, but I must say that I neverthought a day would come when you proposed to murder me in my own camp, "said Aylward. 

"Odd thing, " answered Alan, "but a very similar idea was in my mind. I never thought, Lord Aylward, that however unscrupulous you mightbe--financially--a day would come when you would attempt to shoot downan unarmed man in an African forest. Oh! don't waste breath in lying; Isaw you recognize me, aim, and fire, after which Jeekie would have hadthe other barrel, and who then would have remained to tell the story, Lord Aylward?"

Aylward made no answer, but Alan felt that if wishes could kill him hewould not live long. His eye fell upon a long, unmistakable mound offresh earth, beneath a tree. He calculated its length, and with a thrillof terror noticed that it was too small for a negro. 

"Who is buried there?" he asked. 

"Find out for yourself, " was the sneering answer. 

"Don't be afraid, Lord Aylward; I shall find out everything in time. "

The conversation between Jeekie and the natives proceeded, their headswere close together; it grew animated. They seemed to be coming to somedecision. Presently one of them ran and cut the lashings of the man whohad been bound to the tree, and he staggered towards them and joinedin the talk, pointing to his wounds. Then the two fellows who had beenengaged in flogging him, accompanied by eight companions of the sametype--they appeared to be soldiers, for they carried guns--swaggeredtowards the group who were being addressed by Jeekie, of whom Alancounted twenty-three. As they approached Jeekie made some suggestionwhich, after one hesitating moment, the others seemed to accept, forthey nodded their heads and separated out a little. 

Jeekie stepped forward and asked a question of the guards, to which theyreplied with a derisive shout. Then without a word of warning he liftedAylward's express rifle which he carried, and fired first one barrel andthen the other, shooting the two leading soldiers dead. Their companionshalted amazed, but before they could lift their guns, Jeekie and thosewith him rushed at them and began stabbing them with spears and strikingthem with sticks. In three minutes it was over without another shotbeing fired. Most of them were despatched, and the others, throwing downtheir guns, had fled wounded into the forest. 

Now, shouting in jubilation, some of the men began to drag away the deadbodies, while others collected the rifles and the remainder, headed byJeekie, advanced towards Alan and Aylward, waving their red spears. Alanstood staring, for he did not in the least understand the meaning ofwhat had happened, but Aylward, who had turned very pale, addressedJeekie, saying:

"I suppose that you have come to murder me also, you black villain. "

"No, no, my Lord, " answered Jeekie politely, "not at present. Also thatwrong word, execute, not murder, just what you do to some of these poordevils, " and he pointed to the mob of porters. "Besides, mustn't killholy white man, poor black chap don't matter, plenty more where he comefrom. Think we all go see Miss Barbara now. You come too, my Lord Bart. , but p'raps best tie your hands behind you first; if you want scratchhead, I do it for you. That only fair, you scratch mine this morning. "

Then at a word from Jeekie some of the natives sprang on Aylward andtied his hands behind his back. 

"Is Miss Barbara alive?" said Alan to Jeekie in an agonized whisper, atthe same time nodding towards the grave that was so ominously short. 

"Hope so, think so, these cards say so, but God He know alone, " answeredJeekie. "Go and look, that best way to find out. "

So they advanced into the camp through a narrow gateway made of aV-shaped piece of wood, to where the two tents were placed in its innerdivision. Of these tents, the first, was open, whereas the second wasclosed. As the open tent was obviously empty, they went to the second, whereof Jeekie began to loosen the lashings of the flap. It was a longbusiness, for they seemed to have been carefully knotted inside; indeedat last, growing impatient, Jeekie cut the cord, using the curved knifewith which the Mungana had tried to kill Alan. 

Meanwhile Alan was suffering torments, being convinced that Barbara wasdead and buried in that new-made grave beneath the trees. He could notspeak, he could scarcely stand, and yet a picture began to form in hisnumb mind. He saw himself seated in the dark in the Treasure-house atBonsa-Town; he saw a vision in the air before him. 

Lo! the tent door opened and that vision reappeared. 

There was the pale Barbara seated, weeping. There again, as he enteredshe sprang up and snatching the pistol that lay beside her, turned itto her breast. Then she perceived him and the pistol sank downwards tillfrom her relaxed hand it dropped to the ground. She threw up her armsand without a sound fell backwards, or would have fallen, had he notcaught her. 

CHAPTER XIX

THE LAST OF THE ASIKI

Barbara had recovered. She sat upon her bed in the tent and by her satAlan, holding her hand, while before them stood Aylward like a prisonerin the dock, and behind him the armed Jeekie. 

"Tell me the story, Barbara, " said Alan, "and tell it briefly, for Icannot bear much more of this. "

She looked at him and began in a slow, even voice:

"After you had gone, dear, things went on as usual for a month or two. Then came the great Sahara Company trouble. First there were rumoursand the shares began to go down. My uncle bought them in by tens andhundreds of thousands, to hold up the market, because he was beingthreatened, but of course he did not know then that Lord Aylward--forI forgot to tell you, he had become a lord somehow--was secretly one ofthe principal sellers, let him deny it if he can. At last the OttomanGovernment, through the English ambassador, published its repudiationof the concession, which it seems was a forgery, actually executed orobtained in Constantinople by my uncle. Well, there was a fearful smash. Writs were taken out against my uncle, but before they could be served, he died suddenly of heart disease. I was with him at the time and hekept saying he saw that gold mask which Jeekie calls Bonsa, the thingyou took back to Africa. He had a fine funeral, for what he had donewas not publicly known, and when his will was opened I found that he hadleft me his fortune, but made Lord Aylward there my trustee until I cameto the full age of twenty-five under my father's will. Alan, don't forceme to tell you what sort of a guardian he was to me; also there was nofortune, it had all gone; also I had very, very little left, for almostall my own money had gone too. In his despair he had forged papersto get it in order to support those Sahara Syndicate shares. Still Imanaged to borrow about £2000 from that little lawyer out of the £5000that remain to me, an independent sum which he was unable to touch, and, Alan, with it I came to find you. 

"Alan, Lord Aylward followed me; although everybody else was ruined, heremained rich, very very rich, they say, and his fancy was to marry me, also I think it was not comfortable for him in England. It is a longtale, but I got up here with about five-and-twenty servants, and Snell, my maid, whom you remember. Then we were both taken ill with somedreadful fever and had it not been for those good black people, I shouldhave died, for I have been very sick, Alan. But they nursed me and Irecovered; it was poor Snell who died, they buried her a few days ago. I thought that she would live, but she had a relapse. Next Lord Aylwardappeared with twelve soldiers and some porters who, I believe, haverun away now, --oh! you can guess, you can guess. He wanted my people tocarry me away somewhere, to the coast, I suppose, but they were faithfulto me and would not. Then he set his soldiers on to maltreat them. Theyshot several of them and flogged them on every opportunity; they wereflogging one of them just now, I heard them. Well, the poor men made meunderstand that they could bear it no longer and must do what he toldthem. 

"And so, Alan, as I was quite hopeless and helpless, I made up my mindto kill myself, hoping that God would forgive me and that I should findyou somewhere, perhaps after sleeping a while, for it was better todie than to be given into the power--of that man. I thought that he wascoming for me just now and I was about to do it, but it was you instead, Alan, _you_, and only just in time. That is all the story, and I hopeyou will not think that I have acted very foolishly, but I did it forthe best. If you only knew what I have suffered, Alan, what I have gonethrough in one way and another, I am sure that you would not judge meharshly; also I kept dreaming that you were in trouble and wanted me tocome to you, and of course I knew where you were gone and had that map. Send him away, Alan, for I am still so weak and I cannot bear the sightof his face. If you knew everything, you would understand. "

Alan turned on Aylward and in a cold, quiet voice asked him what he hadto say to this story. 

"I have to say, Major Vernon, that it is a clever mixture of truthand falsehood. It is true that your cousin, Champers-Haswell, has beenproved guilty of some very shameful conduct. For instance it appearsthat he did forge, or rather cause to be forged that Firman fromthe Sultan, although I knew nothing of this until it was publiclyrepudiated. It is also true that fearing exposure he entirely lost hishead and spent not only his own great fortune but that of Miss Champersalso, in trying to support Sahara shares. I admit also that I sold manyhundreds of thousands of those shares in the ordinary way, having madeup my mind to retire from business when I was raised to the peerage. I admit further, what you knew before, that I was attached to MissChampers and wished to marry her. Why should I not, especially as I hada good deal to offer to a lady who has been proved to be almost withoutfortune?

"For the rest she set out secretly on this mad journey to Africa, whither both my duty as her trustee and my affection prompted me tofollow her. I found her here recovering from an illness, and since shehas dwelt upon the point, in self-defence I must tell you thatwhatever has taken place between us, has been with her full consent andencouragement. Of course I allude only to those affectionate amenitieswhich are common between people who purpose to marry as soon asopportunity may offer. "

At this declaration poor Barbara gasped and leaned back against herpillow. Alan stood silent, though his lips turned white, while Jeekiethrust his big head through the tent opening and stared upwards. 

"What are you looking at, Jeekie?" asked Alan irritably. 

"Seem to want air, Major, also look to see if clouds tumble. Believepartickler big lie do that sometimes. Please go on, O good Lord, forJeekie want his breakfast. "

"As regards the execution of two of Miss Champers' bearers and theflogging of some others, these punishments were inflicted for mutiny, "went on Aylward. "It was obviously necessary that she should be movedback to the coast, but I found out that they were trying to desert herin a body and to tamper with my own servants, and so was obliged to takestrong measures. "

"Sure those clouds come down now, " soliloquized Jeekie, "or leastsomething rummy happen. "

"I have only to add, Major Vernon, that unless you make away with mefirst, as I daresay you will, as soon as we reach civilization again Ishall proceed against you and this fellow for the cold-blooded murderof my men, in punishment of which I hope yet to live to see you hanged. Meanwhile, I have much pleasure in releasing Miss Champers from herengagement to me which, whatever she may have said to you in England, she was glad enough to enter on here in Africa, a country of which Ihave been told the climate frequently deteriorates the moral character. "

"Hear, hear!" ejaculated Jeekie, "he say something true at last; byaccident, I think, like pig what find pearl in muck-heap. "

"Hold your tongue, Jeekie, " said Alan. "I do not intend to kill you, Lord Aylward, or to do you any harm----"

"Nor I neither, " broke in Jeekie, "all I do to my Lord just for myLord's good; who Jeekie that he wish to hurt noble British 'ristocrat?"

"But I do intend that it shall be impossible that Miss Champers shouldbe forced to listen to more of your insults, " went on Alan, "and to makesure that your gun does not go off again as it did this morning. So, Lord Aylward, until we have settled what we are going to do, I must keepyou under arrest. Take him to his tent, Jeekie, and put a guard overhim. "

"Yes, Major, certainly, Major. Right turn, march! my Lord, and quick, please, since poor, common Jeekie not want dirty his black fingertouching you. "

Aylward obeyed, but at the door of the tent swung round and favouredAlan with a very evil look. 

"Luck is with you for the moment, Major Vernon, " he said, "but if youare wise you will remember that you never have been and never will bemy match. It will turn again, I have no doubt, and then you may look toyourself, for I warn you I am a bad enemy. "

Alan did not answer, but for the first time Barbara sprang to her feetand spoke. 

"You mean that you are a bad man, Lord Aylward, and a coward too, orotherwise you would not have tortured me as you have done. Well, when itseemed impossible that I should escape from you except in one way, I wassaved by another way of which I never dreamed. Now I tell you that I donot fear you any more. But I think, " she added slowly, "that you woulddo well to fear for yourself. I don't know why, but it comes into mymind that though neither Alan nor I shall lift a finger against you, you have a great deal of which to be afraid. Remember what I said to youmonths ago when you were angry because I would not marry you. I believeit is all coming true, Lord Aylward. "

Then Barbara turned her back upon him, and that was the last time thateither she or Alan ever saw his face. 

He was gone, and Barbara, her head upon her lover's shoulder and hersweet eyes filled with tears of joy and gratitude, was beginning to tellhim everything that had befallen her when suddenly they heard a loudcough outside the tent. 

"It's that confounded Jeekie, " said Alan, and he called to him to comein. 

"What's the matter now?" he asked crossly. 

"Breakfast, Major. His lordship got plenty good stores, borrow some fromhim and give him chit. Coming in one minute--hot coffee, kipper herring, rasher bacon, also butter (best Danish), and Bath Oliver biscuit. "

"Very well, " said Alan, but Jeekie did not move. 

"Very well, " repeated Alan. 

"No, Major, not very well, very ill. Thought those lies bring downclouds. "

"What do you mean, Jeekie?"

"Mean, Major, that Asiki smelling about this camp. Porter-man what goto fetch water see them. Also believe they catch rest of those soldierchaps and polish them, for porter-man hear the row. "

Alan sprang up with an exclamation; in his new-found joy he hadforgotten all about the Asiki. 

"Keep hair on, Major, " said Jeekie cheerfully; "don't think they attackyet, plenty of time for breakfast first. When they come we make it veryhot for them, lots of rifle and cartridge now. "

"Can't we run away?" asked Barbara. 

"No, Missy, can't run; must stop here and do best. Camp well built, openall round, don't think they take it. You leave everything to Jeekie, hesee you through, but p'raps you like come breakfast outside, where youknow all that go on. "

Barbara did like, but as it happened they were allowed to consume theirmeal in peace, since no Asiki appeared. As soon as it was swallowed shereturned to her tent, while Alan and Jeekie set to work to strengthenthe defences of the little camp as well as they were able, and to makeready and serve out the arms and ammunition. 

About midday a man whom they had posted in a tree that grew inside thecamp announced that he saw the enemy, and next moment a company of themrushed towards them across the open and were greeted by a volley whichkilled and wounded several men. At this exhibition of miraculous power, for none of these soldiers had ever heard the report of firearms orseen their effect, they retreated rapidly, uttering shouts of dismay andcarrying their dead and wounded with them. 

"Do you suppose they have gone, Jeekie?" asked Alan anxiously. 

He shook his head. 

"Think not, Major, think they frightened, by big bullet magic, and goconsult priest. Also only a few of them here, rest of army come laterand try rush us to-morrow morning before dawn. That Asiki custom. "

"Then what shall we do, Jeekie? Run for it or stop here?"

"Think must stop here, Major. If we bolt, carrying Miss Barbara, whocan't walk much, they follow on spoor and catch us. Best stick insidethis fence and see what happen. Also once outside p'raps porters desertand leave us. "

So as there was nothing else to do they stayed, labouring all day at thestrengthening of their fortifications till at length the boma or fenceof boughs, supported by earth, was so high and thick that while any wereleft to fire through the loopholes, it would be very difficult to stormby men armed with spears. 

It was a dreadful and arduous day for Alan, who now had Barbara's safetyto think of, Barbara with whom as yet he had scarcely found time toexchange a word. By sunset indeed he was so worn out with toil andanxiety that he could scarcely stand upon his feet. Jeekie, who allthat afternoon had been strangely quiet and reflective, surveyed himcritically, then said:

"You have good drink and go sleep a bit, Major. Very good littleshelter there by Miss Barbara's tent, and you hold her hand if you likeunderneath the canvas, which comforting and all correct. Jeekie neverget tired, he keep good lookout and let you know if anything happen, andthen you jump up quite fresh and fight like tom-cat in corner. "

At first Alan refused to listen, but when Barbara added her entreatiesto those of Jeekie he gave way, and ten minutes later was as soundlyasleep as he had ever been in his life. 

"Keep eye on him, Miss Barbara, and call me if he wake. Now I go givenoble lord his supper and see that he quite comfortable. Jeekie seemvery busy to-night, just like when Major have dinner-party at Yarleysand old cook get drunk in kitchen. "

If Barbara could have followed Jeekie's movements for the next fewhours, she would probably have agreed that he was busy. First he wentto Aylward's tent, and as he had said he would, gave him his supper, and with it half a bottle of whisky from the stores which he had beencarrying about with him for some time, as he said, to prevent theporters from getting at it. Aylward would little, though as his armswere tied to the tent-pole, Jeekie sat beside him and fed him likea baby, conversing pleasantly with him all the while, informing himamongst other things that he had better say "big prayer, " because theAsiki would probably cut his throat before morning. 

Aylward, who was in a state of sullen fury, scarcely replied to thistalk, except to say that if so, there was one comfort, they would cuthis and his master's also. 

"Yes, my Lord, " answered Jeekie, "that quite true, so drink to nextmeeting, though I think you go different place to me, and when you gottail and I wing, you horn and I crown of glory, of course we not talkmuch together, " and he held a mug of whisky and water--a great deal ofwhisky and a very little water--to his prisoner's mouth. 

Aylward drained it, feeling a need for stimulant. 

"There, " said Jeekie, holding it upside down, "you drink every drop andnot offer one to poor old Jeekie. Well, he turned teetotaller, so nomatter. Good-night, my Lord, I call you if Asiki come. "

"Who are the Asiki?" asked Aylward drowsily. 

"Oh! you want to know? I tell you, " and he began a long, rambling story. 

Before he ever came to the end of it Aylward had fallen on his side andwas fast asleep. 

"Dear me!" said Jeekie, contemplating him, "that whisky very strong, though bottle say same as they drink in House of Common. That whiskyso strong I think I pour away rest of it, " and he did to the last drop, even taking the trouble to wash out the bottle with water. "Now you notempt anyone, " he said, addressing the said bottle with a very peculiarsmile, "or if you tempt, at least do no harm--like kiss down telephone!"Then he laid down the bottle on its side and left the tent. 

Outside of it three of the head porters, who appeared to be friendsof his, were waiting for him, and with these men he engaged in low andearnest conversation. Next, after they had arrived at some agreement, which they seemed to ratify by a curious oath that involved theircrossing and clasping hands in an odd fashion, and other symbols knownto West African secret societies, Jeekie went the round of the camp tosee that everyone was at his post. Then he did what most people wouldhave thought a very curious and strange thing, namely climbed the fenceand vanished into the forest, where presently a sound was heard as of anowl hooting. 

A little while later and another owl began to hoot in the distance, whereat the three head porters nudged each other. Perhaps they had heardsuch owls hoot before at night, and perhaps they knew that Jeekie, whohad "passed Bonsa, " could only be harmed by the direct command of Bonsaspeaking through the mouth of the Asika herself. Still they might havebeen interested in the nocturnal conversation of those two owls, which, as is common with such magical fowl in West Africa, had transformedthemselves into human shapes, the shape of Jeekie and the shape of anAsiki priest, who was, as it happened, a blood relation of Jeekie. 

"Very good, Brother, " said Owl No. 1; "all you want is this white manwhom the Asika desires for a husband. Well, I have done my best for him, but I must think of myself and others, and he goes to great happiness. I have given him something to make him sleep; do you come presently witheight men, no more, or we shall kill you, to the fence of the camp, andwe will hand over the white man, Vernoon, to you to take back to theAsika, who will give you a wonderful reward, such a reward as you havenever imagined. Now let me hear your word. "

Then Owl No. 2 answered:

"Brother, I make the bargain on behalf of the army, and swear to it bythe double Swimming Head of Bonsa. We will come and take the white man, Vernoon, who is to be Mungana, and carry him away. In return we promisenot to follow or molest you, or any others in your camp. Indeed, whyshould we, who do not desire to be killed by the dreadful magic thatyou have, a magic that makes a noise and pierces through our bodies fromafar? What were the words of the Asika? 'Bring back Vernoon, or perish. I care for nothing else, bring back Vernoon to be my husband. '"

"Good, " said Owl No. 1, "within the half of an hour Vernoon shall beready for you. "

"Good, " answered Owl No. 2, "within half an hour eight of us will bewithout the east face of your camp to receive him. "

"Silently?"

"Silently, my brother in Bonsa. If he cries out we will gag him. Fearnot, none shall know your part in this matter. "

"Good, my brother in Bonsa. By the way, how is Big Bonsa? I fear thatthe white man, Vernoon, hurt him very much, and that is why I give himup--because of his sacrilege. "

"When I left the god was very sick and all the people mourned, butdoubtless he is immortal. "

"Doubtless he is immortal, my brother, a little hard magic in hisstomach--if he has one--cannot hurt _him_. Farewell, dear brother inBonsa, I wish that I were you to get the great reward that the Asikawill give to you. Farewell, farewell. "

Then the two owls flitted apart again, hooting as they went, till theycame to their respective camps. 

Jeekie was in the tent performing a strange toilet upon the sleepingAylward by the light of a single candle. From his pouch he produced themask of linen painted with gold that Alan used to be forced to wear, andtied it securely over Aylward's face, murmuring:

"You always love gold, my Lord Aylward, and Jeekie promise you seeplenty of it now. "

Then he proceeded to remove his coat, his waistcoat, his socks, and hisboots and to replace these articles of European attire by his own wornAsiki sandals and his own dirty Asiki robe. 

"There, " he said, "think that do, " and he studied him by the light ofthe candle. "Same height, same colour hair, same dirty clothes, and asAsiki never see Major's face because he always wear mask in public, likeas two peas on shovel. Oh my! Jeekie clever chap, Jeekie devilish cleverchap. But when Asika pull off that mask to give him true lover kiss, OHMY! wonder that happen then? Think whole of Bonsa-Town bust up; thinkbig waterfall run backwards; think she not quite pleased; think my goodLord find himself in false position; think Jeekie glad to be on coast;think he not go back to Bonsa-Town no more. Oh my aunt! no, he stop inEngland and go church twice on Sunday, " and pressing his big hands onthe pit of his stomach he rocked and rolled in fierce, silent laughter. 

Then an owl hooted again immediately beneath the fence and Jeekie, blowing out the candle, opened the flap of the tent and tapped the headporter, who stood outside, on the shoulder. He crept in and between themthey lifted the senseless Aylward and bore him to the V-shaped entranceof the boma which was immediately opposite to the tent and, oddlyenough, half open. Here the two other porters with whom Jeekie hadperformed some ceremony, chanced to be on guard, the rest of theircompany being stationed at a distance. Jeekie and the head porter wentthrough the gap like men carrying a corpse to midnight burial, andpresently in the darkness without two owls began to hoot. 

Now Aylward was laid upon a litter that had been prepared, andeight white-robed Asiki bearers stared at his gold mask in the faintstarlight. 

"I suppose he is not dead, brother, " said Owl No. 2 doubtfully. 

"Nay, brother, " said Owl No. 1, "feel his heart and his pulse. Not dead, only drunk. He will wake up by daylight, by which time you should be farupon your way. Be good and gentle to the white man Vernoon, who has beenmy master. Be careful, too, that he does not escape you, brother, for asyou know he is very strong and cunning. Say to the Asika that Jeekie herservant makes his reverence to her, and hopes that she will have many, many happy years with the husband that he sends her; also that she willremember him whom she called 'Black Dog, ' in her prayers to the gods andspirits of our people. "

"It shall be done, brother, but why do you not return with us?"

"Because, brother, I have ties across the Black Water--dear children, almost white--whom I love so much that I cannot leave them. Farewell, brethren, the blessings of the Bonsas be on you, and may you grow fatand prosper in the love and favour of our lady the Asika. "

"Farewell, " they murmured in answer. "Good fortune be your bedfellow. "

Another minute and they had lifted up the litter and vanished at aswinging trot into the shadow of the trees. Jeekie returned to the campand ordered the three men to re-stop the gateway with thorns, mutteringin their ears:

"Remember, brethren, one word of this and you die, all of you, as thosedie who break the oath. "

"Have we not sworn?" they whispered, as they went back to their posts. 

Jeekie stood a while in front of the empty tent and if any had beenthere to note him, they might have seen a shadow as of compunction creepover his powerful black face. 

"When he wake up he won't know where he are, " he reflected, "and whenhe get to Bonsa-Town he'll wonder where he is, and when he meet Asika!Well, he very big blackguard; try to murder Major, whom Jeekie nurse asbaby, the only thing that Jeekie care for--except--Jeekie; try to makelove to Miss Barbara against will when he catch her alone in forest, which not playing game. Jeekie self not such big blackguard as thatdirt-born noble Lord; Jeekie never murder no one--not quite; Jeekienever make love to girl what not want him--no need, so many what do thathe have to shove them off, like good Christian man. Mrs. Jeekie see tothat while she live. Also better that mean white man go call on Bonsasthan Major and Missy Barbara and all porters, and Jeekie--speciallyJeekie--get throat cut. No, no, Jeekie nothing to be ashamed of, Jeekiedo good day's work, though Jeekie keep it tight as wax since white folksuch silly people, and when Major in a rage, he very nasty customer andsee everything upside down. Now, Jeekie quite tired, so say his prayersand have nap. No, think not in tent, though very comfortable. Majormight wake up, poke his nose in there, and if he see black face insteadof white one, ask ugly question, which if Jeekie half asleep he no ableto answer nice and neat. Still he just arrange things a little so theylook all right. "

CHAPTER XX

THE ASIKA'S MESSAGE

Dawn began to break in the forest and Alan woke in his shelter andstretched himself. He had slept soundly all the night, so soundly thatthe innocent Jeekie wondered much whether by any chance he also hadtaken a tot out of that particular whisky bottle, as indeed he hadrecommended him to do. People who drink whisky after long abstinencefrom spirits are apt to sleep long, he reflected. 

Alan crept out of the shelter and gazed affectionately at the tent inwhich Barbara slumbered. Thank Heaven she was safe so far, as for someunknown reason, evidently the Asiki had postponed their attack. Justthen a clamour arose in the air, and he perceived Jeekie stridingtowards him waving one arm in an excited fashion, while with the otherhe dragged along the captain of the porters, who appeared to be prayingfor mercy. 

"Here pretty go, Major, " he shouted, "devil and all to pay! That myLord, he gone and bolted. This silly fool say that three hours ago hehear something break through fence and think it only hyæna what cometo steal, so take no notice. Well, that hyæna, you guess who he is. Youcome look, Major, you come look, and then we tie this fellow up and floghim. "

Alan ran to Aylward's tent to find it empty. 

"Look, " said Jeekie, who had followed, "see how he do business, thatjolly clever hyæna, " and he pointed to a broken whisky bottle and somesevered cords. "You see he manage break bottle and rub rope against cutglass till it come in two. Then he do hyæna dodge and hook it. "

Alan inspected the articles, nor did any shadow of doubt enter his mind. 

"Certainly he managed very well, " he said, "especially for a London-bredman, but, Jeekie, what can have been his object?"

"Oh! who know, Major? Mind of man very strange and various thing; p'rapshe no bear to see you and Miss Barbara together; p'raps he bolt coast, get ear of local magistrate before you; p'raps he sit up tree to shootyou; p'raps nasty temper make him mad. But he gone any way, and I hopehe no meet Asiki, poor fellow, 'cause if so, who know? P'raps they knockhim on head, or if they think him you, they make him prisoner and keephim quite long while before they let him go again. "

"Well, " said Alan, "he has gone of his own free will, so we have noresponsibility in the matter, and I can't pretend that I am sorry tosee the last of him, at any rate for the present. Let that poor beggarloose, there seems to have been enough flogging in this place, and afterall he isn't much to blame. "

Jeekie obeyed, apparently with much reluctance, and just then they sawone of their own people running towards the camp. 

"'Fraid he going to tell us Asiki come attack, " said Jeekie, shaking hishead. "Hope they give us time breakfast first. "

"No doubt, " answered Alan nervously, for he feared the result of thatattack. 

Then the man arrived breathless and began to gasp out his news, whichfilled Alan with delight and caused a look of utter amazement to appearupon the broad face of Jeekie. It was to the effect that he had climbeda high tree as he had been bidden to do, and from the top of that treeby the light of the first rays of the rising sun, miles away on theplain beyond the forest, he had seen the Asiki army in full retreat. 

"Thank God!" exclaimed Alan. 

"Yes, Major, but that very rum story. Jeekie can't swallow it all atonce. Must send out see none of them left behind. P'raps they playtrick, but if they really gone, 'spose it 'cause guns frightens themso much. Always think powder very great 'vention, especially when enemyhain't got none, and quite sure of it now. Jeekie very, very seldomwrong. Soon believe, " he added with a burst of confidence, "that Jeekienever wrong at all. He look for truth so long that at last he find it_always_. "

Something more than a month had gone by and Major and Mrs. Vernon, thelatter fully restored to health and the most sweet and beautiful ofbrides, stood upon the steamship _Benin_, and as the sun sank, lookedtheir last upon the coast of Western Africa. 

"Yes, dear, " Alan was saying to his wife, "from first to last it hasbeen a very queer story, but I really think that our getting that Asikigold after all was one of the queerest parts of it; also uncommonlyconvenient, as things have turned out. "

"Namely that you have got a little pauper for a wife instead of a greatheiress, Alan. But tell me again about the gold. I have had so much tothink of during the last few days, " and she blushed, "that I never quitetook it all in. "

"Well, love, there isn't much to tell. When that forwarding agent, Mr. Aston, knew that we were in the town, he came to me and said that hehad about fifty cases full of something heavy, as he supposed samples ofore, addressed to me to your care in England which he was proposing toship on by the _Benin_. I answered 'Yes, that was all right, ' anddid not undeceive him about their contents. Then I asked how they hadarrived, and if he had not received a letter with them. He replied thatone morning before the warehouse was open, some natives had brought themdown in a canoe, and dumped them at the door, telling the watchman thatthey had been paid to deliver them there by some other natives whom theymet a long way up the river. Then they went away without leaving anyletter or message. Well, I thanked Aston and paid his charges andthere's an end of the matter. Those fifty-three cases are now in thehold invoiced as ore samples and, as I inspected them myself and am surethat they have not been tampered with, besides the value of the necklacethe Asika gave me we've got £100, 000 to begin our married life upon withsomething over for old Jeekie, and I daresay we shall do very well onthat. "

"Yes, Alan, very well indeed. " Then she reflected a while, for themention of Jeekie's name seemed to have made her thoughtful, and added, "Alan, what _do_ you think became of Lord Aylward?"

"I am sure I don't know. Jeekie and I and some of the porters wentto see the Old Calabar officials and made affidavits as to thecircumstances of his disappearance. We couldn't do any more, could we?"

"No, Alan. But do you think that Jeekie quite understands the meaning ofan oath? I mean it seems so strange that we should never have found theslightest trace of him, and, Alan, I don't know if you noticed it, butwhy did Jeekie appear that morning wearing Lord Aylward's socks andboots?"

"He ought to know all about oaths, he has heard enough of them inMagistrates' Courts, but as regards the boots, I am sure I can't say, dear, " answered Alan uneasily. "Here he comes, we will ask him, " and hedid. 

"Sock and boot, " replied Jeekie, with a surprised air, "why, Mrs. Major, if that good lord go mad and cut off into forest leaving them behind, of course I put them on, as they no more use to him, and I just burn mydirty old Asiki dress and sandal and got nothing to keep jigger out oftoe. Don't you sit up here in this damp, cold, Mrs. Major, else youget more fever. You go down and dress dinner, which at half-past sixto-night. I just come tell you that. "

So Barbara went, leaving the other two talking about various matters, for they were alone together on the deck, all the passengers, of whomthere were but few, having gone below. 

The short African twilight had come, a kind of soft blue haze that madethe ship look mysterious and unnatural. By degrees their conversationdied away. They lapsed into a silence, which Alan was the first tobreak. 

"What are you thinking of, Jeekie?" he asked nervously. 

"Thinking of Asika, Major, " he answered in a scared whisper. "Seem to methat she about somewhere, just as she use pop up in room in Gold House;seem to me I feel her all down my back, likewise in head wool, whichstand up. "

"It's very odd, Jeekie, " replied Alan, "but so do I. "

"Well, Major, 'spect she thinking of us, specially of you, and justthrow what she think at us, like boy throw stones at bird what fly awayout of cage. Asika do all that, you know, she not quite human, full ofplenty Bonsa devil, from gen'ration to gen'rations, amen! P'raps shejust find out something what make her mad. "

"What could she find out after all this time, Jeekie?"

"Oh, don't know. How I know? Jeekie can't guess. Find out you marry MissBarbara, p'raps. Very sick that she lose you for this time, p'raps. Killherself that she keep near you, p'raps, while she wait till you comeround again, p'raps. Asika can do all these things if she like, Major. "

"Stuff and rubbish, " answered Alan uneasily, for Jeekie's suggestionswere most uncomfortable, "I believe in none of your West Coastsuperstitions. "

"Quite right, Major, nor don't I. Only you 'member, Major, what she showus there in Treasure-place--Mr. Haswell being buried, eh? Miss Barbarain tent, eh? t'other job what hasn't come off yet, eh? Oh! my golly!Major, just you look behind you and say you see nothing, please, " andthe eyes of Jeekie grew large as Maltese oranges, while with chatteringteeth he pointed over the bulwark of the vessel. 

Alan turned and saw. 

This was what he saw or seemed to see: The figure of the Asika in herrobes and breastplate of gold, standing upon the air, just beyond theship, as though on it she might set no foot. Her waving black hair hungabout her shoulders, but the sharp wind did not seem to stir it nor didher white dress flutter, and on her beautiful face was stamped a lookof awful rage and agony, the rage of betrayal, the agony of loss. Inher right hand she held a knife, and from a wound in her breast thered blood ran down her golden corselet. She pointed to Jeekie with theknife, she opened her arms to Alan as though in unutterable longing, then slowly raised them upwards towards the fading glory of the skyabove--and was gone. 

Jeekie sat down upon the deck, mopping his brow with a red handkerchief, while Alan, who felt faint, clung to the bulwarks. 

"Tell you, Major, that Asika can do all that kind of thing. Never knowwhere you find her next. 'Spect she come to live with us in Englandand just call in now and again when it dark. Tell you, she very awkwardcustomer, think p'raps you done better stop there and marry her. Well, she gone now, thank Heaven! seem to drop in sea and hope she staythere. "

"Jeekie, " said Alan, recovering himself, "listen to me; this is allinfernal nonsense; we have gone through a great deal and the nerves ofboth of us are overstrained. We think we saw what we did not see, andif you dare to say a single word of it to your mistress, I'll break yourneck. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Major, think so. All 'fernal nonsense, nerves strained, didn't seewhat we see, and say nothing of what did see to Mrs. Major, if eitherdo say anything, t'other one break his neck. That all right, quiteunderstand. Anything else, Major?"

"Yes, Jeekie. We have had some wonderful adventures, but they are pastand done with and the less we talk or even think about them the better, for there is a lot that would be rather difficult to explain, and thatif explained would scarcely be believed. "

"Yes, Major, for instance, very difficult explain Mrs. Barbara how Asikaso fond of you if you only tell her, 'Go away, go away!' all the time, like old saint-gentleman to pretty girl in picture. P'raps she smellrat. "

"Stop your ribald talk, " said Alan in a stern voice. "It would be betterif instead of making jokes you gave thanks to Providence for bringingboth of us alive and well out of very dreadful dangers. Now I am goingto dress for dinner, " and with an anxious glance seaward into thegathering darkness, he turned and went. 

Jeekie stood alone upon the empty deck, wagging his great white head toand fro and soliloquizing thus:

"Wonder if Major see what under lady Asika's feet when she stand outthere over nasty deep. Think not or he say something. That noble lordnot look nice. No, private view for Jeekie only, free ticket and nothingto pay and me hope it no come back when I go to bed. Major know nothingabout it, so he not see, but Jeekie know a lot. Hope that Aylward notwrite any letters home, or if he write, hope no one post them. Ghost badenough, but murder, oh my!"

He paused a while, then went on:

"Jeekie do big sacrifice to Bonsa when he reach Yarleys, get lamb inback kitchen at night, or if ghost come any more, calf in wood outside. Not steal it, pay for it himself. Then think Jeekie turn Cath'lic;confess his sins, they say them priest chaps not split, and after theygot his sins, they tackle Asika and Bonsas too, " and he uttered a seriesof penitent groans, turning slowly round and round to be sure thatnothing was behind him. 

Just then the full moon appeared out of a bank of clouds, and as it rosehigher, flooding the world with light, Jeekie's spirits rose also. 

"Asika never come in moonshine, " he said, "that not the game, againstrule, and after all, what Jeekie done bad? He very good fellow really. Aylward great villain, serve him jolly well right if Asika spiflicatehim, that not Jeekie's fault. What Jeekie do, he do to save master andmissus who he love. Care nothing for his self, ready to die any day. Keep it dark to save them too, 'cause they no like the story. If oncethey know, it always leave taste in mouth, same as bad oyster. AlsoJeekie manage very well, take Major safe Asiki-land ('cause Little Bonsamake him), give him very interesting time there, get him plenty gold, nurse him when he sick, nobble Mungana, bring him out again, find MissBarbara, catch hated rival and bamboozle all Asiki army, bringhappy pair to coast and marry them, arrange first-class honeymoon onship--Jeekie do all these things, and lots more he could tell, if hevain and not poor humble nigger. "

Once more he paused a while, lost in the contemplation of his ownmodesty and virtues, then continued:

"This very ungrateful world. Major there, he not say, 'Thank you, Jeekie, Jeekie, you great, wonderful man. Brave Jeekie, artful Jeekie. Jeekie smart as paint who make all world believe just what he like, andone too many for Asika herself. ' No, no, he say nothing like that. Hesay 'thank Prov'dence, ' not 'Jeekie, ' as though Prov'dence do all themthings. White folk think they clever, but great fools, really, don't know nothing. Prov'dence all very well in his way--p'raps, butProv'dence not a patch on Jeekie. 

"Hullo! moon get behind cloud and there second bell; think Jeekie godown and wait dinner; lonely up here and sure Asika never stand 'lectriclight. "